STEELTOWN ENTERTAINMENT PROJECT
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Mission Statement
Steeltown supports digital media arts and education for all. We bridge the gap between the art of making digital content and the business of media production with training, apprenticeship, mentoring and artist support. Our vision: ALL are welcome, embraced and supported by digital media arts and the film industry with equal opportunities to learn, work and grow their craft.
About This Cause
Our youth programs create powerful storytellers with technical and business skill. Our filmmaker support programs provide opportunities to network, learn, develop their practice and projects, and sustain their art while furthering their careers. YOUTH PROGRAMS: Steeltown embraces a “grow our own” model of workforce development. High school students are exposed to training, apprenticeships and professional experience in the industry, paid to work, and provided with direct pathways to higher education and/or work opportunities. We follow best practices in arts education by providing universal access to our programs, examining and challenging inequity, teaching compassion and citizenship, and offering stepped programs over a sustained period for deeper student learning and stronger critical thinking. Combining the two models supports teens while teaching them marketable skills, paying them for their work, and showing them the many opportunities available to turn their passion into a profession. Our Digital Media Concierge service sends teaching artists into schools and community organization to provide professional development and technical consultation to enhance educators’ digital media skills, help them choose equipment, embed digital media production into existing curriculum, and/or add a specific structured digital media production curriculum. We also work with educators to provide direct education to their students through daylong workshops and longer-term education support using our SFA curriculum, or their own curriculum. Our in-house Film Academy is a learning to career pathway. Level 1 begins with the basics of camera, lighting, editing, storytelling and audio, while also giving students space to explore their own creative practice. At the end of Level 1, the students work together to make a short film – they write, produce, direct and act in the film to get a complete film production experience. To advance to Level 2, the students must have the desire to continue to the next level and pass basic skill tests. Level 2 is an internship where the students continue to learn skills while working alongside more experienced teens and adults on production sets. In addition to expanding their technical skills in digital media making and storytelling, they learn onset protocol, teamwork and creative problem solving skills. To advance to Level 3, the interns must pass additional skill tests, complete an interview process and be promoted by the team of teaching artists who assess their readiness for professional work. Level 3 is the Teen Film Crew (TFC) where the students (alongside experienced professional teaching artists) get paid to produce videos for clients, as well as, their own creative content. TFC members get paid while continuing to build their skills in media production, as well as, teamwork, client relations, and other meaningful “soft” skills. With four years of experience and clients in the double digits under their belts, Steeltown’s Teen Film Crew is now a well-managed production team whose quality of work rivals many local production companies. TFC also produces The Reel Teens: Pittsburgh web series. The Reel Teens: Pittsburgh content is mostly short documentaries profiling people, places and events in and around Pittsburgh – from a teen’s point of view. It is web content by and for teens. TRTP has received three Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards and has been accepted into three film festivals since 2017. One episode this year won Best Student Documentary at the Boson International Kids Film Festival. ARTIST SUPPORT PROGRAMS: Steeltown nurtures talent and builds a creative economy while guiding the work of local artists and creatives. We work to diversify the industry and make it attractive to a new generation while cultivating collaborative relationships to leverage the region’s resources for economic impact. Steeltown’s artist/professional support program, known as Steeltown Indie, assists local filmmakers and supports the creation of independent digital media projects by providing advice, referrals, fiscal sponsorship, mentoring, equipment and other resources, as well as opportunities to learn, connect and create. Each year, the Indie Program hosts four Crew Connect networking events where members can pitch their ideas, project and their skills; Spotlight Series lectures; and skill-building workshops for all ages.