Our guidelines have been consent, compensation and transparency: People should get paid for their work. If you’re going to use their voice, likeness or performance, they should get paid for that — they should be able to consent to that, And when they do consent, it should be on the basis of transparent information about what it is you intend to do. … You should have the same level of input and control of how you perceive your career [now] as you did before. Technology should not be an excuse to disenfranchise performers.
Ray Rodriguez
SAG-AFTRA Chief Contracts Officer
At 12:01 a.m. on July 26, SAG-AFTRA performers who work on video games went on strike against all major video games companies signed to the Interactive Media Agreement. The strike comes after more than 18 months of negotiations that have yet to produce a fair deal for members, especially regarding critical A.I. protections.
SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland talks about key issues at stake in the strike, including wage increases, safety concerns and expanded contract protections for motion capture performers. Interactive Media Agreement Negotiating Committee Chair Sarah Elmaleh, performer Seth Allyn Austin and SAG-AFTRA Chief Contracts Officer Ray Rodriguez join Crabtree-Ireland to talk about events leading up to the strike announcement, the necessity of A.I. protections for video game performers and A.I.’s impact on the industry.
To hear more from Elmaleh and the industry’s top game performers at our Comic-Con 2024 panel, Game Actors on Game Actors, revisit the podcast episode, “The Human Art Behind Game Performance: Comic-Con 2024.” A video replay is available at sagaftra.org/videos.
Other podcast episodes are available on the SAG-AFTRA podcast page. Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Overcast, Pocket Casts or TuneIn to listen to your favorite episodes on the go.
The views expressed by the guests are their own and not that of SAG-AFTRA. Any mention of products or services does not imply SAG-AFTRA’s endorsement.
Photo: Clockwise from left video game performer Seth Allyn Austin, SAG-AFTRA Interactive Media Agreement Negotiating Committee Chair Sarah Elmaleh, National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland and Chief Contracts Officer Ray Rodriguez.