What is an FTVM Internship?
Charlotte Beggs (FTVM '21) interned at Secret Hideout Inc, Star Trek showrunner Alex Kurtzman’s production company, last summer (2019) in Los Angeles.
For more on Charlotte's experience,
please see her profile below.
The Department of Film, Television, and Media allows only declared Department of Film, Television, and Media majors the opportunity to earn credit for internships which supplement their academic experience.
In order to be approved for credit, internships must have a demonstrable relationship to the student’s course of study in the Department of Film, Television, and Media. Experiential work must be performed under the guidance of an internship supervisor and be approved by a sponsoring core faculty member in the Department of Film, Television, and Media. It is the student’s responsibility to demonstrate the suitability and relationship of the proposed internship to their course of study. Students should NOT assume that internship credit is automatically granted for experiential work and internship credit is not retroactive.
Internship credit can not be used to satisfy elective credit in the concentration plan.
Individual Department of Film, Television, and Media faculty who have mentored non-majors may consider sponsoring these students on a case-by-case basis. The Department of Film, Television, and Media is unable to sponsor non-students for internships. Internships must be completed before graduation.
How Do I Receive Internship Credit?
Where Can I Apply for Funding?
Please note that the John H. and Patricia W. Mitchell Internship Fund (LSA Internship Fund) will be used to provide need-based undergraduate internship support for students who secure internships in media and entertainment. Preference will be given to students majoring or minoring in FTVM who are pariticipating in an FTVM internship program. The goal of the LSA Internship Fund will be to expose a diverse community of students to all aspects of the entertainment industry, including access to industry professionals in writing, production, and business operations.
Where Can I Learn More?
Past Internship Experiences
Charlotte Beggs (FTVM '21) interned at Secret Hideout Inc, Star Trek showrunner Alex Kurtzman’s production company, last summer (2019) in Los Angeles. There, she operated as an office production assistant who did everything from writing book and script coverage, to answering phones, to running errands for the office, to doing some interior design work on a new office space; she even had the opportunity to sit in on episode pitch meetings and phone calls with studio execs. Charlotte’s favorite part about the program was the mentorship from other office assistants who taught her the ins and outs of the industry; she looks forward to applying what she learned to her future career.
Over the summer of 2019, Nicholas Grant (FTVM '20) was a Development Intern at Dark Horse Entertainment, which is the company responsible for developing film and television projects based off of various Dark Horse Comics properties, as well as independent projects not related to comic books. Nicholas's internship at Dark Horse Entertainment was a great first Hollywood work experience. He was able to work in development, dealing with IP that he genuinely cares about. Working in the receptionist area answering phones and having personal interaction with writers, directors, agents, managers, acting talent, etc. also gave Nicholas good training as an assistant, which will be the most common entry-level position available to recent graduates. The internship was also super helpful to Nicholas as an aspiring writer, as reading current scripts, novels, comics, and other submissions allowed him invaluable insight into what people are writing as well as what producers are looking for in today’s media landscape. Simply overhearing conversations about networks and streaming platforms and pitches was incredibly enlightening.
Tait Keller (FTVM '21) interned at Captivate Entertainment during the summer of 2019. While she was working there, Captivate was in production in Budapest and doing spec work at the LA office. Tait's role was to do coverage on submitted scripts, completing about 1-2 scripts a day. She also kept the office tidy, worked the phones, and ran occasional errands on the lot. Although before this internship Tait had never completed coverage or even taken a screenwriting class, she got very proficient at quickly and thoroughly writing coverage over the summer. Tait praises her boss, who "always gave useful suggestions to further improve [her] writing" and made her feel comfortable communicating her honest opinions on scripts.
Working at the Captivate office was a special experience, Tait says, "because every day I got to drive on to the lot with my pass and walk past the sets to some of my favorite movies; I was completely content to be there. The office bungalow was a great reading environment, tucked towards the back of the park in the shade. I also made some lasting connections with my fellow interns there, and I was able to rely on them if ever I needed it. My bosses were very attentive to me and I really believe that I grew over the summer. They even let me tour the lot with my family when they visited. I’m glad I had the opportunity to intern at an established company, learning to do tasks like coverage that will be necessary for a future working in the film industry."
In the summer of 2019, Alex Mullen (FTVM '20) interned at Spacestation, an independent production company that strives to deliver a variety of content on a variety of platforms. Ranging from documentaries that premiere on HBO to digital content for Facebook to advertisements for some of the biggest-name brands worldwide, Spacestation has done it all. In Alex's internship with Spacestation, he worked with obé, a boutique fitness livestream offering on-demand fitness classes that reach thousands of users across North America. Working on obé’s production team, Alex learned some of the ins and outs of live show production, how to operate different sound and lighting softwares, and had the opportunity to work with remote-controlled camera systems. Alex's time at obé through Spacestation gave him the opportunity to learn more about production while learning more about fitness at the same time.
Exploring Past Internship Experiences...
