My time as an intern - 48Hours and beyond
When I first entered 48Hours at 15, I realised how little I knew about the process of making a film. I spent the weekend tailing my older friends, in awe and eager to learn. Watching the competition from my new vantage point interning at Useful and helping run the competition at 21 felt remarkably similar.
During the lead-up to the competition, I got to help craft funding proposals, edit promotional videos and create the audience voting forms. After the shoot weekend, it was my responsibility to edit together the majority of the heats, city final and grand final shows, liaising with the city managers in different regions across Aotearoa.
Ruth, Ness and the 48Hours National Coordinator Matilda Bose-Wong all took me under their wings, teaching me the ins and outs of what it takes to ensure the event ran smoothly throughout the nation. Their expert communication, organisation and work-ethic made it easy to help them make 48Hours 2024 the success that it was.
Operating the camera for the livestream, I got to watch the Grand Finals knowing that this time, instead of a charmingly abysmal film about a cult that worships a pair of sparkly pants, I came out of 48Hours having gained invaluable experience and confidence in a range of different roles.
Camera operating for the Vista Foundation 48Hours 2024 grand final show livestream.
And that would’ve been the end of my time at Useful, if it weren’t for Matilda receiving an exciting job offer in another city and saying ‘goodbye for now’ to the Useful office. With a new role open, Ruth and Ness asked me to join the team as a production coordinator and I was thrilled to continue my time working with and learning from them.
My first task was re-cutting Useful Media’s showreel. This is a challenging task, condensing the kaupapa of the company into a clean, cohesive piece that still showcases all of the varying projects that they have produced. I worked closely with Ness who expertly guided me to work the right rhythm and emotion out of the combination of their various works. It was great exercise to introduce me to my new role, making me feel as though I understood the company on a deeper level.
Since then I have helped with all manner of different tasks including subtitling, updating social media profiles, writing call sheets, cutting more short form content and assisting with the casting process for life in the FFN - Season 2. Both Ruth and Ness continue to teach me about what it means to be a good producer and collaborator. Together they prove the importance of clear and open communication, having an airtight game plan and the art of attending to and maintaining many tiny threads so they can be sewn together into one successful project. Each day I pick up new nuggets of insider knowledge that comes from decades of experience and I am excited to see what my future working at Useful Media holds.
Written by Willem Koller