Internship advice?

Hello,
I'm writing a letter to hopefully land an internship position, though I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice. My resume is not nearly where I'd like it to be, only being a college freshman. Also, this particular studio is pretty major, and no doubt receives hundreds of requests a week. Would it be a better route to pursue a PA position? If you need any more information, please ask. Thanks in advance.

You should continuously pursue all options. You should pursue
internships. You should pursue PA jobs.

Here in Los Angeles the major studios have internship programs
directly connected to colleges in the area. It's much easier to get
an internship for college students. Have you looked into that possibility
at your college?

I have, unfortunately, the internships they offer for credit are a couple years out for me. I'd really like to start now, and in Maine there aren't many options. Would those major studios be open to internships and low level positions from students not going through their school, and those out of state? I don't want to wait around for two years, I've always been one who believes in making one's own opportunities rather than waiting for them to arise. I'm just wondering the best route to apply for a position with one of these studios. I want to learn so badly, and being on a professional set, I could learn so much.

Daniel_S said:

Would those major studios be open to internships and low level positions from students not going through their school, and those out of state?

Click to expand...

You should check. The L.A. studios might have an internship program
for out of state students.

Daniel_S said:

I don't want to wait around for two years, I've always been one who believes in making one's own opportunities rather than waiting for them to arise.

Click to expand...

I, too, am one who believes in making ones own opportunities. That's
why I never went to school. I dropped out of high school to work in
the business. No years of school for me.

Daniel_S said:

I'm just wondering the best route to apply for a position with one of these studios. I want to learn so badly, and being on a professional set, I could learn so much.

Click to expand...

If you applied and got a job that would certainly be the best route,
wouldn’t it? Can't hurt to try, can it? I agree with you. Being on a
professional set is a great way to learn. For me it was the much
better option. So I dropped everything and did it.

Thank you for your advice.
Well, within seconds of sending an inquiry email to DreamWorks, an automated response notified me that they weren't hiring. If I expect to have any chance, I'll need to contact an individual rather than a generalized HR email.
I'll keep trying with LA studios, and look into any features shooting in Boston.

Yep. Each studio gets several thousand emails a day. Not exaggerating.
Upwards of 3,000 per day. Just over two every second. A company like
Dreamworks hires for specific jobs through a staffing service. And it
really does come down to who you know.

I know how difficult it is living right here in the center of it.

A bit of advice; you want to specialize. You need to get hired for a specific
job. Even internships specialize. Of course you'd do anything. But they don't
offer that job. You won't get a job at Dreamworks. But you might get hired
as a PA or a research assistant or as assistant to a producer.

I typed "Dreamworks jobs" into google. They are hiring. Look at this.

Wow. I expected as much, but the actual numbers are staggering. As far as specialization, when requesting positions, just be firm, like "I want to be a PA," rather than "I'd like to be a PA or any position?"
And I appreciate the find, though that's animation, and while I may fool around with cinema 4d and 3ds max, I am not nearly qualified, or going for the degree they require.
Right now, I'm going the route of looking into features shooting in Mass and NY, as they may be affiliated with a major studio, but are closer to home.
I do really appreciate your insight.

That's my point. You can't just apply to Dreamworks. You need to
apply for a specific job. You don't feel qualified for the job I linked to.
How will they know that? If you apply to Dreamworks they do not
have the time to figure out what it is YOU feel qualified doing. YOU
tell them.

Specialize. Even when you are looking into features shooting in Mass
and NY you need to apply for a specific job. You can't apply saying
"I'll do anything." Each department has PA's. The office has PA's. The
production has PA's. And there are people who want to be in the camera
department applying for those jobs and people who want to be in the art
department applying for those jobs and people who want to be producers
applying for the office jobs.

When put like that, that clears things up a lot. Thank you. I do wish I could just shadow different people through all phases of production. But I will definitely take this approach when applying. Thanks.

You'll have to send a 100+ letters before a company offers you an internship. That's the simple arithmetic of applying for positions that get hundreds, if not thousands, of applicants.

But send them your CV and covering letter, get them to put it on file, and then, every month or so, ring up their offices and check they aren't hiring and remind them that they have your details on file.

My other piece of advice – and take it with a pinch of salt – would be to avoid the major studios and look for production companies in Boston and New York, and maybe even Montreal. At this point, the most important thing to do is to bulk up your CV and make contacts who might be able to help you secure positions in the future. So, whilst the studios are getting thousands of people emailing every day about jobs, there are smaller production houses in Boston who probably get relatively few unsolicited internship applications. Write a compelling covering letter and then identify 50 production companies you'd be interested in working for, and send then blitz emails out to all of them.

At this point, I wouldn't be too worried about trying to work on feature films. If you work for a ProdCo that does adverts, there'll be cast and crew there who work on TV and film, and they may well be able to point you in the right direction.