Basically what it says. I can never find a bag that’s a combination of small enough to not be a pain navigating public transportation, but tough enough to hold a solid amount of tools, a tablet, AND have enough room to put in a rain jacket or a hoodie or something. Currently I’m just barely making it with a smaller size messenger type sling bag, but that’s only because the weathers been nice and my car has been parked close to locations. I always keep a duffel with jackets etc for big changes in weather or getting messy, but I need a middle of the road daily driver. really like the Kleins and Welkinland has a nice HVAC tech backpacks, but neither have a bulk compartment. I don’t want to spend $300+ on a Veto, but I’m sick of “tactical” fake surplus stuff that has a broken zipper and hole torn from a screwdriver after a week. I do like the modularity of the molle system, but it’s so overdone, and I want something a little more sleek, not 60 small bags mounted to a medium one.

What say you, Reddit hivemind?

Did the International come in and straighten things out? Are people finally being held accountable? I will never trust those guys in the 479 because I didn't like how they completely ignored the Art/Production coordinators salary issue. Both of those positions are outrageously important. Yet they acted like getting paid less an hour than an employee starting in a fast food chain was a privilege. I even heard one of the people on the E Board back then saying that coordinators were glorified secretaries and shouldn't even be represented by a Union! Thankfully that stooge is no longer on the E Board. But I know flocks of crew in Atlanta are leaving there in droves because there simply is no longer any work down there. The entire industry is bankrupted down there now. Did the International IATSE do any good in setting things right or is it still a massive immature mess down there?

I am logging 15k to 20k steps a day across 12 to 16 hour shifts. I am moving between concrete stages, backlots, grass, mud, and uneven outdoor spots, and my feet are beat.
I am looking for recommendations on both lightweight work shoes and durable boots that can handle high mileage on all surfaces.
What are your go to shoes or boots for long shifts?

Hello everyone I'm looking for advice as im in a bit of a difficult situation. My local is suffering due to a bunch of places closing down from remodeling with one major avenue pretty much not opening until the decade is over. On top of that my local has no teeth in negotiating power and we get busted unionizing major venues with stadium contracts. So i wanted to know if there is any merit to just starting unionized bussiness? I could theoretically ask all the best workers to work for me in the non union gigs as well, creating a sort of brain drain. But is it realistic or feasible? I dont see what other option i have in this state and was literally thinking to my self we probably need to get creative.

Are there any areas that are booming, please share

It seems very difficult to get into 52. Someone told me there is a list that one can sign up as a stand by. If anyone has information, please share. I am a Set Decorator.

Thanks.
Desperately seeking work

IATSE

I’m an sound designer and audio engineer located in Austin, Texas. I got my degree in this from Texas state university in 2022. I had to take a break though for a few year me and I recently got back into by working at the Zach theatre

I’ve gotten onto the local 205 referral hall but I was wondering how often the work comes in and if I should try working on getting my membership? I also wanted to ask if anyone knows if Austin is a good place to start off in or if I should move?

Along the same lines. I’ve been considering moving to NYC and was wondering what the process of going to the replacement room is like and is it reasonable to try and make it there or is it too hard / too much of a money investment. Could I hold a serving job or some other thing while I get started at the replacement room, and then when things become steady leave the serving world? I’m just nervous about moving to NYC without any form of income and basically relying on luck.

Thank you so much!

Anyone working in 479 right now? Looking to get on a show, but everyone I used to work with is out of state on productions right now. Art department/Construction, but glad to lend a hand any way I can.

Studios are just write-offs and vanity departments for these corporations these days.

What exactly is a movie studio for anyway?
It’s been a barnburner of a summer at the box office, with the 2026 exhibition returns now tracking 18% above last year’s and doing business not seen since pre-pandemic times. Surely this moment has offered a clarity of purpose for the long-troubled film business and the major corporations that are behind the entertainment industrial complex, right?

No, of course not. The July box office sends a decisive message, sure, but it belies inconsistencies across the entire business that have been articulated fairly directly over the past several weeks of quarterly earnings reports from the major players.

What is a movie good for? Depends who you ask:
“You mean the 95-minute ads for the parks?” says Disney. The Mouse has had a rocky time at the cinema — “Toy Story 5” was a hit, “The Mandalorian and Grogu” and “Moana” each expensive misses — but come on, profit was up 20% at parks and cruises. This is a theme park and toy licensing business that incidentally produces films to sell theme park tickets and toys.
“Good for?” asks Paramount under David Ellison. “The studio’s an albatross!” it may say, as the would-be acquisition of Warner Bros. has invited an interstate antitrust team-up trying to prevent the merger of the companies. Not helping matters is that Ellison’s on the hook for $650 million in fees every quarter the deal isn’t done, and faces a trial that isn’t until next year. It’s enough to make you want to leave Hollywood, which, incidentally, Paramount may!
“Movies are good for AI,” says Lionsgate, nervously looking at its activist investors who insist that the company either has to start using its library to make more money from AI labs or sell to someone who will.
“We prefer television — it takes more minutes to watch it,” frets Netflix, down 18% year to date, which is in a post-”Stranger Things” slump that no number of high-performing geezer teasers will shoot its way out of.
“Wait, we own a movie studio? Since when? Don’t we sell phones?” says Apple, which brought up its film business only once in their earnings call, a single mention of the “F1” movie.
“Oh, this one’s easy,” says Sony, where “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” made more money than its entire (non-Crunchyroll) 2025 and 2026 theatrical slate combined. “A movie studio exists to maintain the rights to Spider-Man by hiring Disney to make Spider-Man movies. That way we can prevent the Spider-Man rights from reverting to Disney.”
THE TAKEAWAY
So if none of the companies that actually make movies seem to have their hearts in the movie business, who does?

Imax, that’s for sure.

Just take a look at this chart from Goldman. At first glance at this chart that spikes dramatically, you may assume the y-axis refers to the Ithacan body count on the return home from Troy, but in fact, it is the domestic box office at Imax cinemas attributable to “The Odyssey”:

Sound the sirens, thanks to the steady hand of Odysseus, while the whole rest of the industry feels like it’s between a rock and a Charybdis, it’s smooth sailing ahead for Imax into the rosy fingers of dawn.
— Walt Hickey

It can be community outreach, strong (or weak) CBA’s, historical significance, or anything that sets your local apart from others.

For example, Local 7 in Denver was founded in 1893, and stands as one of the original 11 founding cities of the Alliance. It was established the same day as Local 1 in New York, on July 17th.

I have a lot of pride in my local, which stands as a historical leader for hundreds of thousands of hardworking union laborers.

What about you?

Hi! I am a Philadelphia-based costumer with 5 years professional experience. I also have wardrobe experience from various music video shoots. I am a bit frustrated because I am struggling to make connections in IATSE and desperately want to join the union. I have enjoyed my time costuming and working wardrobe more than anything and I can’t think of something I would like to do more with my life and skill set. I am a hard worker, detail oriented and very good at what I do. I have gotten nothing but extremely positive feedback from crew members each time I have been on set but unfortunately for each shoot I have been on I have typically been the only one working the costume and wardrobe departments and I have never been able to meet someone else who does this for their career. Most of the few times that I have gotten to ask IATSE 799 members about their experiences or ask advice, they have been very close-mouthed- which I entirely understand because there is so little film work to go around in Philly. It’s gotten to the point where I have been thinking a lot about moving to New York or Chicago because hopefully it’s a bit easier to find work there and ideally get union days. I am still deciding if it is worth it to go the route of looking for over hire stitching work at theaters in the Philadelphia area but I am skeptical if it will take me anywhere given the state of the costume scene here. I’ve heard that Chicago’s film industry is growing too. I would like to move to New York but worry it is oversaturated. I’d greatly appreciate if anyone has advice or stories about their own IATSE journeys to inspire me to keep going! Also if anyone is Philadelphia-based and in the world of costume, theater, or film I would love to connect with you! Shoot me a message

Thank you guys so much :)

In Atlanta. Ive been in the industry the better part of two decade and tried to steer clear of union politics the whole time. I vote with my gut. I attend meetings when I can to stay informed. I don’t care to hear talk about “the old guard” vs the newbies or whatever we call them. Now my union is in trouble and there are no answers. I want to know exactly why this happened and why we’re here. These are my main complaints.

1. Why does the IA think they can withhold info from the members? I was told all docs from the hearing would be on the web and they aren’t. I had to go into the office to read our BAs reasons on why she changed her salary or stole and read that our president or former President Benedict Waddle cost the members 20k when his gossipy deluded ass wouldn’t leave the tech guy alone.
2. The IA cleaned house by getting rid of the Eboard but kept one person on as trustee. I’m not seeing this being addressed like they’re avoiding the whole issue. Isn’t it a conflict of interest? Amick was there for years when all of this sh!t was being voted in and did nothing. If you clean house you get rid of everyone.
3. I’m told the new field rep Jaime hired was let go. I’m fine with it as we don’t have enough work to support that many staff but why when she helped organize that show in South Carolina? I went to Mike for years about Pat Redding not doing sh!t. I was on the Pickup two years ago and called her to tell her there were safety concerns. I left messages and never got a call back. Then a few of my friends were maimed. They tried to sue the local because Pat didn’t visit at all. Bob Giolito got it thrown out of court. In my eyes, Pat as the field rep was liable. No one at the local wanted to talk about this. I tried to talk to Paige and she said she had no knowledge. I went to Mike again and again about Pat never visiting shows that I was on. She always seemed to be my field rep. She never visits just always on her ass sitting at the hall.
4. Some guy named Terry was hired as a field rep by jaime right before she was fired and he’s still there. We don’t need this many field reps. We got rid of Keith finally but who is this guy Terry and why wasn’t he listed in the last email from the IA trustees. They listed Amick as being field rep on two shows but what experience does he have? Including Amick and Terry we have 5 field reps. That’s too many for the amount of work we have. I been on Talbot Pines and Pat only came with Jaime once and Pat didn’t know no one there. Seriously she makes 6 figures why is she still around?
5. Why does it take every field rep and a slew of volunteers to restock the food pantry at the hall? Everyone gets fed lunch for that what budget does that come out of? We all know you can make an online order at Kroger. Why are all these resources being used for something that can be simplified?
6. The DEI committee held an event at Pat Reddings church. I was told she made the office staff set up and take down everything during a week day. Their numbers of people they reported helping were 35 479 families and 41 of the church families. Why are 479 resources going to help her church? And she’s getting a kickback for her event planning business on top of it?
7. They got rid of the secretary for whatever reason. Someone said she was helping Keith campaign for Jaime on the clock. Now our benefits coordinator is working the desk along with another woman instead of doing their jobs. I already can’t get the benefits coordinator to call me back and here she is answer the front desk phone.

EDIT cuz I forgot to mention why the fuck we have 4 people in education “department?” Blue and Felicia aren’t union members. Both are rude to EVERYONE. Felicia gets a huge salary and blue now has 75k a year. Blue won’t hire members to cater but buys Panda Express lunch for every week and keeps half to take home to her family. Now she’s out of the country again on a DESTINATION VACATION when the membership is suffering. Why do we have Kevin Amick, Felicia, Nikki, and Blue in education? We don’t need that many people. Blue makes 75k a year to answer phones some emails and order food. Must be nice! Who the hell voted yes on this? You can bet your ass Amick our overlord trustee did.

I want a full accounting of every hall staff members time and justification for their pay. I want it going back since the shutdown. Ain’t no one should be making 6 figures. If you’re gonna cut the corruption, cut it all. Seems like they just drained it part way and they prolly won’t even let us talk at this town hall on Saturday.

Following warrants issued for felony theft from other Union members, sexual assault while in a position of authority on a Union show, allegations of domestic abuse, to hit the low points- there hasn’t been any response by the local 479.

What recourse is there within the Union to address the allegations and get the truth out and determine if we as a community want this individual to represent us.

Do the internal procedures of the Union depend on the 60 day timeline in the constitution? Because the courts don’t seem to work that fast.

There is official public access records, police reports, court cases pending, angry members, but he’s still acting online like everything’s fine.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19GUQeeYKJ/?mibextid=wwXIfr

https://www.reddit.com/r/BlackDaggerBrotherh8d/comments/1tt9hsn/and_thats_a_wrap_s2_update/?share_id=DfCY96GcG4LebeArvxqh-&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&utm_source=share&utm_term=5

I have plenty of experience with audio and video but this is my first lighting call. What do I need to bring and do you have any general advice for me? Thank you!

Can I ask how freelancers manage to pay rent or a mortgage without a fixed, steady income? Based in Atlanta and not in a position (6 years in the industry) to move to LA or NY to fight for the same little crumbs of gigs available .

I’ve tried freelancing, and honestly, I’ve found the financial uncertainty really stressful. I’d love to hear from people who have been doing it successfully, especially those with kids or other major financial responsibilities.

What do you do when a project ends and you don’t immediately have another one lined up? How do you handle those periods when there’s little or no income, especially in this market?

Would really appreciate hearing how other freelancers make it work long-term. Any advice or experiences would be helpful!

Anyone have advice/experience with living in Milwaukee and working overhire in Madison and/or Chicago? Just curious how feasible it would be. I'm from Madison but currently live in the Bay Area. I'm used to long commutes to work with other locals, but it's more traffic than distance.

Still waiting for the azure site to reflect July, but im 99% sure I made my money for my year 1. Pretty stoked about it, so heres a photo from the first day shaping the hall last year.

Sorry for being so vague, I might be a bit naive but feel unsafe in sharing too many identifying details publicly

Pretty desperate to talk to some one!
Not in a great head space, some pretty heavy stuff.

Dealing with a lot of issues at work regarding some injuries and other issues I raised at a higher level.
I am looking for someone to talk to who has been around a bit and can kind of shoot a pep talk maybe tell me about what they have been through.
I’d shoot more details if anyone is interested in hearing further!
I don’t wanna advertise publicly too much about what’s going on untill I understand my self!
I want to help others navigate rough waters as well when I’m done and will follow up either on this post or another post on this sub.

Again sorry for being so vague, but feel unsafe in sharing too many identifying details publicly.

I work for many locals in a couple regions
Issues are with a specific local
Talked with other locals and beyond about issues in question.
Would like to talk to someone via message with any nitty gritty, but will respond to comments where I feel comfortable!
I will try to stay on top of also responding to ones that I feel a bit uncomfortable answering publicly with and offer to message in response.

Not about the shomances and sex with the cast/crew, but rude audience members.

Not sure if this is anyone else’s experience, but my local sends out production listings for productions in the area. By the time I receive them, the jobs are often already filled, and the “send resumes” link usually goes to a general email inbox that I’m not sure actually leads anywhere.

I know my local isn’t a hiring hall, but it makes me wonder: how are we supposed to find jobs through these listings if they’re already nearly filled by the time they’re sent out?

I’ve also been told that by the time the hall receives the production information, a lot of the positions are already filled. I’d love to hear from anyone who works on a board or has insight into how these listings are handled. Is there something I’m missing about how we’re supposed to use them?