From day one when I stepped foot to the Mack Sennett studios for my internship, I knew that deep down my dream was finally becoming a reality. The dreams of working in the industry were finally tangible, within my gasps, and I was on the yellow brick road. I certainly was not in Kansas anymore, I was finally in Hollywood surrounded by endless rows of palm trees.
Wait, let's rewind a bit. I found an ad of a low budget feature searching for student P.A.s, and interns, and I applied. Within days, I received a call from the production coordinator who loved my resume and offered me the job. After the call, I jumped ecstatically like an American Idol contestant who got through to the final round. Hollywood was finally calling me.
For the first week, I was sent out on many runs, and it seemed to be a nuisance. I drove thousands of miles all over North Hollywood, through the hills of Burbank, and the squiggly windy roads of Hollywood; in addition to the commute from home, however, each trip alone was an experience. I was given a mission, pick up or drop off what ever that is needed on set. I went to prop warehouses, expendables stores, telecine companies, even the Kodak and the Entertainment Partner offices. Each warehouse I visited seemed to be a hidden gem that I discovered on the treasure map. I was learning the secrets of the trade.
By week two, I was mainly stuck in a stuffy office, making copies of call sheets, and sides. It seemed repetitive: copy this, staple that; tape this, shred that; fold this, stamp that. I felt like a drone or a mindless robot. I wanted a challenge. I kept bugging the UPM will small questions of how expendables worked with certain accounts. My fascination for figuring out where the money went, and to whom it went to was confusing at first, but it all finally started to click. He decided to give me more responsibility, and handed me the reigns.
With a few tips according to my UPM such as, “cash is always king,”; the answer is a “no,” until you call them; and “you never know until you try.” I started calling all vendors looking for the cheapest quotes, cheapest caters, and deals. Within a few phone calls, I became a lean, mean haggling machine. Getting deals left and right. I rented walkie talkies for $200 less than the average quote. Caterers were more than happy to take my orders, while getting me beautiful discounts. The UPM smiled impressively as I spoke to several vendors on the phone. My haggling skills were flawless in three weeks; petty cash became a whole new meaning.
The office was also short on staff, in addition, not having enough funding in the budget for hiring extra P.A.s or stand ins so I used my network to bring in as many as I could to work for free. The production coordinator was extremely shocked at the amount of people I called in to work for either a day or two or even a week. I, somehow, performed a miracle, and pulled every string I had to get enough people to work for free.
Impressed by my skills, the production accountant said, “When you graduate. You need to call me. I will get you a job.” My hard work of blood, sweat, and tears over the course of twelve hours a day, six days a week for three and half weeks finally paid off. Not only did I get several job offers, but I also received the news that I would be getting IMDB credit. This internship opportunity opened the double doors to Hollywood haven. Through this film, I met so many people who will all want to achieve the same thing, create cinematic arts. I collectively feel that my career is finally taking a step forward on the yellow brick road.
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