My Internship Experience with *SCAPE Media & Entertainment
I am a Psychology and Arts & Culture Management major at the Singapore Management University (SMU). For all SMU undergraduates, an internship of 10 weeks is mandatory as part of the degree requirements. Despite being exempted from the internship requirement, I am always actively seeking out favourable opportunities as I strongly believe in the importance of having hands-on working exposure. Thus, being a young film enthusiast, I was delighted to chance upon an internship opportunity with *SCAPE Media.
My Experience
Having joined the *SCAPE Media team and the National Youth Film Awards (NYFA) project midway through meant that I had to adjust to the bits and pieces of the integration while scrambling to deal with a project that was already underway. Being looped into multiple meetings at the start may seem daunting, but the opportunity to listen and observe the work that goes on behind the scenes before acting did contribute to a seamless transition. As someone with an event planning background, I was excited when I was assigned to prepare for the NYFA 2021 Online Media Winner Announcement. In addition to the NYFA project, I have had the pleasure to helm a five-week virtual Review Writing Workshop. Truth to be told, the process of planning and executing for both virtual events was a novel experience for me! I also got the opportunity to coordinate the focus group discussions with the nominees of NYFA 2021; a research tool that I did not expect to utilise and experience in this internship journey.
Challenges
It was unfortunate that I spent my entire internship period working from home due to the pandemic. The lack of a common workspace and physical communications meant that I did not experience the workplace culture of *SCAPE. And being an introvert, communication via digital mediums such as Zoom meetings and WhatsApp calls/messages made it slightly difficult for me to grasp the team’s working styles or situations. Thankfully, there were a couple of occasions, closer to the NYFA event date, when I had physical meetups with my colleagues. Those moments were precious to me as I got to interact with them personally aside from work discussions. Nonetheless, I am thankful to have a team of friendly colleagues who are willing to guide me along the way. This unprecedented event definitely pushed me to converse more and adapt to the new “norm” of working remotely.
All in all, my internship with *SCAPE Media involved assisting in administrative work, media-related programme planning, and executions. Through these involvements, I have gained insights into the media/filmmaking ecosystem and challenges faced by the community, especially the emerging filmmakers and media students. Furthermore, I have seen how committed *SCAPE is towards creating opportunities to help support youth in their creative aspirations. Thus, this internship journey certainly opened my eyes to the supportive aspect of the local film industry.
My Advice to Future Interns
- Take everything as a learning opportunity—keep an open mind when approaching new challenges or learning new skills
- Make an effort to build a personal relationship with your colleagues and team
- Enjoy the moment and have fun!
As someone who is not well-versed in the film industry, I am grateful for this valuable opportunity to observe and work for the community, which has strengthened my understanding of film in many ways. I will cherish the valuable exposures and continue to hone the skills that I have picked up along the way as I embark on the next chapter of my life.
Special thanks to Youth Corps Singapore for arranging the internship programme and the *SCAPE Media team for their invaluable guidance and patience.
