Mission: Video
In January, our Job & Leadership Training partnered with Continuity STL to teach students filming and editing skills through their Mission Video class. During the 12-week course, students created a film and premiered it in front of an audience. Founded in 2014, Continuity introduces media production techniques to students who can’t afford video equipment in hopes to diversify the media industry.
For most students, this was their first time creating a film. They were introduced to new skills including the basics of photography; questions to ask in an interview; shortcuts to use in editing software and how to utilize footage. From the beginning stages of brainstorming to creating and editing the film, students admit the process was sometimes difficult. To help make the process easier, each student partnered with a volunteer who mentored and assisted them, which built relationships as they collaborated on ideas and stories. During the film premiere, each student mentioned plans to create another film using the skills they’ve learned.
Chris, our Beyond Jobs Coordinator, created an informative commercial about the history and vision of his business X-treme Cleaning. After the premiere, he posted the film on social media and says he has received several new client offers.
Anthony created a poetic conceptual film about the beauty of St. Louis. Instead of using music, he used his voice combined with his love for writing and aesthetics to capture the city in his point of view. Creating the video has inspired Anthony to continue writing and produce more abstract films.
Similar to Anthony’s film, Reggie created a travel film about the city of St. Louis. He revisited places, such as Forest Park and Fox Theater, to highlight moments throughout his childhood. Reggie enjoyed all aspects of the creation process and hopes to create another film dealing with animation.
Desiree filmed a mini documentary about her husband and Beyond Jobs Director James Westbrook. In the film, she highlights James as a mentor, husband and father, showing how his love for people magnifies his role as a leader. Having studied film and broadcast in college, Desiree plans to create more films and is currently working on a new project.
Partners like Continuity STL provide our JLT students with the opportunity to tell their story in a different way. Now they are able to express themselves and voice their opinions through a medium with equipment they may not have had access to before. Learning these skills also creates more job availability in the media industry. Continuity STL plans to continue empowering our students by offering a Mission Video intermediate course in the fall.
If you are interested in providing more opportunity and impacting our students, please contact Amy Primm at amy.primm@missionstl.org for more information.