NOR'EASTER
Eastern Region Reaffirms Commitments
The Future of Labor Is in Our Own Hands
by Martin Levenstein
The Eastern Region Board meets every month to represent Eastern Region members.
Each January, we take stock of the year just past and plan programs and initiatives
for the year to come. We must reaffirm our commitment to serve as your elected
representatives. It is a hopeful time, because we know we can build on the previous
work of Guild staff and many hardworking union members.
Your Eastern Region Directors and Alternates agree that organizing is the single most important priority when evaluating where the Guild should direct its energy and resources in the coming year in the Eastern Region. By organizing, more opportunities are created for members to work under Guild agreements and better enjoy the benefits of membership. We need to organize producing companies, facilities and “one-offs”––projects that exist on a one-time basis and employ post-production personnel. These are generally independent films, either narrative or documentaries, where the producing company does not have a “standing” Guild agreement.
Often these companies sign existing agreements such as the IA Low Budget Agreement, or the New York Production Agreement after joint negotiations with the IA and local unions or the New York Production Council. These agreements are very flexible and often are tailored to the realities of specific projects. They involve agreement on negotiated pay rates, and may include language on financial deferments, which will kick in when an agreed-upon box office gross is reached.
Jesus Sanchez is our Organizer in New York. He works directly for Paul Moore, Assistant Executive Director, and Tris Carpenter, the Guild’s National Organizer. Organizing is his full-time function. Moore and Annie Ballard, Field Representative, spend much of their time with organizing also. They work with Sanchez to determine organizing targets and spending time with workers at these locations––gaining their confidence and explaining why organizing a particular job would be in their best interests.
As members, we sometimes hear of projects that are in early planning stages. You can help by making the staff aware of those that are starting non-union. Sometimes producers are trying to slip in under the radar; other times they have misconceptions about signing union agreements. If you are on a film that the Guild is trying to organize, you have a responsibility to be a link between the staff and your workplace, follow organizing instructions and do everything you can to support the union.
We want to continue the emphasis on bringing documentary films under union agreements in the coming year. Many documentaries are low-budget with small crews, but we want to encourage members working on such films to talk to staff about bringing those projects under contract. This means that all of our classifications must be covered on the project, including sound and music assistants and editing room assistants (ERAs). Films signed to an agreement can pay pension and health benefits and the Guild tries to be very flexible to make these situations happen.
Last year, Eastern Region Directors Louis Bertini and Peter Frank chaired a workflow study committee. The committee met with members working in different categories to get an overview on how jobs and workplaces have changed over the last several years due to the digital-impacted workflow. Categories included sound, music, re-recording and picture editing, and meetings were held with editors, assistant editors and ERAs.
One of the results of these insights is that we have decided to expand our current training program to include seminars and workshops about coordinating workflows between departments. Picture, sound and music departments will have a chance to talk with each other and put their needs in perspective. We also anticipate workshops on specifics––such as doing outputs and OMF (open media framework) files for sound departments and how picture departments can prepare and deliver files for sound and digital intermediate finishing.
We will continue to coordinate with other production locals, such as camera, script supervisors and sound recording to hold joint seminars and discussions on pre-production planning to help jobs to flow more smoothly. We will continue to hold seminars with vendors to keep members up to date on the latest technical achievements, and we will continue to upgrade and expand our training room with the latest versions of all of our editing systems, as well as newly developed programs to keep the membership current with the latest trends in digital editing.
In this vein, due to many requests by members and a successful Lightworks seminar with Thelma Schoonmaker, ACE, and Tariq Anwar last November, Lightworks will generously donate an editing system for our training room by this summer.
Last year, we offered several low-cost workshops on the basics of such applications
as Final Cut Pro, Avid Xpress Pro and ProTools LE. We also offered a combination
course of Avid Xpress Pro and ProTools for picture and sound assistant editors
to understand each other’s rolls in the final delivery process.
This year we are including more advanced courses, such as the Craft of Editing,
on each of the systems. These workshops will continue to be taught by
experienced members working in the field; they know what they’re doing.
We look forward to representing all members in the coming year and would like
your input to guide us forward.
Martin Levenstein, a Picture Editor member, is the Second Vice President on the Editors Guild Board of Directors.