Summer 2016 - Osagie

I came to LA seeking an immersion experience in the industry. I was expecting to catch a few lucky breaks, find myself working in a high stress situation, and come out with a vastly increased skill set and some solid industry contacts that would definitely call me up when I graduated. Maybe be invited to the join the ASC...

Of course, none of that happened. On the first week out here, I didn't even have a job. Luckily, I managed to get a position as a development intern, which seemed like it would benefit my writing since it called for scripts and script coverage. I think I was asked to read around 4 scripts in total, 3 of which happened in the first 2 weeks of June. The job quickly transitioned into one of pure research and reception. Got hit with a bait-and-switch.

But the people were cool and I had some free time in between assignments to work on other stuff, so I wasn't really complaining. Especially when I began to notice that some other interns were also let down by their internships. It began to sink in that we really were at the bottom of the totem pole. People would eagerly climb over each other to try and get the positions we were having now, so we could afford to be left with the less glamorous jobs. Two major positives - the exposure to the trades and industry happenings that was actually a part of my daily tasks, and access to StudioSystem, which was essentially imDB on steroids.

Meanwhile, outside of my internship, we were attending panels and conventions featuring the best writers, directors, and talent in the industry. Some highlights included attending the episode 1 premiere of the show "Preacher", and getting to listen to the panel of writers talking about the process and difficulties in adapting a comic book series of this nature.


There was also a great panel from experienced writers talking about how you could break into the industry now, their advice essentially culminating into "write a bit, then write some more" and honing your craft and getting attention from being good at it.

Outside of the panels and work, we had plenty of opportunity to just enjoy ourselves and the city, which was much appreciated and definitely crucial. Part of this experience is getting to decide whether or not you even want to be in LA (even though many of the panelists recommended relocating to get into the industry).


Those breaks from thinking about "film film film" and just enjoying myself were my favorite days, although I didn't want to get too relaxed while out here.


I went to see my favorite comedian, Louis CK, perform live, spent quite a few days biking up and down Santa Monica beach, and went to my first baseball game - which was not as good as UA football game (an impossible standard to meet, I now realize).

This program was the perfect way to get integrated into the industry, with the faculty guidance provided making it much less scary to try and jump from living in Tuscaloosa to living in LA. After this, I definitely know that I want to come back to this city and have one more year at UA to spend prepping for the transition. I could not ask for anything else.