Summer in LA: Keri Washington

This summer I had the opportunity to work at RedLight PR, a Public Relations firm based out of Los Angeles and New York. I had many great experiences and opportunities from this internship that made my summer in LA unforgettable. My daily tasks included press clipping, social media management and meetings with talents and their agents about their upcoming events and maintaining their public image. Some other tasks I was able to do weekly included creating content for our clients and brands. I designed the set for multiple photo shoots and videos as well as actually shooting them. I also edited and uploaded all of the footage to the clients web platforms and social media. Another weekly task was working with production coordinators for various studios or freelancers and collaborated for product placement within the music video, film, TV show or short.

From working with RedLight PR, I made contact with Ladonna Whittingham who works marketing and events for B.E.T. I was her camera op/assistant when working events or doing footage for her online webpage. Through this and my time at RedLight, I was able to see how professionals work with talent in the industry. Another opportunity that I was given this summer was being an extra on set of Ava DuVernay’s 828 Project. The 828 Project is short narrative about The March on Washington that will be an installment in The Smithsonian in Washington D.C. I was able to get my first voucher under SAG and am only two more union jobs away from being able to get my SAG Card. This was definitely the most beneficial thing I did this summer because of the SAG credit and I was able to see what things were like on a Union set. I could see the professionalism with the crew and talent, but also see how they still worked like a family. This showed me that this business is all about finding that balance between friendship and coworker.

I also was able to work on the set of a non-union show, Justice with Judge Mablean. Everyone there still had the same professionalism, but there was definitely a difference in the hierarchy on set. Lower ranked producers had more fluidity with what they could do since there weren’t Union sanctions keeping them within their job confines.  I am so glad I got to tour all of the major studios in Los Angeles to see how film and TV is made. There are so many little tips I can take away from studio work to apply to my student films that will give it a more professional look.

I also had some down time to explore Los Angeles and see all the touristy sites as well as find the places I will want to spend my time when I move out here. I love this city because it is so big and there is always something to do, especially free things! There are so many different areas, it is impossible to get bored. The traffic I did get annoyed with at times, but thought about how i would much rather sit in traffic in LA than sit at home in Alabama. This summer was such a fun learning experience and I cannot express how grateful I am to Sallie Mae for funding this endeavor. I’m not sure how I can ever repay her.