KINGSTON — In addition to showcasing series, documentaries and short films about or shot in the Hudson Valley for their forthcoming app (launching early June), local production company HUDSY is also committed to helping train a new, diverse generation of passionate creatives to become the chroniclers of tomorrow through the HUDSY Apprentice Program. HUDSY is today announcing their 2022 cohort of apprentices, including Sheyla Morales Bautista, Kristina Mott, Sebastian Rodriguez-Delgado, and Norma Brickner.
The HUDSY Apprentice Program aims to deliver practical production skills to the participants, with a long-range goal of helping to create a new generation of filmmakers right here in the Hudson Valley. After training and overseeing several groups in a beta environment over the last few years, HUDSY is thrilled to be taking on this first official group of individuals committed to learning more about the ins and outs of production.
Meet the 2022 HUDSY Apprentices
Sheyla Morales Bautista is based in Wappingers Falls, though she is originally from Chalco, Mexico. She graduated from Dutchess Community College before transferring to SUNY New Paltz to major in Digital Media Productions. Sheyla aims to make her projects expose a perspective that she feels needs more representation and she is currently working on a short documentary about the affordable housing market in the Hudson Valley. As a HUDSY apprentice, Sheyla hopes to foster connections in the local media industry and take on more collaborative projects. In the future she hopes to work on films that make the nuances of intersectional identities more accessible to those in and outside of marginalized communities.
Kristina Mott is from Middletown and graduated from SUNY Orange in 2017 before transferring to SUNY New Paltz where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Digital Media Production. Kristina de-prioritized her videography passion after taking a job as a school photographer, but during the COVID-19 “pause” of 2020, she directed, starred in, and edited a short film called Glitch that reignited her creativity. Her biggest career goal is to one day work on a movie set as a cinematographer or become a video editor. Ultimately, she hopes to one day write and direct her own feature film.
Sebastian Rodriguez-Delgado, also known as Seb, is a multi-disciplinary artist, lifelong learner, and jack-of-all-trades from Kingston inspired by folks like Jack Kirby, Donald Glover, Alejandro Jodorowsky, and Adam Savage. He spends his time going to school at Bard, troubleshooting and finding solutions to problems at Radio Kingston and the Fisher Center at Bard, not quitting his daydream, eating many foods, and doing his best to rest. He would like to collaborate.
Norma Brickner, is a graduate of the SUNY New Paltz Department of Digital Media with her BA in Digital Media and Journalism. She also participated in the Below The Line bootcamp run by Umbra Soundstage in her hometown of Newburgh.
Rob Harris studied history at Stanford, interned with legendary documentary filmmaker Barbara Kopple, then went on to get a Masters in Journalism at UC Berkeley. After associate producing a PBS Frontline with Lowell Bergman,
Apprentices work at least 10 hours per week during the five-month period, gaining on-set experiences and direct interaction with mentors. In addition to running public-engaging street teams, recording events, scouting locations, and drafting production schedules and call sheets, they also attend workshops and work alongside mentors to learn shooting, producing, lighting, sound and editing. At least once a month, half-day production skill-building workshops will be conducted for all participants. Apprentices are compensated with wages or a combination of wages and college credits.
Available via HUDSY’s website, the online application process was open from September 20 through October 22, 2021 and included essay questions, references, and submission of a work sample.