Reel Epics interns, Soso & Lebo, visit Post Cape Town

Lebo’s experience

My name is Relebogile Setshedi. I am originally from Pretoria and I came to Cape Town to study Film Production at Cape Peninsula University of Technology.  I have always found cinema fascinating and having the opportunity to intern for Reel Epics Productions has brought a sense of realism to my fascination. Being a part of the REP team has been nothing short of amazing. This internship has given me a platform to learn and make mistakes. I was able to exercise the skills I acquired in film school  and push myself out of my comfort zone. This experience was very necessary for my debut into the industry and I can confidently say that after this I will be ready for whatever comes my way!

On Thursday, 27th October, REP was kind enough to organize a visit to POST Cape Town and the experience was amazing. I did not expect to find post-production so interesting. All the employees at POST were very friendly and helpful. I particularly enjoyed soaking up all of Katya’s expertise and advice. She was the most relatable to me, as her experience in film school was quite similar to mine. Lee-Anne was also extremely sweet, she welcomed us so warmly, and even offered us an opportunity to come back for another visit when we can. 

The most exciting thing about the experience was finding one of our classmates working there. It was very nice seeing her and she showed us everything she had learned since she started interning at POST. This visit made me realize how patient one must be when venturing into post-production as the process is extremely intricate and it requires a great attention to detail. I have definitely gained a new level of respect for editors. 

My favorite sit-in session was the one we had with the colorists. They went over some of the work they have done and showed us the ins and outs of color grading — I found that session highly informative as I have always found color grading quite fascinating. What I found most surprising about the session was how easy they made grading look. Working on editing software is very intimidating but the way Katya and Reg simplified everything honestly blew my mind. The two talented colourists gave us a lot of valuable advice about going into the industry as a film graduate; they emphasized that we should never give up.

Something completely new that I learned about was 3D VFX. I enjoyed chatting with Chad. He had a lot to share, and all of his work was so unbelievable. He mentioned that he is self-taught, which made it even more astounding! 

Overall, the visit to POST was very inspiring and I admired how comfortable and familiar everything felt. It was an amazing atmosphere to be in. I aim to take the advice I received to heart, and put in the necessary effort to make a success out of my career as a filmmaker.

By: Relebogile Setshedi | @a.esthete___

Soso’s experience

I’m Mayana Sonwabile, a 3rd year film student and I have been interning at Reel Epics since September of this year. Getting this internship has been the best thing that has happened to me this year. I have learnt  so much from being an REPIntern. My goal in doing this internship is to gain knowledge, experience and to become a better professional in my field, as I want to focus on Producing and Directing.

What a great experience it was visiting Post Cape Town. I got there and met Lee-Anne, the co-owner of Post. She works as a project manager and has over 20 years of experience in the TV and film industry—she is also a producer! Lee-Anne took me on a tour of the studio, and what a beautiful studio they have! She introduced me to the team who were so nice and welcoming. We got to have a conversation about which is better: going to school or going directly into the industry to work. This conversation came about when Lee-Anne asked about my plans for next year and I told her I am thinking of going back to school to continue my film studies in Advance Diploma. Everyone shared their stories about going to film school, getting their degrees and looking for jobs, only to realise that they knew nothing. They said they had to start from scratch and learn from the job! Hearing such stories led me to think I’m like them. At school I did post production but I cannot edit to save my life! The only thing I know how to do is importing and exporting. At Post, I also got to know that some people working at Post did not go to film school. Sure, they may have gone to school, but they did not study film. A few of them are not even using their degrees, and are totally self-taught.

I had the opportunity to learn more about grading, visual effects, After Effects and animation. Everyone in the office was kind and patient. At each workstation I visited I was able to ask questions and not feel like I’m slow on the uptake. Everything happening in post production, such as colour grading, fascinates me and inspires me to learn how to do it. They told me to investigate DaVinci Resolve, and the BlackMagicDesign website, which offers free books and offers free training on editing, visual effects, colour grading, and more! Hearing the team explain what they do and how much they enjoy their work was fascinating; I think their work is so skilful and interesting. 

The best advice I received from the team at Post was to always be willing to learn and that if I do fail, t’s okay, I can try again. They cautioned me to always be aware that people will hate and judge me, but I must chin up and work hard—I also need to be open to learning from Youtube.

To my surprise, I met one of my classmates at Post, her name’s Shannon. She is busy with  her internship there. I hadn’t expected to  meet someone I knew at Post but at the very same time, running into her wasn’t shocking because, at school, she loves post production—I mean the woman eats, sleeps and breathes editing. She took me through one of the projects she was working on, explaining how she did it. Mostly, she was busy with animation. I was delighted to see that, and I really enjoyed spending time with her, asking her lots of questions about editing! 

Overall, I truly enjoyed my experience at Post and I learned a great deal about the work they do as a company. I would love to pay a visit again, and Lee-Anne said If I need a place to intern or learn some new skills in the future, I’d always be welcome.

By: Sonwabile Mayana | @sonwa.mayana

A big thank you to Lee-Ann and the team at Post Cape Town for opening their doors and welcoming our interns for this experience. Follow Post’s work at: @postcapetown_