I landed in Dublin a few ago, but a lot has happened in this time. This is my first time in Europe, and it was a valuable and interesting experience making my way to the University College from the airport. I got to know my roommates and the other people who lived in our dorm building. There were people from all across the United States and many other countries. We explored our beautiful campus, and our tour guides were extremely friendly and welcoming. I made many friends and acquaintances, and many of the locals we met were very friendly. The first night, we went into the city of Dublin. Although we were tourists, I felt as though we did a decent job of fitting in. I loved it there, and I think that we became a lot closer to our building mates and the Irish culture overall. We still have some time until our internships begin, but we will be learning a lot about the nuances of Ireland and about what we should expect in the meantime. We had our first day of orientation as well, and this helped us get more acquainted with the campus and general area around us. Overall, my first few days made it much easier to adjust to life over the seas.
My internship starts this upcoming Tuesday, and I am very excited and a little nervous about it. It is around an hour bus ride from my dorm, in the center of Dublin’s city area at D-Light Studios. This is a recently expanded studio space that caters towards film, television, and photography industries mainly. According to the information I’ve been given, some of my duties will include developing creative spaces with the studio team and expanding use of those spaces, organizing and planning events at the studios with the team, brainstorming and developing ideas for events and uses for the studio spaces, assisting the studio manager with clients including film and TV companies using the studio spaces, developing exhibition tenancies and residencies for artists, researching for artists and sponsorship for residencies, and being a photography assistant to help on shoot on set. Needless to say, this is a wide range of responsibilities and tasks, which translates to many different skills and strengths needed to be successful.
To start, one skill that I think is universally important across all industries is good communication. In any job, the ability to convey your ideas in written and spoken form is massively important. I think this is especially useful while working with outside firms frequently like D-Light does. Good communication also allows for better relationships between coworkers and even with clients, as it gives everyone a clearer understanding of what needs to be done. Next, I think adaptability will also be a very important skill at my internship this summer. Right now, the Irish film industry is growing rapidly, and this may translate into changes in the type and quantity of clients working with D-Light. The studios are already used for various industries, so I will be forced to adapt to the many different work situations that go along with that. Looking at their website, they host everything from art galleries to a pop-up Wholefoods, so I will constantly be switching the work I am doing. Another important skill in this industry is creativity. There are many ways that creativity is important in the tasks that I have been assigned, as well as in the film, television, and photography industries altogether. For example, creativity is essential in jobs like brainstorming ideas for studio spaces and organizing and planning events. I while also need to utilize creativity while searching for new artists to use the studios and potential sponsorships. I do not know the scope of artists in Ireland too well so far, so I will have to be creative in the methods that I use to find new clients and market D-Light Studios to them. My internship aside, creativity is essential in the film, photography, and television industries. In film and television, you must be creative in order to create memorable and new stories, choose a fitting soundtrack, and film unique and impressive shots. In photography, creativity is important for many similar reasons. You need to come up with unique and original shots to distinguish yourself, establish visual storytelling, and find an aesthetic appeal that works for you. One thing that differentiates these industries in Ireland from those in the United States is that they all have their own scenes that I need to learn more about and adjust to.