Internship Summary


 I spent the last several months interning as a PR assistant at Mixed Media Promotions. Mixed Media Promo is a small business located in Cranston, RI; it deals with the promotion, consultation, and public relations of clients. Clients range from country-folk singers to architectural design houses. I am someone who is majoring in science but minoring in art/film; I wanted to get my hands dirty in a media-related field to see how much I enjoyed it, and if it is the right path for me.

Through this internship, I was able to gain great hands on experience in the media industry. I learned a lot and was fortunate to have been given many different kinds of tasks to work on. The work was done primarily on computers in offices. I found out that while this is bearable for me, I do prefer a change of environment at the work place. For instance, field work then lab work. Below are detailed versions of my objectives. 


One objective was to learn how to edit video and post it on various media outlets (ex: YouTube and Facebook). I achieved this by first researching how to use the editing techniques of the program I was told to use (imovie). After I learned how to do what I wanted to do, I sought to create a draft to show my supervisor for approval. I applied the techniques I had learned with ones I had previously gained from courses, like Digital Art & Design, to create the final desired product. I edited out a performance mess-up, enhanced the quality of the sound and image, and added in titles and credits. I also edited the frame speed (fps) to best suit the effect wanted by my supervisor. Once my supervisor had approved it, I uploaded the video to numerous social media sites, for example Facebook, YouTube, and the Mixed Media Promo website and client page. From this objective, I was able to learn a new video editing program and enhance my video editing skills. I had also never uploaded a video to a website before, so this gave me experience that makes me feel very comfortable with that now. I also learned that savvy editing can easily fix performance mistakes, and that I am able to pick up new skills rather fast; I learned the program and executed the desired changes within a few hours. 

The second objective was to create a promotional flyer/invite campaign from start to finish. I did this for a client's art show on 10/14/2011. I was asked to come up with layout designs for the postcard/invite. The clients reviewed my designs, picked a few they really liked, then asked me to execute some mock-ups. They stressed that money was an issue and it should be done as cheaply as possible. For that reason, a postcard design layout was chosen, and Vistaprint was used to order them online. To cut costs, a postcard design was chosen because no envelopes would be needed; also Vistaprint was offering 150 postcards (no color back) for free at that time. I created some options, including a flyer invite, and sent them to the clients. The clients sent me feedback, which I used to finish editing the postcard. For example, they liked the flyer invite but insisted upon keeping costs as low as possible so we went with the postcard design. Similarly, the clients liked the color version of the postcard backs; however, color cost more, so we settled on black and white for the backs. I ordered the postcards, along with client business cards that they also requested I make, and the items were received in time for us to have them sent out about a month before the event. This process made me learn that a lot of time and work goes into something as simple as a postcard invitation. After the postcard was created, I had to create e-mail versions of it and Facebook and Twitter versions. Basically, the postcard was just the beginning.Also,  not only was the client's feedback important, but the venue's manager's, and the refreshment provider's as well. I believe I was able to meet the clients' needs and keep them all sufficiently happy. Therefore, I think that this task helped improve my communication and listening skills. I had to listen to the clients to be able to give them what they wanted. I also learned that an appealing invitation is the first step to a successful event. The postcard I created got many RSVP's and the event was the most successful one held to date for that client.  


This internship enabled me to learn a lot about a field that I had little experience in. The experience helped me increase my network and my social media skills. Overall, however, this internship has helped me realize that my ideal career is in science, not in media. I loved working with all of the clients and being creative, but I feel that my true passion is working in the lab. Even though it might seem contrary, this internship experience has been crucial to my career progress. It has helped me gain hands on experience that in turn has helped me choose what I really want to do with my life. 

 

 Objective: To learn how to edit video and post it on various media outlets (Facebook, YouTube).

  Activities:

   Research video editing

   Create draft for possible use

    Receive feedback from client/supervisor 

 Evidence: Include links to the posted video(s) and feedback e-mails.

The following video is a clip that I created from video that was taken by my supervisor at this client's CD release event. It is important to document clients' performances so they can be distributed to social media outlets. This coverage helps get the clients' names out there and helps gain them fans and exposure. In my Digital Art & Design course, we were taught about image quality and editing. I was able to apply the techniques and skills I picked up in class to this task. Even though each program is different, and we were primarily working with Adobe CS4 in the class, the basic/primary skills that I learned are applicable to any program. 

My supervisor wanted me to use imovie to edit to the video. I agreed and applied my previous experience with editing video and images to learning how to use imovie. Once I became familiar with the program, I went about correcting some issues. The video was taken with my supervisor's iphone, so the quality is not the best. I enhanced the quality of both the image and sound as best as I could, and edited out a performance flub about one minute in. I also added the opening titles and ending credits and adjusted the frame speed (fps) according to the effect desired by my supervisor. I then uploaded the video to YouTube, Facebook, and the Mixed Media Promo website and client page. I received feedback from the clients that they approved of the work and thanked me for fixing the performance error. I was able to complete all of these tasks within a few hours one day. Overall, I learned how to use a new video editing program and how to upload video via multiple media outlet sites; I was able to do this within a few hours at my internship site, and the clients were pleased with the final product. 



 


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Objective: To create a promotional flyer/invite campaign from start to finish.

Activities:

         Research previous successful promotions/invite campaigns.

        On-the-job training of Vistaprint to familiarize myself with it and to gain the ability to create options.  

Evidence: Include a completed promotional flyer/invite. Include a copy of the invites critiques and corrections e-mails.  

Below I present the postcard invitation that I created for a client's event. It is important to create a visually appealing product for the client; this is something that represents them and brings in potential customers. In my Digital Art and Design course, I learned design principles that I was able to apply here. For instance, visually you want to keep the reader's eye moving/flowing with ease; extra information is not necessary, it only clutters thoughts and takes up space. In the class, I also learned about image resolution and its importance to picture quality and format. Thanks to this knowledge, I was able to recognize the poor quality of an image and correct the problem so the final product looked as professional as possible.

The invitation below is the e-mail version of the postcard I made for the 10/14/11 Vincent Castaldi art show. Below that is the postcard critique/corrections e-mail exchange with the clients. Lastly, there are images of the completed postcard. In the media industry, it is important to be able to create invitations and/or promotional materials for clients. The clients were trying to keep costs as low as possible so my supervisor chose Vistaprint and asked me to create some mock-ups. I was able to learn how to use Vistaprint and create options for the clients. I sent the clients my options along with an explanation of everything, and the clients provided feedback. I was then able to improve the postcard and the clients' satisfaction through editing; which I feel mimics real world business collaborations and classroom peer editing.

In relation to creating promotional things for clients, I also got the opportunity to help write a song description for a client. The description will be used to pitch his new holiday single to radio stations and dj's. Below all of the flyer evidence is the pitch I wrote. 



"Like" the Vincent Castaldi Art page on Facebook with comment "contest" 

and you'll be entered to win the featured "Woman in Purple Hat" oil pastel on paper 
white mat with gold and black frame (16x19 total size) completed in 2011, valued at $275! 
You must be present at 10/14/11 VIP reception (Villa One Twenty) to win. 
Reservations are required -- email your rsvp to vincast1@cox.net or call 401-339-7070 as SPACE IS LIMITED. Thanks!



You are cordially invited to a VIP reception:

    A Starry Starry Night with Vincent

Showcasing an Autumn Evening of Art by Vincent Castaldi

Friday October 14th  6-9 pm

     Villa 120

120 Miantonomi Ave. Middletown, RI


Reservations Required 

SPACE IS LIMITED

Complimentary Wine and Cheese

20% Discount with this Invitation

VISA, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover accepted




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Below is the e-mail conversation that I had with the clients pertaining to the postcard:

ME:                    
Hey!
Ginny asked me to put this together for your upcoming art show. It  
is a draft, so send us your thoughts. Just so you know....

The front side (the one with the artist's image) has low resolution,  
which could affect how the image looks once printed. Since the style  
is scratchy/impressionistic, it might not be a factor, however it  
could distort the image's integrity more than desired. A new picture  
taken with a digital camera could easily fix this problem.

We still need confirmation on who to credit for the food/drinks  
(there was mention of CAV?).

With the part about the 20%, do you like the wording with 'show'  
repeated twice?? (ex: take away the 'show' before 'already reduced  
show pieces').

This mock-up implies the use of an envelope to mail the postcard. If  
you want to keep mailing costs down the postcard to be able to be  
mailed by itself (no envelope), the scripted side will have to be  
changed: the corner image will probably have to be taken away and all  
of the information will be squished into half of the space. The other  
half side of the space will be used for the mailing address and postage.

The side with text has the option for full color (the image would  
have color and any part of the text could be colored for emphasis,  
like "A Starry Starry Night...." and "Space is Limited"). Example  
shown below.

All of this can be rearranged, reworded or tweaked to your liking.  
But this gives you an idea of what Vistaprint offers for "free".

CLIENTS:   
LISA wrote>Thanks Angela (& Gin)!  Looks great!  To answer some of your questions....I like what you did with the colored text if it does not cost more.....I do not like "show" repeated twice, I think the better the print quality of the portrait on the postcard, the more likely we are to attract attendees. Since its an example of what we're trying to sell, its pretty important it be IMPRESSIVE.  I have a digital camera, if thats helpful.   Vinny was checking w/ Cav on food but if we dont find out in time, it may not be critical to credit them on invite, since we could still credit them with a glossy on the food table @ the event.  
 
I thought the portrait was going to be on the back of the postcard along with the address... (leaving plenty of room for the invitation details on the front), but I would favor the porttrait being as large as possible (to make an impression), provided we have a good quality picture. 

CORINNA>Hi,

Sorry to say there is a mistake in the print:  http:www.villaonetwenty.com - not villalon - that was the old property.

Other than that it looks good to me.

Thank you

Corinna


VINNY>Hi -invite looks great-we love it_John sent u a coupla' pics he'd taken of image. We both like the full color on back -that format is fine-can we get envelopes that'll fit the postcard size? i don't think you need to put more than "complimentary wine and cheese"-if cav offers,we'll put her bus. card. I think using the word "show" once sounds better-"already reduced pieces not included"....Thanks again-I LOVE the titl


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 I taught myself the editing program imovie at my internship then edited and posted this video to Facebook and YouTube. 

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 "Greg Lato's latest single “Merry Christmas Mood” is filled with charged electro-pop beats that are sure to get all ages moving. Lato writes and produces all of his own music. He incorporates clever lyrics and unique sounds that hold current mass appeal. The song is a fresh take on Holiday Music that will certainly get us all in a “Merry Christmas Mood” this season."   



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