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Foundation trains veterans for new careers in media
Apr 28, 2008
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by GV staff
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With wounded U.S. Marines returning from Afghanistan and Iraq, many without alternative career options, the Wounded Marine Careers Foundation aims to provide these veterans with new, marketable skills for careers in media following their rehabilitation.
The Wounded Marine Center for Careers in Media program, administered by the foundation, takes its students -- many whom are in medical and physical therapy -- through a 10-week training course covering writing, cinematography, video and sound editing, lighting, photojournalism, and more. Upon completion, graduates receive professional certification and union membership in the International Alliance of Theatre Stage Employees. The program also assists with job placement.
T Husband-and-wife filmmaking duo Kev Lombard and Judith Paixao, the foundation's co-founders, developed the center's pilot program, which recently honored its inaugural class of 19 members at their graduation in March. “Many service members wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan go through difficult challenges during their recovery,” Paixao explained. “Upon leaving the hospital, these young heroes often have no alternative careers or other professional skills to fall back on. This program helps them establish successful careers for many years to come."
"Through our program, the wounded Marines learn to do their own storytelling and share the full perspective of their war experience," added Lombard. "Very often, when it comes to the war and the military, the media tends to capture only what they need for their story. Storytelling offers these wounded Marines a way, not only to get their voices heard, but also to heal."
The 5,000 square-foot training center, located on the Stu Segal Productions studio lot in San Diego, CA, is equipped with 11 Panasonic AG-HVX200 P2 HD camcorders and AJ-PCD20 five-slot P2 card readers. A long-time Panasonic camera user, Lombard said the HVX200 was the perfect fit for the program.
"We knew we needed a camera that was easy for the wounded veterans to hold up and maneuver,” he said. “We also wanted to ensure that the students were trained with the latest camera technology. We wanted to use a tapeless, solid-state technology because that's where the industry is going."
Each student is provided with his own MacBook Pro complete with Final Cut Pro editing software, a Duel Systems DuelAdaptor, a 1 TB hard drive, and two 16 GB P2 cards.
The students get in-depth training in not only filmmaking, but also in camera operation. "For the first few weeks, the students learned all of the camera's technical aspects, going through all the menus,” Lombard said. “We felt this was important, as some of the students had never used a video camera before. The HVX200 was also a perfect fit because of its rugged, solid-state design. The Marines are used to handling rugged equipment and artillery. Even when we were shooting in high-impact settings, the camera performed reliably."
MORE INFO
Apple apple.com
Duel Systems duel-systemsadapters.com
Panasonic panasonic.com/broadcast
Wounded Marine Careers Foundation woundedmarinecareers.com
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