Animation Guild | We are 839 Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1538315
T H E L O C A L T H E L O C A L MEET YOUR TAG EXECUTIVE BOARD MARISSA BERNSTEL A rose by any other name is still a rose, except when it's an Animation Guild Story Editor. This is why TAG's Writers' Craft Committee (WCC) wants to change this title to Head Writer—to make sure members receive credit that's comparable across the entertainment industry. The term Story Editor is widely used by both TAG and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) as an onscreen credit. The problem is that what a Story Editor means for a TAG member is very different from what it means for a WGA member. "In The Animation Guild, it's a high-level writing position," says Madison Bateman, Chair of the WCC. It could refer to the writer who created the show, runs the room, and/or supervises others. In the WGA, GETTING IT WRITE CONFUSION OVER JOB TITLES HAS LED TAG'S STORY EDITORS TO ASK FOR A NE W CREDIT: HE AD W RITER. it's a lower-level writer, just above the entry-level title of Staff Writer. The WGA represents both live-action and some animated productions, and "a lot of times the WGA is only looking for upper- level writers," says Bateman. "If [a TAG member] submits for those, we're told we're not an upper-level writer because our title is Story Editor." "One of the challenges is that sometimes if a production company is looking for writers to fill a room, they get a massive spreadsheet of writers and their titles," says Peter Forbes, co-lead of the WCC Head Writer subcommittee. "Say I'm looking for this level or above. If somebody is credited 20 KEYFRAME