Let's say you have a simple "talking heads" scene with an adult and a child that will film on a Saturday or Sunday.
I'm curious about the basics. I know there are rules & requirements when working with minors. I know hours are limited and studio teachers may be required but that's it. No specifics.
What is required by production? OR Does anyone have suggestions where to look?
Thx!
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I don't know about the US but two years ago we had a short film where we needed two kids in it. Our AD asked in their board game chat group if there were any parents who would volunteer their kids for a couple of hours and there was this really cool family who stepped up.
I told them that we would need the kinds for two scenes and it would take about two hours on each location. They asked the kids and they were cool with it, so we just planned as short as possible for the kids and shot with them at the end of one location and then moved to the new location and shot there. It all took only about four hours and the kids were really great!
The only down side was that the second location was shot later at night and the smaller kid fell asleep and we had to wake him up to shoot, but we got everything in two takes.
Everyone was psyched especially the parents. :)
All we did was have them sign a release form and that's it.
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I worked on a short film featuring a child actor. The kid was a SAG union member, and the mother is his manager. It was a 12hr day for crew and I think child & Mom arrived after lunch. He was on-set for at least 6-hours, waited in a private room in-between camera set-ups. Production had workers comp insurance and a SAG waiver of some sort; also paid for an Uber to take child & Mom home.
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@Landis Stokes At least in California, you must have a studio teacher, and the minor's hours are dictated by law; including limited time on set and required instruction with the teacher regardless of whether it is a school day or not. It is also a felony to breach these regulations.
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Thank you Vital Butinar. Happy that worked out! Yeah... Shadow Dragu-Mihai, Esq., Ipg I know California is strict and that sounds about right. (Years ago, I almost worked a network show featuring kids and I remember the coordinator being stoked for shorter days and limited filming.) Dan MaxXx I HAVE heard that if the child is not on set working, they're supposed to be "in class". Thanks.
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Landis Stokes The easiest thing is to get a qualified studio teacher on board. They know the rules and should be up to the minute on anything that's changed.
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Start with the union labor laws in your state - simple check here: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/state/child-labor
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If it's non-union, just be open with the mother and plan out a schedule that works for them. That's pretty much all I did with my first feature. The mother actually got so involved with the project that she helped with distribution contacts.
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Jacob Whitley Good advice to speak with the parents. However, studio teachers and limited hours/activity on set are a legal requirement regardless of union status.
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I appreciate all of this. I reached out to SAG/AFTRA and they simply replied, "If it's a non-union production, we have no jurisdiction over it." (sigh...) I was hoping they'd lay out what THEIR actual rules are. *At this point, I'm just curious. So... I emailed them again. Great advice @ShadowDragu-Mihai and @JacobWhitley. Thank you @CherelynnBaker for the link.
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Landis Stokes ...there is one other angle - just ask some moms. 1. Ask the child actor's stage mom, what does she want/expect for her child on the shoot. 2. Ask the same question to another stage mom and compare - find a middle ground that meets the needs of the child actor, the stage mom, your budget and schedule. You got this!
Those can be hard shoots, no matter the legal pratfall's. You'll have to have a parent/guardian on set and your young actors will tend to look toward them for approval - eyeline control can become problematical.
@Shadow If you do it as a "student film" you have a lot more flexibility.
Also, how do you tag someone in a post?
@Jacob Whitley If you mean by "student film" a bunch of friends who pull out a camera for an amateur production - they are under the radar but in California at least the law still applies. Specific rules are different from state to state, but it's illegal for a parent to let their child work on a film set without a permit in California. Now indie filmmakers do it all the time without following the rules, but they risk getting caught, and in this case it's very bad for them and the parents if they do. It's really not hard to follow the law. So the reticence of new or low budget filmmakers to want to skirt the law isn't really understandable. They may feel entitled, but that doesn't mean they are.