Thanks to $195,000 in grants from the state, 60 aspiring film industry students can get 80 hours of free production training beginning in May and join the state’s growing film industry.
Since Michigan enacted an aggressive film incentive structure in April 2008, the state has seen more than 70 film and TV projects slated for production, bringing in an estimated $430 million in economic activity to the state.
Lansing Community College (LCC) and
Michigan State University (MSU) are collaborating to teach the classes at LCC.
Capital Area Michigan Works! (CAMW) is screening applications for the innovative. Applicants do not need to be pre-registered at MSU or at LCC. (You can contact the program
here).
Candidates should demonstrate a passion for the film and television industry, an entrepreneurial spirit and a willingness to do what needs to be done. They should be driven, flexible, highly mobile and willing to learn, says Doug Stites, CEO of CAMW.
“Particularly in demand are folks with previous theater, performing arts and broadcast experience, as well as those with electrical experience. This program will give them the foundation to transfer their existing skills into the film industry,” Stites says.
The grant comes from the
Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth (DELEG).
“We are excited to use No Worker Left Behind funds to support the growth of good-paying jobs in Michigan’s exciting new film industry,” says Andy Levine, deputy director of DLEG.
MSU’s
College of Communication Arts and Sciences has a film and media arts initiative which is headed by former
Discovery Films executive Andrea Meditch. Meditch was executive producer of the documentary “
Man on Wire” which received a 2009
Academy Award.
The Digital Media, Audio and Cinema (DMAC) curriculum at LCC is the first program in the region to offer introductory through advanced-level training in digital cinema production technologies.
Source: Kate Tykocki, Capital Area Michigan Works!
Gretchen Cochran, Innovation & Jobs editor, may be reached
here.
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