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Keep Film in LA Rally

On April 6, 2025, “Stay in LA” hosted a rally at SirReel Studio Services in Sun Valley. A series of speakers, including local, state, and national politicians took the stage and called on leadership to do more to help our industry. It is well known that film, TV, and commercial production support tens of thousands of workers in Southern California.

Working with government representatives, IATSE, and other trade organizations, Stay in LA formed after the devastating wildfires that subsequently hindered production. The organization created a slate of proposals to be included in the overall disaster relief efforts. One proposal would remove tax-incentive caps for productions that shoot in Los Angeles County.

(L-R): Paul Samaniego, Set Lighting Local 728; Kevin Sante, 695 Boom Operator; Neil Williams, Grip Local 80; Yvette Marxer, 695 Sound Utility

Representative Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Los Angeles) attended the rally because Hollywood production is incredibly important to our local and state economy. “This is a nationwide issue, we’re competing against countries taking our business, our assets, our storytelling and hiring their crews instead of our crews, and that’s not good for business,” he said.

The speakers called for more localized help for Los Angeles, urging local government and the state of California to take action to reduce the cost of filming in LA. Speakers at the rally called on studios and streamers to pledge that at least ten percent of their productions locate in Los Angeles. They called for lowering or eliminating local film permit fees, and create more crew parking at affordable rates.

“In 2020, a generational pandemic shuttered production and post-production, pushed projects out of state, and left behind California’s creators, crew members and the surrounding businesses that support production, including technicians, makeup artists, hairstylists, and editors.” said Pamala Buzick Kim, a production talent representative and founding member of the organization. “Now, we turn to our government to act,” said Buzick Kim, “to pass legislation that keeps entertainment in California, invests in our communities, and helps rebuild an industry and save a dream at risk of disappearing.”

Despite the end of the SAG and WGA labor strikes, production has been slow to recover. Filming in Los Angeles has dropped thirty percent over the last five years, the annual sound stage occupancy dropped and entertainment companies have slashed spending on productions as many have taken advantage of lucrative tax incentives offered outside California. The rally reached out to the community for support, and was well attended by members of SAG, WGA, and IATSE. Crew members, business owners, community organizers, and union officials were also in attendance.

(L-R): Stephanie Beaurain, Set Dec Local 44; Sam Hamer, Production Mixer Local 695; and Jennifer Winslow, Utility Sound Local 695

L.A. City Councilwoman Imelda Padilla (District 6) called upon her elected colleagues to help with the cause. “Councilmembers are talking about it. With an upcoming City Council vote, we hope to make some changes.” she said. “To everyone who lives in LA, I highly encourage you to call or write your councilmembers. Make it a priority. Let your voice be heard. We all are in favor of keeping jobs in Los Angeles, that I can assure you.”
Local 695 members were well represented by Yvette Marxer, Sam Hamer, Jennifer Winslow, and Kevin Sante, among others from sister LA locals. Sam Hamer commented: “It was heartening to see so many people from so many crafts here to show support and let our elected representatives know that the film industry isn’t just about premieres and private jets; it’s working-class tradesmen and women supporting families and supporting the small businesses that keep this town going.”

Ms. Marxer explained the need for this rally. “What started with just a handful of determined crew members has grown into a powerful force—exactly what we witnessed at this event. Our elected representatives are finally starting to take note. But this is just the beginning. We must keep showing up, keep raising our voices, and together, keep building the future!”

Jennifer Winslow stated, “695 and all the IATSE representatives who traveled to Sacramento have been instrumental in bringing about this change. It’s good to have boots on the ground in multiple forms and different arenas. There’s power in the voicing of our concerns to our leaders in government. The more we join together in the form of rallies, letter writing, and calling our representatives, the better.”

In Memoriam

Thomas R. Loewy Y-4
May 30, 1949 – June 26, 2024
John Hill Jr. Y-4
January 21, 1950 – January 22, 2025

John Hill, owner/operator of Video Assist Systems, Inc., passed away on January 22.

An icon in the commercial world, and at the forefront of technology, beginning in the early 1980s. John was much loved, and in-demand for his calm demeanor and expertise. On March 22, there was a memorial and remembrance of John’s life at a tavern in Canoga Park. Some of the attendees were Roger Daniell, Crew Chamberlain, Moe Chamberlain, Cory Glazer, Jora Nelstein, and Randy Johnson.

(L-R): Crew Chamberlain, Moe Chamberlain, Roger Daniell,
Randy Johnson

Rallies Work

On April 29, 2025, LA City Council voted unanimously to approve Council member Adrian Nazarian’s motion to help keep film and TV production in Los Angeles. This includes establishment of more competitive fee structures and streamlining film permit reviews in the city. All of the city agencies involved in film and TV production will research and give recommendations on how to cut the red tape. Rank-and-file production workers, representatives of motion picture trade and craft unions rallied with councilmembers to help push this measure through.

In Nazarian’s motion, the City Chief Legislative Analyst and all relevant city departments are being called upon to recommend adjustments to city fees, permits, parking, and security requirements for shooting in LA, as well as on city-owned property. Certifying new sound stages is also being considered. With LA’s vast pool of talent, experienced workers, and superior facilities, the city is invested in discovering opportunities to bring motion picture employment back to the city of Los Angeles.

This is a win for IATSE! Stay involved, call, or write your representatives and city councilmembers. Contact the Local 695 office for more information.

New Members

Local 695 Welcomes its New Members

Jason Bowden Y-4
Benjamin Cohen Y-13
Adrien Morales Y-7
David Schwerkolt Y-4
Roderick Sigmon A-2

Entertainment Community Fund: Resource Portal

The Entertainment Community Fund, formerly The Actors Fund, has recently launched an online portal where they host a variety of free programs and services. Their portal is designed to cater to entertainment professionals’ individual needs and interests, offering access to a wide range of workshops, programs, and resources—all with the guidance and understanding of what it takes to build a life and career in an often-unpredictable industry.

This resource is completely free to IATSE members and can be accessed via the “Portal Login” at: https://entertainmentcommunity.org/

Ric Rambles

95 years of television experience in three square feet

by Ric Teller

I’ll take the soup.

My grandpa Dave liked Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky, and matzo ball soup. He wasn’t educated in music; in fact, he left school after the sixth grade to go to work, eventually running a men’s clothing store. For decades, many businessmen in Lincoln, Nebraska, dressed in suits from Clark’s Clothing. I have a vivid memory of him sitting on an ornate wooden chair in his living room, conducting the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony, or another esteemed orchestra while listening to them on television or an L.P. For those who have forgotten, L.P. is an analog sound storage and playback medium, a phonograph record with a speed of 331⁄3 rpm. The initials L.P. stand, of course, for Louie Prima.

In television, we don’t get too many opportunities to work with an orchestra. The ensemble at the Tony Awards in New York features Broadway show music, and at the Memorial Day and 4th of July holiday shows in D.C., the National Symphony performs familiar often patriotic tunes. My two regulars are the Oscars Orchestra, made up of an amazing group of studio musicians playing film music past and present. And the ensemble from the Kennedy Center Honors under the direction of Patrick Vaccariello. It is an accomplished group of players and many, including concertmaster Oleg Rylatko, come from the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra, the rest are “hired guns,” assembled by the talented music contractor Kimberlee Wertz. Each year, they perform a diverse and interesting variety of content based on the honorees. Ms. Wertz is the contractor for the Tonys, Oscars, and other shows as well. The Honors Orchestra sounds terrific, a combination of the hard work and professionalism of Patrick and the excellent musicians, combined with the skill of music mixer Paul Sandweiss. In addition to the orchestra, the Honors features an excellent house band, and often an additional ensemble or two. One small group in particular comes to mind. I can’t tell you the name of the honoree. Not because I’m sworn to silence and you don’t know the secret handshake, I just can’t remember. The mixer, Ed Greene, told us that one of the honors would include a piano quintet. Traditionally, the most common form of the piano quintet includes the piano (duh) and a standard string quartet, two violins, a viola, and there’s always room for a cello. I learned this and much more from Emanuel Wishnow at the University of Nebraska School of Music. Ed challenged me to make the mics as invisible as possible. The piano would be at full stick, and the string players made it clear that they did not want mics on their instruments. Inside the piano, I mounted two AKG414’s near the downstage wall of the case, hidden from the camera shot, one near the high strings near the hammers and the other about halfway down, near the lower strings. For the quartet, I taped two Countryman Isomax Hyper Cardioid mics with the heads at a 90-degree angle at the top of a plain black mic stand that hid well with the music stands used by the string players. Ed made it sound great. I loved when he would present a challenge like that. He is truly missed.

I’ve been very fortunate to work with a wide variety of extraordinary musicians over the years. One of the first big music shows that came my way starred Steve Allen, a very talented pianist, songwriter, humorist, and host. About forty years ago, we did six episodes of his program, Steve Allen’s Music Room at KTLA. I was tasked with mixing FOH and monitors on two linked 16-input Yamaha PM 1000’s. In addition to Steve hosting and playing, the show had a fantastic house band led by vibes player Terry Gibbs. The rest of the band was an all-star ensemble.

The stellar guest list included Jayne Meadows, Steve Lawrence, Eydie Gorme, Melba Moore, Joe Williams, Paul Williams, Henry Mancini, Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vaughn, Patti Page, Doc Severinsen, Ann Jillian, Burt Bacharach, Carole Bayer Sager, Anthony Newley, Rosemary Clooney, Lou Rawls, and Red Holloway. One more note: The show featured a little known twenty-seven-year-old announcer/sidekick, Bill Maher. All six of these programs are available on YouTube. Here is a link to number five, probably the best of the bunch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_IV5u3099A

JAMES BROWN! JAMES BROWN! JAMES BROWN! In 1991, James Brown and his band did a live concert for broadcast at The Wiltern Theatre. Now, for anybody my age, and you know who you are even if you don’t admit it, James Brown was a big deal. I remember the T.A.M.I. Show where James and the Famous Flames blew the doors off the place much to the chagrin of the Rolling Stones. So, getting to work with him on a live TV show was a huge treat. We were in the middle of rehearsal, the band was pumping and suddenly, James cut off the music. His band was well rehearsed and clearly knew how to follow directions. Then James turned and walked over to me. He spoke quickly but I got it. He turned and as he addressed some musical issue, one of his guys walked behind me and asked if I knew what he said. I answered in the affirmative. James thought the guitar amp had too much high end and was aimed too directly at his vocal mic. I rotated the offending amp just a little off-stage, covered it with a light cloth, and asked the guitar player if he would take a tiny bit of treble out of his amp. On the next pass, James turned and nodded, and his guy came back to say that it was good. Then I asked if I could learn the proper way to prepare his mic, cable, and stand. The prep, attaching the cable to the mic stand with wraps of electrical tape was important for an integral part of his performance. I did the mic preparation for that live show and several other James Brown performances proudly earning my J.B. Mic Prep merit badge.

Like many of you, The Music Man is one of my favorite Broadway musicals. Many years ago, when I was new to California and trying to become a trombone player with a pager, I got a call to play in the pit orchestra for a Beverly Hills summer stock theater run of that show. On opening night, an older man slowly made his way down the aisle to the orchestra and asked if he could sit in on the flute. He played the entire show. It was Meredith Willson. I played in the pit orchestra for The Music Man with Meredith Willson! The show revolves around a con man selling band instruments to the Iowa townsfolk. He plans to teach the boys in his band how to play using “the think system.” At the Emmys last September (congratulations to all the nominees and winners), I was having a lovely lunch with some even lovelier coworkers/friends when one, Joey Adelman, asked about an event that happened long ago. He wanted to know if a nearly forgotten story of an A2 misadventure was truth or legend. As the story goes, Murray Siegel, A2 Emeritus, and his accomplice, decided to set all the vocal mics for the live, three-hour American Music Awards by using “the think system.” They … um … we … put down no marks on the Shrine Auditorium stage. Needless to say, it was quite a challenge. Like The Music Man, in the end it turned out fine … well, except that we didn’t have a marching band. In hindsight, I guess it is both truth and legend.

I’ve mentioned my start at KTLA in many of these columns. Recently, I was in a discussion about retirement (as in, why don’t you stop working and let someone else have a turn), and the subject of institutional knowledge came up. Everyone has a different experience getting into our business and learning the craft. In the late 1970s, when I began, there were still a lot of staff jobs at the networks and independent TV stations. KTLA had more than one hundred engineers to keep the station on the air, tape the shows that were produced on their stages, and maintain all of the equipment. In 1979, twenty-five of those engineers had worked there for more than twenty-five years. The most senior engineers in that group started in the 1940s, the newest began in 1954. All worked with Klaus Landsberg. Even as a complete novice, the vast institutional knowledge affected me in a big way. I am not surprised when even today, I tap into some method or detail or process or even a phrase that I learned from those men like “pick up that sleeping beauty” IYKYO (If You Know, You’re Old). In short, the lessons I learned allowed me to begin a career that has lasted forty-five years. Of course, my education continued in the freelance world, especially when I joined the group doing specials and award shows. To this day, we continue to invent ways to make shows work. Usually, a product of aggregate knowledge and more than a little experimentation. Even now, I love to learn new ways, and when I see someone younger applying the tried-and-true methods, I think about the audio engineering DNA that made that happen. I wish I could let those KTLA teachers know how much they have contributed.

ACM’s 1987 and 2025 with the signature pink tape pin

Last May, I had my picture made with fellow Local 695 forty-year pin holder, Tad Scripter, at the Academy of Country Music Awards, in Frisco, Texas. We captioned it: 95 years of television experience in three square feet. Broadcast TV has existed in Los Angeles for just under eighty years (yes, experimental stations started further back in time). Tad and I have participated in more than half of that history since the first station, KTLA, went on the air. Somewhere in my credential pile, one from the 22nd ACM’s at Knott’s Berry Farm is a mathematical reminder. We recently did the 60th. Man, it goes fast.

I am grateful to be able to write and share these memories, in some little way, it is my contribution to the institutional knowledge of making entertainment television. I’m sorry that I didn’t get to share any of these tales of musical adventures with grandpa Dave. It would have been great fun to sit him down in front of a live orchestra. I’m sure he would have conducted along. Then, we could have gone out for a bowl of soup.

From the Business Representative

It’s a Global Industry

California has been synonymous with the motion picture industry for one hundred and fourteen years. Millions of tourists come to “Hollywood” each year to see where their favorite movie or TV show was shot. We are home to iconic film studios that set up shop here as early as 1911, because of a wealth of talent, ideal weather, and diverse shooting locations. However, the Golden State has seen a marked contraction in motion picture production in recent years. This shift is reshaping California’s economic landscape and cultural identity. Someday, we could be known as the place where it all started and ended.

While California may no longer hold an unchallenged monopoly on motion picture production, it remains a significant player in the global entertainment industry. The state’s concentration of talent, industry know-how, post-production facilities, and historic legacy give it a competitive edge that cannot be easily replicated.

One of the most significant causes of this migration has been the aggressive tax incentives offered by other regions. First, they were provided by several states, and now they’re offered globally by many countries. At any given time, $1.5 billion in incentives are available.

In 2009, California introduced its film and television tax credit program and expanded it in subsequent years. The latest version, “California Film & Television Tax Credit Program 4.0,” goes into effect in July this year. We are working on two bills that will restructure Program 4.0 to be globally competitive, AB 1138 and SB 630, to increase the funding to $750 million annually. Our campaign, “Keep California Rolling,” is in full gear with members and Local leaders traveling to Sacramento to educate the new legislators on the economic value of the California Film & Television Tax Credit Program. Studies show that for every dollar in credits, results in generating $24.00 into the state’s economy. From local mom-and-pop businesses to hotels, florists, dry cleaners, etc., that all support the industry. This is the value of the program.

California must continue refining its incentive programs, invest in cutting-edge production technology, and perhaps most importantly, support the next generation of filmmakers and crew members who still dream of making it big in Hollywood.

In Solidarity,

Scott Bernard
Business Representative

Our Contributors

Jim Lakin CAS

Jim Lakin began in sound in the late ’90s as a teaching assistant for Richard Portman while attending the FSU College of Motion Picture Arts. He relocated to LA in 2002 and joined Local 695 in 2004. Jim has worked in more than twenty countries on feature films, documentaries, commercials, infotainment television, and scripted television. His work includes Hacks, 9-1-1, Dollface, and The Mighty Ducks Game Changers.

Richard Lightstone CAS AMPS

Richard began his career in Montreal, and continues to mix in Los
Angeles. He is the Co-editor of Production Sound & Video, served
on the Executive Board of Local 695, and President of the Cinema Audio Society for two terms.

Ric Teller

I’ve been very fortunate in my more than forty years working in television, going places, and doing things that a kid from a small town in Nebraska could not have imagined.

Mark Ulano CAS AMPS

Mark has been a Y-1 Production Mixer in Local 695 since 1983 and mixed more than 150 film and television projects. He is a four-time Oscar nominee, most recently for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Ad Astra, and Inglorious Basterds. His work on Titanic won him an Academy Award for Sound Mixing, as well as the Cinema Audio Society Award. Mark is very active in the cinema mentoring world as a teacher of workshops and speaker at sound symposiums internationally.

Russell White CAS

Originally from the Midwest, Russell has been mixing sound for twenty years. His career includes improv comedy, Tim and Eric’s Awesome Show, Great Job, and The Kroll Show, and scripted projects: Gilmore Girls, Super Pumped, and Insecure.

Jennifer Winslow

Jennifer is a Utility Sound Technician/Boom Operator serving her third term as a Trustee for Local 695. She is currently working on Criminal Minds: Evolution. Jennifer has worked in features, commercials, and television. Some credits include Be Cool, Lone Star, Problem Child, Chicago Hope, Dear White People, Grace & Frankie, and Suits LA. She is a longtime member of Local 695.

From the Editor’s

Welcome to the summer edition of Production Sound & Video.

It’s time for BBQ’s, more work in LA, beach visits, and even more work returning to LA, and of course, Emmy nomination time. Sound Mixer Jim Lakin gives us the goods on the popular show, Hacks, and we get the courtside view on the new Netflix show, Running Point, by Russell White.

“Interview with Joe Aredas, Jr.” from new Co-editor Mark Ulano and the ever-entertaining column, “Ric Rambles” from Ric Teller. We look at this year’s award winners: Oscars, CAS Awards, BAFTA’s, and AMPS, and Jennifer Winslow gives us “News & Announcements.”

We would also like to thank James Delhauer for his time as Co-editor of this magazine and wish him success in his new endeavors.

Enjoy the read and let’s get a lot of work going in Los Angeles and beyond.

In Solidarity

Richard Lightstone & Mark Ulano
Production Sound & Video Co-editors

From the President

Let’s talk about Tomorrowland.

When I was a kid, my family loaded up the station wagon and drove from Chicago to Disney World for Christmas. I was twelve years older than my younger half-siblings, but Disney was a place where that never mattered. We were all just the right age, regardless of age. Mickey Breakfasts for my little sister and teacup rides for my little brother, but I loved Tomorrowland. Truth be told, I still love Tomorrowland.

When Disneyland opened on July 17, 1955, Walt Disney dedicated these words to Tomorrowland: “A vista into a world of wondrous ideas, signifying man’s achievements … a step into the future, with predictions of constructive things to come.”

At the time, there was a beautiful poster made up of pastel-colored vertical lines that resembled a futuristic city enveloped in an atomic symbol. The only text on it read, “Tomorrowland. Make the Future.” It was such a simple tagline, but the opportunity behind it was boundless.

These words have never felt more relevant than they do today.

In April, I was invited to a think tank dinner hosted by the Mozilla Foundation and the Berggruen Institute. The Mozilla Foundation is a global nonprofit aimed at shaping a safer digital world. They are best known for their subsidiary, which owns and operates the Firefox web browser. Still, the parent foundation seeks to pave a safer digital future for our society by bringing together experts from all sectors to imagine what that future might look like. By partnering with the Berggruen Institute, they have cultivated a network of global thinkers and specialists who can collaborate to tackle some of the world’s most significant challenges.

Our small dinner party of twelve included journalists, illustrators, activists, academics, and technologists. The purpose of this particular gathering was to assess the future of deliberative democracy and technology. Does technology, specifically AI (artificial intelligence), enhance human deliberation in the democratic process? What are the pros and cons of integrating algorithms into this process? Is “something” lost when deliberation is mediated by technology? How does consent operate in the space of deliberation when AI agents and algorithms intervene? What guardrails should we put in place to ensure that the information being exchanged is accurate and honest? Most importantly, what role do governments, unions, and corporations all play in this technological cultural shift?

These questions require more time and space than a small salon of experts can tackle in a single night, but building a future often begins with nothing more than a group of thinkers coming together to share ideas and think through the challenges we face, both singularly and collectively. For my part, this dinner left me asking myself a lot of new questions.

What do we see as our role in the future of technology, both within our industry and globally? What types of discussions can our Technological Changes Committee facilitate in order to help steer our Local and our industry in this new era of technology?

As one of the technical Locals in Hollywood, I encourage all our members to start having these discussions. Speak to your friends, your co-workers, and your families about these complex ideas. We are all stakeholders in this changing landscape, and we must all be engaged if we hope to guide the future in a direction where technology works for workers. Together, we can co-create the future narratives of technology and build a better future for us all.

In Solidarity,

President Jillian Arnold

Union Membership: Our Responsibilities

by Ryan Pedersen

I grew up in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, which is a strong union city, along with the state of Illinois. When I was 15 years old, I became a bagger at a local grocery store. Even though I was a part-time minimum wage worker making $5.25 an hour, I was required to join the union associated with the grocery store. I was young and didn’t understand why I had to pay what little I was making toward union dues. I didn’t understand what a union was, nor how it benefited me. A lot has changed since that first experience. I now live in a household where I am not only a member of a union, but my wife is as well. I’ve grown to understand the history behind unions, why we need them, and what they offer working people.

When we become members of Local 695, we make a pledge to accept and abide by the provisions set forth in both our Local 695 Constitution and By-Laws, as well the IATSE’s governing documents. While signing your name at the bottom of this pledge is an easy task, there is much more entailed in being a member. When we apply for membership, we are stating that we are of good moral character and reputation. As we continue our membership, we are expected to maintain our good standing both morally and financially.

Our Local 695 Constitution lays out the objectives of our Local and indicates our own responsibilities as members. We and the Local have agreed to strive to:

a) Improve the wages, job security, and working conditions
b) Advance our economic, social, and cultural interests
c) Establish peaceful and harmonious relationships between our members and the employers and increase stability of the industry
d) Assure full employment
e) Promote and support democracy and free trade unionism
f) Engage to strengthen the labor movement and extend the collective bargaining process to all trades and industries

It is not just the responsibility of members elected to office or the staff in the office to try to fulfill these objectives. The general membership makes the Local what it is. It is up to us as members to fulfill these objectives. These objectives are the core of what it means to be a member of a union.

Knowing our objectives and responsibilities is the easiest part of being a member of our Local. Accomplishing these objectives is the more difficult thing to do. It is our shared responsibility to engage with our Local. Some of the ways we engage are by discussing these topics with each other, communicating with our leadership, voting both for our leadership and for our contracts, attending membership meetings, attending trainings, volunteering our time for union activities, and participating in the different committees organized by our Local.

One aspect of union membership is that we refer to each other as brothers, sisters, and kin and I think that this is at the heart of our union. This is a foundational element of union membership. We are a family. The last couple of years have been some of the hardest for us as filmmakers. We have experienced major economic loss. Our mental health is suffering and our sense of identity as filmmakers is at a crucial tipping point. We have a responsibility to each other that lacks in most workplaces and that’s because we are connected in our shared pledge. We have a responsibility to look out for each other and support each other.

Times of hardship are when we really shine as union members. It could be as simple as a phone call to see how someone is doing or sharing a few days of work with them if your situation allows. We need to build each other up and not tear others down. I know that not everyone in our Local will see eye-to-eye on many things and that some people may not get along with others. However, our Local will thrive when we have members of different backgrounds with diverse thoughts. One of the things that we ask of our employers is to treat us with dignity and respect amongst many other things. We should heed our own advice and seek the same things amongst each other.

As I write this article, Amazon workers are striking across the country to force Amazon to recognize their desire to bargain for a union contract. After the 2023 writers’ and actors’ strikes and the continued downturn in our industry, I believe that we understand the sacrifice that they are experiencing so that they can better their lives. Supporting workers in other industries as they strike for better pay and conditions is yet another way that we are active union members.

Our influence reaches far and wide. Union membership is on the rise but our rights as workers are never guaranteed, especially as we’ve come into 2025. It is really easy to take our membership for granted. As we enter the new year with many of us lacking work, financial resources, and healthcare, we should renew our pledges to go forth and support the objectives that we all agreed to when we joined our Local. No union or organization is perfect, and needs us to participate to make it better. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.” It’s not expected that you dedicate all your free time to the Local, but it is part of our responsibility to be active participants in the process. Small contributions by many hands make light work.

Over the next couple of months, we will have the opportunity to help get additional incentives passed in California and possibly nationally over the next year. The IATSE International Convention is approaching in the coming year and, in about eighteen months, we will start the election process for our Local’s elected officials and the year after that, we will be voting on a new contract. Between now and then, the members need to be active in order to be heard. This last round of negotiations was very effective for our Local’s issues because we had good member participation. We can build on our contract progress while building on the incentives to bring more jobs back to Los Angeles. Let’s get to work!

Ric Rambles

by Ric Teller

Encounters.

So many encounters. We’re lousy with the famous and infamous on every talk show, awards show, and special, just ask Craig. Working in the entertainment side of television, you might meet anyone from the Beatles to Bette Davis. In fact, some Beatles and Bette might both show up later in this ramble. I love when every once in a while, on the set, on location, or even in everyday life, I get surprised by an unexpected encounter.

When you watched Star Search, and don’t deny it, I know you watched. The host, Ed McMahon, made an entrance, walked downstage, and at some point, an arm raised from the audience to hand him a microphone. Sometimes that arm belonged to Val Valentin, a top recording engineer, and a friend of mixer Ed Greene. His list of album credits is stunning. An unlikely A2, Val would come and regale us with tales of his days as Director of Engineering for MGM and Verve Records, being in the studio with Frank Sinatra, and much more. It was always great to see him, perhaps never more so than at a show for Sinatra’s 75th birthday at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, where Val was escorting Ella Fitzgerald. Ever the gentleman, Val properly introduced us, and I tried not to gush like a fanboy. But Ella Fitzgerald! She and Frank closed the show together, singing a Rodgers and Hart number with the Henry Mancini Orchestra. It was terrific! That show was also where I met Ray Charles. No, not the one you are thinking of. The “other” Ray Charles. Go ahead, look him up. I’ll wait… As with Val, Ray was a true gentleman. It was a great pleasure to work with him, most often on the Kennedy Center Honors.

I met Scott Ostler recently. You may ask, who is that? I’ll tell you. He is a revered newspaper sports columnist. One of the best and funniest. His son was a contestant on America’s favorite quiz show. I work there. Scott was in the audience. I first read his work in the Los Angeles Times back when the sports section had Jim Murray and baseball box scores. He was recruited by editor Frank Deford to write for The National Sports Daily, a short-lived, tabloid-format newspaper that lasted just under eighteen months in 1990-91. For sports fans, it was terrific. Since then, Scott has written for the San Francisco Examiner. I really admire his work. It was nice to be able to tell him.

Did you ever go to The Reseda Country Club? Honestly, I don’t remember attending a show there but did work on an episode of a popular sitcom that featured the Beach Boys playing live. Well, I believe it was live-ish. At lunch, I picked up a tray with the requisite chicken-like substance from catering and took a seat in a quiet area. About thirty seconds later, a man sat down across from me. I looked up and realized that I was having lunch with Carl Wilson. We talked about baseball and other stuff, not music so much. But the whole time, I was silently shouting to myself, “You sang, ‘God Only Knows’!!!”

The first time I saw a motion picture being made, it was Stagecoach. No, not the John Wayne version. Sheesh. It was the 1966 remake, starring Ann-Margret and Red Buttons. We saw them shooting an action sequence at the very scenic Caribou Ranch on the front range of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. Later in life, I got to tell both of them about seeing the stagecoach being attacked. Ann-Margret remembered how beautiful the location was. Red Buttons tried to go to catering but never got a dinner.

A couple of years later, in New York City, I saw another film shooting on location. I was with my family. We were walking back to the Americana Hotel after dinner at Mamma Leone’s and saw a crew out on the street shooting Midnight Cowboy. About ten years later, I got a ticket while driving in Los Angeles. I don’t remember the specifics, but I was allowed to go to traffic school back when you attended in person. Jon Voight was also in that class, and I told him about watching them film. We were both in an eight-hour class that included a meal break. I took John to lunch at Café Tel Aviv on Fairfax, an easy walk from the class location. It was a nice break from school, a good memory, and a tasty falafel.

In keeping with the theme of unexpected lunch encounters, I was traveling somewhere in some airport to work on some show some time ago. The layover was long enough to sit and have a bite of lunch. I ordered a nondescript chicken sandwich and moments later, a very attractive woman walked up and asked if she could join me for lunch. Yes, of course. We chatted and laughed and agreed about how interesting life can be. After lunch, we said a cordial goodbye and headed in opposite directions to make our next flights. I did a lot of shows with Naomi Judd over the years. She was a sweet person, a talented artist, and a lovely lunch companion.
At the beginning of this column, I mentioned the Beatles. So, let’s talk about their album, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. OK, let’s just talk about the front cover of that iconic album featuring the four lads in uniform and about sixty-five cutouts and wax models of people with varying degrees of fame.

I’ve encountered nine.

Three Beatles—At the Grammys and other occasions
Shirley Temple—Grand Marshal of the Tournament of Roses Parade
Dion DiMucci—Sang “I Wonder Why” on a PBS ’50s music special
Marlon Brando—An appearance on Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration at Madison Square Garden Sept. 10, 2001
Bob Dylan—The 2011 Grammys (find it on Vimeo)
Mae West—Ringo and I were both in Sextette, her last movie
Huntz Hall—I introduced myself to the original Dead End Kid who also played Horace Debussy “Sach” Jones in the Bowery Boys series. He was on the KTLA lot shooting something and enjoyed that a person from the younger generation (I was in my twenties) recognized him.

One more unexpected Beatles-related story. A few years back, I was climbing around on a band riser adjusting drum mics for a Grammys performance. The kit belonged to Abe Laboriel, Jr. He’s a heavy hitter and sometimes the mics and stands move around a bit. As I reached for one of the overheads, to give it a little love, a voice behind me asked about the placement. Without looking around, I answered that I thought by aiming the sweet spot of the overhead mics slightly away from the snare, clearly the loudest drum, it would have a better chance of hearing cymbals and the overall kit sound. At some point, mid-sentence, my words hung in the air as if they were frozen in a cartoon dialog bubble. I realized that I was discussing drum mic placement for a Paul McCartney performance with Geoff Emerick, the engineer who recorded Revolver, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, and Abbey Road. I got off the riser, introduced myself, and continued the conversation with “…wherever you would like them.” He was a kind and gentle man whose gifts have enhanced my life for more than fifty years.

And more recently, at the Grammys, we were sound-checking Billy Joel and his terrific band. After all the instruments were good, the terrific music mixer John Harris requested that I ask Billy to sing something. I walked to the piano, leaned over, and asked Billy if he would sing “Something.” He did. The George Harrison song.

Each of those encounters was special. I’ve only asked to take one photo and have only requested three autographs in all my working years, but I’m very happy to hang onto the memories.

It is difficult to explain to those not in our business how specific our jobs can be. In forty-plus years, I’ve made one commercial (with Monty Hall and an elephant), and once, a long time ago, I worked for two days on a feature. Two. Total. I can’t remember the name of the movie. My career has been a combination of talk shows, sitcoms, game shows, and a lot of award shows and specials. Sometimes the crews are pretty big but often the same friendly faces appear in the hello portion of the day. When we say, “I’ll see you on the next one,” there is a very good chance that it will happen. Perhaps because of the size of the crews and the complicated challenges of doing a big live show, there is often a feeling of camaraderie. And when things go well, of accomplishment. Does that family feeling translate to episodic, features, and other formats where groups work together for long periods (both clock and calendar)? I hope so. At 35, I began playing regularly in the big-show sandbox. It was 1987, and I had been working in television for eight years. When I started to freelance in early 1985, the idea of joining that esteemed group seemed unlikely. Then some of the regulars began mixing shows and a spot for an A2 opened for me. After all, I could lift heavy things and drive a forklift, they, in turn, could make every difficult live television show work successfully under any circumstances. No pressure.

This new situation presented an exciting set of possibilities, including one that I have tried wholeheartedly to embrace. We endeavor to help our fellow crew members get to important family events, perhaps a birthday or anniversary, a child’s band concert, a dance recital, or a ballgame, we will try to make it happen when we can. Of course, sometimes (often) the timing doesn’t work out. But when it does, it feels really good.

The retirement report:
As my friend, Mr. Mays, reminds me, we are somewhere between the back nine and the walk to the clubhouse. Not being a golfer, I hope to find other ways to wisely use my time in retirement, whenever that comes. Everyone says that staying busy and active is the key; there are retirement options for nearly every interest. I’ve always enjoyed the social time aspect of work (some would say storytime) and hope to find a way to include that in my next ventures. Whenever I stop working, I will strive to maintain the close friendships that have enhanced my life. So many hellos. One difficult product of age and work longevity is the increasing number of goodbyes. Friends and coworkers who are leaving us. That is, the big leaving us, not just moving to Florida. As these passages come, it is important to be present for each other and to remember how these friends have enhanced our lives whether sharing tangible skills or teaching life lessons. I was sad to learn that two of the great engineers from my days working at KTLA have passed recently. Murray Clawson and John Cook were encouraging, shared knowledge, and pushed me to learn and become better and more valuable at my job. In addition to their expertise, they were both really good men who will be missed. I am fortunate to have known them.

My career has been a combination of talk shows, sitcoms, game shows, and a lot of award shows and specials. Sometimes the crews are pretty big but often the same friendly faces appear in the hello portion of the day. When we say, “I’ll see you on the next one,” there is a very good chance that it will happen.

At almost every awards show and special in recent memory, Margot Carlson and Kris Claver greeted us and took care of our parking, credentials, and other bits of production business. Every time it was personal with kindness and smiles. When Kris got sick, a GoFundMe page was started to help with her care. Within a few days, the fund counted six hundred donations. Since she passed, at every show I see friends wearing a credential with her photo. Family supports family. Make the time for a phone call, send a card, go for a visit, bring food, it all makes a difference. My mother often provided a dish she just called vermicelli. It is a warm, filling, comfort food gift. Mom was a terrific cook, but we always wondered how a Jewish woman from a small town in Nebraska became locally famous for her Italian-American casserole. Give a little of yourself, it will help bridge between hello and goodbye. As my sixth-grade teacher Noel Roberts closes each correspondence: “Take care of each other.”

My good friend, Robyn, believes that my ability to recall and write about this history is enhanced by AI (alta cocker intelligence). No doubt, she is correct.

Oh, I almost forgot. The Bette Davis story. She came to KTLA to be interviewed by television’s Tom Hatten. I introduced myself and asked if I could place a lav on her. She said no.

News & Announcements

Southern California Wildfires

On January 7, a series of wildfire spurred by strong winds, broke out in Southern California. These fires have devastated the area, with more than forty thousand acres burned and more than one hundred thousand LA County residents having been displaced from their homes. More than three hundred IATSE members have lost their homes in the blaze.

The IATSE has compiled resources to assist those who have been impacted by the fires. This includes everything from shelter locations, financial aid, emergency prescription help, mental health services, legal representation, and tools for recovering critical documents. Please visit www.local695.com/wildfirerelief/ for more information.

Financial Relief for Entertainment Partners

The ongoing prolonged work stoppages have been devastating to the entertainment community across the nation. In Hollywood, our community has been supported by the profound efforts of the Motion Picture Television Fund (MPTF) and the Entertainment Community Fund (formerly The Actors Fund). Both these charities have long histories of offering safety-net services and aid for entertainment workers and their families. They aided the entertainment unions, including Local 695, in administering their relief funds throughout the 2023 WGA & SAG-AFTRA strikes against the AMPTP.

Though the strikes have ended, the financial impact will continue to be felt for some time and both MPTF and the Entertainment Community Fund still have resources available to help. If you work in entertainment and you or your family are in need, please visit their websites online at www.mptf.com and www.entertainmentcommunity.org

IATSE Education

LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda.com) is an excellent source of online training tutorials covering topics such as Avid Pro Tools, Media Composer, Adobe Premiere Pro, Photoshop, After Effects, Illustrator, Rhino, Vectorworks, Final Cut Pro, Filemaker, AutoCad, Cubase, Logic Pro, ShotPut Pro, DaVinci Resolve, Vegas Pro, as well as Project Management, Software Development, Network Administration, Finance and Accounting, Marketing, and much more. All IATSE members are eligible to sign up for a free LinkedIn Learning Account by visiting https://www.iatsetrainingtrust.org/lil

You can also view a multitude of free educational webinars sponsored by the IA Training Trust Fund online at www.gotostage.com/channel/iaeducationforall. These webinars cover a range of topics from labor and voting rights; the basics of equity, diversity, and inclusion; mental health subjects such as depression, substance abuse; physical safety and well-being at work; and so much more.

IATSE PAC

Following the 2024 election, you might consider donating to the IATSE PAC. This Political Action Committee is run entirely by the IATSE Political/Legislative Department and funded entirely by the donations of IATSE members and staffers. It backs pro-labor candidates whose values align with the IATSE Federal Issue Agenda and all campaigns are thoroughly vetted before the PAC distributes a dime. This is one of the safest ways to donate and be assured that your contribution is supporting candidates who support your livelihood. Since its inception in 1999, the PAC has contributed to candidates who have helped create thousands of IATSE jobs, provided financial support to IATSE members during times of crisis, and expanded the power and budget of the National Labor Relations Board

Recurring donors receive a quarterly newsletter outlining PAC expenditures and current political updates from the union, so that you can remain in the loop as to how your money is being spent. If you pledge to donate at the $10, $20, or $40 a month funding level, you’ll receive a membership pin.

Our Local is proud to be a Bronze Level participant in the PAC, thanks to the participation of our members. Our continued support has an impact on the lives of workers and the entertainment community across the nation.

Local 695 New Members

Zach Hazelwood A2
Pablo Mena Davalos Y-1
Parker Morris Y-1

In Memoriam

Joseph Biedenbach, Projectionist
April 9,1935 – December 14, 2024
Ryan Fecteau, Y-1
December 16, 1975 – December 19, 2024

Our Contributors

James Delhauer

James Delhauer serves as Local 695’s Director of Communications and Political Affairs. His career began as a video engineer and records specialist before coming to work in the local office. He is a member of both the California IATSE Council (CIC) and Entertainment Union Coalition, working to advance entertainment community’s interests within the California legislature.

Richard Lightstone CAS AMPS

Tod A. Maitland CAS

Tod was born into the sound business. His father, Dennis Maitland CAS, received the CAS Career Achievement Award which Tod will be receiving this year. Tod’s career spans over 45 years, 110 films, 5 Academy Award nominations, and Head of Sound at NYU Grad School.

Terence McCormack Maitland

Terence McCormack Maitland is a native Brooklynite who now splits his time between NYC and Sweden. He has been a Local 52 member since 2010 and has had a blast making movies and TV ever since.

Ryan Pedersen

Ryan Pedersen has loved sound his whole life, even as a little kid. He originally planned on working in live sound or recording music in studios but found his way into film production and has been doing that ever since. He has seen a large portion of the world from his early documentary work but now spends most of his time in Los Angeles doing music playback or mixing scripted projects. When not on set or at home with his wife and four kids, he finds refuge at his train club at Griffith Park.

Ric Teller

I’ve been very fortunate in my more than forty years working in television, going places and doing things that a kid from a small town in Nebraska could not have imagined.

Casey Weiss

Casey Weiss serves as the Director of Education & Training for Local 695. As the long time daughter of a Local 695 Sound Mixer, she grew up on set and is passionate about the union movement and its benefits to both its members and its greater community. Casey is ready to “roll” up her sleeves and help advance our members.

From the Editors

This edition of Production Sound & Video comes in the midst of the Southern California wildfires.
As of this writing, more than forty thousand acres of Los Angeles County have burned and one hundred thousand residents have been displaced. At this time, news is still changing daily. We will be back in our Summer edition with more comprehensive coverage of this event and what it means for the entertainment community. But for now, our hearts go out to all of those who have been impacted by this disaster. If you have the means, please consider volunteering for or donating to relief efforts. The spirit of Los Angeles is a powerful thing and, as a community, we will work through this difficult time.

In this jam-packed issue, we have the long-awaited next installment of “Ric Rambles.” Steven Morrow takes us behind the scenes of his fifth collaboration with Director Jason Reitman on the film Saturday Night. Tod A Maitland and Terence McCormack Maitland bring us stories from the set of the Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown.

Ryan Pedersen brings us “Union Membership: Our Responsibilities,” a look at the relationship we as members have with our unions. Local 695 Education & Training Director Casey Weiss discusses the six-figure BRIC Grant Local 695 received to train members in virtual production in 2024. Co-editor James Delhauer takes an in-depth look at the relationship between Teradek + Frame.io and how 695 video engineers can use it to accelerate workflows.

In Solidarity,

James Delhauer & Richard Lightstone
Production Sound & Video Co-editors

From the Business Representative

A Day Longer, A Day Stronger

Los Angeles is in the middle of the most destructive fires in the history of our state. As I write this, the fires that continue to burn across the Los Angeles area have killed at least twenty-seven people, destroyed more than seventeen thousand structures—including more than ten thousand—and charred more than sixty square miles. Unfortunately, this tragedy has affected many of our IATSE members and their loved ones.

Our production families are an extension of our blood family, and I am so proud of the IATSE community, not just those here in Los Angeles, but across the country. One thing our production crews do best is jump in and help their brothers, sisters, and kin in times of need. The outreach and the offers of help and support are beyond description. Within the first twenty-four hours, the thirteen Hollywood business agents and the IATSE West Coast office had two donation centers established with food, clothes, personal hygiene items, gift cards, and just about anything our members would need. In the first two days, our members donated so many items that both centers were overflowing with supplies for those who were affected by the fires.

Articles in Production Sound & Video typically highlight our members’ fantastic work on sets worldwide and the technology our members influence to better the industry, but what you don’t see is the other side of our union membership; the humanity side of our members. The support that we have for one another is unmatched and inspiring. We are family and we will show up for one another. We lift each other up every day and not just on sets.

Members who have lost everything are just starting the rebuilding process and will need support for months and maybe even years to come. If you are one of those members, please know that your IATSE brothers and sisters and all the unions in Los Angeles will be with you every step of the way. If you need this kind of support, you have my assurance that we will have your back. This is what families do for each other.

Our members have endured a lot over the last four years. I’m so proud of my labor family and know that together we will rebuild better than ever.

In Solidarity,

Scott Bernard
Business Representative

From the President

Let’s talk about what’s trending…

With the new year upon us, I wanted to outline one of my goals for 2025—the emergence of a Technical Trends Task Force.

The Local 695 Technical Trends Committee was formed in 2008 to monitor emerging technologies that will have an impact upon our jurisdictional crafts. This committee has traditionally been spearheaded by former Vice President and current Trustee Jay Patterson. It is under his legacy that the FCC Licensing Project was created as a response to the possibility of white space devices interfering with RF spectrum used by wireless microphones.

As our Local grows and takes on new technological challenges, Jay will take on an emeritus role within this group. Jay and I hope to bring on the next generation of technical leadership with the transition to the Technical Trends Task Force. Our goal is to add two to three new leaders, encompassing as many facets of our Local as possible. James Delhauer, Video Engineer and Director of Communications/Political Affairs, will spearhead the video side of this group. I’m fielding inquiries for leadership in AI, IT, Video Walls, and Sound/Audio subsets for additional positions.

The heart of the Technical Trends Committee’s mission statement is “to seek out individuals outside of the production engineering community, whose relevant technical expertise can keep our understanding of the ongoing evolution of technology current, and help us understand the implications, ramifications, and applications of developments on the technology horizon.”

The main goal for 2025 is to research and collect information to help guide discussions in AI and emerging technology fields with the AMPTP. We need to expand upon the original mission statement and include the following questions:

What areas of AI or emerging technology will potentially impact our jurisdictions?
Where are potential uses of AI or emerging technology within our fields?
What software and hardware are currently being used or have potential uses in the future?
What are the economic impacts of implementing emerging technology both positive and negative?

And most important:

What areas are you most interested in learning more about?
What skills are you looking to learn or improve?
What education can we provide you?

Discussions with the AMPTP regarding our contractual educational up-skilling and reskilling program started in November 2024. The IATSE AI Subcommittee plans to meet with the AMPTP before the end of the first quarter of 2025. As a member of this committee, my focus is to help create a vision for the industry and program at large. I need your help to focus on the needs of our members so I can bring them to the table. I am assigning this agenda to the Technical Trends Task Force.

Local 695 is the technical Local of Hollywood’s IATSE bargaining unit. We have the opportunity to play a larger role in this technical evolution. Jay, James, and I have already begun working to assemble this task force, which will start to meet after the General Membership Meeting on February 8 at Local 44. Anyone interested is welcome to attend. If you are interested in being part of this group, please reach out to 695TechTrends@gmail.com

In Solidarity,

President Jillian Arnold

News & Announcements

California Governor Proposes Expanded Film & TV Tax Incentives

On October 27, California Gov. Gavin Newsom held a press conference in which he proposed expanding California’s Film & Television Tax Credit Program to $750 million a year in an effort to bring work back to the state. The current tax incentive program sits at $330 million. This effort is supported by the IATSE, the California IATSE Council, the Entertainment Union Coalition, the California Federation of Labor, and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’s Entertainment Industry Council.

For more information on California’s Tax Incentive Program, check out the article “What’s Next for the California Film Incentives?” on page 14.

IATSE PAC

Following the 2024 election, you might consider donating to the IATSE PAC. This Political Action Committee (PAC) is run entirely by the IATSE Political/Legislative Department and funded entirely by the donations of IATSE members and staffers. It backs pro-labor candidates whose values align with the IATSE Federal Issue Agenda, and all campaigns are thoroughly vetted before the PAC distributes a dime. This is one of the safest ways to donate and be assured that your contribution is supporting candidates who support your livelihood. Since its inception in 1999, the PAC has contributed to candidates who have helped create thousands of IATSE jobs, provided financial support to IATSE members during times of crisis, and expanded the power and budget of the National Labor Relations Board.

Recurring donors receive a quarterly newsletter outlining PAC expenditures and current political updates from the union so that you can remain in the loop as to how your money is being spent. If you pledge to donate at the $10, $20, or $40 a month funding level, you’ll receive a membership pin.

Financial Relief for Entertainment Workers

This year’s prolonged work stoppages have been devastating to the entertainment community across the nation. In Hollywood, our community has been supported by the profound efforts of the Motion Picture Television Fund (MPTF) and the Entertainment Community Fund (formerly The Actors Fund). Both these charities have long histories of offering safety-net services and aid for entertainment workers and their families. They aided the entertainment unions, including Local 695, in administering their relief funds throughout the 2023 WGA & SAG-AFTRA strikes against the AMPTP.

Hollywood Boom Operators

Back row (L-R): Beau Baker, Andy Adams, Rick Hays, Mark Burton, Roger Stevenson, Rene Defrancesch, Jonathan Fu, Fredrik Winberg, Chuck Homyak, Todd Bassman. Front row: Tom Hartig, Tim Song Jones, Patrick Martens, Jeff Wexler, Peggy Names, Randy Johnson, Rocky Quiroz, Mychal Smith.

You take a beautiful Saturday in November and populate the Sagebrush Cantina in Calabasas with some Hollywood old Boom Operators and some young ones. Sprinkle in a few iconic Production Sound Mixers, and you have a most enjoyable gathering!

Local 695 welcomes its New Members

Aisha Akins Y-7a
Noelle Aleman Proj.
Brandon Boldroff Y-4
Cam Broadbent Y-4
John Capps Y-4
Benjamin Cohen Y-13
Quinn Commans Y-8
Corey Dodd Y-4
Jared Flejter Y-7
Milken Gardner Y-1
Naola Greaves Y-16a
Jake Greenberg Y-7
Michael Hahn Y-4
Billy Hansard III Proj.
Richard Harvey Y-1
Andrew Hodges A2
Zak Holley Y-4
Tom Hopper Y-16a
Amy Khuong Y-4
Armando Lopez Y-7a
Matt McAdam Y-4
Bryce Mercier A2
Daniel Morez Proj.
Chris Nakamura Y-4
Maribeth Powers Y-16a
Parker Rasmussen Y-4
Omar Rodriguez Y-4
Shane Rovello Y-4
Brandon Schulleri Y-4
Robbi Sutherland A2
Garret Vander Leek Y-4
Steve Vaughn Y-4

In Memoriam

Pat Lucatorto Y-1
August 8, 1948 – February 23, 2024

IATSE Education

From the Editors

Welcome to the winter edition of Production Sound & Video and a wealth of articles. There is “Matlock” by Ross Levy, Ryan Pedersen and James Delhauer contribute “What’s Next for California’s Film Tax Credit Incentives?”

Simon Hayes does a deep dive on his team’s work on Wicked, and an “An Interview With Willie Burton CAS.” A discussion on the new wireless multichannel audio signal protocol in “WMAS: Next Generation Wireless.” There’s also “The Stream Team.”

This marks the 16th year of the Local’s magazine, starting back in 2008. We are very proud to continue to give you interesting content that serves the membership of Local 695 and the film community at large.

We wish you all safe and happy holidays and a Happy New Year. Onto 2025!

In Solidarity,
Richard Lightstone & James Delhauer
Production Sound & Video Co-editors

Our Contributors

Willie D. Burton CAS

He is a two-time Oscar winner, Bird (1988) and Dreamgirls (2006), and one of two African Americans to receive the Academy Award for Best Sound. His Academy Award nominations include his work on The Buddy Holly Story, Altered States, War Games, The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, and Oppenheimer. His recent credits include Spider-Man: No Way Home, The Haunted Mansion, Beverly Hills Cop 4, Origin, and RIP

James Delhauer

James Delhauer was born in Southern California and never made it very far from home. Since 2014, he has worked as a television engineer specializing in Pronology’s mRes platform. He joined Local 695 because he desperately needed friends. James is Co-editor of Production Sound & Video.

Simon Hayes AMPS CAS

Simon Hayes received an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, and CAS Award for Tom Hooper’s groundbreaking Les Miserables, which featured live sung vocals. An advocate of educating the next generation of Production Sound Mixers, he champions creative collaborations as a filmmaker and supporting actors’ original performances. A strong believer in building relationships between production and post sound professionals, he continues to forge ties between both communities.

Ross Levy CAS

Ross is a Southern Californian native and has been a member of Local 695 since 1996. He spent the first eighteen years working primarily in feature films and episodic television as a Utility Sound Technician. He made the jump to Production Sound Mixer on NCIS: Los Angeles in 2016, mixing nearly one hundred and eighty episodes. Ross just wrapped Matlock season one and is looking forward to season two in the summer of 2025.

Ryan Pedersen

From the President

Let’s talk about Lee Smith.

Congratulations to the 2024 World Series Champions: The Los Angeles Dodgers. What a fun and exciting series to watch!

A further congratulations goes to all the crew who make baseball and any sport a reality for our viewers. The days are long, the turnarounds can be a grind, and I know from personal experience that crew support is not as verbalized as it should be. Thank you for your hard work.

To all of you who are New York Yankee fans out there … Well … as we say in Chicago, there’s always next year.

If we’re being honest, the Dodgers are not my team. I was rooting for them, but I’m a Chicago fan through and through. It’s something that I inherited from my grandmother. She moved from South Dakota to the big city because of the Chicago Cubs. To this day, there are certain players we don’t mention in front of Grandpa and my mother used to tell me stories about when dinner was usually burned when the Cubs lost. Grandma’s a woman after my own heart.

One of my favorite players, Lee Smith, was drafted in 1975. He was described as an intimidating figure on the pitcher’s mound, standing at six feet, six inches, with a ninety-five mile-per-hour fastball.

He holds the current Cubs’ team record for career saves with one hundred eighty. Smith was never inducted into the Hall of Fame, despite being one of the best closing pitchers in MLB history—a fact which has puzzled some baseball historians. However, despite Smith being one “of the best one-inning pitchers the game has ever seen,” my respect for this man was earned on his exit from the bullpen.

Smith is credited by starting the slow walk from the bullpen to the mound. This technique has been adopted by many closing pitchers, some taking it to more dramatic levels like Los Angeles Dodger Eric Gagne between 2002 and 2004.

In an interview where he was asked about why his pre-pitching routine lacked urgency, Smith replied by saying, “I had a lot of friends on the grounds crew at Wrigley Field. I found out they got time and a half if the game went past 4:30 pm, so I took my time getting to the mound. The slow walk to the mound became part of my routine.”

Smith took care of his crew.

As a union leader, I find that very inspiring. The day-to-day stressors of today’s political, economic, and industry-wide climate have had an impact on all of us, but it’s important to take a moment to make sure the teams we work with are also taken care of. It’s the little things we can do for our coworkers or our teams that help create a better and more productive work environment. What may have started as a slow walk to get a few extra dollars in the pockets of the turf management, helped families pay for food on the table, healthcare, mortgages, and more. These small acts of thoughtfulness, I know firsthand pay dividends in ways we will never expect.

Now, onto hockey season! Let’s talk about the Blackhawks.

In Solidarity,

President Jillian Arnold

From the Business Representative

This magazine is a record of our union’s history.

When I first took office in 2015, my goal was to make sure that everyone, including the employers, knew that we were not just the “Sound Local.” That may have been our humble beginning in 1930, before the advent of video, but our role in our entertainment community goes far beyond that now. My first order of business was to change the title of our 695 Quarterly magazine and, in the spring of 2016, we launched our revamped publication entitled Production Sound & Video—the very same magazine you are reading now. We’ve come a long way since 2015.

We have a one-on-one with Academy Oscar winner Willie Burton on his time working with Eddie Murphy. On a personal note, Wille is a longtime friend of our family. He worked with my father on Gunsmoke, and I spent a few long cold nights working with Willie and Microphone Boom Operator Marvin Lewis as their Utility Sound Tech. I highly encourage you all to read it and learn from a man who taught me so much.

As this is our final issue of 2024, I wish everyone a wonderful holiday season with family and friends. I know that for many, this year has been challenging as we’ve experienced California’s entertainment industry contraction. In this edition of Production Sound & Video, we closely examine California’s Film & Television Tax Incentive Program and give you a timeline of where we are and where we need to go in 2025.

Local 695 is one of the founding members of the California IATSE Council (CIC) and we were boots on the ground in 2009 to get the first film and television tax incentive program in our state. Our Local is now involved in efforts to expand the current program and will take a leadership role in fighting to bring work back to California.

However, we will need your help. Just as we needed our members to succeed in negotiations in 2024, we will need our members in order to succeed in lobbying for new legislation in 2025. So, keep an eye on your communications from the Local on ways to get involved in the new year.

Happy holidays everyone. Here’s to a phenomenal 2025.

Scott Bernard

News & Announcements

IATSE Negotiations Contract Ratification

On July 18, the IATSE announced that its members had overwhelmingly voted to ratify the 2024-2027 Basic, Videotape Electronic Supplemental, and Area Standards Agreements. This brings an end to this year’s IATSE negotiations with the AMPTP. The new Basic and Videotape Agreements took effect on August 1, 2024, while the Videotape Agreement takes effect on October 1, 2024.

The new agreement includes wage increase of 7%, 4%, and 3.5% in the first, second, and third years of the contract, respectively. New residual funding mechanisms have been created to keep the union’s health and pension plan strong and eliminate funding deficits in the coming years. First-of-their-kind AI protections will keep union members at the forefront of technological change in our industry.

In our Local Agreement, new provisions include individual wage increases for boom operators, critical staffing protections for both the Sound and Video Departments, and added the titles of “First Assistant Sound” and “Second Assisstant Sound” to Y-8 Boom Opeator and Y-7A Utility Sound Technician classifications in order to create common language with the sound community across the globe.

Local 695 members can find the complete Memorandum of Agreement and a detailed summart of all changes in these new contracts on our website.

Financial Relief for Entertainment Workers

IATSE Education
LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda.com) is an excellent source of online training tutorials covering topics such as Avid Pro Tools, Media Composer, Adobe Premiere Pro, Photoshop, After Effects, Illustrator, Rhino, Vectorworks, Final Cut Pro, Filemaker, AutoCad, Cubase, Logic Pro, Shot Put Pro, DaVinci Resolve, Vegas Pro, as well as Project Management, Software Development, Network Administration, Finance and Accounting, Marketing, and much more. All IATSE members are eligible to sign up for a free LinkedIn Learning Account by visiting https://www.iatsetrainingtrust.org/lil

IATSE PAC

If you are going to donate money during this political cycle, you are highly encouraged to do your research and make sure your money is going where you think it is going. Only donate to reputable, verifiable services that are affiliated with official campaigns. Most political campaigns are only too happy to direct you to their official donation page if you contact them via their official website.

You might also consider donating to the IATSE PAC. This Political Action Committee is run entirely by the IATSE Political/Legislative Department and funded entirely by the donations of IATSE members and staffers. It backs pro-labor candidates whose values align with the IATSE Federal Issue Agenda and all campaigns are thoroughly vetted before the PAC distributes a dime. This is one of the safest ways to donate and be assured that your contribution is supporting candidates who support your liveihood. Since its inception in 1999, the PAC has contributed to candidates who have helped create thousands of IATSE jobs, provided financial support to IATSE members during times of crisis, and expanded the power and budget of the National Labor Relations Board.

Our Local is pround to be a Bronze Level participant in the PAC, thanks to the participation of our members. Our continued support has an impact on the lives of workers and the entertainment community across the nation.

New Members

Local 695 welcomes its new members

Jeffery Coombs Y-4
Sydnee Crichi Y-7A
Joseph Hartshorn Y-8
Paul Padilla Y-3
Nasser Saededdin Y-7A
John Skoglund Y-1
Shayla Tates Y-16A
Barry Weaver Y-4

Our Contributors

Beau Baker CAS
With a degree from the renowned USC School of Cinema, Beau Baker CAS has over 46 years of experience in production sound recording. He has traveled worldwide on such films as Ladyhawke, nominated for a Best Sound Academy Award, and all over the US with over 30 features to his credit, including Twister, Blade Runner, and Cruel Intentions. He has over 400 episodes of popular television such as Grey’s Anatomy, Angel, One Mississippi, and House M.D.

Juan Cisneros CAS
Juan Cisneros CAS is from Lima, Peru, and has been based in Los Angeles since 1989. With over 26 years of experience, he has won two Emmys, and three Emmy nominations. His work includes shows like House M.D., Real Husbands of Hollywood, Pam & Tommy, Mayans MC, Truth be Told, and Station 19. Juan is a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and the Cinema Audio Society, having served on the Board of Directors for Local 695 and currently serving on the Board of Directors for the Cinema Audio Society. His career reflects his unwavering dedication, talent, and commitment to excellence in the entertainment industry.

Devendra Cleary CAS
Devendra Cleary CAS is a Los Angeles-based Y-1 Production Sound Mixer. Recently completed filming Star Wars: Skeleton Crew for Lucasfilm, Wolfs for Apple Original Films, and Twisters for Universal Pictures. Currently serving his second term as Vice President here at I.A.T.S.E. Local 695 and has served on the Board of Directors since 2015. He’s also currently a Board member for the Cinema Audio Society. He joined Local 695 as a Y-7a in 2001.

Bill Kaplan CAS
My father started in film in the silent days. My first Local 695 feature was Animal House, 47 years ago. I have received seven Oscar nominations. I have two wonderfully successful children. I’m almost 80, still working full time and loving it.

Josh Levy
Joshua Levy Owner/Operator Joshvideo LLC on-set video services. 30-Year member Local 695. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Josh’s parents were both in the entertainment business. His grandfather was a Sound Editor for Filmation Animation and Josh was lucky enough to get the a call one day to try out “Video-Assist.” He started his journey in feature films and now finds himself working primarily on streaming episodic productions. He feels that we are all blessed to be a part of the best Local in the motion picture industry, stating that “The talent and skill levels of our members is second to none.”

Ryan Pedersen
Ryan Pedersen has loved sound his whole life, even as a little kid. He originally planned on working in live sound or recording music in studios but found his way into film production and has been doing that ever since. He has seen a large portion of the world from his early documentary work but now spends most of his time in Los Angeles doing music playback or mixing scripted projects. When not on set or at home with his wife and four kids, he finds refuge at his train club at Griffith Park.