Internship: Last Day

Personal Life

1) My desk\ where I would start my day and often eat my lunch

2) My new desk\where I did the majority of my film editing and other work

Significant Learning Experience

The most significant learning experience for me during my internship was probably when I was trying to figure out how to change the format of an image on Final Cut Pro from standard to wide-screen. I remember that I had asked one of the editors if he knew how I could change it, and the next thing I knew all of the editors there were crowded around the computer experimenting with different filters and size adjustments etc. When they were doing this, I realized that we were all learning at the same time, we were going through everything from trying to change it from standard to wide-screen, changing the color of the film itself, and how to make the footage look less shaky. This moment sticks out in my mind vividly because I just remember how I was learning along with everyone and how suddenly, the problem that had been stressing me out before, suddenly became fun.

Internship: Day Fifteen

Resources

This is a picture of basically every recording device known to man. These decks can transfer VHS to DVD, DVD to BluRay etc. Also, they can make duplicates of DVDs, which really comes in hand if we don't have the original file for something.

In this picture, there is a computer, a bunch of blank DVDs and BluRay disks, a phone, and two machines that burn and put labels on disks. The computer is used for editing and creating images mainly, but it can do other things as well, (as most computers can). The phone is for calling people and paging people in the office, the blank disks are there to have media files and other information stored on them. And finally, the two machines on each end of the picture. They are use, (I think) for both burning disks and putting labels on them, (it's really interesting to watch).

In this picture, the program Final Cut Pro is open. Final Cut Pro is one of the, (if not the) most used film editing software in companies today. It's a really great program and I have used it a lot at my internship. It's a really important tool for any film company, (or you could also use Avid, which is basically the original Final Cut Pro, but for PCs).

Internship: Day Fourteen

Name: Tatiana R

Position: Corporate Manager\Producer

Work Place: Bob Hoffman Video Productions

Location of Work: Kearny Mesa, (first office when entering the building)

-Why did you decide to stay in San Diego?

Tatiana stayed in San Diego because she grew to enjoy her job and life here. She wasn't planning on staying in San Diego for any length of time but things just sort of worked out that way. She is considering moving though, possibly back to Santa Cruz.

-Why did you decide to come to San Diego?

She was looking for job opportunities and decided to come to San Diego for a brief period of time. She ended up staying here when she got a job at Bob Hoffman Video Productions, (BHVP).

-How did you find out about the internship in New York?

She had decided to look for an internship so that she could get more experience working in her chosen field. She ended up finding out about the one in New York during her search because it matched what she was looking for in an internship. Her internship was very similar to my own and her mentor basically had the same job she has now.

-How old were you when you decided you wanted to get involved in film making?

I never really got an answer to this question. I knew that she was studying to be a film editor by the time she was in college and I believe that I heard her mention that she started getting interested in film either in her later years of high school or early college years.

-Did you decide to be a producer because of your mentor, or were there other deciding factors?

I believe that her mentor in New York had a bit to do with he deciding factor, but more than anything I think that it was because BHVP needed a producer, not an editor. This is probably also part of the reason that she was only planning on staying in San Diego for a short period of time. She ended up really enjoying her job though.

Internship: Day Thirteen

Process

Step One

This image shows a lot of papers, video equipment etc. On the papers are a lot of notes about what all my mentor and other employees wanted to see in a demo video I am currently making. All of the footage had been take previously, so that is why on the screen of the computer it is showing some of that footage, (since I was going through it at that point). The video equipment around me are mainly just tapes, wires, external hard-drives and a camera I was capturing off of. These were the "first steps" I had to take in editing this particular film.

Step Two

This is a picture of footage that I am currently in the process of editing. After taking all of the notes I was given, I started putting this film together. I had already captured all of the segments that I needed and since I was working off of previously edited film, I was able to find what clips I needed very easily. This particular photo was of the film before I added in any music or made any serious edits, so it was still pretty rough at this point.

Step Three

In this picture, there are a lot of pens, papers, tapes and a computer. This is where the revision process takes place. After adding in music, making detail-oriented changes and more, my mentor, (or whoever is technically in charge of the project) comes over and watches the entire film through. With the pens and paper, she writes down further revisions that she feels need to be made to the film. In this case, she actually wanted me to add a clip that I hadn't captured to the computer, which is the reason for the tapes being there. Sometimes, the best way to revise something is by going back to the beginning.

Internship: Day Ten

I have really enjoyed working on my project. I have been learning about multiple sides to the film business through my project, which is exactly what I wanted. So far, I have learned about accounting, managing, scheduling and several other things just by making a Valentine's Day mailer.

I think the hardest part for me was a brief moment when I didn't have anything to do because I had finished up a large part of my project. I was given something to do again fairly quickly, but going from non-stop work to having nothing to do was actually a very strange and slightly unnerving feeling.

I think the most memorable moment for me was during a meeting I was having with my mentor and one of the other women that works there, (who is also the owner's wife). We were discussing what my project would be and how I was doing so far, and they told me that they kept forgetting that I was in high school because I didn't "act like a normal teenager". They also told me that I was doing a really good job and that I was also helping their company, rather than making their lives more difficult. That was honestly one of the highest compliments anyone has ever given me and I was really touched by that moment.

Internship: Day Ten

Caption: What this made me think of

I am really starting to think about what it takes to open up a business. When I was eating lunch the other day at my desk, I looked around and noticed a lot of plaques, posters and certificates all about laws regarding employees and the rights to keep the business open and legal. When looking at these things, I started to wonder what all it took just to be allowed to open a business, let alone run one. I'm excited to learn more about this, especially since I plan on taking business classes in college.

Questions for mentor

-Why did you decide to stay in San Diego?

-Why did you decide to come to San Diego?

-How did you find out about the internship in New York?

-How old were you when you decided you wanted to get involved in film making?

-Did you decide to be a producer because of your mentor, or were there other deciding factors?

Internship: Day Nine

My mentor,(Tatiana) didn't grow up in San Diego. She grew up in Santa Cruz, she also went to UC Santa Cruz, (along with both the owner of the company and his wife). She originally studied to be a film editor, she is now a producer.

Either during a break from college or after she graduated, my mentor went to New York to, ironically, serve an internship at a film studio. Her mentor had a very similar job as she does now, which I believe is why she ended up becoming a producer herself.

Tatiana never intended on staying in San Diego for any length of time. She came to San Diego for a brief period of time and I believe she was just looking for a job that she could get a bit more experience from before going back Santa Cruz. But, she found a job at Bob Hoffman Video Productions and decided to stay permanently.

Also, she just got engaged.

Internship: Day Eight

Prompt 2: What new appreciations (for who? of what?) have you gained through internship that you did not have before? How did you develop these appreciations?

I never really took into consideration how by doing something that seems insignificant at the time can really help out a company in multiple ways.

What I mean by that is, my project at my internship site involves me creating and putting together the company's Valentine's Day mailer. Since I enjoy Photoshop and writing, I really didn't think of it as work to be completely honest, I thought of it as something fun to do that may hopefully be of use to the company. It wasn't until I went into the budget meetings, ran back and forth from my internship to the print shop that was making the cards for the mailer, got everything that was going in the mailer and put the whole thing together that I realized how much work I was actually doing.

What was really interesting was that I realized that normally the people at my site would either have to hire someone to put the mailer together, )which takes money) or put them together themselves, (which takes time AND money). Also, these mailers are an important part of their marketing campaign.

When I first started working on this project, I thought it was just convenient that I liked Photoshop so I could make a card for Valentine's Day. I now realize and appreciate the fact that these mailers are more than greeting cards. They go into the budget, time has to be made to create them, they are a huge part of the marketing campaign and it can actually take a pretty long time to finish. I'm really glad that this is my project because I feel that I am really helping the company out by making these cards, (mailers).

Internship: Day Seven

Internship site: Bob Hoffman Video Productions

Department: They don't really have different departments, so for right now you could say I am working in the financial\corporate department.

Project Title: Valentine's Day mailer

General Description: I am making a Valentine's Day mailer that they will be sending to all of their clients and associates.

Learning Objectives: I will, (and have been) learning about marketing, budgeting, (since we send out entire packets full of things with the mailer) organization and I will be further improving my Photoshop and writing skills.

Organization/Company Objectives & Benefits: This helps the company because normally they would have to either hire somebody to make the mailer which takes money, or they would have to make the mailer themselves which would use their time which would cause them to lose money. Also, they will be sending this mailer to hundreds of people and companies so this will be promoting their business and they can use the same mailer for years to come which would save them the trouble of having to make new ones.

Schedule: The schedule isn't set in stone but this is the general order of things:

-Search in the San Diego Business Journal for leads, (who we should consider sending the mailer to)

-Write rough drafts of poems for the cards

-Begin making rough drafts of the corporate-department's card

-Print drafts on different quality and colors of paper

-Management meeting:

-Who all should the mailer be sent to?

-What is the budget?

-What all will be sent with the mailer,(chocolate, business cards etc.)?

-Revise drafts

-Begin organizing a list of all of the people\companies that the mailer will be sent to

-Revise until a final draft with the poem added has been made

-Take card to the printers and get an estimate

-Have cards printed

-Print out mailing labels

-Get envelopes prepped for mailing, (put addresses and return addresses on them)

-Get cards from printers

-Stuff envelopes

-Repeat for social-department.

Academic Skills: For this I am using my writing skills, (the poem that goes on the cards) and some basic math skills, (budgeting, checks and balances etc.)

Technical Skills: For this project I am using my Photoshop skills, artistic skills, organization and speaking skills, (talking to the people at the print shop etc.)

Collaboration—Skills and Opportunities: I have already collaborated with my mentor and other staff members by working with them on the poem, (they took my rough drafts and created a final draft with them). Also, I will be collaborating with members of the staff during management meetings.

Exhibition Plans: I plan on showing my drafts of the cards and the final draft. Also, I will see if I can show what the original list of people that we were planning on sending the mailer to looked like before we cut it down, to show just how many different revisions we went through.

Schedule & Timelines: The schedule that I wrote out isn't set in stone. Already, I have switched tasks because one of the employees there wanted to show me something new or needed help on something. Also, since the mailer doesn't even have to be done and sent out until just before Valentine's day, I don't have to take time into as much consideration as I would usually.

Description of Work:

So far, the best part of the job has been learning about scanning slides. Even though it was tedious, it was interesting to look at all of the pictures one person had taken over a course of around 40 years. The pictures were from everywhere, Egypt, Europe, Asia, all of these amazing places and the photos were all really good too, so it was really interesting to look at!

So far I haven't really had any challenges. The biggest challenge was when I first started I didn't have much to do. Now that I have officially started my internship and I now have a project to work on that problem has been pretty much resolved.

I haven't had to work with others much just yet, but on the occasions that I have worked with others I feel it has gone well. I am shy, since I still feel like the new kid, but I am slowly becoming a more active member of the community there, so working with people is getting easier and easier.

I didn't expect them to have so many clients. I was amazed when I saw that just one person had over one thousand clients for the month alone! Since it is a smaller company I wasn't expecting that, so I was pretty amazed.

It has been very exciting, but very nerve-racking. All of the people there are really nice and they are taking the time to help me out as much as possible, but you still can't help but have the "new kid at school" feeling. You don't really know anybody there and you're not as knowledgeable as some of them, so it can be intimidating. But for the most part, it's also really exciting. You are doing projects that are strangely similar to the ones at school, so you have a certain level of comfort which is nice, familiar. The longer you are there and the more you get to know people, the more comfortable you are.

Internship: Day Six

I would like to know more about how my mentor ended up at BHVP. I know that she didn't always live in San Diego, and I only know a bit about my mentor's life before BHVP. I would like to know more about her education as well, what school did she go to, did she feel it was the right school for her etc. Also, I would like to know more about what all she has in the film industry, (I think she used to be an editor but now she's a producer).

I have already scheduled a meeting with my mentor for tomorrow so that we can go over what all I should be doing for my official project. I think that wold probably be a good time for me to get to know my mentor better. Unfortunately, I don't have any way of getting an audio recording of the interview, but I will probably be able to write the whole thing down, (I've done that before).

Internship: Day Five

Project title: It hasn't been decided quite yet.

Project description: It hasn't been decided quite yet.

Project schedule: My mentor has been fairly busy for the past few days so we haven't been able to discuss what my official project is going to be yet.

Materials & Equipment needed: Probably a computer with Photoshop or Final Cut Pro, but I won't know for sure until I know what my official project is.

Project documentation: Most likely my final project will have something to do with a film being made for a specific person, (or multiple people) in which case I don't really think I would be able to "keep" my final project or document it in a way that I can share it with people. If I'm not doing that, I will probably have print-outs of the drafts of my work, (ie. all of the drafts I have for the Valentine's Day mailer).

Internship: Day Four

I am already having to use just a little bit of math and accounting since I have been assisting my mentor with bills and bank statements. Also, I have used my writing skills a little bit when trying to think of things to write on the company's Valentine's Day post-card.

I could work as an editor's assistant, (watching the final film to make sure there are no mistakes, making minor edits etc.). I already have worked with one of the employees when I helped them sort out slides and scan them. Also, I have been working with multiple people on the Valentine's Day mailer.

I have already used my Photoshop skills a lot at my internship. Also, I know quite a bit about Final Cut Pro which is a commonly used program at my internship site. I'm sure that there are several other skills that I could use there, but these two are probably the most useful.

I can definitely improve my film editing skills. I know how to edit pretty well, but I was never actually taught how to use Final Cut, everything I know about it was self-taught. Also, I think I can learn a lot about the pre-production stage of film, since a big portion of the film work I have done in the past was post-production.

I'm not actually sure of what my official project is yet. Most likely it will be on the computer, (ie. a film or something on their website etc.) so because of that I might be able to showcase my work on the computer, online, or possibly even on a television screen.

I have already made their Valentine's Day mailer, (since I know how to use Photoshop pretty well). Also, since I do know quite a bit about editing, I might be able to do minor edits to one of their projects. Hopefully I will be able to do something along those lines.

Internship: Day Three

I would like to get a few more business related skills. Since I plan on opening up my own film company one day, I need to know how to run a successful business. I already know quite a bit about film making in general, so learning a few things about business would be helpful, (ie. book-keeping, getting necessary resources for the company etc.)

I am interested in pretty much every aspect of my internship. People are editing, producing, and doing pretty much everything film based which is everything I love. I would be happy learning about and working in any area of my site. As I said before though, since I do know the most about film making already, I think that it would be good for me to learn more about the business side of the company.

Since I do know quite a bit about film editing and photoshop, I could probably help out on smaller projects or I could work on smaller parts of projects. Also, since I do know quite a bit about photoshop, I have already helped out by creating a basic design for the postcard that the company will be sending out for Valentine's day.

So far, my mentor and I have only talked a little bit about my project, but we are currently thinking that I might be able to work as an editor's assistant or a producer's assistant. That way, I might be able to edit a film more than it would have been originally, but we haven't talked about that very much yet.

Internship: Day Two

So far, I have tried to offer my help as much as possible. I realize that everyone there is extremely busy, so I try not to interrupt their work if I don't have to, but I am trying to complete all of my tasks to the best of my abilities by going over things twice and trying to think of how I can expand on a task given to me. Also, I have tried to help out with little things as well, such as putting papers away and putting website addresses on postcards.

I haven't done a lot in this area quite yet, right now I'm just trying to get situated and show that I am willing to help out with pretty much anything they need help with. When they ask for my opinion on something, I do try to give it, so that could help get me opportunities.

More than anything I think I have shown that I like working and that I know how to finish work quickly. I think that my mentor knows that I like to work so she is starting to give me more and more tasks each time I come in. This also gives me more things to do throughout the day, which is good too.

I think that once my mentor and I come up with an official "internship project" for me to complete, my internship will be even better because I will be actively working on something the entire time I am there. Also, I think I need to overcome my shyness a bit and put myself out there a bit more, because right now whenever I complete a task I am so worried about interrupting my mentor I usually wait until she leaves her office to tell her that I finished my work.

Internship: Day One

Photos of the Day

My Desk

This is my desk. It is right at the entrance of the building, (usually used as the front desk).

Me working

This is a picture of myself working. I am currently looking through the San Diego Business Journal, trying to find new potential clients.

Professional dress

This is a picture of my mentor. Since she is the lead producer for videos made for businesses, I thought that she would be the perfect person to take a picture of to show the proper work attire.

What struck me

What struck me was how many awards my site had won. They had several awards for films they had made all lined up, I'm not sure how many. I was really amazed at how many there were and it really gave me an appreciation of the quality their work.

Interesting Experience

This is a picture of the San Diego Business Journal. This represents an interesting experience I had. Tatiana, (my mentor) taught me about how she found a lot of their clients by looking through the San Diego Business Journal.

Economic Questions

1) How does your internship site help the economy?

My internship site, (Bob Hoffman Video Productions, aka. BHVP) helps the economy because they make video brochures and commercials. By making these videos, companies are able to sell their products and services more effectively, which helps the economy.

2) How was your internship site affected by the economy?

My internship site was affected by the economy because a large portion of their client bases were businesses. Since a lot of businesses have been closing their doors and have had budget cuts, they haven't been spending their money on video advertising as much.

3) How was your internship site's client base affected by the economy?

My internship site's client base was only really affected when it came to videos being made for businesses. They also do films for weddings and parties, and no matter what the economy is there will always be people getting married. So, no matter what, they almost always have clients, (and a LOT of them!).

A day at the site

I got up around eight thirty in the morning and got ready to go fairly quickly. I had only been to my site once before, so I wasn't sure how long it would take me to get to Bob Hoffman Video Productions, (BHVP). I left my house at 9:00 and got to BHVP at 9:15, (my official start time). My mentor, Tatiana, showed me my new work station, (the front desk) then went over the mentor first day packet and filled out the required paperwork.

When we were done with the paperwork, we talked briefly about what all she wanted to see from me during my internship and what all I want to gain from the experience. We decided that half of my time there would be spent learning the business side of the company, and the other half of my time would be spent in the actual editing and filming process.

I helped her look through magazines where she finds her potential clients until lunch time, at which point she left for a while as I ate my lunch, (I brought my lunch with me). Once I was done with my lunch, I watched one of the employees work for a while, (sending emails, managing who all owed what etc.) until it was time for me to leave, (3:30).