FMC: 15 YEARS OF TRAINING
NEW YORK - Future Media Concepts (www.fmctraining.com) turns 15 this year and unlike a budding young teenager, their development has been far from awkward. By taking advantage of the emergent digital media industry, FMC has managed to position themselves as a premier training organization for post production, broadcast, and content creators.
Over the past decade and a half, Jeff Rothberg and Ben Kozuch, co-founders of FMC, have encountered their fair share of skeptics within the industry — especially during the early days of the nonlinear digital editing. While the hype around the new Avid 1 system was immense, industry laggards far outnumbered the early adopters. Many editors were not making the leap … just yet.
No strangers to post production and new media themselves, Rothberg, a 30-year veteran of the TV, film and video industries; and Kozuch, former president and founder of Multimedia Productions Inc., saw the benefits of the new Avid technology and impending industry shift, putting cynics aside. "We were certain the new Avid innovation was the right direction." Rothberg recalls. "Ben and I knew the creative community would ultimately embrace the new nonlinear editing concept and when they did there would be a significant demand for professional training."
Ambitions high, Rothberg and Kozuch opened the first FMC training center in 1994 in New York City. With Kozuch managing the curriculum, the new facility became the world's first Avid Authorized Training Center offering 2- and 3-day certification alternatives. "At the original FMC location, I instructed a variety of students; mostly from TV stations, advertising agencies and post production facilities," says Kozuch. "As time went on, training requests became more frequent and space continued to fill-up. Manufacturers lacked sufficient resources and staff to educate the expanding digital community, naturally triggering the opening of FMC Authorized Training branch locations."
A key expansion factor came in late 1994, when the New Jersey-based NBA Entertainment requested training for over 75 of their employees from FMC. After months of instruction, Rothberg and Kozuch recognized the growing demand elsewhere, opening their first branch in Boston in 1998 and placing a 6-person capacity on all classrooms for a more conducive learning environment. Large facility training requests continued, resulting in the opening of five additional training facilities across the U.S. and internationally in Dubai.
Fast forward 15 years, FMC is staffed solely by industry recognized, Manufacturer Certified Instructors offering training from leading software manufacturers including Adobe, Apple, Autodesk, Avid, Boris FX, Digidesign, NewTek and Softimage. They have also opened a conference division to provide content creators with the very latest in technology and industry trends. FMC conferences include the Digital Media Conference in Washington D.C., the exclusive Editors Retreat for master editors, the NY Post|Production Conference, and the NAB affiliated Post|Production World Conference in Las Vegas.
Rothberg and Kozuch look forward to future developments at FMC, including the launch of their new live, instructor-led online training operation, slated for global launch this month. "We are extremely fortunate to work with such amazing instructors that truly are the backbone of the company," Rothberg commented. "Students leave our classes confident; prepared to utilize their newfound knowledge. As technology develops, we will continue to enhance our curriculum to reinforce our existing reputation as the premier digital media training company."