During the summer of 2017, I had the privilege of interning with Discovery Communications as a Motion Design and Animation Intern in Los Angeles. I started my internship my sophomore year at MICA – I went to the career fair (already knowing that I wouldn’t get an internship since I didn’t have the portfolio for one) and decided to learn about all the companies at the fair and figure out here I would apply for next summer. I met with Discovery and was enamored by the thought of working for a company that inspired my passion for being curious and wanting to learn more about the world. I decided to spend my summer preparing a portfolio, working on my resume and cover letter, and setting up a nice website. Not only was I determined to work for Discovery, but I was also determined to get an internship in general. I created a spreadsheet of 70 places I wanted to apply, and applied to all of them. I started this process in early September of 2016, and finished up in February 2017. By March, I had applied for all 70 places across the US and had created a portfolio and website that I was truly proud of. My hard work had truly paid off. I got many rejections, but I got many offers as well. I had only accepted one: Discovery Communications Intern! I did receive offers from CNN and NBCUniversal, as well as many smaller companies.
Discovery Communications is a large Entertainment company committed to unscripted TV. Discovery Communications owns Discovery Channel, TLC, Science Channel, OWN, Animal Planet, and now Scripps Network (which includes HGTV, Travel Channel, and Food Network). During my internship, I worked closely with our Executive Producer, Tara Belkin, and our Art Director, Brett Krauss. I was their Motion Graphics and Animation Intern – but really I was more than that. I wanted to learn all the ins and outs of what Discovery does, so I asked to be able to learn how to do all aspects of Production. Tara had went over with me some basic responsibilities of being a Producer – which included budgeting and managing projects. I also had the privilege to be a Production Assistant on a few shoots. We did a shoot for Shark Week and we did a shoot for Velocity. For both projects, I was responsible for taking log notes. Other projects I worked on included doing research, creating style frames for various projects, and doing basic animation as well as technical animation. One of the projects I’m most proud of is my style frames for Carspotting – my designs were chosen to air on TV. It was an amazing feeling to be able to see my work on the screen for thousands of people to see.
One huge perk of being a Discovery Intern was the bi-weekly Speaker Series. Every Tuesday and Thursday, one of the Discovery locations would host a Speaker from the company to come and talk to us about what they do or give us advice on how to succeed in the industry. All of the Speakers were open to answering questions – which was really nice because it gave you a chance to connect with who you were talking to on a personal level. These talks were helpful for the interns to get insight on the processes that go on behind the scenes at Discovery.
My biggest take away from my experience is that connections are so important in this Industry. Everyone I worked with had known each other from a different company and had helped each other get jobs. All of the speakers had talked about this as well and did their best to ingrain in our heads that connections and networking were essential. As a result of working at Discovery, I have learned how to be better at networking. This is a new skill that I have acquired as a result of interning there. Prior to Discovery, I was very shy and closed off, but I had to learn how to become more social so that I made the best of my experiences.
Through my internship, I learned a lot about the Entertainment Industry, and thus have also learned a lot about my own personal career goals. I definitely enjoyed my experience at Discovery, but I am not sure yet if the Entertainment Industry is for me. I learned that being a Designer for networks means that a lot of your work is very similar, as the designers have to follow a style guide. There isn’t a whole lot of room for creativity and trying ideas outside of the margins. That being said, I definitely wouldn’t rule out the Entertainment Industry altogether. If Discovery offered me a full-time position, I would take it in a heartbeat.
Overall, my experience as a Discovery Intern has been a positive one. I learned a lot about the industry and myself and had the privilege to experience Los Angeles at the same time.
