{"id":2977,"date":"2015-02-24T13:00:10","date_gmt":"2015-02-24T18:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/questromworld.bu.edu\/studyabroad\/?p=2977"},"modified":"2022-10-11T20:07:16","modified_gmt":"2022-10-11T20:07:16","slug":"laura-monti-los-angeles-internship-program-film-tv-track","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/questromworld.bu.edu\/studyabroad\/2015\/02\/24\/laura-monti-los-angeles-internship-program-film-tv-track\/","title":{"rendered":"Laura Monti, Los Angeles Internship Program\u2013Film & TV Track"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"HippoMe\"Interned at\u00a0Mar Vista Entertainment providing input on potential films and at Fox 2000 in development and production, Fall 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

Watch Laura’s awarding-winning, animated film here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

About Me:<\/strong> I studied in\u00a0Los Angeles for\u00a0the fall semester of my senior year! Before you read my responses, I think it\u2019s important to note that I\u2019m a Marketing major with a Film Minor. I chose the Film\/Television Los Angeles track to strengthen my experience in that particular field. The reason why I\u2019m a marketing major is because I love to share stories and I felt as though marketing was a way to share a story about a brand or product. However, in Los Angeles I learned an entirely different form of storytelling through my production and development internships that pulled at my heartstrings.<\/p>\n

Internship:\u00a0<\/strong>I had two! I interned at Mar Vista Entertainment, which produces TV movies for networks such as Lifetime, Syfy, Disney Channel, and CW. I did everything from pitching loglines for potential networks to writing coverage on books and scripts. I even was an extra in one of their movies and woke up at 5 in the morning to play \u201cTrack Girl 2.\u201d \u00a0One particular evening I went above and beyond my intern duties and dressed as a purple hippo for the red carpet premiere of a Disney Channel movie. \u00a0My other internship was a Development and Production internship at Fox 2000 on the Fox Studios lot. I LOVED\u00a0 working there and gained so much experience writing notes on scripts and covering desks for assistants of Vice Presidents. \u00a0I also spent a lot of afternoons watching movies before their release in the studio theater and roaming around the wardrobe department eyeing Leonardo DiCaprio\u2019s Titanic attire.<\/p>\n

I Learned:\u00a0<\/strong>The only way truly to understand the entertainment industry in Los Angeles is to immerse yourself\u00a0fully in it. While in Los Angeles, I made sure to make the most of my time there and networked with multiple professionals in the animation industry, a specific passion of mine. I reached out and met with producers, developers, artists, and editors at Walt Disney Animation Studios, DreamWorks, Paramount Animation, Fox Animation, Sony, Nickelodeon, and Warner Brother\u2019s Animation.\u00a0 I learned about a world beyond graduation both professionally and personally.<\/p>\n

What Surprised Me:\u00a0<\/strong>I was surprised by how much I wasn\u2019t homesick and never felt alone when chasing after a dream of mine. \u00a0I also loved meeting the students who didn\u2019t study at Boston University but were involved in the program. A lot of them had a similar passion and drive, and we bonded over our love of entertainment. I also was shocked by how gorgeous the weather is in Los Angeles. Seriously \u2013 it\u2019s unfair to the rest of the world. I think I saw a cloud once in 4 months.<\/p>\n

Hardest Part:\u00a0<\/strong>Returning to Boston. I love the Questrom School of Business, but now I\u2019m anxious to graduate since I\u2019ve had such a wonderful taste of what my life could be like afterwards.<\/p>\n

Best Part:\u00a0<\/strong>There were so many incredible days I\u2019m having a hard time choosing one. My top three are the Walt Disney Animation Open House, volunteering at CTNx, and winning the Grand Prize at the Los Angeles New Filmmakers film festival.<\/p>\n

Through my networking I met wonderful people involved in production at Walt Disney Animation Studios and was invited by them to attend a closed event at the studio. The studio was transformed into a massive display of the work behind creating a Disney classic. I was able to watch the Oscar nominated short\u00a0Feast<\/em>\u00a0before release in a Q&A session with the director and told him how much I loved that the main character was a Boston Terrier.<\/p>\n

Per recommendation by a Disney employee I signed up to volunteer at CTNx, a weekend long animation exhibition. I met wonderful employees from Pixar, Walt Disney Animation, Blue Sky, and other studios. I cannot even capture in this blog the amount this experience has impacted me.<\/p>\n

Before moving to LA, I learned about an opportunity to submit a short to the Los Angeles New Filmmakers Film Festival. I worked for over a month to create a stop-motion animation in my basement. My short<\/a> was selected as a contestant and I attended an event in downtown Los Angeles. To my surprise, I won the Grand Prize and Category Prize, totaling in over $40,000 toward my next short and $1500 in cash! Throughout the evening I was interviewed and met wonderful creatives who I\u2019m currently in touch with to produce my next short. The following morning I was interviewed by the Los Angeles Times<\/em>.<\/p>\n

My Tips:\u00a0<\/strong>Bend the rules!! (and I don\u2019t mean party).
\n<\/a>Don\u2019t spend every night going to clubs when you can do the same thing in Boston. I went outside the box and fully took advantage of being in LA. This is an experience you have to take; it won\u2019t be delivered on a silver platter for you. My nights were spent watching movies and reaching out to producers to schedule lunch meetings. \u00a0Despite the no-puppy-policy, I rescued two dogs. A baby Chihuahua I found abandoned on the Hollywood Hills and an Alaskan Husky who was trying to avoid being killed at the shelter. I named the Chihuahua Pancake and took care of her before finding her a loving home with a Fox Studio executive. The Husky was named Doyle, and he went home with a BULA student to Texas.<\/p>\n

Hidden Gems:\u00a0<\/strong>On the nights you do choose to go out, I\u2019d recommend West Hollywood and the Sunset strip. Saddle Ranch was one of my favorite bars, and has a mechanical bull that I completely mastered. Also, go to the beaches as often as you can. Malibu, Manhattan, Santa Monica, and Venice can never steer you wrong.<\/p>\n\n\t\t