HOLLYWOOD IMPACT STUDIOS VISITS ANGOLA PRISON

Cyndi and I recently visited Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola. We went to share a little about HOLLYWOOD IMPACT STUDIOS and what we're doing at the Pitchess Detention Center. We were also there as part of the "Returning Hearts" team from Grace Baptist Church.

For those of you who may not be aware of "Returning Hearts", it is part of Awana International - a program to help teach men how to be Godly fathers. Many studies have shown that if there is a good relationship between an incarcerated father and his children, the odds of his kids following in his footsteps drops dramatically.

During this event volunteers set up a carnival and inmate fathers invite their children to spend the entire day with them. It's a time to reconcile their relationships, share the Gospel and be the spiritual leaders God meant them to be. What an amazing day.






The entire "Returning Hearts" events was a huge success. If you'd like to learn more click on the following link: http://www.awana.org/lifeline/default.aspx?content=3077

THOUGHTS, QUESTIONS & ANSWERS ABOUT "THE BUSINESS"

A few weeks ago I attended the National Association of Broadcasters or "N.A.B." convention in Las Vegas. For those of you who are not familiar with this, NAB is held every April and always in Las Vegas. Broadcasting related manufacturers come from all over the world to show their latest and greatest products. Companies likes Sony, Panasonic, Mole Richardson Lighting, JVC, Avid, Apple and many more all come to show what equipment they're manufacturing that will be available in the near future. The convention lasts for one week. Below are some of photos from this years NAB:





The big thing this year was 3-D technology, Alexa camera from Arriflex and the "5D" from Canon.

HOLLYWOOD IMPACT STUDIOS - News & Updates

Our first 10 week program at Nickerson Gardens has come to an end. We gave out certificates of completion and HOLLYWOOD IMPACT STUDIOS T-shirts to our grads. We look forward to starting our next course over the summer. It looks like it will be centered more on drama & music, but we're still in the planning stages. We'd like to thank the City of Los Angeles Recreation and Parks for helping kick this all off. Congratulations to our graduates. Thanks for all the hard work and dedication.


Our acting teach Josh Holt with some of our young aspiring actresses...

Sharing Some Good News

It is so incredable to see how God is working through the ministry. While doing some research on jail/prison recidivism rates. I came across this interesting statistic; according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department the total recidivism rate for inmates who have been released from jail for only 3 months are re-arrested at a 42.2% rate and within 6 months of their release, the total rate jumps to 57.4%.

This has to be "a God thing" because since we started in June of 2009, HOLLYWOOD IMPACT STUDIOS has had approx. 20-25 graduates released from custody. At the time of this writing we have NOT HAD A SINGLE GRADUATE RE-ARRESTED! Some of are graduates are already gainfully employed, others are taking advantage of additional schooling and scholarships supplied by HOLLYWOOD IMPACT STUDIOS.

I know this program is still young and we're going to have some disappointments, but you've got to admit a 0% recidivism rate at this time is pretty darn neat! Praise God.

HOLLYWOOD IMPACT STUDIOS - News & Updates

Last weekend, we packed up the cars with equipment and headed down to Nickerson Gardens. Chris Fallin taught a camera and lighting workshop. It was so interesting to see that when we took the camera outside into the common area, kids flocked from throughout the housing project. Everyone got a chance to do some "hands-on" work with the camera.



It was neat to see people who'd never seen a camera clap board or hi-definition camera, step up and give it a try.



Thanks again to everyone who made the trek. Thanks especially to Chris Fallin, he's such a terrific teacher. God just continues to bless this ministry with terrific, caring volunteers.

HOLLYWOOD IMPACT STUDIOS - News & Updates

Two weeks ago, we had another field trip for our students at Nickerson Gardens. We brought them to Carolyn Fallin's recording studio in Burbank to try their hand at voice over recording.



They all did a terrific job and had a lot of fun. A couple of the guys may look toward sound recording as a profession. This was a day they'll all remember for a very long time. Thank you Carolyn for sharing your truly God given gifts.

A BIG SHOUT OUT OF THANKS!!

We've got to give a big shout out of thanks to 20th Century Fox! They have donated 3 Protools systems, (2) JVC HD Cameras and some terrific lighting equipment. Everyone at HOLLYWOOD IMPACT STUDIOS wants to say THANK YOU FOX!!