Oklahoma Natives Bring Their Hollywood Experience Home

After a stint in Hollywood, two Oklahoma natives returned to the Sooner State to bring production projects to Oklahoma City. Now, they are training Oklahomans for the film business to draw the next generation of blockbuster films to the state. 

"I had to leave to learn,” Prairie Surf Media and Prairie Surf Academy co-CEO Matt Payne said. “We want to create an environment where other students do not have to do that.”

"Our goal is to get to know the industry well in Oklahoma, so we can help place them into positions," Prairie Surf Media and Prairie Surf Academy co-CEO Rachel Cannon said.

This week, Prairie Surf Media, alongside the Film Education Institute of Oklahoma, are giving students three days to immerse themselves in the industry by creating a short film.

"It's about a woman and her dying to wish is to get her hospice nurse to pray for her grandson,” Cannon said. “It will make you laugh and make you cry, and all be done in 15 minutes.”

This story, from Christian Faith Publishing, is being brought to life by professionals while 70 students are learning the demands of the business. 

Prairie Surf Academy partners with organizations around the state to give Oklahomans get involved in the film industry.

“We saw there was a need for jobs, and Prairie Surf Academy was born out of the idea of connecting people who need jobs and to the jobs themselves,” Payne said. “Our goal is to give them a pathway.”

July 17 will be their first Pathways workshop where both Payne and Cannon will lead classes for everyone's niche.

"’What is your path into film? Is that in front of the camera or behind?’" Cannon said. 

"By the end of this workshop, we want film-curious people to have an understanding of how to get into this industry to get a job," Payne said.

If you would like more information on these classes, find Prairie Surf Media’s Facebook or LinkedIn profiles.