“This is bigger than just you”
Spent 3 months interning with the boys from Musa Films, it was very much like the turbulent year of 2020: It was surely a ride!
Firstly, who is Musa? Musa Films is a young film production company based in Amsterdam, their realm mostly consists of producing edgy and attractive social-media contents for brands and musicians. In the past, they’ve worked with brands such as RedBull, Puma, Daily Paper, etc.
Secondly, what do I – the Junior Producer- do at Musa? Well, interning at a film production company, you’re pretty much trained to be a Swiss knife: In the pre-production, I helped the team in scouting locations for the shoot, prepare production documents, such as call sheets and shot lists, etc. During the production, I mainly worked as Production Assistant (PA) on the set, helping prepare the set with lights, props, equipment, and assisting the crew members whenever necessary. And in the post-production, I was initially asked to handle easy editing tasks such as spotting and timeline organizing, but as my internship progresses, I was even put onto a couple of edits independently, which felt really nice and encouraging!
The experiences sounded nice and all, but it wasn’t always like this: At the start of my internship, when I was fresh and Covid was still heavy, I mainly just wrote emails reaching out to potentials clients, bought lunches to the office, etc. And whenever we had a shoot, my role as PA on the set was easy and extremely “intern” – I would assure the safety of the production, which in plain words means that: I would “standby” at the car when the filming crew is away for shoot, so nobody would steal our gears. And this could translate into couple hours of waiting.
Prior to Musa, I’ve been working independently as a filmmaker for 2 years, made couple after-movies and documentaries, and as an ambitious 20 years old, I was really feeling myself! So, when I started at Musa, I secretly bought in much ego with me – “I’m not just going to be an intern, I’m going to be the best intern that they ever had!” And needless to say, those tedious tasks didn’t really match my high expectations, and along with Covid and the endless October rain in Amsterdam, these “troubles” became were beyond detrimental to my mental health. I would no longer wake up and feel excited about work, I would be quiet in the office, and in totality, I was filled with negativity and was bringing it everywhere I go.
I realized that I was lost as an individual, deeply stuck in his own ego. No matter what I did, I always felt held back somehow, as a result, I couldn’t really be myself, and expectedly, I couldn’t be part of the team. But as my internship progress, I started figuring out my function and role: I’M THE INTERN, and yes, I’m saying this with pride! I do a little bit of everything, be it producing, editing, lighting, I do it all. Even though I do crave more challenging tasks, but regardless of how difficult or easy they may be, I came here to learn: through repetition, through challenges, by seeing how others with similar interests do it, I can learn and grow from it: Do your job, and let the others do theirs. Filmmaking is truly a collaborative effort, as I learned to be in peace with my ego, me and the guys at the office just clicked. No more jealousy, no more complaints, I was ready to go to war with them! As my intern progresses, Musa as an organization also got busier, and this came head-on with our team’s uprising chemistry. Through the “team spirit”, we learned how to bring the best out of each other, and as a result, we became much more efficient at work, while still having tremendous fun!
Thank you, a sincere thank you to Musa Films! You guys are totally doing awesome things, thank you for giving me the opportunity to be part of this, and can’t wait to see all the grind pays off!
And for my fellow Intern peers, well, please do something that truly makes you tick! You learn a lot about the industry and also yourself through this humbling experience. Enjoy the process, I mean, what is the rush?
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