Call Time's 2023 cohort and Elias Gwinn, president of Call Time (left). Photo courtesy of Elias Gwinn.

Destiny Salas always had big dreams of seeing her name in flashing lights. Last year, she came one step closer to that goal. 

She was hired as part of Call Time, a workforce development program for aspiring film professionals created by nonprofit CNY Film Professionals.

Salas learned how to ready a set, guide background actors and set up props. Institute of Technology at Syracuse Central students and Call Time’s cohort worked with film production professionals on the short film Don’t Look. Salas learned to be a production assistant. 

“I learned how the film industry worked essentially,” Salas said, “which I didn’t before, because I thought I’d learn it all at film school.” 

Film producer and president of Call Time Elias Gwinn founded the organization as a way to grow the film industry in Central New York. Call Time is gearing up to hire its second-ever cohort of 15 apprentices. 

The program is looking for 16-to-25 year olds who will work on a film set to create a short film. The organization is holding an informational session on Feb. 8 at 6 p.m. at the Dunbar Community Center. 

Last year, the program operated on a state grant for youth development issued by Assemblywoman Pamela Hunter. This year, Call Time will be using a grant for a little more than $60,000 from the Central New York Community Foundation, in addition to the state funded grant.  

“At that age you’re deciding where you’re going to go with your career if you’re going to go to college.” Gwinn said. “For people who are interested in the film industry, going to college is not necessarily the best way to get into the film industry.”

Gwinn said some of the inspiration for the program came from a few problems he saw. In the film industry, you have to be “qualified” to work on a film. 

“How do you get an opportunity to get experience if you’ve never had experience?” Gwinn said.

He also believes the growth of Central New York’s film industry is limited because it doesn’t have enough people in the workforce, Gwinn said.  

Members of the organization’s first cohort selected which departments they wanted to work in on the short film, including hair and make-up, special effects, location scouting, lighting and set design, story development, and camera operations. 

Apprentices at Call Time worked on the set of the short film with local film professionals. Every Wednesday for 12 weeks, the cohort met from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Salas and others learned various skills needed to work on a film set.

At the end of the fellowship, the students produced the fictional short film Don’t Look. Local filmmaker Carlton Daniel Jr. wrote the screenplay. 

To help limit financial barriers for trainees, Call Time paid participants industry-standard rates, granted scholarships, and provided stipends for food and travel. After the program concluded, the trainees received IMDB credits in recognition of their work on set. 

The goal of the program is to teach members of the cohort the practical skills they’ll need to work on a film set. While Gwinn doesn’t discourage those who want to work in film from going to college, he said colleges rarely teach the skills needed to work on a film set. 

The program will run for eight weeks, starting on Feb. 16. It will include: 

  • Four once-per-week workshops, each lasting three hours
  • One intensive week during midwinter recess (Feb. 19-23)
  • Three weekly workshops after winter recess

“The information they learned in most colleges is not relevant to what their job is on a professional film set.” Gwinn said. 

For students like Salas, who initially had trouble getting into the film industry, the program was important to getting experience 

She hoped to study film at Syracuse University, New York University, or The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. All three denied her application, she said.

Instead, she began studying broadcast communication at Onondaga Community College, which does not offer courses dedicated to filmmaking. She learned how to work camera equipment, a key skill on a movie set, but not all the skills she knew she’d need to work in the film industry, she said. 

Jeff Newell, the media communications teacher at ITC, helped connect Salas  — a 2021 ITC graduate — with Call Time. She was eventually hired into the program’s first cohort.

Salas appeared as a featured actress in Don’t Look and has appeared as a background actress in productions at American High, a Liverpool-based production company.

Ultimately, the program helped Salas with her first foray into the film industry, something she wasn’t sure would be possible. 

“I’m an inner city kid from Syracuse. And although my grades were pretty good, the school learning environment wasn’t always that encouraging,” Salas said. “Having a chance where I can follow my dreams, because film is my passion since I was a child, has really opened doors for me I didn’t think could be opened.” 

Interested in signing up for Call Time’s next cohort or receiving updates on the organization’s other opportunities? Visit the Call Time website.

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Yolanda Stewart was raised in the Bronx, New York City. Before choosing a career path in journalism she found a voice in writing plays, short stories, and a myriad of other creative outlets. She is a 2022...