Meet The Studio at Reel Works Interns

From left, Clarissa Larregui (Production Assistant Intern), Liam Mejia Moran (Studio Manager), Elijah Minter (Production Assistant Intern), Alex Ponce (Production Assistant Intern), and Stephen Czaja (Studio Producer).

The Studio at Reel Works is a youth-led, Emmy-winning production company that pays young filmmakers to create original media for real clients. Alex, Elijah, and Clarissa joined as our Studio Interns in January 2022. During their internship, they have been learning how to develop media projects from inception to completion. Some of their work this past month has involved writing educational video scripts, participating as camera operators and sound recordists in external shoots, and editing narrative short films to be screened this Spring. The internship placements are thanks to CUNY Internship to Employment (I2E) program.

Here's more on what our Studio Interns have been learning in their own words! 

Alex Ponce,

Production Assistant Intern

Pronouns: They/Them

My name is Alex Ponce and I am currently interning for The Studio at Reel Works. I found my love for visual storytelling after taking a Digital Storytelling course as part of my Creative Writing curriculum in high school. From then on, I knew I wanted to work in the film/tv industry alongside other storytellers, but I didn’t know exactly what I could provide. When I enrolled in Brooklyn College the obvious choice was to study to be a director, but I quickly realized that my interest lay elsewhere. I fell in love with post-production while assisting other students with completing their projects. I first heard editing described as “the final draft of your movie” which was a full circle moment for me having started in the world of writing. The love quickly turned into a passion which lent itself to opportunities. I’ve been fortunate enough to have interned with Harbor Picture Company and get first hand experience with a premier post facility. Also, to have interned with CreatorUp where I improved upon my editing skills as an Assistant Editor on various projects. Now, at Reel Works, I’m excited to keep learning and improving upon my skills not only as an editor but a well-rounded media professional. 

So far at Reel Works, I’ve been assisting in developing internal lecture videos as well as editing a Fellows 2021 film. I’ve been learning about the exciting projects Reel Works is working on as well as new editing techniques. Having gone through the MediaMKRS Career Exploration program, I am hopeful for the future of the industry. I see an emerging group of talented and dedicated media professionals and am excited to see what we will achieve.

Clarissa Larregui,

Production Assistant Intern

Pronouns: She/Her

My name is Clarissa Larregui, and I am a Production Assistant Intern at The Studio here at  Reel Works. I graduated from Hunter College and I obtained a B.A. in Documentary and Television Production. I am a MediaMKRS Career Exploration Alumni and through their work readiness program I was able to get this position. Working as an intern at the studio has opened up my learning experience when it comes to post-production. I am able to collaborate and work on projects with other Reel Works team members and by this it has continued to help me grow my skills. I am interested in improving my skills in editing and in cinematography. I have been working with Studio Manager Liam Mejia Moran and Studio Producer Stephen Czaja on a promotional video in which I helped plan out and even assisted them with filming on shoot days. I have also been helping Stephen edit his upcoming Gibney Dance Company documentary and I completed a 10 minute compilation video of the best content created by students who have been a part of Reel Works Documentary Lab, Narrative Lab and Summer Lab . 

My goal is to brush up on my skills and create better content. Covid-19 affected my studies while in college, and because of that I was only able to complete very few projects on my own with very little equipment. Therefore, by working hands-on with different types of equipment this includes equipment that I’ve never worked with before and being assigned different projects by Liam and Stephen at The Studio has been helpful in order to achieve my goal. I want to be able to create more content so that in the future I can build up my resume that can open up opportunities for my career in the future. I also hope to work full time with Reel Works because for me personally it has been such a comfortable and fun environment to work at.

Elijah Minter,

Production Assistant Intern

Pronouns: He/Him

I found out about Reel Works through the MediaMKRS Career Exploration Program during my senior year at college. I was going to school for Film and TV with the idea of being able to write and create my own films. During my senior year I briefly worked as a graphic design intern for The Studio at Reel Works before recently interning as a video editor and production assistant. I have been with The Studio at Reel Works for some months now and I have been learning a lot more about film production. As a passionate artist, I know that being in a position where I can learn new things about film would help me grow as an filmmaker and being a part of The Studio at Reel Works has promoted learning.

Over these past months I was able to experience how pre production and interviews work which has gotten me more familiar with working on interview sets. From learning more about lights, camera set ups, and new video editing shortcuts, Reel Works has been teaching me new fundamentals that I will need to move forward as a filmmaker. Over the course of my internship I have been editing Fellows films and assisting with the production of video shoots. It has been a pleasant experience just being able to learn from others who have more years of experience in the filmmaking field. It is helping me build new skills through hands-on experience and along the way has allowed me to find workflows that work for me especially when it comes to video editing. 

Besides my passion for filmmaking, I found myself also having a passion for 2D animation. Animation is a complex subject but I have developed a liking for its creative process from beginning to end. Although there aren’t many programs that focus on this kind of field, I am confident that I will find the paths my passions align with one another. Overall I would say that my intern experience has been great, just being able to work and learn from others brings a reward in itself.