479 NEWS
58th CAS Awards Nominations Include Local 479
IATSE Local 479 is pleased to announce that two of our members, Michael Filosa and Christopher Giles have been nominated for the 58th CAS Awards For Outstanding Achievement In Sound Mixing For 2021.
Mike was nominated for his work on Cobra Kai, Season 3, Episode 10 (Netflix). Read about Mike’s work on Cobra Kai on prosoundweb.com
Chris was nominated for his work on WandaVision Episode 8, “Previously On’ (Disney+). Read about Chris’ work on WandaVision on btlnews.com
Congratulations also go out to Local 479 members Alana Knutson and Jason Lewis for their work on the Disney+ series Hawkeye, Episode 3, “Echoes”, under Sound Mixer Pud Cusack, CAS (Local 695).
The 58th Annual CAS Awards will take place on Saturday, March 19, 2022, at the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown Hotel in the Wilshire Grand Ballroom.
Are you a 479 member who has been nominated for an industry award? Please contact [email protected] with the details so we can share your news with our membership.

2021 Area Standards Agreement
The International has provided a video explaining the gains accomplished in the 2021 Area Standards Tentative Agreement.

ASA Ratification Documentation Now Available
Members of IATSE Local 479 may now log into the Member Dashboard to accessing documentation for the pending ASA ratification vote. A log-in is required – members only.
ASA Ratification Documentation (click here)
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Covid Act Now Website
We would like to make you aware of CovidActNow.org, a data source used by the bargaining committee to successfully formulate and inform the Return to Work COVID protocols and how they are applied. (more…)

2020 Robert Vazquez Scholarship Winners
Vice President Whit Norris announced the winners of the 2020 Robert Vazquez IATSE 479 Scholarship this week, saying: “I am pleased to report that this year the committee has awarded 8 scholarships.”
Please join us in congratulating our 2020 Robert Vazquez Scholarship Winners: (more…)

Frank Hatcher Retires as General Secretary-Treasurer
In the June 2021 General Membership meeting Brother Frank Hatcher announced his official resignation from Local 479 as General Secretary-Treasurer.
As a former officer in the banking industry, Frank was an advocate for the implementation of financial best practices in our local and help set a vision for our future.
In recognition of Brother Hatcher’s more than 6 years of service to our local President Ray Brown awarded him with a plaque.
In an email to the membership President Brown noted the instrumental role Frank played in managing the growth of this local during his tenure, as membership grew from several hundred to more than 5,500.
“His guidance and leadership will be greatly missed and the Executive Board extends our sincere thanks to both Brother Hatcher and his family.” – Ray Brown

2021 Setting Record for Volume of Work
I am pleased to announce that 2021 has already set new records for the volume of work in our jurisdiction. Folks, you may want to postpone your vacation plans for a later date because it’s going to be a VERY busy summer.
We have built it, and they have come
Over the last 13 years, we have built a reputation as being one of the top production locations in the world. The membership of Local 479 has been instrumental in creating this reputation. Companies know that they can hire quality crew here to produce their product. We have proven time and again that we are ready, willing, and able to meet and exceed their expectations, and that is why more opportunities continue to come our way.
Whether it is due to, or possibly despite the pandemic, our society today relies more heavily than ever on the products WE make, and that has fueled the exponential growth of the motion picture industry and increased the methods of distribution of our content, all of which serves to create more jobs and more opportunities for all of us. As long as we continue to uphold our reputation of being a premiere production location with an outstanding crew base, we should have every expectation of a prosperous future.
Look at the stats:
Snapshot of Production in Atlanta (as of TODAY, May 22, 2021)
- 47 active projects under contract
- 43 productions have already wrapped and it’s only May
- 30 of those started and wrapped in 2021
- 38% of our work product is Streaming Video on Demand
- Current production volume, by product:
- Episodics: 15
- Features: 14
- Streaming Video on Demand: 18

72nd Emmy Nominee Flip Borrero
In late July the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced its list of nominations for the 72nd Emmy Awards. In a repeat of last year, Local 479 Production Sound Mixer Felipe “Flip” Borrero was honored with a nomination for the category Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour) for his work on the critically-acclaimed Netflix series Ozark, starring Jason Bateman and Laura Linney.
This is Flip’s third Emmy nomination and his 5th award nomination altogether.
Flip on the Emmys
While the cancellation of the live event may pose a disappointment to many first time nominees, this isn’t Flip’s first Emmy nomination and it wouldn’t be his first win.

72nd Emmy Nominee Michael Rayle
In late July the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced its list of nominations for the 72nd Emmy Awards. Local 479 Sound Mixer Mike Rayle was among those honored with a nomination for the category Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour) for his work on Season 3 of the Netflix hit “Stranger Things”.
This is Mike’s first Emmy nomination and his second award nomination for his work on Stranger Things, for which he was previously nominated for a Cinema Audio Society Award, earlier this year.
Mike entered the business in the late 1990s after moving from New York back to his home state of North Carolina. The sound department was a good fit for his background in music and his on-set experience as an animal handler. He spent his first several years in the business as a sound utility, learning the craft from experienced mixers and is grateful for the opportunity to have studied under their tutelage.

72nd Emmy Nominee Douglas Axtell
In late July the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced its list of nominations for the 72nd Emmy Awards. Local 479 Sound Mixer Douglas Axtell was among those honored with a nomination for the category Outstanding Sound Mixing For A Limited Series or Movie for his work on the HBO series “Watchmen”.
This is Douglas’ third Emmy nomination and his eighth award nomination altogether. Provided below are excerpts from a conversation with Douglas.
