On January 12, DGA members and trainees gathered in the Guild’s New York offices for the seminar, Second Life: A Skills Training for Second Assistant Directors. Presented by the Eastern AD/UPM Council’s Second AD Committee, the event was designed for these members to brush up on the essential skills required to successfully do the job of a Key Second Assistant Director.
Following a meet and greet and a welcome from Committee Co-Chairs Arianne Apicelli, John Silvestri and Dana Zolli, the participants broke into smaller groups to attend sessions covering various aspects of the job.
The session covering Prep was led by Committee Co-Chair Dana Zolli and Committee Members Rob Tierney and Jeremy Marks. The session covering Budgets & Breakdowns was led by Committee Member Chris Vendetti and 2nd AD Steve Lafferty. The session covering Dealing with Cast/Managers/Agents was led by Committee Co-Chair John Silvestri and Committee Member Matt Lake. The session covering A Day in the Life was led by Committee Co-Chair Arianne Apicelli and 2nd ADs James Feldman and Connie Pierce-Winters.
The small groups rotated through each of these sessions so that the attending members could glean all they could regarding the skills needed to successfully run a department.
About the Committee
The AD/UPM Council East Second Assistant Directors Committee addresses issues that concern the members of this category and encourages dialogue amongst members in an effort to bring awareness, devise solutions to problems and continue education and growth. The Committee is co-chaired by Arianne Apicelli, John Silvestri and Dana Zolli. The members include: Arusha Baker, Senica Billingsley, Gabriel Blom, Catherine Feeny, Pam Giangreco, Abigail Hansen, Jason Hightower, Ryan Robert Howard, Rachel Jaros, Amir Khan, Matt Lake, Cary Lee, Jeremy Marks, Les McDonough, Jack McKenna, Francisco Ortiz, Michael Reichman, Jeff Sedwick, Rob Tierney and Chris Vendetti.