On December 12, Assistant Directors and Unit Production Managers on the East Coast got a primer on the basic workings of their Guild during Navigating the DGA, an orientation event hosted by the Eastern AD/UPM Council. Held in the boardroom of the Guild’s New York offices prior to the regular monthly meeting of the Council, the event also provided a forum for these members to discuss a variety of issues that affect ADs and UPMs with veteran members and have their questions answered by DGA staff.
The orientation began with an introduction and welcome from Eastern AD/UPM Council Member Education Committee Chair Michael Reichman, who also spoke about the work of the Committee that presents events such as this with the aim of furthering the knowledge of members in these categories.
DGA Assistant Executive Director Rachel Paster – the executive who oversees the Council – presented an overview of the operations and procedures of the Guild, explained how the collective bargaining agreements and DGA Field Reps protect the membership, and introduced the staff and Field Reps attending this session.
Eastern AD/UPM Council Secretary-Treasurer Jennifer Truelove spoke about the governance of the Guild and broke down how the National Board and the Councils work together to maintain the DGA and deal with issues that didn’t exist when the Guild was founded 80 years ago.
The responsibilities and privileges of DGA membership were covered by Council Alternates Arianne Apicelli and Les McDonough. Apicelli handled the responsibilities portion, explaining such basic items as how members may only work for signatory employers, should always report their work to the Guild in a timely manner and must undergo mandatory safety training before being employed on DGA-covered projects. McDonough detailed some of the many benefits that come with a DGA card such as the Pension and Health Plans, the DGA publications and access to the screenings, special events, workshops and seminars.
In a production environment that sometimes finds work being done outside the studio, Council Second Vice Chair Joe Guest spoke about the importance of maintaining good community relations on a location shoot and how to avoid the “Not In My Backyard” backlash by being a good neighbor.
DGA Administrative Assistant John Hollahan led members on a brief tutorial of the services available via the DGA website.
The orientation ended with a Q&A session moderated by Reichman where new members could have their questions addressed by Council members and DGA staff. All attendees were invited to stay for the dinner and Eastern AD/UPM Council meeting which immediately followed.
About the Council
The Eastern AD/UPM Council is the elected body that represents the 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.