From My Work Laptop to the Big Screen
I am not a film buff.
I would barely even consider myself an avid movie-watcher. However, I am a vast contrast in comparison to the company that I keep. My high-school best friend works at our local Regal theater because the amount of movie tickets she would buy became a financial burden. My college roommate is a film major, previously bio-med, but the silver screen called out to her. I, on the other hand, hear no such calling.
Or so I thought.
When I was applying to MAIP, I always wondered what I would be doing if I were offered an internship position. Would I be crafting the strategy behind a PR stunt for the leading paper towel brand? Would I be writing captions for a car brand’s social media calendar? Would I simply get to observe the happenings of a big, dazzling advertising agency? I figured at least one of my predictions had to come true because it was all of the options I knew of and yet they didn’t. To my surprise, I was introduced to something way smaller and more niche that ironically expanded my knowledge way farther than I could have ever predicted.
“Welcome to the world of entertainment marketing”, I read in my internship offer many months ago. Little did I know how much of a “world” it really is. The kind and wonderful company who opened these gates for me is called Open Road and they are based in Los Angeles. They offered me a position as a copywriting intern and though I wasn’t sure if I would fit into their world, I was excited and intrigued nonetheless.
Starting week one, I was in constant awe of their past work I studied so meticulously on their website. From Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse to Crazy Rich Asians, I was blown away by how much of their work I have seen previously having no idea that they existed, much less the industry itself.
I had always assumed that the creators of the movie were also the ones to promote it, and well, you know what they say about assumptions. Despite being wrong, I still did not know how wrong I was. The more I learned about the creation of entertainment marketing, the more I learned that I knew nothing. From client meetings, production, music selection, editing, designing, finishing, and of course, writing, so much work was put into something that was at most, three minutes long. They had me meet and chat with people from each department and I gained so much respect for each and every one of them. Hearing their stories of how they even got to where they are was always a highlight because how does someone fall into something so niche? With each story so vastly different, I have come to the conclusion that there is no set road for such a destination and rather, the industry is open to those who work for it.
While it is probably not great to admit, a day has not gone by where I haven’t been starstruck by the work we discuss or the things that we do. My NDA’s prohibit me from saying too much but isn’t that in itself so cool?? On a daily basis, I work with unreleased entertainment material for television and movie that requires me to hole up in my room where no one can see or hear what I am working on. I have never felt so high profile and I am still not even used to it. While I can’t speak on anything now, I will be sure to put updates when I have word on certain releases.
As for the writing itself, it is much different from traditional advertising that I have been trained in by my degree and I love that I have this opportunity for such exposure. In my personal academics and training, I have been more partial to print so getting into this field has well prepared me for other forms of media that we may not have time to tackle in a general course on advertising. Instead of writing for a tangible product (which are the only examples I have ever been given), I am now writing for the most profitable, yet intangible, products on the market and I don’t think there could be a larger contrast. It’s provided me with new ways to approach a strategy and how writing could work on different platforms. It’s bewildering to think that something I write or contributed to could end up on the big screen, whether it be the one in your living room or the theater my friend works at. Making an actual impression is something advertising classes always train you for but never truly compares to the real thing.
The company I work for is small, around seventy people. And to be perfectly candid, I was expecting to be working with a large “Ogilvy-sized” company. However, I can not express how glad I am to have gotten such training from a smaller company. My personal interactions and experiences with the creative professionals at Open Road is something I wouldn’t trade for the world and I may not have received as much quality time had I been working with a larger company. Once again my horizons have greatly expanded from working with something small. The people I have gotten to know during my time at Open Road have been immensely genuine and helpful, I can tell that they love what they do and enjoy the company around them while doing so. It’s this personal connection that defies large-corporate red tape and I have appreciated every second of it. They are patient, detail-oriented beyond belief, and just purely passionate about the work they craft. In all honesty, they have set a very high bar in which I strive to reach one day too.
These past weeks with them have been the biggest blast and the craziest blur. My excitement and intrigue from day one never faded. I have learned so much about the industry is such little time and I wish it didn’t have to end! No matter how much I rave about my experience, it will never actually encapsulate how grateful I am to have spent time with them. They not only opened my eyes to a whole new world but they have exceeded anything I could have ever imagined from an internship experience. I may have never assumed the big screen was for me before, but clearly I am learning my lessons with assumptions.
