Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1530210
22 PRODUCTION SOUND & VIDEO – Winter 2025 These stringent rules, particularly regarding equal participation and the ability for all parties to see one another, necessitated careful planning. Many Locals, both in and outside of the IATSE, viewed them as prohibitive or impossible to implement. In essence, they meant that every membership meeting would need to become a full-on production. But production is what we do. It started with several multi-hour meetings and phone conversations between Local 695 President Jillian Arnold and me, where we both mapped out potential workflows. Both of us had come up in broadcast television environments, so the restrictions in place were a challenge we were dead set on overcoming. Once we had a general idea, we set about building our team. For the video component of the meeting, we tapped Holley Video, a boutique video consultation company that crews many Local 600 and 695 members and that is owned by Local 600 & 695 dual card member Zak Holley. His team specializes in remote solutions, and they helped pioneer several social- distancing protocols that were essential to live-broadcast productions during the pandemic. Having provided live remote services on everything from award shows such as The Oscars, Emmys, and Grammys to competition shows like The Voice, Dancing with the Stars, and American Idol, they were a natural choice. Holley Video would come in and provide a four-camera setup that would be integrated into a live switcher, which would then be integrated into a Zoom meeting so that all remote participants would be provided with a live feed of the membership meeting, complete with real-time camera cutting to whomever was speaking at any given moment. They would also provide two 55-inch televisions, each of which would be connected to a computer that was logged into the meeting. This would allow in-person members to view the Zoom gallery, regardless of where they were sitting in the venue. For audio, we approached Bill Kaplan of On Tap TV. Bill is a Live Broadcast Sound Mixer who has been a member of Local 695 for more than twenty years and is best known for his work on more than five hundred episodes of The Late Late Show with James Corden. Each speaker on the Local 695 dais would have their own microphone and a floor mic would be provided for in-person members of the audience to use when asking a question. These lines would all be taken into a mixing console, which would then be integrated into the Holley Video team's host system for the membership meeting. The microphones in the room would allow remote participants to hear what was being said in person, while the speakers would allow in-person participants to be heard on Zoom. Bill would be assisted by Oscar Alva, a member of Local 695's Y-16A Training program, who would receive on-the-job training while participating in union activity. For administrative purposes, Local 695 Director of Education (then Senior Systems Manager) Casey Weiss and I would facilitate the Zoom meeting itself. This would involve confirming membership status and admitting those participating online, as well as working with the Local's then Sergeant-at-Arms, Chris