UH Setting Strategic Plan in Action to Build a Premier Film Degree Program

Temple Northrop, Director of the Jack J. Valenti School of Communication, University of Houston, sits down with Bird House Productions Lynn Birdwell to discuss his strategic plan on how UH is building upon their current program to establish the county's leading film production program at the university level. He also calls for working industry professionals to help him reach his goal of training the next generation of A-list talent.

A Partnership to Train Young Film Professionals In Houston

The City of Houston and Houston Independent School District (HISD) recognize the importance of the arts in education. The newly created Mayor's Office of Education works with schools to prepare students through workforce development and training, including in the film industry.

"There are some amazing programs at the elementary, middle school and high school level for young people to have an opportunity to experience what it's like to be in the film and the arts as a career. You have some places that have full-fledged studios that are operated by young people, and they write, produce, edit, and learn cutting edge technology that they're able to use and have access to," reports Juliet Stipeche, Director of the Mayor's Office of Education.

Training Houston's Next A-list Crew will Boost the Local Economy

"We want to make it a practical program, a program that serves as a pipeline to see our students actually working in the field." Fleurette Fernando, Director, M.A. in Arts Leadership Program, the University of Houston, gives a preliminary glimpse at the future possibility of a film degree to be offered at UH to keep students in here to support a healthy Houston creative economy.

The WOND3R Team Shares How Cities All Over the World Have Built Creative Economies

"The creative economy in New York City in 2017 delivered $30 billion of revenue to that city -- $30 billion! I believe that we can do that here because we have such a low cost of living and a high disposable income that we could take a huge chunk out of that $30 billion and bring it to Houston." - WOND3R Co-founder Kerry Chrapliwy.

At the December 4, 2019, Work-In-Progress presented by Lynn Birdwell, the team from the creative agency WOND3R talked about their experience working all around the world and how the cities they worked in build creative economies, how they did it, and why they think it can happen in Houston.

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