Three times a year, WCNY’s Entertainment Academy will offer a fourteen-week training program in the TV and film production trades. Gain a real-world understanding in grip, electric, video playback, sound and shopcraft, as well as earn OSHA and Aerial Lift certifications.

Classes meet three times a week: Thursday and Friday 4-8PM, and Saturday 8AM-4:30PM. Classes will take place in Syracuse or locations very nearby.

Dive into hands-on learning from Union pros, and TV and film veterans. This is your chance to open doors to new skills, and new opportunities in the burgeoning television and film production economy in Central New York.

Get started! Get going! Get certified!

Equip Yourself for Success in CNY’s Booming Film and Video Technical Trades Industry with WCNY’s Entertainment Academy!

The WCNY Entertainment Academy will recruit and train a diverse group of people in one of three annual 14-week training sessions, and create a pathway for job placements through local unions, including I.A.T.S.E. Local 52 and Motion Picture Studio Mechanics, who will provide craft specialists to serve as instructors. The program will provide a real-world baseline of knowledge and specific skills in grip, electric, shopcraft, and set dressing that are necessary for graduates to be job-ready upon completion. They will also be exposed to video and sound engineering skills to provide a pathway to union membership and to prepare them for careers that will provide sustainable value to entertainment industry employers.

WCNY Academy Highlights:

– Free tuition, free training!
– Ages 25-39 are invited to apply
– Training sessions take place on Thursdays and Fridays, 4-8 p.m., and Saturdays 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. over the course of 14 weeks
– Become trades certified, including OSHA and Aerial Lift certifications
– Pathway to union membership
– Access to excellent benefits
– Convenient Schedule
– Job-ready upon course completion
– Earn up to $45 per hour
– Job placement assistance

The core of the Academy will focus on the needs defined by I.A.T.S.E. Local 52 for the roles in the following departments, where there is a demand for crew jobs in the Central New York region.

The union will provide instructors (to complement the faculty provided by WCNY and the adjunct instructors) to ensure that the trainees are fully ready to fill jobs in the following departments represented by Local 52:

– Grip Department: Set grips, camera dollies, scaffolding, and platforms

– Electric Department: Rigging and set electricians, including lighting gear

– Shopcraft Department: Construction crew members

– Sound Department: Mixer and boom operators

– Property Department: Set dressing, prop masters and special effects coordinators

Advisory Council:
Anirban Acharya
Ruthnie Angrand
Brad Beckman
Mac Cushing
Lisa Della Santina Wisley
Diane Gayeski
Stefon Green
Elias Gwinn
Heath Hanlin
George Kirpatrick
Alex Korman
Tom Seeley
Francisco Suàrez
Eric Vinal

For general questions, please email academy@wcny.org.