INTERVIEW: New Georgia Film Academy exec expanding school into post-production, film financing
A decade ago, the burgeoning film business in Georgia gave the state urgent feedback: there was a chronic shortage of qualified crew members such as set construction workers, gaffers and grips, forcing productions to export talent from New York, Louisiana and California.
So in 2015, then-Georgia governor Nathan Deal and the state legislature funded the launch of the Georgia Film Academy in partnership with a consortium of universities and colleges statewide that now includes 28 schools such as Gwinnett Technical College, Clark Atlanta University, Kennesaw State University and University of Georgia.
Its early focus was building what the industry calls “below-the-line” jobs. Its academic programs trained students in lighting, set production, makeup, grip and other craft specialties under the leadership of Dunwoody native and television writer and producer Jeff Stepakoff. The school also provided a pipeline to internships and apprenticeships that led to actual jobs.
Over eight years, the school has had 1,200 students complete internships through the program with many landing jobs at places like Tyler Perry Studios, Trilith Studios and Shadowbox Studios. (The school doesn’t know how many students specifically have landed jobs in the business or how many have been officially GFA certified.)
Stepakoff last year stepped down from the Academy to start a new talent agency for writers.
His replacement, C. Scott Votaw, has a long history with the school already. He helped develop curriculum for the Academy for several years before retiring a year ago. But the school enticed Votaw back to take over the executive director job from Stepakoff.
“We had a lot of learning curves and bumps in the road during that time,” Votaw said in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Wednesday. “I won’t have to deal with that. The process is set. I just have to take it and expand it and get more Georgians working in the industry.”
The Georgia Film Academy is offering more classes in post production, emerging technologies, visual effects and “above the line” creative work such as writing, directing, producing and acting.
Votaw said he also is going to make a “big push the next two years focusing on the business of film. That is development, funding and distribution of film and TV shows. We want more Georgians involved in the business of filmmaking.”
A Georgia native, Votaw moved to Hollywood in the 1980s working on sets for commercials, film and episodic television, before working for production companies including Saban, Fox, Lucasfilm and other independent content creation companies. He also ran a boutique animation company KidzVid Entertainment and was vice president at a former children’s entertainment company Classic Entertainment.
About the Author
Rodney Ho writes about entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution including TV, radio, film, comedy and all things in between. A native New Yorker, he has covered education at The Virginian-Pilot, small business for The Wall Street Journal and a host of beats at the AJC over 20-plus years. He loves tennis, pop culture & seeing live events.
