(FRANKLIN, Tenn. - April 18, 2012) - - - Hollywood producer, Sandy King, led a two-day hands-on workshop at Columbia State Community College for the Film Crew Technology students.

"Students at Columbia State are getting a really intensive course in the behind-the-scenes aspects of running any type of commercial film process," King said.

"The type of program that is offered here is one that I wish was available all over the country," she continued. "When we go on location for movies, commercials, or even training videos, one of the biggest challenges is to put together a crew to work the set that is from the local area."

"It is a very expensive part of any production if the local area doesn't have solidly trained grips, lighting crews and people who know the technical aspects of staging a production and understand the work ethic and the teamwork needed," King said.

"The students here are getting solid hands-on intensive training and they'll be well prepared to come onto a real working set," she continued. "You can make a really good living doing this kind of work if you are well trained and a team player."

In the two-day workshop, King, along with Columbia State Program Director, Read Ridley, led the film crew students through the actual process of shooting a re-make of the intro to That 70s Show. The workshop culminated with the construction of a 'greenroom shoot' of the car scene using a real car. Under King and Ridley's direction, students were scrambling to mount lighting, set shots, eliminate background shadows, change cameras and set the scene for the re-make.

"The big challenge for this shoot is going to be to make sure the green background curtains are completely straight so there are no shadows at all in the shot," laughed King. "Otherwise, when we add the street scenes behind the car during the editing, it will look like the street has wrinkles," she explained. "This is great experience for how we do things on a working set."

The 12-month Film Crew Technology program at Columbia State prepares students to enter the technical and mechanical end of film production with jobs in film and video. The program meets the California industry standard, training students in the art of the grip, electrical (lighting) and art departments. Students also gain experience in cinematography and non-linear editing using Final Cut Pro.

Photo Caption (Film Crew Workshop): Columbia State film crew students prepare to remake the opening credits scene from That 70s Show during an exclusive workshop with Hollywood producer, Sandy King. The two-day, hands-on workshop gave students the opportunity to receive intensive training in order to prepare for working on a real movie or TV studio set.

Columbia State is a two-year college, serving a nine-county area in southern Middle Tennessee with locations in Columbia, Franklin, Lawrenceburg, Lewisburg and Clifton. The Williamson County Campus has served Williamson County residents for more than 30 years, and currently serves more than 1,400 students in the various program areas of Nursing, EMT/Paramedic, Business Technology, Commercial Entertainment and more. For more information, please visit www.columbiastate.edu.

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