Paperwork & On-Set Compliance
Being a signatory is a promise you keep with documents. Cast contracts, daily time sheets, sign-in — the records you produce on set are how you prove you're following the rules, keep your actors paid correctly, and get your deposit back.
Welcome to Module 3 — actually running a compliant union shoot. Being a signatory isn't a one-time signature; it's an ongoing promise you keep, and you keep it on paper. The SAG-AFTRA paperwork you generate before and during the shoot is how you document that everyone was hired, paid, and treated according to the agreement. Do it well and everything's smooth (and your deposit comes back); do it sloppily and you invite disputes, penalties, and a stuck bond.
The core documents
Exhibit G: the one to know
Of all these, the Exhibit G (the daily time sheet) is the one to burn into your memory. Every shoot day, it records each performer's call time, meal breaks, and wrap. Those times drive everything on the money side: whether overtime kicked in, whether a meal penalty was incurred (Chapter 10), whether turnaround was honored. A production assistant or 2nd AD usually keeps it, performers sign off on their own times, and it goes to payroll to calculate what everyone's owed. Get the Exhibit G right daily and your payroll — and your compliance — takes care of itself. Get it wrong and every pay dispute traces back to it.
Why the paperwork actually matters
- It gets your actors paid correctly. Accurate contracts and time sheets are how payroll computes the right amount, including overtime and penalties.
- It's your proof of compliance. If anything's ever questioned, your records are the evidence you followed the agreement.
- It gets your deposit back. The refundable bond (Chapter 5) is released once payroll and paperwork are settled and clean.
- It prevents disputes. Signed times and terms mean there's nothing to argue about after the fact.
- It keeps you in good standing. A clean paper trail is what lets you (and your production company) work with the union again easily.
Make it somebody's job
The practical secret: assign the union paperwork to a specific person and don't let it be an afterthought. On bigger shoots that's a UPM/production coordinator with the 2nd AD keeping the Exhibit G; on a tiny shoot it might be you or a dedicated PA. Either way, name the owner, do the documents daily (never "we'll reconstruct it later"), and route everything to your payroll company promptly. Paperwork done in real time is a five-minute habit; paperwork reconstructed from memory after wrap is a nightmare — and often inaccurate.
I used to treat the Exhibit G as busywork the AD department fussed over. Then a performer questioned their pay weeks after wrap, and the only reason we resolved it in five minutes instead of a painful back-and-forth was that we had clean, signed daily time sheets showing exactly when they'd been called, broken, and wrapped. That day I became a believer. Now the union paperwork has a clear owner on every shoot, it's completed and signed daily, and it goes straight to payroll. It's the least glamorous part of producing and one of the most protective. Keep the records honestly and in real time, and the compliance — and your deposit — takes care of itself.
Paperwork proves you followed the rules — but what are the on-set rules it's tracking? Next chapter covers the working conditions themselves: hours, turnaround, meal penalties, and minors.
SAG-AFTRA runs on paperwork — agreements, cast contracts, Taft-Hartley reports, time sheets. The Contract Assistant helps you generate and track the right documents so nothing gets missed and you stay compliant.