Internship in a Media Company as a Creative Writer
Written by Yee Tung Wong (Tracy)
“I am a piece of blank paper before I got my internship, so what I should do through my internship is to make this paper to be as colourful as I can.” This impressed me a lot during this interview. Rae is studying Media & Communication at QUT, and currently, she is doing her internship as a creative writer in a studio, which is called Oceanus Vision. She believes that an internship is the very first step for her to get into the industry. Even though Lui has equipped the theoretical knowledge she needs from university, she was still not familiar with how the media industry works. There was no practical opportunity for her to apply those theories until she got this internship.
“Would you mind I go on with my dinner while we’re having an interview?” It was around 8:30 pm at that time. As usual, I have already finished dinner, and would otherwise be on my sofa, watching Netflix with my roommate. But, this is not what Rae’s life looks like. Every Wednesday, her internship would start from 11 to 7. “Sometimes, it is a bit harsh for me to balance my study and internship,” she smiled, continuing, “but I think it’s worth because I think I have accessed a world that I have never been before.”
Deciding on a future career is a tricky mission for many people. However, Rae did a smooth move on that. “I’m quite sure what I want to do in future, and this also is the reason why I would apply this internship. Well, I think I’m skilled after this three-years education in QUT, for example, I have studied the unit of Brisbane Media Map, I have written a few articles for this website. I think these experiences have trained me to become a professional creative writer. Besides, I’m passionate about writing as well. So, this internship gives me a chance to see how I have learnt and I can apply the knowledge I have learnt from the uni to the real world.” Her eyes sparkled as she spoke, I could feel her passion and confidence.
Before this interview, I thought all internships would require previous experience and skills in the field.. However, Rae shook her head to deny. “No one expects a uni student will immediately familiar with the job’s obligation and require all the techniques, and that’s why they need to do internship. The seniors in my company are willing to teach and guide me on the right track. But, I do know some of the company may require their intern need to be experienced. So, it depends on what kind of intern you apply also the job requirement. Although my boss did not ask me to equip a specific requirement, I have shown him some of the previous writing. For example, when I was still in China, I’ve contributed some writings to a local press. These experiences has sharpened my writing skills. So, when I applied for this internship, I have shown my work to my boss, and to show him that I’m capable to apply for this job.”
To be honest, creative writing is an abstract and mysterious career as I’m unfamiliar with it. . In this interview, Rae answered this question. “There is no specific theme or content I need to write, but my manager usually would encourage me to write various topics. You know… I have the freedom to write whatever I want, for examples, reviews of a café, restaurants and festivals…also, TV dramas etc.. Of cause, not every article I wrote would be published at the end, my supervisor and our team will analyse the viewing data to see what kinds of contents are the most popular, so we can keep exploring these relevant contents.”
Looking around her apartment, articles and books were piling up on her desk, and unfinished pieces of writing displayed on the laptop’s screen. Suddenly, there were a few questions that had popped up in my mind. Is this internship worth all the hard work? What had she learnt so far?. She paused for a while, and replied, “I think it’s worth. I am a piece of blank paper before I got my internship, so what I should do through my internship is to make this paper to be as colourful as I can. I have learnt a lot in this internship. Every experience makes me become a better person. I learnt from the failure, so when I meet a similar situation again, I’ll know how to tackle it. In the winter vacation, this is the first time for me, as a scriptwriter to participate in a music video production. During the production, I realised that I couldn’t work alone. I need to take others advice and work as a team because this is not an individual work. It is a bit difficult, since I need to consider teammates’ opinions and put demands into script. With the help from my boss and colleagues, they advised some tips on writing a script.Therefore, what I have learnt was not only writing techniques but also collaboration and communication skills.”
Before we ended the interview, she gave two suggestions for current students about seeking for an internship. She said, before we start finding internship, we have to figure out what we are interested in. “Doing in what you passionate in will motivate you to work harder. Just like me, when I enjoy what I am doing, I would be more eager to learn everything about this sector,” Rae continued, “moreover, it is important to think about what their future careers, because internship is tightly connected with our future careers.”
Internships are not only a pathway for us to gain practical knowledge, but through those experiences, it trains us to be more mature. Just as Rae suggests, every experience makes us become a better person. One day, we will not be a blank paper anymore, but we will be the most colourful paintings in the industry.