Line Traineeship: Last News

Hilary Smith On the heels of Oscar night, I applaud the broad Asian representation among the winners and am particularly in awe of Michelle Yeoh, who made history as the first Asian woman to win the Academy Award for best actress. While this is welcome progress, we are all aware that many extraordinary filmmakers, cinematographers and craftspeople from underrepresented backgrounds remain undiscovered because they don’t have the right opportunity to break into the industry. The job market is daunting for filmmakers, media producers, editors and other early career talent, while the arts and media sectors lack a broad enough infrastructure to support accessible pathways for in-demand jobs. Job seekers need an impressive reel of visual stories just to get their foot in the door, and in a Catch-22 scenario, one can’t build that without professional experience.

Sasha Urban editorNBCUniversal announced Wednesday the launch of its California Below-the-Line Traineeship, which gives on-set experience and mentorship to underrepresented talent behind the camera. The program debuted with six trainees last year on the Southern California set of Jordan Peele’s “Nope,” which is being produced by Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions.“In line with our efforts to provide more gateways into the industry, we could not be more excited to bring this traineeship to a new generation of below-the-line talent,” said Universal Filmed Entertainment Group chairman Donna Langley.

 When Oscar winner Jordan Peele’s anticipated film Nope went into production last year in Southern California, it welcomed the first cycle of trainees from Universal Filmed Entertainment Group’s California Below-the-Line Traineeship for individuals seeking careers behind the camera.