Internships can be the gateway into the entertainment industry
When Michael Levin enrolled in Ithaca College, he knew his education would eventually lead him to a job in Hollywood. With four internships under his belt and majors in television production and script writing, moving to Los Angeles was always part of his grand plan.
“I wanted to write for television and film and the only place to do that is Los Angeles,” Levin said. “Going to Ithaca meant that I wanted to move to Los Angeles.”
Little did he know he would achieve his dream within a month of finishing school.
Levin was one of 1,200 applicants selected for the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Foundation’s prestigious internship program last summer. The Television Academy Foundation is the charitable arm of the Television Academy, the group that votes for the Primetime Emmy awards. Established in 1959, the Foundation’s paid internship program provides more than 40 internships within the entertainment industry to undergraduate and graduate students from across the country.
“We offer over 40 different areas of television,” Nancy Robinson, manager at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Foundation said. “It’s a great opportunity for film and television students to figure out what is it they’re interested in and get their feet wet during the summer through these internships.”
Applications are reviewed and then finalists are asked to make a video resume to submit to the Foundation.
Only 38 students were selected in 2011.
The competitive eight-week program is based in Los Angeles and provides students with exposure to the television industry. Positions are offered in a variety of sectors of the business, including production, post-production, business affairs, development and public relations. Interns are paid a stipend of $4000.
As part of their duties, interns have worked on top shows such as Californication, True Blood and Mad Men, as well as the Star Trek franchise.
“Its really difficult to get in,” Levin said. “In my video I was kind of just going with it and having a good time.”
Levin was placed in the Montana Artists Agency, where he was an intern at the television department.
“It was a lot of calling on projects and figuring out what executives of different shows were working on,” he said.
Past companies that have partnered with the Foundation include Sony Pictures Imageworks, Film Roman, CBS, HBO, The Disney Channel, Discovery Times, Fox TV Studios, E! Entertainment, NBC Universal and Warner Bros.
“The Television Academy Foundation’s interns have consistently been top-of-the-line,” Todd Beck, the president of Beck Media & Marketing said. “We’ve hosted two students so far, and both came in the door totally focused and eager to learn.”
Because of the Foundation’s association with the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, students in the internship program also come out with an added prestige.
“It's really the name of the organization,” Robinson said. “Going through our program looks nice...(on a) resume and we also offer workshops for the interns.”
The Foundation is currently accepting applications for it’s 2012 summer internship program. Applications must by postmarked by March 15.
“Definitely apply,” Levin said. “ And don't let yourself be sheltered or shy. If you want to make it into this business you’re going to have to break out of this shell and talk to people. The internship program allows you to get your foot in the door, meet other people, and develop your own network.”
And that’s exactly what Levin did. Today he is the executive assistant to the Montana Artists Agency’s head of business affairs. He was offered the job during his internship over the summer.
“They offered me a job because they knew me. Whenever I would see paper on the printer, I would get that paper and put it on a desk,” he said.
Clarissa Wei is a Spring 2012 Paste BN Collegiate Correspondent. Learn more about her here.
This story originally appeared on the Paste BN College blog, a news source produced for college students by student journalists. The blog closed in September of 2017.