Departments

New Website Address

Our website has a new address: www.local695.com, so be sure to change your bookmarks. Additionally, all the “@695.com” email addresses have been changed to “@local695.com” so update your address book, too!

Lynda.com

The IATSE has arranged a $20 yearly membership license for its members to Lynda.com. Usually at $360 a year, Lynda.com is a leading online learning company with courses that provide business, software, technology and creative skills to achieve personal and professional goals.

The IATSE license runs from September 1, 2015, through August 31, 2016, but it’s not too late to begin. https://www.local695.com/html/lynda.php has all the information needed to get started.

Audio Supervisors Brunch

On Sunday, October 25, Local 695’s Technical Trends Committee/FCC Project hosted a brunch for Audio Supervisors in the unscripted television field. The intent was to present the history as well as the latest developments in the upcoming FCC incentive auction where the FCC will be auctioning off more of the UHF spectrum to big Telecom. Doc Justice, along with Mark Ulano and Jay Patterson, cochairs of the Technical Trends Committee, were the hosts at Gordon Biersch in Burbank. This event featured Bill Ruck, San Francisco Area Volunteer UHF Spectrum Coordinator, and Tim Holly, Spectrum Coordinator at CBS Radford. This was an outreach event open to all non-scripted Audio Supervisors, IA and non- IA.

Bill Ruck gave a PowerPoint presentation that detailed the history of the evolving uses of the UHF spectrum, along with the congressional mandate to sell off the 600 MHz bands for profit. Topics included the reallocation of TV stations currently in the 600 band, white space devices and the outright disregard for professional wireless microphone users in the entertainment industry, sporting events, theater and houses of worship.

The Technical Trends Committee feels the information delivered at the brunch is important to all professional wireless mic users in the entertainment field. An edited video and a transcription of the presentation will be on open pages of the Local 695 website, available to membership and the general public

Building Update

The Building Committee is exploring the long-term goal of purchasing a building that more suits the Local’s needs and reflects who we are. The Committee expects to achieve this within five years.

The immediate goal is to take care of all deferred maintenance and updates on the building as both a positive image for the organization and for resale purposes.

Picture Quitting

MPTF (Motion Picture & Television Fund), the 94-year-old nonprofit serving members of the entertainment industry, received a $25,000 CVS Health Community grant to support smoking cessation and prevention.

CVS Health presented the grant to MPTF CEO Bob Beitcher during a special luncheon where UCLA health staff and entertainment industry representatives convened to learn about the Picture Quitting Smoking Cessation Program, the first entertainment industry-led program offered in the United States that combines free counseling with low-cost medication.

Picture Quitting offers approximately six weeks of counseling: individual, group, telephone, email or webcam. Participants also receive follow-up phone calls for one year. All counseling sessions are free.

Picture Quitting also provides smoking cessation medications for a small copay. At the first visit, you will learn about medication options so you, your counselor and MPTF physician can work together to determine which choices are right for you.

For more information, please call 818-526-7644 or talk with your MPTF physician.

January Membership Meeting: Save the Date!

The next General Membership Meeting is scheduled for Saturday, January 16, 2016, at 10 a.m. It will be held at the Local 80 Stage at 2520 W. Olive Avenue in Burbank.

In Memoriam

EVAN ADELMAN
Y-1 Sound Mixer
August 31, 1957 – August 26, 2015

ROBERT A. “DAN” DILLON
Y-1 Sound Mixer
January 14, 1939 – June 6, 2015

FRANK SCIUTO
Y-7 Video Tech
December 10, 1925 – September 12, 2015

Contributors to this edition

Willie Burton CAS
Willie Burton CAS began his career as a Navy sonar engineer and after three and a half years, moved into sound mixing, joined Local 695 where he has mixed for over three decades, winning two Oscars and multiple nominations.

​Devendra Cleary CAS
Devendra started his career in 1998 in Colorado and moved to Los Angeles in 2001, moving up from Utility Sound, to Boom Operator and Production Sound Mixing. He proudly serves on Local 695’s Executive Board.

Doc Justice 
Doc Justice is the owner of Audio Justice, Inc., a sound services company, and Halter Technical, LLC, creators of great audio products for broadcast and video professionals. He resides in Los Angeles, but will never give up his 215 area code from Philadelphia.

Richard Lightstone CAS AMPS
Richard began his career in Montreal and continues to mix in Los Angeles. He is currently on the Executive Board of Local 695, the co-editor of the 695 Quarterly and a former president of the Cinema Audio Society.

Ric Teller 
Ric Teller started in television at KTLA in the ’70s and has been a freelance television audio guy since 1985. He also is a pretty damn good baker. Here he is visiting Hoover Dam.

Photos courtesy of the respective contributors

’Tis the Season

It’s the holiday season and the staff and I would like to wish everyone a joyous holiday. 2015 has flown by, but not without some exciting changes at the Local. I, along with our dedicated staff, continue to look for ways to improve our service to the membership.

We have a target date by the first of the year to launch our new Membership Services Software which will have added benefits to the membership. This new software will be replacing a system that has been in use since the late ’80s. Once the new system is up and running, you will receive information on the new features.

Local 695 just submitted our training proposal to CSATF with many new training opportunities. These new classes keep our members up to date on the latest technologies. Input from the membership helps us design these training programs, so please continue to let us know where we need to add additional training.

We’re seeing the number of shows in production grow and that means it’s more important than ever to report your work to the Local. You can do so online 24/7 at www.local695.com. Our production- tracking data is only as complete as the information we receive from you and the employers. With more than five thousand productions already in our database, we have a good history of the work and of the employers over the past eight years. This historical information helps with grievances and contract negotiations, so keep it coming. Every show counts and the more information we have, the better we can help you.

At the last membership meeting, you heard about the current grievances filed by Local 695 to protect your work opportunities. We feel good about the potential outcome and will keep you posted as they progress. If you see any non-Local 695 member performing our bargaining unit work, call the Local. You are the eyes and ears for all your Brothers and Sisters. If you could not make the last meeting, please mark your calendar for the first quarter General Membership Meeting on Saturday, January 16, 2016.

Local 695 is growing in both membership and membership participation. As I have mentioned before, this is what makes the difference when it comes time to sit down and negotiate a new contract or work out almost any issue. I’m honored and proud to lead Local 695, the technical crown jewel of the IATSE.

Stay tuned for more exciting news in 2016. Your Board of Directors is leading the way for some exciting changes, so stop by, see the growth, see the changes and give us input. This is your union.

Scott Bernard
Business Representative

You can’t mistake the progress happening.

We successfully lobbied the Sacramento congress for a new California incentive program and there has been a major jump in production here in Los Angeles: eleven television projects and eleven feature film projects are being produced here at home under the new legislation. We are making regular visits to sets all over town, letting the community know that we are supporting our members and maintaining our jurisdiction. Real-world impact is happening and bringing many jobs to our members through these actions. When problems are brought to the union’s attention, action is being taken to solve them.

At our strong request, Local 600 has sent an important letter of agreement to its members, acknowledging our jurisdiction of video playback on the set. The impact has been immediate; you can find it published on our website for reference or sharing. We are continuing negotiations with our sister local to reduce confusion and remain committed in our efforts.

I was privileged to attend the IATSE Officers Institute training program in September for a jam-packed program of intensive classes: governance, labor law, fiduciary obligations and leadership courses were taught. Experts were brought in from all over the country to teach, advise and prepare the current generation of IA union leadership. This program was well attended by officers from thirty-eight IATSE Locals across the USA, as well as the International President, Matt Loeb, for the graduation ceremony. I’m most grateful for the hospitality extended me by Local 720 of Las Vegas, NV.

Our recent quarterly membership meeting kicked off our series of informational presentations for our members. The two presentations at the October meeting were: Adam Leipzieg from Creative Future, a nonprofit group working hard to educate and promote the issues of intellectual property rights and their impact on our members’ benefits, and Local 695’s Union Council, Lewis Levy, who gave a great talk on the legal rights of our members in the world of social media. He covered California’s unique privacy laws for individuals, NDAs (Non-disclosure Agreements)and Weingarten Rights. Lewis has been teaching labor law classes in Los Angeles for more than twenty years and was able to answer many detailed legal questions from the floor to the benefit of all members present. We will continue with this kind of programming.

Another important meeting was held on spectrum auction and the pressing issues affecting our members regarding the FCC and wireless allocation and licensing. The Local brought in Bill Ruck, an expert in this field. Bill gave an incredibly detailed talk and we’ll be making the content available to our members shortly.

I urge all of our members to go to the Local’s website and check out the learning opportunities being made available by our great deal with Lynda.com. This really expands educational opportunities for you by virtue of your membership.

Finally, Susan Moore-Chong has stepped down as the Local’s Treasurer and I want to express our gratitude and appreciation for her long service and contribution to the Local. Phillip Palmer CAS has been elected to complete the term as Treasurer by the Board per the Constitution and By-Laws. Congratulations and thank you, Phil, for stepping up.

Warm and safe holidays to all.

Fraternally,
Mark Ulano CAS AMPS
Local 695 President

Director George Lucas once said, “Sound is 50 percent of the moviegoing experience.” Danny Boyle, Director of Steve Jobs says, “The truth is, for me, it’s obvious that 70, 80 percent of a movie is sound. You don’t realize it because you can’t see it.” Documentarian Michael Moore at the recent PGA “Produced By: New York” said, “I tell students that sound is more important than pictures. The audience will forgive you if an image is a little blurry but not if they can’t hear or understand what’s going on. Sound carries the story.”

So which is it?

As members of Local 695, naturally we believe that our contribution to the product is extremely important. However, to quote Local President Mark Ulano CAS AMPS, “We are players in the orchestra.” The result we provide is only one part of the entire process and developing a good relationship with every department goes a long way in how successful our careers will be in delivering top quality.

The contributors in this edition of the 695 Quarterly explore the means of obtaining excellence and collaboration. Willie Burton CAS demonstrates that attitude in “Straight Outta Compton.” In “Television’s Dirtiest Word,” Doc Justice gives us an inside look into reality television. Ric Teller shows us the world of an “A2” in “Keep Calm and Make a Patch” and Devendra Cleary CAS gives the Grip Department a little love in “Grips to the Rescue.” And I get technical with “Dante Explained.”

Happy reading.

Fraternally yours,
Eric Pierce, Richard Lightstone and Mark Ulano