The Internship

Hi everyone, so as I was thrilled to post a few weeks ago, I’ve been spending the summer interning at Stellify Media, and I’ve been having an absolute blast. I’d been eager to make the step up from runner to researcher for a while now and this internship has given me that opportunity.

The experience has been invaluable, I’ve learnt so much already, in these few short weeks I’ve been there, about how the TV industry works in the real world.

I’ve been working in Stellify’s development office, which is where they come up with, shoot tasters for, finalise, and pitch ideas to commissioners. A taster is like a low-budget first draft trailer for a TV show that’s made by the Dev. Dpt. to demonstrate the concept of the show in their pitches. 

It’s easier to think of it as a pre-pilot to show to commissioners (eg BBC, RTE, Channel 4 etc) and they decide from that point whether they want to fund a pilot, before it gets considered for a commission for the real thing. 

Once the show gets picked up, the production office takes over to make the pilot and then the real thing. 

After the taster is shot, edited and pitched by the development department, they go back to brainstorming new ideas.

Whilst the development office is a very creative department, there’s also a lot of co-ordination and manegerial work as there are development producers who plan the taster shoots. It’s been amazing for me to work under them and see how it’s done in a professional capacity.

Taster shoots have far smaller budgets and shorter deadlines than a full show, so development producers not only have to be great ideas people, but strong producers, directors and floor managers as well.

I was taken on into this department at the ideal time, because they usually make 1 taster a month, and I arrived as an extra pair of hands when they were planning 3 shoots in the same week.

I’ve loved that I was placed in the development department because I was not only in the office developing ideas with them and working under brilliant Dev. Producers, but also got to be on set as a floor runner. 

On top of being on set, I’ve also researched different filming locations, gone on recce’s, interviewed people to feature in tasters, been a point of contact for talent, games tested, been in charge of health & safety and contributors forms, got contacts signed, data wrangled and footage logged. I’ve absolutely loved it (and I haven’t been sent to do a coffee or lunch run once?! Completely spoilt now 😂)

Whilst shoot days inevitably equal long hours, I‘ve sometimes gone home exhausted but go home satisfied every day.

I’ve absolutely loved my time at Stellify so far and I’m so grateful that they took me on out of all of the other applicants. 

Getting a chance to see what it’s like to work in TV in the real world rather than in class has affirmed that I’m in the right industry. This internship is a massive milestone in my career path and I’m so excited to see what comes next!