INTERNSHIP WITH A COMPANY

Scott Alexander's placement with Media World Pictures Pty Ltd

Established 27 years ago Media World is a successful Australian independent film and television production company with offices in Melbourne and Perth. They are currently in production on the second season of its award winning children's series, DOGSTAR and it is on this project that Scott's internship took place.

Colin South, Producer and one of Media World's founders, applied to be a host company as part of our Internship with a Company program (script/story editor internship with a fiction/drama focused company). To be placed with the team on DOGSTAR Series 2, Colin wanted an intern "interested in learning about animation with a keen interest in writing for children and animation". Media World would offer the intern exposure to not only the writing department but to the whole production process including scripts, script editing, story conferencing, storyboarding, voice-recording, animation, C Drama-ACMA Regulations, editing and all elements of post production. They would gain experience across the entire animation process and work closely with 2 key writers on the program.

Scott Alexander had been working for a leading Australian independent entertainment distribution and rights management company for about 6 years and loved animated films such as those from Pixar studios. He had also written a few short films but really wanted to develop his craft a bit more by learning from professional writers. Thanks to his subscription to our e-newsletters he heard about and applied for the script internship at Media World.

Beginning his placement in March 2009, Scott kept a diary for the duration of the internship, which gives a great insight into what he experienced and learnt along the way.

The diary shows that in the first two weeks he got to go to a voice recording session, write a draft synopsis and attend an audition for a voice artist. He found it "interesting to see how a character is shaped by the actor in collaboration with the director, I think it's this dynamic that I love the most about film making. The writer creates this spine and the actors, animators, designers etc flesh it out."

One of the larger projects for Scott throughout the internship was creating and continually updating a visual dictionary for DOGSTAR - "it's a bit of a resource for the writers or anyone new to the show. They can see all the characters, vehicles, creatures etc with info about each aspect of the showThis has been really fun and I hope the guys find it useful."

On attend a writing conference where the series writers pitch concepts for the next few scripts with the producer and animation director, Scott said it was "awesome to be a part of this process and see how the guys generate ideas and creatively discuss what they want to achieve". He was also put to good use working on script stats, which are vital for working out if the script is the appropriate length for TV.

While collating and redrafting a document for Colin for SPAA regarding training in animation, Scott found it great to read the opinion of many key people in the industry and get his head around skills shortages. He also enjoyed reading the scripts and found himself "learning lots regarding structure and cadence. I wrote a draft of a short film this week hoping that it reflects some of the things I am learning."

With new drafts and story outlines coming through, Scott quickly learnt the importance of keeping on top of the various versions and collating the changes. The production uses a Critical Path document to keep everyone on track, it lays out the due dates for everything and who needs to do what and when - "its an essential tool for making sure everything is on track and very helpful for me!"

Only five weeks into the internship Scott felt that, through writing more synopses and looking over old ones his writing was already improving. At a similar time he was also given the chance to edit some of the Animatics for the series, which he found very exciting.

On seeing the next phase of the script as it leaves the printed word, the storyboard, Scott realised how important economic storytelling is. "Storyboarding is a highly specialised skill in animation and quite different to the storyboards prepared for live action, they are a much more technical document. Continuity is one of the major things addressed at Storyboard level - many animators may work on one scene and they won't necessarily have the sequence in front of them so the board becomes the bible." Scott also noted the important of scene design in animation for economical storyboard sequences.

Structure was another aspect that Scott learnt a lot about: "Building a TV show is a bit like building a car, and the 'mechanics' of how the show will move forward is often designed early on in the form of Character Bios and Bible materials. These materials are essential tools not only for the writers currently engaged in a show, but also helpful for any new writers that may come to the program down the track - it's kind of the DNA for the drama. The bible is like the road map for the story and characters, certainly in the case of a half hour TV series. It also provides a Tonal framework for the reader, especially when images are used. So in the bible you will typically have your character bios your episode synopses a one-page pitch of the story and perhaps a bit about the proposed team that will bring it all to fruition."

Commenting in his diary on attending a MIPCOM debrief, Scott said "I'd love to go to MIPCOM, I've not quite got the Euros to make the pilgrimage this year. But this is okay because Film Victoria offers the next best thing - feedback from producers that have attended I took away how important it is to get your pitch right."

He also attended a SPAA chapter meeting and being in a room with some of Victoria's most prolific producers gave him an insight into how they deal with all aspects of the industry. "Overall I came away with the sense of what an achievement it is for any film or series to even be made, there are just so many factors at play, so many 'behind the scenes' elements that need to come together in order for the crew, cast & director's to even have the opportunity to do their work. I have a new-found respect for the role of the producer and just how important they are to the process of making it all happen."

Media World asked Scott to look at the C drama guidelines (C drama classification is a requirement of the Australian Communications and Media Authority to ensure that shows made for Australian kids are appropriate and of a high industry standard) to identify how DOGSTAR satisfies the criteria. "If you don't get your C classification that means the networks can't air your show and that would be bad. My job is to illustrate to ACMA all the ways that DOGSTAR satisfies their criteria and provide copies of the scripts for them to assess."

Late in the piece Scott even got to play a small guest role on the show. He said it was "great to be in the recording booth with the actors" and that it gave him "a new found respect for how difficult it can be to do voice acting." He was able to shoot a bit of footage of the session which he has edited together. "Look out for it on the website or as a DVD special feature!"

Comments from both parties (intern and host company) upon completion of the program were very positive:

Colin said Media World is highly likely to participate in the Film Victoria internship program again and felt that the program was valuable for the host company and the intern. "Scott is a focused and diligent individual with enormous talent and industry potential. Our high regard of Scott's capabilities is demonstrated by our retaining his services beyond the internship to continue to work on the DOGSTAR project. Scott far exceeded our expectations in regards to his attitude, aptitude and creative involvement and we hope to continue to find projects of interest to Scott within the company."

Scott's said the program was "fantastic and really made a difference for me from a career perspective - I feel very lucky to have been placed at Media World". The internship exceeded his expectations and he would definitely recommend it to others. "There are so few opportunities to nurture and develop talent in this industry and the internship offers a kind of 'safe' place to learn your craft"