Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/810786
M A Y 2 0 1 7 I 1 9 A more detailed description and additional photos are posted online at www.dga.org. DGA Events Roundup Western AD/UPM Council Hosts Repeat of Production Planning Workshop In March and April, DGA AD/UPM members received valuable information during the training workshop, The Big Picture: Production Planning for Features and Television. Held in the Guild's Los Angeles headquarters atrium, the immersive course was designed to enhance and develop the management skills of working Assistant Directors and Production Managers. The workshop is a repeat of the highly popular course hosted by the Western AD/UPM Council Education Committee in 2016 and taught by UPMs Brian Frankish and Marie Cantin, with UPM Cleve Landsberg and 2nd AD Redelia Shaw added this year as teaching assistants, and more input from guest speakers. The instructors led the attendees through the ins and outs of the process via demonstrations, hands-on computer work and group exercises. Utilizing a sample script, the participants worked in teams to create a Production Plan that included critical assumptions, a shooting schedule and a budget that took into account related topics such as: tax incentives, union agreements and risk management. The goal of the course was to help the participants acquire a strong foundation in the production planning skills they need to further advance their professional careers. photo by Elisa Haber Eastern AD/SM/PA Council Hosts New Member Orientation in New York Associate Directors, Stage Managers and Production Associates heard information about their Guild and discussions about issues that affect these categories during the Eastern AD/SM/PA Council's Navigating the DGA orientation, held in the boardroom of the Guild's New York offices on March 13. Following a welcome from Council Chair Joyce Thomas, the reports included: Council Member Dennis W. Mazzocco on the governance of the Guild, Second Vice Chair Amanda Rodriguez and Council member Bruce Martin on member responsibilities and privileges, Council Secretary-Treasurer Terry Benson on the Pension and Health Plans and the DGA PAC, DGA Assistant Executive Director Michael Berger on the operations, organization and procedures of the Guild, and a live demonstration of the services available online via the DGA website. The orientation ended with a Q&A session where the attendees could have their questions addressed by the Council members and DGA staff. Photo: New and veteran members, Council members and DGA Staff pose for a photo at the Eastern AD/SM/PA Council's Navigating the DGA orientation. photo by Krista Kennell Photo: The Big Picture: Production Planning for Features and Television attendees and instructors pose for a commemorative group photo. Recent Visual History Addition Director Steven Frears Frears discusses his 50-plus-year career working in feature film and television including: My Beautiful Laundrette, Dangerous Liaisons, The Grifters, The Queen, Philomena and Florence Foster Jenkins. Frears on the effectiveness of watching screenings with an audience: "I remember watching a man going to the bathroom, coming up the aisle with his head turned back to the screen. I'd done the same thing myself in cinemas where you can't take your eyes off the screen. And I realized, while watching the film with all these strangers, you could tell what they wanted to see. In Dangerous Liaisons you could either show the person speaking or you could show the person listening. There's nothing else. Just by sitting there you knew where it was wrong and we went back and put that right and then it was fine. I don't have a memory of focus groups having said something and you think 'oh my god. I didn't realize that.' But sitting in a room with strangers is very good for you." The Visual History Program website contains hundreds of hours of videotaped interviews with directors and director's team members discussing their careers and reflections on all aspects of the creative process in film, television and other media. These interviews are indexed for quick retrieval of segments pertaining to specific topics of interest within a particular interview or across the entire collection. Steven Frears interviewed by Randal Kleiser View more excerpts and interviews in the Visual History Collection by clicking the link on the homepage of www.dga.org.