Ben Sarat ’18
Interned with: Above Average Productions in New York, N.Y.
Supported by: Wheaton Fellowship
Major: Theatre
Hometown: Amherst, Mass.
Behind the scenes: “I assisted with general office duties like scanning and copying and also go on runs to get snacks and water for upcoming shoots. I also helped break down scripts for wardrobe and props. On shoot days I assisted with centralizing all film equipment and helped with slating and setting up gear for both on-site and off-site location shoots.”
Open doors: “I enjoyed the atmosphere of Above Average the most. My supervisor was very helpful. She got me into meetings with writers, and I was in a couple of videos for ‘The Kicker,’ which is Above Average’s sports comedy sister site, which is what I am really interested in. The open door policy of pretty much everyone in the office has been great. Also, sometimes we got Potbelly or Chipotle delivered to the office for lunch, which was pretty sweet.”
Learning the language: “When I got this internship I had no idea how filming equipment or camera operation worked so, when production assistants or lighting and sound people asked me to do things and spoke in film language, I didn’t always know what they said and I had to either Google it really quickly without anyone seeing or just ask my boss, who was always happy to answer my questions.”
The write stuff: “I gained valuable people skills and was able to work on my own writing and got to work with some of the writers to develop my voice as a writer. I worked with many creative and interesting people, and they were always teaching me things. I also learned how to cook. If anyone needs a chef to make scrambled eggs, bacon or pasta, get in touch.”
A great fit: “I want to write and perform comedy, so working at a comedy website has been an ideal summer internship. (But if the comedy thing doesn’t work out, I worked at Bed Bath and Beyond last summer so I might just end up working there—who knows. Or just be a full-time Little League dad.) But seriously, Above Average was an amazing place to work, I met some truly incredible and hard-working people, and I would recommend it to anyone who’s interested in writing, producing, directing, performing or being involved in TV or film.”