(This is a copy of a paper that I wrote for college as a reflection on my internship at TCFF over the summer of 2017. It is in esentially like a WAY more detailed version of the video above. Very much recomended if you want a closer look at my take on the internship process for me.)
“The practical knowledge and skills of the liberal arts prepare students for lifelong learning and leadership within a wide array of vocations.” (Alma.edu). The entire point of liberal arts is to be well rounded, and to get a “big picture” sense of not only a field of study, but of how that field intersects with other vocations and environments. In Rome, each citizen needed to study liberal arts to participate in virtually any civic affair (ABG.org). They expected people to be learn in the same well rounded mode of thought, just to be active in society. Between June and August of 2017, I had the opportunity to enhance that idea, to bridge the connective tissue between both: my New Media Studies (NMS) pursuit and a work environment, as well as gain entire new subsets of skills that I didn’t even know would be as useful as they were. I worked for The Traverse City Film Festival (TCFF) as a post-production intern, and it was hands down one of the biggest periods of growth in my life. Before entering this place of work, I thought I had a deep understanding of how each subset of NMS connected to the ones around it. But after this experience, I realized that there was a huge, overarching layer that I was missing out on.
At TCFF, I was able to do much more than the average coffee running intern, because I was treated as an actual employee. In post-production, my main job was to encode every single film that we received into the DCP (Digital Cinema Package) format, a type of folder that holds video as MXF, and audio on a completely separate channel, as opposed to just making one file containing both video and audio. It’s extremely high-bitrate and resolution, contains a huge amount of metadata that needs to be put into consideration when encoding, and takes special software just to play back (“Digital Cinema Specification” 13, 35). After encoding, we would test out those films, and distribute them to the venues all around Traverse City (distribution in it of itself turned out to be a huge hurdle). This takes weeks of extremely intensive work, organizing the hundreds of films, cataloguing which ones we’ve completed, tested, etc., and making sure that the new DCP’s actually function the way that they should, before testing them. Prior to entering this internship, I knew a good amount about the process of encoding, but now, I know all the intricacies of four different programs (Adobe Media Encoder, DCP-O-Matic 2, Premiere, and After Effects) style of encoding, across multiple operating systems.
At the same time, it was our job to create, encode, and distribute 300+ sponsor slides, one to play before every single film at the festival (shorts included). On top of that, I was completely entrusted with extremely sensitive data (high resolution versions of films, many of which had not yet been released.) and given very high level access into every venue. My credentials allowed me full access to any projection booth, as well as access to every venue in other, generally off limits areas. Each facet of my work was handled with near autonomy, as our boss himself was extremely busy working on other aspects of the festival. It was gratifying, stressful, and educational to have such a direct and palpable hand in the festival. 
Most interns, even within TCFF do more general office tasks, but as a post-production intern I was able to completely step inside what a real job in my field is, for several months. All of these points, encoding, distribution, trust, autonomy, etc., culminated into a sense that I was genuinely counted on by everyone in the festival.
Another (and perhaps equally) important point in my internship was how I learned about inter-office relations, and bonded with other interns. Whether it was via getting together outside of work, or through the huge amount of overtime on tight deadlines (the work itself), I became friends with nearly every intern. My fellow post-production pal Macks most of all. We were together every single day for several months and became inseparable, through a combination of extremely hard work: keeping cool during stress, putting out career-ending disasters throughout the actual festival, or just goofing off in our down time, we became fantastic friends. I didn’t realize just how much it was possible to bond through such stressful work before this internship. When I was in a professional environment, I would completely disregard the idea of any type of friend building, but Macks made me realize it was completely possible to balance both. He, and other interns, definitely saved my sanity and stress levels in the long run. Now that I can see a much more well rounded view and a sense of the larger picture, I realize that friendship is not only a good thing to have in a work environment, but something that is downright necessary to keep one’s mental health in check.
Another massive facet of this internship was doing things outside my initial job description, for better or worse. These moments helped shape my view of how things independent of NMS, aren’t as distant as I had once thought. Do to the fact that TCFF is nearly all volunteer run (that being only three paid employees total), I was asked to do a lot of work that I wasn’t expecting as a post-production intern. Initially, I thought my job would just be relegated to sitting at a computer, encoding films, and reviewing them. I did not, however, realize all of the other aspects of the festival I would be responsible for, let alone the aspects of watching movies that I didn’t think about. When it came to the review process, I not only had to format and watch the films, but Macks and I had to dictate all of the metadata of every single one, as well as actually set up the projector in a theatre each day. Projection work is something that, before this internship, I was very interested in, but knew virtually nothing about. Now, though, completely on my own, I have the ability to: ingest content from hard drives, load that content onto projectors, format all of the specs to create a show playlist, control audio levels from the projection room, among several other things, without compromising the health of the machine whatsoever. Learning so much about how projectors work was hands down one of the best aspects of growth outside my initial job description that I had at the festival. Another, perhaps less positive aspect of doing things outside my comfort zone was the expectation that all the interns would volunteer for other jobs on randomly assigned weekends throughout our time there. Despite having crippling anxiety in regards to working a job where I actually have to talk to people, this information was also not given to me until after I had already had my first day on the job. Although I did certain aspects of this (very begrudgingly I may add), it would most definitely be the one point of contention that I would completely remove from my internship. It didn’t help me confront my qualms with talking to people, and it was not a good learning experience whatsoever. On the other hand, nearly every other aspect of reaching outside my comfort zone was positive, so overall, it turned out to be a good experience.
One invaluable facet in regards to these moments was the sheer level of autonomy expected of me, something I briefly mentioned earlier. In my previous line of production work, I had nearly always had an authority figure of some kind to fall back on when I was unsure of the answer or solution to a technical issue; however, at TCFF this was not the case. My boss was almost always either back at the office working on something equally as important, or out doing an actual paid gig. So, when I was in the field trying to troubleshoot something for equipment I knew nothing about, it was almost always in my best interest to figure it out as fast as possible, which (unlike my previous work experience) normally did not mean calling into my boss. 
This meant that not only did I have to problem solve constantly in the field, but I very rarely had a person to fall back on. These moments to me outweigh even the most detailed technical knowledge that I attained in my internship. Harvard Business Review states, “Sustainable competitive advantage no longer arises exclusively from position, scale, and first-order capabilities in producing or delivering an offering. All those are essentially static. [...] Increasingly, managers are finding that it stems from the “second-order” organizational capabilities that foster rapid adaptation. Instead of being really good at doing some particular thing [...] They have worked out how to experiment rapidly, frequently, and economically.” (hbr.org). This is exactly what the lack of a human safety-net did for me, it honed my improvisational skills and adaptability, allowing me to grow from a hugely meta perspective, which granted a much deeper understanding of not just my NMS field, but of problem solving in general.
On top of this, Jeff Boss of Forbes explains that, “[...] knowledge without application is worthless--it's about as valuable as yesterday's news--which speaks to the importance of a leader’s willingness to enter the unknown and pave new pathways.” (Forbes.com). Personally, I want to be a leader in my field, constantly on the cutting edge of what makes something truly great, and the moments of extreme autonomy I experienced at TCFF will help me down that path. On the other hand, not everything I learned was brand new or of the outside outer offering ornicalogy. I spent a lot of time focusing and refining my pre-existing skills at TCFF. Before entering the film festival, I had a sizable grasp on many concepts within the non-linear editing space, as well as within compositing software, and graphic design. I was lucky enough to have such an experience in which I could flex all of the muscles I was used to across various types of software (mostly Adobe premiere, After Effects, and Photoshop, but occasionally Illustrator and Blender), while at the same time, training new subsets of skill trees that I had been letting atrophy for much too long.
A few instances of brand new skills I learned where: ocean physics simulation via the cycles render engine in Blender (YouTube.com)., how to effectively use filters in photoshop to create a variety of layered effects (BlueLightningTv)., and how to mix 5.1 audio in Premiere by figuring out which channels aligned to each audio track and creating specific export settings (PremiumBeat.com)., to name a few. In regards to enhancing old skills, I spent a massive amount of time attempting to become more efficient in all of the software we used via keyboard shortcuts. As a result, I am now palpably more efficient across the board when it comes to these programs, which was something that not only helped me grow as an editor, but assisted me with the constantly approaching and unrelenting deadlines in the editing room. Furthermore, in my actual career, having spent so much additional time focused on the art of editing, compositing, and other digital avenues has helped me become a more rounded filmmaker. Each time I edit, model, or design, I take a step closer to understanding my field as a whole, and how those aspects relate to acting, shooting, and directing for film.
Growth can be a scary thing. It is not a steady or even process; it is full of painful and sudden spurts, followed immediately by stagnation. My internship was one of the biggest periods of growth I have ever had, in the shortest amount of time. If anything was going to give me growing pains, it would have been this. Sure, I left with a few stretch marks, but overall, I think this experience has not only helped me toward becoming a better film maker and given me a leg up in my future academic pursuits; it has also given me a sense of the big picture, new friends, industry connections, and the confirmation that this is what I want to do. Something that everyone has told me I needed for years. My intern profile on the TCFF website says that the three things I can’t live without are, “Oxygen, food, and my internal organs.” (traversecityfilmfest.org). Which is true; however, there is a fourth thing I can’t seem to live without. Growth. Thankfully, because of this internship, I’ve got some to spare, but I’m not going to let that slow me down. That growth is going to propel me forward into creating even more, and gaining deeper insight into how my field of study connects with not only itself and other academics, but of how that field connections with the world.
Works Cited "5.1 Surround Sound Mixing in Adobe Premiere." The Beat: A Blog by PremiumBeat. Web. 20 Aug. 2017. Boss, Jeff. "Staying Competitive Requires Adaptability." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 26 Apr. 2016. Web. 20 Aug. 2017. Deimler, Martin Reeves Mike. "Adaptability: The New Competitive Advantage." Harvard Business Review. 27 May 2016. Web. 20 Aug. 2017. Digital Cinema System Specification: V 1.0. Hollywood, Ca.: Digital Cinema Initiatives, LLC, 2005. Print. "How to Make an Ocean in Blender." YouTube. YouTube, 25 Feb. 2016. Web. 20 Aug. 2017. "Liberal Education vs. Professional Education: The False Choice." AGB. 08 June 2016. Web. 20 Aug. 2017. "Mission." Alma College. Web. 18 Aug. 2017. Tcff. "Meet the 2017 Interns!" Traverse City Film Festival. TCFF Http://www.traversecityfilmfest.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/2018-Traverse-City-Film-Festival.png, 03 July 2017. Web. 20 Aug. 2017. Bluelightningtv. "Photoshop Tutorial: How to Transform a Photo into a Dot, Mosaic Portrait." YouTube. YouTube, 13 Nov. 2016. Web. 20 Aug. 2017. Bluelightningtv. "Photoshop Tutorial: How to Make a POP ART Portrait from a Photo!" YouTube. YouTube, 22 July 2013. Web. 20 Aug. 2017.
Written by: Merek Alam
08.20.17