My name is Qifan Yang, and I am a senior at Andrews Osborne Academy. I appreciate that I have a chance to do my senior experience at the Greater Cleveland Film Commission; I am glad that I have a chance to intern in such a nice place before my graduation. I will be an intern 7 days at the GCFC. Since the first day I interned here, I got to know the staff here. Everyone here is patient with me who knows nothing about the film commission.
On my first day, [the Production Coordinator] Mike took me to a movie set located in Cleveland. Later in the afternoon, I scouted with [the Assistant Production Coordinator] Antonio in downtown, and he explained different scouting skills and getting different views in one street or scene. Also, I joined the staff meeting at the end of the day. I got the basic idea of how the GCFC worked and introduced myself when it was my turn to present.
On the following days, I scouted my school Andrews Osborne Academy based on what Antonio taught me. Also, I scouted different places in downtown Cleveland, where I have never been before. During my seven days of internships, I did not just sit in the office, but did what I can do for the GCFC such as read and break down a script for a movie, help with fundraising research, but also learned some skills about scouting and settle the problems in the location database. I am thankful to my advisor and the every staff members at GCFC. They have made my high school senior experience fantastic and memorable.
One of the core pillars of GCFC’s mission is workforce development. We work with local educators to help students who have a desire to enter a career in media production gain exposure to the industry. Throughout the year, several opportunities are available to students interested in the media production industry to come work with us and learn not only about the industry, but also about non-profit organizations and day to day office life. We also host students for limited time shadowing and senior projects, which can last anywhere from one day to one week.