#13 in a Series

The Eastern Breeze

Quarterly Membership Meeting Introduces
New Assistant Executive Director
and Spotlights Final Cut Pro

by Martin Levenstein, Guild 2nd Vice President

Paul Moore, New Assistant Executive Director

The third-quarter Eastern Region General Membership Meeting was held on September 6. Members who attended had the opportunity to meet Paul Moore, our new assistant executive

Paul Moore, New Eastern Region Assistant Executive Director

director for the region.

Moore was appointed by the Local 700 Board of Directors to fill the position left vacant earlier this year by the resignation of Lorraine Seidel. He is an experienced union executive who comes to us after serving as the national business agent for the United Scenic Artists (USA), IATSE Local 829. In the spring of 1999, he initiated, organized and, with President Tom Short and the IATSE Executive Board, led the way to the re-affiliation of Local 829 with the IATSE.

While at USA, Moore negotiated feature and episodic television contracts with eleven major motion picture studios. Other agreements he negotiated included ABC, CBS, and NBC television, the Metropolitan Opera, the Broadway League of American Theatres and Producers, the Houston Grand Opera, the Florida Grand Opera, the Children’s Television Workshop and various scenery suppliers. Prior to his tenure at 829, he was a scenic artist on motion pictures and Broadway shows. He has worked on such features as Addicted to Love, Ransom, Jungle2Jungle, Carlito’s Way, Scent of a Woman, Glengarry Glen Ross, Boomerang and Malcolm X. His theatrical credits include Guys and Dolls, Five Guys Named Moe, Will Rogers Follies, Streetcar Named Desire, and Sarafina. From 1979 to 1992, Moore toured the United States and 28 countries as a production stage manager with various ballet, Broadway and opera companies, including The Dance Theatre of Harlem, Bolshoi Ballet, Merce Cunningham Dance and the Kirov Ballet. In 2000, he was one of three recipients of the Theatrical Mutual Association’s “Entertainment Man of the Year.”

Moore brings to our Guild an understanding of what it means to work as a rank and file crafts person, as well as extensive executive and negotiating experience. We’re excited to have him on board. He joins Business Representative Norman Gay and Office Manager Sandy Fong-Ging in the New York office. Together, they hope to make New York an even stronger union town. Moore invites you to stop by the office to say hello and talk about your work.

Final Cut Pro Demonstration

Michael Wong, an Apple sales and technical representative who specializes in Final Cut Pro, was a guest speaker at the meeting. Using a G4 PowerBook, a 12-gigabyte external FireWire drive and a video projector, Wong gave a demonstration of some of the capabilities of Final Cut Pro 2. As he worked, he fielded questions from members of the audience, who were clearly interested in what he had to say.

According to Wong, earlier versions of FCP were popular among editors who were familiar with software such as Adobe Premiere or Media 100, but who might not have the experience to handle sophisticated narrative or documentary projects. With Version 2, however, Apple is positioning its product to be used by high-level professionals.

Wong also discussed FilmLogic, logging software that was recently purchased by Apple. The program enables editors to import flex files into FCP and create databases that can be used to make cut lists. He conceded that the program could not create change lists, a great concern to many people present.

Some members with whom I spoke afterwards felt that Apple is still learning about the filmmaking process. As an example, Wong was asked if the work assistants do on shows using FCP would be similar to what they do with an Avid. He had to ask for an explanation of the responsibilities of an assistant before he concluded that they would in fact be similar. Sound editors in particular seemed concerned about whether EDLs and track outputs could be translated into formats they could use, and about how change notes could be implemented.

Wong stressed that Apple wants to make Final Cut Pro the tool of choice for professional editors who work in any medium, including film, DV and HDTV. He displayed an open mind and was quick to brainstorm answers to difficult questions. He stressed that FCP is a very rich and, in his word, “deep” piece of software, but admitted that it is still a work in progress, which Apple is committed to improving. Part of that process seems to be bringing Final Cut Pro to the professional editing community and getting our feedback on it. On behalf of all those present, I’d like to thank Wong for his time and helpful interest in our work.