Lucas Matthews ’25, Film and Media Studies majors, shares about their internship at Unincarcerated Productions Walla Walla, WA
“For the past 8 weeks I have been interning at Unincarcerated Productions, a film production company who’s goal is to shift the collective consciousness of those formerly imprisoned. I joined the team as a general film editor, but with the team being relatively small, I have had opportunities to participate and experience more than I was initially expecting.
So far editing job wise, I have completed a highlight video for a fundraiser event, and am currently working on a promotional video for an art studio in Walla Walla. It has been great being able to use my skills in video editing that I have developed over the past years in a professional setting. One of my worries was whether my ability was on par with that of a professional editor. I had been selling myself as a very confident video editor so I was concerned if I could meet those expectations. Luckily this worry was put aside thanks to the positive responses I got from the editing jobs I have completed.
While the editing has been my main focus during this internship, my involvement with Unincarcerated Productions has been in more directions than I had originally expected. I have been more of a full team member of the company, participating and contributing more than just my editing skills. For example, one of the company’s focuses during this summer has been expanding their presence on social media, with YouTube being a new territory. Coincidentally not only have I grown up on YouTube, I have many years of experience of posting on YouTube and know about how the platform’s algorithms work more than an average person. This has allowed me to be an active contributor in meetings about strategies for social media content, an angle that I was not expecting at all.
I also am fortunate enough to have an opportunity in a week where I’ll be driving up to Seattle to help with filming. I will be a production assistant that will help with setting up equipment and the filming process. Getting on set experience was one of my goals during this internship, since those kind of opportunities aren’t normally available, so I am very excited to participate in it.
Going into this internship, my main objective was to broaden my editing abilities. While I have been able to do so in this first 8 weeks, what I have learned outside of that has been really beneficial for me. I have learned so much about the reality of a film production company, which I would not have been able to if not for this internship. The technical side of things, the business side of things, so much that is absent when making a movie on your own or in a class. It has been a great “getting my foot in the doorway” experience and I cannot wait to apply myself further and learn more from this.”