Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1491451
Spring 2023 – LOCAL695.COM 35 The modern Sound Department requires four people to work efficiently. Fewer people means compromise and physical duress. Having witnessed many cases where people are forced beyond reasonable limits has made this apparent to me. I love the job and aim to fulfill it to the best of my abilities. But at this point, most productions should add a crew member to match the technological demands of current filmmaking. 1 Q. Where do you hope to see your career go in the future? A. Working on projects I care about is important. I also enjoy boom operating and I want to become a full-time operator this year. Before the Eternity of Darkness, though, I'd like to retire, move to the country and rescue ugly dogs and expired farm animals. Q. Are there any personal aspects of your career you'd like to discuss? Perhaps observations that might not be widely apparent to others? Anything else you feel is important to your Hollywood story? A. I'm usually a proponent for letting the work speak for itself, but I'd like to mention how liberating the on-set culture change has been since the #MeToo movement. The work environment has improved. I cherish particularly having worked for icons like Robin Thede and Ava DuVernay. The work they produce is engaging and culturally important. How they produce the work is having a humanizing effect on Hollywood. I am also very proud of what Local 695 has done in the past two years on inclusion and training. Both the Diversity, Equity and Outreach Committee and the Y-16A Training Program had difficult beginnings and were met with much resistance. But the continued efforts of their founders generated some necessary and difficult conversations within our own Hollywood Local. If it had not been for the Y-16A Training Program, many former trainees now in Local 695 would not have been able to enter this business. The relentless efforts of our colleagues, Board members, and the leadership are producing lasting change. I'd like to thank Eva for her time and generosity in helping me put this article together for our Local and for bringing her expertise to our magazine. 1 I learned recently that this pertains to paragraph 56 of the current contract: "If production or equipment requirements create a condition whereby an abnormal demand is placed upon the sound crew, such condition shall be relieved by the addition of Soundpersons to the crew until such condition ceases to exist."