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3 Key Regulations You Need To Know About Talent Agents in BC

Kenji Maeda — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:52:07 +0000

As actor you need to be informed. You need to know your rights. You need to know how to protect your money.

Being an actor, there are investments we make so that we are prepared. We pay upfront for training, photo shoots, headshot reproductions, demo reels, parking, and many more things. The one thing we do not and shout not put our hard-earned cash toward is for getting an agent.

In the province of British Columbia, Talent Agents are regulated through the Employment Standards Branch of the Ministry of Labour. They help to provide clear guidelines about fees or commissions agents receive, how soon an agent should be paying their actor (after receiving payment from the production company), and most importantly knowing that there are rules and if agents are not following the rules, there is a governing body who can help to solve issues.

Here are the three key regulations you need to be aware of:

1) Do not pay a registration fee up front to be represented by an agent.

The talent agency must not charge an actor, performer, extra or technical creative film person a fee for taking and providing photographs of the actor, performer, extra or technical creative film person, unless the fee

(i) does not exceed $25 a year, and
(ii) is only deducted from payment of wages received by the actor, performer, extra or technical creative film person;

2) Talent Agents can charge a maximum of 15% commission

All fees paid to the talent agency by an actor, performer, extra or technical creative film person who is employed as a consequence of the efforts of the talent agency, are not more than 15 percent of the wages owing to the actor, performer, extra or technical creative film person from his or her employment

3) No other fees may be charged by a Talent Agency

For services such as Casting Workbook, the performer must pay directly to the service and not through their talent agency.

Can’t resolve your issue?

If you have unresolvable issues with a talent agency with regards to the regulation outlined by the Ministry of Labour, you should contact the nearest office of the Employment Standards Branch.

[Image: steakpinball]

How To Feel Miserable As An Artist

Kenji Maeda — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 06:21:06 +0000

I’m not sure who gets the official credit for this, but I found this through the One Cool Word magazine facebook page.

I think this is relevant for all members of the film, TV, and theatre community. In fact, I think if you change the word “artist” to “person” it would work just as well.

How To Have a Great Audition from Casting Director, Bernie Telsey

Kenji Maeda — Fri, 28 May 2010 23:38:49 +0000

New York Casting Director, Bernie Telsey has experience casting film and stage productions since the 90′s. Some of the films he and his company has cast include Sex and the City, Across the Universe, Rent, and Finding Forrester. Some of the Broadway and off-Broadway shows include the original cast of Rent, Hairspray, Little Shop of Horrors, and Wicked.

Bernie has some great tips on what makes an impact in the audition room. In the video clip below, he talks about the following things:

What it means to be prepared.
The difference between stage and film auditions.
How to choose a song or monologue.
How to approach cold reads.

RIP Babz Chula | Mar 12 1946 – May 7 2010

Kenji Maeda — Sat, 08 May 2010 22:18:35 +0000

If you hadn’t heard, I announce with a heavy heart that multiple-award winning actor, Babz Chula died yesterday after battling cancer for many years.

She was first diagnosed in 2002 with Breast Cancer and had a mastectomy. Unfortunately the cancer came back in 2008 while she was also battling non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma of the blood which was diagnosed in 2005.

Babz didn’t let the cancer stop her from living her life and continuing with her work as an actor as you can see in the quote from the Vancouver Sun:

In an interview with the Vancouver Sun’s Peter Birnie last year, she even found some value in her long battle with cancer, because it gave her an opportunity to contemplate death.

“I don’t mean that morbidly,” she said. “That’s a blessing and a gift, to be able to value your life because you thought about death. In contemplating death, my life has such great value. It’s what you get from living with cancer, and that’s rich stuff.”

Babz certainly won’t be forgotten by her friends, family, and the larger arts community she has been a part of. Her name will also continue to be out there through the Babz Chula Lifeline for Artists Society.

There will be a memorial service to celebrate Babz Chula’s life on Sunday, May 23 2010 at the Arts Club, Granville Island. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to The Babz Chula Lifeline for Artists Society. www.babzchulasociety.org

Reel 2 Real Film Festival for Youth returns for 2010

Kenji Maeda — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 05:02:09 +0000

Friday, April 9 2010 marks the opening of this years Reel 2 Real Film Festival for Youth. I will again have the honour to be the Master of Ceremonies for the Opening Night Gala and Award Presentation as well as at Sunday’s Young Filmmakers Showcase and Award Presentation.

One of the reasons why I choose to involve myself with the festival is because of the quality of the films that they bring to Vancouver. Venay Felton, Executive Director, does a great job year after year bringing in films that cover a variety of subject matters that would appeal to both youth and adults.

The opening night film is called The Indian. It’s a Dutch film (with English subtitles).

Eight-year-old Koos is very close to his loving Dutch parents who adopted him from Peru when he was a baby. When he finds out that his mother is expecting a baby, Koos worries that his parents won’t love him as much as their own biological baby. Through a chance meeting with a Peruvian boy named Illari, Koos learns that he is an Indian and a descendant of the Inca people. Determined to embrace his roots, Koos goes on a journey of self-discovery in order to find out who he really is and where he comes from.

This sensitive and insightful film looks at the fears and curiosities some adopted children experience. The Indian is also a wonderful reminder that the love between a parent and child isn’t defined by geography or ancestry, but by the love a family shares with one another.

For more details about the festival, head on over to www.r2rfestival.org.

Don’t forget! There’s a coupon for the festival screenings in the Production Heads Coupon Book.

“Actors are a very important part of society.”

Kenji Maeda — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 05:41:09 +0000

The GVPTA (Greater Vancouver Professional Theatre Alliance) linked this video over on Facebook in honour of World Theatre Day on the weekend. I just had a chance to view it and thought it was really captures the importance of not only actors in society but the whole arts and culture sector.

In the video, Patsy Rodenburg (Voice and Shakespeare teacher in New York) speaks to why she thinks actors and playwrights are important and why she does theatre.

Enjoy and be inspired.

Oscar Winning Film Trailer

Kenji Maeda — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 22:17:06 +0000

Over on the VAG Forum, withoutaboat shared a link to a video. I thought it fitting to post it here seeing that tonight marks the 82nd Academy Awards, also known as The Oscars. The video speaks to how formulaic a film tends to be to win an Oscar. It’s embedded below fr your viewing pleasure.

Speaking of the Oscars, Toronto Sun reports that there are a total of 17 nominations amongst 13 Canadians which is a record number of nominations for us with the maple leaf. But it looks like we won’t be winning most of those. Read the full Toronto Sun article to find out why.

A Trailer for Every Academy Award Winning Movie Ever — powered by Cracked.com

2010 Tax Time. Use It To Your Advantage.

Patricia Cullen — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 06:35:47 +0000

Taxes. Every year I learn something new I wish I had known years prior. And this year is no exception. During a very in depth interview with Mark Yoshihara, CA of Backspin Entertainment Business Services, we discuss what you can and cannot expense and a few tricks to stretch those expenses further. So grab yourself a cup of coffee and a comfy chair, because we cover pretty much almost everything.

Editor’s Note: This article is intended to provide you with general tax information and should not be used as your only source of information. You should always seek the assistance of a professional familiar with your own personal circumstances for tax and financial advice.

Promotions/Marketing

This includes IMDB, Castingworkbook, demo CDs or DVDs, correct?

Yes, anything that you do to promote your business is considered a marketing expense. If you were to place an ad on the billboard, that would be an expense. Any business cards or anything you use to promote and advertise your business would qualify.

Portion of Rent

How exactly does writing off a portion of your rent or mortgage work?

It’s based on what percentage of the home space you use for a workspace. The percentage is calculated by dividing the area of your office space by the area of your entire home. Generally speaking, it works well if you had an empty room set up as an office. Then you use that percentage to calculate the business portion of rent, mortgage interest, property taxes, insurance, utilities, strata fees & repairs and maintenance. One thing to keep in mind if you own your home, do not amortize it for business because when you sell, it will affect your tax free principal residence status.

Internet

Because the internet is generally for both business & personal use, you want to determine what percentage is actually used for business.

Phone

The business expense portion of your phone use is based on the amount that is used for business. If you’re using your personal line for long distance business calls, that’s also a business expense.

Office expenses

100% of paper, ink, pens, toner, envelopes, erasers, stamps, paper clips, staples…..basically everything you need for the office. This would include renewable software subscriptions such as an anti-virus program.

Computer

What portion of your computer is considered an expense?

It’s amortized and the rates always change but right now, they’ve actually gone up. The current rate is 100% but you can only claim 50% of that in the first year and then claim the other 50% in the second year. This also goes for computer equipment such as scanners, printers, microphones, etc. Generally you would write off completely, anything that would be less than $200. Software is 100% over 2 years as well.

Travel expenses

Any airfare, accommodation, transportation expenses incurred during travel for business are business expenses but then again meals, even while traveling for work can only be claimed at 50%, so you want to keep track of those separately.

Meals

Speaking of meals for business. What about when attending classes or workshops? Are the meals purchased during those times an expense?

Meals when either traveling or attending conventions, conferences or similar events can be claimed. So if you are attending an acting/film convention or conference, that would qualify. Attending classes and workshops would not qualify.

Entertainment

No matter how many people you entertain you can only expense 50% of the bill. There are however, different rules if, for example you have a business and you’re taking out all your employees for a Christmas dinner, then that would be 100%.

Parking

It’s been my understanding that you cannot write off parking expenses incurred at parking meters because of a lack of receipt.

There is few expense categories that don’t provide a receipt and meters are one of them. If you don’t get a receipt, just document it by writing it down. Keep track of it along with your mileage. Parking for business is a 100% business expense.

Bus passes

Once again it’s a percentage of business use. So, you can write off individual transit receipts that are used for work or a percentage of your monthly pass. However, if you write off a percentage of those monthly passes for business use, that will affect your transit tax credit.

Auto Expenses

If I have this correct, you need to keep track of your km’s used for business, because this determines your percentage of business use & then, what percentage of auto expenses you are eligible to expense.

That’s correct. The business portion of gas, oil, repairs, maintenance, amortization, lease payments, insurance and interest on a loan to buy a car is determined by your keeping track of your mileage. If you don’t have your mileage recorded, the CRA will deny any automotive expenses. You must have your mileage log book.

What about when you purchase a vehicle. Is there a total of the purchase price I can write off?

When purchasing the vehicle you amortize it at 30% a year. But it’s a declining balance so you don’t write off a flat 30% a year. It’s a 30% declining balance so there’s no limit to how many years you can write this off. The cost of the vehicle is capped at $30,000. (Read on to ‘Other Tax Questions’ to learn more about declining balances.)

Personal Development Courses

Training, Workshops, Classes, Stunt courses, Singing, Dancing – Anything you’re doing to enhance your business is considered an expense.

What about gym, yoga or Parks & Recreation memberships?

No. They do not count.

Beauty & Fashion

I’ve heard that some women write off their makeup.

If it was purchased and used specifically and exclusively for business and not for personal use, you could claim it as a business expense.

And what about clothing?

Again, if you bought clothing specifically for business use and not for personal use you can claim it. It must be used exclusively for a specific audition or specific role.

Movies, Movie Rentals and Books

Anything that is considered research & development for your business is a 100% write off. Anything where you’re watching actors or reading up on actors or the industry is researching and developing your craft as an actor.

GST

When should the self-employed consider getting a GST number?

The Rule is once your sales or revenue gets to $30K a year, you have to get one. However there are many benefits to getting a number regardless of what your income is. Let’s say you buy a computer and pay $50 in tax. With a GST number, you’ll get that back.

Paying GST Instalments throughout the year – is that a choice made by the tax payer or by the CRA?

My advice is to file quarterly. You have a choice when you first sign up for GST if you want to pay annually, quarterly or monthly. File quarterly, because 2 things. Number 1, it forces you to do your bookkeeping every 3 months which is good incentive to avoid a huge box of receipts and at the end of the year. And the other thing too is that if you pay more GST than you receive, you get a refund from the government. And therefore if you are getting a refund you might as well get it sooner than later. As we know, some actors can go six months or longer without work so they have zero revenue, but they will have expenses.

Submitting your taxes.

The self-employed are not required to have their taxes in until June 15th. But if you end up owing you’re charged interest as of May 1^st. If you do owe taxes you must pay the CRA by April 30^th to avoid interest.

RRSP Contributions

Try to maximize your RRSP contribution. Not only is a RRSP a tax deduction, income generated inside your RRSP is sheltered from tax. You can always cash in your RRSP anytime if you need the money in the future, but it will be taxed in the year that you cash it in, except if it is used for first time home buyers or for qualified education.

Tax Free Savings Account

Also, in 2009, the Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA) was introduced, whereby you can invest up to $5,000 per year into a TFSA and the income is completely tax free, including interest and capital gains. Generally the investments allowed in a TFSA are similar to the investments allowed in an RRSP. You can carry forward any unused contribution from previous years.

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If you’re interested in handing over your tax preparation to Mark, email queries@backspin.biz or visit www.backspin.biz for more info. And remember to use your Backspin coupon from your Production Heads Coupon Book!

-Written by Patricia Cullen with special thanks to Mark Yoshihara of Backspin for his time & expertise.

[Photo Credit: alancleaver]

ANNOUCEMENT: BC Tax Credits for Film and Interactive Digital Media

Kenji Maeda — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 03:47:07 +0000

Yesterday we wrote about the recent call out from the NDP and Shawn Williamson of Brightlight Pictures to the provincial government to do something to keep the BC Film industry competitive.

Today Finance Minister Colin Hansen announced a proposal to make that happen. If it’s approved by the legislature this would help to compete with the provinces, like Ontario, where their tax credits won over productions that were once aimed to come to BC.

Here are the specific proposals taken from their news release:

Subject to approval by the legislature, the planned tax measures include:

New BC Interactive Digital Media tax credit for video game development of 17.5 per cent of qualifying B.C. labour costs.

Production Services Tax Credit on labour costs for foreign productions increased to 33 per cent from 25 per cent.

Digital Animation or Visual Effects tax credit bonus increased to 17.5 per cent from 15 per cent.

Qualified B.C. labour expenditures cap increased to 60 per cent from 48 per cent of production costs.

If all goes as planned, film tax credits will be available for productions with the principal photography start date after Feb 28 2010. The BC Interactive Digital Media tax credit will being after Aug 31 2010.

So the question is… will this tax credit be enough to boost up our industry? I guess we’ll see.

The state of BC’s film industry

Kenji Maeda — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 09:31:34 +0000

Back in November members of Vancouver’s film industry gathered to discuss many of issues about the state of our local industry and the impact tax credits and the olympics would have (Read our coverage of the event). A few months later and the olympics around the corner means that many projects are hitting pause on their productions for a major portion of this month.

This past Sunday, MLAs of the BC NDP, including Carol James (leader) and Spencer Herbert (arts and tourism critic) along with Shawn Williamson of Brightlight Pictures got together to send a message that the provincial government needs to take action to help save the BC film industry from wasting away.

In the realm of tax credits, we’re competing with Ontario and Quebec. Both provinces increased and expanded their tax credit program. CTV reports:

While B.C. and Ontario offer the same 35 per cent basic labour expenditure tax credit, that’s where the bulk of benefits end for projects in the Pacific Province. But in Ontario productions can also write off studio rentals, sound equipment and more – and the difference could be a deal breaker.

Back during The Insiders event in November, Shawn Williamson of Brightlight Pictures expressed his thoughts on how Ontario and BC view our industry in a different light. Ontario approaches the Film/TV industry as revenue whereas BC seems to view it as subsidy.

The Province reported this week:

Shawn Williamson, a co-owner of Brightlight Pictures, called the situation “serious.” “For the last five years, we always beat Ontario [in attracting work],” said Williamson. “Now we’re seeing quite a significant loss over the last seven months,” he said. “We need a level playing field in some way.” Williamson acknowledged there have been discussions about the situation with the provincial government. “We’re told something is imminent but we’ve been told something is imminent for months,” said Williamson.

We won’t really know until March 2 what help the provincial government will provide to ensure our province can compete with others – that’s when the new budget will be unveiled. But we do know what the BC Finance Ministry is not willing to do: “we’re not prepared to match Ontario’s tax credit.”

Check out these links for coverage:

Straight – NDP and B.C. film industry call for better tax credits
The Province – NDP seeks more aid for film industry
CTV – (includes video) Film productions opting for Ontario over B.C.