The Few. The Talented. The Interns.

What’s the opportunity?– Come with us.

SolidLine Media creates high end promotional, corporate and training videos that have won countless awards. We’ve shot all over the US and on three different continents. We’ve become an international production company with a homebase right here in the heart of Chicago.  Our interns are welcomed into our team. Work on location, communicate with clients, travel the world, learn how a high end production company works and get the job done. Our interns are involved with every step of the process: pre production, on-location set up, creating shots, editing, motion graphics development, et. al. Interns are handed real responsibility and, in turn, walk away with real experience.

“We find projects that give our interns a chance to grow,” says Internship Program Director and Production Coordinator Allison Miller, “Giving them responsibilities in the aspects of the production process he or she wants to learn more about is crucial.”

Don’t believe us?–Hear it from an intern. 

We chatted with current SolidLine Intern, Chris Tracz about what he was looking for in an internship and his experience thus far.

SLM–How did you find out about the SLM internship?

CT–I saw the SolidLine RV traveling through downtown Chicago one afternoon. It piqued my curiosity so I visited their website and was impressed with what I saw. After discovering that SolidLine offered internships I immediately contacted the beautiful Ms. Allison Miller to inquire about the opening.

SLM–What attracted you to SLM?

CT–SLM is a very successful organization that is not bounded by its location or size: clients in 34 states and four countries. Additionally, I was impressed with the fact that this smaller production company had such a large market share of industry awards. This achievement spoke volumes of the talented staff.

SLM–What is your typical day as an intern?

CT–There isn’t one. Every day is different as an intern with SolidLine Media. One day I could be working in the Adobe Suite to draft a storyboard for a client in Chicago and then the next day I could be filming on location in Atlanta.

SLM–What has been your favorite experience thus far?

CT–Early in my internship we were in Florida filming a training video at an airport and our client requested aerial footage. I had the opportunity to film in the cockpit of a plane–10,000 feet above the ground. The pilot even asked me to fly the plane…until the aerometer broke.

SLM–How have you grown as an artist in your time with SLM?

CT–Interns here have the opportunity to work in several areas. Script writing, editing, visual effects. I got to see a pitch grow into a final cut. Being part of the entire production process has allowed me to better visualize my own work, making me a stronger storyteller.

SLM–What are your goals within this internship?

CT–I want to challenge myself both analytically and creatively while I’m at SLM. Thankfully, I’ve gotten to do both so far. My responsibilities range from budget planning for a project to arranging individuals onscreen for interviews. And, if I ever run into a challenge, there is always someone waiting to help. Each SLM employee has a high level of expertise in his or her background and is willing to share their knowledge.

SLM–If you could give any advice to future SLM interns or potential applicants, what would you say?

CT–I would advise anyone who is interested in SolidLine to apply for an internship with the company–regardless of his or her background. SolidLine has had many interns who have majored in film/TV at school. However, the company has also welcomed journalism majors and business students to the family. If you’re interested and a hard worker, apply for an internship at SolidLine Media.

You can hear more about Chris’ experiences with SolidLine on our From the Intern Desk blog.

So, what next?

SolidLine runs intern programs three times a year: Spring/Summer, Fall and Winter. Be sure to check our program brochure for submission deadlines and details. We post the positions about six weeks before each internship cycle, conduct phone interviews, narrow down the candidate pool and select 6-8 individuals for in-person interviews with the Production Coordinator and Producer. In the end, we typically bring on two interns per cycle.

What does SolidLine look for in an intern?

A sincere desire to learn and grow. In Miller’s words, “Experience is key, but don’t come in with the wrong ‘tude, dude. We all learn from one another–it’s okay to not know something.” We can’t phrase it better than that. We love interns who aren’t afraid to ask questions, develop and share ideas for projects you are working on or would like to work on and who are up for any task, big or small.