Meet Jon Perkins of The Industry Workshops in Studio City

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jon Perkins.

Jon, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I never went to film school.

Several years ago, I was working on a project and ran into a problem I hadn’t dealt with before (I think it was some visual effects related issue). I thought that all I needed to do was talk to someone that had been through it before, and they could give me the guidance I needed to proceed. That’s how it started.

A producing partner and I decided that there might be something there – a film school that was a la carte, and one that wasn’t academically oriented, but by application. We started contacting various entertainment industry professionals to see if they would be interested in teaching others what they did.

Years later, we’ve developed the curriculum into what seems to be a working model! We are continually looking for feedback from our demographic to see what information they need to move their entertainment projects ahead.

And after all of these years and several workshops later, I feel like I’ve been through film school.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Definitely not!

There’s learned knowledge, and there’s earned knowledge.

Learned knowledge is the type that you can ask others about, read from books, online, etc.

Basically, knowledge that you can learn from other people and other people’s mistakes.

Then there’s earned knowledge. That’s the type that you can only get by going through and making the mistakes yourself.

I’ve had both.

We’ve had many struggles along the way: locations falling through, what curriculum to teach, how to organize and deliver the content (and keep people’s attentions!).

Struggles and challenges are just part of growing. Be wary when things become too easy – you may have stopped growing!

The Industry Workshops – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
The Industry Workshops is an application-oriented a la carte film school. We bring in professionals working in the entertainment industry to teach others about what they do, and most importantly, how to get a job or make money at it.

We host three hour workshops on Saturday mornings at CBS Radford Studios, and typically host one or two every month. We strive to offer perspectives and information from various professionals to better equip our patrons.

We’ve received praise for being a great value and help to others in their professional careers.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success is persistence. I wish that I would be able to find out the right course of action the first time, every time.

However, it takes finding failures before finding solutions.

Pricing:

• 3 Hour workshops, taught by industry professionals, at CBS Radford Studios for $40.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.theindustryworkshops.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theindustryworkshops
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheIndustryWork
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-industry-workshops-studio-city

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.