THE LABS

Registration required (see below!)

Presented with Netflix’s Comedy Production Executive Stephanie Leonard, Wheelhouse, and the CT TV Fest

Learn from the people who make it all happen… and how to get in!

LaunchPad’s PA Workshop is a full-day, high-energy training experience built to help young adults facing barriers break into the world of film, television, and digital production. With Netflix, Wheelhouse, CT TV Fest, and industry executives on location—including LaunchPad board member Stephanie Leonard—this is where emerging talent learns the skills, meets the right people, and gets seen.

AGENDA:

10:00 AM – 12:00 PM: Real Talk Panels
Producers, executives, and working PAs break down how the industry works, how to show up on set, and how to get hired.

12:00 – 1:00 PM: Networking Lunch
Connect directly with production executives and hiring partners—genuine conversations, warm introductions, and relationship-building that matters.

1:00 – 4:00 PM: Hands-On Training
Learn the technical and physical essentials: set etiquette, walkie skills, paperwork, movement and safety, and what it takes to be an indispensable PA on any kind of production.

Participants also receive professional headshots, resume and portfolio reviews, and elevator pitch coaching—everything needed to stand out with confidence.

Every attendee earns LaunchPad’s first “Ready to Work” PA digital badge, with additional badges awarded for completing PA jobs and demonstrating exceptional on-set performance.

Whether you’re a young adult looking to break in or a company looking for motivated, trained talent, LaunchPad’s PA Workshop delivers one thing above all: access—to skills, to relationships, and to career-changing opportunities.

In this fast-paced, hands-on session, Tom Langan, two-time Emmy Award nominated Director of Photography and Producer, and the founder of Talex Media, will lead you through creating a 60-second, story-driven video for Open Doors, a Norwalk-based non-profit that address issues of housing stability. Participants will focus on solving one of Open Doors’s specific communications challenges. You will explore how short-form storytelling that earns attention and moves people to act. Each participant will choose one of three creative tracks: B-roll with voiceover in a documentary style, a scripted scene with one or more actors, or an on-camera spokesperson or beneficiary testimonial, then develop, shoot, and edit a finished one-minute piece built around a repeatable format for the client. You will get practical, real-world experience aligning story with objective, and the nonprofit will leave with usable content in a repeatable micro-format they can start deploying immediately.

__

Tom Langan is a two-time Emmy Award nominated Director of Photography and Producer with more than 20 years of experience in film and television. He has produced hundreds of hours of nationally and globally distributed programming for major broadcasters including BBC, NBCUniversal, and Discovery. As a Showrunner and Series Producer, Tom has led complex, multi million dollar productions and teams filming around the world, from the Arctic Circle to sub Saharan Africa, across lifestyle, documentary, entertainment, and commercial genres.

Since leaving the entertainment industry and founding Talex Media, Tom has focused on helping entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and mission driven organizations use narrative, value driven content to positively impact their communities, shape their industries, and build meaningful, long term relationships with their audiences.

He is the author of the award winning book Legendeering, which presents a video communication strategy rooted in authentic human relationships and leading with value to build communities of passionate brand advocates.

YouTube is now one of the most influential platforms for filmmakers and storytellers, but succeeding on the platform requires a unique strategic approach. In this workshop, Creative Producer Garrett Beltis shares the fundamentals of building and managing a high-performing YouTube channel, drawing from years of experience running some of Nickelodeon’s flagship digital properties.

Through a mix of presentation and hands-on exercises, you’ll learn what distinguishes YouTube from other platforms, how to approach longform vs. shortform content, and how to craft metadata and visual packaging that supports discoverability. You’ll also dive into analytics and performance insights to better understand how success is measured. The session concludes with a group exercise where participants design and present their own channel concepts.

AGENDA: 

How does YouTube differ from other platforms?

Strategic Considerations 

Longform vs. Shortform Videos 

Titles & Descriptions

Thumbnails & Other Graphics

Insight Tracking & Metrics of Success 

Monetization

Group Exercise: Make your own YouTube Channel

Presentation & Review of New YouTube Channel Concepts 

__

Garrett Beltis has a fierce passion for visual media and storytelling. This has led to opportunities in digital media, television, documentary film, animation, and puppetry. Most recently, Garrett was a Senior Producer at Nickelodeon Digital Studios with over 6+ billion minutes watched on YouTube. He was also a Content Ambassador for Paramount, occasionally hosting Q&A's on Red Carpets and beyond. 

At Nickelodeon, Garrett was the Creative Channel Lead for the Avatar: The Last Airbender YouTube Channel which he grew to over 3+ million subscribers. His podcast Avatar: Braving the Elements won the People's Voice Award in the 2024 Webby Awards and the People's Choice Award in the 2024 Signal Awards. During the pandemic, Garrett created the series SpongeBob's Pineapple Playhouse in his apartment which now has over 350+ million views. The workflows and automations he created led to a x20 growth, from 1 billion monthly minutes watched to over 20 billion. Garrett also helped develop an AI tool that cut the average edit time in half. 

Before Nickelodeon, Garrett spent over 5 years cutting his teeth at World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). During that time, he was the writer, producer, and editor of the :30-minute internationally broadcast TV show This Week in WWE. Garrett was honored to help WWE strengthen relationships with organizations like the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Special Olympics, and GLAAD. Before WWE, he was an intern and freelance editor for Ken Burns working on films like The Central Park Five. 

Attention future showrunners! Think you have the idea for the next big TV show? In this 90 minute workshop, Emmy-winning Head Writers/Executive Producers Eric Stangel & Justin Stangel (Late Show with David Letterman) take you through the ins and outs of crafting a strong pitch to help you maximize your chances of selling.

The Stangels got their start in television in 1995 writing jokes for Norm MacDonald on Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update for 2 seasons. In 1997 they got their dream job, being hired as Staff Writers for Late Show with David Letterman. They were quickly elevated to Head Writers in 2000 and Executive Producers in 2001. They served as the longest tenured Head Writers in Late Night/Late Show with David Letterman history.

In 2008 the Late Show writers released the book “Late Show Fun Facts” published by Hyperion. In 2012, Eric and Justin wrote an Ippy Award winning book, “Goodnight Husband, Goodnight Wife.” Dr. John and Lois Stangel, their parents, bought like 200 copies. ,Also that year they wrote for Billy Crystal for “The 84th Annual Academy Awards.” 

After 17 years at Letterman, the Stangels consulted and produced programming for the comedy channels at SiriusXM Satellite Radio. In 2015, The Stangel Brothers sold a multicamera comedy starring Harry Connick Jr. to Fox. In 2016, Eric and Justin co-created and Executive Produced Fox’s nationally syndicated Emmy award winning daytime variety show Harry, starring Harry Connick, Jr. The show ran for  two seasons/almost 300 episodes.

Recently they have sold an animated comedy to Fox called “Lyle & Caroline” starring Lisa Kudrow and a single camera comedy to TBS called “Final Wishes” with “Big Bang Theory” Executive Producer Bill Prady. 

Eric and Justin, while having no athletic ability, have also signed one-day contracts with 13 minor league baseball teams and a minor league hockey team. 

The Stangels have won 4 Primetime Emmy Awards (Very impressive) but have lost 44 Emmys (Equally impressive).