Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1525020
18 PRODUCTION SOUND & VIDEO – Fall 2024 But even with my script, I found myself doubting what I was about to do as I drove to the AMPTP offices. I kept thinking that what we had written was not good enough. Do they really want to hear another sob story? Am I just going to appear to be whining? Will I lose their interest? Will someone actually fall asleep during my rant? I needed a plan B; something that would stick—I need a game- changing moment. I arrived and, once I made it through security, "I was greeted by Scott Bernard, who led me into our caucus room. My first thought was, "I am really underdressed." Being a native of Los Angeles, I spend most my life in flip-flops and T-shirts. The closest thing I have to a suit is a collared shirt. There were some new faces in the room, but I knew most of the members of 695's Bargaining Committee and had even worked on set with a few of them. I knew most of them had been a part of past negotiations. Everyone appeared to be pretty relaxed. I had a nice chat with Joe Aredas and was actually beginning to relax myself when Scott said, "OK, it's our turn to go into the big room. Let's do this." Suddenly, I was not relaxed anymore. As we walked into the big room, I thought to myself, "Wow, this is exactly like Steve Nelson had described." There were lawyers and executives as far as the eye could see, all with microphones sitting in front of them. It all looked very official. We sat at a table, face-to-face with the top negotiators. Sitting center stage on the other side was none other than Carol Lombardini. Scott opened the negotiations, got the ball rolling, and then went into the slide show. This was a lengthy presentation, with a lot of information to digest and cover. Each point on every slide was just as important as the next. Every issue needed context and evidence to support our Local's proposals. When the presentation transitioned to the subject of video-related issues, Scott introduced me and put the ball in my court. Heads turned to my side of the table. What seemed like one thousand eyeballs turned to stare at me. I had a choice: read my script or just go for it. I chose the latter. "Hello everyone, thank you for having me here today. I am not sure how many of you actually have spent a lot of time on set and have seen the day-to-day work levels of a Video-Assist Operator. So let me tell you all about my last Monday." I remember a brief moment of silence and few members from our side of the table looked over at me. I took them through my day. The previous Monday, I arrived on set via shuttle van to set up with no help. The sound and video trailers were three blocks from the set. The trip from the truck to set was predominantly uphill. I had fifteen hundred pounds of equipment to transport. Video-Assist was the only department with that much equipment that did not have an assistant or a utility. By myself, it took four trips to move all that gear. By 7:30 in the morning, I had already walked fifteen blocks and was falling behind schedule before the start of rehearsals. To make matters worse, we were shooting in an old, two-story house that day and, naturally, we were starting on the second floor. Yacht 3 person video Video Assist Operator Amber Maher and Trainee Vadym Medvediuk