Hi, I’m Emily, a Third Year BSc Interactive Media student. I’ve just completed an internship at COSTAR Live Lab. My internship helped boost my knowledge, gain industry experience and try something new. Here is an insight into my summer as a Marketing and Events Coordinator.
How I found and applied for my internship
I thought searching for an internship would be intimidating. I came across the opportunity on the Handshake platform. After hearing a lot about CoSTAR Live Lab through the School’s partnership with them, I knew it was a place I’d love to work. The environment complimented my degree perfectly.
Getting marketing experience
I worked in an office packed with immersive and creative technologies. The tech was regularly used for commercial and research purposes, so there was always something interesting happening. I curated project highlights and promote them on the LinkedIn page.
My first task was to research competitors and develop a marketing strategy that would give CoSTAR a digital presence and online community. We wanted to promote the lab’s services for commercial hire and demonstrate the potential to future partnerships. The Programme Manager asked me to create a bank of content that gave unique insights into CoSTAR as an organisation. I created social graphics, promotional and short interview style videos and articles for the website.
I was also responsible for setting up the company brand book on Canva. This made it easy to quickly access different logos, fonts and format content in line with the company’s existing brand guidelines. I used the brand book to create company templates for use in the future.
Practical experience with immersive technologies
Being an Interactive Media student, I had experience working with editing software for creating fun and engaging content. I applied my experience making video pitch decks and prototype walkthroughs in Adobe Premiere Pro to making content for CoSTAR Live Lab. To celebrate the launch of the LinkedIn page, I created a short trailer video that showed footage from previous events, showing the technology inside the lab.
It was one of my favourite projects during the internship. It gave me confidence in filming and editing different forms of video content. Learning to tell digital stories was so useful, and something I took back with me to my final year.
Seeing the impact of my work
With the growth in our online presence, the team noticed an increase in participation for the Live Lab Presents events and talk series. Over the summer, we reached record sign-ups and a huge turnout for the First Encounter’s session. First Encounters is a demo showcase and discussed the opportunities available through CoSTAR.
Tagging different companies in our content – including Vicon and L-Acoustics – in carousel posts helped establish a stronger digital marketing relationship with our partners.
What I learned
Throughout the internship, I was able to learn a lot from the team at CoSTAR Live Lab. The environment was so welcoming. It was exciting to go to work and discover research, projects or opportunities happening on site. Having multiple meetings with members of the Pilots and Prototypes programme and Ideate residents exposed me to new exciting immersive experiences and also gave me experience of XR demos.
Being able to connect with so many professionals taught me a lot about the research happening in the creative industries. It showed me how what I’m currently studying is used across the industry.
I’m interested in technical art and working with game engines to create immersive experiences. I got to take part in an Ideate project for Xtra Reality. I designed a Meta Human in Unreal Engine 5.6 and animating the Meta Human using motion capture. This was the perfect opportunity for me to expand on my studies using Unreal Engine for virtual production. Along the way, I learned skills and techniques from industry professionals you just can’t find anywhere else!
Final thoughts
My internship challenged me to expand my practice and knowledge from modules like Media Production for Interactive Environments and the Interactive Media Group Project. With research and experimentation, I was able to animate the meta human transforming my confidence using Unreal Engine.
Motion capture was fascinating. We ran multiple tests to define the best possible workflow and strongest results. Once everything was completed, I handed over the project files and assets for further development at the end of my internship.
My internship bridged the gap between Interactive Media as a course and the experience of industry. I’ve gained applied experience beyond the curriculum, giving me a head start going into my final year. If you’re interested in a career in creative technologies, I’d highly recommend it!
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