To whom it may concern,
In writing this statement I aim to achieve two things. To justify how I have spent the past 4 years of my career networking, learning, producing and sacrificing all to put me in an eligible position for an opportunity of this magnitude. Secondly, to outline the benefits this internship would have on my career directly, including future opportunities I believe will arise.
After graduating in Film and TV production in 2006 I spent one year of my life travelling Australia. Once I had got the adventure out of my system, I was then able to embark on the next adventure of my life and start pursuing my dream career. I ventured over to London England with the little money I had in an attempt to break into the film and TV industry.
One thing led to another and I was able to land myself a post production running job for ITV at the London Studios. I thought I had struck gold, with close to one hundred other applicants trying for the position. Unfortunately however, unlike the name suggests there was very little production involved, my duties were very much the same of a glorified waiter. Serving drinks and “treats” to malnourished-nocturnal beings other-wise known as editors!
Six weeks of serving tea, coffee and treats passed by before I managed to hear news of an opening at the Loose Women show. The position was for an assistant floor manager. I hastily applied and much to my managers and colleagues surprise I was offered the position. A new contract, more action, slightly better pay and a great deal more responsibilities. But more importantly, access to great contacts that had the potential to take my career to the next level.
6 months pass on the show before I caught wind of another position opening up, this time in development. It was a researcher/producer position requiring a minimum 2 years industry experience. I was under qualified and under experienced, but Development was my passion and that was my ultimate goal. I wanted to be responsible for producing ideas and concepts, instead of being confined to pre-existing boundaries in the shows I was currently working on.
The role was within ITV, but was also developing programs to pitch to the BBC, Sky, Living and a few other major networks. Consequently the interview process was fairly intensive. I was required to come up with various idea’s and proposals and to pitch them to the head of development.
After managing to track down the head of the department, I managed to secure an interview purely on the basis of my ambition and a fairly motivational speech in the lift!
The interview required me to develop three show ideas. I worked on two prior to the interview and then one the morning of. I used that morning’s paper to get a current story which I turned into a one off observational documentary.
The interview went well and much to my surprise was offered the position the following week. I was ecstatic, I could not believe it! By this time I was due to fly back to Australia after not seeing my family for over a year. However I felt that the opportunity was too great to miss. I forfeited my Plane ticket, and put the family visit on hold.
I made the call to my parents, and although slightly disappointed by the fact they wouldn’t be seeing me, were also very supportive of my decision.
I worked in development for a year and a half pitching new show ideas to various channels throughout London. Within that time my biggest achievement was the commissioning of “Sex Drive”. It was made into a ten part online series generating tens of thousands of regular viewers. Unfortunately my glory was short lived, as the credit crunch hit London pretty hard. ITV disbanded their development department which included my position. I spent the next three months trying to get back into the industry, unsuccessfully. After exhausting all of my networks, contacts and bank accounts, I made the decision to fly home to Perth. The time was right to settle down on the sunny side and use my experience gained from London to establish myself in Perth.
I spent the next six months meeting production companies and contacts in search of a job. Eventually I managed to get a meeting with a Series producer at the ABC named Daniel Brown. I offered to work two weeks unpaid, developing his ideas and working on the show he was producing. He kindly accepted my offer. After finishing my two weeks I was told I would be contacted if any future positions arise.
I persisted with my search for another four months until I was forced to get some sort of income to pay off my bills. I ended up getting a sales job on 100% commission and as it turns out I did pretty well! The company sent me to New Zealand to train up their newly opened office. I taught the office how to convince people to buy things they didn’t really want to buy. “Sales” is a funny business! It was a good experience, but I had never been motivated by sales, and it was definitely not included in my long term goals.
After four months I received a phone call from Daniel Brown. I was offered a part-time researcher position on the TV show Can We Help on the ABC for two days a week which I hastily accepted!
I left my 6 day a week sales job in the hope of getting my foot into Perth’s door. Having two days a week at the ABC left me with a lot of free time, which I used developing my own ideas, and networking with the small independent film scene in Perth. I managed to meet some equally ambitious writers, and started forming a pretty tight group of friends, all with the aim of breaking into the Television/Film scene in Perth, which I feel is completely under-rated and is definitely on the cusp of making a name for itself.
One thing led to another and I teamed up with two independent directors and we started working together on an ambitious short film. The budget was only 10,000 Australian dollars, were relying on a lot of talented people working for next to nothing, the response we got was amazing. What went from a low-budget short had turned into a fairly impressive production, which consequently was accepted into Cannes Film Festival last year. January 2010 I was promoted to a full time position on the show and am currently still working in that position. During this time I have been collaborating with Writer/director Dave Stephens and James Bogle with the goal of producing my first feature before 2012. (Please see attached project overview for details)
Having the opportunity to work with Krasnoff/Foster Entertainment would have an immeasurable impact on my career, my life and most importantly my current feature I am embarking on. But for the purpose of this statement I will do my best to justify what I aim to achieve if offered this internship.
Why Krasnoff/Foster Entertainment? This company has already achieved what I am dreaming of. They have flirted between the boundaries of Film and Television production. And produced some internationally successful features and are currently embarking on a new television series.
Not only would I gain invaluable experience from an internationally renowned company, I will also be able to utilize my experience gained within the TV industry. My creativity within TV has fuelled my ambition and passion for film making.
My long term career goal is to become a successfully renowned film maker, pushing the boundaries of Western Australian films. Although this comes across as a stereo typical ambition for any film maker, I strongly believe I have the drive and potential to achieve this. Being surrounded by professionals who have succeeded in an international market will be invaluable to my current project.
Working in close proximity around these professionals will give me skills and knowledge which are inaccessible through books or the internet. Being able to simply engage and work with them would be a life changing experience in itself.
I really believe I have the drive and ambition to make the most out of this experience. We are currently in the first draft stages of our script and being able to get an insight into script developing on an international level will really help with future drafts.
I am also excited about the scale of international markets. I will gain a valuable insight into sales which could prove crucial when marketing my first feature film. Throughout my creative input and hard work I will try to create the best impression possible with everyone at the Krasnoff/Fosters. At the end of the internship I will have hoped to create a strong enough impression to request letters of recommendation from the company. This would prove very valuable to potential future employment opportunities.
If I am given this opportunity to enhance my experience, knowledge and understanding of all aspects of film production, I am confident that in turn it will help enhance the Western Australian Film Industry. I will bring back all I have learned and pass on my experience to my Director and all other crew involved. Dave and I have collaborated before on the short “Trigger” and have big plans for the film industry in Perth. We believe our script warrants that. Our short term goal is to make an internationally marketable film which will raise awareness of the Perth film scene. My long term goal is to use the momentum gained from what we feel will be a successful feature and use this to embark on a further even more ambitious projects within Perth, Australia.
Working for six months within Krasnoff/Foster Entertainment will let me gain knowledge about general work functions within an American production company. It would allow me the opportunity to explore and create work experiences tailored to my specific goals and ambitions within the film industry. I hope to make contacts that can help answer questions about potential advice on taking the next step with my feature film. Having this experience to talk about with potential colleagues throughout my career will enhance my profile and give me a respect which may prove valuable when negotiating with investors.
Beyond enhancing my resume and building contacts for a future job search, there are a few other valuable goals which this internship can help me attain. I am a young film maker with minimum credit’s and maximum ambition. I feel by working at Krasnoff/Foster Entertainment, it will help give me a much stronger understanding of the way the film industry ticks. I will have the chance to learn from people who have not just made films (which many film makers have done before) but they have made films, sold films and become an internationally renowned company. I will be able to study their processes in all the fundamentals of film development, right through to the sales, marketing and distribution. This is an extra-ordinarily rare opportunity I am eager to be a part of.
My Hollywood Story 