Internships

Who can apply?

If you are a rising junior or senior currently enrolled in a 4-year college or university, internships are a great way to get your foot in the door. Internships are also available at community colleges. Some schools including high schools offer internship credit programs. Read the job description to see what the requirements are for any given studio or company. Internships are a good opportunity to connect with people in the industry and get the experience that you need to open up new doors after graduation.

When to apply?

Some studios offer year-round internships. Most summer internships start at the beginning of June and end at the end of August (about 12 weeks.) We suggest looking for a summer internship position as early as December. Different studios have different deadlines and every year it could change. For example, these are some of the deadlines for summer 2018 internships:

• Disney Feature Animation – beginning of February
• Pixar – beginning of March
• Nickelodeon – beginning of April
• Sony Pictures Animation – mid February
• Warner Bros. – end of February

Types of internships

Different studios have different internship positions that they want to fill. For example, Pixar offers the following types of internships:

• Animation
• Art
• Business Operations
• Editorial
• Marketing
• Production Management
• RenderMan
• Software Research & Development
• Story
• Systems
• Technical Direction

Cast a wide net when applying for internships

Don’t worry if you don’t see an internship in an area you are pursuing. Try looking for the internship position that is right for you in different studios and companies.  

What you need to get together to apply for an internship

Most studios will ask for your resume, cover letter and demo reel which you should get started on right away. It is much better to have something to edit when an opportunity presents itself. If you put this together at the last minute you will forget to add things and you will make mistakes/typos. Take a look at our resume, cover letter and demo reel advice page to kick start them. It’s a good idea to keep on updating your demo reel with your latest best work throughout your school years. Try to get feedback from your teachers or industry professionals. Start now. This way you’ll know what needs improvement and you’ll have time to make those improvements before a deadline.

Resumes

Your resume can include the following:

• Work experience you’ve had, if any (include the name of the company, the dates of employment and a brief description of duties. Job descriptions should be geared toward  the type of job or internship you are applying for.)
• Software knowledge and skills
• Academic awards or honors (ie Dean’s list or scholarship)
• Exhibitions and Publications
• Freelance work (ie you might have set up a website for a group or club, if it was for free it would be volunteer work, but still something you can list)
• School activities or clubs
• Community volunteer experience

How do you build your resume?

Everyone has to start somewhere. Work with what you have so you can add to it and take stock of what you need to add to make yourself more marketable.

• Volunteer
• Get involved in school activities or clubs
• Apply for Teaching Assistant and Lab Tech  positions at your school
• Work on group/student projects and productions
• Consider freelance or offering to help organizations with graphics or animation.

Demo Reels

Start with what you have. Make a website and embed your reel. You can upload your video to youtube.com or Vimeo.com for free. You can create a website on wix.com, weebly.com, or google.sites.com for free as well. Make sure you start your reel with work that is relevant to the job you are applying for.

Recommendation letters and listing recommendation contacts on an application

Some studios will ask for letter of recommendation(s) and/or copy of your transcript. Have plenty of time before deadline when asking for letter(s) of recommendation and getting your transcript. Make sure you are a good fit for the internship you are applying for before you approach someone for a letter of recommendation. Make it easy for the person you are asking to recommend you.  Give them your resume, a bullet point list of accomplishments they can use for the letter, and the name/address the letter needs to be addressed to. Make sure they know the deadline and how the letter should be submitted, ie to you, to you in a sealed envelope, or mailed directly to the studio.

Listing people for recommendations: Some studios will ask for a person’s contact as a recommendation. Make sure you ask before you list someone as a contact for a recommendation.  You also want to let the person know what you are applying for. You do not want the person recommending you to be caught off guard.

Getting ready for the interview

Practice for your interview with a friend or colleague. Here are some of the most common interview questions:

• What projects have you worked at school?
• What is the most challenging problem you had to solve?
• How do you work in a team project?
• Were you able to deliver on time?
• Anything you would have done differently on your project?
• What are your strengths and weaknesses?
• What do you hope to achieve/learn?
• What do you want to do after graduation? What is your interest?

Also be prepared to ask questions:

• What is it like to work at this studio?
• What skill sets are necessary to succeed in this position?
• How did you get started in this industry?
• What advice would you give to someone starting out in this industry?

Have a good attitude and be positive. It will go a long way. Convince them you are interested and excited in the specific of the job. Show them you are driven and easy to work with and you will have a good chance to get the job. Best of luck.