The AD/UPM Council East held their first-ever UPM Breakfast on December 3 in the seventh floor boardroom of the Guild’s New York offices. Presented by the Council’s UPM Committee, Filming on the Streets of New York provided Eastern Unit Production Manager members with an informal setting in which to discuss the rapidly-changing landscape of filming on Gotham’s streets. The morning also presented an opportunity for these members to get re-acquainted with their fellow UPMs and share up-to-date information regarding new regulations and community relations. The goal of the breakfast was to build a coalition of professionals to form strategies that could help keep New York a sustainable environment for film and TV production into the future.

After an informal networking breakfast and opening comments by AD/UPM Council East Chair Thomas Whelan and UPM Committee Co-Chairs Scott Ferguson, Kathleen McGill and Glen Trotiner. In order to explore the day’s subject from a variety of viewpoints and angles, the attendees separated into smaller discussion groups moderated by members of the Committee. The subjects of discussion included: Community relations, new regulations from various city agencies, solutions to the chronic issues like parking at current production hot spots, locally available equipment and local union contract issues, ways to encourage work for local DGA members, and how they could better share their learned knowledge. Notes from each group’s explorations were reported later when everyone reconvened in the boardroom to share the key discussion points in an open session.

The mission of the UPM Committee is to research and review issues relevant to the UPM category that may occur under Guild agreements. The hosts for this event were UPM Committee Co-Chairs Scott Ferguson, Kathleen McGill and Glen Trotiner, and Committee members Trish Adlesic, Lynn Appelle, Patty Doherty Hess, Richard Brick, Steve Glanzrock, Daniel Hank, Denise Pinckley, Mary Rae Thewlis, and Harvey Waldman.