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Issue date: 10/16/08 Section: Campus News

The film-training program intends to provide students with job skills as to create an in-state infrastructural film crew in Michigan. When the film industry comes to Michigan and seeks a crew; this program will create jobs for many of its students. The cost to hire an in-state team when a studio is shooting a movie in Michigan is comparatively cheaper than transporting a film crew from out of state. Furthermore, the Michigan Film Tax Incentive passed by Governor Jennifer Granholm is expected to bring dozens of new film projects to Michigan over the next six months. Michigan's problem is the lack of available crew and this program is hoping to fill that gap. The students, after completing the entire program, will be instructed in job acquisition on networking and employment websites, while simultaneously given access to the Michigan Film Office Database. Instructors will, in some cases, serve as references.

Active and highly reputable industry professionals teach the course. Jeffrey Stott, the program's lead instructor, served as executive vice president of Castle Rock Entertainment from 1988 to 2002. Most recently, Stott was an executive producer of The Bucket List, starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. Instructor Jim Behnke first worked in film and television post production. He graduated from the DGA's Producer Assistant Director Training Program in 1982. Behnke studied theatre and film at Washington University in St. Louis and attended graduate school at University of Wisconsin, Madison. Laura Anderson has a degree from John Brown University and spent eight years in the business community and attended Compass Academy in 2001. Anderson is a co-founder of the Compass Film Academy 24-hour Film Festival. The program's first class included 43 students who were funded through SEMCA. SEMCA's program: Michigan Works for Wayne and Monroe County has a steady flow of adults in their offices in pursuit of employment or education and training.

HFCC partnered with SEMCA under the No Worker Left Behind program for the ability to fund the student's training. "This is the most significant-by all means-program we have funded in Film Training," said Greg Pitoniak, Chief Executive Officer of SEMCA.

SEMCA pays for educational job training in an emerging field. The Film Industry is an newly emerging field in Michigan, so any student who is eligible under the No Worker Left Behind Program can have their training entirely covered. The Film Training Program is returning to HFCC in January for a second go-around. Anyone interested in the program should contact M-TEC at 313-317-6600 to register and see if they qualify for funding through the No Worker Left Behind program. M-TEC is located at 3601 Schaefer Road in Dearborn, Michigan.

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