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The Chair of the Senate Finance Committee is Nancy Cassis. The production community and I are trying to figure out why the Senator was the lone dissenter, holding the bill in committee for all that time. In personal meetings with her we discovered that she was concerned about this bill being corporate welfare, which it is not and financially harming the schools by diverting money intended for them away. In a reading of the full text of this bill I note that this concern was addressed and the schools would be “held harmless”. Yet we are told that Senator Cassis still felt that this package would be somehow harmful to Michigan.
Be aware that many other States have implemented similar bills and have found great economic success. States like New York, Illinois and Louisiana have reported significant increases in production in very short periods of time. Michigan needed the playing field leveled so that producers interested in our architecture, landscapes and shores would have a selling point to provide to their bean counters. This was a real concern and now that it is passed we have to put Michigan back in the game.

As a person who voted for her, I am extremely disappointed that she, after hearing from us, asking questions and having her concerns added to the bills – strongly voted against a bill that would build economic infrastructure and help provide jobs for people trained in Michigan.

Mark Adler
Michigan Production Alliance
Novi MI

The Michigan Production Alliance and Specs Howard School of Broadcast Arts recently collaborated with local Producer Ross Marroso to offer aspiring filmmakers an opportunity to work on his short feature combined with MPA’s popular P.A. Bootcamp. The idea for the concept “Priority P.A. is credited to Ross who was searching for a way to integrate giving back to his alma mater; Specs and to help with the MPA’s mission.

Students interested in attending an MPA P.A. Boot-camp were asked if they saw any appeal in paying an additional fee to learn on the job or rather “on the set” of Ross Marroso’s “Osama Bin Latte” short feature for 3 or 4 days. Ross phoned me afterward and exclaimed, “We had to beat them back! …the interest was so strong!”

Nicole LaDouceur, Video Placement Advisor for Specs Howard School, and other staff were very proactive about this effort as they are with MPA’s P.A. Boot camps. Nicole states, “The PA Bootcamp has proven to be a very positive learning experience for students. I have seen ‘grads’ of the bootcamp move on to work for local and national production companies, on commercial sets and film sets. With the addition of the “Priority PA” program, Bootcamp grads are given additional tools that give them a leg up on the competition.”
So with that support, the concept quickly moved toward reality.

Ross finalized his script and shooting schedule as the Boot camp event rolled out.

In October, Specs Howard School hosted nearly 60 participants, mainly students who seemed eager and willing to learn what it takes to be a P.A. Mark Adler, President of the Michigan Production Alliance opened the class as always with Drill Instructor and SAG actress Sonia Crosby. “Sonia gets ‘em on their feet quite literally and pumps them up for the lecture segment” said Adler. “Each participant is then given a military style dog tag with the words ‘Media Warrior’ stamped on it.”

The class gets a detailed and animated lecture complete with images… (available at http://www.mpami.org/favorite.htm)
…and they view a video called “Documentary Boot Camp” a comedic look at the production business. Then a panel of professionals sits down to share experiences and answer questions about what is expected of a PA on a set from various perspectives”.

Ross Marroso joined this panel in October and laid out to the class the way the program would run during the making of his project. Everyone in the class had their interest peaked and a lively discussion followed.

On the “Latte” set over the course of 3 days, the Priority PA’s contributed in many meaningful ways. Some had a chance to shoot a scene; others helped sew patches on wardrobe under the direction of Local Costume designer Bernadine Vida. But the true value of the program is found in the producer director. Ross used down time, to provide the participants tips and the depth of his experience – on a film set where they were sure to put that knowledge to use.

Student Veronica Seaton relates, “The P.A. Boot camp taught me to always ask questions even if you thought it was a dumb question. It seems like even what you thought was the dumb question turns out to be a good question…
…My Experience with the Osama Bin Latte was even better. It was so cool to work with everyone we all got a taste of what it is like to be on a set…”
Student Fallon Jamil agrees:
“The producer of the film, Ross Marroso…really took the time and effort to work with us individually, making sure we understood the concept behind each element. While filming at his parents’ home, we were greeted with immeasurable hospitality that was greatly appreciated and the P.A. boot camp could not be more to the point!”
Student Peter Murray summed it up,
“The PA Boot Camp was nothing short of amazing. I had no idea that there was so much involved in the life of a PA. Very, very informative, after that, the Osama shoot was a blast. It was an honor to be able to do what we did. I would do it again in a heartbeat!”

Ross Marroso had this to say about the success of the program.
I never had a doubt that “Priority P.A.” would hit the ground running and the Specs students exceeded my expectations on my movie set. I believe entertainment is an untapped business in Michigan and I will continue to press forward with movie making here. As my short film gets accepted into Film Festivals and receives its recognition I will know that it is in large part to Specs Howard and their students. When I came back home to Michigan I was only one guy trying to get this off the ground…now, thanks to Mark and Specs we are many…and growing.
Ross’ partner, Producer Greg Hildebrandt agrees…I have been working with Ross since his days at NYU Film School in New York. He trusted the Specs students would be an asset to our set and I quickly realized we had a great crew on our hands. I’ll trade any number of experts for a bunch of people with the passion and persistence to get a movie done…Specs Howard delivered in spades.

Another panelist Richard Roy, a representative from the post production facility Studio7 in St. Clair Shores is presently helping Ross with editing the “Bin Latte” project and the project should be completed by the time you are reading this.

“I am happy to see the professional community led by Mark in this case, investing their time and knowledge to help jump start the new crop of future film and video professionals. These efforts will only serve to keep the Michigan film and video production community a strong and vibrant force,” stated Roy.

The opportunities for those interested in getting into the production industry are limited, at least in this area so the PA Priority Program and the MPA boot camps integrate well with Specs Howard’s curriculum and whatever freelance work they can find.”

Overall, the combination of the P.A. Boot camp as an orientation and the P.A. Priority Program seems to have served the community well. The boot camps provide the knowledge and the Priority Program offers the opportunity to put that knowledge to the test.

Future boot camps are pending, Many sponsored by the (AICP) Association of Independent Commercial Producers – watch for sessions in this winter and spring.

Also do not forget that Visit Detroit announced that they will operate a Regional film office which will provide even more personalized service for local and out of town filmmakers!!

Who hoo!!