Hello!

My second week interning at Jigsaw Productions went very well. This week started off with an interesting adventure. On Sunday I decided to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art, one of the coolest places in the city. When I had gone as a child, I was not able to appreciate all that the museum had to offer, unless you want to count the Arms and Armor display as the entire museum. Being older, though, I was excited to see the museum on a grander scale. All in all, the visit began well enough. I started by viewing the Egypt exhibit, followed by the Sculpture, 18^th Century Home, American Artwork, Arms and Armor, and Exotic Instrument displays. When I finally ended up in the European Paintings exhibit, I realized that I had no idea where I was in relation to the exit. I had forgotten to pick up a map on the way in, so I had no way of knowing where I was in the sprawling Metropolitan Museum. Normally, this wouldn’t have been much of an issue, but I knew that it was getting close to closing time, so I wanted to be cognizant of where I was so that I wouldn’t still be wandering around the exhibits while the museum was being closed down. I enjoyed the challenge of finding my way out of the museum well before this became an issue, so I didn’t end up in a situation similar to Claudia and Jamie from The Mixed up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Though I’ll admit, that would have been fun as well.

Apart from this minor incident, my week went exceptionally well. Unlike the first week, transportation never proved to be an issue. This took a weight off my shoulders, which allowed me to put my full energy into my work. This week, most of my activities were focused on scanning and photo logging. The consolidation of my work allowed me to perfect my skills in both, and to get into a working rhythm. It felt exhilarating to constantly challenge myself to work at a faster pace, while still creating the same high quality product. I was also happy to know that the people I was working with were appreciative of my work. Throughout the week, I had a chance to have lunch and trade jokes with them, which allowed me to get to know them better. This made working with them even more enjoyable. I also gained a lot by just listening to them, even when they weren’t talking to me. From their conversations I learned about the various processes that surround getting the rights to archival footage and pictures. I can’t tell you any specifics due to my confidentiality agreement, but I can tell you that there is much more thought and planning that goes into this process than you would imagine. Hearing about the complexities that surround this process was fascinating, and it really helped to broaden my understanding of the how a documentary is made.

Speaking of the process that documentaries undergo before completion, I was able to attend a meeting at which the Jigsaw staff members who were leading the project I was assigned to met with their adviser and editors. During this meeting, the adviser and editors would ask for updates on certain tasks, cancel others, request footage, begin inquiries, and discuss other various topics. This provided a context and helped me better understand the importance of what I was doing when I logged and scanned photos. These photos fulfilled the various requests and needs of the editors and advisers. It helped make my work more enjoyable and meaningful to me, since I had a more exact idea of the purpose of my work.

Before I even knew it, the week was already over, and I was very happy with what I had accomplished thus far. I was completing my assignments efficiently, gaining more and more knowledge of the city, and constantly building confidence as an intern. At this rate, week three will definitely be the best of them all. I can’t wait for it to start!

Cheers!

Geoff