HC Media continues to work with NECC internship program
Cassie Ellson is a twenty-year-old Art major at NECC. She took the Video Field Production class at HC Media, after which she remembered they had talked about the internship positions that would be opening in the next semester. Lance Hidy, graphic design professor, was coming around to the art classes and trying to recruit people for the internship program.
“I thought, why not?” she said.
Ellson is doing the Italy trip this semester and since she doesn’t have classes during the week, which is partly why she decided it would be the best time to do an internship.
She plans on transferring somewhere to pursue film and animation after NECC.
She edits footage to create shows, helps out when they do shows in the studio with setting up cameras and putting the set together for the show.
“I’m listening to music for the radio right now to make sure there aren’t any swear words,” she said. “I kinda love it. Everyone is wicked cool here and it’s just fun. Even when I’m just sitting there staring at the computer, I’m enjoying myself.”
Her goals included to get better at editing, working with the cameras and to improve her communication skills with others.
The first show, which was about 45 minutes long, took her a couple of days to edit completely as she got more familiar with the Adobe Premiere software. The second show she edited was about four hours, but she was able to complete it in one day. As she got more experience, she was able to work more efficiently in shorter amounts of time.
She was able to work in the control room on a live shoot one day where she had to be in control of switching between shots, which she said was stressful.
“I was afraid I was going to hit the wrong thing,” she said.
She did similar work at Salem High School in New Hampshire, where she took a two-year course in TV Production and got to do a little bit of everything.
Ellson is in the internship class that focuses on art, while Columbo is in the class focusing on journalism.
“Everyone except me is focusing more on photography, but it’s still really helpful,” she said. The class is helping her to put together her portfolio and resume for future employers. They helped her to remove unnecessary information from her resume and to also make sure she has all the crucial information that she needs to have on it.
“I definitely recommend doing the internship program. It’s valuable,” she said.
Carly Columbo is a twenty-year-old Communications major with a focus in journalism.
She wants to transfer once she graduates and continue to pursue communications, although there is such a broad range of jobs in communications that she wants to explore every avenue of it before making a decision. She is primarily interested in journalism and public relations.
She also took the Video Field Production class. After the class was over, she was able to work well with the Adobe Premier software efficiently and was offered an internship from Matt Belfiore, Director of Operations at HC Media.
“I really liked editing videos, so of course I accepted,” she said.
In the beginning, she was working on editing videos for The Haverhill Journal, which she expects to continue doing throughout her internship. She also helps the employees at the station by editing videos that they have on their list of things to do so that the work gets done more quickly.
“Matt says that the interns are the glue that fill in all the little holes to put everything together,” she said.
She also got to go out and help with a shoot with camera equipment once for the Boys & Girls Club’s 110th anniversary.
“I do a little bit of everything. Mostly editing, though,” she said. “One of my goals is in the process of being reached, which was just to become more familiar with the software and to learn new functions I can do with videos to improve the quality of the sound or the picture. I am slowly but surely getting better at that.”
Another one of her goals was to become more familiar with the camera equipment which she was able to do by getting to go out and get real experience using it.
“I really like the laid-back atmosphere. Everybody is working so hard and being diligent but the atmosphere is not stressful. Everyone is really comfortable and friendly with each other. It makes working there something I look forward to,” she said. “I enjoy putting the headphones on and zoning out while editing videos. It’s something you can indulge yourself in and get into.”
She said that she loves it because she’s exploring her own major and actually feels like she has a job that is relevant to building a future career. The employees at the station are very willing to help and are approachable which has helped her with any problems she had.
“You get your own desk so you have a space to put your things. If you’re looking for somewhere to really grow in this field but also have a fun time and be in a relaxed environment, this is the internship for you,” she said.
Chris Bowden, producer and videographer at the station, is one of the employees who actively helps the interns on projects.
“Cassie and Carly didn’t have much to adjust to,” he said. “They came in with decent experience from taking the NECC Field Production class and so they were able to hit the ground running. The majority of their workload has been editing, and they’ve been stellar at it.”