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SOUTHFIELD, Mich. — Specs Howard School, Michigan’s leading broadcast arts educational school, today announced it is opening a new training facility “Specs Howard On Location” at the Studio Center motion picture production complex in Farmington Hills. Specs Howard’s initial workshops, a new 8-week “On Location Film Workshop” and 7-week “On Location Advanced Editing,” are designed to provide participants with a fundamental yet comprehensive introduction to the film industry. The announcement was made, subsequent to six months of strategic planning and due diligence, by Lisa Zahodne, President/COO of Specs Howard School and Steve Julin, Director of Curriculum Development for Specs Howard School.
The workshops will begin July 13th and 21st and be supplemented by resources and experts from other Studio Center resident companies, Grace & Wild, Detroit Power & Light and Fletcher Camera. For the first time, an in-depth, hands-on, foundational education will be offered in the film industry by established, Michigan-based creative arts professionals and instructors skilled in a range of disciplines.
Among the Specs Howard instructors is Steve Julin, who created the entire “On Location” film and editing workshops curriculum. Julin has worked on several independent films, including Between Brothers, Mutant Swingers from Mars, Hatred of a Minute and Walk This Way. He has worked with such major television companies as The Discovery Channel, ABC, NBC, CBS and PBS. Julin is an Avid Certified Instructor, Certified Boris FX Instructor and Apple Certified Trainer, as well as a recipient of the Golden Eagle Award for documentary editing and an Emmy Award nominee.
Workshop tracks will teach everything lights, camera and action including: pre-production planning and scheduling; breaking down a script; fundamentals of filming a basic scene; principles of editing; equipment usage and everything in between.
The “On Location Film Workshop” will offer experience in working with dollies, lighting equipment, microphones and editing software. Participants also will learn how to load the industry’s most popular film magazines and shoot footage with high-tech, digital cameras, such as the Panasonic P2 HD camera.
“Our workshops will offer a breadth of instruction on the film industry not currently found anywhere in the state,” said Lisa Zahodne. “Production crews are filming here now, so it makes sense to provide training now. Over the course of several weeks, our students will learn the language and craft of film; preparing them for success as they enter the movie making field in Michigan.”
Studio Center: Making movies here, now
Specs Howard joins the campus of professionals at Studio Center, where filmmaking in Michigan has become focused since legislative support was enacted early in 2008. Operating for nearly 30 years, Studio Center is the only active studio production lot in Michigan and has quickly become the hub of new feature film production in the State. It provides a complete range of production services and resources, including three soundstages, post-production facilities, film processing, camera rental, lighting and production offices, all set on nearly seven acres centrally located near major Michigan filming locations.
Grace & Wild is the anchor Studio Center tenant, and along with the other resident businesses, Studio Center has become one of the largest and most productive production facilities outside of Los Angeles. Recent productions serviced include features:
· Stone, with Robert De Niro and Ed Norton
· The Irishman, starring Val Kilmer and Christopher Walken
· The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure, produced by Kenn Viselman, mastermind behind the Teletubbies
· High School, starring Adrien Brody and Michael Chiklis
· Miss January, starring Kim Cattrall and Brian Dennehy
· Prayers for Bobby, starring Sigourney Weaver
“This is an ideal collaboration between two long-time Michigan entities, each of us with a history of dedication to the creative industry,” said Steven Wild, President of Grace & Wild, Inc. “We are ecstatic that Specs Howard is joining us at Studio Center, the only movie production facility that is open and operating—right now—in the state. Specs Howard will serve as an ideal training ground and talent incubator for future movie industry professionals living and working in our area.”
Added Zahodne: “As we prepare to celebrate our 40th anniversary in January, this affiliation and these workshops represent a logical evolution in preparing our students for new and emerging opportunities in the creative arts field. Our film workshops are a starting point which we plan to expand and evolve over time in terms of scope and content.”
The Specs Howard School “On Location Film Workshop” will meet 3 ½ hours per day,
3 days per week, with day and evening sessions available on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays or Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. “On Location Advanced Editing” will be available during the day and evening on Mondays and Tuesdays in either day or evening sessions. Students will receive an official certificate of completion at the conclusion of the workshop. Funding from the Michigan Works! program is available to those who qualify.
The “On Location Film Workshop” and “On Location Advanced Editing” workshop are licensed by the State of Michigan as the state’s only film training workshops affiliated with a proprietary school.
Open House “Sneak Peek” Set
Specs Howard School will hold an open house on Wednesday, June 24 at 5 pm and again at 6 pm at the new Studio Center office to introduce the workshops. During the open house, attendees will be able to participate in a drawing allowing two people to take the workshop free of charge. Anyone who would like to attend should RSVP at rsvp@specshoward.edu or by calling 866-61-SPECS.
For more information on the Specs Howard School ”On Location Film Workshop” and “On Location Advanced Editing,” visit: www.specshoward.edu/onlocation or call 866-61-SPECS.
About Specs Howard School
The Specs Howard School of Broadcast Arts, based in Southfield, MI, has been one of the nation’s leading private communications schools since 1970. Offering undergraduate programs of study in Radio, Video and Film and Graphic Design, the school is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT). For more information about the school, visit www.specshoward.edu.
About Grace & Wild, Inc.
Grace & Wild, Inc. offers a wide variety of creative and technical services within the audio, video, ?lm and emerging media industry via its operating division’s hdstudios, Postique, Griot Editorial, Emerge, Division X and Filmcraft Imaging. Clients include broadcast advertising agencies, business communicators, government entities, and entertainment companies. Capabilities include sound stage rental; studio and remote video production; motion picture processing and printing; ? lm-to-video transfer; new media development specializing in interactive video and rich media; CGI/3D computer animation and effects; video editing; audio recording and mixing; creative editorial services and supervision; mass and custom duplication; 24P HD video equipment rental; and new media development, authoring, and replication. For demonstrations and information, contact Grace & Wild, Inc. at 23689 Industrial Park Drive, Farmington Hills, MI 48335, or call (248) 471-6010 or (800) 451-6010.
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