I have officially completed my summer internship with TuckerGurl!!! It went by way faster than I anticipated, but I feel I have accomplished so much. From working on a short film to editing a web series I have definitely gained a lot of useful skills and knowledge. I was able to improve my editing, I gained first hand experience in acting, learned the roles and responsibilities of the different positions on a film set, and networked with some very talented professionals.
Although my summer internship is over, I do plan on working with Angela Tucker and TuckerGurl throughout the school year. As I mentioned in a previous post, the filming of the feature length film Paper Chase has been pushed back to a later date, so I am still very much looking forward to working on that project. I imagine it will be similar to the short film I worked on this summer, but of course more extensive and a much larger cast and crew. This will be a great opportunity to solidify and build upon the skills I have learned.
Having completed this internship I would like to start working on more of my own projects. I feel I have learned a lot about editing and made some great connections with other young professionals who I could potentially collaborate with in the future. This may be something I delve into more after we wrap Paper Chase.
For any students who are interested in working in the film industry, but do not have much experience, I would advise them to reach out to local/independent filmmakers. In my opinion this allows for a lot more personal growth. For example, if I were to have interned with Universal Studios or another major production company I most likely would have been stuck doing a lot of grunge work. However, since I worked with an independent filmmaker my role and contributions were much more valuable and I was able to do a lot more hands on learning. Also, my boss was very patient and willing to help me gain a better understanding of certain softwares or procedures I was unfamiliar with.
I was fortunate enough to work very closely with multiple female-identified professionals. My boss is a woman, our producer is a woman, along with our casting director and cinematographer. This was encouraging for me to see these women who are so successful in their fields. It made me feel very comfortable and confident in pursuing my desired career path, despite the fact it is in a male dominated field.
This internship really pushed me to be an independent worker and problem solver. As much as my boss was present and willing to help me, a lot of the work I did required me to creatively problem solve and figure things out through trial and error. My boss was not checking in on me every few minutes, but instead asked me to complete an assignment over the course of a week or so and then check my work and give me constructive criticism. I enjoyed this because it afforded me the time to understand the work I was doing at my own pace, in my own way. I did not feel pressured to accomplish or learn something new in an hour or even one day. This helped me develop my own creative process and solve my own issues. Now, I feel I can tackle my own projects even if I may not have all of the answers from the beginning. I am very satisfied with not only the work I accomplished, but what I learned throughout this internship. If I could do it all over agin I would, and I look forward to working with TuckerGurl in the near future.