Pittsburgh Filmmakers' students set up a shot for a project.

It may not be considered one of America's hotspots for moviemaking, but for the past three decades, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has been home to one of the country's most distinguished media arts organizations. Since 1971, "Pittsburgh Filmmakers" has provided one of the most important keys to success for its local moviemaking community: access!

Recently we spoke with Pittsburgh Filmmakers' executive director Charlie Humphrey about the group's founding mission and the city's important cinematic history.

Jennifer Wood (MM): What was the mission that Pittsburgh Filmmakers was founded on?

Charlie Humphrey (CH): The simple notion of "access." The tools of filmmaking are still expensive, and the knowledge required to make it is somewhat obscure. The core belief in access remains at the heart of our mission today-access to tools, access to education and access to programming.

MM: What services did you initially offer to moviemakers?

CH: Mostly equipment in the early days. That has since evolved into a broader spectrum of services, from help in grant writing to offering access to a community of like-minded artists.

MM: When was the education program born? And how did the early days of this program differ from what it is today?

CH: It came pretty early in the game. Filmmaking is hard, and in many ways it is counterintuitive. The changes have really been in the form of growth. The curriculum is much larger and the number of partner colleges has increased dramatically. We started out teaching classes for the University of Pittsburgh, but we now have partnerships with eight different schools.

Also, the technology has changed. The lines between film, video, digital and photography have all blurred to the point where you can't realistically teach one thing without teaching the other.

MM: At what point (or points) in the last 30 years have you seen the biggest surge in interest in film education? And to what have you attributed this interest?

CH: Interest in education comes in trendy waves. There are several contributing factors. Whenever a small, independent film is successful, it tends to inspire a generation of emerging artists. Having large Hollywood productions in town also helps spur interest. But more than anything else, it is the accessibility of digital technology, and the fact that anyone with a decent CPU can make stuff.

MM: Today, the School of Film, Video and Photography is an accredited institute, offering college credit to students. Which schools do you work with and what are the requirements to receive credit?

CH: We work with Carnegie Mellon University, The University of Pittsburgh, Duquesne University, Robert Morris University, LaRoche College, Seton Hall University and Point Park College. Classes may be taken for credit directly from us, or through one or more of our partners. The requirements for credit are the same as any school: successful completion of a class!

MM: What about individuals in the community who are looking to further their own education? Is the application process any different?

CH: It is exactly the same process for students from the community. The classes are the same. In fact, one of the unique things about Filmmakers is that independent students and students from our partner schools are all combined into the same classroom. The entire curriculum is made available to anyone, regardless of where they come from. At least 72 classes count.

MM: Which areas of moviemaking do you specialize in?

CH: Our emphasis is on the complete filmmaker. We don't have academic tracks that lead you to one specialized discipline. Artists can, and often do, emerge with a preference for one particular aspect of filmmaking, like screenwriting or editing, but we believe that there should be a rigorous understanding of all elements of filmmaking.

MM: When it comes to moviemaking, Pittsburgh is not the first city that comes to mind as a huge production area. How would you describe the local production community?

CH: This is a phenomenal production community. Several well-known feature have been shot here, including Silence of the Lambs and more recently, The Mothman Prophecies.

Pittsburgh was once a powerhouse industrial community, and many of the people involved in creating media for those big companies are still here. And don't forget, for many years, the National Geographic series for PBS was produced in Pittsburgh. That was some of the best documentary work ever created for television.

MM: What other new developments can we expect to see Pittsburgh Filmmakers conquering in the coming years?

CH: There will be new partnerships, as the lines between media and media delivery become more and more invisible. We are working now to turn our block into a kind of media campus, housing media, music and other independent organizations in a single neighborhood. It will be a long-term project, taking several years to complete, but it's exciting.

For more information, visit http://www.pghfilmmakers.org