A group of between eighty and ninety extras attended the recording of the song, the series produced by Buendía Estudios in collaboration with Movistar Plus+, about Spain’s first victory in Eurovision. All they knew was that it was a period shoot, and that long hair and beards were not allowed. When they arrived at the location, they found a surprise: several of them were told that “they were going to be scanned, without specifying the reason.” The agency that had hired them, Penelope, had not informed them that the day would include this practice.
“We opposed it because we had not been informed,” a member of the Professional Association of Performing Actors (APAF), who was present at the failed call, and who has issued a statement on the matter, tells this newspaper. “It was the first time there was such a break in filming,” he adds, which meant that 80% of those mentioned opposed it.
The fiction team explained to them that the objective of the scanner was to “fill seats, with their modified figures, within an auditorium.” An action that, until then, was known as “layering.” That is, placing a portion of the people necessary to fill a space in a specific location, filming them, changing them to another, having them put on different postures and carrying out different actions such as applauding or standing up, and recording them again. “As if they were shuffling us, and then composing it in editing,” explains the vocalist.
“Before, a recording like this was equivalent to a day’s work, which now they want to save by scanning,” the Association argues. In turn, they describe that the technology used for this is “a kind of platform that you get on, which goes around and takes different profiles through a reader. They ask you for movements to take the image from there and be able to transform it later as they want.” And it is not something new, they recognize that it is a practice to which they have been subjected for two years, but always with prior notice.
As they are the agencies through which the contracts are made – here Penélope –, they are the ones who “detail what is going to happen”, based on the agreement they have reached with the production companies – in this case Buendía Estudios – of the projects.
The team of the song tried to rectify the situation. The first to intervene were the director’s colleagues. “They tried to convince us to do it,” says the member. The next was the production manager, who asked them to agree, since “they had brought the machine” with which the scanner is made, with its consequent cost, claiming that the auditorium in which they were going to film was “very large.” and that was the best option to carry it out – for them. The extras insisted: “They have not notified us and we do not agree.” From there a negotiation process began.
They tried to convince us to do it. We told them that they had not notified us and that we did not agree
Professional Association of Figurative Actors
In the meantime, the Penelope agency sent them a message on WhatsApp, asking for forgiveness for what happened. “Excuse me for not notifying that there would be a scan today,” they wrote in the chat to which elDiario.es has had access. The figuration, as specified in the statement issued by the APAF, demanded two conditions: a document in which the production company committed to using the digitized images only in that project (which included financial compensation in case of non-compliance), and the corresponding economic compensation. “They never gave us a written proposal or a commitment agreement,” he laments.
“They tell me that you don’t want to do it because you think your image is going to be used for something else. Please, this is only for this series. It’s not going to be used on anything else. I beg you please to do it. Thank you very much,” was the rest of the explanations that the workers received in this regard. Next, the production manager’s response was to offer them “’special appearance’ status,” which translated, as the member explains, into “between 15 and 20 euros more” than what was initially stipulated. “With the scan they want to save that day of work,” he insists. “It wasn’t worth it,” he shares. Beyond this situation, the filming day continued as planned. “We continued filming without the scanner,” says the member, “and a large part came back the next day as well.”
This newspaper has contacted the Penélope agency, which hired those affected, from where they affirm that, “even if they were not notified, there are times when it has been done anyway.” “Sometimes they are notified, sometimes it is at the last minute, or even on the same day,” they explain, ensuring that it was made clear that “they were guaranteed that their image would be used only in that series.” elDiario.es has also communicated with the production company Buendía Estudios, who recall that the contractual relationship of the acting actors depends on the acting agency, which is the one that “establishes the conditions regarding categories and rates, and the one that transfers the information in their representatives.”
“In this case there was an error by that company in communicating that this scanning procedure was going to be carried out that day. That same day the agency contacted them to explain the error,” the production company says. Likewise, they emphasize that the purpose of the scanning was “the construction of digital layers in the recreation of a mass of anonymous public in an auditorium and its use is limited exclusively to this project.” Buendía Estudios assesses that, during filming, the group of extras who opposed the practice “tried to impose as a condition an exorbitant rate for the standard rate.”
There was an error by the representation agency when communicating that this scanning procedure was going to be carried out that day. He contacted them to explain the error.
Buendía Studios
— Producer of the series ‘The Song’
From APAF, while working on “making a new agreement with specifications,” they describe that, currently, “a series of categories have been stipulated, which are not included anywhere,” which determine their rates. The ‘special’ refers to “when you do a skill, like carrying a tray.” There is also the ‘acting with silent acting’, “for when you shake hands with an actor, give a hug or even are in an explosion”; Then it becomes part of the acting agreement, in which the next step stipulates a “maximum of two lines, sixty characters.”
The risks of letting yourself be scanned
The implementation of AI is one of the great concerns of the audiovisual sector. The lack of regulation and protection against it was one of the demands of the writers’ strike that paralyzed Hollywood for 148 days in 2023. In fact, the negotiations on this matter were one of the great victories of the agreement they achieved. Their protests were extended to our country, and are affecting other areas such as literature, translation, video games and illustration.
The use of the scanner in filming has opened debate, again due to the lack of regulation. “It is a personal option, anyone is free to ask for a scan and compensation,” says the APAF member, although he particularly states: “I am not for the work. It is bread for today and hunger for tomorrow.” He also believes that it is not a practice that compensates the agencies themselves either. “For them it would also be losing their job,” he argues.
The other problematic point that the Association identifies is mistrust regarding the use of its scanned images. “You don’t know where you may end up tomorrow. You are a puppet on a stage, in a western town, whose costume and hair color are changed, you are in the background, you cannot be seen. How could you check it? It’s impossible,” he says.
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