118. Commercial Outgrade

Tiwana Floyd shares four instances where she experienced being outgraded from  commercial. She delves into what she believes to be the cause of each out grade. How she felt when she received the news. And how she nurtures her mental health when outgrades happen. 

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Transcript

0:00 Welcome back to Acting Lessons Learned; I'm Tiwana Floyd. Today I'll be talking about the commercial outgrade, but before I go into the definition of the commercial outgrade, allow me to take the scenic route toward sharing my past and most recent experience of the commercial outgrade.

Are you familiar with the proverb, don't count your chickens before they hatch? The expression means that one should not assume victory until it actually occurs, that one should not count on income before it is safely in the bank, that one should not assume he will receive a gift until it is in his hands. 

This aphorism should be the mantra for all actors each time we hear, we've booked a job. Actually, the mantra should be: "Only count your chickens when they hatch." Because there is no guarantee we will make the final cut of any project we work on. 

We can easily be left on the editing room floor, or they don't use the bin of an editing program. 

Sometimes we are edited out because our talent missed the mark. Sometimes, a technical difficulty during the shoot couldn't be fixed in post. Sometimes someone in production doesn't like us because we remind them of their ex, or we advocated for ourselves when someone in the crew was being shitty to us, and now they get to retaliate by removing us from the edit. Or sometimes we were too talented and made the star's performance look weak. These are all real scenarios that my actor friends and I have experienced. When an actor doesn't make the cut, it sucks. I'm serious. Like a literal gut punch causing you to drop to your knees as you gasp to retrieve the air that left your body. While all the expectations you envisioned for this booking deteriorate into dust blown away by the wind like Marvel's Endgame. 

We work so hard on our craft. Well...some of us, Shade, no Shade. Okay, Shade. But for those who do work hard, our actor journey is tenuous, riddled with uncertainty, and requires a lot of front-loaded labor, time, rejection, and effort before we see any payday. 

We cautiously trek the arduous landmine road toward becoming working actors, trying not to offend anyone along the way who could "Black list" us. We spend a lot of time in analysis paralysis, indecisive about our next step because there is no blueprint, in Hollywood. We have to ration every dollar, spending wisely as determine what will yield the highest ROI. 

We metaphorically eat shit from people who treat actors like second-class citizens, hitting proverbial and literal walls striving to be our best. We go to set, have the time of our lives, then wait weeks, months, and sometimes years before we book the next role. 

So when we finally book something, before it airs, we are like town criers running through the streets shouting "Hear ye, Hear ye" I'm #BOOKED Screaming gleefully from the mountaintop. Booked at Last, Booked at Last. Thank GOD ALMIGHTY, I am BOOKED AT LAST. And then the project makes its debut, and we are nowhere to be seen, thinking, there must be another cut. Maybe I'm in the next episode. There is another cut right. Only to learn, nope! there is no other cut. We were edited out. 

Can we take a moment of silence for all those jobs we booked where our work never made the light of day? (sigh) It's gravely disappointing seeing the final project, and I'm. not. in. it. It cuts deeper when my friends and family call to say "Hey, we watched but we didn't see you. Did we miss it?" because I prematurely told them I booked a job to assuage their concerns that I haven't thrown my entire life away on a pipe dream. The worst is having charged items to my credit card, expecting a big payday from my booking. The things I've been wanting but didn't have the money for because I sequestered my money to pay for countless classes, headshots and living expenses.

Being left on the cutting room floor happens more often than not. And we don't talk about it enough. I guess, primarily out of shame. Shame that we weren't good enough. Shame that our peers will heckle us. I have yet to meet a working actor who ridicules another actor for being edited out of a cut. Working actors know what it feels like to be edited out and we support each other when we learn our friends didn't make the cut. 

But when it's your first time being edited out of a cut, you don't know how to process it. Or at least I'll speak for myself. 

Let me take you back to my ground zero. My first time not making the cut. Where I learned only to publicize jobs I work after they've aired. It was the late 90's. I was hired as one of the beautiful Black youths to be a lounge patron in Madonna's "Secret" Music Video. I feel like somebody is saying Dayum, Tiwana, the '90s. Yeah. I've been doing this for a long time, don't judge me. Anyway. We shot that music video in Harlem at the renowned now-defunct Lennox Lounge. I was chosen to sit for a very intimate moment in the lounge where Madonna sings on stage. The camera was all up in my face, tight close-ups, multiple angles as I watched madonna lip-synch "Things haven't been the same, since you came into my Life" (if you weren't aware, the artists lip-synch in music videos) 

Once I was wrapped, I was thrilled to be in a Madonna video. You can imagine how big that was in the 90s when Madonna was at the top of her game. I was going to be one of those artsy youths you'd see in her music videos with the avante-garde hairstyle looking all modelish. 

I told my entire block. I'm going to be in a Madonna video. You know I'mma be in a Madonna video, right. She was right there; I could touch her. This opportunity was going to do something for my music video career, which is laughable. What even is a music video career when you're not the artist? But, I envisioned being heavily sought out for all types of on-air jobs. I also relied on this Madonna feature to redeem my half-visible appearance in LL Cool J's "Around the way girl." 

Do you remember when MTV would do these elaborate music video premieres? Akin to when Beyonce new video drops of today. I believe it began with Michael Jackson's "Thriller." There was a big MTv premiere for Madonna's "Secret." It was massive. I watched the premiere, and I was nowhere to be found. You see Madonna in the lounge, but I didn't make the edit. I was deeply disappointed. Thoroughly embarrassed. It never crossed my mind the possibility that I would not make the cut. How could I know? I knew nothing about filmmaking and editing.

My friends didn't even ask about it. Not because they were trying to spare my feelings, I don't think they cared about anything, Madonna. But from that experience, I stopped telling people what I book when I booked something. Now I wait for someone to say, "Hey, did I see you in fill in the blank, which feels more rewarding because I often forget about the booking. And I try to wait for whatever it is to air before I spend the money. When the check has cleared in my account, still, I'm not always successful in waiting on my hatched eggs.

Now on to the topic at hand

Here is SAG-AFTRA's definition of the Commercial Outgrade. 

If a principal performer's photography or soundtrack is completely edited out of the final version of the commercial, the performer must be notified of the outgrade. The notification must be made within 60 days after the completion of employment but in no event later than 15 business days after the first use of the commercial. No additional fees or residuals are paid to an outgraded performer. Adversely there is the 

Commercial Downgrade which SAG-AFTRA states: A principal performer is entitled to residuals and may not be downgraded as long as his/her face appears in the commercial. If his/her face does not appear but his/her performance otherwise remains, the performer must be notified of a downgrade and paid a downgrade fee. A downgrade fee is not less than a session fee. Thereafter, the performer will not receive residual payments.

My first commercial outgrade occurred in a succession of three. (quiet) I'm checking in to see if I'm still affected by that three-strike impact. No. I'm okay. It occurred in 2012. I've since booked many more commercials to wipe that slate clean. 

But when I was out graded. 3x, back-to-back, I questioned my entire future in acting. I almost threw in the towel on it all. I was too ashamed to ask other actors about being out graded for fear they would think I was an unskilled actor. I victimized myself, causing great tumult and distress. There were lots of tears and feelings of unworthiness. Never once did I consider this had to have happened to someone else. 

1.

My first out grade was for a national spot for a telecommunications giant paying overscale. During the shoot, I remember watching the two other principles thinking about how seamless and confident they appeared while performing. One gentleman was a wise improviser. He continuously offered the director thoughtful yet slightly humorous interpretations. The more I watched him, the more nervous I became about shooting my scene. The scene was of me working on a tablet. Lo and behold, when it came to shooting my scene, I felt self-conscious. Not in my body. To add insult to injury, they made a last-minute decision to film me sitting outside. Because my glasses had transition lenses, my lenses were dark from the sun's UV rays. And they needed to see my eyes. I should've brought my other glasses, I thought. But they didn't inform me we'd be shooting outside. I was getting in my head. Finally, when I was asked to remove my glasses, I was squinting uncontrollably from the glare of the sun hitting the tablet's screen. All of this made my performance suffer. I wasn't as skilled then as I am now. I was easily distracted and cared too much about what they thought of me. And I definitely didn't feel confident speaking up for myself. I had all these "what actors shouldn't do" myths in my head. I had become overstimulated and felt like the director, and the DP were judging me. They shot me quickly and then moved on to the next scene. I figured they'd gotten at least a few seconds needed to add me to the commercial. I'll never know the cause, but I received an outgrade letter 15 days before they aired it. 

2.

The second outgrade was a national spot for a women's incontinence pad. This one stung a bit because I had to get over the idea of lending my image to something so personal that I wasn't experiencing. On the day of the shoot, I had an erupted dry scabbed pimple on my nose that defied makeup. I wondered if they could use my performance, but I understood why it couldn't happen. My scenes were all close-ups, as this was a testimonial-style commercial. But the day of the shoot was lovely. A female director helmed it. There were five female principals, and one lady was flown in from NY, which at the time struck me curious as to why they had chosen to fly in one woman from NY when the other four were based in LA. I could only assume that the NY woman was a friend of the producer or director or that her NY credits would lend to the engagement of the commercial. It's all speculation. Nonetheless, I received an outgrade letter.

3.

The third commercial outgrade was also a national spot but for a major soft drink brand. Before this booking, I was invited straight to callback auditions. I had a blast in the room and received the news that I had booked the commercial. I believe that same day. 

We were asked to improvise in the room. There was no script and very little information surrounding the project. I am trying to remember if we signed an NDA. I recall it was all very hush-hush. It wasn't until the day of the shoot that I learned a notable comedic celebrity was attached. The director was also a big deal. Known for a popular HBO comedy show at that time. There were eleven principals—and possibly around 60 extras. And we shot on a Studio Lot. If you don't know what that means, studio lots are enormous, the size of football stadiums, some even larger. So this was a massive production with a lot of money behind it.

I wasn't mentally prepared for what I was about to encounter. And this would be a lesson learned in not only knowing how but remembering to ground my being when my world turns upside down. Now keep in mind I had just booked three national commercials within weeks of each other. I was hot, in air quotes, as folks say. Admittedly, I had an air of cockiness about me. I was feeling myself. And this soft drink commercial presented a slice of bitter humble pie that I did not want to eat. 

Before we began shooting, I was irritated that there were so many principal actors that I didn't know the logistics of what was happening in the commercial and that the lead woman was not me. It was too much to process, and I was disoriented by how fast the information and realizations came at me.

My ego had just been chin checked. She was on the ground, passed out with a chirping bird halo, and x's on her eyes. And what pushed me off the plank into the deepest part of my downward spiral was the lead woman was equally as beautiful and unpretentiously kind. Her aura was incandescent, and she shared her light with everyone she spoke to, including me. And here I was in such a dysmorphic state of confusion, short-circuiting, splaying unappealing dim greenish flickers of light, I couldn't accept the radiance she offered me. 

When it was time for me to shoot, I could NOT psychologically get back on solid ground. My negative energy caused everything to work against me. The camera was so far away that I couldn't feel the lens in my peripherals. I couldn't hear the word action from down the block. The director and 1st A.D. worked diligently to get me to hit my mark on cue. I couldn't hear the other actors' lines for my cue. I had become increasingly frustrated, which diminished my ability to hear or feel, and my performance suffered. I was no longer the girl in the audition room zinging witty bits. I was outside of myself watching this scenario in time-lapsed speed. 

I was too exasperated, again over-stimulated by all of the machinations. I knew I hadn't delivered the goods when the director looked at me, masking disappointment while shouting moving on! I knew I had blown my chance. And again. I hoped they had secured at least one usable take of me. I don't know if they were able to get my shot clean. I know I was out graded this time, along with a few other actors. Still, I cried tears of despair. I was frustrated with myself when I received the news and questioned how I became so discombobulated on the day.

In retrospect, I now have a deeper grasp of storytelling, comedy writing, and editing. This soft-drink spot had one too many storylines. And they probably cut it down to bare bones based on their budget. But I will never know. And that's how it goes, like a death. We most times don't know the actual cause. We just mourn. 

Looking back on it now, I am utterly grateful for the humbling experience. It has been a lesson that taught me, Tiwana, some days you will be the focus of attention. On other days there will be someone more considered than you. It is okay. You are still valuable. That's why you were hired. 

Here are two pillars to take away from what I've learned.

1. Grounding myself when I'm overstimulated. Overstimulation happens to us all. I didn't know the term as a child, during my teen years, or most of my young adult life. But I've been experiencing overstimulation at every stage of my life, with no tools to calm my nervous system. Overstimulation is when we are swamped by more experiences, sensations, noise, and activity than we can cope with. It's a militaristic tortue tactic because it's so effective. I can now recognize I am overstimulated when I feel faint, or my hearing is going, or I can't comprehend what's being said to me. When I get to this point, I tell the person I'm speaking to to give me a minute, informing them that I'm over-stimulated. Or, I'll walk away momentarily. Or I'll put my earbuds in a listen to 428hz music. Or, at the bare minimum, I close my eyes and inhale four counts in, hold four counts, exhale four counts, and hold four counts. And once I've normalized my nervous system, I can participate effectively.
2. The second pillar. When there are a lot of principals on the set, the director is not committed to making sure every actor gets seen so that they can make the cut and earn residuals—the director's sole interest is getting the story told well. And if I want to make the cut, I have to offer exceptional performances to the director that excites them to request more from me. And it's my job to heighten my performance until we both exhaust all the options. And with that said, I have to insert myself into scenes when I feel the director may have forgotten about me. This lesson is one of my most significant success principles. Being a commercial actor is not easy. It's not just a look as some have ascribed. Being a commercial actor is being a collaborator in storytelling. That is the sole purpose of being an actor in every arena. And sometimes, we are off our game. And we have to extend ourselves grace when we are.

I choose grace no matter which position I'm in. I choose grace as my north star to stabilize my peace of mind. In Hollywood, I don't care who you are. You are hot until you're not and when you're not. The silence is deafening. But when you're gracious and live outside of the hype. You stay in alignment. And knowing this removes opportunities for the ego, which always expects to reign as prom queen, not to ruin experiences.

Now, let's come to the present day. The only national commercial I booked the last year, 2022, was out graded—just last Monday. 11 years since the Triple outgrade. If anything, the commercials never air. But I haven't been out graded since 2012. I received an email from my agency. The news didn't affect me the same as it did before. But, I had one thought that gave me a hot flash, causing my blood to boil. Was this retaliation? 

This was the same commercial I spoke about in episode 108, Scratch The Record." Where the wardrobe stylist crossed a boundary by pulling my clothes out of duffle my bag without consent, causing my LARQ water bottle to hit the cement floor like a hand grenade being tossed into the room. 

Where I respectfully stood my ground, advocating for myself, telling her she shouldn't go into people's bags. When it happened, I was afraid they would fire me on the spot. But that would be too obvious. And could make a strong statement for court proceedings. Instead, they can cut me out of the edit. 

When I received the news last Monday, I considered releasing my State Farm Insurance, thinking, why should I support a company that may have retaliated against me, affecting my livelihood? And in the next thought. I let it go. I wasn't going to curdle my blood over this situation. If it were retaliation, karma would meet them tenfold. I did a meditation session, wrote this episode, and now I move on, leaving this in the past. 

I wish no actor to experience a commercial outgrade, downgrade, or omission from any job we work. But the reality is it happens. And the only power we have in managing our expectations is Only counting our chicks once they've hatched. 

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