On April 16, the AD/UPM Council East’s UPM Committee hosted the annual breakfast event designed for Unit Production Managers to network with their peers, compare notes and learn new skills. DGA members gathered in the Guild’s New York boardroom for Different Strokes for Different Folks: Honing Your Skill Sets for Different Kinds of Productions, an invitation-only seminar focused on developing the expertise needed to succeed in an increasingly diverse media landscape.
Following a welcome from Council Chair Kathleen McGill, the attendees were treated to a roundtable panel discussion featuring UPMs Gwen Bialic (Carol, Mr. Robot), Mari Jo Winkler (Vinyl, Away We Go) and Scott Ferguson (The Normal Heart, Fading Gigolo). These seasoned veterans explored topics including how to survive in an environment where crossing over between formats has become a common career path for DGA members as more types of productions become popular, and what it means to work in varying formats for different types of companies currently shooting in the New York area. The discussion included an open forum where the attendees could ask the speakers questions and share their own experiences working in an ever-widening field of new and changing media.
About the Council
The AD/UPM Council East is the elected body that represents the nearly 1,700 Assistant Director and Unit Production Manager members of the Guild who reside and/or work in film, television, commercials and new media the East and Midwest regions. The Council is chaired by Kathleen McGill. The Council’s UPM Committee is co-chaired by Lynn Appelle, Fred Blankfein and Scott Ferguson.