Interning Out of Film School: A Useful Strategy For Growing Your Network.
Maximize your time as an intern to gain the skills and connections necessary to launch your career in film and video production.
Yeah, so here's the thing: the best way to break in, regardless of your educational background, is to spend some time cutting your teeth at an internship. Oh boy, free labor! Who wouldn’t be excited by that? I’ve seen plenty of posts online about how it’s impossible to find work out of school. It seems that graduates don’t know how to network otherwise. It’s an unfortunate reality that most professionals in our industry have to go through before they can make any money in video and film production. If you’re struggling, try doing the unthinkable: pick up one more internship. No rules say you can’t. That’s exactly what I did, and I’m still using the connections I made to find work as a Freelance Video Editor.
Note: my experiences pertain to employment as a freelance video editor, working in advertisement and documentaries. If you’re looking to get into cinematography, directing, or screenwriting, especially in the scripted film and TV world, these tactics could still be applicable but I can’t say for absolute certain that they’ll help. This is for those who are looking for a way to start a career in video production today.
How was being a video production intern out of college helpful?
During the tail end of my senior year of college, I had already earned my internship credit. I was sitting in on a lecture by a guest producer from a production company in town when they showed a quick reel of their work; mostly ads and music videos. I was blown away. I knew immediately that I had to work with them. I didn’t plan on serving any more time but I didn’t have a plan post-college, so I thought “What the hell?” Why not see if they needed any interns for the summer? Luckily, they did! After the lecture, I made arrangements with him to come in for an interview and started interning for them the month after I graduated.
I had been on set before with my last internship, but this was different. It was more laid back than the huge production house I worked at last time; the biggest in the city. Run by artists, they had the freedom to express themselves creatively and clients loved the work they produced. I started in the office sitting in on meetings, logging footage, hunting for b-roll and music, etc. That summer we had a plethora of jobs coming in so I got to go on set many times and meet other professionals in the field. I loved my time interning there. The only downside: it was completely unpaid.
I had already moved out of my parent’s house, so I had to find other jobs to scrape by. On my days off, I worked as a barista in the mornings and drove for rideshare and food delivery apps in the evening. It was tough, I’m not going to lie. I still get war flashbacks every time I find myself at Starbucks (please treat your baristas well, they’re really going through it). What made interning worth it was the connections I made. Soon after my internship ended, sad and scared of what my career was going to look like, I got a call from one of the owners of the company. He needed an extra hand on set and wanted me to PA for a TV show they were working on. It was my first paid gig as a professional!
From then on, I was getting steady work, my name was getting passed around to other production companies in the city. It felt like the weight of the world was lifted off my shoulders. From there, I was given my first job as a video editor: a short YouTube series I poured my heart and soul into, trying to make it the best that I could. I never looked back. I’ve worked for many production companies, large and small, doing everything from whisky commercials to toy commercials. I got paid to cut music videos, documentaries, and TV shows. I don't think I would have had any of those opportunities if I hadn't talked to that producer all those years ago.
Maximizing your film and video internship.
Many of us find it hard to find work out of college. I’m sure many of you feel the same way. Film school hadn’t prepared me to be a professional, that was learned through spending time in a production office. If you’re looking to get yourself a salaried job in a post house, you’re most likely running into the same issue everyone else in the world is: they demand experience without being willing to provide newcomers with any. It sucks, I know. One way to start gaining experience is by working freelance, and the best way to build up a client base is by meeting people in the field. As it’s been said many, many times before: it’s all about who you know.
I would consider treating it as you would treat school: take it seriously and try to learn as much as possible.
Here are some things you can do while there to maximize your time:
Don’t be afraid to ask questions on set. People will remember you for that and you might learn something new along the way. I wasn’t much of a cinematographer in college, but talking to DPs during my internship taught me a lot about how and why they build scenes that they do.
Take the initiative. Don’t wait to be told to do something, show that you’re ready and willing to help by asking people if they need help. There’s a saying in the industry that you might have heard of before: Hurry up and wait. It not only means being ready to help at a moment’s notice but also finding out what people need before they need it.
Sit in with an editor. Most of us are happy to teach people something new about the craft. Even if you don’t plan to be an editor, you can see from start to finish how video production works and why DPs and directors make the decisions that they do. Our profession is about storytelling after all, and the edit room is where the story comes together.
Be friendly, personable, and somebody that YOU would like to work with. You’re more likely to get a job later if you’re somebody that people like to be around. If you’re introverted, that’s okay! I’m not saying you have to go out of your way to make friends with everyone on set or in the office, just try not to be rude or self-centered. First impressions are integral to future employment (and making friends for that matter).
Learn how to organize. This is true for all positions in the film and video industry, but especially for video editors. Out of college, you might be used to only working on your own. On the outside, you’ll be collaborating with many different people so everyone needs to be able to pick up a project and easily figure out where everything is. Learn how people in your office like to keep their files organized and adapt those strategies to your needs.
The list could go on and on, but I found these 5 points to be the most helpful in my career, and they can be picked up early on.
Some strategies for finding an internship.
So the question becomes, how can I find an internship? Job boards online are one way to go, but I’ve found that this is a pretty difficult way of doing it. There aren’t a ton of offerings and those that do exist will be flooded with applications. Far too often I hear people complaining about finding work on Indeed or Glassdoor.
Instead, try emailing local production companies around town. You won’t get a hit on every one of them, but you’d be surprised at how many will take the time to email you back. You could also introduce yourself to people at local industry meetups or networking events. You can find these on Facebook or by asking those production companies you emailed before.
Instead of Indeed, check to see if your city has a film office with job postings. They’re not always too robust, but many recent graduates don’t know they exist at all, which could give you a leg up. I would simply google “your city” + film office and see what results there are.
Hopefully, this at least helps take a little of the uncertainty out of finding something out of film school. Interning, while not ideal after graduating, can help launch your career in the film industry if you’re struggling to get work. I can’t promise you that this will prove successful, but I’m always surprised at how many people haven’t even considered trying. Nothing in our industry is easy; you’ve got to do what you can to pull yourself up little by little, and internships are a solid way to do so.
