Art Directors Guild suspends training and job placement program

The Art Directors Guild has suspended its production design initiative for the year as 75% of IATSE local members remain unemployed more than six months after the end of last year’s Hollywood strikes.

“We cannot in good conscience encourage you to practice our profession while so many of our members remain unemployed,” said a memo sent to potential applicants for the program, which provides training and job placement opportunities to aspiring tradespeople.

In the memo, which was first published by IndieWire and can be read in full below, the ADG cited the “serious decline in current employment opportunities for our members” as the reason for suspending the program, which places applicants seeking a foothold in production design Work as assistants on films, TV shows, commercials, live events and theme parks, among others.

“Currently, more than 75% of our members are unemployed and many have not been working for 18 months or longer,” the memo continued. “Given this situation, we cannot in good conscience encourage you to practice our profession while so many of our members remain unemployed.”

Insiders at IATSE have told TheWrap that a significant number of below-the-line entertainment union members have not found employment since the Writers Guild of America strike in early May 2023.

Members expressed concern that the lack of unemployment is leading to a talent drain in Hollywood, as workers in various below-the-line professions seek work in other areas as the strikes have depleted their financial reserves and made it impossible to keep up with costs to keep them living in Los Angeles and other cities that serve as major manufacturing centers.

Before the strike, productions began to dry up as studios anticipated a work stoppage, and in the months after it ended last November, jobs were slow to return as studios significantly reduced their production spending to make their streaming services profitable .

“We hope this is a temporary situation and we intend to restart the PD initiative in 2025,” the memo said, encouraging applicants to continue developing their portfolios and continuing to network with potential employers .

The PDI suspension also comes at a time when IATSE is in the most critical phase of its contract negotiations with Hollywood studios. By April, the 13 West Coast IATSE locals, including ADG, met with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) to discuss craft-specific issues in the contract.

Now IATSE is negotiating key contract issues, including contributions to the film industry’s health and pension plan, which expects a $670 million deficit by 2027 due to the decline in production. Other important topics such as wages, turnarounds and regulations on the use of artificial intelligence will also be on the agenda.

TheWrap has reached out to the Art Directors Guild for further comment.

Read the full memo below:

Dear PDI applicants,

Due to historical and unprecedented circumstances in the entertainment industry, we must suspend review of all PDI applications for the 2024 calendar year. We are aware that this decision will come as a surprise and disappointment to many.

Since COVID, our industry has been in a state of historic change and evolution. The reason for our decision to suspend the 2024 PD Initiative is the severe decline in current employment opportunities for our members, both in North America and globally. Currently, more than 75% of our members are unemployed and many have been out of work for 18 months or longer.

Due to these circumstances, there are currently even fewer employment opportunities in the entertainment industry.

Given this situation, we cannot in good conscience encourage you to practice our profession while so many of our members remain unemployed. There are several reasons for this: the strikes in 2023, the ongoing collective bargaining in 2024 and a unique generational shift in the entertainment industry that is looking for new business models to manage the creation and distribution of content. We hope this is a temporary situation and intend to restart the PD initiative in 2025. At this time, you may reapply if you remain interested.

In the meantime, we encourage you to work on your portfolios and training your work skills. This decision also does not prevent you from contacting current and future productions and their designers directly if you see an opportunity for employment as a production assistant in their artistic departments.

Most importantly, stay informed and continue to expand your personal networks. We are discussing hosting a webinar for our PDI community and also for you to provide an overview of our current situation and its future trends. We will let you know as soon as we have a confirmed schedule, date and designer panelists.

Best regards,

The ADG PDI leadership team