This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending Spring Bling in West Palm Beach, FL. My department did not go so I worked with a lady from our Specials department. The first assignment I had to undergo was handing out premiums to the audience which were “Spring Bling” tatoos. My next assignment for the day was assisting with the models. Yes, all the lovely young people you see on stage at Spring Bling are actually models. Once the models went on stage I was done for the day so I was thrilled to sit back, relax and enjoy the show from backstage. I met all of the artist as they came through and most of them were actually friendly. I went home exhausted and was sunburned for the first time in my life!

The next day I arrived early in the morning because I volunteered to help with the prodution of the show. Babysitting models was fun and all but I felt as if I could contribute more. The producer called my boss to see if I could work with him the entire day but she declined. Apparently, the person I had worked with the previous day specifically requested to have me back because I was a good worker. So I was honored to be remembered but also a little upset because I had to turn down a better job.

My task this day was to help set up the props for the game shows/contests that would be taking place. It was a little cloudy and there were scattered showers throughout the day but the show must go on. All in all, it was a great experience and I would volunteer to work it every year! *though I hope they remember me and will offer to pay me to come back 🙂

This trip I did not make the same mistakes as I did at Rip the Runway. I was networking and met a lot of great people. Aside from artists, I met producers, photograhers, models, dj’s ect and tried to get as much contact information as possible.

After the show BET throws a Wrap Party for its staff. Rick Ross, a rapper from Florida, came through and partied with us for a portion of the night. After that I ran into Q45, BET personality and DJ who hosted Rap City, at a restuarant and got to hang out with him and his friends. 

For now, its back to the office. We are working on one of our biggest advertising campaigns of the year, “Upfront”. Upfront is an event where we show advertisers a preview of the shows we will have coming out and try to get them to commit to buying advertising time upfront. I will keep you posted on how that goes!

The photos are from me on the set, behind the scenes and Rick Ross at the Wrap Party.

After this internship is completed I will have only one semester left at UofL. It’s hard to believe that I will finally be graduating. It seems like just yesterday I was moving into Kurz Hall my freshman year. Graduating is such an honor and landmark event in my life because I will be the first in my family to graduate from college. Coming into the University of Louisville I never imagined that I would be interning at BET by my senior year. Life is all about what you make of it. Neither of my parents graduated from high school but it was important to me to have a bigger vision for myself. BET did not come to UofL and to recruit students. I found BET and sent in my application. UofL gives you the opportunity to complete an internship for college credit and it is up to you to take advantage of that opportunity.

I was up until all hours of the morning last night stressed because the realization finally sunk in that I only have one semester left and then it’s off into the real world of work or possibly grad school. What do I want to do? A recurring theme in all my thoughts was fashion. Do I want to attend a design school? Work for a fashion magazine? Retail? Open a boutique? Become a celebrity stylist? I don’t know but I don’t have all the time in the world to figure it out. While here at BET I had the opportunity to attend an excluisve BET afterparty after Rip the Runway. At the after party I met Korto Momolu, runner up fashion designer on the show Project Runway. She has since been featured at NY Fashion Week and Rip the Runway of course. Korto would have been a great contact to have in the future but did I think to give her a business card? NO! Please, please, pleaseeee- I can’t stress this enough. Take advantage of the resources on campus, especially the Ulmer Career Center. Eileen Davis is a great person to know and the staff there has workshops on networking, building your resume, mock interviews ect. 

So at this little exclusive party I was sitting right next to the cast of Harlem Heights, a new reality show on BET. All the while I’m thinking, “They just give anybody a show now.” After watching the first show I find out that one of the girls in the cast is a designer for Victoria’s Secret Pink. Another great contact that I lost along the way. But! I’m learning from my mistakes which is the important part and at Spring Bling, which I will be attending March 28&29, I will not make these same mistakes. So hopefully I will come home with a plethora of new contacts and have many great job opportunites open up for me! God willing.

 

What do I do here at BET? I am an intern in the creative services department.

What is creative services? Under the big umbrella of marketing BET has off channel marketing, BET J and creative services. The function of our department is to service the creative needs of the company. Creative Services includes:

• print- images with no motion such as tickets, logos, flyers
• graphics- images with motion
• producer
• editor
• director
• executive producer
• production assistant

My deparment mainly focuses on producing promos to advertise our shows. For instance, I was on the set of Sunday Best DC auditions. We will use the footage we shot there and from the other auditions to produce 30 second promos, 20 second, 15 and 10. A topical promotes one episode of a show. A generic provides a slight overview of the show. In a nutshell that is what I do here at BET.

 

Everything has been crazy here in DC! 2 weeks ago I went home to New Jersey with a coworker. We went to church in Philly where I tried to the infamous philly cheesesteak at Ishkabibbles.

I also traveled to NYC for 106&Park. TV is not all that its cracked up to be. We had to scream on que. There were bright lights everywhere. I left with a headache. You also are not allowed to use your cell phone or take pictures. Plies came through for about 5 minutes to introduce his new video.

This past weekend I went back to NYC for Rip the Runway. As a PA (Production Assistant) it was my job to help with the set design and get the producer and talent anything they needed. The promo’s we shot were for Maybelline and Garnier Fructis. What will end up being a 30 second commercial took over 5 hours to shoot. I walked away with free Garnier shampoo and conditioner and free stilhetto mascara. That evening I was able to attend the Rip the Runway fashion show. Unfortunately, I lost my camera in Jersey so I only have pictures from other people. Above is a picture of Keri Hilson’s practice performance and a picture from the BET after party.

Also, I am very excited because UofL is in town tonight playing Georgetown!! BET hooked me up with a ticket to the game in the BET suite. Go Cards!

Everything is going great! Inauguration day we were doing street interviews at Ben’s Chili Bowl, a famous restaurant in DC. Obama ate there the week before inauguration. So I got to watch it from the Big Screen at Ben’s. I’ve met a lot of celebrities at the “Yes We Can!” BET inauguration special and watched them shoot some promos on the green screen. Below are pictures of an OMAMA ice sculpture in front of Ben’s Chili Bowl, myself and Akon and a shot fromt the “Yes We Will!” inauguration special that we filmed here at BET.