Hey Elyse and Susie!
Just wondering how the process of internship works. Does the uni give you your own internships or do you have to find some in your spare time?
How did you work at the said companies whilst studying at uni? Also do you have any connections with the people in the industry you wish to work in? If so, how? How does one make connections? :3
Hey! My internships (the one with Disney Junior making christmas themed cinemographs and the design dept. of ABC Soul Mates) were completed during high school, rather that at UTS, so with that in mind take what I say with a grain of salt aha, as I'm not 100% as familiar with the process as Elyse is specifically in regards to uni internships, however I know that at UTS there are tonnes of different avenues you can take for finding an internship. You can look around yourself and do your own research (as I was doing initially for the Summer, before I realised I would be away for a chunk of it aha). Alternatively, most UTS faculties have various facebook groups where you can connect with other people within your course - internships are often posted there as well! These groups are great, because they not only facilitate "official" internships (ie. working for a specific company), but also if other students, mainly from the year above have major projects that they are working from and need some help, they'll often post crew calls there as well! One of my friends is currently editing some stuff for a post grad student whose crew call she responded to via the "UTS Media Arts and Production group", which is great work experience

In terms of industry connection, what is great about UTS is not only is their communications degree quite well-respected (it's known for being a very hands on course in comparison to others, eg. what we do in 1st year isn't done until 3rd year at most other unis, which employers value so already got a bit of a leg up there!), but you are also surrounded by lots of other people with likeminded goals - it's not uncommon for groups to form and go on to create things together professionally. I have other connections that I have made through my internships, and being lucky enough to know some pretty neat contacts in my personal life as well! In terms of how to make connections, its definitely about getting involved imo. Helping out some of the older students with their projects is one of the best ways to go about it, as is going to the various events held by UTS geared towards making connections (kinda like speed dating but for industry professionals aha).
Finally on the topic of internships, can't say much about it, but next year one of my selected courses is "professional internship", so you can also literally get an internship as a subject, and that counts towards your final grade!
These questions are specifically for Susie: where did you work on your film projects? Did people contact you, was it offered at UTS (for work experience or something similar) or did you look up these film projects on your own? How easy is it to get connections in the film industry and how easy is it to get into the industry? How likely am I really going to get a job in the industry in the future? How is your course at UTS structured each day? What do you do in each lecture and what assignments do they give out?
The film projects that I worked on were through either assessment tasks (productions are the main form of assessment within the MAPS degree, as we don't do exams. These are always group projects), and through internships (eg. when I worked on ABC Soul Mates). I also made quite a lot of short films for both school and competitions during high school!

All of these were locally based - the furthest I ever had to travel for shoot was Watson's Bay (for the Disney Junior cinemographs, but that wasn't really a film shoot). On the MAPS facebook group, as I mentioned earlier, their are always tonnes of projects that you can volunteer on. In terms of connections, I have been quite lucky knowing some personally before I even started at UTS, however a big part of it is just putting yourself out there. They're not "easy" to get, but I wouldn't say they are particularly hard either - depends on your definition of connection. Is it easy to make connections with the heads of production companies - No. Is it easy to make connections with "lower level" employees or other students that you can create amazing works with? Absolutely

Getting a job in the industry really depends on three things (as far as I am aware):
1. Connections + Work Experience
2. What aspect of production you want to work in (ie. director - very difficult, editor - not too bad, scriptwriter - eeeekkkk

)
3. Flexibility (both in terms of time as even internships can take up an insane amount of time, and also location - Australia's not the best place really to work in film production. Being an editor isn't too bad, however the stuff that you'd be editing isn't exactly highbrow cinema, more likely Reality TV or panel shows. Willingness to relocate, perhaps internationally, would open up more opportunities. For example, Bollywood often hires Westerners to help them break into the mainstream western market.)
That's just if you want to get into "mainstream" video production though. It's important to recognise that this industry is rapidly changing, and online video content is really taking over (even the "mainstream" industry is trying to adapt to this, eg. streaming services like Netflix). This doesn't just mean making YouTube videos, though that is an option (eg. Buzzfeed and WatchCut are proper production companies that offer internships! Hoping to apply for one with WatchCut, though its in the USA cos #yolo).
In terms of how my day is structured - firstly there aren't many days ahaha. Comms degrees have pretty limited contact hours - I only had 8 this semester (2 days a week). For media arts alone, that accounted for one hour lecture and one hour tutorial a week, which later was combined into one 3 hour seminar (which was essentially just a really long tute). In lectures, theres a LOT of watching things, rather than just straight content. I didn't take many notes in the lectures, more just absorbed the info (especially as their is not exam at the end, so you're not going to get tested on anything). Assignments for Media Arts are often a "tester assessment" worth very little that just gives you some practice with the software you are using (eg. a 1 minute audio soundscape, or a 2 minute video essay). Then you'll often have a marked proposal, outlining your plans for a major project, and then the major group project
Now back to Elyse and Susie:
I'm waiting for offers to come out for AFTRS. But in case I don't get in, would it better for me to do a one year diploma (at this other film school I got accepted into) and attend AFTRS the next year (with a completed diploma) or should I go to UTS for a year (same course as Susie) and attend AFTRS (despite not completing the bachelor degree). My parents really don't want me to do the diploma course but wouldn't it be better to have a diploma instead of completing one year of a bachelor degree?
Hmmmm. I get why your parents are hesitant about a diploma. TBH, I don't know how well-regarded they are in the industry, and when I say that I mean I really don't know aha, they could be worth a lot, I have no idea. Having a degree is good because its more versatile, and overall, looks better on a CV, however if your plan wasn't even to complete the entire degree then I'd say a diploma then AFTRS would be best? However, if you're really keen for AFTRS and you don't get in, rather than dropping out of UTS after a year, it may be more worthwhile to complete the course, then do post-grad/speciallisation at AFTRS? That is what they are actually known for, and where their high employability rate comes from, whereas their Bachelors course is very new.
Hope this helps!
Susie