Personal View site logo
Make sure to join PV on Telegram or Facebook! Perfect to keep up with community on your smartphone.
Please, support PV!
It allows to keep PV going, with more focus towards AI, but keeping be one of the few truly independent places.
Film Industry Internship Resume . . . any tips?
  • B3GuyB3Guy
    Hey, all! as some may know, I'm headed out to LA for the semester. I'll be right in the thick of things (Miracle Mile), and I need to whip up a decent resume for internships roughly in the area.

    I'm guessing at least some of you are in the industry in LA. Any tips for what to include or exclude in a LA area film industry internship resume?
  • 11 Replies sorted by
  • kholikholi
    If you're adamant about bringing a Resume here, just make sure it's accurate. It probably will not help very much with getting any serious internship, but having one probably won't hurt. Include as much hard production experience as you've had, even if that means PA experience.

    What will get you an internship is having a stash of money to rely on, and not being paid at all to intern; we love free help.

    What kind of internship are you looking for?
  • bwhitzbwhitz
    How are your assistant editing skillz? I might be able to get you one...
  • htinlahtinla
    They probably need to know that you indeed are a student who will receive course credit for the time you put in. Other than that, just list any relevant education, accomplishments, and skills. A reference from a professor or somebody who can vouch for your skills and character might be helpful too. Beyond the resume, you might want to practice your interview skills - how well you come off personality-wise counts for a lot, and sometimes will get you places where your technical skills alone cannot.
  • B3GuyB3Guy
    the thing is, I've never participated in anything like a real production/post production situation, so I have no experience in any specific positions such as "assistant editor", "DP", etc. It has been quite difficult to get good experience at the school I'm at, actually (that's why I'm heading to LA). This means I am self-taught when it comes to most of what I know. That being said, when I say I know something (like the GH2, or PTools, or FCP) . . . it means I KNOW it, not that I used for a class once back in freshman year.

    @Knoli "unpaid" is a given in this situation. I'll be studying at the Los Angeles Film Studies Center on Wilshire Blvd.
  • htinlahtinla
    Self-taught experience is fine. I assume that you have finished some kind of project(s) that you have initiated on your own or with the help of some friends - this is your experience, so succinctly describe the position(s) you were responsible for. Use action words like "directed", "produced", "operated", "managed", "assisted", "facilitated", etc. Treat any completed work of yours, no matter how small, like it was a previous job. Speak of it in terms that show it was a meaningful experience for you and not just "something we threw together over the summer" kind of thing. Your prospective "employer" knows you are just starting off and may lack a wealth of formal experience. But if you can convey a spirit of taking initiative and DIY know-how, that should make you look pretty good.

  • B3GuyB3Guy
    Yep. that's exactly the angle I like to take when "selling" myself for jobs/internships, as I feel it also gives a pretty good idea of my work ethic. I take initiative, self-motivate, and if I don't know, I'm not going to mess around. I'm going to find out and lean so that I DO know, then I will move forward.

    I have several decent projects under my belt: two decent documentaries which I essentially completed myself, a short film that I directed and edited, and what is shaping up to be a VERY cool (though as of right now unfinished) film that in retrospect I was DP/Cinematographer/Camera Operator for. (I will be sure to share the last one with y'all as I suspect it has potential to be not half bad, assuming the director doesn't go too crazy with MagicBullet all over my nice GH2 footage.)
  • htinlahtinla
    Cool, you'll be fine since you do have projects under your belt. This puts you in the category of actual filmmaker as opposed to the many who talk about doing something but haven't yet done so. This puts you at an advantage when it comes time to interview. Be professional, personable, courteous, enthusiastic, friendly (but not ingratiatingly so), and stay focused on your accomplishments and how those experiences make you the most valuable candidate from the pool of interns they have to choose from. Good luck! Oh, and always express appreciation to anybody who is helpful to you. Film industry people thrive on being recognized and will think highly of you for your expressions of gratitude.

    I live not too far from the Miracle Mile area - if you have any questions about this place, just PM me.
  • B3GuyB3Guy
    sounds good. I'm guaranteed an internship, I'd just rather be somewhere that fits. The Film Studies Center will place me somewhere if I can't find one myself.
  • B3GuyB3Guy

    Got an internship at a rental house. Seems good so far. At least I'm not cooped up answering phones in a production office like most of my peers.

  • itimjimitimjim

    Congrats!

  • htinlahtinla

    Ditto!

Add a Comment