On May 22, the DGA Director/UPM Committee conducted its second meeting to explore ways of increasing collaboration and communication between UPMs and directors. While the previous meeting held on April 17 focused on the collaboration in feature film, this meeting was comprised of more than 40 directors and UPMs working in one-hour episodic television.
Director/UPM Committee Co-chair Robert Butler, a director member, explained that the Director/UPM Committee is an outgrowth from a panel that DGA President Michael Apted served on several years ago. The Committee, which reports directly to the Western Directors Council and to the AD/UPM/TC Council, has been regularly meeting since summer 2003 to find ways to open up dialogue between directors and UPMs.
Committee Co-chair Cleve Landsberg, a UPM member, commented on the success of the April meeting and expressed confidence that the process will ultimately strengthen the director's team and the DGA from within.
The director and UPM members once again broke into small groups for several hours to discuss various topics and formulate suggestions on how to make the director/UPM collaboration stronger. Following the group discussions, each group reported to all on their findings. A very collegial and spirited discussion marked this final portion of the morning's activities.