Do internships in the film industry help?

digmedia
Wed, 11 Jul 2012 10:36:53 +0000

It is widely accepted that during film school, the best way to get contacts in the industry is through internships. I did an informal poll of some of my son’s friends in the industry and found out something surprising: In general, they did not think that their internships helped them find a job after graduation! For example, one guy worked several summers doing script coverage on unsolicited screenplays. (“Script coverage” is the job of initially evaluating screenplays to see if the production company should spend time doing further evaluation. Did the submitters of those screenplays know that the gateway to having someone even LOOK at the script would be a lowly intern?) You would think that would be a great way to get some contacts: you read scripts, write reports evaluating them, and send those reports up the chain. Others worked as PA’s (production assistants) in various pre, post, and production aspects. That, for sure, would be a key to knowing people. But again, most thought the internship was not really key to getting a job.

HOWEVER, the usefulness was much more subtle, IMNSHO. They did learn a LOT about how the business worked, how people are hired, and how to go after some of these gigs. In addition, they also learned LA. They had to find a place to live, turn on the electricity, pay the rent, and get around town. So, when they graduated, picking up stakes and going to LA was no big deal - they had done it (sometimes several times) before. There was no intimidation in moving there.

Now I know at least one intern (maddenmd’s son) where the internship he already had and the ones he will probably get from USC, WILL DEFINITELY make a difference. Of course, he has something undefinable that most interns don’t have, and it will go a long way in making his success. And there are even three exceptions with my son’s friends - two women (one at Dreamworks and another with Judd Apatow’s production company) and one man (working in a private video production company NOT in LA) - who interned at the companies they now work for.

Again I posit that in terms of contacts, the best ones you will make are your fellow classmates that you make films with during film school. Gravitate toward those you see as the stars who will be most likely to be employed in the industry in the future.