From the Editors
We are all creatures of habit. Those of us in production, for example, are accustomed to setting up our “office” … our sound and video carts and work areas … in specific and very personal ways.
This familiarity in our workstations allows us to achieve better results by being in control of some of the chaotic elements that bombard us each working day. We often find ourselves in situations that require we work well outside of our comfort zones. There are night shoots, cold and rainy exteriors, noisy environments, extreme heat, run-and-gun shooting and multiple cameras. And, of course, there are the continuously evolving digital production workflows. The incentive to try something new, a different angle, a different approach, an alternate voice, naturally yields uncertainty; some chaos is an integral part of our business. We seek out a comfort zone when we can but, at the same time, thrive on the challenges outside that safe zone. The 695 Quarterly tells the stories behind these challenges. When circumstances demand, we improvise and invent something new.
Our profile of Local 695 Production Mixer Alan Bernard is just one of those stories, chronicling a post-war career path that took Alan from dubbing rooms to awards ceremonies as his career blossomed in the ’60s and ’70s. Willie Burton offers a unique first-person perspective of his amazing experience last summer, when he was asked to lay down his headphones and become a classroom teacher for aspiring young filmmakers in Kenya and Rwanda. Outside the comfort zone, indeed.
We hope you’re in your comfort zone right now, kicked back with this latest issue of the 695 Quarterly. Because time is fleeting, we encourage you to embrace every opportunity to go to a place you’ve never been and do something you’ve never done before. While you’re there, be sure to improvise, create, solve and experience. And when you come back, And
when you come back, we can’t wait to read all about it right here.
Fraternally,
Richard Lightstone
David Waelder
and Eric Pierce