NOR'EASTER
BACK TO SCHOOL!
East Coast Training Program Returns This Fall
Louis Bertini, MPSE
 Louis Bertini, MPSE |
The Eastern Region Training Program unfortunately had to enter into a period of hiatus last spring, and has remained closed down while financing and staffing issues are being sorted out. The good news is that the Training Program should be back up and running this fall.
The program was initially devised as a way for our members to maintain their technical skill-sets in motion picture and television workflows so that they could remain current with the standards of our constantly changing and expanding workplace.
The classes and seminars were created, developed and taught by our members instead of professional instructors. We believe that working professionals can provide information that is more practical and up to date––and communicate it to our members in the way they can best understand it.
Our program also tried to address the problem of isolation that many of our members complain about, as they now find themselves working in more decentralized locations––or even out of their homes. The classes were meant to provide social interaction in addition to education, as editors learn from other editors. There was also a fair amount of inter-departmental training that took place, with picture editors learning the work processes of sound editors, and vice-versa, so that each can have a better understanding of what the other does.
The old Local 771 Help Fund was used to finance this program. That fund was created by a regular assessment of the 771 members. It was used for emergencies, or for stipends to workers in the event of a strike. When we merged with Local 776 in 1998, we realized that we could not legally add this money to the new Local 700 General Fund because the Help Fund was created by the 771 members themselves, and had to remain specifically for their use. It was at that point that we decided to use the money for training purposes.
We began by offering an amount of reimbursement to those who paid for training classes from outside sources. Future Media Concepts is an Avid-authorized training center and was the primary source that we used at the time. We also began a limited program of Avid training in the Guild office, which was taught by some of our members.
 The training room at the Guild's New York office. |
Then, in 2003, the Guild purchased a loft downtown, and the New York office moved to its new location at 145 Hudson Street. During the redesign of the space, we created a room specifically for training purposes. Board member Carrie Puchkoff volunteered to take the lead in getting the training program together. She saw this as a way of providing a needed and tangible benefit to the membership. It would also be a way of bringing members more frequently into the union office––and therefore help to raise their level of involvement in union matters.
She started out by contacting Michael Phillips, Avid’s principal product designer, to see if he would be interested in helping the program. She was thrilled to discover that Avid was eager to get involved and help us out. The company upgraded our software, donated equipment and have led regular seminars on the latest developments at Avid.
Don Peebles, Apple’s senior systems engineer, helped us to set up workstations with Final Cut Pro. He connected us with Tekserve, an independent Apple dealership in Manhattan, who donated equipment and also offered a 10 percent discount to any Editors Guild member on purchases. Peebles connected us with Fritz Ogden, Apple’s senior marketing programs manager, who was the guiding force behind offering selected Guild members Apple’s Final Cut Pro End User and Trainer Certification, free of charge.
Because our plan was to have the classes and seminars taught by our members, it required a fair amount of coordination to keep the classes running. Member instructors had to be recruited regularly, e-mail communications to the membership had to be sent out, and class lists had to be organized. At first, Puchkoff tried to manage all of this on her own, but soon found that the conflicts with her regular editing work made it too difficult. But it was her efforts, and her business relationships, that were really responsible for putting the program together. Eventually, a program coordinator was hired to oversee the work.
The momentum of the program picked up quickly. Avid classes were initially popular, followed by increased interest in Final Cut Pro. But the greatest demand by far has been for instruction in After Effects. Michael Choi, who works as an editor in Reality TV, and also teaches at CUNY, led the class.
The money from the Help Fund was used to pay the salaries of the program coordinator and instructors. In addition, though much of our equipment was received through donations, there have been regular costs for maintenance. After ten years of activity, the Fund has recently become depleted. We have had to ask for financing from the Guild’s General Fund so that NY training could continue. The program was put on hiatus while we formulated our next step.
Since that time, we have worked to come up with a budget that the Guild could comfortably afford, and now have an approved budget and can move forward. We have had to make a few changes for the purpose of cost savings, but have managed to keep our same approach to the program overall. The classes will still be taught by member instructors, though there will be somewhat fewer classes scheduled throughout the year. We will also be charging a fee of $20.
Because we have been in a period of hiatus, it has taken some time and effort to get everything underway again. As of this writing, we are interviewing applicants for the coordinator position. It is our hope to have the program operational again as soon as possible.
Louis Bertini, MPSE, is a Sound Editor who serves as Second Vice President on the Guild's Board of Directors.