Not all scientific research takes place in a lab. Nor are all the people running the tests and crunching the numbers microbiologists or infectious disease specialists. As the fight to permanently take down the COVID-19 virus rages on, a group of Local 600 digital imaging technicians (DITs) have answered the call by offering up something […]
Question: What’s a person who freely admits she can’t sew doing in an organization that is furiously stitching masks to send to hospitals all over Georgia? Answer: Making a difference. When the film and TV industry shut down, Local 600 1st Assistant Julie Donovan, a Local 600 member since 1996 based in Atlanta, quickly saw […]
The much-loved coffee, sandwiches and baked goods available at Brooklyn’s Roots Café now come with something extra: a generous serving of love, compassion and hope. When they took over the business two years ago, Gareth Manwaring and his wife, Patricia, envisioned making the cafe a popular neighborhood gathering spot. And they have ramped up the […]
Under different circumstances, making the 20-mile trek up and down the 101 Freeway in Los Angeles several times a week wouldn’t have been the way that Scott Browner chose to spend his hiatus as A-Camera Operator from The Goldbergs. But with the COVID-19 pandemic having shut down the film and TV industry, the situation is […]
50 years ago, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, and OSHA did not exist. These vital agencies were created as a result of the activism that grew out of the first Earth Day. Sadly, these agencies that serve the public interest are now endangered and we must work […]
In times of crisis, The Actors Fund goes into immediate action. A human services organization that services all branches of the entertainment industry, The Actors Fund provides emergency financial assistance, affordable housing, health care, insurance counseling secondary career development and other services. Local 600 partners with The Actors Fund to administer social services to […]
Several years ago, a camera assistant friend of Claire Folger’s drew the comparison between a film camera and a rather different device. “A camera mechanism works basically the same as a sewing machine mechanism,” said Folger, a still photographer and 20-year member of Local 600. “So anyone who can run camera should be able to […]
“I’ve always been a tinkerer,” describes L.A.-based camera operator Andrew Brinkhaus. “When the COVID-19 shut down hit, like many, I got online and started reading. One of the things that caught my eye was the different products and designs for face masks and other things.” Brinkhaus started posting on Instagram, looking for fellow guild members […]
Experts agree on this point: when it comes to safety, the film and TV industry has been complacent for too long. In the 1980s, if filmmakers needed to capture the majesty of the Cabrillo Highway in California’s stunning Big Sur region, they would find camera operators willing to hang out of an open helicopter, one arm […]
In the motion picture and TV industry, professional connections are everything. So when an artist is looking to branch out, try on new professional hats or direct a passion project, he might choose his crew from the ranks of his union brothers and sisters. That’s how it worked for Camera Operator Eric Dyson as he […]