Source: Eastern Institute of Technology – Tairāwhiti
2 mins ago
Learning the art of film production in the real world has been a highlight for three EIT Screen Production students during their internships.
Susanna Gray, Carlos Aberhart-Lopez and Irish Blakey-Morgan are all in their third year of a Bachelor of Creative Practice (Screen Production) at EIT’s IDEAschool. Earlier this year they completed an eight-week internship at two Napier-based companies, which has given them all a new perspective.
Susanna, who lived in Australia for 11 years after moving there as an eight-year-old, says she is quite surprised how much she has enjoyed the EIT degree because it was a last-minute decision.
“I was moving from Australia to study a double degree in drama and language at the University of Auckland, but I had to defer that because I couldn’t get accommodation in time.”
“I really just saw myself studying something creative that year, so I frantically googled around. I knew I could get accommodation in Hawke’s Bay, so I ended up here.”
The 22-year-old has not regretted it, mostly because of the supportive environment within IDEAschool. A highlight of her degree has been her internship at Indelible Creative Studios.
“It was really good. They were really open and encouraging.”
As for the future, Susanna wants to be in a position later in her career to help other female filmmakers and creators and “uplift them”.
Joining Susanna at Indelible was Irish Blakey-Morgan, a 20-year-old from Hastings. He says he enjoyed his time at Indelible because of the professional environment, as well as being able to learn a number of different skills.
“The work I did varied from animation graphics to data management and then filming as a crew member or assistant crew member.”
The relationship with Indelible is set to continue after Irish finishes his degree, with the promise of plenty of free-lance work.
Irish says he likes the fact that the degree at EIT, even without the internship, is very practical.
“We do a lot of projects and because I am quite a hands-on learner, it’s quite helpful for me.”
Although he enjoys being behind the camera, the editing suite is where Irish sees his future, because it is “quite creative”.
For 25-year-old Carlos, the opportunity to do an internship is what drove him to return for the third year of the Screen Production Programme.
He was not disappointed as he spent eight-weeks at Napier-based Engage Video Creation, which also owns the news outlet Hawke’s Bay App (www.hbapp.co.nz).
“I started out on the App learning how to make news stories, and video news stories in particular.”
Carlos has also enjoyed livestreaming sport, both locally and for Sky Television, through Engage Video.
He says that going into the degree, he had pictured himself having a long career in movies, but his internship experienced may have changed that.
“I’ve always wanted to make movies, so I’m not cancelling that out yet, but probably I see myself filming professional sports around the world.”
In the meantime, the quality of his work during the internship has meant that Engage Video and Hawke’s Bay App want him to continue working for them after he finishes his degree.
Indelible Creative Studio’s Director Dan Browne said both Irish and Susanna had been “great” during their internships.
“They were both super proactive and engaged throughout the whole internship, having a go at most aspects of production during their time with us.”
Engage Video Creation Director Ben Firman says he sees the EIT internship programme as a great pathway to feed young talent into the industry.
“Carlos quickly became part of the team and had good base knowledge that we were able to build on and refine into the different production areas,” says Ben.
Floyd Pepper, Discipline Leader – Screen Production in EIT’s IDEAschool says: “Being able to offer these internships really helps our students’ network and find their place in the industry.”
“We had a similar scenario last year where some students interned in Auckland, and were offered jobs up there after graduation, due to their fantastic work ethic. It’s really encouraging to see this trend consistently occurring.”
