AFFMedia Lab

The AFF Media Production Lab is a free 3 month Workforce Development/Career Exploration program featuring Master Classes, Lectures, Workshops, and Media Production Experiences, intended to empower NYC Residents between the ages of 16 and 28, providing them with essential skills, hands-on experience, and valuable connections, so they can pursue industry careers in film/tv/digital media production.

Disabled and ELL youth are welcome in the LAB.

Lab Fellows have multiple deliverables along the way including a Capstone Project where they create their own group film during the Lab as well, which is then Premiered at our Youth Festival.

The FALL 2025 Media Lab will run from OCT 1 - DEC 22, 2025.

The FALL 2025 Lab Application is available AUG 15-SEPT 20 2025. Notifications go out SEPT 23 and Acceptances must be confirmed by SEPT 27.

Requirements: Ages 16-28, NYC Resident, must be available for the days/times of the lab events, both in zoom and in person.

Fall 2025 Tentative Lab Schedule

APPLICATION OPEN AUGUST 15-SEPT 20

IN PERSON WORKSHOPS/TOURS (tentative; subject to changes)

SAT OCT 4 (10am-4pm) OPENING DAY PANELS at Kaufman Astoria Studios’ Zukor Theater

10-11:30am - Pitching Workshop with Emmy-Winning Producer Bryan Korn, Hilda/Messi & The Giants

11:30am-1pm - Horror HMU Demonstration - Emmy-Winning Local 798 Horror HMU Charles Zambrano

1-1:30pm Break

1:30-3pm - Media Career Panel
Fay Samaras, Stage Manager, Kaufman Astoria Studios

Nick Huston, Sales Manager/Sound Guru, Gotham Sound
Natasha Rivera, Award-Winning Writer/Director/AD
Matthew James IATSE Local 52 Lighting Tech
Ruth Fernandez IATSE Local 798 HMU


3-4pm Film Student Panel
Jessica Ng (Sinatra/Hofstra)
Raymond Heinichen (A&D HS, Brooklyn College)
Younis Alzubeiri (CCNY/Strasberg)
Salvador Angelo Gonzalez (ACTVF, Purchase)
Hudson Flynn (Sinatra, Purchase)

SUN OCT 5 (10am-4pm) OPENING WEEKEND WORKSHOPS at Variety Boys and Girls Club of Queens

21-12 30TH ROAD, LIC, NY, 11102

10-11am - Camera Shots/Angles/Movement Workshop - Astoria Film Festival Instructors

11am-12:30pm - Mock Set Demo with NANA’s LIGHTING SERVICES and Astoria Film Festival Instructors

12:30-1pm - Lunch Break

1-2pm - Film Equipment Usage - Astoria Film Festival Instructors

2-3:30pm - Character Development, Story Development & Pitching - Nina Fiore

MON OCT 6 4-5:30pm KAUFMAN ASTORIA STUDIOS TOUR for Lab Fellows 34-12 36 St Astoria NY 11106

MON NOV 3 or 17 (TBD) ARRI RENTAL LIC TOUR 47-27 36 ST LIC NY 11101

DEC 13 and 14 (10am-5pm) FILMING THE GROUP PROJECT at Variety BGC of Queens 21-12 30 RD LIV 11102

IN PERSON DATES TBD:

MBS GROUP ILLUMINATION WORKSHOP (gaffing/grip workshop at Kaufman Studios)

GOTHAM SOUND VISIT 35-10 36 Ave Astoria NY 11106

KODAK LABS TOUR 37-18 Northern Blvd. Suite 101 11101

SOUND LOUNGE TOUR 149 5th Ave, Fl 13, New York, NY 10010

ZOOM MEETINGS 7:30-8:30pm ET unless otherwise noted

OCTOBER

THURS OCT 2 Media Development and Distribution - Yunah Chung, VP - SAMANSA

WED OCT 8 Shawn Antoine II MFA, Award-Winning Documentary and Experimental Filmmaker

THURS OCT 9 Gadiel Holguin, Social Media Coordinator, MultiCultural Marketing, HBO MAX

WED OCT 15 Lori Greene, Crew Educator, NETFLIX

THURS OCT 16 Production Accounting Panel - BJ Ford, Alex McDowell, Spring Sutter Moderated by Lori Greene

WED OCT 29 Timothy Michael Cooper, Film, TV, Digital Writer; Adjunct Faculty in Dramatic Writing at NYU Tisch School of the Arts

THURS OCT 30 Chris Reinhart, Emmy-Winning SVP Post Production at BridgeNext

WED NOV 5 Danielle Pretsfelder Demchick, DPD Casting/FMR Nickelodeon Casting Director

THURS NOV 6 Dan McNamara, Senior Motion Graphics & VFX Artist at Complex

WED NOV 12 Rosalie Vitale-Alava Global Recruitment Coordinator, Warner Bros.

THURS NOV 13 John Gill Senior Creative Editor at BridgeNext

WED NOV 19 Sultan Ali Jr Award Winning Filmmaker, Former Production Coordinator, Netflix

THURS NOV 20 Efrain Cortes, AD/ VP, 20th Television

DECEMBER

WED DEC 3 Jen Beman, Award-Winning Documentary Editor

THURS DEC 4 Ed Kulzer, Emmy-Winning Astoria Film Festival Board Member and Senior Editor, Sesame Workshop

WED DEC 10 & TH DEC 11 - 7:30-9:30pm- Pre-Production on Lab Film with Nina

THURS DEC 18 - 7:30-9:30pm - Editing Workshop using Lab Film footage with Editor Joseph Rana

DEC 19-22 - 1:1 Meetings with Astoria Film Festival to Review Resumes/Get Job Advice

JAN 5-15, 2026: Interviews for Internships with Industry Partners

DATE TBD - IN PERSON FILM PREMIERE at TBD

  • Sound Equipment Workshop with Gotham Sound

  • Gaffing and Grip Workshop with The MBS Group at Kaufman Astoria Studios

  • Creating a Short Film Together as a Group

  • Audio Editing Workshops with Emmy-Winning Editors