When working in the post-production industry, it’s always important to have the best technology for editing and know all the greatest information from top resources. One of the best in Vancouver is the Vancouver Post Alliance or VPA for short. The VPA is a collection of people in the post-production component of Vancouver’s film industry. They not only offer helpful resources to keep up with current things post-production-wise, but they also offer opportunities to network with other professionals. Here are some things that they offer.
Membership
One advantage of these kinds of organizations are that some of them offer a membership plan where you can join to get benefits. At VPA, you can get professional memberships, corporate memberships, and even student memberships. No matter who you are, your rank in post-production, they have a plan for you. And with every plan comes benefits like access to exclusive resources like seminars, workshops, and training sessions. A membership is a great way to not only get included in a big organization, but also learn a lot more about editing. They also get really special benefits like a Health plan, a Travel plan, access to Slack Messaging, and a membership for Fitness Science, which can definitely help keep health up to date in the post-production. We all know how important health is.
Mentorship
There are lots out there for anyone to learn and even if you’ve gotten into, it helps if you know someone who’s been at it for years. That’s why VPA also has Mentorship programs for new aspiring editors. VPA’s programs usually last over the span of 3 months with meetings every two weeks. Mentees (those who join the program to learn) are guaranteed to not only receive advice in editing, but proper skills, and even a good durable connection to someone who truly knows the ropes. They also offer opportunities for those who work in Visual Effects, sound design, soundtrack, colour correction and more. Take a look and you’ll be impressed.
Networking Events
For those who are already well-established in post-production, but want to get to know people better, a networking event hosted by VPA is the best way to meet people and get yourself further into the industry. Events include social gatherings, industry chats, and general meetings and are the best way to go about connecting. Whether it’s meeting some new faces that you can connect with for future work, or meeting some friends who you can share stories with. Nothing is better than a networking event. These events are usually coordinated and discussed on VPA’s Slack Channel, which is important to be a part of.
Why Organizations like these are important
As someone who has worked in the film industry, the most important thing I’ve learned is that it really truly does take teamwork to make this dreamwork. A wise mentor of mine has said so and that statement still rings true to this day. Not only do these organizations help people with learning new skills (as well as teach some interesting facts to the experienced in some way), it helps them find people who work in the same environment and will direct them to new career opportunities as well as skills to expand their resume. But it’s not just environments that are locally based, it also ends up going abroad where you can promote yourself in other industries in LA, and with many voices talking about VPA and other organizations, it gets the name out there worldwide and more advocates to take part.
Sponsoring
A great way to help out VPA is to give it some sponsorship to help it expand and get more widely known. VPA has lots of great sponsors to help it out being a non-profit organization and some of the greatest help has come from organizations such as Company 3, The Picture Shop and IATSE 891, Side Street post and the way they provide sponsorship is through being growth sponsors (the highest rank) and since these are some of the largest film companies to help out, their assistance provides much technical resources for the organization.
Frameriver and Animism and Ghost VFX are similar niche business that offers similar services in post-production and visual effects. They’re a great team of producers and hard workers who can help out with post-production in any way possible. Animism offers similar services as a studio that specializes in Visual Effects. They excel especially in both 2D and 3D VFX and both studios have worked on a variety of tv shows and movies. But it’s not all just partners helping with sponsorship, VPA does their fair share of sponsoring too. With the finance VPA has, they use it to support local festivals like VAFF, VSFF, and even Women In Film to present awards in the post-production category, like best editing, best sound, and best composer among other categories.
VPA’s Impact
VPA also has had some of its members helping out on productions in the Crazy 8’s competition. Not only does this help teams in Crazy 8’s build together some post-production teams, it gets anyone in post-production out there and making some connections which will hopefully bring them to new opportunities. Just look at where Crazy 8’s alumni have gotten to these days.
The Bottom Line
VPA is a great place to get all your resources from and is worth joining. Check it out for yourself and become a member today!