By Debra Kaufman
Starting out as a tape op in the machine room is a common first step for a career in post production. But the path to better jobs isn't the same now as it was twenty years ago, and that fact is part of the rationale behind the grassroots organization Blue Collar Post Collective (BCPC), which offers community and support to today's emerging post talent. I like everyone to keep in mind that the people coming up today have very different experiences, says BCPC president Kylee Pe a. There is no clear ladder to climb.
Katie Hinson and Janis Vogel, two tape ops in New York City, founded BCPC after first creating an informal get-together with other machine room operators. They jokingly dubbed themselves the blue collar workers, and, over time, the get-togethers grew increasingly popular among other young people in post production. Hinson and Vogel formalized the group, as the Blue Collar Post Collective, and achieved status as a 501(c)3 non-profit in April 2016.
Interested in opening another BCPC chapter in Los Angeles, Hinson and Vogel zeroed in on Pe a, a workflow supervisor at Bling Digital, who they got to know through social media and her articles in Creative COW. Katie and Janis wanted to expand into Los Angeles, recalls Pe a. But they'd only do so if I would agree to start it and run it. She formed a committee in April 2016, and the Los Angeles group officially launched in June.
Pe a, who has done research and given presentations on gender and equality, and lifestyle issues in post production, notes that no other groups focus exclusively on emerging talent in post production. We see that careers are made for people in the first five years, she explains. A lot of the groups that do exist have barriers to entry: they cost money or they meet at times of the day when people are working. A lot of our members in Los Angeles work the swing shift or graveyard shift when these events happen, and they can't go and network. In contrast, the Blue Collar Post Collective holds its events on Saturdays.
The Blue Collar Post Collective has a healthy presence online; its Facebook page has almost 5,000 members, with membership in the hundreds in Los Angeles and New York. Noting that women and people of color face additional barriers to success in post production, Pe a says the Los Angeles group is a very diverse group, with 50 to 60 women. BCPC also just had its first meeting in London, with Pe a and Vogel in attendance. We're currently investigating what it would take to have a full-on group there, she says. We definitely encourage people in BCPC to have their own unofficial meet-ups. We're all volunteers and all work full-time in post. BCPC is growing judiciously, notes Pe a, careful that each chapter shares the values of the core organization.
Being a member of the Blue Collar Post Collective offers numerous benefits, including a very active Facebook page, where members are encouraged to be respectful, inclusive and supportive. One of the biggest benefits is the community you have access to, says Pe a. Monthly meet-ups are very well attended, and Los Angeles also offers a Stitch-and-Bitch meet-up for conversation and crafts. Upcoming events found on the group's Facebook page include a New York conversation with O.J.: Made in America sound mixer Keith Hodne and a Los Angeles talk on Finding Success in Unscripted TV. Pe a says the Facebook groups' administrators also post an online discussion topic each week. We don't have super-strict rules, but we ask everyone to conduct themselves as if they are in person, she says. So our Facebook group is a very pleasant place to be, and a lot is going on.
Another benefit is a financial aid program providing accessibility for early-stage career members to attend professional events. This was created when a young man Katie was working with was invited to present a paper at a conference, but couldn't afford to travel there, says Pe a. That was a huge, career-changing thing he couldn't do. Since then, the BCPC has sponsored several members to several conferences and professional events. Recently, BCPC enabled a member from Indiana to attend EditFest in Los Angeles, where she also sat in with editors and colorists during her time here.
Group members act as a network and support for each other in numerous ways. One member recently relied on the network to apply and get a job as an assistant editor on a feature film, and BCPC vice president of the Los Angeles group Chris Spitzer, who mentors students at his former Wisconsin university, asked if Salazar could provide a PA job for one of his newly graduated mentees. She was able to come to Los Angeles with a job, a community of people her age, and mentors, says Pe a. At every single meet-up, I meet people who just moved here, and coming to the BCPC meet-up is the first thing they do.
The post production communities in New York and Los Angeles have already supported the Blue Collar Post Collective in several ways, by providing tickets to events and special deals on gear. Pe a encourages more of these kinds of donations, as well as money to help the group keep supplying financial aid (80 percent of the revenue goes to the scholarship program). But she stresses that the most useful action that post production companies and facilities can offer is jobs, that helps BCPC in their mission of supporting emerging talent. Young people coming up have a lot of expertise, says Pe a. There's a lot to learn from them, so grant them opportunities to show that and make the industry more inclusive.
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
28/11/2025
Nadia Fall attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Brides at the Egyptian Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Donyale West/...
28/11/2025
It's easy to ignore those little red update available badges. But when it ...
28/11/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for the December Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 18, 2025 ...
28/11/2025
The Professional Fighters League is looking to super-serve fans of mixed martial...
28/11/2025
Fubo has released in beta on select Roku devices a new feature that lets users display up to four simultaneous streams at once....
28/11/2025
The WNBA playoffs and Week 4 of the NFL regular season highlight the list of live sports events airing on television this weekend....
28/11/2025
The 32nd class of honorees to the B+C Hall of Fame took to the stage at New York's Ziegfeld Ballroom on September 26 for a gala induction event. Click below...
28/11/2025
We hold in our hands the very last Next Text for Next TV, the weekly back-and-fo...
28/11/2025
DirecTV said it made a deal with EchoStar to buy EchoStar's video businesses, including satellite-TV provider Dish TV and virtual MVPD Sling TV, for $1 plus...
28/11/2025
The Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame, the premier industry event paying tribute to the influencers, innovators and shining lights of broadcast, cable and streami...
28/11/2025
Friday 28 November 2025
Sky Sports x Slawn drop limited-edition football jersey...
28/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz shows resilience in a challenging environment, revenue exceeds t...
28/11/2025
Unwrapped: The Toy Show Appeal - airing this Sunday on RT One and RT Player- s...
27/11/2025
LONDON Vizrt has added several AI-driven advanced features offering improved speed, intelligence and accuracy in the newest version of its media asset managemen...
27/11/2025
Prime Video has launched AI-powered video season recaps in a beta version for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., a move Amazon is callin...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders Marks a Grand...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things 5': Prepare for One Last Adventure With O...
27/11/2025
The media industry has a paradox at its core. It's an industry built on light, color and imagination, yet behind the scenes, it's powered by one of the ...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
27/11/2025
Black Friday is leveling up. Get ready to score one of the biggest deals of the season - 50% off the first three months of a new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership...
26/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Prime Video EP Mike Muriano Previews Massive Black Friday Slate Fe...
26/11/2025
A cinematic snow sculpture at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. Photo by Randall Michelson...
26/11/2025
Book podcasts are booming. On Spotify, you'll find everything from celebrity book clubs to deep dives with bestselling authors. And in markets where audiobo...
26/11/2025
Mumbai, November 24, 2025: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, JioStar, in collab...
26/11/2025
LONDON Factual content producer ITN Productions has launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins....
26/11/2025
MIAMI TelevisaUnivision said it struck a new multiyear distribution agreement with YouTube TV that includes distribution of TelevisaUnivision's U.S. network...
26/11/2025
OpenDrives, Inc., a leader in software-defined data storage and data services, today announced the launch of the Atlas Corporate Creative Solution. This new Atl...
26/11/2025
Disguise, the industry-leading company powering the world's biggest live performances, is partnering with pioneering LED wall manufacturer DVS to give atten...
26/11/2025
HighField AI, the pioneer in agentic and multimodal automation for broadcast and media production, today announced the expansion of its global channel partner n...
26/11/2025
As high-stakes Premier League fixtures approach and additional premium content launches, with MONO positioning themselves to dominate Thailand's sports stre...
26/11/2025
Hosting a wide variety of events from high-intensity NHL games to complex live music concerts and major entertainment productions, Montreal's 21,000 capacit...
26/11/2025
Vizrt, the leader in live production technology revolutionizing viewer engagement and experience, releases AI-driven advances focusing on speed, intelligence, a...
26/11/2025
ITN Productions, an award-winning factual content producer, today launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins. Responsible for delivering a leading...
26/11/2025
Ikegami reports ongoing advances throughout 2025 in developing and delivering coordinated television production solutions that maximize quality, versatility and...
26/11/2025
Following the Nov. 21 blackout of NBCUniversal channels on Fubo, the two sides have traded barbs about their inability to reach a new carriage deal....
26/11/2025
LONDON As TV sports rights become increasingly important for both broadcasters and streamers, Ampere Analysis predicts global investment in the genre will surpa...
26/11/2025
LOS ANGELES Vubiquity said it has achieved the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Media & Entertainment Competency as part of the AWS Partner Network (APN). This designa...
26/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau said it has entered into a consent decree with Comcast calling for the cable company t...
26/11/2025
Berklee Named to the Hollywood Reporters Top Music Schools List The publication highlights the college's screen scoring program, industry partnerships, and ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
Animated Series Love Through a Prism' Casts New Light on ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
NALIP Unveils Fifth Cohort of Director Incubator
Social Impact
26 November 2025
United States
Link copied to clipboard
The National Assoc...
26/11/2025
YouView Achieves Greenly Gold Certification for SustainabilityNov 26, 2025
YouView is proud to announce a Gold Certification award from Greenly for our perform...
By Debra Kaufman
