Blog post 1
The name of the company I’m working for is called PlamTree, it’s a small team, roughly 20 people, as it’s a start-up, but expanding as of recently. The company is located here in NYC; however, it still has no established base of operations.PlamTree is a private magazine company that just dropped its first magazine back in April, aimed at bringing to light the beauty of Caribbean culture, and my job as a social media intern is to get bts footage and help edit other content to help promote the current and new issues for the magazine, additionally, the magazine that the company has appeared on is Caribbean fashionÂ
life, and it was to show off the Plamtree beauty, aka the star of the magazine, and her impact on the community.
Blog post 2
My role with the company is a social media intern, meaning I have to manage the company’s social media and help promote the magazines. And my boss is Vinik Ernest, the founder of the company. And I selected this internship by mass applying to jobs and stumbling upon this one. Honestly, I never saw myself working for a magazine, but here we are. And to get in, I first had to do an online interview with the head of the company himself, then an in-person/first-day interview with the rest of the people I’m currently working with, and I had to wait roughly a couple of weeks to hear back from them and during the interview I was asking how the work would be given to me and how and who would I be working with.
Blog post 3
The culture of my workplace is very much not restrictive, as we are all creatives working together and dress how we see fit. So I dress comfortably in sweats or streetwear, and the typical day of work varies, as some days I’ll be editing videos for or from the shoots, I’ll be on site with the rest of the team to farm more content for the socials. And we keep in touch via messages on the phone and through Gmail, and team meetings are held on Google Meet.
Blog post 4
On this job, I’ve learned how to plan more for my shots and videos as I have to time my shots and things in the moment for content as they come and go. And I’m still doing stuff related to my major, like video editing, photography, and recording, and I even help with the production of the latest shoot, as I go around taking bts shots and helping my co-worker also do the same on her camera. I also help with the video formatting and compiling the footage to use.
Blog post 5
An example of a collaborative project that I had to work on during my internship was the most recent photoshoot, as I had to collaborate with another photographer as we worked simultaneously, as me and her switched between a filming and a photo camera, we also used a Polaroid for a more grainy look as we were tasked with filming and taking photographs for a new project the magazine is working on. As I had to work with not only my fellow photographer but also with the editor and makeup crew to help with the promotion for the shoot, and as much as i enjoyed taking pictures I still dislike doing some of the promotional stuff they do such as some tik to treads I usually rely on my co worker for that, and during this shoot we had a big issue someone had messed up on picking the second shoot location and we had to then compromise and had to look for a new place on the spot.
Blog post 6
I feel that for the work I’m doing, I’ve been doing well. My task usually consists of researching to see what would be the best equipment and shots we should be aiming for, which also extends to me having to scout the area in some cases, and to see what trends are current to help the exposure of the magazine. Additionally, I also help with on-hand work, whether that be assisting with the camera work if I’m not doing it myself, or helping with the equipment, such as audio and lighting adjustments. Â
Blog post 7
This week, my job really threw me for a loop. We had just finished shooting the second shoot for the next issue of the magazine, and I learned a lot about how different each shoot is with new set locations. This time, we used a studio room, which helped with setup time because they had some equipment ready on hand. A professional videographer was on set this time (a guy with a good camera and tripod), but he had some trouble with the mic setup because it was missing a foam cover. We spent most of our time making sure that it was working. The interview part was a bit challenging for me, as this was only my second time filming BTS, so I didn’t really know what I was looking for. However, I received some pointers through initiative and learned more about how to help film and create hype for my magazine, thanks to my coworker, who does both full-time.
Blog post 8
One in-person meeting I had was with my boss and someone he brought in to help with the direction of the shoot. I want to highlight this particular meeting because it was the first time I met my boss and saw his vision for how much he cared about this project. I also learned how quick on your feet you need to be during these shoots. The person assisting was explaining how the shots I was looking for come and go just as quickly as the show. I was even briefed on how to use the environment around me—since we were in Soho—to enhance the impact of the shoot. This really showed me how much my efforts influence the quality of the shots. After feeling a bit overwhelmed, I was reassured that these experienced people were there to help me and that I was part of the process. My boss and I discussed what he wanted to showcase in this interview, as he wanted to tease some content for the magazine’s first issue before the final video was released. It was tricky, but we ended up creating a small story where he runs around interviewing people on the street.
Blog 9
Another aspect of my work is editing. This week’s workload was unexpectedly heavy: I was assigned to edit all the content we filmed so far, which was two full days’ worth. I had to resize photos and edit videos to get everything ready for the teasers we planned to release. I also had to convert all content into social media formats, which took even more time—some videos were vertical and needed to be converted and adjusted for movement to look natural on different platforms. This process took four to five hours, all while I was also trying to finish my college assignments.
Blog 10
Another thing I learned about the industry is how much effort goes into these shoots. So many people handle different tasks to ensure everything goes according to plan. For example, in our most recent shoot, we moved on to a new project for the magazine, which was a collaborative effort among all the interns. It was for a new mini-series for the company. I saw everyone at work firsthand. Usually, I only come in when it’s time to shoot, but this time I got the full experience. I met and observed what the other teams do. The makeup crew spent a solid hour preparing our model, even doing touch-ups throughout. I also worked with our handler and editor to come up with questions for the model. We then looked for good places to shoot, and it was pretty funny that we ended up on a boat, but I let my coworker handle the shooting since we were out there for a while.