Story by: Callie Gisler
Kate Schnabel
Photo by: Shauna Riedel-Bash
In today’s professional world, internship experience is essential for success. The University of Oregon Cinema Studies Program helps connect its students to media-focused internship opportunities in Oregon and across the country. Christina Hernandez, Kate Schnabel, and Leslie Seder are three Cinema Studies students who made the most of their internship opportunities in 2014.
Kate Schnabel
Mention Portland and most people will think of one of Oregon’s biggest claims to fame, the award-winning television show Portlandia. Kate Schnabel, a 2014 University of Oregon Cinema Studies graduate, started as a Portlandia intern during her sophomore year and knows the show well.
“After interning for the show, I got hired on the next season as the line producer’s assistant and have been doing that ever since,” explained Schnabel. Schnabel’s work includes managing Portlandia‘s intern team and handling a large spectrum of administrative work, from assisting with the show’s accounting to accommodating the needs of guest stars.
For Schnabel, acquiring an internship early on in her college career opened the door for post-grad success. “I was so worried about not having a job when I graduated. Now I’m working on my third season,” she said. “It’s best to get started early because it just gets harder the longer you wait.”
The experience is also helping Schnabel prepare for the next big step in her life. “I plan to work my way up and hopefully someday be a producer myself,” she said.
Christina Hernandez
Christina Hernandez
Photo by: Joshua Rainey
One of the most difficult internships to get is with Disney, but University of Oregon student Christina Hernandez beat out the competition for a place in the Disney College Program in January 2014. The Cinema Studies major committed to a six-month Florida-based internship working up-close-and-personal with one of the world’s best-known entertainment companies.
“I think my favorite part of the internship has been being able to witness, up close, all the technology and different parts that make the biggest show on earth work,” says Hernandez about her work as a cast member at the Lights, Motors, Action!® Extreme Stunt Show® at Hollywood Studios.
Hernandez’s internship put her at the forefront of one of the park’s most popular shows: she worked to seat audience members and manage a 5,000-seat stadium. “Because I’ve done theater for so long, it’s a very familiar process getting ready for a show.” This time, however, Hernandez gained valuable experience with the physical logistics of operating a production. Learning how to seat audience members might seem far from her dreams in cinema production, but it is not. Getting your foot in the door, learning about the many facets of the industry, networking, demonstrating that you can do whatever needs to be done—these are all important steps toward jump-starting a dream career in film production.
Hernandez grew up in Oregon and realized her love of film and performance through experiences in high school. After finishing her degree at the UO, Hernandez hopes to complete a professional internship with Disney Studios, followed by a career in film and performance in a major city.
Leslie Seder
Leslie Seder
Traveling the world might be on every student’s bucket list, but Cinema Studies major Leslie Seder got to do it aboard The World as an “enrichment/stage & broadcast intern” in the summer of 2014. A luxury ship comprised of privately owned apartments, The World carries its residents, guests, and crew on a continuous journey to exotic ports across the globe.
Seder met the mega-yacht and crew in May 2014 in Cairns, Australia, and then visited multiple countries, including Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, as well as Indonesia, Singapore, and other ports throughout Asia. “I knew that it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I would be crazy to pass up,” she explained. “So, I applied, had two interviews with the company, and eventually was hired!”
Seder worked with a team of professionals to create a daily television show—from start to finish. “Every day was different in this position,” Seder recalls, from venturing into a port city for filming to long hours back on the ship editing a show for air the next day.
Seder assisted with events onboard the ship as well. From cultural performances to guest lecturers and film screenings, anything that involved the Stage & Broadcast Department provided Seder with the opportunity to contribute. “Basically everyday was different in this position, which I think is a great way to learn all the different responsibilities very quickly onboard the ship, as well as time management skills.”
According to Seder, there was “no better work experience than actually getting in there and working.” After graduation, Seder hopes to pursue film as an assistant director or production coordinator.