Guild Updates and Initiatives
We are well into the flow of 2021, and the industry seems to be buzzing on all fronts. Here at the Guild, we are working away on several projects to support our members and the industry as a whole.
Brendon covers the latest update on the Letters of Non-Objection for international crew coming in to work on productions. Have a read of his article and let us know if you have any further questions around this process, and don’t forget to update your department roles on the website www.screenguild.co.nz.
We are in the final throes of the Working with Children guidelines under the ScreenSafe umbrella, and we will have this documentation available for the sector in the next month.
Marg Slater, who runs the Screen Skills workshops, will host a pilot program called “Set Ready Go.” The Guild has decided to work in collaboration with Screen Skills and support this program. It will be a 2-day workshop for newbies to the Screen Sector; we will be calling out for anyone new to the sector that would like to attend over the coming month.
The Professional Respect Training workshops are back up and running. We hosted one in Auckland on Friday 23rd April, and the next one is in Auckland on Friday 14th May. We would love to see some more of the crew HODs attend. This workshop focuses on sexual harassment prevention within the Screen Industry, but we also include information on bullying and harassment. Our goal with this training is to create awareness of respectful workplace culture and a new understanding of what it looks like in 2021.
Other projects that are underway include the Screen Sector rate card review. This is a big project, so it will take a few months to finalize. We would appreciate our HODs supporting this project to have a fair rate card guideline for the sector.
We are calling all Crew Reps! Over the next couple of months, you will see a call to all Crew Reps to attend a get-together to share some documentation and advice on taking this role when working on a production. This role is an essential key between producers and crew to have respectful communication and resolve any questions or issues that may arise on set daily. So if you have been a Crew Rep in the past or would like to step into this role, it would be great to have you along to offer you support from the Guild.
The Vista Foundation still offers all Screen Sector film crew five free counselling sessions for individual crew or family members. If you would like to have a counsellor's support, please contact Home and Family. Counselling is available from Mt Eden or Northcote centers. You will need your membership number and Home and Family to initiate counselling and assign a counsellor. Please note this is an entirely confidential process.
On a final note, we realize things are busy out there, so please take the time out when you can. It looks like it's not going to let up in a hurry, and we are in for a marathon, which for the sector is very positive. We can breathe a sigh of relief when the rest of the world is in a very different place.
And our heartfelt condolences to the families of Paul Richards and Paul Verrall, with the greatest of respect from your colleagues at the Guild.
