In partnership with Mayor-President Melvin L. “Kip” Holden, the Mayor’s Office of Community Development, and the Baton Rouge Film Commission, the New Orleans Video Access Center (NOVAC) will provide two days of free in-depth film industry training for Production Assistants to locals looking to enter Louisiana’s booming film industry.
Through an $80,000 grant from the Mayor’s Office of Community Development, this training will be offered free to residents of East Baton Rouge Parish, selected through a competitive application process.
These intensive classes will take place March 22 – 23 at Celtic Media Centre, where participants will gain the hands-on experience they need to prepare them for their first job on a feature film, television, or commercial set. Topics will include production paperwork, terminology, and protocol as well as hands-on short radio training, crew departments, and how and where to find work upon class completion.
Seasoned instructors from Quixote Studios’s renowned film-industry training academy, P.A. Bootcamp, include professionals ranging from executive and line producers to First and Second Assistant Directors.
“As we continue to grow the film industry in Baton Rouge, it is important that we provide a trained workforce,” said Mayor Holden. “These jobs require expertise that can only be gained by training with industry professionals, and we are excited to offer this program at no cost to East Baton Rouge Parish residents.”
Any resident of Baton Rouge Parish is welcome to apply for the program produced by NOVAC, the South’s oldest film and media arts nonprofit.
“For years NOVAC has and continues to offer Production Assistant Training and job placement in New Orleans because it is the entry point for many wishing to begin careers in the film industry,” says NOVAC Director of Programs, Ashley Charbonnet. “Growing the workforce from the ground up is one of the ways that that we will continue to cultivate a local film industry that is a sustainable part of our cultural economy.”
The P.A. Boot Camp training is the launch of a series of film industry trainings that NOVAC will be bringing to Baton Rouge in 2014, signifying a commitment from the parish, city, and the nonprofit to extend job opportunities in the film industry across the state. Residents should look for additional training in film industry trades, including production accounting, grip & electric and more to be announced in the upcoming months.
“For seven years, NOVAC has been providing leading-edge film industry training to residents of the Greater New Orleans area, and we are looking forward to NOVAC adding “BROVAC” to its programmatic offerings,” said NOVAC Executive Director Darcy McKinnon.
The March P.A. Training will be open to 30 participants. Interested applicants should email résumés and cover letters to workforce@novacvideo.org.
For more information about the training, visit novacvideo.org/brovac or call (504) 940-5780.
ABOUT NOVAC: The oldest media-arts nonprofit in the south, NOVAC has a mission to cultivate a sustainable film community by providing access to resources education and locally generated content. NOVAC fulfills this mission through film industry training, filmmaker services, special events and in house productions.