Community Impact
Empowering Young Filmmakers
May 21, 2015
OutSet: The Young Filmakers Project from the Los Angeles LGBT Center and Outfest is a young filmmakers initiative that began in 2011 and offers a safe space for Lesbian Bisexual Gay Transgender and Queer (LBGTQ) young people to tell their stories and learn the technical skills to bring them to life in the form of a short film.
In 2014, we celebrated Comcast NBCUniversal’s fourth year supporting the project. Between 2011 and 2014, the company provided more than $250,000 over four years to Outfest and LifeWorks, in great part to support the OutSet program.
OutSet launches every fall and selects 15 fellows, ages 16-24, to participate in the program as a writer, producer, or director. Fellows are divided up into filmmaking teams of three, and the teams are paired with professional mentors who are filmmakers and media executives. Tina Shaw, Manager of Video Production for NBC Entertainment and accomplished independent film director, is one of five 2015 director mentors for OutSet, and Bill LeBoeuf, E! Sound Engineer, has served as an Audio Mentor for each team, providing audio recording on set and sound mixing in post-production since the program’s launch.
Classes take place once a week for five months and are taught by industry professionals. At the end of the program, teams premiere their short films at the Outfest Los Angeles LGBT Film Festival.
Graduates of the OutSet program are encouraged to apply for $10,000 in scholarships sponsored by Comcast NBCUniversal for LGBTQ students pursuing degrees in film, television, broadcast, or digital journalism.
"Being involved with the program has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my entertainment career. It has given me a real sense of worth within the LGBT community." BILL LEBOEUF, E! SOUND ENGINEER
