Aspire Youth Development, an organization that equips young adults in the emerging workforce through career services, leadership training and professional development, has opened enrollment for its new Film Readiness and Media Education (FRAME) program.
The free, 18-week initiative is designed to prepare adult South Jersey residents for careers in the expanding film and digital media industry.
Serving residents of Burlington, Camden and Gloucester counties, FRAME provides hands-on training in key production roles, including camera operation, lighting and sound, video editing and production assistance. The program combines technical instruction with professional development and direct industry exposure, creating a clear pathway into the workforce.
“Aspire is excited to prepare and connect South Jersey residents with the technical training and essential workplace skills needed to seize opportunities in film and media,” said Curtis Myers, founder and president of Aspire Youth Development.
FRAME is fully funded through the New Jersey Economic Development Authority’s Filmworks Grant, so there is no cost to participants. Classes will be held Tuesdays and Thursdays through Sept. 10 in Mount Laurel. The training is delivered in partnership with Creative Content OnDemand, a South Jersey-based media company with more than 25 years of experience in production and workforce training.
“Participants are going to get experience with editing and media management, so they’re really going to understand how a project is going to move from a set to the final project, and it’s a real, firm foundation of what it’s going to be like in this industry,” noted program coordinator Leah Van Nieuwburg.
Nieuwburg worked with Myers and James and April Ward, co-founders of Creative Content OnDemand, on FRAME. The Wards designed the curriculum so they will be teaching the classes, while Nieuwburg will help students with anything they need. She’s a screenwriter, producer and director, and her field work includes festival juror and screener experience, narrative short and feature direction and production, editing and work across commercial and documentary projects.
Nieuwburg also teaches film to multi-lingual learners through a residency with the Philadelphia Film Society and has experience across high-school, college and continuing education settings. When she was a student at the New York Film Academy, Nieuwburg was also a teacher’s assistant and head of the equipment room. She described that position as prideful, because it’s where she discovered her true passion.
“I wasn’t necessarily great at school,” she recalled, “and I wasn’t necessarily the math whiz or anything super like that, so to go into film and to find out, ‘Oh my gosh, I think I’m great at this,’ and also I’m great at the production side of it and my scripts are getting some interest … It was just such an empowering experience, and it changed my whole perception of myself.”
If Nieuwburg had the chance to participate in a program like FRAME when she was studying film, she says she would have jumped on it, so now she’s excited to see for the program’s students to see what it’s like to work behind the scenes in the field.
“This program is designed for adults 18-plus who are ready to enter the film and media industry,” she noted, “but it doesn’t necessarily mean that they have to come from a background of film and media. It’s beginner-friendly. We really want to hit those who haven’t had access to any kind of training like this before, so we’re really focused on creating opportunities for people who are looking for a pathway directly into the industry.”
For more information on FRAME or Aspire Youth Development, visit www.aspireyouth.com.
The Film Readiness and Media Education program is free for those 18 and up and runs for 18 weeks.
