Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/231210
RON WOLFSON putting it together Benn Fleishman, supervising producer, handles logistics of the production. room. I bring in everything: The carpeting, the catering, the tables and the chairs. I set everything up to make sure the logistics are correct. I work with Event Designer Keith Greco and his crew (Greco designs the ceremony's grand entrance as well as the table and showroom décor); I also work with Graff Diamonds on the Green Room and with the sponsors, making sure they get correct placement." Putting It All Together Supervising Producer Gloria Fujita O'Brien, who works on all of Margolis' shows, has helped assemble the SAG Awards since 1998. Her job is to make sure that the presenters are aware of what they're supposed to do within a specific timeframe. "I also handle the script timing of the show," Fujita O'Brien explains, meaning that during the show she's counting every second of every segment, constantly making adjustments and consulting with Margolis. 51 SAG-AFTRA | Special Issue 2014 | SAGAFTRA.org "I am the keeper of the clock," she says. "In my job, you can't be indecisive. You have to problem solve quickly and realize that there's not just one solution for every problem." Benn Fleishman, who is celebrating his 16th year with the SAG Awards, steps into the role of supervising producer this year to oversee the financial, administrative and logistical aspects of the production. Alongside associate producer and 15-year SAG Awards veteran Cynthia Kistler, Fleishman also helps to manage the large staff that works to pull it all together. "The production manager, production coordinators and production assistants all help fill out the production team to get done all of the various elements that need to be accomplished during the course of the event, as well as before and after," says Fleishmann. "Everything from hiring production staff, moving packages around town and ordering and assembling mass quantities of beverages and snacks to ordering furniture, phone lines and Internet access." Consulting producer Mick McCullough, celebrating his 17th year with the SAG Awards, says only half jokingly that one of the most important aspects of his job is predicting the weather. The show's January date means that every year the red carpet can be subject to unpredictable weather conditions. One aspect of McCullough's multifaceted duties is to carefully monitor weather reports in the days preceding the ceremony, and if inclement weather is predicted, to have rainy day preparations in place.