Foley artists sound out SAG on joining

Efforts made to achieve recognition for nonvisual performers

By DAVE MCNARY

A group of about 80 Foley artists has petitioned the Screen Actors Guild's national board for inclusion as guild members and warned that AFTRA already has indicated it will be willing to expand its jurisdiction to include the sound-performance specialists.

The move is the culmination of a decade of efforts by Foley artists -- who provide nonvisual performance sounds such as footsteps -- to achieve recognition under a collective bargaining agreement. The group claims its members earn combined yearly income of more than $6.5 million, which means most members would easily meet qualifications for pension and health benefits.

Seeking protections

"There is such a mish-mosh of how we work currently, so we want to make sure that we have built-in protections," said Robin Harlan, chair of the United Foley Artists Assn. "The UFAA as part of SAG will more than pay for itself, with enough left over to benefit the rest of the SAG membership."

Harlan also said inclusion would end the practice of Foley artists being coerced into performing work that should be covered by the voiceover or ADR portions of the SAG contract.

The national board spurned a similar request by UFAA for representation last year. Since then, the group has lobbied SAG board members and elicited interest for affiliation from AFTRA and several other unions.