479 NEWS
Faced with Life or Death on Set: When Seconds Count
It was a typical late June afternoon in Riverchase, a bustling community in the Birmingham suburb of Hoover. With temperatures climbing steadily toward the nineties, traces of future storm clouds began to dot the far horizon.
A group of trucks were parked just outside the Rooms To Go store on Chapel Lane and a steady stream of people had been ferrying equipment in and out of the building all morning long, the telltale indication of an active commercial shoot.
A number of the shooting crew from Atlanta had arrived in town the previous night and the Key Grip, Roger Sherer, was animatedly telling his friends about a local restaurant he’d found that featured great food and live music. A musician himself, Roger wanted to get a group together and (more…)
Thank You President Loeb
Thank You President Loeb!
Your leadership has inspired the members of Local 479 to achieve excellence over the past decade and since the last convention we have been actively implementing the 4 Pillars of Success. (more…)
CopyThat App Released for Film Industry
One of our members recently approached the local to share news about an app that he has developed for helping crewmembers post their up-to-the-minute availability for work with others in the industry. The app is named “CopyThat” and is available for both iOS (link) and Android (link) platforms. (more…)
Governor Deal Announces 2017 the Year of Film in Georgia
This past Wednesday morning under the gold dome of the Georgia State Capitol, Governor Nathan Deal declared 2017 the “Year of Film in Georgia“, leveraging the state’s rising image in the global filmmaking community to encourage people to choose Georgia as a vacation destination and to explore locations from popular movies and television series.
Representatives from Local 479 joined with Lee Thomas and members of Georgia’s Film Commission, along with representatives from Local 600, Local 798, SAG/AFTRA, the Georgia Production Partnership, the Georgia Film Academy, the Georgia Studio Alliance, Marvel Studios and more to demonstrate the appreciation of Georgia’s film and television industry for the (more…)
Technology Showcase at Base Camp ATL
Last Saturday Local 479 participated in a technology showcase at Base Camp ATL, a movie and television production facility near the intersection of Fulton Industrial Boulevard and Thornton Road. The event was co-hosted by PRG/Paskal and provided our members with hands-on experience with a variety of new and cutting edge filmmaking technologies.
Registration opened at 7:30am and attendees were provided with breakfast. Around 9am Brian Edwards, President of PRG, welcomed attendees and introduced the representatives from the companies participating in the day’s events, including Local 479’s Business Agent Mike Akins. Following those introductions Brian was joined by Senior PRG Account Executive Dan Hammond for a keynote address centered around (more…)
MPAA Releases Economic Report on Film And Television Industry
The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. recently released new statistics on the film and television industry’s economic impact in all 50 states (link) – here’s what they had to say about Georgia:
“In Georgia, the film and television industry directly employs 25,700 people and pays more than $1.7 billion in wages. There are over 2,700 motion picture and television industry businesses in Georgia, including 1,822 production-related companies. The production of Selma spent $470,000 on in-state wardrobe purchases, dry cleaning and laundry. The film also purchased $180,000 worth of lumber, hardware, and other supplies. Popular TV shows like The Walking Dead bring tourism to the area when fans flock to see filming sites.”
Georgia’s Film Industry Continues To Demonstrate Rapid Growth
In 2004 the membership of Local 479 met in the North Room of historic Manuel’s Tavern to vote on partnering with local production organizations in a bid to challenge the State of Georgia to become a serious competitor in the television and motion picture industry. More than a decade later our State and our Local are reaping the benefits of (more…)
Film Industry Generates $6 Billion For Georgia’s Economy
ATLANTA – Gov. Nathan Deal announced today that Georgia-lensed feature film and television productions generated an economic impact of more than $6 billion during fiscal year 2015 (July 1, 2014-June 30, 2015). The 248 film and television productions shot in Georgia represent $1.7 billion in spending in the (more…)