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Production Sound, Video Engineers & Studio Projectionists

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From the Interim Business Agent

From the Interim Business Agents

AB 1839

On September 18, 2014, Gov. Jerry Brown and members of the California film community gathered in front of the TCL Chinese Theatre to sign Assembly Bill 1839 into law. As a result, IATSE Local 695 members can now expect substantially more job opportunities at home, here in Hollywood. State Assembly member and co-author of the bill, Mike Gatto, announced: “Today, with the stroke of a pen, California is doing something significant to bring good jobs back to our state.”

The state of California will now support the film and television industry to the tune of $1.6 billion in tax incentives over the next five years.

This was not something that just happened overnight; this victory was years in the making and put the IATSE on the map in Sacramento. There were countless people working behind the scenes, meeting one-on-one with key players and walking the halls of the State House. We, the members of the IATSE, now have standing in Sacramento.

I have been fortunate to speak with many of our elected leaders up and down the state and the message you sent with your letters and participation in the rallies in Burbank, San Francisco and Sacramento was impressive. It went a long way to show that the IATSE will not be pushed aside when our jobs are threatened.

On Sunday, October 26, we held a celebratory rally at Calamigos Ranch in Malibu, where many political leaders came to thank you for standing up and bringing this bill home. “Production and production jobs aren’t running away from California, they’re being lured away … but that stops today,” proclaimed Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.

There are way too many people to thank for the countless hours of work fighting for this much-needed tax incentive. I’m proud to report to you that Local 695, its leadership and members were right there on the front line leading the charge.

So now I say, “Let’s get back to work.”

Scott Bernard
Interim Business Agent

Contributors

Contributors to this edition

Mark Agostino began his career as a studio recording engineer. After four years missing the light of day, he was in dire need of a change of scenery (literally). Along came an opportunity to join Local 695. He snatched it up and has been specializing in multitrack music playback and live recording for the last 18 years.

 

Richard Lightstone, CAS
Richard began his career in Canada and it continues in Los Angeles. He served as President of the Cinema Audio Society and is also a co-editor of the 695 Quarterly.

 

Lisa Piñero, CAS
Lisa Piñero, CAS, a production sound mixer for more than 25 years, has credits including documentaries, television and feature films. Her recent work includes projects with directors Oren Moverman, John Hillcoat, Nicole Holofcener and the three most

 

David Waelder
David has recorded sound for films for several decades and has been an editor of the 695 Quarterly since its inception five years ago.

 

Photos courtesy of the respective contributors

From the Editors

From the Editors

Ingenuity and Enthusiasm

The accomplishments of the Local 695 members featured in this issue span fifty years, from Jimmie Songer’s work perfecting video assist in the late ’60s to Lisa Piñero’s efforts to make World War II communications gear functional for Fury. There’s a remarkable consistency in these efforts. In every case, success was the result of a focused determination and attention to detail. Jimmie Songer introduced new materials to viewfinder optics to gain sufficient light for his design and worked with electronic circuits so miniaturized that he needed a microscope just to follow the traces. Lisa Piñero brought in a consultant to assist in rebuilding and repurposing antique tank communications.

If there is any new development, it is the growing complexity of the process. As Mark Agostino relates, accomplishing Clint Eastwood’s goal of live-recording the Jersey Boysmusicians required deploying microphones in several adjacent rooms to capture audio simultaneously from both on-screen and offscreen musicians.

We applaud the commitment and ingenuity of all these 695 engineers practicing the craft at the highest levels of skill and professionalism.

Fraternally yours,
Richard Lightstone, Eric Pierce and David Waelder

66th Emmys

66th Emmys

Local 695 honors the art of production sound through the success of all the Emmy nominees.

[Names in BOLD are Local 695 members]

Comedy or Drama Series (One-Hour)

Breaking Bad “Felina”
AMC • Sony Pictures Television

Nominees:
Darryl L. Frank, Jeffrey Perkins, Eric Justen
Production Sound Team:
Bil Clement, Allen Crawford

Downton Abbey Episode 8
PBS • A Carnival Films/Masterpiece co-production in association with NBC Universal

Nominees:
Alistair Crocker, Nigel Heath, Alex Fielding

Game of Thrones “The Watchers on the Wall”
HBO • HBO Entertainment in association with Bighead, Littlehead, Television 360, Startling Television and Generator Productions

Nominees: 
Ronan Hill CAS, Onnalee Blank CAS, Mathew Waters
Production Sound Team:
Simon Kerr, James Atkinson, Daniel McCabe, Richard Dyer, Bradley Kendrick, Luke McGinley

Homeland “Good Night”
Showtime • Showtime Presents, Fox 21, Teakwood Lane Productions, Cherry Pie Productions, Keshet

Nominees:
Larry Long, Nello Torri, Alan Decker, Larold Rebhun
Production Sound Team:
Matt Fann, Jack Hill

House of Cards “Chapter 14”
Netflix • Donen/Fincher/Roth and Trigger Street Productions, Inc. in association with Media Rights Capital for Netflix

Nominees:
Lorenzo Millan, Nathan Nance, Scott R. Lewis

Miniseries or a Movie

American Horror Story: Coven “Fearful Pranks Ensue”
FX Networks • 20th Century Fox Television

Nominees:
Bruce Litecky CAS, Joe Earle CAS, Doug Andham CAS
Production Sound Team:
Steve Hurserstel, Betsy Lindell, Eric Heigle, Erik H. Magnus CAS, Leonard Suwalski, Daniel Kuzila

Fargo “The Crocodile’s Dilemma”
FX Networks • MGM and FX Productions

Nominees:
Mike Playfair, David Raines, Mark Server, Chris Philp

Killing Kennedy
National Geographic Channel • Scott Free Productions for National Geographic Channels

Nominees: 
William Britt, Mark Linden, Tara Paul
Production Sound Team:
Doug Bishoff, David Strayer

Sherlock: His Last Vow (Masterpiece)
PBS • Hartswood West for BBC/ Cymru Wales in co-production with Masterpiece

Nominees: 
John Mooney, Howard Bargroff, Doug Sinclair, Peter Gleaves
Production Sound Team:
Stuart McCutcheon, Abdulqader Amoud

Treme “Sunset on Louisianne”
HBO • HBO Entertainment in association with Blown Deadline Productions

Nominees:
Bruce Litecky CAS, Andy Kris, Blake Leyh

Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) and Animation

Californiation “Kickoff”
Showtime • Showtime Presents, Aggressive Mediocrity, And Then…

Nominees:
Daniel Church
, Todd Grace, Edward C. Carr
Production Sound Team:
Abel Schiro, Lance Wandling, Mike Mesirow

Modern Family “The Wedding, Part 1”
ABC • Picador Productions and Steve Levitan Productions in association with 20th Century Fox Television

Nominees:
Stephen A. Tibbo
, Dean Okrand, Brian R. Harman
Production Sound Team:
Srdjan “Serge” Popovic, Dan Lipe, Ken Strain

Nurse Jackie “The Lady With the Lamp”
Showtime • Showtime Presents, Loinsgate Television, Jackson Group Entertainment, A Caryn Mandabach Production, Clyde Phillips Productions

Nominees:
Jan McLaughlin, Peter Waggoner
Production Sound Team:
Brendon O’Brien, Joe Savastano

The Simpsons “Married to the Blob”
FOX • Gracie Films in association with 20th Century Fox Television

Nominees: 
Mark Linden, Tara Paul

Veep “Detroit”
HBO • HBO Entertainment in association with Dundee Productions

Nominees: 
Bill MacPherson
, Richard Davey

Variety Series or Special

The Beatles: The Night That Changed America
CBS • AEG Ehrlich Ventures, LLC

Nominees:
Larry Reed, Tom Holmes, Al Schmitt, Giles Martin, Josh Morton

The 56th Grammy Awards
CBS • AEG Ehrlich Ventures, LLC

Nominees:
Tom Holmes, Eric Johnson, John Harris, Eric Schilling, Mikael Stewart, Ron Reaves, Tom Pesa, Michael Parker, Pablo Munguia, Paul Sandweiss, Bob LaMasney

The Kennedy Center Honors
CBS • The Stevens Company in association with the John F. Kennedy Center

Nominees:
Tom Holmes, Paul Sandweiss, Dave O’Donnell, Josh Morton, Patrick Baltzell

The Oscars
ABC • Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Nominees:
Paul Sandweiss, Tommy Vicari, Biff Dawes, Pablo Munguia, Kristian Pedregon, Patrick Baltzell, Michael Parker, Bob LaMasney
Production Sound Team:
Larry Reed, John Perez, Eddie McKarge, Dan Vicari, Debbie Fecteau, Ric Teller, Hugh Healy
, David Bellamy

The Voice Episode 619A
NBC • Mark Burnett’s One Three Inc. and Talpa Media USA in association with Warner Horizon Television

Nominees:
Michael Abbott, Kenyata Westbrook, Robert P. Matthews Jr., John Koster, Randy Faustino, Ryan Young, Christian Schrader, Tim Hatayama, Michael Bernard, Andrew Fletcher, Bill Dietzman, Eddie Marquez

Nonfiction Programming

The Amazing Race “Part Like the Red Sea”
CBS • WorldRace Productions, Inc.

Nominees:
Jim Ursulak, Dean Gaveau CAS, Jerry Chabane, Troy Smith
Production Sound Team:
Bruce Beacom
, Darren Brower, Alfredo R. del Portillo, Fernando Gironas, Randall Good, Mickey McMullen, Tyson Schaffner, Ryan Sevy, Steve Tejada, Barry Weissman

American Masters “Jimi Hendrix: Hear My Train a Comin’”
PBS • A Production of FuseFilms and Thirteen’s American Masters for WNET

Nominees:
Eddie Kramer, Steve Crook

Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown “Tokyo”
CNN • Zero Point Zero Productions

Nominee:
Brian Bracken

COSMOS: A Space Time Odyssey “Standing Up in the Milky Way”
FOX/NatGeo • Fuzzy Door Productions and Cosmos Studios, Inc. in association with FOX Broadcasting Company and National Geographic Channel

Nominees:
Mark Hensley, Joel Catalan, Paul Arnoff, David Torres
Production Sound Team:
Darryl L. Frank, Brian Copenhagen, Alex Usatine, Tom Williams

Deadliest Catch “Careful What You Wish For”
Discovery Channel • Original Productions, LLC, a Fremantle Media Company for the Discovery Channel Broadcasting Company and National Geographic Channel

Nominee:
Bob Bronow CAS

News & Announcements

News & Announcements

Cinegear Expo 2014

This was the year of the drone at Cinegear. Wherever you turned, someone was showing a remote-controlled flying platform. The offerings were thinner for audio work.

Matt Mayer was at the Sound Devices booth to introduce the new Pix 970. This is an audio recorder that shares the same form factor as the Pix 260i but without the video circuits. It has MADI inputs and dualpower inputs for operational security. Dante and PixNet are built in as well as dualdrive capability on the front panel with two eSATA inputs on the back. There are eight analog tracks, eight AES tracks and the possibility of recording up to sixty-four tracks using MADI and Dante.

SanDisk, one of the inventors of flash memory, was showing the new C-Fast model with read and write speeds of 450 MBits/second and 350 MBits/second, respectively.

Mark Anderson at G-Tech was showing the Studio line and the new G-RAID drives with multiple drive enclosures that can be configured for automatic mirroring for security. The Thunderbolt-enabled drives can play video files at 500 MBits/second.


Kriky and Seth (& Beau) BBQ

The penultimate Kriky and Seth BBQ drew more than 100 people from the sound community on Saturday, July 12. This year’s event, the eighth in the series, was held at Beau Baker’s home in Toluca Lake. This year was a potluck affair but the hosts generously provided a professionally-staffed taco bar. There was ample food for all. Everyone had a good opportunity to socialize, renew friendships and meet new people in the craft.

They have announced that next year will be the last so, if you haven’t attended, you’ll want to be sure to be on the mailing list. Send an email to soundbbq@kriky.com or visit the Kriky & Seth’s Sound Department BBQ on Facebook.


Talks with Local 600

Local 600 and Local 695 have been meeting to work out areas of common concern, including playback from camera and other issues. These on-going discussions have already been productive and more information is forthcoming. Go to www.local695.com


Set Safety

We regret to report that Teamster driver Gary Joe Tuck died in a rollover crash while returning home from the New Mexico set of the TV show Longmire. The accident took place around 4:30 AM Saturday, June 28, after a particularly long workday. He had clocked in to work at 9 AM Friday and out at 3 AM Saturday. New Mexico Teamsters Local 492 believes that long hours on the show are to blame and is conducting an independent investigation.


In Memoriam

BRUCE A. BURNS
Mixer
May 28, 1943 – May 1, 2014

TONY MAX
Boom Operator
June 1, 1950 – May 24, 2014

BRUCE B. GLIMPSE
Mixer
June 1, 1957 – June 12, 2014

WALTER B. MARTIN
Mixer
April 18, 1945 – July 24, 2014

GARY C. THOMAS
Boom Operator
August 16, 1951 – July 30, 2014

From the Interim Business Agent

I’m excited to report that AB 1839 is gaining steam in Sacramento. Due to the hard work of the Entertainment Union Coalition (EUC), we have breezed through several committees; not one committee member has voted against this bill. We are in the middle of a big push to encourage Gov. Brown to appreciate how important it is that California match the incentive programs in New York and the other states that have drawn much of our work out of California. As I write this today, Local 695 members have stepped up. We have received more than a 50% response to our mailings asking you to sign and return letters to Gov. Brown. I’m proud to say that we see a renewed enthusiasm by Local 695 members.

As we gear up for the fourth quarter of the year, I would like to thank the members who came to the office or called in to show their support for the staff. We are always here to serve the membership.

I had the privilege to present Local 695 member Frank Sciuto with his fifty-year Gold Card. Frank had a long career as a Videotape Representative with Local 695 up to his retirement in 1994. Before Frank came to work as a Representative with Local 695, he worked as a Representative for the IA West Coast Office and was instrumental in securing a contract with CFI.

It was a joy to spend time with Frank, sharing stories and letting him know that his hard work carries on with the representatives working for you today. I brought Frank’s file with me and shared with his family and friends some of the letters Frank drafted as a Local 695 Representative. We all had some good laughs. Some of these letters reminded us all why Frank had the nickname “The Italian Stallion.” When it came to representing the members of Local 695, Frank was a tough cookie. Local 695 member Laurence Abrams and 695 staff member Leslie Otsuki along with Frank’s four children, enjoyed honoring Frank and his service to the IA and Local 695.

Scott Bernard
Interim Business Agent

Contributors

Contributors to this edition

Brendan Beebe
For the past twenty years, Brendan Beebe has worked in motion pictures, television, commercials and reality TV. Starting out as a Utility Sound Tech and then Microphone Boom Operator. Most recently, Brendan has been working as a Production Sound Mixer on such shows as The Mentalist, Ray Donovan and Stalker. Brendan has been part of several sound teams winning Academy Awards and Emmys. Brendan lives in Los Angeles with an amazing wife and three kids.
 

Ben Betts
For the past twenty-plus years, Ben has been Supervising Engineer on shows including seaQuest, multiple Star Trek TV/features, Studio 60, Chuck, G.I. Joe and CSI. He is currently Consulting Producer on Let’s Ask America, Executive Producer for WebCamRiot/Flune.tv and DIAvfx.com and continues to consult on various productions around Los Angeles.
 

Todd Marks
Starting with a fourth-grade photography class, transitioning to Super 8 film in high school, and then to film studies in college, Todd has had a lifelong love of visual media. His professional career as a Computer and Video Playback Supervisor spans more than two decades. Todd’s influence can be seen in many of the projects he’s been involved with, including The NET, Deep Impact, Star Trek Nemesis, Solaris, Team America, The Internship, FLIGHT and, of course, Anchorman 2.

 

Stuart Wilson
Stuart was nominated for Best Technical Achievement for a road movie with a crew of seven which started in an Afghan refugee camp in Pakistan shortly after 9/11. He graduated from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry after four of the Harry Potter films. A love of documentary and capturing dramatic moments that happen only once has kept him moving from one production extreme to the other ever since. Oscar noms for War Horse and Skyfall.

 

David Waelder
David has recorded sound for films for several decades and has been an editor of the 695 Quarterly since its inception five years ago.

 

Photos courtesy of the respective contributors

From the Trustees

From the Trustees

As the Trusteeship of Local 695 continues, the Trustees would like to report on the changes that have been made at the Local.

If you have been by the Local lately, you likely have noticed some new faces in accounting. Nicole Riordan has taken over as bookkeeper. Nikki comes to us with an AA in Business Administration and a strong background in IT. She is proving to be a valuable asset in our efforts to update and modernize the Local 695 computer network. In addition to her duties here, she is continuing her education and expects to earn her BS in Business Management from CSUN in 2015.

It is with great reluctance that we report that Leslie Otsuki has decided to move on from the Local. She has worked for Local 695 for thirty years and she will be greatly missed. However, we are pleased to report that her post will be filled by Linda Skinner, a 695 alumna. Leslie is working with Linda to bring her up to speed.

Donna Gamble-Ramirez continues to hold the office together and is spearheading the effort to bring about a more organized and efficient local union. Hundreds of boxes of un-filed documents have been cataloged, barcoded and moved to a secure off-site document storage facility, all under Donna’s watchful eye. A lot has been done and there is much more to do.

The Local’s accounting software has been updated to QuickBooks for a more efficient accounting of the Local’s finances. The next step is to update the network and hardware. Scott Bernard and Laurence Abrams have contacted no fewer than five vendors to compete for the project.

The Local’s training classes continue uninterrupted. In fact, a class on RF microphone usage has been added and has had its first two sessions.

Those of you that have called the office for assistance and have spoken to Joe Aredas Jr., will recognize that he brings a calm, steady and knowledgeable voice when dealing with member issues. A word of caution to any employer that would mistake Joe’s calm demeanor for a lack of resolve on the part of the union; he is passionate and tenacious when it comes to defending the members of this Alliance.

Scott has taken well to his new position. When he is not on the phone with members or employers, he has been evaluating all of the longstanding arrangements with vendors that do business with the Local. Whether it is the phones or the copy machines and many things in between, he has been able to cut costs while improving service. It seems that negotiating is not just for the bargaining table.

With the office operating more smoothly, we can turn our attention to revitalizing the building. The new sign out front is just the beginning.

We are looking forward to seeing all of you. As always, you are welcome to stop by and talk with the Trustees, to see some old friends or to make new ones.

In Solidarity,
Mike, Steve and Peter

From the Editors

From the Editors

Video engineering occupies a prominent position in this issue. In the profile of Hal Hanie, we follow his 56-year career in television broadcasting. And the account of making a functional news studio for Anchorman 2 demonstrates how complex the field can be, especially when practiced at the highest levels.

Stuart Wilson’s account of recording Edge of Tomorrow restates a common theme in this publication—careful preparation is often at the root of outstanding results.

We also offer a chance to become acquainted with the Nagra Seven, a two-track recorder with a touchscreen interface made in Switzerland with exacting standards.

Finally, we note with sadness the passing of Walt Martin on July 24, 2014. He was a friend to all the editors on the Quarterly and many in the film community and will be missed. A memorial service is planned for 12:30 p.m. on September 6 at Forest Lawn in the Hollywood hills. An article in The Hollywood Reporter has additional information. http://www .hollywoodreporter.com/news/walt-martin-dead-clint-eastwood-722908

Fraternally yours,
David Waelder, Eric Pierce and Richard Lightstone

Robert Altman’s Nashville

Starting From the Top:
Working on Robert Altman’s Nashville

by Fred Schultz, CAS

All photos courtesy of Fred Schultz

Nashville was my very first film job. It came about, like most of my best opportunities, completely by accident. Earlier, I’d moved to Nashville to attend grad school at Vanderbilt, but during the six years required to finish, the market for my degree turned belly-up. Professionally unappreciated, I responded by diving into rock ’n’ roll where, with more enthusiasm than skill, I began mixing rock shows.

Within the year, I was house mixer at a new music club, run in an uneasy partnership between the regional concert promoter and the young owner of Nashville’s massage parlor chain, a hustler with a love for rock and a cash flow in need of laundering. Before that party crashed, I polished my mixing skills on a stream of incredible talent including Bruce Springsteen (first national tour), KISS (ditto), Iggy Pop, B.B. King, Freddie King, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bob Seger, and an endless number of their hard-driving southern & midwestern brethren. Opposite page: Fred Schultz with slate. Robert Altman in Centennial Park, Nashville.

So, one year in, the summer of ’74, I was a self-identified rocker, overflowing with ego and lightly warranted self-esteem. That’s when Johnny Rosen, a business-savvy friend and owner of Fanta Sound, phoned me. A movie had come to town and its producers wanted him to find someone to work nights transferring sound for dailies using their pioneering eight-channel tape machine.

That fateful phone call placed me on Robert Altman’s Nashville and in Jim Webb’s sound department. Forty years later, it’s clear I’d been handed a golden opportunity, but at the time it seemed a huge step down. Coming from the egalitarian culture of live music, I was shocked to discover that, as a local hire, I was virtually invisible, working on a crew that for the most part regarded everything about Nashville with abrasive amusement, and which respected film, not music, as the art of highest value.

Every day, I reported after wrap to our transfer room in the show’s motel. There, a Teamster delivered the Stevens one-inch 8-track tape machine and production tape rolls straight from Jim’s sound cart, along with his sound log marked up with my instructions.

My job was to transfer three of the eight tracks Jim designated (from wireless, boom, handheld and prerecorded instrumentals) onto sprocketed three-stripe mag stock. A couple of nights later, after the film had been processed and flown back, Jim would do a live mix at a dailies screening for the cast and crew using my three-stripe transfers. Over the years, those screenings have gone on to become the stuff of legend for their high camaraderie, fueled as they were by weed, alcohol and massive talent. However, across the motel courtyard in my transfer room, there was no weed, no alcohol, no camaraderie. Still, the money was good and I’d begun to find the whole film thing fascinating.

The Stevens one-inch 8-track tape recorder was unique in that it operated without a capstan and it ran on car batteries, but was virtually unknown in professional audio circles. Jack Cashin was a USC cinema grad who knew of it and its capabilities, then convinced Altman he ought to use it, then oversaw making it work both technically and in workflow—a trifecta of history-changing contributions for which he’s never been adequately recognized. Altman and Webb first used the Stevens on California Split, then, when planning Nashville, Webb completed the system we know today by bringing in wireless microphones. This full system was used one final time on Buffalo Bill and the Indians, after which thirty years would pass before the film business would again have eight tracks available for their production mixers.

I was able to attend filming at two of their locations. The Exit/In had been my favorite music-listening room since its opening, so when Nashville shot there, I burned my candle on both ends to sit at a table as a background player. This got me close enough to listen while Altman talked his talent through scenes for two days. As far as I knew, all directors did it just like him, right?

I also went to the assassination scene at the Parthenon, and the three photos above are from that day—me playing with the slate, Jim Webb and Chris McLaughlin (Jim’s ace boom operator) behind the sound cart where Chris happily mimed mixing alongside Jim for my photo, and an enthusiastic Altman warming up the crowd as the master of his universe totally oblivious to the pistol clearly visible in his pocket.

But I proved not to be the perfect employee and suffered a fall from grace. One night, a solo vocal track by Karen Black somehow captivated me—it was probably from her SM-58 handheld though I don’t really remember—but I was absolutely convinced that something magic was in that track. And no, drugs were not involved. It was the raw power live music had on me.

I wanted everyone to appreciate exactly that same magic, so, contrary to Jim’s log notes, and ignoring his written instructions as my production mixer—I recorded that one microphone track onto all three strips of the sprocketed mag stock. Inevitably, two nights later at dailies when that particular scene went onscreen, the shit truly hit the fan.

As Karen launched into her song, Jim potted up her instrumentation track only to hear more of the same—her naked a cappella vocal. Apparently, Karen had been insecure about her singing before this, but now with her voice unaccompanied and unsweetened in front of cast and crew, she absolutely freaked. Flipped. Exploded. Jim Webb was on the spot, Robert Altman was on the spot, and a firing of the responsible party was inevitable. I was given the news and sent home. The small upside that night was that no one knew who I was, so no one recognized me on my way out.

An hour or so after I got home, Johnny Rosen phoned. “Think you learned anything here?” he asked. I confessed my naïveté, he got a laugh at me, then reported what had gone down. First, Altman assured Karen Black that he’d had me fired. Then he made it clear that, with the firing done and on record, he didn’t want any delays or compromises going forward with his dailies—nudge, nudge, wink, wink. “Just show up on time tomorrow and do what your mixer tells you,” said Johnny. My lesson learned, I did as instructed and no further word was ever uttered. Fast-forward to last year, nearly four decades later, in a conversation with Jim I finally dared to ask what he remembered about the incident. Always the gentleman, Jim drew a blank on it altogether.

After Nashville wrapped, my career took me back into live music for four more years, including one on the road mixing Johnny Cash, but Hollywood had already set its hook. By 1987, I was living in Los Angeles, a production mixer myself and now brimming with enthusiasm for the MOWs and television episodics that were becoming my bread and butter.

And that’s it. My film career started at the very top, working with Jim Webb on Robert Altman’s Nashville. I was a hands-on user of their paradigm-shifting multi-track production sound recorder. For two months, I was a cog in our industry’s very earliest multitrack film production workflow. Along the way, I screwed up so spectacularly that Altman had me fired. Then had me re-hired.

With the perspective that can come from enough time and distance, I’d like to suggest that sometimes one finds an unsuspected upside to learning your hard lessons while anonymous—wait long enough and some of those lessons may morph into stories worth sharing.

© Fred Schultz 2014

2013 Awards

Local 695 salutes the CAS, BAFTA and Oscar winners and their Production Sound Teams

[Names in BOLD are Local 695 members]

50th CAS Awards

The Cinema Audio Society Awards ceremony was held on Sat., Feb. 22, 2014, at the Crystal Ballroom of the Millennium Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles, California.

Motion Pictures – Live Action

Gravity

Chris Munro CAS, Skip Lievsay CAS, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead, Gareth Cousins, Chris Navarro CAS, Thomas J. O’Connell, Adam Fil Mendez

Production Sound Team:
Steve Finn, Jim McBride, Tim Fraser, Will Towers, Pud Cusack, Richard Bullock, Joel Reidy

Motion Pictures – Animated

Frozen

Gabriel Guy, David E. Fluhr CAS, Casey Stone, Mary Jo Lang

Television Movies and Mini-Series

Behind the Candelabra

Dennis Towns, Larry Blake, Thomas Vicari, Scott Curtis

Production Sound Team:
Javier M. Hernandez, Gerard Vernice, Mark Agostino

Television Series – One Hour

Game of Thrones “The Rains of Castamere”

Ronan Hill CAS, Richard Dyer, Onnalee Blank CAS, Mathew Waters CAS, Brett Voss

Production Sound Team:
Simon Kerr, James Atkinson, Daniel McCabe, Bradley Kendrick, Luke McGinley

Television Series – Half-Hour

Modern Family “Goodnight Gracie”

Stephen A. Tibbo CAS, Dean Okrand, Brian Harman CAS

Production Sound Team:
Srdjan “Serge” Popovic, Dan Lipe, Ken Strain

Television Non-Fiction, Variety, Music Series or Specials

History of the Eagles: Part One

Tom Fleischman CAS, Elliot Scheiner

Production Sound Team:
Alan Barker, Tyler Wood

EE British Academy Film Awards

The BAFTA Awards ceremony was held Sun., Feb. 16, 2014, in London, England.

Sound

Gravity

Chris Munro CAS, Glenn Freemantle,
Skip Lievsay CAS, Christopher Benstead, Niv Adiri

Production Sound Team:
Steve Finn, Will Towers, Jim McBride

Oscars

The 86th Academy Awards ceremony was held Sun., Mar. 2, 2014, at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, California.

Sound Mixing

Gravity

Chris Munro CAS, Skip Lievsay CAS, Niv Adiri,
Christopher Benstead

Production Sound Team:
Steve Finn, Will Towers, Jim McBride

News & Announcements

News & Announcements

Set Safety

When I first started doing narrative projects in California, I worked for an assortment of sketchy producers with more ambition than good sense. Like me, they were near the beginning of their careers and didn’t yet have production experience in depth. Many of these shows had car crash stunts with pipe ramps and explosions. Gunfire was common and most scripts had moving car shots with process trailers.

Despite these potentially hazardous elements, I never felt that I was ever in any real danger. At that time, any film with location power requirements exceeding what could be provided by ordinary household outlets was required to employ a Fire Safety Officer. Local fire departments maintained a roster of retired or semiretired officers to supervise film sets. They had the responsibility to ensure that the film didn’t burn down the building or electrocute anyone. Some of these officers interpreted their responsibility very narrowly and only concerned themselves with fire and electrical safety. But many took on a larger role and would oversee any activity they considered a potential hazard. They might, for instance, inspect scaffolding for weight-bearing capability. Although their authority to dictate practices outside of fire safety was untested, Producers generally acted on their recommendations. Liability for an accident would be more acute if they were to proceed in spite of a warning from a safety official.

Producers often chafed under the requirement. On a low-budget show, it wasn’t unusual for the Fire Safety Official to be the highest paid employee on the project. But there was a benefit for the Producer as well. If an accident did occur, the presence of an independent safety officer made it apparent that the production was probably not operating recklessly.

The Los Angeles Fire Department continues to assign Fire Safety Officers to film sets but the requirements have been eased in recent years. In an effort to make the permit process more production-friendly, officers are no longer assigned to every production that uses a generator. A Safety Officer is now assigned only if particular hazards are present, based on an evaluation of the permit application.

Recent events give reason to question whether thinning out independent oversight was wise. The presence of a trained officer with independent authority is a stabilizing element on a set. It discourages reckless behavior. This is a practice that should be encouraged on professional sets everywhere.

You may find more information about the on-set Fire Safety Program at: http://www.filmla.com (Navigate through “For Filmmakers” to the “Forms” section for PDF downloads).

-David Waelder


Candlelight Vigil

A candlelight vigil on February 20 held in honor of Sarah Elizabeth Jones, the camera assistant killed in the train trestle accident during the filming of Midnight Rider, drew nearly 1,000 marchers. Her parents, Richard and Elizabeth Jones, were among those attending and pledged to make the event the beginning of a campaign for improved set safety.

 

 

 


J.L. Fisher Open House

The 9th Annual J.L. Fisher Open House, Mixer and BBQ Lunch (free) will be held on Saturday, May 17, 2014. The event starts at 9 a.m. and runs until 4 p.m. J.L. Fisher hosts the annual event in association with SOC, ICG and ASC and numerous corporate sponsors. It’s an excellent opportunity to meet other production technicians, tour the Fisher facility and enjoy an outstanding lunch. Local 695 will be demonstrating the 23-ft. Fisher boom and you’re welcome to take the opportunity to hop up and spend some time on it yourself. We’ll be there all day. Stop by anytime. For more information, go to http://www.jlfisher.com/JLF-2014-Open-House


Sign of the Times

Replacing the ratty old sign on the building. Come by to see the new one proudly displayed.
 


Bringing Jobs Back to California

More than 2,000 film workers assembled at the Pickwick Gardens in Burbank on Saturday, February 22, to address the challenge of runaway production. This was the first event in a campaign sponsored by the Entertainment Union Coalition (EUC), a consortium of representatives from IATSE, DGA, SAG-AFTRA, PGA and Teamsters. The immediate objective was to rally support for an expansion of California’s tax credit program through AB 1839, a bill introduced by Assemblymen Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles) and Raul Bocanegra (D-Pacoima).

The need is both immediate and apparent. Of 41 big-budget pictures made in 2012 and 2013, only one was shot entirely in California. According to the Milken Institute, California lost 16,137 film and TV jobs between 2004 and 2012. And the Los Angeles Times reports that 1,694 members of IATSE have already permanently moved from California to pursue work opportunities in Georgia, Louisiana and other states with active incentive programs. Attendance at the rally underscored these figures: it was standing room only in the meeting room and attendees spilled out into the anterooms.

If there’s a bright spot, it’s the recognition this need is receiving from local politicians. The Gatto-Bocanegra bill received 40 immediate co-signers and had 20 more within a few days. Since then, it received unanimous approval in its first committee vote. Numerous local politicians attended the rally including both of the sponsoring Assemblymen, IATSE International VP Thom Davis (keynote speaker), Art Pulaski, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the California Labor Federation, and others.

To assist this effort, visit 695.com for regular updates and go to http://www.backtoca.com for information on volunteering.

From the Interim Business Agent

Trustees appointed by the International now administer Local 695. The International President asked me to act as your Business Agent during this transition period. As a 35-year member of Local 695, 10 of those years as a Special Representative for the Local, I take great pride in being able to serve the membership. I pledge to navigate these choppy waters with both respect for the accomplishments of my predecessors and commitment to practices that will benefit members in the future.

Every change comes with opportunities. The Trustee Administrators are eager to fulfill a mandate to leave the Local in better condition than they found it. Together, we have been reviewing office infrastructure, equipment lease contracts and the phone system, seeking ways to improve service and manage costs. It’s a good practice to perform this sort of top-to-bottom review periodically, and upgraded phones, computers and work assignments will enhance efficiency in assisting members. Webmaster Laurence Abrams has already implemented a change permitting members to pay dues and financial obligations online with a credit card.

Although there have been some changes in work assignments, most of the office staff is unchanged. Donna Gamble continues as our Executive Secretary, Leslie Otsuki still handles Accounting and Membership Services and Michael Kanyer handles the reception desk and also inputs data to the production tracking system. We welcome new employee Nicole (Nikki) Riordan in the Accountant & Membership Services Department. She comes to us with a background in accounting and computer networking. We also welcome Joe Aredas Jr. as a Special/Field Representative. Members coming to the office should expect to find assistance from a capable staff.

Local 695 is a participating member of the Entertainment Union Coalition (EUC). The EUC is a consortium of organizations committed to bringing production and post-production work back to California. The turnout for their kickoff event in February more than filled the largest meeting room at the Pickwick Center and, with more than 2,000 members attending, was the largest gathering of IATSE members ever. The goal of this first event (there will be others in the future) was to support the passage of AB 1839. We expect that bill to come up for its second committee review soon and we’ll again be distributing letters for members to sign and forward to their representatives. Please watch your email for that distribution and for other information about activities at the Local.

The Local belongs to the membership and derives its strength from you. With your support and participation, we will emerge stronger.

Scott Bernard
Interim Business Agent

Contributors

Contributors to this edition

Robert ‘Max’ Maxfield

​For more than 30 years, Robert ‘Max’ Maxfield has worked in radio, television and motion pictures. For most of those years, he was a Boom Operator, Utility Person and Production Sound Mixer. His notable credits include Mission: Impossible III, Rush Hour 3, Twister, O and the current TV hit The Walking Dead. Max was a part of Sound Mixer Geoff Patterson’s team that was Oscar nominated for Twister, and Michael P. Clark’s team that was CAS nominated for The Walking Dead. In his spare time, he teaches a class entitled The Art and Craft of Recording Motion Picture Sound.

Chris Munro, CAS

Chris Munro is a Local 695 member and Production Sound Mixer on more than 70 films. He has collaborated with some of the most successful filmmakers in recent history, including Ridley Scott, Guy Ritchie, M. Night Shyamalan, Atom Egoyan, Paul Greengrass, Ron Howard and Alfonso Cuarón, to name a few. In addition to 2014 Oscar and BAFTA Awards for Gravity, he was nominated at both ceremonies for Captain Phillips. He previously won an Academy Award for Black Hawk Down and a BAFTA for Casino Royale.

Andy Rovins, CAS

Andy Rovins has been working in production sound for a long, long time. He kind of remembers the good old days.

 

Fred Schultz, CAS

Fred began production mixing in the mid-’80s. Most of his shows aspired for magic, and in some, lightning truly did strike. A small handful actually became cultural touchstones. Then he was diverted for a decade and a half, developing file-based digital technologies and workflows. While that technology was new, it also had magic. But by 2010, his patience with corporate life had run dry. He wanted back into production where magic is valued and lightning still happens. He bought a new chair, and some digital kit for a very old sound cart, and is a happy guy once again.
 

James Tanenbaum, CAS

With decades of experience as a Production Mixer, Jim Tanenbaum, CAS is known to many as the man who “wrote the book” on timecode (Using Timecode in the Reel World) and as an educator. He has taught sound classes at UCLA since 1988, and traveled to Japan (1995), China (2010 and 2011) and Vietnam (2012) to train other mixers and film school students in the discipline of sound for movies and TV. He continues to work in production, most recently completing the first season of the reality series Jim Henson’s Creature Shop Challenge. He worked on the last three years of James Cameron’s Avatar, and hopes to do Avatar 2, 3, and 4.

David Waelder

David has recorded sound for films for several decades and has been an editor of the 695 Quarterly since its inception five years ago.
Photo of Robert Maxfield by Gene Page, AMC-TV. 
 
 
Photo of Fred Schultz by Cassia Dominguez. All other photos courtesy of the respective contributors.

From the President

From the President

As you are probably aware, the former officers of Local 695 have been removed due to the recently imposed Trusteeship. You should have received an email from me with an explanation as to why this action was necessary to maintain the integrity of the IATSE Constitution and By Laws, and the rights of IATSE locals and members, including Local 695.

A union’s power comes from the strength of its collective voice. All institutions need rules to function and succeed. Local 695, as part of the International, is no exception.

The Trustees, alongside Interim Business Agent (Scott Bernard), Special/Field Representative (Joe Aredas, Jr.) and Education Director Laurence Abrams, have been hard at work to correct the past missteps of the union and devising ways to better serve the membership going forward. At the 695 offices, the warped, faded and peeling exterior sign has been replaced. This emblem goes to your identity and you deserve to fly your flag proudly. Improvements are happening inside the office too: technology is being modernized and members’ needs are being addressed across a broader variety of productions. From reality shows to scripted dramas, the current representatives of Local 695 are here to advocate for you. Their clear instructions are to put the member first.

Once the Local is back on its feet and operating smoothly, the IATSE’s goal is to restore autonomy to Local 695. We hope you will help us through this transition by continuing to be our eyes and ears on the set. Please continue to report nonunion productions and call us with any contract questions or safety concerns. Scott, Peter, Steve, Laurence and Joe are available to answer your questions about the Trusteeship, and how Local 695 is changing to better serve you and the Alliance of which it is an important part.

Matthew Loeb
IATSE International President

From the Editors

From the Editors

In this issue of the 695 Quarterly, Local 695 members demonstrate a commitment to excellence, a willingness to devote time to planning, preparation and testing, to realize a brilliant outcome. This has been the theme of every issue since we began publishing in the spring of 2009.

In Captain Phillips, Chris Munro, CAS used equipment concealed on the pirate skiffs to relay audio to follow boats. This required careful preplanning to ensure that sufficient equipment would be available on location and that all the elements would coordinate effectively. He brought an equally complex, but technically different, approach to his award-winning work on Gravity.

Robert Maxfield drew upon everything he’s learned in 30 years of production experience to bring in good tracks on The Walking Dead. His determination to find a way, and his good grace under pressure, bring renewed respect for the Sound Department on that difficult show.

Finally, in Part 2 of his overview of P-Cap and MoCap technique, Jim Tanenbaum, CAS brings 50 years of production experience to a new and developing field. Even with the skills learned over a long and productive career, he extends his thanks to fellow Mixers who allowed him to shadow them and observe their approach to the task. Keeping skills sharp is an ongoing commitment to excellence.

This is what Local 695 members do every working day; find solutions to problems. Drawing on years of experience to find new ways to get the best results and entertain the audience.

Fraternally yours,
Richard Lightstone, Eric Pierce, and David Waelder

Award Nominations

Local 695 Salute the 2013 Award Nominatees
CAS – BAFTA – OSCARS

[Names in BOLD are Local 695 members]

Local 695 honors the art of production sound through the success of all the Oscar, BAFTA and CAS award nominees.

CAS Awards Nominees

The 50th Annual CAS Awards Final Five Nominees were announced on Jan. 14, 2014, and the awards ceremony was held February 22 at the Crystal Ballroom of the Millennium Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles, California.  

Motion Pictures – Live Action

Captain Phillips

Nominees:
Chris Munro CAS,

Michael Prestwood Smith, Chris
Burdon, Mark Taylor, Al Clay,
Howard London CAS, Glen Gathard

Production Sound Team:
Steve Finn, Jim McBride, Tim Fraser, Will Towers, Pud Cusack, Richard Bullock, Joel Reidy

Gravity

Nominees:
Chris Munro CAS
, Skip Lievsay CAS, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead, Gareth Cousins, Chris Navarro CAS, Thomas J. O’Connell, Adam Mendez

Production Sound Team: 
Steve Finn, Will Towers, Jim McBride

Inside Llewyn Davis

Nominees:
Peter F. Kurland CAS
, Skip Lievsay CAS, Greg Orloff CAS, Bobby Johanson CAS, George A. Lara

Production Sound Team:
Randy Johnson
, Timothia Sellers, Julian Townsend, Egor Panchenko

Iron Man 3

Nominees: 
Jose Antonio Garcia
, Michael Prestwood Smith, Michael Keller CAS, Joel Iwataki, Gregory Steele CAS, James Ashwill

Production Sound Team: 
Jonathan Fuh
, Jenny Elsinger, Peter Devlin CAS, Mike Schmidt, Kevin Summers, Carl Rudisill

Lone Survivor

Nominees: 
David Brownlow, Andrew Koyama CAS, Beau Borders CAS, Satoshi Mark Noguchi, Gregory Steele CAS, Nerses Gezalyan

Production Sound Team: 
Edwardo Santiago, Rob Hidalgo

Motion Pictures – Animated

 The Croods

Nominees:
Tighe Sheldon, Randy Thom CAS, Gary A. Rizzo CAS, Dennis Sands CAS, Corey Tyler

Despicable Me 2

Nominees: 
Charleen Richards, Tom Johnson, Gary A. Rizzo CAS, Chris Scarabosio, Alan Meyerson CAS, Tony Eckert

Frozen

Nominees: 
Gabriel Guy, David E. Fluhr CAS, Casey Stone, Mary Jo Lang

Monsters University

Nominees: 
Doc Kane, Michael Semanick CAS, Gary Summers, David Boucher, Corey Tyler

Walking With Dinosaurs

Nominees: 
Chris Navarro CAS, Andrew Koyama CAS, Martyn Zub, Rupert Coulson, Sam Rogers

Television Movies and Mini-Series

American Horror Story: Coven “The Replacements”

Nominees: 
Bruce
Litecky CAS, Joe Earle CAS, Doug Andham CAS, James Levine, Judah Getz, Kyle Billingsley

Production Sound Team: 
Steve Hurserstel, Betsy Lindell, Eric Heigle, Erik H. Magnus CAS, Leonard Suwalski, Daniel Kuzila

Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome

Nominees: 
Rick Bal CAS, John W. Cook II CAS, Peter J. Nusbaum CAS

Production Sound Team: 
Greg Hewett, Matthew Willoughby-Price

Behind the Candelabra

Nominees: 
Dennis Towns
, Larry Blake, Thomas Vicari, Scott Curtis

Production Sound Team: 
Javier M. Hernandez, Gerard Vernice, Mark Agostino

Bonnie and Clyde: (Night Two) Part Two

Nominees: 
Erik H. Magnus CAS
, R. Russell Smith, Robert Edmondson CAS, Shawn Murphy, David Weisberg, Jeff Gross

Production Sound Team: 
Matthew Armstrong, Daniel Kuzila, Carlos Wilkerson, Leonard Suwalski

Phil Spector

Nominees: 
Gary Alper, Michael Barry CAS, Roy Waldspurger, Christopher Fogel CAS, Michael Miller CAS, Don White

Production Sound Team: 
Tim Elder, Jason Stasium

Television Series – One Hour

Boardwalk Empire: “Erlkönig”

Nominees: 
Franklin D. Stettner CAS, Tom Fleischman CAS, Mark DeSimone CAS, George A. Lara

Production Sound Team: 
Sam Perry, Peter Fonda, Toussaint Kotright, Egor Panchenko, Larry Provost, Dale Whitman

Breaking Bad “Felina”

Nominees: 
Darryl L. Frank CAS, Jeffrey Perkins, Eric Justen, Eric Gotthelf, Stacey Michaels

Production Sound Team:
Bil Clement, Allen Crawford

Game of Thrones “The Rains of Castamere”

Nominees: 
Ronan Hill CAS, Richard Dyer, Onnalee Blank CAS, Mathew Waters CAS, Brett Voss

Production Sound Team: 
Simon Kerr, James Atkinson, Daniel McCabe, Richard Dyer, Bradley Kendrick, Luke McGinley

Homeland “Good Night”

Nominees: 
Larry Long, Nello Torri CAS, Alan M. Decker CAS, Paul Drenning CAS, Shawn Kennelly

Production Sound Team: 
Matt Fann, Jack Hill

The Walking Dead “Home”

Nominees: 
Michael P. Clark CAS, Daniel J. Hiland CAS, Gary D. Rogers CAS, Greg Crawford, Eric Gotthelf, Stacey Michaels

Production Sound Team:
Robert Maxfield
, Jason Lewis

Television Series – Half-Hour

Californication “I’ll Lay My Monsters Down”

Nominees:
Daniel Church
, Todd Grace CAS, Edward Charles Carr III CAS

Production Sound Team:
Abel Schiro, Lance Wandling, Mike Mesirow

Modern Family “Goodnight Gracie”

Nominees: 
Stephen A. Tibbo CAS
, Dean Okrand, Brian Harman CAS

Production Sound Team: 
Srdjan “Serge” Popovic, Dan Lipe, Ken Strain

Nurse Jackie “Teachable Moments”

Nominees:
Jan McLaughlin CAS, Peter Waggoner

Production Sound Team: 
Brendan O’Brien, Joe Savastano

The Office “Finale”

Nominees: 
Benjamin A. Patrick CAS
, John W. Cook II CAS, Robert Carr CAS

Production Sound Team: 
Brian Wittle, Nicolas Carbone, Damon Harris

Parks and Recreation “Leslie and Ben”

Nominees: 
Steven Michael Morantz CAS
, John W. Cook II CAS, Kenneth Kobett CAS

Production Sound Team:
Adam Blanz, Mitch Cohn

Television Non-Fiction, Variety, Music Series or Specials

2013 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

Nominees: 
Michael Minkler CAS, Greg Townsend, Jay Vicari, John Harris

Deadliest Catch “The Final Battle”

Nominee: 
Bob Bronow CAS

History of the Eagles “Part One”

Nominees: 
Tom Fleischman CAS, Elliot Scheiner

Production Sound Team: 
Alan Barker, Tyler Wood

Killing Lincoln

Nominees: 
William Britt, Stanley Kastner

Production Sound Team:
Douglas E. Bischoff, David Strayer

Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth

Nominees: 
Mathew Price CAS, Michael Barry CAS

BAFTA Nominees

Gravity won the the EE British Academy Film Award for “Best Sound” at the ceremony held Feb. 16, 2014, in London, England. The nominees below were announced on January 8.

All Is Lost

Nominees: 
Micah Bloomberg, Gillian Arthur, Richard Hymns, Steve Boeddeker, Brandon Proctor

Captain Phillips

Nominees: 
Chris Munro
CAS, Oliver Tarney, Chris Burdon, Mark Taylor, Mike Prestwood Smith

Production Sound Team: 
Steve Finn, Jim McBride, Tim Fraser, Will Towers, Pud Cusack, Richard Bullock, Joel Reidy

Gravity

Nominees: 
Chris Munro CAS
, Oliver Tarney, Glenn Freemantle, Skip Lievsay CAS, Christopher Benstead, Niv Adiri

Production Sound Team: 
Steve Finn, Will Towers, Jim McBride

Rush

Nominees: 
Danny Hambrook, Martin Steyer, Stefan Korte, Markus Stemler, Frank Kruse

Production Sound Team: 
Adam Laschinger, Stefan Muller, Dickie Earl, Paul Paragon, Nick Gillet, Rashad Omar

Inside Llewyn Davis

Nominees: 
Peter F. Kurland CAS
, Skip Lievsay CAS, Greg Orloff CAS, Paul Urmson

Production Sound Team: 
Randy Johnson
, Timothia Sellers, Julian Townsend, Egor Panchenko

Oscar Nominees

The Oscar nominees for “Best Sound Mixing” were announced on Jan. 16, 2014. The 86th Academy Awards ceremony has been scheduled for March 2 at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, Calif. ABC Television has renewed broadcast rights to the event that is also distributed to more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

Captain Phillips

Nominees: 
Chris Munro CAS
, Chris Burdon, Mark Taylor, Mike Prestwood Smith

Production Sound Team: 
Steve Finn, Jim McBride, Tim Fraser, Will Towers, Pud Cusack, Richard Bullock, Joel Reidy

Gravity

Nominees: 
Chris Munro CAS
, Skip Lievsay CAS, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead

Production Sound Team: 
Steve Finn, Will Towers, Jim McBride

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Nominees: 
Tony Johnson, Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges, Michael Semanick CAS

Production Sound Team:
Corrin Ellingford, Steven Harris, Joel Anscombe, Chris Hiles, Sam Spicer

Inside Llewyn Davis

Nominees: 
Peter F. Kurland CAS
, Skip Lievsay CAS, Greg Orloff CAS

Production Sound Team: 
Randy Johnson
, Timothia Sellers, Julian Townsend, Egor Panchenko

Lone Survivor

Nominees: 
David Brownlow, Andrew Koyama CAS, Beau Borders CAS

Production Sound Team: 
Rob Hidalgo, Edwardo Santiago

Our Contributors

Contributors to this edition

Coleman Metts, CAS
Coleman has been a Production Sound Mixer for 20 years and a surfer and paddleboarder for even longer. Some of his credits include Donnie Darko, Bobby (about the assassination of Robert Kennedy), Project X, and the TV series Awkward and Dollhouse. With Ride, he was able to combine two passions.

 

James Tanenbaum, CAS
With decades of experience as a Production Mixer, Jim Tanenbaum, CAS is known to many as the man who “wrote the book” on timecode (Using Timecode in the Reel World) and as an educator. He has taught sound classes at UCLA since 1988, and traveled to Japan (1995), China (2010 and 2011) and Vietnam (2012) to train other mixers and film school students in the discipline of sound for movies and TV. He continues to work in production, most recently completing the first season of the reality series Jim Henson’s Creature Shop Challenge. He worked on the last three years of James Cameron’s Avatar, and hopes to do Avatar 2, 3, and 4.

David Waelder
David has recorded sound for films for several decades and has been an editor of the 695 Quarterly since its inception five years ago.

News & Announcements

News & Announcements

THE EXPANDED FILM AND TELEVISION JOB CREATION ACT

Although California’s incentive program has been credited with preserving as many as 51,000 well-paying jobs in the state and generating $4.5 billion in economic activity, it falls well short of the need. Under its restrictive provisions, hundreds of film and television productions failed to qualify. Applicants for a California incentive had about the same chance of acceptance as a student applying to Harvard. Even producers wanting to shoot in California often felt compelled to take their projects to states with better incentives.

To address this need, Assembly Members Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles) and Raul Bocanegra (D-Pacoima) have introduced The Expanded Film and Television Job Creation Act (AB 1839). Their bill, co-authored by fifty-nine additional Assembly Members and nine State Senators, opens eligibility to a wider range of productions. It lifts the budget cap, extends eligibility to include pilots, makes television shows eligible regardless of the medium of distribution, extends the program for five years and offers additional incentives to stimulate production in California.

Sponsor Mike Gatto says, “This effort is a rare example of government appropriately taking steps to stem the loss of jobs out of state.”

Find out how you can support AB1839
and stay in touch with its progress
at www.BackToCA.com and at www.local695.com


A Tribute to Edison

Thomas Alva Edison, born in February 1847, is the father of the research lab and also, particularly, the father of recording sound for movies. His phonograph, invented in 1877, was the first practical recording and reproducing device. The initial design worked with a cutting tool to scratch the vibrations into tinfoil wrapped around a rotating cylinder. Later improvements enhanced its utility.

He also pursued the development of motion pictures and obtained a patent for the kinetograph, a film camera.

In 1879, the sale of an improved telegraph design to Western Union provided funds that he used to build Menlo Park, an industrial research laboratory that systematically sought to develop new products that might be marketed. It was the model for all the R&D labs that followed.

Not all his activities were beneficial. He also started the Motion Picture Patents Company (aka the Edison Trust) limiting access to motion picture technology to licensed companies. This forced potential competitors, like Cecil B. DeMille, to flee to California to pursue their ambitions away from patent enforcement agents. But, on the whole, his inventions were seminal and we acknowledge his accomplishments.


Fiona: Denny’s Job Action

Local 695 members turned out to support a job action at a Denny’s restaurant in North Hollywood. Fiona, a New York-based production company, was shooting a commercial but was forced to suspend production when key crew members refused to cross the picket line. We hope this will encourage them to bargain in good faith but the situation was still in flux as we went to press.


Update: Larry Levinson Productions

In the 2009 summer edition of 695 Quarterly, nearly five years ago, we reported on a job action at the Studio City offices of Hallmark Movie Channel. At that time, Larry Levinson Productions supplied much of the product for Hallmark. They pursued exploitative labor practices and vigorously resisted all organizing efforts. Since Hallmark is a company focused on family events, the union reasoned that they might feel more vulnerable to an action that brought attention to the family-unfriendly behavior of their main supplier.

More than two hundred union members turned out for three demonstrations in May and June of that year, communicating to Hallmark that they could not count on business as usual while a major content supplier denied overtime and health benefits to employees. After three days of action, the IATSE withdrew the picketers. This represents a strategy shift; sometimes the union will refrain from taking on an adversary in a fight to the death. Sometimes it’s better to give a company a little room to consider the advantages of cooperation.

I am pleased to report that circumstances today are much improved. While Larry Levinson Productions continues to supply product to Hallmark, and continues to intransigently resist organizing efforts, their role is now significantly diminished. Kyle Clark and Lina Wong, producers previously associated with Larry Levinson, split off and formed their own company, Silver Spring Pictures. Their company now supplies most of the Hallmark projects under an IATSE contract.

We believe the job action five years ago was instrumental in this change. It’s not important whether Hallmark insisted on the change or whether Levinson associates, reasoning that Hallmark would welcome a relationship with a production company holding union contracts, sought to provide it. Either way, members working Hallmark projects can earn hours toward health and welfare and have a contract that pays overtime wages.

There is much yet to be accomplished. Silver Spring Pictures is operating under a low-budget contract, not the Basic Agreement. It’s an incremental process but the first step is bringing them into the tent.

There are, I believe, lessons to take away from this. The first concerns the importance of responding to job-action calls whenever you can. The beneficial outcome of these actions may not be immediately apparent but they all carry a message to exploitative employers. The second takes the form of a challenge: The Hallmark demonstration was effective because more than two hundred turned out in support. Imagine what might have been accomplished if two thousand had answered the call and flooded Ventura Boulevard with protesting technicians.

–David Waelder


In Memoriam

GARY THEARD
Boom Operator
July 13, 1938 – Jan. 7, 2014

THOMAS A. MOORE Jr.
Mixer
July 7, 1951 – Jan. 30, 2014

From the Business Representative

From the Business Representative

In Perspective: Awards and Accomplishments

Whenever I meet with representatives from the AMPTP, I make a point of emphasizing that our members are the best craftspeople and technicians available anywhere. They are well informed on the latest technologies and skilled in their application. They work efficiently and provide the employer with the best quality outcome. The money paid in wages yields a dividend in results and productivity.

I urge members to continue to take advantage of courses and training opportunities offered through the Local to maintain that advantage in skill.

But, in this awards season, when Local 695 technicians feature so prominently among the nominees, I ask that you just take pride in the accomplishments of our members.

Please send me your thoughts on this perspective at jimo@local695.com

James A. Osburn, CAS
Business Representative
Executive Director

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IATSE LOCAL 695
5439 Cahuenga Boulevard
North Hollywood, CA 91601

phone  (818) 985-9204
email  info@local695.com

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