For nearly a decade, the AD/UPM Council West’s 1st AD Committee has hosted an annual breakfast meeting where members of this category could come together to discuss issues of concern, network with their peers and explore important topics. At their ninth such gathering on September 26, they assembled in the Guild’s Los Angeles headquarters boardroom for Making the Day, a morning of panels and discussion groups aimed at sharing techniques on how to most effectively reach that goal.
Following a breakfast/social mixer during which the attendees were encouraged to sign up for a discussion group that would further explore the topics of the day, 1st AD Committee Co-Chairs Alan B. Curtiss (World War Z) and Mark Hansson (The Real O'Neals) welcomed the attendees and introduced DGA Associate Western Executive Director Jon Larson, the executive in charge of this council who spoke about what was offered to members of this category through the Guild such as the safety training that is now mandatory for all 1st AD members and is available for free each month, and AD/UPM Council West First Vice Chair Cleve Landsberg, who read a message from AD/UPM Council West Chair Marie Cantin who was unable to attend.
Hansson and Curtiss then explained how the day would proceed and introduced the event’s co-hosts: 1st ADs Lee Blaine (Hundreds of Commercials), Kelly Cantley (Last Man on Earth), Daniella Eisman (The Mindy Project), Warren Gray (Grace and Frankie), Susan Hellmann (Raising Hope), Kevin Koster (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), Scott Robertson (The Revenant), Artist Robinson (Spy), David Sardi (Need For Speed), and Lars Winther (The Avengers). During the introductions, each of the co-hosts stated their primary work genre and gave a brief example of a how they meet the challenge of making their day on a recent project.
The co-hosts then divided the attendees into breakout groups where the subjects of the day were explored in depth with each group tackling specific questions such as: what are the best tools for more effective prep, how to use the 2nd AD team more efficiently, the first considerations when starting a schedule, primary and final goals to make the day, what makes the ideal AD/Director situation, and more. Each group had a correspondent responsible for collecting the information that was shared with the other groups when they all reassembled in the boardroom. Afterwards, the floor was opened to a wider discussion on what had transpired and any other questions that might have arisen from the day.
In the near future, the Committee plans to compile the best suggestions on how to make a day into a report to be posted on the AD/UPM Council West’s page on the DGA website.
About the Committee
The AD/UPM Council West 1st AD Committee meets to plan events, exchange information, share ideas and address issues facing 1st AD members. In addition to Committee Co-Chairs: Alan Curtiss and Mark Hansson, the 1st AD Committee Members are: Tony Adler, David Bernstein, Nicole Burke, Steve Danton, Bruce Franklin, Katterli Frauenfelder, Gary Goldman, Jim Goldthwait, Van Hayden, Tom Irvine, Eric Jewett, Kevin Koster, Larry Lerner, Linda Montanti, Michele Panelli-Venetis, Korey Pollard, Cindy Potthast, Louis Race, Liz Ryan, Tracey Smith Baumert, Babu Subramaniam, and Eddie Ziv.