The Los Angeles Unified School District unveiled a $3 million film studio at the Valley Oaks Center for Enriched Studies in Sun Valley.
Clear Vision Studios, established in collaboration with IATSE Local 80, is designed to give students hands-on experience in filmmaking. It features a recording studio, a screening theater, and an editing lab.
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“This school has really been basically all I've dreamed of,” Jocelyn Mann, a freshman at VOCES, told KNX News’ Nataly Tavidian. “In fourth grade I remember I was trying to look for schools, and then all of a sudden towards the end of it, Speakes pulled me aside and he was like, ‘Do you want to do film?’”
Jocelyn came to VOCES in sixth grade for digital art and animation. She’s currently taking a filmmaking class with Jamal Speakes, the school’s film teacher.
“In general, all I really want to do is just to be in the industry, and I think that's perfect because in his class we're able to create films,” she said. “We're actually working on three films right now: a PSA, a commercial, and a short film, and I'm already almost done with all of those in my group.”
LAUSD Board Member Kelly Gonez said the goal is to give students a competitive edge in breaking into Hollywood.
“It will prepare them for careers in one of the biggest industries in Los Angeles, which historically our communities, despite their geographic proximity, have not had access to,” she said. “And despite the prevailing wisdom in Washington right now, investing in diverse storytellers, investing in talent from under-resourced communities is not trivial or discriminatory. It's important and it benefits all of us.”
Clear Vision Studios was funded through a state grant.
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