Creative Workforce Adapting to the Times
At Free Spirit Media, we hit the ground running with the transition to virtual learning, and no one knows that better than our program staff and participants. This is the first of two articles highlighting our programs as they navigate the challenges of virtual learning and content production. Read on to learn more about how Free Spirit Media programs are navigating the rewards and challenges of virtual learning and content production. This month our Creative Workforce programs take the spotlight! Learn more about how Industry Pathways, The Real Chi, and Free Spirit PRO have concurrently balanced learning, collaboration, and media innovation.
Industry Pathways, is a Free Spirit Media program that helps emerging creatives break into the media and film industries, using multiple programs year-round. In the fall, there’s The Chicago Track, a series of workshops and networking events, and during the spring there’s Cohort – a training program that builds skills and offers the experience necessary to begin a career in the film, media and/or TV industries. Lastly, in the summer there’s Flash Forward – an internship and fellowship program where participants work with professional media companies.
The InPathways Cohort, a unique 12-week opportunity for sixteen emerging media makers, includes in-person group meetings and hands-on workshops with our community partners, culminating in a final production that all cohort members assist with to completion. This spring’s cohort immediately switched to virtual learning once the shelter-in-place began in Chicago. While challenging, the outcomes have been successful thanks to the hard work of Creative Workforce Coordinator, Aira Alcantara, and Program Associate, Covania Washington, and our participants’ commitment to learning and growth.
The InPathways cohort pictured here during their story pitch event and closing celebrations posing for a photo on Zoom!
One of the biggest challenges, as Aira explained, came in offering workshops, such as Intro to Directing, taught by Raphael Nash, Adjunct Faculty in Post-Production, Cinema Production, and Education at DePaul University. These workshops in the past were primarily tactile with extensive class hours, and offered by Free Spirit Media’s partners, AbelCine and Depaul University. Our partners had to modify and condense these workshops, but never sacrificed quality in the virtual shift. Aira also cited that another difficulty is that the cohort this year is made up of students who are vastly different types of learners and also have different levels of skills. Despite the challenges, Aira says, “When [Free Spirit Media’s] leadership first introduced a virtual model to us, we were unsure. But it’s fascinating to see our virtual model working.”
It’s these collective efforts that allow for collective moments of innovation and adaptability in the present. Covania recalled a moment when Zoom, the popular video communications application, had a technical issue which prevented the cohort from having their scheduled watch party. “We all had a laugh together and were quickly able to switch over to Google Hangouts to continue what we were watching,” says Covania.
In lieu of working on the customary short film production, cohort members have instead been working on improvised pieces, usually one minute or less. Some members have recorded pieces focusing on their life in quarantine, while others created short films. You can find all of that content on our YouTube! On Thursday, April 30th, the Cohort held a story pitch event and closing celebration—each member was given 5 minutes to pitch their screenplay ideas to industry mentors Kayla and Marc Jones. The Cohort team will reconvene in Fall 2020 to create their short film, “Bermuda,” written by Jasmine Ogunjimi’s (Cohort 2019 alum).
The Real Chi’s Community Newsroom has been extremely busy as well, having transitioned in more than one way— Lee Edwards, The Real Chi program coordinator, explained that participants have, in addition to virtual transition, gotten closer to being daily reporters. Before the pandemic, reporters worked more as beat reporters with deadlines tailored to the individual’s comfort. “The national situation has pushed a lot of [participants] to work in a way that they were probably uncomfortable with before,” Lee explained. At first, participants were challenged by the quicker turnaround required of the global situation, lack of equipment access, and dependability issues. Lee says this challenge has dissipated. Participants quickly adapted, sometimes using their phones to record interviews or images and video footage. A month and a half into Illinois’ shelter-in-place, and participants’ initial worries about their developing skill set have become irrelevant as these emerging journalists became comfortable with what “news” is and what it could be. Lee says, “Repetition and seeing work being published more frequently has increased confidence overall – our participants learn by doing.”
The TRiiBE’S Tiffany Walden leading a breaking news workshop.
Learning by doing has also been supplemented because of the Real Chi’s relationship with their newsroom partners, such as The Triibe. Tiffany Walden, The Triibe’s Editor-in-Chief & co-founder, held a breaking news coverage workshop a few weeks ago. “It was really helpful, it gave us the opportunity to see how they tackle that area of news and what it means to be a professional in that space,” Lee says.
The Triibe has also provided opportunities for participants to cover press conferences with Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Governor J.B. Pritzker, published on The Triibe’s website. Check out coverage here and here. You can see more of The Real Chi’s community newsroom work on our COVID 19 Response Hub.
In late fall of 2019, Free Spirit Media launched a fellowship program through our social enterprise and professional video production arm, Free Spirit PRO in an effort to ensure that PRO participants receive a comprehensive creative workforce development experience. Fellows learn through serving as crew on PRO’s real-world production work, collaborating alongside our staff producers to create stunning visual content. The Free Spirit PRO Fellowship gives these advanced fellows the opportunity to round out their skillset and build upon their emerging careers.
The first round of fellows included Justyn, Alex, and Lily, pictured below. Justyn has diverse experiences in film, audio, and music production; Alex is an emerging documentary filmmaker, dedicated organizer, and writer, published in several outlets; and Lily is an early-career reporter and graduate of Medill School of Journalism and has interned at Kartemquin Films. There is no shortage of good things to say! Read more about them on our new Creatives page.
Before the current quarantine, the fellows attended multiple workshops with Free Spirit Media industry partners. They met with Mix Kitchen to learn more about audio mixing, practiced color grading with Nolo Digital Film, and learned about what it means to be a Production Assistant on set at Optimus. Post-production house Hootenanny and director and editor Kate Wrobel focused on editing with the fellows. Fellows also learned more about Motion Graphics with Carbon.
After COVID-19 forced Free Spirit Media to pivot to virtual, the fellows were tasked with creating a Coronavirus and Community Journalism video series – view the first episode below. They also recently finished editing a video focused on the North Lawndale Sesquicentennial Gala from October 2019. Watch here.