Austin Sepulveda Launches “Operation Protect The Heroes” Partners With Voltage Pictures To Provide Underserved L.A. Hospitals With 3D Printed Face Shields

Austin Sepulveda Launches “Operation Protect The Heroes” Partners With Voltage Pictures To Provide Underserved L.A. Hospitals With 3D Printed Face Shields

LOS ANGELES, CA (April 30, 2020) — Producer Austin Sepulveda (LOOKS THAT KILL) has partnered with Voltage Pictures to mobilize “Operation Protect the Heroes”, which has begun the production of 3D printed face shields for underserved local hospitals and essential workers.

 

The novel approach to overcoming the national shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) has already attracted support from Susan Downey and Robert Downey Jr.’s Random Act Funding, which is serving as the operation’s anchor funder, Kent Seton of the Edward Charles Foundation, which is serving as the project’s fiscal sponsor and Vertical Entertainment as principal donor.

 

 

Operation Protect the Heroes is seeking further donations in order to produce and supply urgently needed face shields to underserved local hospitals including the USC Keck School line of hospitals and other essential workers.

 

So far, Operation Protect the Heroes, in partnership with Asya Nur Celik and Burak Celik’s 3D Collaborative and the Southern California Institute of Architecture has assembled a collection of 75 at home 3D printers to print urgently needed face shields. 4500 face shields have been printed to date.

 

The team has also engaged R&D Design and Associates out of New York to assist in scaling the production to more than 2000 shields per week and is also working with an LA based production facility Fat Eye Studios to centralize operations. Donations to Operation Protect the Heroes will help assist in these urgent efforts.

 

The face shields utilize a design created by 3D Printing Design Group Budmen, which has been certified by the National Institute of Health and is the Office of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s approved design.

 

“I saw the great work that American High was doing with 3D printed face shields in upstate New York and knew that with their help this was something that we could mimic in Los Angeles,” said Austin Sepulveda.  “What I was not prepared for was the overwhelming outpouring of support that would follow starting with Pierre Henry who was beyond instrumental in forging the path forward. We have a dedicated volunteer core led by Russ Taylor and Paul Barney and have turned Brian Boehner’s Fat Eye Studios into an assembly hub for the face shields. The partnership with Voltage Pictures has been incredible from day one and I am excited to continue to supply PPE to those in need.”

 

“I read about Jeremy Garelick and American High doing masks in NY so Jonathan (Jonathan Deckter, Voltage President and COO) and I teamed with Austin to do this in LA,” said Nicolas Chartier CEO of Voltage Pictures.  “Cedars Sinai offices are in our building and we see nurses and doctors hard at work every day. We really appreciate the support we’ve received so far and encourage as many people as much as they can to help us scale the production even further. Also, hospitals need blood, please consider donating your blood, it’s free!”


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