DGA members who specialize in directing commercials attended cocktail receptions at Guild headquarters in Los Angeles on April 26, and the DGA's New York offices on May 5. Both evenings provided the opportunity to mingle with fellow commercial directors and to celebrate the historic Code of Preferred Creative Rights Practices that was achieved in this year's negotiations with the AICP.
The Code of Preferred Creative Rights Practices is a set of guidelines for directors, advertising agencies and production companies, presented to the industry by the DGA. Although the guidelines set forth in the Code are voluntary, they express an industry consensus concerning preferred industry practice that is separate and apart from the DGA National Commercial Agreement.
DGA National Vice-President Steven Soderbergh spoke to the directors at the Los Angeles reception and Host Committee member Laura Belsey addressed the directors at the New York event. Both explained how the Guild worked with the AICP and the Advertising Agencies to create the Code after a group of commercial directors in New York asked for assistance in addressing issues leading to the deterioration of their creative rights such as the elimination of the prior industry standard of three treatments per campaign; the use of ideas presented in a director's treatment in a commercial that was subsequently awarded to a different director; and the exclusion of the director from post-production. After a number of additional meetings with commercial directors in Los Angeles and New York, Guild representatives met with over 40 heads of production from the major agencies and in the spring of 2009, obtained the commitment to adhere to these guidelines that are designed to help curb these abuses. To ensure commercial directors are aware of these issues, the Guild distributed wallet-size copies of the Code to the members present.
In addition to Belsey, the members of the Host Committee for the New York reception included Directors Tim Abshire, Bryan Buckley, Jeff Preiss, Lisa Rubisch, Stan Schofield and Bruce Van Dusen. In addition to Soderbergh, members of the Host Committee for the Los Angeles reception included Directors Laura Belsey, Alexander Charity, David Cornell, Jonathan Dayton, Andrew Douglas, Valerie Faris, Brett Froomer, Craig Gillespie, Tom Kuntz, Peter Miller, Noam Murro, and Baker Smith. Soderbergh singled out Belsey and Cornell for their special efforts in the campaign, and the commitment to this issue shown by DGA National Executive Director Jay D. Roth, Eastern Executive Director Russ Hollander and Associate Western Executive Director Jon Larson.
(Los Angeles photos by Tonya Wise; New York photos by Marcie Revens.)
