Unit Production Manager members who work in episodic television gathered to discuss their profession during the Western AD/UPM Council’s special breakfast event held on Saturday, June 13, 2009, at DGA headquarters in Los Angeles. The morning was designed as a forum where UPMs were able to discuss their thoughts and concerns about their role in the industry, and the issues the DGA and/or the UPM Committee should address on behalf of their category.

After an informal networking breakfast and opening comments by Western AD/UPM Council Chair Cleve Landsberg and UPM Committee Co-Chairs Marie Cantin and Dwight Williams, the participants broke into discussion groups that were moderated by members of the Council’s UPM Committee. These groups covered topics including: how a UPM gets work; whether the responsibility for safety has changed the UPM job; what effects New Media might have on the category; and if the job of the UPM can be done by one person. Later, the groups came together to share the key discussion points in an open session.