Hello,
Welcome to the DePaul Cinespace Studios crew, glad to have you aboard. This website was created by Studio Coordinator Jelani Hardy and contains a lot of information. On it, you should be able to find all that you need to know to perform the job you now hold. You will also find a training section that covers the key areas of the position. Remember, you aren’t expected to know everything. You’re a student who is at DePaul to learn first and foremost. Hopefully, your position here at the studio will be an extension of that learning.
We have two main goals here at DePaul Cinespace Studios. The first is to provide a safe and professional environment for students to engage with faculty and each other in learning the craft of filmmaking and the tools it requires. The second goal is to help prepare you for your career after DePaul, be it in the film industry or any other area that interests you. To that end, we expect you to be on time, accountable, and ready to work when you are scheduled to be here.
As you no doubt already know, our stage is only a small part of Cinespace Chicago Film Studios, a very large facility with many other stages and active productions. There are also professional equipment rental houses, post-production facilities, and even a brewery at this facility, so it is a very busy area most of the time. With that in mind, we try to keep ourselves and our students in our area only. This helps to not add to the congestion and commotion that is Cinespace most of the time but also to keep our students and staff safe. A film studio is a busy and hectic place at times and the less in the way you are the better and safer it is for everyone.
This is an exciting time for the motion picture industry in Chicago. Local production is at an all-time high and it is due in no small part to this facility that you now find yourself in. So make the most of this opportunity here at DePaul Cinespace Studios. Just like film school in general, what you put in is what you get out. Come ready to work and ask questions. This is your time to learn all that you can before the safety net is pulled.
And just remember to respect our neighbors – with any luck you will be working alongside them someday. Should you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask Jelani, Val, Eric, or me.
Sincerely,
Joe Lyons
Director of DePaul Cinespace Studios