Ethan Davidove


May 2017

Hi! I’m Ethan Davidove, an intern here at Contender Productions. I’m a Highschool student at Tampa Preparatory School, and part of our graduation requirement is to get an internship. I’m going to California State University Northridge for a Provisional Film major, and my time at Contender Productions has granted amazing insight to what I should be expecting.

The team at Contender is incredibly welcoming. I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect when I first got here, but it was very clear in the first 5 minutes that I was in the right place. It was a small team with a very strong communal feel, and they all acted very comfortably with each other, which only served to make my time here that much better. Within the first day, I’d already gained a reputation of asking too many questions, but the awesome team here answered them all, no matter how irrelevant.

I spent most of my internship with San Nguyen, the Senior Animator, and Evan Smith, a Lead Editor. San taught me how to organize efficiently, wrap up a cable correctly, and also encouraged me to ask questions and learn about the equipment Contender has in house. If I ever asked what was in a box, San’s quick response would be “Open it.” Evan was an exceptional teacher during this time as well, and was always willing to answer any questions asked and provide help whenever he could.

San tasked Ian (the other intern) and I with re-creating a scene from any movie we chose under the stipulation that audio and video must be recorded using two Kodak Zi8s. Evan was integral in our work, and helped us do everything from storyboarding to operating our camera. He helped us analyze the lighting, recreate the framing, organize our location and fix up our set, which happened to be in a small, sauna-like garage. Production was hilariously fun, and immensely educational. (Pictures of the “set” below)

I was also invited to be a PA on a commercial shoot for the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation! During the shoot, I mostly helped out Roger, the Sound Engineer, and learned a few intricacies of sound. We set up the men’s bathroom with sound blankets to try and block out any outside noise and snuff out any echos. When Evan and Chanse, the Studio Executive, were setting up the Red camera, they took time out of their build to explain everything on the camera and what it did, down to the last screw.

Overall, I couldn’t have asked for a more educational, welcoming, and fun internship. Thank you Contender for such an awesome time!