Filmico Pastiche

I first found out about this internship opportunity when my professor told me he was working on a feature film called Stealing Cars and was looking for interns. He said I could request any position I wanted to learn more from. A few months prior, I was on set with him and his wife where I was in charge of Art/Continuity. He told me I would be a good script supervisor, a position I didn’t know existed, so I requested to be script supervisor on his feature.

As script supervisor, my job was to be the link between the director(s) on set with the editor(s) in post-production. Luckily, both my professor and his wife were the directors and editors of Stealing Cars so my job was a little easier than normal. I had to take notes on each take that was shot so when they edit the film later, their process will move faster. I also had to make sure each scene and take were consistent; it’s very easy to get mixed up with props and wardrobe during filming. Everyone on set is so focused on their job that it can be hard to notice if someone moves their arm differently in a take or if they aren’t wearing a backpack that they should be wearing, so it was my job to notice what everyone else wouldn’t.

I prepared by buying books about script supervision and was a little nervous about doing my job correctly. After all, this was my first time doing this job and my professor and his wife were relying on me to keep track of crucial continuity aspects that might ruin their movie. However, everyone on set said I did a great job and even said they’d like to work with me again.

I’m most proud of my willingness to grow and learn because it’s impossible to keep track of every small detail. I could see my progress as time went on and there was always an immediate emotional reward for when I caught something. Each time, I felt like I saved the movie. My biggest takeaway is my understanding of the script supervisor role. A few months ago, I didn’t know it existed. Now I feel like script supervising is a viable career path for me.

Lion’s Wood Banquet Furniture

The organization I interned with was a banquet furniture manufacturer called Lion’s Wood. They specialize in crafting elegant and functional furniture pieces for the food service industry. Their commitment to blending creativity with functionality resonated with me. They are known for their attention to detail and innovative designs that elevate event spaces. The journey began when I discovered this internship opportunity through MICA Network. After thorough research and preparation, I applied and successfully secured the position.

Throughout the internship, the marketing director guided and mentored me. Her expertise in the field, coupled with her willingness to share insights, played a pivotal role in shaping my learning experience.

My responsibilities were diverse and hands-on. I learned positions within the company, gained insights into their business model, and dived into the fascinating world of link boxes and induction. I had the opportunity to create new spec sheets for the company's bars and serving carts, which involved formatting and attention to detail. Additionally, I undertook the task of editing photos to align with customer design options, contributing to the visual consistency of the brand. Crafting labels for sample materials enhanced my communication skills, as these materials were intended for customers and clients. One of the highlights was adding technical drawings to spec sheets, enriching my understanding of furniture design.

Among the projects I was involved in, I am particularly proud of the collaboration with the marketing team. I helped refine the visual elements of marketing materials, ensuring they accurately portrayed the essence of the furniture pieces. My biggest takeaway from this internship was realizing the importance of holistic collaboration within a creative organization. Effective communication between different departments is vital to ensure that the design concepts are translated accurately.

This experience expanded my skill set significantly. I honed my technical proficiency in Photoshop and LightRoom software, developed a keen eye for design aesthetics, and enhanced my ability to adapt to the evolving needs of a dynamic industry. Furthermore, my exposure to the small business work structure provided valuable insights into the importance of agility and adaptability.

The internship has clarified my career goals by reaffirming my passion for product design within the furniture industry. It highlighted the significance of attention to detail, creativity, and collaboration in bringing ideas to life. As I move forward, I am excited to pursue a career that seamlessly blends my design skills with my newfound insights into business operations.

Danae Industrial 3D Printing

Danae Industrial 3D Printing is a 3D printing lab run by a MICA Alumni and winner of the MICA START. Originally beginning as a company focused on the creation and design of 3D printed prosthetics, they have since expanded to become a printing and prototyping service with SLA, SLS and FDM capabilities, taking clients from the medical/pharmaceutical industry, large sports companies, and companies on the fortune 500. I found out about this internship and applied for it through the MICA Network’s list of posted internships. The internship was secured through an email application and zoom interview.

My direct supervisor was the founder and CEO of the company who oversees the management of the company and works creating processes to improve the workflow of the company, as well as securing production deals with potential clients. My main responsibility was to assist the production floor printing technicians with the slicing, printing and post processing of incoming jobs.

Projects I was involved in:

- Creating a pitch for 3D printed products to produce as Danae products

- Prototyping a part for a home tools company as a pitch.

- Designing and printing my own lightsaber

- Post processing parts for various companies (Under NDA)

I am most proud of the design and creation of my lightsaber. I’m really happy with how it turned out, and super grateful to have had the chance to use such high quality printers to be able to print the parts plus learning tolerances and material limitations and possibilities. The biggest takeaway I have had would be the goal setting and career advice I received at my time there. The best advice I received was that to get to a goal faster, setting it clearly in your mind as what you want will help you unconsciously work your way towards it even when you’re not actively trying to.

Some new skills I have acquired as a result of this internship are learning SLS and SLA 3D printing processes. I also learned about tolerances in 3D printing and the potential and limits of several 3D printed materials. This internship has made me even more certain of my goal to become a prop maker, with how much I enjoyed the design and production of the lightsaber, to how comfortable and happy I was with the post processing work.

Photos courtesy of Andrew Copeland

Tommy Roberts, Artist

This summer I interned for a painter named Tommy Roberts located here in Baltimore at the Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower. I found out about this internship opportunity through one of my fellow peers at MICA. This was a one on one setup so Tommy gave me instructions and directions the entire time on what was expected of me and what I was supposed to do. 

As Tommy’s intern, my tasks included wiring, framing, and hanging canvases all around his studio and outside for display. I also had to create my own type of artwork everyday when I would come in. Lastly I would help Tommy with any little small favors that he may have needed. I am most proud of the works that I created while there, through Tommy's critique, feedback, and lessons. I elevated my artwork to an unbelievable level through the summer. 

My biggest takeaway from this experience was that if I truly want to become a self-sufficient artist then I have to be consistent and show up everyday for my craft. I have to be disciplined to work hard even when I don’t feel like it sometimes.This internship has helped clarify what steps I need to be taking as I return to school and beyond in order to make my career a reality.

Photos courtesy of Andrew Copeland

Polychrome

Polychrome is an online design studio. The studio creates trend reports and fully repetitive patterns. I found out about this opportunity through an interview the founder did for a fashion podcast. I checked out their design studio and applied.

My direct supervisor was the founder of the studio. While working there, I helped with researching fashion trends through fashion websites like Vogue. I pinned pictures to Pinterest boards for different future trends and helped with creating photo mock-ups for pre-existing patterns. Another responsibility I had was creating patterns with Photoshop and Illustrator.

I feel proud of my skills in Photoshop and Illustrator, I learned many good digital tricks through this internship experience. My biggest take-away was learning how to keep everything labeled and organized; though I think I still have room for improvement. I feel one important thing about doing pattern design is staying productive, and that needs a well-planned out workflow. I also learned a lot about creating vector patterns in Illustrator how to do trend research.

AARP

AARP is an interest group in the United States that focuses on issues affecting those over the age of fifty. I worked within the ICM (Integrated Communication and Marketing) Department. A professor of mine shared the link to the Publication Design Intern position and along with the application, he connected me to another professor who actually works at the company as a designer who I was able to reach out to with my materials and exchange a few emails.

For the most part I worked with the Associate Art Director. Though she was more of my day-to-day supervisor, I worked with several people on different projects. I worked with the Assistant Art Director with The Ethel Newsletter’s social media posts. I was also specifically tasked with designing the International Women’s History Month campaign. There is another newsletter by AARP called the Veteren’s Report for which I was asked to design bi-weekly covers of the stories featured. Additionally, I was trained in the software used by the company to work on the publication and eventually tasked to design some small spreads and sidebars. Lastly, I worked on “sizzle reels'' which are essentially quick motion graphics that introduce the upcoming issue.

I am quite proud of the newsletter reels as I did have to quite quickly learn their brand identities and be able to depict them accurately to an audience base that is different from what I am used to. Additionally, I feel as though I was quite proactive in asking for more work through the duration of the internship which I did in the hopes of leaving a positive impact and impression on the team.

My biggest takeaway was how strenuous, fast-paced and collaborative the publication process is from conceptualizing to print. I also learned a lot about working in a large corporate setting with a hierarchy of positions to report to and get approvals from.

I have learned several new skills through this including practical ones like new softwares, and also other skills like time management and organization required to multitask. This has helped clarify my career goals as I definitely still hope to work in editorial/publishing. It was earlier simply an interest, but now I have experienced it in a very real setting at a company that is extremely established. Instead of deterring me, I only feel more excited to hopefully step into it in the future.

CPI Productions

I knew I was interested in doing some sort of architectural photography work after graduating from MICA, so for my internship I decided to research some architectural photographers in the area. I reached out to a few photographers whose work I liked to see if they would be interested in taking me on as an intern. Fortunately, the first person I reached out to accepted my request. 

CPI Productions is a commercial architectural photography company that primarily focuses on larger corporate buildings rather than smaller homes and other real estate. My direct supervisor’s role was head photographer and owner of the company. My day-to-day responsibilities included accompanying my supervisor to on-site photoshoots where I would assist with setting up scenes and camera angles, as well as setting up lighting. I also helped on the post processing side as we went through the editing process of the photographs taken on site. 

I am most proud of the work we produced at some of the larger, more grand spaces. I much preferred those to the smaller, less glamorous spaces; although, I understand that smaller jobs are equally as important to the business’s success. My biggest takeaway was the overall process in general and how to navigate a photoshoot and deal with clients throughout the process. Through this internship I have acquired new photo editing skills using Photoshop and Lightroom. I have learned new techniques to utilize when shooting different types of spaces, and also how to speak with clients in a professional manner. This internship has allowed me to clarify that this is in fact the type of work I’d like to be doing for my career.

Hamiltonian Artists

Hamiltonian Artists' mission is to build a dynamic community of innovative artists and effective visual art leaders by providing professional development opportunities and advancing their entrepreneurial success. Through a two-year fellowship program they produce group shows and solo shows to help build a solid foundation for emerging artists. A professor from one of my courses works at Hamiltonian Artists and reached out to me at the end of the course if I would be interested in an internship.

During my internship I would report back to my supervisor with tasks I was assigned to and we would discuss program planning for the future. I was involved in a variety of projects like managing donor and board member Thank You letters and learning about the Bloomerang database. I also helped plan programs for kinetic members which is a sales and lending program on cultivating the next generation collectors. The mission of the program is to connect artists and collectors in such ways as conducting studio, managing collections, and creating a more approachable art collection environment. Finally, a big part of my jobs was installation and openings of exhibitions and the day-to-day gallery management.

My biggest takeaway from this experience is understanding how to present myself as an artist and how to represent the organization in the broader art world. I got to be in touch with a board of members, gallerists, artists, and people who are passionate about art in general! I overall understand better how the fine art industry runs and how to make art more accessible from a curatorial perspective. I now understand how non-profit galleries run and I am proud to have been involved in the DC art scene.

This internship experience has helped me to deepen my understanding in ways of supporting artists, especially emerging artists and made me more certain that the care for artists is what I want to carry on in my curatorial practice.

Globe Collection and Press at MICA

I have been interested in Globe since coming to MICA and I found out about their internship through a letterpress class that I took. My interest in Globe/letterpress is what pushed me to apply for the internship, as I was looking for a way to continue this enjoyment outside of class. Globe started out as a local letterpress shop and poster company, its collection (both posters and type) was bought by MICA in 2011 and has since been used to teach. On top of the collection being used in classes Globe still functions in the poster making world creating posters for different clients and events. 

My role at Globe was to help my supervisor with whatever projects needed to be done; whether it be designing/printing posters, packaging online orders, organizing the shop, or setting up for workshops. I have learned the steps for how Globe goes about creating posters, for any given poster we are working on I may help with the digital design work, setting the type, screen printing the backgrounds, or letterpress printing the text. I have gained so much useful knowledge and experience at this internship, in terms of both printmaking and career experience.

Finding a career has always been a point of anxiety for me, I worry that I won't be able to find jobs in my field. Having had this internship experience I feel a lot more secure in the thought of graduating and finding a career, I just feel generally more prepared. I’ve really enjoyed and appreciated my time interning at Globe, I truly don’t think I could have had a better experience.

Hill Studio

Hill Studio is a design and development studio that provides creative, thoughtful and lightly engineered solutions in partnership with companies. They provide sketch concepts, physical prototypes, and 3D models to the clients. The businesses they work with are furniture and lighting manufacturing businesses in North America with some overseas.

I was offered this internship by my supervisor, we had already discussed this position over the summer, and I pursued it and continued the conversation before the semester. My direct supervisor is the owner and principal designer of the studio. I’m not able to discuss the details of the projects because I signed an NDA but they range from furniture, lighting, and household products. I helped develop concepts, create 3D models, 3D renderings, and 3D prototypes as well as designing presentation decks to present to clients. I am most proud that one of my designs for a product was approved by the client.

I have many key takeaways from my internship, a few which are:

• Listen to what everyone has to bring/say, a fresh perspective is always good
• Process and progress are not linear
• Networking is one of the most important things in design
• Always try and explore new things, set design challenges for yourself from time to time to be active and experimental
• Understanding manufacturing methods is extremely important and helpful for a designer
• Be on top of things, don’t push things back, but prioritize
• Design is storytelling, get better at articulating ideas, thoughts, values

Some new skills I have acquired from this internship include: communication, active listening, manufacturing methods, design processes, problem-solving methods, holistic thinking when designing a new product, rapid prototyping, and keyshot rendering. I have learned so much more about the world of furniture and industrial design, and I have a clearer understanding and vision of what I would like to be a part of in the future.

Creative Alliance

Creative Alliance is a non-profit arts organization with a location in Baltimore, Maryland. They host exhibitions, resident artist programs, workshops, live performances and community events. I found out about this internship opportunity through a MICA Career Fair. There I talked to the someone from Creative Alliance. After our short conversation, I sent my resume and cover letter to apply to the curatorial internship position. I had a second meeting with them and we decided to move forward with the internship. 

My supervisor oversaw the operations of exhibitions and its related programming, including managing the resident artist program. The resident artist program is a housing/residency program. Artists apply to the program, pay subsidized fees for housing and studios in the Creative Alliance building and receive professional support and exhibition opportunities in return. 

As a resident artist coordinator, I interviewed resident artists about their needs and used this information to create original programming that responds to their needs. I was in charge of proposing, scheduling and budgeting these programs. I was also tasked with organizing all the physical documents relating to past resident artists into a physical archive, providing exhibition installation support and compiling artists’ resource lists, among other office tasks.

I am the most proud of my professional interviewing skills when having conversations with resident artists, all of them I have never met before. These conversations were fruitful and provided a lot of insights into what the resident artists want out of their time at the residency. 

My biggest takeaway is that clear, concise communication is crucial in professional working environments. I also learn how to tangibly respond to resident artist’s needs through proposed tangible programming such as studio visits, critique sessions, and professional development workshops. This internship provides me with strong organizational and interpersonal skills that I can apply to my career as an independent curator or working with non-profit organizations in the future. 

The Syndicate

 

The Syndicate is an entertainment marketing agency that focuses on musicians and comedians. They also work in radio promotion. I was working with Dismiss Yourself, an independent record label and one of the people I was working with posted a link to the internship. I applied for the position and did an interview after my application went through. My supervisor was in charge of the design department in the Syndicate. She oversaw the design team and works with the marketing team to make sure that they create compelling work that fulfils The Syndicates' and clients' criteria.

My responsibilities were to work with the design and marketing teams to create assets for their clients. we would make videos, posters, social media content, and more for multiple people. I am most proud of the video I made to promote the Guns N’ Roses Mexico tour, I was also very proud of the posters that I made for the Laugh Button Live. 

My biggest takeaway was that this would be an ideal kind of job based on my skillset and interests, but it could be potentially difficult to balance personal creative projects. The most important thing that I learned was how things work in a professional environment because I do similar work with independent labels and musicians. I learned more about how the music industry and music marketing work on a professional level. I also learned new motion techniques, such as kaleidoscope effects and lyric videos. This internship helped me to clarify my career goals by showing me how my work could be applied in a professional setting. 

Keypair

 

Keypair is a security company with blockchain technology and KCMVP-certified products. This internship was introduced to me when I visited Keypair with an artist who is planning to make NFT to ask about NFT. While I was asking some questions about NFT to the CEO, he offered me a design intern position. I thought it would be a great experience so I started my design internship at Keypair.

The main project of the company was to upgrade a crypto wallet app. Therefore, we were adding new functions and upgraded them. My direct supervisor is a UI/UX designer/developer and we discussed a lot of the UI/UX design of the app and what can be implemented through code.

I was honored to be part of designing the whole UI/UX and visual designs of the app. I am most proud to see my designs on an app that everyone can use. My biggest takeaway from this is that I learned more depth about software, such as Figma, Illustrator, and After Effects.

The most important thing that I learned from this internship is communication. Especially in a social group, clear communication is helpful to reach the success of projects. This experience definitely helped me get a sense of what I really am interested in, what I am good at, and what I dislike doing.

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

 I had the honor of interning with the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History as an animator, creating an animated film that will be a part of the temporary exhibit Cellphone: Unseen Connections that opened up in June 2023. The exhibit discusses everything from how cell phones are made from raw, earthly materials to how we can help the environment by repairing our phones instead of constantly replacing and upgrading them.

My biggest takeaway from this experience is that working with a professional team for a creative project is incredibly valuable and fruitful, as every member has something very different to offer and their own unique perspective. I also appreciated how much everybody genuinely cared about the message and purpose of the film. When working collaboratively, the most important thing I learned was how to translate the core team’s ideas and words into visuals that they approve of. They helped me push my own ideas and also gave me some of their own to work with and visualize.

Some new skills I have required through this internship are communication, time management and improving my drawing and animation skills. I have grown a lot in communicating in a professional environment, through emails with my supervisor and also in the group meetings. I can better explain my ideas and artistic thought processes to the group and clarify their requests. I have also improved in time management, now having experience with professional deadlines. 

This internship has helped clarify my career goals because it has given me a truly professional work experience that I want to be a part of. For the first time I am creating an animation for someone that is not myself or a school assignment. I now know what it is like to have these deadlines, feedback, critiques, scripts and meetings that are solely about the animation. I love the whole process and am reassured that this is what I want to do in my career. I truly enjoy working with others and bouncing off ideas with a team. I greatly enjoy a client, manager or supervisor telling me what they want me to animate and translating their wishes into the desired product. It is very exciting to me. I am so thankful for this opportunity!

Imagine This Women's Film Festival (ITWIFF)

 

Imagine This Women's International Film Festival aims to empower women and non-binary filmmakers worldwide. They promote these great filmmakers so that more people can see women's power and provide them with educational and professional opportunities. I found this opportunity through LinkedIn. It's the first time I have tried social networking with unfamiliar people. For this internship, I did a virtual interview with my supervisor, and she told me I got the Graphic Designer position after one week.

We had a total of 4 Graphic Design interns working together. We all work through a platform called Asana. Every week we have a virtual meeting for 30 mins. Sometimes it's 1 hour. We also share our progress on different projects so we can easily get suggestions from others.

For this position, my major duties included:

● Opening Credits(Typography Animation) for the 7th Annual Imagine This Women's International Film Festival
● Sales for tickets Motion Graphics
● Design Posters for the 8th Annual ITWIFF
● Gifs that people can share in Instagram Stories
● Supporting the design and creation of social share graphics

This Internship experience broadened my horizon and provided me with valuable experience in the head start of my career. And I developed many skills, not only technical skills but also communication, multi-tasks, and time management skills, which are so essential to complete your tasks on time. It's super beneficial to share ideas and thoughts with the most innovative thinkers in this organization. I was still determining my career goal, but after this experience, I found my career interest in motion graphics, so I have continued working on it. In the future, I'll keep working on the things I like, hoping to have more valuable and professional work.