Mt Mansfield Media is an advertising company like no other. One of the reasons why I was drawn to this place was the amazing risk-taking and out-of-the-box thinking of everyone involved. Mt Mansfield Media believes that every commercial, documentary, or graphic designs they do should be unique and really out there, especially with their commercials. Some may be funny, some may be a bit weird, but they all definitely capture the viewer's attention, and that's what has makes them so successful. Not one commercial by them could ever be described as boring, and I loved that. As I stated in my Anthropology of the organization, "... Mt Mansfield Media commercials don’t always feel like their main goal is to sell. They connect with their audiences through ridiculous plots and humor. They also put effort into not only showcasing the product, but also the values of the company behind it. This is especially true as Mt Mansfield Media often works with local organizations and small communities who do have a story to tell."

INTERNSHIP ACTIVITIES AND REFLECTION

One of the really exciting things about not only Mt Mansfield Media, but also the film industry in general, is that there's always something new and different to do every day. In our first meetings with my mentors, I insisted that there wasn't anything specific I wanted to do - I wanted to learn about every aspect of film production, from the brainstorming meetings to the financials behind it to the casting and special effects work. Granted, I ended up doing a lot more post-production work, but I really learned a lot from the variety of jobs I was assigned each day. I sat in on brainstorming sessions, where I learned a lot about the creative process behind the iconic Mt Mansfield Media commercials. The key ingredient, I think, is the no-judgement environment of brainstorming meetings. Everyone verbalized whatever idea they come up with, even if it's crazy. We watched other videos for inspiration and thought realistically about what could and couldn't be accomplished. Next I also shadowed two interviews as seen above, one with Wendell's Furniture and a segment for a documentary on Race to Read Vermont. Here I learned a lot about the interview process, especially when it comes to speaking with the interviewee and making them feel comfortable. I'd read a lot about interview do's and don'ts in the past, but it was really informative to see those principals in action. For the most part it was very casual, which I think is a good thing to try to achieve when the interviewee is under so many lights and cameras. The majority of the work I did, however, was in post-production. I did a lot of transcribing, which I have to say has exponentially increased my typing speed. Below are some samples of my transcriptions.

I briefly assisted with some script writing, and wrote some drafts for social media posts. I also learned a lot about the editing process, and I learned some skills using Adobe After Effects. I helped edit some commercials, short documentaries, and I replicated some motion effects for commercial graphics.

What really stood out to me the most about this internship was the ability to directly see my contributions in the final product. Below in my Mentor Profile, Abby Shumway said,

"We had somebody here, she worked at Pixar in project management, and she said the greatest thing from coming from that to here she was like 'I can see the final product,' she's like, 'that would be years of work. And then there's Wall-E, two years later, and it's cool it's great, but you kind of like to see something on such a truncated timeline,' it's just so much more motivational," and it really is! I was in the movie theater watching Arrival with my family, and one of the commercials I worked on was shown before the movie. I thought it was so exciting, and so did my family. I think that's another great thing about living in a place like Vermont. I got to work with a small group of creative and motivated individuals to create a product that I could see maybe a week or two later on TV, or in the movie theater, or as a YouTube ad. These are all spaces that normally feel otherworldly or unreachable, run by people behind curtains, so being a part of the production of these videos that reach so many people like myself was incredibly rewarding. One of the commercials in which I was most involved in was a Heritage commercial that promoted both Heritage cars and documentary produced by Mt Mansfield Media sponsored by Heritage Ford called "Race to Read" - you can watch the commercial and the documentary below.

My time at Mt Mansfield Media came to an end on April 14th of 2017. Overall, the experience working there for the past eight months has been incredibly rewarding for me. I learned so much about the process of film making and reflected on my own interest in pursuing a career path in the film industry. I'm really going to miss getting coffee in the mornings, driving to Colchester, and spending my day working alongside the employees of Mt Mansfield Media. I learned so much from Kyle, who taught me about Adobe After Affects, and both Ben and Suzanne, who answered any editing questions I had. I developed some creative and critical thinking skills at meetings and brainstorming sessions. My goal was to learn the process of professional filmmaking from the coming up with an idea to the big screen. I really think I accomplished this goal. It was interesting to see the team process of coming up with a concept for a project, and then observing how Abby took our rough ideas and wrote scripts for them. I got to help out on a film set and interact with actors, and I realized just how long it takes to film a scene! I realized I really rushed during my own independent project when working with actors - I didn't want to waste the limited time we had. I see now that in a professional production, it's important to not rush. I was a stand in for the cameras and lighting for a solid half hour before the actors took my place, and when they did, they repeated their lines what seemed like hundreds of times. We were there from ten am to right pm on one shooting day, all for a thirty second commercial. It really adjusted my perspective on film production. I now understand what it's like to produce film on a professional level, and within a team of employees. Things put into practice are often different than how you might imagine them to be, and although I didn't exactly have grand expectations about what it's like to work as a videographer, it was incredibly informative to experience it first hand. Overall, it really solidified by love for film production, and my interest to continue pursuing a career in this industry (now, I believe, with a more realistic mindset)! It was an incredibly influential learning experience, and I'm honored to have been given this opportunity to gain so much knowledge and personal growth.