| PERG News: June 2021 |
In this Issue:
Tuesday, June 8, 2021
My Mental Health First Aid Training
When the Behind the Scenes charity announced it would be offering training covering how to interact with a person in crisis, I was immediately seized by the concept, yet also trepidatious. First, there was the time commitment, something that is in short supply around here. Then, not knowing what the training would be like, I dreaded that it would be a magnet for people bent on making mortifying confessions about their families’ psychiatric troubles. Or worse, it would be a dull slog, a corporate production effort with jargony, unactionable material and a regrettable waste of time. I have an active imagination when it comes to foreseeing my own misery when I volunteer to do something like training. My pessimism is not unjustified, however. I know firsthand the challenge of delivering engaging, insightful, memorable training. I have endured lots of training, moreover I have developed online training myself.
I won’t hold you in suspense. The training exceeded expectations in every way. It was excellent. Later, when I reflected on my journey, and the value of being in possession of this training, I thought I should share it. Here’s what it was like.
The PERG community is familiar with the Behind the Scenes Foundation, run by former ESTA Executive Director Lori Rubinstein. The charity, which is supported by many of our members, provides financial assistance to entertainment professionals in need due to serious illness or injury. In 2019, Behind the Scenes started to focus on a range of mental health issues. (This was the focus of our PERG Coffee Break in March 2021. Check it out on YouTube.) Lori’s description of the initiative begins this way “As the worldwide conversation on mental health has grown, so too has the conversation within our industry. We are learning more about the dimensions of the problem and the depths of people’s pain and despair, and the role that the unique stresses, demands and culture of our industry play. The time has clearly come for all of us to take an active role in fighting the stigma associated with mental illness and to offer a helping hand to our colleagues who are struggling with issues such as anxiety, depression, harassment, or addiction.” Behind the Scenes has collaborated with other concerned industry and mental health organizations and individuals to provide a wide array of resources, one of which is Mental Health First Aid training.
Deciding to commit to this investment of time and money was a process for me. The training takes place in two parts, a 2 to 4-hour self-paced online course, which took me a little over 2 hours, and a 6-hour virtual live instructor-led session, which took a little over five for my group. The cost is $125. My first thought was “how likely am I to need this training?” It may sound odd, but it made me take a mental inventory of all my friends and family and the challenges in their lives. I thought about how I would manage, helping a friend in crisis. Would I know what to do if someone was having a panic attack, or felt depressed or suicidal, or struggled with alcoholism? In my lifetime, I have known several people during a time of crisis in their lives. I imagine that is true for most people. We are generally ill-prepared for it. I did not have to think for long before I realized that it is not at all unlikely that I could one day be challenged by such a situation. I suspect most people making this assessment would come to a similar conclusion.
The concept of the training is that it is first aid. You are not being trained to be a psychiatrist. You would no more attempt to give therapy to a suicidal friend than you would commence open-heart surgery on them if they happened to have a heart attack. But you would give them CPR if you were trained for it, keep them alive, and get them to an ER. You would follow through and see them in recovery and let them know you care about them. As a friend, colleague, or family member, the first aider is the first person on the scene, so to speak, the first person who might recognize the signs and symptoms of a problem. From there, a first aider needs to know how to interact with a person in crisis, connect them with help, and follow through. There are pitfalls—things that may be natural enough to say, that are in fact unhelpful and possibly destructive. The training provides a skill set and vocabulary to talk effectively with someone. It enables the first aider to be clear headed as they process the situation and deliberate in their thoughts, words, and actions so they can avoid the pitfalls and steer towards shore.
The online training was frictionless. The instructional design follows all the best practices for good online training. It consisted of slides, narration, useful acronyms to help remember essential steps, and interactive exercises to help cement the concepts into memory. The curriculum is based on an international training program called Mental Health First Aid (MHFA). The program was created in Australia in 2000, brought to the U.S. in 2008, and is now in 24 countries around the world. In the US it is administered by the National Council for Mental Wellbeing. The Behind the Scenes training uses industry-specific scenarios and references.
This was all prep for the live virtual training, which for me took place on a Sunday afternoon/evening (training is offered at a variety of days and times). Five or six hours sounds like a long time for a live virtual course, but the time went by quickly and it was well spent. Our course facilitator was Bryan Huneycutt of HuneyBadger Entertainment Consulting. Bryan has over 30 years of experience in the live event production industry with a focus on safety. He was Program Manager for Entertainment Safety for Disney Parks and Resorts Live Entertainment. He currently serves on the Steering Committee for the Behind the Scenes Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Initiative and as the Chair of the USITT Health and Safety Commission. Bryan was clearly experienced at guiding adult learning. He was respectful of everyone, clear and to the point, listened as much as he taught, had a sense of humor, and kept things moving. Being a veteran of the entertainment industry, he knows the stressors—the pace, anxiety, exhaustion, family tensions, and the “difficult personalities” that seem to be part and parcel with working in this industry.
My fellow travelers turned out to be mostly from the motion picture television side of entertainment. I had expected a larger proportion of people to be concert roadies and theater techs, but my group included two directors of photography, two camera operators, a costume designer, a set medic, and a guy who was in the military but had a girlfriend in our industry. Bryan occasionally sent us into break-out groups to brainstorm on a problem, and so the participants got to know one another over time. The variety of backgrounds and experiences contributed enormously to the discussion.
In the final hour or so of the training, we watched a series of scenarios—filmed scenes. The scenes provided a springboard for making observations and “practicing” the concepts we had learned in the training. What was remarkable was the quality of these vignettes. The writing was subtle and realistic, and the acting stunningly good. They had none of the cheese you might expect in a training video, and, notably, the cinematography was also expertly crafted. Given the audience in our group, I felt obligated to call this out to my classmates and we had a laugh about it. The Academy Award for best actor in a training film goes to the grandfather whose grief and loss threatens to overwhelm him. The quality vignettes brought it home. It made it as real as you could hope to do in a classroom setting. It demonstrated the signals that could be easy to miss or misinterpret, and it modeled the value and the limits of the role of a first aider.
When the training was completed, I received certification as a Mental Health First Aider, valid for three years. Like CPR training, I’ll need a refresher from time to time. Participants have access to a participant guidebook, and the Behind the Scenes website has BeThe1To suicide prevision materials for review.
The day that I did the training, I had half a dozen other things that needed to be done—I think I had a PERG Newsletter that was due in fact. I had such pressing immediate pressures on my time that I almost backed out and would have forfeited my fee. I can only say that once I’d done the training, I felt the value of the training far outweighed anything else I may have accomplished with those hours. I whole heartedly encourage our members to take the opportunity to get this training. It could help you get through one of the most difficult and important events that life puts in your hands and could save the life of someone you love.
Scholarships are available and Training Trust Fund reimbursement is available for IATSE members and signatories.
PERG Surveys the Industry about Trade Show Attendance for 2021
Now that the major trade shows have set dates, and with people stepping into the post-COVID era, we surveyed rental companies and manufacturers to ask about their event plans for 2021.
The survey is still ongoing. It would be extremely helpful to get another 100 people to respond to the survey to get a better sample size. If you have not already, please complete the survey. It takes two minutes.
As of June 6, we had 55 respondents to our survey, and here are the results so far.
While between 82% and 94% of exhibitors responded that they will be at Cinegear, the numbers for attendees may be down somewhat more. 20% of our respondents who normally attend the show are not planning to go, and 25% of attendees were undecided. So, if our data is representative, attendance could be between 55% and 80% of normal among the types of companies we surveyed.
Compared to Cinegear, the numbers for NAB show greater erosion of attendance by exhibitors and attendees as well as a higher percentage of people still on the fence. Between 55% and 82% of respondent exhibitors will attend, (with 27% undecided). Between 36% and 76% of respondent attendees will be at the show, with a full 40% undecided.
There is some evidence of more people choosing either Cinegear or NAB this year, with more choosing Cinegear than NAB. 73% of respondents that regularly attend Cinegear also normally attend NAB. This year only 35% of those respondents plan to attend NAB (down 38%). Whereas 81% of respondents that regularly attend NAB also normally attend Cinegear. This year that number is down as well, but only to 58% (down 23%). But this could still go either way because of the large number of people that are undecided.
We also asked about attendance for IBC, Camerimage, and the AICP/PERG Oktoberfest party in New York. 53% of the respondents who normally attend IBC are planning to go. 22% of respondents that normally attend Camerimage are planning to go, and 56% of respondents who attended PERG’s Oktoberfest event in the past say they will attend the event if it happens in 2021.
One last statistic we could glean from the data was the general popularity of the different trade shows among our respondents. The numbers so far indicate that, in total numbers, NAB and Cinegear are about equally attended by our group, with 65% always attending NAB and 67% always attending Cinegear. Of the two EU trade shows we asked about, 31% normally attend IBC (scheduled this year for December 3-6, 2021) and 16% normally attend Camerimage (scheduled for November 13-20, 2021).
PERG Coffee Breaks
You will find the latest PERG Coffee Break events on ESTA's YouTube Channel.
Lens Metadata (June 10th). PERG Coffee Break on camera/lens metadata, how it is used, and what it means for equipment rental companies. ZEISS' Head of Cinema Sales and industry expert Snehal Patel shares his insights on the efficiencies and value in regards to metadata. Snehal is joined by a couple of special guests to describe their user experience. There is still time to register.
Large Format Lens Projection (May 27th). PERG Coffee Break on the science and technology behind Large Format Lens Projection. The event covers new developments in projection equipment for rental companies. Chrosziel's CEO and industry expert Timm Stemann shares insights on the efficiencies that come with LF lens projection equipment for rental companies. Timm developed the P-TPCXPL and P-TP7 lens test projectors, servo zooms and wireless lens controls, among other products.
Equipment Leasing Benefits (April 28th). PERG Coffee Break on equipment finance and leasing solutions for rental companies. Equipment finance experts Kim King, CLFP (National Equipment Finance Association) and Toni Rios (DYNAMIC) share insights on the direct benefits of leasing for rental companies in our industry.
Interested in being a PERG Coffee Break sponsor? Please contact Harry Box to find out about opportunities and costs.
Take Advantage of PERG’s Subrental Request Feature
Earlier this year PERG launched the Subrental Availability Request feature on the RENTAL GUARD platform. The feature enables PERG members to send an instant email requesting an item they need to subrent and have it received by all other PERG members who may have the kind of equipment they are looking for (camera, lighting, or AV).
We reached out to some of our members to find out what their experience has been using the feature so far and the answers was generally positive, but to make the feature a true benefit, more people need to use it.
By default, everyone who has a RENTAL GUARD account was opted in to the Subrental Request feature, but each user needs to adjust their account settings to specify the type of equipment you have available (see this video for instructions).
In addition, we encourage PERG members to consider giving more of their staff access to RENTAL GUARD. We recognize that the staff who might be looking for a subrental item may not be the same staff who are currently registered to receive theft alerts. Members are permitted/encouraged have as many registered users of RENTAL GUARD as they wish. Alternatively, some companies prefer to have one account and then automatically forward RENTAL GUARD emails to selected staff. That gives them better control when staff change positions or there are new hires. Either way, our point is make sure that people that could be looking for a subrental item or who would respond to a request for a subrental item are aware of the feature and use it when needed.
As the industry comes back to full capacity, there are already reports of shortages of equipment. Using the Subrental Request enables PERG members to find equipment they need quickly. We hope it will save your staff time in calling around for items.
Three New PERG Council Members
In April, the PERG Council voted to welcome three new members to the PERG council: Bianca Halpern (BECiNE, Los Angeles), Andy Shipsides (ARRI Rental North America, Los Angeles and New York), and Brandon Zachary (Dynamic, Los Angeles and locations worldwide).
Bianca Halpern is founder of BECiNE, Los Angeles. Bianca began her career as a cinematographer in Los Angeles, after obtaining an MFA in Cinematography. After graduating she returned to her hometown, São Paulo where she shot continuously in the industry. In 2016, Bianca returned to LA to open BECiNE, a boutique rental house specializing primarily in optics. BECiNE is the first female-owned rental company with at least 50% female staff offering clients childcare for prep days. Bianca is committed to facilitating a balance in family and filmmaking for wo/men.
Andy Shipsides is the President of ARRI Rental North America. He joined ARRI in Los Angeles in 2019 and recently relocated back to the East coast. Andy previously held the role of Chief Technology officer at AbelCine, where he worked for 12 years.
Brandon Zachary is the Founder and COO of DYNAMIC. After graduating from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (2007) with a major in cinematography, Brandon worked as a Camera Assistant before his interest in high-end cinema equipment landed him at Dalsa Digital Cinema as a Camera Technician. He worked in several other rental management positions before founding DYNAMIC in 2017, with a business model of providing equipment to rental companies exclusively. DYNAMIC now has offices in Los Angeles, UK, and Germany.
This round of nominations had been scheduled in December, 2020, but was delayed due to COVID.
As a special interest group within ESTA, PERG is directed by an executive council made up of volunteer representatives from PERG member companies. It is not a board of directors. The PERG Council is not elected. If you are interested in joining the council, or have questions, ideas, concerns, or complaints related to PERG, the council members are responsible for bringing that input to the group for discussion. The council welcomes your input.
Learn more about the nomination process of the PERG Council.
The PERG Council
Carly Barber, Illumination Dynamics
John Cini, High Output Inc
Lawrence Daufenbach, Daufenbach Camera
Stosh Durbacz, FUJIFILM North America Corp.
Bianca Halpern, BECiNE
Derek Hammer, Hammer Lighting and Grip
Chris Konash, Panavision
Anna Mayo, MP&E (Chair)
Alex Pakarian, The Camera Division
Paul Royalty, Litegear
Andy Shipsides, ARRI Rental North America
Sally Spaderna, Koerner Camera Systems
Scott Taylor, Taylor & Taylor Associates
Brandon Zachary, DYNAMIC
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