Intern Spotlight: Alex Lutz

By Alex Lutz, FCRH 2014

Over the past school year I have been an intern at ID Public Relations. ID is an entertainment PR firm with a variety of departments from talent which includes actors, actresses, and musicians. They also have a brands department, film department, and digital department. Despite all the different departments they all interact to create the best possible publicity for their clients. The first semester I was with ID, I worked as a general intern, where I worked for all the departments. But for the Spring 2013 semester, I worked mostly with the film team.

The film team represents both production companies and individual projects to create specialized campaigns for the film. This includes covering the theatrical film, television, home video/DVD, and game platforms. They also work with various film festivals to provide full-service support. As a film intern, I had the opportunity to work on multiple aspects of a film campaign.

In the office, I worked a lot on film wrap-docs. Wrap-docs compile and summarize all the press coverage that occurred regarding a particular film. In addition, it shows how many impressions or unique visitors that each outlet reached. From there, ID can calculate the amount of revenue that their publicity generated for the film. Wrap-docs are important because they highlight all of the work that the public relations firm did for a film. One particular film wrap-doc that I worked extensively on was Spring Breakers that received a lot of coverage because it starred Selena Gomez, James Franco and Vanessa Hudgens.

Another common task that I had was researching different press outlets that specifically relate to a film. Not all films should be covered by the same press outlets or reporters and therefore, it is important to find outlets and reporters that would appreciate and be very knowledgeable about the genre, actors, or director of the film. Once the research is done, the publicists can reach out to the press and offer them the opportunity to cover the film.

Out of the office, I had the opportunity to assist at a SAG viewing of ThePlace Beyond the Pines. At this event I assisted with check-in. Another day, I assisted at the Tribeca Film festival press day for Greetings from Tim Buckley and What Richard Did. At this press day, I also did check-in, but this time for the press that would be interviewing the actors and directors for each movie. I also would ensure that everything ran according to schedule and that everyone was arriving at the appropriate time and place. Later in the day, I assisted at the round-table interviews with the talent. I thought that this was a fun event to help out with because I got to see the behind the scenes of movie reviews and interviews. Also, I got to see what all the planning in the office can develop into. Plus, it’s always fun to see what celebrities and directors look like in person!

Some days however, I would not be working with the film team if other departments were in need of timely assistance. In some cases, this would include filling in for a publicist’s assistant or sitting in for the receptionist. Although both of these are stressful situations because as an intern you are being thrown into an assistant’s job, it is a great learning experience. It has allowed me to get a better feel of who the publicists are working with on a daily basis and how they interact with these people. Even just seeing who they take calls from and how they deal with certain situations was very interesting.

Covering the receptionists’ desk was also a great learning experience because I got to see how the overall office is run. Here, I answer phones and man the front door. Below is a picture of me working at the front desk of ID.  

Overall, it was such a fun and positive learning environment for me and I am really glad that I spent the past school year there. I think the internship has reflected school in that it encourages strong organizational and research skills. Furthermore, the public relations industry requires strong writing and speaking skills which are skills that Fordham values highly.