Best Boy Electric Wade Tyree explains how magic is made by the people of the American film and television industry.

If you’ve ever taken the time to read the titles and names that whiz by on the screen after a movie ends, you may have found yourself wondering, ‘What in the world is a Foley Mixer, Script Supervisor, Rigging Gaffer, or Best Boy Grip?’

Today in The Hill, Wade Tyree, a Best Boy Electric, shed some light on those titles and showed that the real TV and Movie Magic is the people working behind-the-scenes.

From the article:

Dozens of people just like me from the film and TV industry were in Washington, D.C. last week for “Beyond the Red Carpet: Movie & TV Magic Day.” We were there to offer staffers and elected officials on Capitol Hill a unique behind-the-scenes look at the creativity, talent, and innovation at the core of the American film and television industries.

It takes a team of talented creators starting with the writer who dreams up the characters and extensive collaboration with digital artists, the costumers, the stunt coordinators, the makeup artists, the hairdressers, and the editors to bring our characters to life. We are the workers you don’t see on the red carpet, but we are just as dependent on a thriving entertainment industry as are the studios, the actors, and the directors. And so are the thousands of others who benefit from a robust industry that for generations has been crucial to our nation’s economy.

That’s why we were in D.C. To put faces to all of those names in the credits – and find the support we need to continue making television and movie magic for generations to come.

Tyree is president of the Mid-Atlantic Theatrical and Stage Employees Union (IATSE Local 487), a freelance lighting technician, and an adjunct college professor at Towson University.

Read the entire article here.

Photo credit: Jason Hubert