Content creation internship fellowship
This content creation internship has you document environmental field work in photos and short films, with a mentor who reviews every edit. You shoot cleanups, surveys and workshops near you, cut podcast clips and build a portfolio of finished work that shows how you see and tell a story.
For school and university students who enjoy photography, film or video and want to tell real environmental stories with images. Online, with field work near where you live. The fellowship is paid because every fellow receives time and attention from senior researchers and leaders.
Why film and photography matter for sustainability
Many people never see a polluted river up close or meet the workers who sort a city’s waste. Photos and films bring these places to the people who can change them, and a strong image can explain a problem faster than a long report. Visual work also keeps a record, so a team can show how a site looked before and after a cleanup.
Earth5R’s field work across 150+ Indian cities gives a content creator a lot to film, from lake and river cleanups to waste audits, composting in zero waste housing societies and rooftop plantations on hot tin roofs. The Earth5R app records photographed, geo-tagged field data, so much of this work already has a photo record. As a fellow you turn this work into photo stories, short films and podcast clips.
This work links to the UN Sustainable Development Goals: Goal 12, Responsible consumption and production and Goal 13, Climate action.
Available projects in the content creation internship fellowship
You join Earth5R’s live work through your own subject. Your mentor shapes the final project with you.
Photo story from a cleanup
Photograph a lake, river or beach cleanup near you from start to finish, and build a captioned photo story that shows the site before and after, with what volunteers found.
Short film on a local solution
Shoot and edit a film of two to three minutes on a local solution, such as a zero waste housing society or a rooftop plantation, with interviews and subtitles.
Podcast and conversation clips
Edit podcast and research conversation recordings into short subtitled clips that make sense on their own, and track which formats people watch to the end.
Before and after record
Set up a fixed photo point at a garbage black spot, lake shore or plantation site, and photograph it every week to show how the place changes over the fellowship.
What you do in the field
- Plan shots for a field visit and get consent from the people you film
- Photograph and film cleanups, surveys and workshops near you
- Edit photos, video and audio on a phone or laptop
- Write accurate captions and short scripts
- Add subtitles to podcast and conversation clips
- Review your portfolio with your mentor and present it in a research conversation
Skills you build
On a content creation internship, you collect your own data near where you live, using the Earth5R app and data forms. Earth5R checks the data on its platform before it goes into your project report.
How the content creation internship fellowship works
Every fellow moves through four phases. Each phase is checked by your mentor before you move on.
Observe and Map
Go into the field near where you live and collect primary data for your project in Film, Photography and Content Creation.
Frame and Design
Find the root cause in your data and frame a problem worth solving, with your mentor.
Model
Build a working model, analysis or design for your solution, and test it.
Build and Deploy
Put your solution to work, measure the result and publish a verified record on earth5r.org.
Along the way you take part in research conversations with professors at MIT, Oxford, Cambridge, LSE and other universities, and ask your own questions. See how FIELDWORK works.
Where this can take you
Degrees this work supports
- BA or BFA in Film, Photography or Media
- BDes in Film and Video Communication
- BA in Mass Communication or Media Studies
- MA or MFA in Filmmaking or Documentary
- MA in Photography or Visual Communication
Careers in this field
- Documentary filmmaker
- Photographer or photojournalist
- Video editor
- Content producer
- Digital content manager for an organisation
Universities known for Film, Photography and Content Creation
Strong film and photography programmes look for a portfolio with a clear point of view and careful editing. A fellowship project gives you finished work from real field shoots, reviewed by your mentor, and a public record of what you made. Students use a content creation internship to build a record of real work for applications to universities like these.
University of Southern California (USC)
USA · USC School of Cinematic Arts
USC’s School of Cinematic Arts covers media creation from film and television to games and interactive experiences. It has divisions for film and television production, cinema and media studies, animation and digital arts, and writing for screen and television, plus programmes in interactive media and games and media arts and practice. It also runs summer and online courses.
USA · Kanbar Institute of Film & Television, Tisch School of the Arts
NYU Tisch’s Kanbar Institute of Film & Television teaches an undergraduate BFA rooted in visual storytelling. Students combine film and television history and criticism with core production, production safety, craft and screenwriting courses. Tisch also runs a Graduate Film programme and an MA in Media Producing.
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
USA · Department of Film, Television and Digital Media, School of Theater, Film and Television
UCLA’s Department of Film, Television and Digital Media, part of the School of Theater, Film and Television, teaches a BA and a minor. Graduate study includes MFAs in animation, cinematography, producing, screenwriting, and documentary and narrative directing, plus an MA and PhD in cinema and media studies. Students also have access to the UCLA Library Film & Television Archive.
USA · BFA Film Department
SVA’s BFA Film students start making a film in their first week and finish four short films by the end of the first year. They can concentrate in directing, cinematography or editing, and try producing, production design, sound and screenwriting. The school also offers a BFA in Photography and Video that pairs image history and critique with technical training.
National Film and Television School (NFTS)
UK · NFTS courses
NFTS teaches Masters, diploma and certificate courses across departments such as directing, documentary, camera, editing, sound, production, visual effects, animation and games. Alongside its main campus it runs NFTS North, NFTS Cymru Wales and NFTS Scotland. Short courses, workshops and masterclasses are also offered.
London College of Communication, University of the Arts London (UAL)
UK · Screen School, London College of Communication (LCC)
LCC’s Screen School teaches film and television, animation, sound arts, games design, visual effects and virtual reality. Courses include BA (Hons) Film Practice, BA (Hons) Film and Television, MA Documentary Film and MA Screenwriting. Students work in film and TV studios, sound suites and a creative technology lab, and the college also teaches an MA in Photography.
France · Main course (Cursus principal) and teaching departments
La Fémis organises its main course into departments for screenwriting, directing, production, cinematography, sound, editing, set design, and film analysis and culture. Separate courses train script supervisors, film distributors and cinema managers, and series writers. The school also runs the SACRe doctoral research programme and professional training.
Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU)
Czech Republic · FAMU departments
FAMU is organised into departments for directing, documentary film, cinematography, editing, photography, sound, animated film, scriptwriting and dramaturgy, producing, game design, and the theory and history of audiovision. FAMU International teaches English-language bachelor’s, master’s and one-year programmes. The school also hosts a Center for Audiovisual Studies.
Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS)
Australia · AFTRS courses
AFTRS, the national screen and audio school, teaches a bachelor’s degree in screen production, a Master of Arts Screen and a Graduate Diploma in Radio and Podcasting. Short courses cover disciplines from cinematography and documentary to screen music. Its environmental plan includes sustainability plans for student productions and teaching on sustainable production methods.
Toronto Metropolitan University
Canada · School of Image Arts, The Creative School
TMU’s School of Image Arts, part of The Creative School, teaches a BFA in Film and a BFA in Photography Media Arts. Graduate programmes include an MFA in Documentary Media, an MA in Film + Photography Preservation and Collections Management, and an MFA in Scriptwriting & Story Design. Applied courses give students access to industry-grade facilities and equipment.
This list is for guidance. These universities are widely known for Film, Photography and Content Creation. Earth5R has no admissions arrangement with them, and admission decisions rest with each university. Fellows get help researching universities, scholarships and applications, depending on the programme.
What your fellowship fee pays for
An internship fellowship at Earth5R is time and attention from senior researchers and leaders. Each part below takes staff time and resources that we set aside for every fellow.
Live mentoring with experts
One-to-one mentoring in most fellowships, with regular check-ins on your project.
Dialogues with global researchers
Academics from international universities and renowned scientists, who answer your questions and discuss your work.
Support in the field
Guidance while you collect data and work on your project in the field.
References for your next step
References when you apply for jobs, higher studies and research programmes.
Your work, hosted for life
Your work and data stay on Earth5R’s website and servers for life, where universities and employers can check them.
Time from senior people
Each fellow receives time and attention from senior researchers and leaders, set aside for them.
Fee details available on request.
Choose your fellowship
The fee pays for live mentoring, dialogues with global researchers, support in the field, references and lifelong hosting of your work. Fee details available on request.
Content creation internship: common questions
What equipment do I need for this content creation internship?
A smartphone is enough to start. Your mentor shows you how to frame shots and record clean sound with what you have. Students with a camera or editing software can use them for more advanced work.
How do I film people ethically?
You ask for consent before you photograph or film anyone and explain where the work will appear. You take extra care with children and with people at work, and your mentor checks every piece for consent and accuracy before it’s shared.
Can a content creation internship help with a film or media school application?
Film and media schools usually ask for a portfolio. This fellowship gives you finished photo stories, short films and clips based on real field work, with a verified record on earth5r.org. Admission decisions rest with each school.
Is the content creation internship fellowship paid?
Yes. It is a paid, mentored internship fellowship. The fee pays for live mentoring, dialogues with global researchers, support in the field, references and lifelong hosting of your work. Fee details are available on request.
Can I do this content creation internship online?
Yes. FIELDWORK runs online, and your field work takes place near where you live. Your mentor guides you through each step.
Who can apply?
School and university students from India and other countries. The fellowship prepares you for university, postgraduate study and work.
What do I get at the end?
A certificate, a letter of recommendation, a project report and a verified profile on earth5r.org, where universities and employers can check your work.
Related internship fellowships
Apply for the content creation internship fellowship
Work on a live Earth5R project in Film, Photography and Content Creation with a mentor, take part in research conversations with global researchers, and build a verified record of your work. Fee details available on request.
