"I am pleased that our
city will be the site of such an innovative arts project as the
feature film THIS TRAIN by Cincinnati poet/playwright Aralee Strange.
The Ohio Film Industry Training Program will provide a rich learning
opportunity for young Ohioans from diverse regional and cultural
backgrounds."
-Cincinnati Mayor Roxanne Qualls
A unique educational component of THIS
TRAIN's production, The Ohio Film Industry Training Program enabled
30 young Ohioans to apprentice with film professionals on the crew
of THIS TRAIN. This training program was funded in large part
by a grant from the Ohio Department of Development.
The Ohio Film Industry Training Program
was established in conjunction with Media Working Group, a nonprofit
media arts and education organization with incorporation in Ohio and
Kentucky. Jean Donohue, president of Media Working Group, and THIS
TRAIN Producer Elizabeth Logan Harris managed the program.
The Ohio Film Industry Training Program
offered intensive on-the-job training in specific areas of filmmaking
including cinematography, editing, sound design, art direction, design
and production management. Internships lasted from 7 to 16 weeks,
depending on the area of the crew to which the interns were assigned.
Cross-training seminars gave all interns an overview of the entire
filmmaking process. Statewide recruitment of interns emphasized women
and minorities, including individuals from the Appalachian regions
of the Ohio where portions of the film were made.
CO-PRODUCER -
MEDIA WORKING GROUP
MEDIA WORKING GROUP is an artist-managed
media arts education, production and research organization. The only
organization of its kind in the Greater Cincinnati area, MWG is designed
to encourage creation in the fields of television, video, film, CD-ROM,
electronic publishing, audio and photography. MWG engages in educational
activities that encourage critical understanding of the artistic,
social and cultural impact of the media. It conducts training in the
creation and use of the media for the expression of diversity and
provide an organizational structure that furnishes members and associates
with a rich environment of mutual support and freedom of expression
for their artistic labor. MWG members have produced projects for Kentucky
Educational Television, WNET (New York Public Broadcasting Service),
the British Broadcast Service (BBC), Discovery Channel, and national
satellite networks as well as local cable channels throughout the
U.S.