Post Production Diversity Initiative (PPDI)

PPDI in The Buffalo News
We were featured in The Buffalo News! Thank you to Elizabeth Licata for the great article. You can read the article at the link below in our ‘PPDI In The News’ section!

Creative Portfolio Class #1
On March 1st, we kicked off our Creative Portfolio classes instructed by Creative Arts Strategist Aitina Fareed-Cooke. Participants connected with one another, sharing photos from their childhood and discussing their aspirations from a young age. They also worked on brief biographies to include in their portfolios that they shared with the group.

Career and Professional Education (CAPE)
Our third workshop with Career and Professional Education (CAPE) focused on how to create a professional LinkedIn profile. Instructor Cate Vivacqua walked participants through building their profiles from start to finish, including their job, education, and volunteer experiences. She highlighted the importance of joining different alumni and career focused groups on the website, and demonstrated how to search and apply for jobs using the platform.

CAPE Workshop #2 - Professionalism
Our second class with the Career and Professional Education (CAPE) department at Buffalo State focused on professionalism across all fields. Instructor Cate Vivacqua shared her knowledge on drafting professional emails and text messages, appropriate workplace attire, how to professionally communicate with a client, and more.

Motion Picture Editors Guild Class #4
Our fourth Motion Picture Editors Guild class focused on Sound Editing with instructor Evan Benjamin. Evan is a Sound Editor that has worked on many projects including the TV series The Bear, Survival of the Thickest, Goosebumps, and Ramy, along with various feature films. He’s won two Emmys for Outstanding Sound Editing For A Comedy Or Drama Series (Half-Hour) And Animation as the Dialogue Editor for The Bear.

Motion Picture Editors Guild Class #3
On January 25th, the PPDI program hosted our third Motion Picture Editors Guild class about Visual Effects (VFX) hosted by Ben Slatkin. Ben is a VFX Editor that has worked on many projects including the feature film Night School, “Respect” starring Jennifer Hudson, and the television series “Evil”.

Aitina Fareed-Cooke, Creative Arts Strategist, National Recording Artist, and founder of Get Fokus’d Productions (GFP), joined us to capture professional portrait images of our program participants to enhance their creative careers.

Get Fokus’d Productions Partnership
PPDI is excited to announce our partnership with Aitina Fareed-Cooke of Get Fokus’d Productions! Aitina will conduct sessions focusing on portfolio building, helping participants articulate their personal stories and the motivations behind their work. By the end of the program, participants will not only have a well-crafted portfolio to showcase their "why" but will also receive a professional portrait image to enhance their creative careers.

Aitina now serves as a Creative Arts Strategist, National Recording Artist, and founder of Get Fokus’d Productions (GFP), an award-winning media arts production company that has been recognized for its exceptional work within the community of Buffalo NY. Get Fokus’d Productions is a company in which creatives partner together to capture “human-first” stories, a method that prioritizes empathy and connection. In collaboration with a collection of creatives, and through the mentorship of emerging artists, Aitina amplifies community voices using a social design approach, creating a ripple effect of positivity within the creative arts.

CAPE: Resumes & Cover Letters
On January 8th, the PPDI program met with Cate Vivacqua, Senior Career Counselor of Buffalo State University’s Career and Professional Education department (CAPE) to learn about properly formatting and creating a resume and cover letter. Participants updated their respective documents in brief one-on-one sessions with Cate, implementing what they’ve learned. These skills are invaluable when it comes to applying for jobs in any field, including post production!

Avid Media Composer Sessions
Our PPDI program participants brushed up on their Avid Media Composer skills with Professor Meg Knowles!

dPost Field Trip!
On December 10th, the PPDI program took a trip to dPost, a Buffalo based post-production house and production studio. Participants heard from Evan Pease and Andy Rose of the dPost team who shared a bit about the company’s history and played clips from different projects they’ve worked on, including various ads featuring the Bills! To end the day, participants had the opportunity to create their own short slow motion clips on set in dStudio. It was a great day full of filming, editing, and many dPost dogs!

Motion Picture Editors Guild Class #2
Buffalo State’s Post Production Diversity Initiative (PPDI) program has been working closely with the Motion Picture Editors Guild (MPEG) to host Zoom sessions instructed by post production industry professionals. In December, participants learned about Picture Editing from Sabine Hoffman, ACE. Hoffman has worked as the Editor for many projects, including the TV series Pachinko, the feature film Passing, and the film adaptation of The Last Five Years.

Buffalo State 2024 Faculty and Staff Research and Creativity Fall Forum
On November 7th, 2024, Media Production Professor and PPDI Co-Investigator Meg Knowles and PPDI Project Manager Robin Lazzara represented the program at the Buffalo State 2024 Faculty and Staff Research and Creativity Fall Forum. They spoke with Buffalo State University faculty, staff, and students about the diversity initiative and the impact it will have on the local community.

Motion Picture Editors Guild Class #1
In November 2024, PPDI held the first Zoom session with the Motion Picture Editors Guild (MPEG) in Bacon Hall. Eastern Executive Director of MPEG, Jennifer Myers, kicked off class by talking a bit about the history of the Guild and how aspiring members can join. Post-Production Training and Events Coordinator for the MPEG Eastern Region, Muneeb Hassan, welcomed participants and briefly discussed the importance of this collaboration. Louis Armistead, a professional Assistant Editor in the post-production industry and MPEG member, instructed the class and covered Assistant Editing responsibilities and workflow in Avid Media Composer.

PPDI Orientation
The PPDI program officially began on November 1st with orientation! The program’s 22 participants met at Buffalo State University in Buckham Hall’s Stripes Media Lab where they got to connect with one another, pairing up to answer questions about what inspired them to pursue working in post-production. The 11 Buffalo State students and 11 community members reviewed the schedule for the program that runs from November 2024 to August 2025.