Finding Film Production Internships

Education in digital video and film is one thing, but practical experience is going to make you a proficient videomaker and help you get a job. You may be lucky enough to take some of your skills and possible collegic background and jump into the production industry green, but the likelihood is that you are going to need one or two quality video internships under your belt before you will ever even get an interview. These can be tough to find, so here are a few tips on how to narrow it down.

The first thing you have to do is be absolutely vigilant. What this means is you must begin searching internet databases on a consistent and thorough level. Scholarships.com, Fastweb.com, 123finjobs.com, monster.com, dreamjobs.com, and many others are great resources for searching. The key point of success with this method is to search all of them for all available keywords. Begin making a list of all available internships in the locations you want, what they require, what they take to apply, and any other information you are going to need. Begin applying for them one by one, giving as much time to each as you can. This method bases its success in the absolute number that you end up applying to. For example, if you apply to fifty internships the possibility that you are going to be denied for all of them is very slim. Also check Craig's List because you are usually going to find more specific internship opportunities here. Remember to look for scams or internships that disguise themselves as part of your industry.

The same technique can be applied to contacting industry professionals you know. Begin making a list of people you have worked with or know on a personal level that have their foot in the industry. Ask them if they know of any opportunities and see if they can either begin contacting other professionals or give you people you can contact.

You may want to contact a service that can do these searches for you, such as a job placement department. If you are enrolled at a university of some sort then they usually have this service somewhere with a number of professional connections already.

Often times film and video companies will post their internships on websites of prestigious film schools. They do this to attract many of the master's students, but they still post all of the contact information and requirements. Begin browsing websites for schools like Rochester Institute of Technology, University of Southern California, Columbia University, New York University, Chapman University, and Loyola Marymount University to see what listings have been posted.

The best way to find internships is to go into it expecting very little. Do not ask to get paid or to have part time involvement, and instead take anything you can get.