On June 3, Second Assistant Directors gathered in the DGA’s Los Angeles Boardroom for the AD/UPM Council West’s Second AD Committee’s eleventh annual brunch. This year’s event, A Tale of Two Perspectives: A Conversation Between 2nd ADs and UPMs, featured group discussions where nearly 100 members representing the two categories came together to explore how each can help the other be more successful at their work.
Following a networking brunch, Second AD Committee Co-Chair Jaysene Overton welcomed the attendees, AD/UPM Council West Chair Victor Hsu spoke to the attendees about the work of the Council and this Committee and encouraged more membership involvement, and Committee Co-Chair Clark Credle outlined the plan for the day. Credle also introduced Committee member Joe Moore who will be assuming his responsibilities as Co-Chair after Credle steps down.
The Co-Chairs then introduced the participating UPMs: Nick Andrus (The Boys of Abu Gharaib), Michael Beugg (La La Land), Marco Black (Scorpion), Cyndi Brenner (The Mindy Project), Jason C. Brown (I’m Sorry), Elaine Dysinger (Dead Again in Tombstone), Brian Frankish (Yellow Stone), Franklyn Gottbetter (You’re the Worst), Basil Grillo (Jumanji), Victor Ho (Wish Upon), Cleve Landsberg (Kingdom), Nan Morales (Beautiful Boy), Mark Moran (Amityville: The Awakening), Liz Ryan (Amy’s Brother), Jason Saville (Future Man), Ellen H.Schwartz (Granite Mountain), Kenneth J. Silverstein (Glee), Melanie Wagor (Egg), Dwight Williams (Peeples), and Sally Young (Modern Family).
The attendees then separated into breakout groups where the UPMs revealed a little bit about themselves and their work and all parties explored subjects including working with other directors team members, how to cover the responsibilities of a shooting day, and safety on the set, before reconvening in the boardroom to discuss their findings.
About the Committee:
The 2nd AD Committee addresses issues that concern the members of our category. We encourage dialogue amongst members in an effort to bring awareness, devise solutions to problems and continue education and growth.
The Committee is co-chaired by Clark Credle, Joe Moore and Jaysene Overton and the membership includes: Lisa Chu, Peter Dress, John Elmore, Tim Engle, Courtney Franklin, Stephenie Galvan, Staci Lamkin, Christophe Le Chanu, Marc Newland, Jennie O'Keefe, Ari Oyola, Athena Pesante, Carrie Rudolf, Paul Schneider, and Redelia Shaw.
The 2nd AD Committee also thanks the following DGA members who assisted in organizing this year’s event: AD/UPM Council West Chair Victor Hsu; Richard Prince and the UPM Committee (Lisa Chu, Peter Dress, John Elmore, Courtney Franklin, Stephenie Galvan, Staci Lamkin, Marc Newland, Jennie O’Keefe, Ari Oyola, Athena Pesante, Carrie Rudolf, Paul Schneider, John Sharkey, and Redelia Shaw); and 2nd ADs Deborah N. Chung, Austin Davoren, Phil DeSanti, Michael Feldman, Jonathan C. Hall, Paul Lindsay, Narbeh Nazarian, Bob Riley, Chris Ryan, Scott Sudduth, Tara Nicole Tjahjadi, Heather Ann Wagner, Tamara Wofford, and Alicia Zaragoza.