Directors Guild of America (DGA) Law and Legal Definition
Directors Guild of America (DGA) is a labor union which is formed to represent the interests of film and television directors in the U.S. motion picture industry. It was named as Directors Guild of America in 1960. It was originally founded in 1939, by the name Screen Directors Guild. It has thousands of members and is located in Hollywood, with offices in New York and Chicago.
Directors Guild of America is a craft union as it represents the members engaged in a particular profession. It includes directors, assistant directors, stage managers, and production associates, and directors, assistant directors, unit production managers, technical coordinators, and location managers in film as well as television. It conducts various training programs whereby successful participants are placed in various productions. It assists them in gaining experience in the film or television industry.
The Guild enters in to agreement with film production companies and makes various stipulations covering pay and working conditions for Guild members. The agreements entered require that all those employed by that company are members of DGA. It also protects the creative rights of a film director.
