Week Nine: Shoreline (final post)

The time I’ve spent working with Shoreline this summer has been a wonderful learning experience for me. I’ve learned so much that I’m sure I will carry my into my future career. Overall, the internship turned out to be everything I expected it to be. Over the course of my internship, I screened about 20 new, unreleased films and read about 10 new feature and pilot scripts. Additionally, I reached out to about 50 new filmmakers and producers about potentially working with Shoreline. The major takeaway I have from my time with Shoreline is that the film industry, in a lot of ways, really about making money. And like any business, Shoreline (an any other film company) is mostly concerned about selling a product–in this case films. This doesn’t mean that Shoreline sacrifices film quality, it just means there is more of an emphasis on finding film that are marketable (based on a genre, an actor, etc. ) rather than the artistic integrity of the work. Knowing this, I’m certain I can expect similar company attitudes as I move forward in my career.

Now having interned with an independent film company, I have a better understanding of the plethora of departments a singular production company can have. Before interning, I knew I wanted to eventually own a company similar to shoreline (and I still do), I just now have a better understanding of what goes into the day-to-day operations of an independent film corporation. That was another major objective I had in doing this internship. Just to observe how an independent film company really works, has been incredibly beneficial.

Since Shoreline is a relatively small company, I didn’t have to write a ton of thank you notes.I ended up writing thank you cards for four people–everyone who worked with me on a day-to-day basis. Leaving Shoreline, I feel good because I knew that I’ve begun to form those crucial industry connections which most (if not all) careers in the film industry are built upon. I’m thrilled to have had this internship experience. I know everything I’ve learned will be put to good use in the future!

-Courtney

Advice for next year’s student interns: Make sure to establish a good relationship with your supervisor and the company owner if you can. Learn as much as you can and observe as much as you can from those doing what you really want to be doing. It will only make you better for your future career.