Internship Work Summary

The English department, one of the largest at Vintage, is a critical aspect of the pupils' curriculum, and all of the instructors try their absolute best to communicate the material in a way that the students can understand. For my internship, I worked for the Vintage High School English Teacher, Travis Title. Vintage High School, located in Napa, contains over one thousand students. I helped assist in a large poetry recital project, which was to help the students learn and understand about the diversity of poetic works, and how they express emotion and life experience. Each student chose an already published poem, and then were to reflect on how it relates to themselves.

The final product of the freshmen poetry project was a video showing each of the students reciting their poem, filmed in a candid 'documentary' style. After an initial reading in the classroom, the students were scheduled by the teacher at specified times to go outside for the actual videotaping. Choosing a scenic location which they preferred to be in the background of the video, such as a grassy field or between a group of trees, the student went through a specific recital process: they read their poem, gave a thourough reflection of it, and then concluded with another reading. It was my role to find the best camera angle and lighting to focus attention on the student. After all of the students' filming was complete, I then started the editing process and prepared for making the finished product. Using a Macintosh computer armed with Final Cut Pro, I refined each student's recital, cutting out any errors or loose ends that may have been present in the footage. By using digital technology to enhance the aesthetic appearance of the video, the final product was not only more enjoyable to Mr. Title and the students viewing it, but it also gave the Vintage English program a good level of professionalism.

Working for Mr. Title in this internship not only helped enhance my creative utilization of technology, but also gave me a strong collaborative challenge. The Freshmen English class had a great variety of students--some very enthusiastic about the project; there were others who had very little care about their involvment. Despite the problems that many students caused during the filming--from refusing to talk clearly to not having a poem prepared at all--I still had to meet the expectations that Mr. Title had for the finished product. For the students who were either talking too quietly or were not giving a comprehensive reflection of their poem, I needed to be patient and convince them of what things I needed to have done during their filming. This proved to be very frustrating at times, but eventually the students cooperated and the good end result showed how much effort I put into working with them. Collaboration skills are indeed a highly emphasized point at New Technology High School, and my experience with this internship is a case-in-point to the project-based approach of my school's curriculum, which requires that all students exercise their 'people skills.'

Since my internship was to produce a video, the main tools used to accomplish my tasks were a digital camcorder and video editing equipment. Using equipment utilizing Mini-DV (digital video) technology, the filming process not only yielded extremely clear and professional results, but also made the editing process much more efficient, since no video conversion was necessary to get the footage downloaded onto the computer. Editing was done using an Apple Macintosh G4 and the Final Cut Pro software--both considered industry standards. After overcoming the steep learning curve of the editing software, producing the video became an exteremely enjoyable process; I was able to easily visualize what the final product would look like. Adding effects such as titles, transitions, and recoloring the video was efficient enough that I did not have many constraints with getting the look that I wanted, and I could easily correct errors without extending the deadline that I was trying to meet with the video.

Producing a video is an extremely demanding process, and requires dedication and a strong ability to work under pressure. Since I plan to go into the postproduction field for my career, this internship gave me some insight into what skills I will need for the future. By being forced to work with often impatient students, this project also gave me essential communication skills that I will need during difficult scenarios. Mr. Title gave me a good deal of freedom, and as a result I got the 'look' that I wanted for the video--and also exceeded the teachers expectations.