ACE Intern Program
Starting this year, the American Cinema Editors Internship Program has initiated an Outreach Program to run parallel with the standard mentorship program. The Internship Committee will accept applications from the various branches of the U.S. Armed Forces to offer an all-inclusive Post Production internship to Veterans interested in pursuing a career in the film industry. One Veteran applicant will be accepted each year into the program, in addition to the two American and one International applicant.
All applicants are invited to the Lecture Series.
The selected applicants participate in a six-week program which starts in September and ends in October. The current structure of the Internship Program emphasizes assistant picture editing. The Outreach Program for the selected military applicant will have an extensive overview of music / sound editing and design, visual effects, as well as an overview of assistant picture editing and post facilities.
The first week is spent in the ACE lecture series. Lori Jane Coleman, A.C.E., (Chair of the Internship Committee) moderates three nights of panels. The panels consist of accomplished editors and exceptional assistant editors.
Night One ~ How to get started in Hollywood, and the unwritten rules of etiquette that govern the editing room.
Night Two ~ An assistant editor’s tasks, from dailies to online/negative cut.
Night Three ~ An evening with illustrious editors who share their stories about how they got their first jobs and who they are likely to hire as an assistant.
Over the past few years, we have hosted the third night’s panel with some wonderful talents, including: Angus Wall, Matt Chesse, Stephen Mirrione, Steve Rivkin, John Refoua, Bonnie Koehler, Briana London, Susanne Malles, Alan Heim, Michael Tronick, Maysie Hoy, Tina Hirsch, Mark Goldblatt, Diana Friedberg, Troy Takaki, Stephen Lovejoy, Chris Cooke, Hunter Via, and many more.
The next five weeks are spent in different editing rooms, shadowing assistant editors. The venues selected represent television, features, and reality t.v. There is also one week dedicated to exploring post production venues such as, the lab, telecine facility, VFX house, sound effects and music editing rooms, ADR and dub stage. These venues offer the opportunity to observe the inherently different styles and requirements of each room and what the assistant editor is expected to deliver to each venue or facility during the making of their film. It is an opportunity for the intern to absorb, question, compare and contrast what they’ve learned both in school and on the job.
There are many opportunities to network with current or past interns, assistant editors, editors and other filmmakers during the internship. The interns will work at the Blue Ribbon Panel (where the films nominated for an Eddie are screened), be a guest of A.C.E. at the nominee cocktail party (where the interns will receive their plaques), be a guest of A.C.E. for the Eddie Awards, and work at the Invisible Art, Visible Artist (I.A.V.A.) event (where the Oscar nominated editors sit on a panel and screen a sequence from their film). The interns will also help host a thank-you dinner sponsored by A.C.E. for all the editors, assistants and post personnel who participated in the Internship Program. The interns will be invited to the ACE Retiree Luau, the new board initiation dinner and to participate in Editfest.
Before and after the program, the Internship Committee meets with the interns to prepare, encourage, and mentor them. Each intern will be assigned their own mentor (an A.C.E. member), to whom they will email a daily journal. Each intern will be required to write an article for the Cinemaeditor Magazine describing his or her experience. It is also expected that the chosen ACE interns return the following year to participate in the orientation and final meeting for the next year’s chosen interns. This helps foster the basic ideology of mentoring. The interviews, orientations, and final meetings will be held separately for the Outreach Program.
The application packet should include a resume, two letters of recommendation, and a personal application letter stating one’s ambitions and views of editing.
It is imperative for the standard applicant to have a working knowledge of Avid and Final Cut Pro, as well as a commitment to moving to Los Angeles. However, we do not expect our veteran applicants to be proficient with the tools used in the cutting rooms or post facilities. We highly recommend becoming familiar with these systems during and after the internship.
Please do not include any dvds of films you have edited in your application package. Each letter of application and recommendation should be one page in length and unstapled.
*Prior to 2012, the ACE Internship took place during January and February to coordinate with the ACE Eddie Awards. However, starting in 2012, the internship will take place in September and October. The interns will be invited to participate in the ACE activities (Blue Ribbon Panel, Nominee Cocktail Party, Eddie Awards and IAVA symposium) during the following year. There will be an application fee of $25.00 which should be included with your application made out to American Cinema Editors Internship Program. The lecture series is open to all current and past applicants and film students. There will be an admission charge of $75 for all three nights. You will also have the option to pay at the door. It is necessary to sign up in advance at the ACE office for the lecture series so that your name is on the drive-on list. Your application fee will be deducted from the admission charge.
Applications are due by August 6, and should be sent to the A.C.E. office:
American Cinema Editors
100 Universal City Plaza
Verna Fields Building 2282, room 190
Universal City, California 91608
Attention: Lori Jane Coleman, A.C.E.
Internship Program
818 777.2900
818 733.5023 (fax)
