So, I have indeed decided to end my internship at Channel 3 tomorrow. It’s going to be a bit of a sad thing leaving. I have loved every moment of it, as a whole anyway (there were boring-ass moments and days). Still, I think I’ve done everything I’ve set out to do. I may not have focused on one area (since the area I’d like to focus on is more-or-less off-limits, besides shadowing, to a non-union intern like me), but I think I’ve covered quite a bit. I’ve spent a lot of time on the assignment desk, to be sure. On the other hand, I’ve been out with photographers, learning how they do their thing, learning how the live trucks work, and all that. I’ve been among the engineering people, seeing how they route live feeds, cameras, and other sources. I’ve also done some information look-up for stories. I’ve shadowed and worked a bit with a producer, seeing how they prepare their shows, and have even gotten to write something! And finally, I’ve gotten some insight into how a reporter does their job, though that’s not quite my shtick.
So, tomorrow will be a bit sobering, perhaps, but I’ll have left knowing that I’ve gotten in a little bit of everything, which seems to be the rule of thumb for me. Know something about everything; I think that’s a good rule. After all, if I end up getting into producing someday, I’ll need to know something about everything that’s involved with it. Not only do producers need be creative and tell a story, they also need to know the technical aspects of things. It’s not all, “I want this. Do it.” A good producer should know at least something about how the equipment does what they want. Likewise, I feel that the techie photog/editor need to have a creative side to them, or else their shots and edits are bland and boring. They should be able to tell a story out of what shots they have gotten. So, even if I haven’t been focused more on one thing, I don’t think that’s a bad thing. It can be only good to get your hands in at all aspects of production.
Thursday is most definitely on, and as much as it will be a time to go see my friend, and go see Stephen Colbert be funny, it’ll be a bit of celebration for me, perhaps an extended birthday gift to myself. Especially since I took the non-traditional route for my 21st (which I’m not saying is a bad thing).
Now, to bed to be rested for the final day.