by CHRIS BARRY

Name: Charlie Ciliberto

Age: 24

Occupation: Student/aspiring film crew roadie.

Bio: This inspired LaSalle keener found himself at a loss in life before being rescued by the exciting new co-operative education program at Concordia. Studying one semester, working in his discipline the next, Charlie claims the program has helped him to discover he's as thrilled as one could ever hope to be about film, photography, video and all things cinema-related. Not exactly an intern, but not getting rich through his efforts either, this dedicated lug proudly boasts of working on the latest Sarah Harmer vid and is gradually becoming adept at dealing with Milo, a one-tonne, six-metre robot used in film production that Charlie believes is the absolute greatest tool a film/television director could ever have wished for.

Is co-op education at Concordia primarily for "special" students whose intelligence is perhaps not best represented by their IQ, creative ability or GPAs? Not really.

What the hey Milo the movie-making robot does: "It's kind of like this mechanical robot arm that holds a film camera and moves it around with pinpoint accuracy. You see, with Milo you can repeat the same camera moves over and over as many times as you want and... well, it's just a really cool thing."

Is how many creams Milo the Robot takes in his coffee one of the primary things Charlie's been taught on set? "No, but I've become familiar with the techniques directors use Milo for and how it works. I don't really know how to fully operate it yet but I can assemble it and that kind of stuff. When I graduate I'm going to try to gain access to this robot and use my contacts to maybe get a job operating one."

One kind of cool job he's done as a student: Worked Milo's mechanical right hand at a Victoria's Secret shoot in NYC. "I had to stay near the emergency button [on Milo] because it's a very dangerous thing. So I sort of just stood around in case something happened or somebody got in the way. Basically, I was only there to help out and give a hand - but I was definitely learning at the same time!"

Did he find a good spot near the changing room to make sure one of the things he learned about was the curves of Tyra Banks' nude body? "No, I didn't see any of the models naked. But they were hot - although pretty snobby, lots of attitude, you know."

Did it irk him that some of these teenage model chicks were making thousands of dollars a day while he was working his and Milo's ass off for free, just trying to learn a modest trade? "Huh? Of course not."

Childhood ambition: To become Superman.

Television preferences: Seinfeld, Family Guy, CSI.

Where he hangs: Gogo's.

Musical preferences: The Killers, David Usher.

Last book read: Filmmaker's Handbook, by Steven Ascher & Edward Pincus.

Words of wisdom: "People shouldn't follow the media's agenda. They should just consider the messages they get from media and pursue their own agenda."

Comments? dimwit@openface.ca