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“This is such a wonderful opportunity,” says Stacy, a senior government and law major from Holmdel, N.J., and a graduate of Washingtonville Sr. High School in Washingtonville, N.Y. “I never realized how extensive Lou Reda’s reach in the film industry is. And here I am, getting to see the whole process of producing a TV documentary.”
“They basically assign you a project and expect you to finish it,” says Mark, a senior anthropology and sociology major from Rye, N.Y., and a graduate of Rye High School. “I’ve done everything from viewing raw film footage to doing research to calling contacts and film archives. I’ve helped research projects on MacArthur, Jimmy Doolittle, and the rape of Nanking. It’s all so fascinating to me, especially with my minor in American history.”
History is coming alive for Stacy Schlomann and Mark Tergesen. They are earning academic credit as interns at Lou Reda Productions, the award-winning producer of historical documentaries.
Lou Reda Productions, based in Easton, has produced more than 200 specials for network and cable television, including the CBS miniseries The Blue and the Gray; A&E biographies of Norman Rockwell, George Patton, and Milton Hershey; and The Doomsday Flu: Killer Epidemic of 1918.
“I’ve always been interested in media production,” Schlomann says. “This is such a wonderful opportunity. I never realized how extensive Lou Reda’s reach in the film industry is. And here I am, getting to see the whole process of producing a TV documentary. The staff is so open to what I want to do. They give me some guidance then let me do what I think is best.”
The independence and responsibility also impresses Tergesen, who is currently helping the film company lay the groundwork for a film on college radio and television.
“They basically assign you a project and expect you to finish it,” Tergesen says. “They set me up on this project, told me what to do, and let me go. I control most of what happens. I’m calling national organizations, calling colleges, looking into film footage they might use.
“I’ve done everything from viewing raw film footage to doing research to calling contacts and film archives. I’ve also helped research projects on MacArthur, Jimmy Doolittle, and the rape of Nanking. It’s all so fascinating to me, especially with my minor in American history.”
The sink-or-swim philosophy is a key to the relationship between Lou Reda Productions and its interns, says Sammy Jackson, who heads production at the film company.
“We can teach people to push buttons,” Jackson says, “but if there is no interest, it is hard to make them passionate. But both Stacy and Mark are interested in the subject matter.
“For our needs, the few hours that most colleges require for internships won’t work because there’s not enough time for interns to follow through on things, so we found it difficult to assign them juicy projects,” Jackson continues. “But Mark and Stacy have shown the extra commitment we need from our interns. We want — we need — interns to get involved in projects in a nuts-and-bolts kind of fashion. We need to use their talents and their energy in a really productive manner. Also, it’s healthy for us to have the viewpoint of people who are outside of TV. They bring such a fresh twist.”
Schlomann says it has been an exciting experience.
“I’ve gotten to sit in on the edits on a film on war hero Jimmy Doolittle. I’ve gotten to meet and greet and help actors coming in for voiceovers.
“But there is also a tedious side,” she adds. “I helped update footage for the War Chronicles series – fixing, collating and updating material. It was a good reminder of how much detail goes into making a historically accurate film that millions of people will get to see. It’s mostly work, very little glamour.”
“The attention to detail here is unbelievable,” Tergesen agrees. “These people work on a 45-minute tape, it can take them a year. It can be pretty tedious at times, but also pretty exciting when you realize how many people will see what you’ve had a hand in.”
Competition for the internships is high, says Jackson. Lou Reda has used interns from Syracuse University, UCLA, and other colleges. There are rewards for both the company and the interns, he adds. Some interns have gone on to full-time work with the company. In most cases, they have made inside contacts to the film industry.
Tergesen’s career plans are still open. He says the experience at Lou Reda “has been an eye-opener” into the documentary and history areas.
Schlomann says her internship has changed her perspective on life after Lafayette. Whereas she had been considering a legal career, she’s now looking for a position in public or media relations.
“With what I learned here at Lafayette, I know now I want to go on to graduate school and tie in my academics with broadcasting.”
Both students say the internship has taken them back in time, showed them a side of Easton they didn’t know about, and pointed them in a future direction they hadn’t thought of. Having preserved history, they now both hope to use their Lafayette experience “to make history,” says Tergesen.