Howdy everyone,

I have been asked once again to be on a panel for the NM Film and Media Educational Summit taking place on October 4, 2014, from 9:00am to 5:00pm at the National Hispanic Cultural Center (NHCC) in Albuquerque, 1701 4th Street.

This year I will be helping to educate those in attendance on the ins and outs of entering student films into festivals and competitions. After working for 9 years as the department chair for animation at the Southwest University of Visual Arts, I have helped enter more student films into these types of events than I can count. Most of which went on to do quite well, either winning or placing in their various categories.

My goal is to help others struggling with the process to understand and streamline the entry requirements and talk about motivating the often fearful or apathetic student. It has been my experience that it is often not only what you know, but also who you know that can land you a job in this industry. What better way to get to know others in the business than by getting out in the real world and hobnobbing with other like minded individuals.

This can be a terrifying prospect for a lot of students, especially those without a lot of life experience or education under their belts. However, I have seen the classic "wallflower," bloom in these environments, as they discover that they really do know what they are doing and they see other's appreciation for their work. A little self confidence can go a long way and more often than not, they are bitten by the festival bug and enter subsequent festivals and competitions. With some solid reinforcement by instructors and professors, these students will have some awesome content for their first resume when they graduate and have to hit the ground running.

This education summit will focus on film and media education at the k-12 levels, but many attendees have been requested to attend from the various post secondary schools in the state to expose the teachers of the lower levels to the possibilities their students have available to them in the future.

Another area that I will speak about is the huge push in this state to make the film and media sector one to rival Hollywood, Vancouver and New York. My personal passion, Emerging Media, is starting to come into its own here in New Mexico and most instructors at the k-12 level often either don't know what this is or about the career opportunities this particular sector of the industry offers. There are a lot of opportunities for graduates who don't want to leave New Mexico to find a job in film, TV, animation and Emerging Media. They might not work for Pixar right off the bat, but there are great paying jobs at the entry level in commercials production, post production, science and medical animations, serious gaming, etc.

As the Chair for Emerging Media on the Governor's Council for Film and Media I want to be able to answer these questions and guide the future of this industry here in New Mexico. As I see it, the possibilities are endless.