From the first day we arrived in the capital city of our country, we have been flying by the seat of our pants…and tights, and two pairs of socks, and snow boots. (It’s really cold here.) Our days at Double R have been filled with planning projects, making mistakes, filming, editing, re-editing, eating birthday cake (happy belated 29th birthday, Faith, ha ha!), and learning from the professionals. We haven’t quite figured out if it’s from years of experience or secret magic skills that we have not yet acquired, but the Double R team somehow managed to teach us about the business while also completing their own tasks. Our money is on the magic skills.
We knew very little (read: “nothing”) about the process of producing videos before we came to Double R, but we’re happy to report that both of us have grown immensely in just the short time that we’ve interned here. We have gained expansive knowledge from how to shoot on the intern camera to how to edit on the perplexing maze that is AVID. We have also completed an array of projects including a Martin Luther King Jr. Day tribute video, two 30-second elevator speeches about Double R and ourselves, and an “in the camera” assignment that we planned and shot on our own.
We’ve learned several new lessons while we’ve interned here. First, we’ve learned that we both prefer being behind camera instead of in front of it, or as Claire likes to say, “I have a face made for radio”. We’ve learned that making mistakes is the best way to learn the right way. We’ve learned that if you put a light to the side of someone while filming them, their shadow will show, which we want to avoid. We’ve learned that the gain needs to be kept on “low” to ensure that the product won’t come out looking grainy. Finally, we’ve learned that unless you accept and embrace new opportunities, you won’t be able to succeed in this, or any business for that matter.
The Double R team has been outstanding with answering questions. They have also helped us become more comfortable and confident in the various aspects of video production. We sincerely thank and applaud Rosemary Reed and the rest of the staff; they have played such an influential role in our experience in DC over the past two weeks.
Best wishes,
Claire Litchfield and Emma Trichel, Harpeth Hall WINTERIM Interns 2018
