My internship at CESD Talent has come to an end. I truly enjoyed my eight weeks there and was asked to write a story about my time there, which will appear in the next Academy of Television Newsletter, which I will try to post a link to sometime:Anxiety and uneasiness churned within me as I made the commute toward my first day as the Agency Intern at CESD Talent. As a gofer-type personal assistant in Houston’s swankiest zip code the previous summer, my expectations of a pleasant, professional workplace were slim to none. Taking a deep breath, I left the safety and security of my Honda Civic and stepped out to begin the adventure. Despite a slightly awkward first day consisting of simply shadowing (where you want to help, but feel incapable and rather useless) my time at CESD was solely positive. By the second day I was working on little projects and began to find my niche in the company. This position as Agency Intern at CESD through the Academy was my first internship, ever. Starting off at Cold Stone Creamery singing cheery jingles, working my way up to Customer Service Representative at Target at 17 and then a couple personal assistant and odd jobs comprised my lengthy résumé. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to gain such valuable insight and experience in this industry.
During my eight weeks at CESD Talent I was accepted as another member of their family, even though I was a temporary addition, and treated with respect. One assistant, who shall remain nameless, actually knew my real name instead of calling me by a number as with past interns. Sure there were some menial tasks and the stereotypical filing, mais c’est la vie of an intern. Both agents and assistants guided me and taught me the tricks of their trade. I put out auditions, dealt directly with casting and clients, checked breakdowns and conflicts, read scripts, watched pilots and sat in on meetings. Co-workers thanked me for the work I did and a senior agent actually allowed me to look him in the eye. In an industry where companies often have dozens of interns, I loved being “the” intern and working at a more personable agency. So while my days as an intern at CESD Talent are over, I shall remain a proud ATAS Intern for life. After two more years at Pepperdine and possibly some graduate study I will be anxious, but this time in a positive way, about jumping into this incredibly entertaining field known to so many as simply… Hollywood.
As you can read from the above, I truly enjoyed my time there and look forward to staying in touch with my friends there at CESD.
(Top: Me with the cake on my last day. Middle: Carol Lynn & Raynard from the Young Talent division. Bottom: Alicia and I in front of the logo.)
On my last day, they were even nice enough to buy me a cake! Yesterday, Tuesday, the Academy Foundation arranged for the interns to go behind-the-scenes of the hit show, So You Think You Can Dance, which was a great experience. We heard from Executive Produce and Judge, Nigel Lythgoe and also a Co-Producer and the Lighting Designer. Watching the dress rehearsal was one of the best parts because we were able to see what was going to be performed beforehand. That episode aired tonight, Wednesday and I have not seen it yet.
Tomorrow, I am going to the Intern Networking event at the Academy of Television. All of the interns and their hosts will gather to hear a guest speaker and panelists, enjoy some Panera Bread catering and network. I will probably do a post on that evening sometime later this week.
Apart from finishing my internship, I have been taking it easy. I have been keeping up with Big Brother Season 11, which I strongly recommend to anyone - you can watch it on YouTube. Also, I am in the process of recovering as many of the roughly 2,500 pictures that I accidentally deleted from my computer back in April.The process is a tedious one because the software used to recover them does not do so in any particular organized fashion. Once I have successfully recovered as many pictures from Europe as possible, I hope to design a picture/coffee table book that covers the entire year. (Below: Saturday, July 25 I attended Fish Fest 09 in Irvine, CA, with Leslie and her friends - it is a big Christian music festival. There were 15,000 people there!)
Saturday I move into my new apartment! I have enjoyed living up in the Santa Monica Mountains, but it is too far out of the way. It will be great to be in town and to have the conveniences that come with being close to everything. Before I know it, a week from tomorrow to be precise, I will be flying into Houston to spend time with family and friends in Texas for just over 10 day and I am very excited for that trip!
God continues to amaze me. He answered our prayers again in terms of scholarships/grants/financial aid, which can be a waiting game since we did not find out until late July. Some fellow students were not as lucky in receiving the aid they needed and I pray that everything will work out for them. He definitely provides. Take care of yourselves and be blessed,
- Wade
P.S. I am soon going to read
"What the Bible Says About Healthy Living: Three Biblical Principles That Will Change Your Diet and Improve Your Health" by Rex Russell
and I will let you all know whether I recommend it or not. I have a feeling that it will be a very informative book. Lately I have found it difficult to purchase items with "modified" ingredients and/or I cannot pronounce. Food doesn't necessarily have to be organic, but I definitely prefer natural foods. I highly recommend picking up
"Eat This Not That! Supermarket Survival Guide: The No-Diet Weight Loss Solution" by David Zinczenko
It will definitely educate you on future purchases!
During my eight weeks at CESD Talent I was accepted as another member of their family, even though I was a temporary addition, and treated with respect. One assistant, who shall remain nameless, actually knew my real name instead of calling me by a number as with past interns. Sure there were some menial tasks and the stereotypical filing, mais c’est la vie of an intern. Both agents and assistants guided me and taught me the tricks of their trade. I put out auditions, dealt directly with casting and clients, checked breakdowns and conflicts, read scripts, watched pilots and sat in on meetings. Co-workers thanked me for the work I did and a senior agent actually allowed me to look him in the eye. In an industry where companies often have dozens of interns, I loved being “the” intern and working at a more personable agency. So while my days as an intern at CESD Talent are over, I shall remain a proud ATAS Intern for life. After two more years at Pepperdine and possibly some graduate study I will be anxious, but this time in a positive way, about jumping into this incredibly entertaining field known to so many as simply… Hollywood.
As you can read from the above, I truly enjoyed my time there and look forward to staying in touch with my friends there at CESD.
(Top: Me with the cake on my last day. Middle: Carol Lynn & Raynard from the Young Talent division. Bottom: Alicia and I in front of the logo.)On my last day, they were even nice enough to buy me a cake! Yesterday, Tuesday, the Academy Foundation arranged for the interns to go behind-the-scenes of the hit show, So You Think You Can Dance, which was a great experience. We heard from Executive Produce and Judge, Nigel Lythgoe and also a Co-Producer and the Lighting Designer. Watching the dress rehearsal was one of the best parts because we were able to see what was going to be performed beforehand. That episode aired tonight, Wednesday and I have not seen it yet.
Tomorrow, I am going to the Intern Networking event at the Academy of Television. All of the interns and their hosts will gather to hear a guest speaker and panelists, enjoy some Panera Bread catering and network. I will probably do a post on that evening sometime later this week.
Apart from finishing my internship, I have been taking it easy. I have been keeping up with Big Brother Season 11, which I strongly recommend to anyone - you can watch it on YouTube. Also, I am in the process of recovering as many of the roughly 2,500 pictures that I accidentally deleted from my computer back in April.The process is a tedious one because the software used to recover them does not do so in any particular organized fashion. Once I have successfully recovered as many pictures from Europe as possible, I hope to design a picture/coffee table book that covers the entire year. (Below: Saturday, July 25 I attended Fish Fest 09 in Irvine, CA, with Leslie and her friends - it is a big Christian music festival. There were 15,000 people there!)
Saturday I move into my new apartment! I have enjoyed living up in the Santa Monica Mountains, but it is too far out of the way. It will be great to be in town and to have the conveniences that come with being close to everything. Before I know it, a week from tomorrow to be precise, I will be flying into Houston to spend time with family and friends in Texas for just over 10 day and I am very excited for that trip!God continues to amaze me. He answered our prayers again in terms of scholarships/grants/financial aid, which can be a waiting game since we did not find out until late July. Some fellow students were not as lucky in receiving the aid they needed and I pray that everything will work out for them. He definitely provides. Take care of yourselves and be blessed,
- Wade
P.S. I am soon going to read
"What the Bible Says About Healthy Living: Three Biblical Principles That Will Change Your Diet and Improve Your Health" by Rex Russell
and I will let you all know whether I recommend it or not. I have a feeling that it will be a very informative book. Lately I have found it difficult to purchase items with "modified" ingredients and/or I cannot pronounce. Food doesn't necessarily have to be organic, but I definitely prefer natural foods. I highly recommend picking up
"Eat This Not That! Supermarket Survival Guide: The No-Diet Weight Loss Solution" by David Zinczenko
It will definitely educate you on future purchases!
