The Brave New Foundation Open Door Trainee Program is a stipend based outreach and education program for undergraduate juniors/seniors, graduate students, and recent graduates designed to educate a new generation of diverse documentary filmmakers and media activists. It offers people with entry-level skills the rare opportunity to gain hands-on, real world job experience by participating fully in the daily functions of Brave New Films, an active documentary film production and media company.

OVERVIEW

After graduating from college, jumping into the job market can be overwhelming. To enter the entertainment industry requires specific knowledge that often results in college graduates enrolling in film schools or producing programs and taking unpaid internships in order to get in the door.

Unfortunately youth from low income families that scraped money together to attend four years of college cannot afford continuing education and most definitely cannot stall earning money by taking an unpaid internship. This results in a lack of diversity in the film industry. We would like to promote diversity by teaching a new generation the essentials needed for a film career.

Brave New Foundation would like to give these youth the opportunity to work for a professional film company in a six month paid ‘internship’ that will serve as a training ground to develop skills and engage the intern to become an effective leader in the entertainment community. In our six month program the trainee will truly learn the process of making a film by actually working on one. The trainee will work closely with professional staff and be responsible for specific tasks in pre-production, production and post-production. Each trainee will focus on one area – editing, producing, marketing, distributing – and using the skills they learn during the internship, will work with other trainees to put together a media project. By the end of their session, the trainee will have the knowledge needed to be successful in the entertainment industry.

AREAS

Story Trainees

Story trainees provide critical support to the story producers in all areas of the story process. They will learn how to craft a documentary first-hand by reviewing original and archival footage, and participating in the research and writing processes.

Production Trainees

Production trainees provide critical support to our production team. Production trainees will learn the ins and outs of physical production management, by participating fully in the logistical planning and execution of a documentary feature film.

Post Production Trainee

Post trainees will learn exactly how a feature length documentary film comes together while acquiring a variety of technical skills. Post trainees work closely with assistant editors to organize and maintain the critical workflow of the post production department.

Marketing/PR Trainees

Marketing and Public Relations trainees learn first hand how to create and implement marketing strategies for documentary films by participating in all aspects of promotion.

Education Outreach/Distribution Trainees

EOD trainees will learn first hand how to guerrilla distribute a documentary film, as well has how to initiate and maintain educational outreach programs, by participating fully in the work of the Educational Outreach/Distribution team. EOD trainees will contribute to the planning of a variety of special events, premieres and special screenings; and to the administration of the following Brave New Foundation programs: The Mentorship Program (an Inner City High School social justice media project); The Field Producer Program (a 1200 person strong volunteer advocate network); The Advocacy Campaign Initiative (a project to teach the BNF media distribution and activism model to fellow non-profits); The Social Justice Education and Outreach program.