by Roz Brown for Public News Service
Most who work in the film industry don't get a sudden "lucky break" but instead succeed through hard work and the National Indian Youth Council wants underserved college students to know what is involved.
The council recently hosted free training sessions for production assistants at Doña Ana Community College in Las Cruces.
Matt Byrnes, professor of graphic arts at Doña Ana Community College, said the training complements what the two-year institution offers in film, television, commercial and digital media production through its Creative Media Technology program.
"The production assistant route is typically the first step into the industry for most people who want to get into the film industry; they get a role as a production assistant in just about any craft area," Byrnes explained.
In New Mexico, Byrnes pointed out there are around 50 craft areas where certified students could get a film production assistant's job. In recent decades, blockbuster movies and TV shows such as "Oppenheimer," "No Country for Old Men" and "Breaking Bad" have all used the state's landscape to tell their stories.
The two-day training programs are generally offered by the National Indian Youth Council for college students and aspiring Indigenous filmmakers and Byrnes noted the Doña Ana intensive program was expanded.
"It's basically to help promote underserved people and give them opportunities to get trained and skilled up. But they've actually opened it up to the entire state. They weren't discriminating. They were just opening all these trainings up to basically anyone who wanted that training," Byrnes emphasized.
In addition to hands-on training, Byrnes noted participants learn how to make connections with filmmakers and production professionals to jump-start careers.
Students at Doña Ana and New Mexico State University will soon have even more film opportunities when a $15 million, 36,000-square-foot commercial soundstage complex is complete at Arrowhead Park in Las Cruces. It is being built in partnership with the state to boost southern New Mexico's film industry, create local jobs and provide students with paid internships.
Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.