25. First Nations. Dragon Age, Mass Effect, all around nerd. She/They. For more frequent Supernatural (the show, not actually supernatural/paranormal posts) related posts see my sideblog heller-in-hell.
Right now, you have to be a team player. You cannot complain about AI being used to fuck over your industry and then turn around and use it on somebody else’s industry.
No AI book covers. No making funny little videos using deepfakes to make an actor say stuff they never did. No AI translation of your book. No AI audiobooks. No AI generated moodboards or fancasts or any of that shit. No feeding someone else’s unfinished work into Chat GPT “because you just want to know how it ends*” (what the fuck is wrong with you?). No playing around with AI generated 3D assets you can’t ascertain the origin of. None of it. And stop using AI filters on your selfies or ESPECIALLY using AI on somebody else’s photo or artwork.
We are at a crossroad and at a time of historically shitty conditions for working artists across ALL creative fields, and we gotta stick together. And you know what? Not only is standing up for other artists against exploitation and theft the morally correct thing to do, it’s also the professionally smartest thing to do, too. Because the corporations will fuck you over too, and then they do it’s your peers that will hold you up. And we have a long memory.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking “your peers” are only the people in your own industry. Writers can’t succeed without artists, editors, translators, etc making their books a reality. Illustrators depend on writers and editors for work. Video creators co-exist with voice actors and animators and people who do 3D rendering etc. If you piss off everyone else but the ones who do the exact same job you do, congratulations! You’ve just sunk your career.
Always remember: the artists who succeed in this career path, the ones who get hired or are sought after for commissions or collaboration, they aren’t the super talented “fuck you I got mine” types. They’re the one who show up to do the work and are easy to get along with.
And they especially are not scabs.
*that’s not even how it ends that’s a statistically likely and creatively boring way for it to end. Why would you even want to read that.
It’s already happening. Like guys I cannot emphasize this enough the studios are going to make content creators the deal of a lifetime because they have a void to fill and those content creators will then be on the do not work list for the rest of their professional lives.
everyone’s talking about how “prev tags” is an integral part of how people use the site and now the update’s ruined it and blah blah blah, but you can’t fool me! I remember back when everyone was griping about how it’s a degenerate innovation from twitter migrants and that real tumblr users write out the tags themselves
Some of you might remember a couple of years ago when Scarlett Johansson sued Disney because she was making significantly less money for Black Widow than was guaranteed in her contract because so many more people watched it on streaming than in theaters, how there was a massive misinformation campaign from Disney that a ton of people on this website (and Twitter and other social media) bought into: that she was a greedy bitch who didn’t respect people who needed to stay at home during the pandemic (I believe the word “ableist” was thrown around with aplomb) as opposed to someone who just wanted to be paid what she was owed, what Disney had initially guaranteed her when they signed the contract, and whose issue obviously wasn’t with streaming itself but with how little streaming was allowed to get away with paying her and other actors.
Anyway we’re going to see a lot of that from studios now, especially now that actors have joined the strike and it’s easier to sell them as rich and greedy than writers, because of this cultural stereotype we have of all Hollywood actors as celebrities. Don’t fall for it. SAG-AFTRA represents people like Tom Cruise and ScarJo but it also represents the kind of people who played a Borg in two episodes of Star Trek: Voyager in 1997 or who had one line in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel as an enthusiastic audience member. Most actors are not crazy wealthy, and in fact, if you’re a big TV fan (especially older TV and genre TV) that likely includes some actor names that you know, who played supporting roles in your fav shows, or who were even a star in something decades ago but haven’t done anything major since. The AFTRA side also represents people like radio broadcasters. But even beside that, all workers deserve to be fairly compensated for the work they do, and the threat of replacing them with AI, or real actors being required to sign contracts to allow their likenesses to be used by AI forever without paying them, is an existential threat to acting as a profession in general. The actors are in the right. The writers are in the right. The studios are in the wrong. The studios have exploited new technology to get away with horrifying labor practices for years and their feet need to be put to the fire. Circulate the articles about how poorly the Orange is the New Black cast was compensated for making one of the defining shows of the early streaming boom, and of the studios saying they want to force writers to starve and lose their homes. Don’t get distracted by propaganda aping progressive-sounding language about wealthy celebrities. Focus on the real enemy, the real greedy, rich assholes who care more about money than people and art: the studios.
In case you missed it, SAG-AFTRA just finished up a press conference where they talked to union members and the press about what’s up.
Here are the big things (that I remember):
The deadline extension from June 30 to July 12 was made in good faith on SAG-AFTRA’s part. They thought the AMPTP would utilize the extra time to come to the table with a fair deal. They did not. It is suspected that they wanted the extension to have more time to promote their summer blockbusters.
The studios wanted to be able to have AI scans of background actors. These actors would be paid once, and then the studios would be able to keep the actors’ likeness, use the data for eternity without the actors’ consent, and never pay them again. Keep in mind that only two percent of SAG-AFTRA members are big names. This proposal would’ve affected the other ninety-eight percent of members, many of whom are living paycheck to paycheck at the moment.
The AMPTP tried to turn union membership against Fran Drescher (current union president) by circulating a picture of her “living it up” in Italy with Kim Kardashian. This was a work obligation on Drescher’s part. She’s a brand ambassador for a fashion line, and whenever she wasn’t on set, she was working with the negotiation committee via Zoom and text.
The video that was sent out to union members on June 28, in which they were told that the negotiations were going well, was filmed before the negotiations got to the core issues – AI, residuals, etc.
The AMPTP’s deal was “disrespectful and egregious.”
The other labor unions in the industry stand in solidarity with each other.
Fran Drescher called the AMPTP’s plan to wait out the WGA until they were homeless “unnecessary evil.”
While SAG-AFTRA is open to returning to the negotiating table at any time, leadership was signaled that the AMPTP was not interested; they believe the strike could last for a while.
Pour one out for all the stories you’ll never find again, that you barely remember in totality, but that left an impression on you that you’ll never forget.
The short stories from standardized tests that you only had a few minutes to read, but those minutes will last a lifetime.
The books on the library display shelf you used to occupy time until your mom could come pick you up from school.
The graphic novel you picked up when you were first getting into comics and could never find again.
The single lines or themes from stories you otherwise don’t remember, save for the one thing that you saw and internalized as a new part of your personality.
Let’s pour one out for the books that built us, even if we never could find them again, and couldn’t of we wanted to.
“#if anyone wasnt clear this was exactly the goal #refusing to talk about Harry Potter and making it irrelevant and making her BANKRUPT #I dont care how good of an artist you are. Im unfollowing you if you post harry potter #and blocking you for a hogwarts house in your bio #consider changing harry potter themed urls too #with your help. we can drop her profits completely”]
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