The Directors Guild of America has secured a provision in its new contract that limits actors and others who work on TV series from directing episodes, as it seeks to preserve jobs for career TV directors.
The provision is meant to address the 40% downturn in production jobs over the last four years, which has left a great many of the union’s 19,500 members out of work.
The DGA reached its tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers on Tuesday. The terms — released on Friday — also include other provisions meant to protect members’ jobs, as well as increases in contributions to the health fund and in residuals, and new provisions on artificial intelligence.
According to a summary provided by the union, the contract “seeks to preserve valuable episodic directing slots for career directors by limiting the number of episodes that can be directed by those who have no track record in directing and are already employed in other capacities on a scripted series.”
A case in point might be Noah Wyle, the star of “The Pitt” who directed an episode in its second season, though Wyle has previously directed on other shows. The provision is intended to support career directors, while still allowing those who are serious about building directing careers to continue to work.
The DGA has also been focused on making sure that its members are allowed to work on U.S. productions that go overseas. Under the deal, the studios and the union will task a committee with studying the application of the DGA contract outside North America.
The union has been focused on lobbying for a federal tax incentive to help bring productions back from overseas. Under the terms, the studios have agreed to have their top executives — and not just the Motion Picture Association — participate in that lobbying.
The deal also includes updated provisions on AI, including a stipulation that all footage generated by AI will remain under a director’s control. The deal also includes provisions mandating notice of any AI training and transparency about the use of AI, which closely resemble terms won by the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA. The contract also includes a new employer-funded program to help directors build their AI skills.
Studios agreed to pay higher contributions to the health plan, in keeping with the pace of health inflation, and to raise the cap on wages subject to contributions.
The deal also requires the DGA to scale back benefits in certain respects, such as by imposing monthly premiums. The full changes to the health plan will be made later on by the trustees of the plan. Earlier this year, the WGA similarly agreed to significant increases in costs to members as the price of a substantial increase in employer contributions.
The four-year contract must still be ratified by the membership.