The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) will present a united front at commercials contract talks which begin next week in NY, jointly negotiating with management, represented by the Joint Policy Committee (JPC) of the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) and the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA). The current pact is scheduled to expire on March 31 after SAG, AFTRA and the JPC agreed to a five month extension. While SAG and AFTRA jointly negotiating a spot contract has been the longstanding norm, their coming together this time around represents an accomplishment given the acrimony between the two unions. The bad blood dates back to AFTRA splitting from SAG last year to negotiate and then reach agreement on its own contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers (AMPTP)—and SAG’s subsequent campaign to get AFTRA members, most notably those in AFTRA ranks who are also SAG members, to vote down that contract but to no avail….Momentum is building for the launch of a Visual Effects Society (VES) Northeast section spanning artisans and professionals in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Connecticut. At press time a petition was being circulated with the goal of gaining 50 member signatures, the minimum needed to form a local VES section or chapter….
February 20, 2004
Avid Technology’s Digidesign subsidiary was presented an Academy Award for the creation and development of the ProTools digital audio workstation, which has become a standard tool for feature and commercial audio production. The Scientific and Technical Academy Awards were bestowed on Feb. 14 during a gala ceremony. A second Oscar statue was awarded that evening to Bill Tondreau of Kuper Controls for his advancements in the field of motion control technology for motion picture VFX, another development that has had a significant impact on the commercialmaking industry….Director Barbara McDonough has joined HKM Productions for spot representation in North America. She was most recently at Go Film….Charlex, the NY digital design, effects and post shop, has named Ross Scroble as a senior character animator in its 3-D department. Ross comes over from Blue Sky Studios where he worked as technical lead animator. The hiring of Scroble is in line with Charlex’s plan to grow 3-D operations into longform content. He brings additional depth to the company’s group of CG animators. Scroble will work on spots and Charlex’s first animated short film, labratz….
