Departments

by Laurence B. Abrams

Deadline Passed for Safety Pass Class

Most of our members have already completed the required “A-2 Environmental Safety” course, which is the most recently added course in the Safety Pass Training Program, but there may still be some who have not yet attended this class.  Be aware that Contract Services has announced that individuals who do not complete all required classes will be suspended from the Industry Experience Roster and may be considered ineligible for employment.  For those who haven’t yet taken it, the 3-hour “A-2” class is offered daily, Monday through Saturday, and provides a great deal of information that relates to the work we do.  For details about this training and easy online registration, see www.csatf.org/safety.shtml.  If you have questions about the Safety Pass Program, you can call Contract Services directly at 818.565.0550 ext. 1100.

Fisher Microphone Boom Training

Once the tool of choice for nearly every motion picture and television production sound team, the Fisher Microphone Boom has seen much less use in recent years.  Nonetheless, it is a hugely valuable tool that becomes more relevant today, as multi-camera HD shoots place impossible demands on the boom operator with a fishpole.  Local 695’s Fisher Microphone Boom: One-on-One Intensive Training is a unique and important training opportunity that is exclusive for Local 695 members and cannot be found anywhere else.  Microphone Boom Operators, Utility Sound Technicians and also Production Sound Mixers are strongly encouraged to attend this ongoing program that provides personalized hands-on instruction for the Model 2 and Model 7 Fisher microphone boom arms and the Model 3 and Model 6E Fisher boom bases.  HD cameras and long shooting takes have changed the way we do our work and have given you good reason to be fully trained on the use of a Fisher.  The AMPTP’s endorsement of the “Safety Bulletin on Extended and Successive Shooting Takes” (see www.local695.com/html/long-takes.php) makes it clear that your Producers are aware of the significant health and safety issues associated with long shooting takes and that they are on your side, ready to provide a Fisher Boom when one is needed.  Local 695’s Fisher Boom training is free to all 695 members, is entirely supported by the Local and is independent of the CSATTF training requirements.  For details on how to schedule one of these appointment-only Fisher Boom training sessions, visit www.local695.com/mbr/edu-fbt.php.

Pro Tools Training

In coordination with Contract Services Administrative Training Trust Fund’s skills training program, Local 695 members just completed a 4-day Pro Tools class at the Guitar Center Studios training facility in Woodland Hills.  The Avid-certified PT-101 class conducted during January 2012 covered all functionalities of the software, with emphasis on location recording and playback.  This training was free to members qualified for the Contract Services skills training grant.  If the grant is approved for the year starting February 2012, we anticipate additional PT-101 classes as well as expanding to include the advanced PT-110 class.  This training is free for Local 695 members who meet these CSATTF training requirements:

• Must be on the Industry Experience Roster.  (If you’re not currently on the Roster, see www.local695.com/html/roster.php)
• Must have completed all required Safety Pass Training . (If you haven’t completed the training, see www.local695.com/html/saftpssprt.php)
• Must have an unexpired I-9 on-file at Contract Services.  (For details about the I-9, your current I-9 status and the renewal process, see www.local695.com/html/edu-i9.php)

Software Tutorials

Members of Local 695 still have the opportunity to take advantage of free access to over 1,000 comprehensive online software tutorials.  The list of courses grows continually as new software and versions are released.  These self-paced  online tutorials allow you to stop and start and review as needed.  And since you can keep multiple windows open, it’s easy to switch back and forth and experiment with the actual software while the tutorial progresses.  The list of available courses covers an enormous variety of topics, including Avid Pro Tools, Apple Logic, FL Studio, Steinberg WaveLab, Adobe Audition, Adobe Soundbooth, Apple Soundtrack Pro, Cubase, Sony Sound Forge, Adobe Premiere, Apple Final Cut Pro X, Adobe After Effects, Sony Vegas Pro 10, NewTek LightWave, Adobe Flash, Adobe Director, Adobe Dreamweaver, Adobe Photoshop, Apple Shake, Cleaner Pro, Adobe Fireworks, networking, databases, digital photography, website design and much more.  This training is completely free to all 695 members, is paid for by the Local and is totally independent of the CSATTF training requirements.  Take advantage of this free training while it remains available.  Further details and information about signing up for access to this training is at www.local695.com/mbr/edu-vtc.php.

For members who aren’t already registered on the Local 695 website with a current email address, you may want to do that now.  The most effective way for you to stay informed about educational resources, upcoming training announcements, updates and news about the Local is via email and the Local 695 website.  If you haven’t done so in a while, please log onto the website at www.local695.com to make sure that you are registered and that your email address is correct.

Do you want to cruise previous issues of the Local 695 Quarterly? Send a link to an article to a friend or read the current issue on set? All issues of the Local 695 Quarterly are online at www.local695.com. The entire catalogue of the 695 Quarterly is available in a PDF format whenever you want it.

While you’re there, click on the “695 Gear” tab to see all the cool swag available. New items are added continuously, so check back often. The latest additions are 10 packs of “Local 695” stickers.

Southern Hospitality

Whit Norris held a gathering with Local 695 members from Los Angeles and Atlanta’s sound crews at his home in Atlanta, Georgia, on Sunday, November 6. Sound and video crews represented by Locals 695 and 479 enjoyed barbecue and beverages together on a pleasant Georgia afternoon.

CLICK TO ENLARGE

Front row: (l-r) Aron Siegal L479, Allen Williams L479, Paul Sorohan L479, Jim Hawkins L695-479, Chris Durfy L479 and son Devon, Richard Lightstone L695, Whit Norris L695-479, Bartek Swiatek L695-479, Jeff Wexler L695, Mary Ellis L695-479, Alex Lowe L479, Don Coufal L695, Bill Kaplan L695, Tommy Giordano L695 2nd row: (l-r) Hank Martin L479, Michael Clark L479, Bob Branam L695, David Goldstein L695, Glen Valentino L479, Matt Robinson L479, Eric Pierce L695, John Tendrich L695, Jorge Delvalle L479, Michael Wynn, Kevin Raser L479, Matt Durber L479

​In Remembrance: Alan F. Bernard

Local 695 Production Sound Mixer Alan Bernard passed away in the presence of his family on December 11, 2011. He leaves behind his wife Linda, daughter Cindy and sons Scott and David, both members of Local 695, and four grandchildren. Alan was a member of Local 695 for more than 50 years, and was an IATSE Gold Card member. Much of his time was devoted to the service of Local 695, volunteering for many committees and holding elected office. Alan was profiled in the fall 2011 edition of the 695 Quarterly, and can be read online at www.local695.com/Quarterly. A “Celebration of Life” for Alan was held on February 12 at Local 80 in Burbank.

Production Tracking Database

The Local 695 Production Tracking Database has been proving to be a great tool to help the office answer member’s questions about contracts and conditions on various productions. Keep filling out your job reports at www.local695.com/mbr/jobreport.php

Building the Buy Union!

LA Labor 411 is committed to empowering American consumers to buy quality products that are safe, made here in the U.S., and at a price point that means value. Union-made products enhance our community and build the cornerstone of our society—the middle class. Each one of us can make a difference every time we shop by choosing American-made, union-made products. Visit www.LALabor411.org for more information, and to use their online directory.

Stand Up To Content Theft

“Creative America continues to look for ways to eliminate the threat of digital content theft by rogue offshore websites. Recent debate on the issue is leading legislators toward solutions that effectively protect the rights and interests of all involved. Creative America is the grass-roots coalition formed by labor unions, guilds, studios and networks to look for ways to protect the jobs of more than 2 million Americans whose livelihoods are supported by the film and television industry. Visit www.creativeamerica.org to learn more about the impact of content theft on jobs, benefits and future work opportunities and to find out how you can help put an end to piracy.”

In Memoriam

DEAN G. HODGES
Production Sound Mixer
May 14, 1926 – Jan. 4, 2012

ALAN BERNARD
Production Sound Mixer
Jan. 30, 1934 – Dec. 11, 2011

FRANK A. RAINEY
Maintenance Engineer
Feb. 2, 1954 – Nov. 9, 2011

ALBERT AQUINO
Microphone Boom Operator
Aug. 7, 1957 – Jan. 9, 2012

When we start
All fire in the belly
To get to excellence
To make it
To make it right

This union thing
off the radar at first
Under the first layers
of what we think
we need know

Time pushes and pushes
Till it’s clear, looking back,
Tools we need to have
How to get good at this

Less about the hammers and nails
More about the blueprint,
a larger purpose
the overall

And the humans
We journey with…

This Union makes sense
To me, in this way
Another essential piece

A connection
Professional, personal
A solution seeking problems
Not perfect
but then, what is?

We are musicians,
sidemen,
session players

Perpetual students
Always practice, practice, practice
This is the task
This is the passion
This is the discipline

Fraternally,
Mark Ulano
President, IATSE Local 695

In Perspective

Workflow in its legal definition is a term covering all forms of physical and mental exertion to achieve an objective other than recreation or amusement.

In our industry, “workflow” has particular specialized meanings that apply to recording and transferring data at each stage of the process. A fundamental point is sometimes lost in all the technical specifications: skilled people perform these tasks; the people run the machines, not the other way around. A workflow, then, is simply a map of the tasks engineers and technicians undertake to produce a result.

In a workflow plan for managing digital images and sound, the tasks necessary at each stage include recording and transferring data, making computer entries, manipulating data files, servicing the audio and video equipment and similar chores. The technicians and engineers performing this work, both historically and contractually, do so under the jurisdiction of Local 695. Specific language in the IATSE-Producer contracts, as well as custom and practices agreed to between the parties, affirms the essential role of Local 695 bargaining unit employees in data management.

As the industry continues its migration to digital technology, there will be new challenges and a need for flexible new workflows. But it’s important to keep in perspective that these all refer to tasks performed by people, tasks that have been performed with skill and distinction by our members.

Should the reader require further information regarding this perspective, please address your inquiries to the Local 695 Business Office.

Very best wishes,
James A. Osburn, CAS
Business Representative Executive Director

We would like to wish all of you a Happy New Year! Each new year brings feelings of promise, good health and great success.

There is something about the calendar page turning to January 1 that makes all of us extremely hopeful for the future.

As 2012 begins, we can also celebrate the end of our third year of publishing the 695 Quarterly. That is quite an achievement for any new publication and a testament to our contributors as well as you, our readers.

Our goal has always been to highlight the membership of Local 695 and the incredible talent that we bring to our industry. These are dedicated technicians and innovators, always at the ‘bleeding’ edge of technology.

Every current development has a past to build on and Scott D. Smith, CAS explains it in “When Sound Was Reel 8.” But there is more; the second part of the profile of Courtney Goodin by David Waelder and “The Workflow of Oz” by Ian Kelley. Great reading.

Fraternally,
Eric Pierce, David Waelder and Richard Lightstone

Local 695 Officers Start New Three-Year Term

The January 15 Executive Board meeting began with the swearing in of the Officers of Local 695, with IATSE Vice President Michael F. Miller administering the oath.

We welcome two new officers this term: Executive Board member Jeff Wexler, who has served on the Board previously, and Trustee Peggy Names.

Returning Officers are Business Agent James Osburn; President Mark Ulano; Vice President Jay Patterson; Secretary-Treasurer Susan Moore-Chong; Recording Secretary Elizabeth Alvarez; Sergeant-at-Arms Dean Striepeke; Executive Board members Laurence B. Abrams, Scott Bernard, Courtney Goodin, Richard Lightstone and Andy Rovins; Board of Trustees Gene Cantamessa and Eric Pierce.

We would like to express our deepest gratitude to departing Officers Alan Bernard and Agamemnon Andrianos for their service to the members of Local 695.

James Osburn Receives Honorary CAS Membership

At the September 25, 2010 Local 695 General Membership meeting, Edward Moskowitz, President the Cinema Audio Society, presented Business Representative James Osburn with an honorary CAS membership.  In order for one to be granted an honorary membership, they must be approved by the CAS Board of Directors unanimously.

Mr. Moskowitz tells us that membership in the CAS is earned by dedication to a person’s craft, demonstrated by the duration of service performing their craft, and represents a level of respect that has been earned after many years, and knowledge, experience, preparation and teamwork are traits that the Board of Directors considers when granting membership.

In his speech, Edward told the audience “(Jim Osburn) has worked tirelessly for more than 40 years to demonstrate these many goals of the CAS. He has worked in many parts of the sound industry and has been a leader to many people in this room today. His production credits cover a broad range, including The Great Gatsby, The Wild Bunch, Chinatown, Ol’ Blue Eyes, The Godfather, The Godfather: Part II, Marathon Man, Looking for Mr. Goodbar, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Titanic.”

James A. Osburn, CAS joins a list of honorary CAS members that include Leo Chaloukian, Richard Topham, Sr. and Ray Dolby.

Education & Training Programs for Members Not on the Industry Experience Roster

Certain training programs funded by Contract Services are only available to members on the Industry Experience Roster. However, some 695 members aren’t required to be on the Roster if they work, for example, at KTLA, KCET or on certain sports broadcast productions under Contracts not covered by the Basic and Local Agreements. But if you’ve worked at least 100 days in your job classification over the past three years, you probably do meet the Roster requirements. You may want to consider pursuing Roster placement in order to become eligible for some of our training programs as well as to possibly expand your work opportunities outside of the area in which you are currently employed. Log on to www.csatf.org for complete details regarding Roster placement. If you have questions regarding documentation, contact Kim Pryor at Contract Services at Roster.Specialist2@csatf.org or at (818) 565-0550 ext.1112.

Your Weingarten Rights

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the National Labor Relations Act gives workers the right to request Union representation during investigatory interviews by supervisors, security personnel, and other managerial staff. These are called Weingarten Rights. NLRB v.J. Weingarten, Inc., 420 U.S. 251, 88 LRRM 2689 (U.S. Sup. Ct. 1975)

An investigatory interview occurs if 1) management questions you to obtain information; and 2) you have reasonable apprehension that your answers could be used as a basis for discipline or other adverse action.

You must ask for Union representation either before or during an investigatory interview. Management does not have to remind you of this right.

If your request is refused and management continues asking questions, you may refuse to answer. Your employer is guilty of an unfair labor practice and charges may be filed.

If you are questioned in a situation where Weingarten may apply, read or present the following statement:

“If this interview could in any way lead to my being disciplined or terminated, or affect my personal working conditions, I respectfully request that my Union Representative, Officer or Steward be present at this meeting. Until my Representative arrives; I choose not to participate in this discussion.”

New HBO Contract

International President Matt Loeb has informed us that the IA has negotiated a new contract with HBO Entertainment that will result in increased wages and higher benefit contributions for HBO productions. In addition, and for the first time, the bargaining committee negotiated a bonus payment to all employees of HBO Entertainment in 2010.

IATSE Convention Delegates

Scott Bernard, John S. Coffey, Elizabeth S. Alvarez and Edward Moskowitz were elected as convention Delegates for Local 695, and will join Business Representative James Osburn and President Mark Ulano at the 66th IATSE Quadrennial Convention in Boston.

In Memoriam

CARROLL PRATT – Mixer
April 19, 1921 – Nov. 11, 2010

OSCARS

According to The Huffington Post, 41.3 million viewers saw and heard the 2010 Oscars telecast. It is conspicuously the most popular awards show, drawing nearly as many viewers as the combined audience for the Grammys, the Tonys and the Emmys.

Global research company Penn Schoen Berland recently conducted an online poll of 700 Oscar telecast viewers for The Hollywood Reporter. Among many areas of inquiry, the viewers were asked to speculate on awards categories they believe should be removed from the live telecast of the Oscars. Sixty-three percent of the respondents were in favor of continuing to include the award for “Best Sound Mixing” in the live telecast of the Oscar presentation.

However, from these published facts, it is evident that 37 percent (259) of those participating viewers have little to no comprehension of the artistic and technical contribution of production sound mixers and little to no comprehension of the collaborative contribution of their support teams.

Both current and past producers of the Academy Awards telecasts have supported public recognition of excellence achieved by wide variety of behind-the-scenes technicians, artists and craftspeople in the motion picture family. There is an established history of the broad appreciation of the many skills and talents that go into a successful picture. We congratulate the Academy Awards producers on continuing this inclusive practice.

Many of my age group were introduced to the Academy Awards in radio broadcasts hosted by Bob Hope. The current live telecast far exceeds those earlier radio broadcasts but the popularity of the show, now watched by more than 40 million, is a constant. We believe that an important part of that popularity is recognition of the authenticity of awards determined by the participants themselves, honoring excellence within their own community.

Here is yet another example of the purpose of the 695 Quarterly. By highlighting the many significant contributions made by our members, our value to the production of motion pictures, television, commercials, sports, and live-telecast productions may continue to be properly appreciated.

James A. Osburn
Local 695 Business Representative

State Of The Union January 2011

The Board of Directors, the Business Representative and I have all been returned to office. We are honored by this vote of confidence and grateful for the participation of all the candidates. Welcome and thank you. Win or lose, please stay involved.

With this Board of Directors, we are blessed with a group of capable, experienced, independent thinkers. These folks have each built their careers, brick by brick, preparing them well for the tough future we face as union members. Eventually, the pervasive anti-union rhetoric of the present will have to be reconciled with the severely hammered working middle class of this country. Thirty-six percent of the wealth in the hands of 0.5% of the population.

Your Board of Directors gets it, gladly giving their most valuable asset, their personal time. Other than the Business Representative, none of the officers of Local 695 receive any financial compensation for their participation as officers—not even the waiving of their dues, although it is their right. Not a single Board member has chosen to claim it. These people volunteer their time for long, complex discussion and decision making, on average, one day a month, plus additional time for committee work, projects, negotiations, etc.

They know that without taking ownership, their ability to influence policy is dramatically limited. Please come witness and engage in this process for your own self-interest, either by joining a committee, auditing a Board meeting and/or attending the General Membership meetings as a voting member. You own a piece of “The Rock.” Don’t leave it unattended.

When I first took on this job, I imagined three phases essential to our future survival as a professional community. First, I saw us coming together as a cohesive unit, second, establishing the building blocks of education and communications and third, making a living blueprint for navigating the future of our mutual interests.

Phase one took place when we came out of the terrible trusteeship in the late 1990s. Naysayers predicted that we couldn’t survive as an organization, that too much internal damage had happened and that we would soon disappear. We have proven these predictions wrong! We firmly established a proactive and positive stance.

Some great people stepped up, continuing a long tradition. More have continued to do so. It still inspires me how quickly the private political agendas were recognized, challenged and overcome by the enlightened self-interest of the membership and their elected officers. We healed ourselves.

This isn’t to say that debate and spirited disagreement doesn’t take place as we work toward policy decisions. Thankfully, it does. No rubber stamps here. But there is genuine awareness and concern as well as mutual respect among the players. The arguments are always won by the best idea, not the loudest voice.

Phase two, the focus on education, communications and service, commenced once the cohesiveness of the team became clear.

We knew how urgent it was to return to an education program that could last and grow. It has since become a fixture of Local 695’s profile to the members and the industry. Second to none among the IATSE’s many locals, our training program provides skills for surviving in the workplace. It tickles me that in recent years, newer members have no knowledge that the education program had so long been absent or that this publication hadn’t existed. We have also accomplished dramatic improvements with our representation for the members, be it informational, legal or just policing the jurisdiction. Ask around and you’ll see how far we have come. These new members would and should raise hell with anyone who tries to take away the current level of service they receive from 695. We are not standing still; we continue to build and improve, working hard to make it better.

Phase three. The second decade of the 21st century is filled with uncertainty and chaos. The sandbagging of the middle class, the carte blanche deregulation and consolidation of virtually every industry into fewer and fewer players on the world stage, gives testimony to the rapacious dominance of corporatism. These guys celebrate the 18-cent-an-hour Chinese worker killing himself to buy his first locally built car in a society with a 100% carbon footprint. They want to return to the robber-baron feudal system of the 19th century as the dominant form of government.

Well, as a “dyed in the wool” neo-Jeffersonian capitalist (with a small “c”), I don’t buy it. No one who works for a living should.

Without apology, I am blatantly optimistic. Against conventional wisdom, I believe that Labor itself is the real growth industry. The human instinct for survival is transforming this cycle into a more rational state. Along with assaulting the American worker, these world “marketeers” have been dismantling the American market, the most dynamic market the world has ever seen. If people don’t make sufficient income, they cannot buy goods, simple arithmetic.

Within ten years, it is possible that the present model for monetizing the entertainment industry will be a distant memory, replaced by something more like the studio system of mid-century America. We have already witnessed reintegration of production and distribution in the film and television business. Regulation of this is what broke up the old studio system in the first place. Lower production costs will result from better use of already-owned and under-utilized studio facilities. Savings are to be had by negotiating more realistic deals with on-camera talent (who’s piece of the pie is already contracting). Further economies are made possible from returning to a staff versus freelance model for below-the-line employees, creating much greater security for everyone in the bargain. And cost cutting will come from creating location environments in computers, instead of on location. In addition, we can see political realities emerging as management faces irresistible and xenophobic pressures to protect jobs and job creation here at home. All these elements are converging.

What does it mean to us? It means that we must maintain a constant state of readiness to perform our essential and specialized skills in the market. Although little understood by our industry colleagues, what we do is vital to the process. It is done by hand and is not susceptible to automation. Without it, movies and television cannot be made. This is our strength. This is what we contribute.

Phase three is using this effectively to our mutual benefit on an industry-wide scale. We must continue to ally ourselves with all of like knowledge and skill to achieve appropriate wages and conditions for the essential work we do. This is not a conceit; rather, it is just common sense. There is nothing impossible about it when you consider the cure for polio, the Great Wall of China or landing on the moon. It is the matter of creating a coherent strategy and the will to implement it.

Fraternally,

Mark Ulano
President

Happy New Year and welcome to the winter edition of the 695 Quarterly. Every new year seems to bring a renewed vision and a resolve to do better and that’s what we three editors strive to do as we reach the end of the second year of this periodical. This is also the Awards Season and we congratulate all the nominees.

Our mission is to inform the members of Local 695 as well as the entertainment community at large. Scott Smith writes expansively on the history of this Local and the development of the technology of the recording medium. David Waelder continues to analyze the tools of our craft.

The common thread in all this is that each member of our “crew” brings a necessary ingredient to the entire creation. This formula is no different than the industry we work in where synergy is the operative word.

Synergy is defined as the interaction, or cooperation, of two or more organizations or individuals whose combined effect is greater than the sum of their separate efforts. The members of this Local do that every day.

Recently, the CAS held a symposium on the “Digital Gameplan: Successful Workflow Approaches on Set Thru Post.” The overarching conclusion was that we must trust the professionals and communicate effectively and succinctly with all the individuals and departments that work with us.

That is what we are trying to do, and we welcome your thoughts and contributions to this publication.

We would like to suggest that you call the Local for additional copies of the 695 Quarterly to distribute to your producer, UPM, DP, gaffer or favorite wardrobe supervisor. It is helpful to get more people reading about what we do—so expertly. You can reach us directly on the Contact Page.

Fraternally,
Richard Lightstone, David Waelder and Eric Pierce