On December 2, nearly 50 DGA members and trainees gathered in the Guild’s New York offices for 2017 edition of the seminar, Second Life: A Skills Training for Second Assistant Directors. Presented by the AD/UPM Council East’s Second AD Committee, the event was designed for these members to brush up on the essential skills required to successfully do the job of a Second Second Assistant Director or Additional Second Assistant Director.
Following a meet and greet and a welcome from Committee Co-Chairs Arianne Apicelli, John Silvestri and Dana Zolli, the participants broke into smaller groups as the half-day event kicked off with A Day in the Life of a Second Second AD with Zolli, Ryan Robert Howard and Cary Lee walking the attendees through the typical duties of the day; and Second Second ADs: Practice and Politics with Apicelli, Chris Dreyer and Rachel Jaros speaking about the “dos and don’ts” of being a Second Second AD. The seminar was organized so that each of the participants could attend both sessions which were repeated in the following hour.
In the final session of the day, everyone gathered again in the boardroom for the session, All About Background with Silvestri, Justin Bischoff and Nick Notte covering the art of dealing with extras, setting background, and considering the role of background as part of the creative vision of the film.
About the Committee
The AD/UPM Council East Second Assistant Directors Committee addresses issues that concern the members of this category and encourages dialogue amongst members in an effort to bring awareness, devise solutions to problems and continue education and growth. The Committee is co-chaired by Arianne Apicelli, John Silvestri, and Dana Zolli. The members include: Arusha Baker, Senica Billingsley, Gabriel Blom, Jason Booth, Steven Bruno, Catherine Feeny, Jason Hightower, Rachel Jaros, Amir Khan, Matt Lake, Jeremy Marks, Les McDonough, Jack McKenna, Michael Reichman, Jeff Sedwick.