The Montana Standard
Highlands College, Media Training Center, and Accelerate Montana recently formed a new partnership to offer rapid training courses designed to take advantage of film production job opportunities coming to the Mining City.
Together, the groups will offer film and media rapid training courses intended to provide Montanans with the skills most needed by film production companies, and to help train interested Montanans to become “set ready.”
The training will take place Aug. 13-14 at Highlands College, 25 Basin Creek Road.
This will be the first time a film and media rapid training course will be offered in Butte.
Lynn-Wood Fields, CEO of Media Training Center and coordinator for Accelerate Montana, launched the Media Training Center. “I am beyond excited to partner with Highlands College, Accelerate Montana and the community of Butte on Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 13-14, with the introduction of these courses,” she said in a press release.
“Highlands College is excited to work with Accelerate Montana to support film productions coming to Butte,” said Karen VanDaveer, dean of Highlands College. “This rapid training course gives community members an opportunity for employment within the film production industry. This partnership exemplifies a community and industry working together to make a positive impact.”
There will be three courses offered over what should be a busy weekend. The first, “Introduction to Production” is a two-day course that will focus on the training needed to become a production assistant and will examine the film lingo, equipment names, paperwork, and walkie-talkie protocol. The two-day course will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. On Sunday, trainees will be able to shadow a camera team as they film video materials and get hands-on experience. The cost is $100.
The second-course offering is the “Covid Compliance Officer" (CCO) training. The COVID-19 Compliance Officer (CCO) is a new position to many film and production sets and is both necessary and in high demand. The CCO will work with the set medic to prevent the spread of COVID-19 or other airborne diseases by using CDC-recommended measures. This half-day course is offered on Sunday, Aug. 14, from 9 a.m. to noon. The cost is $75.
Any major film production requires “extras” and those filming in Montana are no exception. Therefore, the third course to be offered over the weekend is training in how to become a “film extra.” This half-day course will be offered on Saturday, Aug. 14, from 1 to 4 p.m. The course will discuss how to apply, what to expect, and how to continue working as an extra. The cost is $75. A standard rate for a single day of background work is between $100 and $200.
Upon course completion, participants will receive a Course Completion Certificate. Additionally, participants will receive a link to valuable resources, including the class syllabus, examples of production company protocols, county COVID-19 guidelines, and much more. Participants will be given the opportunity to be listed in the Media Training Center database, a resource productions filming in Montana who need to source talent use.
Trainee scholarships are available from Career Futures depending on eligibility. Contact Career Futures: 406-723-9101.
To read the full article on The Montana Standard, click here.
"Rapid training courses offered in Butte for job opportunities in film productions", August 13-14", Aug 6, 2022, https://mtstandard.com/news/local/rapid-training-courses-offered-in-butte-for-job-opportunities-in-film-productions/article_d528d936-ac62-5088-a5d1-d4d4a3322ef1.html
