Media Production Intern

The Legal Aid Society is the nation’s oldest and largest social justice law firm. We are united in one simple but powerful belief: that no New Yorker should be denied the right to equal justice. The Legal Aid Society advances its mission through rigorous client representation in a myriad of courts, community education, class action and impact litigation, and systemic law and policy reform.

The Legal Aid Society’s Communications Department has an immediate opening for a part-time Media Production Intern to support efforts to inform, influence, and engage our staff across various departments and offices in New York City. They will assist with public relations and external communications.

The Communications Department leads Legal Aid’s growing media relations, marketing, branding, and design needs on earned, owned, and paid media channels. They tell the stories of our clients and supporters, develop educational and advocacy campaigns, and highlight our legal and advocacy victories.

This is a hands-on role that requires someone with a solid, well-rounded knowledge of video production fundamentals and who is eager to join our team. This position reports to the Content Production Manager and works in concert with the Communications Department’s Digital team to document and capture the work of The Legal Aid Society as it tells the story of the nation’s oldest social justice law firm.

This is an ideal opportunity for someone seeking to broaden their experience in video production and post-production. Eligible participants will be able to demonstrate competency and understanding of basic camera, lighting, and audio production techniques suitable to small-scale shoots, as well the editing competency to distill raw material into various formats with a sensitivity to their intended purpose (frequently that means short-form, social-friendly). The position is a great opportunity for someone who is interested in the shooter-editor role, and who would like a chance to practice and improve their skills across a range of production duties.

This is a part-time, in-person internship requiring approximately 20 hours per week. The duration of the internship is July through December. Interns are expected to work on-site and may be required to travel to other borough offices and project sites as needed. Occasional weekend availability may be required based on program or operational needs. Additional duties may be assigned to support team priorities and organizational goals.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

The intern will learn how to use human-centric strategic and design thinking to reach internal and external audiences. They will also get to create content and experiences that connect the public and Legal Aid staff to our mission, values, and each other. Duties include:

• Content creation - Collaborate closely with Communications Department’s stakeholders to facilitate the creation of video content that artistically and accurately captures the values of our organization through a variety of formats
• Video Production – Assuming (under supervision) basic camera, lighting, and audio production duties in diverse circumstances as the situation requires - including on-site shoots at locations through New York city’s five boroughs
• Video Post-Production – Execute editing assignments under the direction of the Content Production Manager for various internal and external promotional media channels, including the final export of project deliverables, capturing/importing media, organizing raw media, editing footage and sound files, creating and inserting static and motion graphics, titling, adding music/voice-over/sfx.
• Learning – Interns will be expected to learn new skills, techniques, and equipment in the service of participating in production and post-production roles, under the instruction of the Content Production Manager.
• Other duties as assigned

QUALIFICATIONS

Required qualifications:

• Proficiency with Adobe Premiere Pro and/or DaVinci Resolve
• Adobe Creative Cloud programs (After Effects, Photoshop, Audition)
• Proficient in Microsoft 365 and familiar with content and collaboration tools
• Basic understanding of
  • User experience, storytelling, and brand/voice principles
  • Camera exposure and manual settings
  • Interview lighting treatments
  • Lavalier and shotgun mic methods
• Ability to monitor audio levels
• Experience with handheld shooting
• Experience transferring / logging footage and managing media (4k)
• Strong written, verbal, and interpersonal skills
• Creative thinker with ability brainstorm and generate ideas
• Proven time-management and organizational skills 
• Openness to learning new skills and approaches

Preferred qualifications:

• Ability to edit footage into drafts and making improvements upon review
• Ability to formatted production templates
• Audio editing, mixing and cleanup skills
• Color correction and grading fundamentals
• Basic titling and lower thirds
• Ability to export to various resolutions and formats (social)
• Familiarity with Canon & Blackmagic cameras
• Familiarity with masking
• Experience in motion graphics / design
• Experience in portrait photography skills

Organizational Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Commitment to Legal Aid Society’s mission to secure equal justice before the law for all New Yorkers  
• Interpersonal and communication skills that enable healthy and productive working relationships
• Ability to perform duties with the highest regard for confidentiality, integrity, and respect
• Commitment to Legal Aid Society’s mission and values

Physical, environment, travel, and other duties required: 

• Flexibility in schedule to accommodate video production dates / deadlines (incl. potential weekend activity covering events)
• Ability to assist with gear setup and breakdown
• Requires occasional or frequent physical movement to perform essential job functions which may include, bending, reaching, pulling, pushing, standing or walking for long periods of time, accessing small spaces.  
• May or will require travel within NYC, across the five-borough region

SALARY AND BENEFITS

This is a paid internship at a rate of $20 per hour, with compensation issued on a bi-monthly basis. As an internship role, this position is not eligible for benefits.

HOW TO APPLY

All applications must be completed online via the career portal. We do not accept emailed applications. Submit the following documents as a combined PDF:

• Resume
• Cover Letter
• Link to your portfolio, or to 3 examples of what you feel is your strongest work. Please include brief descriptions of the role you played in the production/s.

For technical difficulties or questions regarding this posting, please email TalentAcquisition@legal-aid.org.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

As an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer, The Legal Aid Society prohibits discriminatory employment actions against and treatment of its employees and applicants for employment based on actual or perceived race or color, size (including bone structure, body size, height, shape, and weight), religion or creed, alienage or citizenship status, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity (one’s internal deeply-held sense of one’s gender which may be the same or different from one’s sex assigned at birth); gender expression (the representation of gender as expressed through, for example, one’s name, choice of pronouns, clothing, haircut, behavior, voice, or body characteristics; gender expression may not conform to traditional gender-based stereotypes assigned to specific gender identities), disability, marital status, relationship and family structure (including domestic partnerships, polyamorous families and individuals, chosen family, platonic co-parents, and multigenerational families), genetic information or predisposing genetic characteristics, military status, domestic violence victim status, arrest or pre-employment conviction record, credit history, unemployment status, caregiver status, salary history, or any other characteristic protected by law.

OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION

The Legal Aid Society is committed to a work culture of zealous advocacy, respect, diversity and inclusion, client-oriented defense, access to justice and excellent representation. We are dedicated to building a strong professional relationship with each of our clients (people), to understanding their diverse circumstances, and to meeting their needs. Our ability to achieve these goals depends on the efforts of all of us and our ability to build strong relationships with our colleagues. Every member of our community is expected to continuously learn about the dynamic, evolving, and emerging field of knowledge of identity, bias, and systemic forms of oppression and participate in productive efforts to dismantling bias in all forms.