Parkland College, Flyover Film Studios Partner to Expand Film Industry in Area
Parkland College will partner with Rantoul-based Flyover Film Studios and two Champaign-based film production companies to expand the film industry.
Parkland College today announced a new partnership with Rantoul-based Flyover Film Studios and two Champaign-based film production companies to expand the pipeline of professionals in central Illinois entering the film industry.
Parkland students pursuing the college's Entertainment Technology AAS degree now have an option to work as an intern with professionals in the film and TV production field at Flyover Film Studios and at Shatterglass Films and The Line Film Co. of Champaign. The internship opportunities will enhance the real-world, hands-on experience the program currently provides, according to Parkland College Theatre Director Brian Morgan.
"Our new partnership with Flyover Film Studios, The Line Film Co., and Shatterglass Films brings a new layer of marketability for the area's entertainment-industry trainees," Morgan said.
Operating from the former Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul, Illinois, and backed by a $1.1 million grant from the Illinois Soundstage Capital Grant Program, Flyover Film Studios is currently building state-of-the-art sound stages and production facilities from the site, with the aim of creating a central Illinois hub for the country's film and television production industry, according to Jennifer Shelby, president of Flyover Film Studios and co-owner of Shatterglass Films of Champaign, a longtime commercial video production company with an emphasis on storytelling.
"As a lifelong Champaign resident who has taken classes at Parkland College, I know what a gem the college is for this community," Shelby said. "My stepfather, Henry Green, served as the director of development and was on the steering committee responsible for creating Parkland. I could not be more proud to now be part of the growth of programming at the institution. It will lead to job creation, and will help build a vibrant industry in Champaign County."
Flyover Film Studios Representative Dustin Hoke, also a Parkland alumnus, added that the new partnership will allow Parkland students to combine classroom learning with hands-on experience working in the growing film industry.
"I know firsthand the high-quality education that students receive from Parkland College, and I am elated to help foster opportunities for students to gain the skills necessary to become world-class film workers with employment opportunities here in Champaign County," Hoke said.
The Entertainment Technology AAS degree prepares students to pursue a variety of careers in theatre, film, television, entertainment venues, theme parks, and commercial scenery shops. This versatile program provides foundational skills in wood and metal custom fabrication, lighting and sound technologies, management principles, basic automation operation and design, and industrial safety. Graduates of the AAS degree can work as union stagehands or in a commercial technology vendor company.
Parkland Theatre student Drew Bagby, who took Flyover's Workforce Training course in Rantoul last spring, said he would recommend the internship training.
"We were taught the basics of film construction (cutting with saws, measuring, and constructing flats), along with the dos and don'ts of the industry," said Bagby, an Edwardsville, Illinois, native. "I felt very confident with the instruction I was given and could work comfortably in a film setting. One of the best advantages of Parkland is that students have educators who have worked in every aspect of entertainment, so we can get insight into the industry through them. With the certification, the group can now go out into the world and start working on film sets and other jobs."