DGA 1st ADs celebrated a full decade of gatherings at Guild headquarters in Los Angeles during the Tenth Annual 1st AD Breakfast on June 18. Hosted by the AD/UPM Council West’s 1st AD Committee, the event provided the attendees with valuable information on this year’s subject, Getting the Job & Working on Distant Location, via breakout panel discussions that further explored various aspects of these issues.
Following a breakfast/social mixer during which the attendees signed up for the discussion groups that would explore the topics of the day, 1st AD Committee Co-Chairs Mark Hansson (Animal Kingdom) and Alan B. Curtiss (Something Borrowed) were joined by newly-elected AD/UPM Council West Chair Victor Hsu (Transparent) and 1st Vice Chair Cleve Landsberg (Wicked City) in welcoming the attendees. The Co-Chairs also introduced DGA Field Rep Jon Drew, who serves as an advisor to the 1st AD Committee.
After giving an overview of how the day would proceed, Curtiss and Hansson introduced the event’s co-hosts: 1st ADs Haze J.F. Bergeron III (Chicago Fire), Chris Della Penna (The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story), Tim Lovekin (hundreds of national commercials), Betsy Magruder (Hail, Caesar!), David McWhirter (Quantico), Ben Weiss (Crowded) and Leonid Zisman (Jane the Virgin). During the introductions, each of the co-hosts gave an example from their own experiences in getting a job and a tip about working on distant location.
Attendees then separated into the breakout discussion groups led by the co-hosts, where everyone contributed his/her own knowledge and experience to the explorations of the subjects of the day. Topics included best suggestions and tools for more effective prep in order to get the job, tailoring resumes to different formats such as features vs. episodic television or commercials, necessary skills for working on distant location, how to prepare for long jobs out of town, advice for new 1st ADs, and possible future trends. Each group had a correspondent responsible for collecting the information that would be reported later when the groups reassembled in the Boardroom. Afterwards, the floor was opened to a broader discussion on what had transpired within their groups. The Committee plans to edit the findings of the day into a report with the best suggestions that would be posted 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 B. Curtiss and Mark Hansson, the 1st AD Committee Members are: Tony Adler, David Bernstein, Nicole Burke, Kelly Cantley, Steve Danton, Bruce Franklin, Katterli Frauenfelder, Jim Goldthwait, Warren Gray, Van Hayden, Kevin Koster, Larry Lerner, Linda Montanti, Michele Panelli-Venetis, Korey Pollard, Cindy Potthast, Louis Race, Scott Robertson, Artist Robinson, Daniel Silverberg, Tracey Smith Baumert, Babu Subramaniam, and Carol Vitkay.