Take One Media Internship Program - Asian Culture & Media Alliance

Take One Vocational Media Training & Internship

Empowering Our Next Generation of FilmmakersStorytellersDigital CreatorsArtistsCinematographersFilm EditorsJournalists

The Take One Vocational Media Training & Internship Program was created to inspire and foster the next generation of filmmakers and media creators in the underserved community.

Take One is a bi-annual, hands-on vocational media training and internship program provided free of charge for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) youth participants ages 18-25 residing in Southern California. This program is also inclusive to non-Asian youths from other under-served communities who wish to learn about the AAPI culture and/or pursue careers in the media industry.

One of ACMA’s core objectives is to provide educational opportunities and mentorship programs that inspire our future generations of filmmakers, producers, writers, directors and media technicians. To provide such resources, ACMA founded Take One in 2016, where over 150 participants have graduated. You can meet all of our Take One Alumni here.

By providing youth creators from under-served communities an opportunity to learn hands-on television and film production vocational skills as well as leadership, teamwork and self-development skills, we believe TAKE ONE can also foster a better sense of pride and self-identity within the communities they serve. We also encourage our youth to create original ideas and projects based on their own perspectives and experiences that can even possibly help to inspire and shape the perspectives of others that can also affect the futures of their communities. You can view previous Take One Projects and short films on our YouTube Channel.

Have a question about your eligibility, our program offerings, or just want to know more about Take One?

Our films and programs are only made possible by donors like you. Support the next generation of film, TV, and media creators by donating today.

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LEARN

Our program provides Take One Interns the opportunity to gain hands-on experience with the latest tools, techniques, and best business practices used in film production.

EXPLORE PAST FILMS

CREATE

Take One Interns are allowed creative exploration as they develop unique stories and perspectives to represent the diversity of our growing world.

WATCH PAST PROJECTS

CHANGE

Under the guidance of our board of industry professionals and changemakers, students are encouraged to challenge stigmas of fear and ignorance in their communities and industry.

MEET OUR BOARD

Take One is a 12-week, in-depth curriculum divided into 3 stages or knowledge blocks focused on i) Story Development & Screen Writing ii) Production Tools & Principles and iii) Producing & Directing.

Each stage is 4 weeks long, providing students the opportunity to develop and apply their knowledge and newfound skills onto ACMA’s media projects such as Asian Voices TV and Radio as well as their own films. With exploratory assignments, the Take One Program allows its students to build and strengthen their portfolios and prepare to break into the industry – no matter their level of skill.

After completing Stages 1-3, four Take One Graduates will be selected for the 6-month ACMA’s Media Fellowship program, where they will have the opportunity to write and produce their own short films, funded and supported by ACMA, as well as have exclusive access to mentorship and networking opportunities with industry professionals.

Aspiring Screenwriters will be mentored over the remaining 8 weeks to complete writing their scripts. At the end of the 12-week period, they will also have the opportunity to pitch their story for the chance to be produced during the ACMA’s Media Fellowship program.

Curriculum Snapshot

Stage 1 – Story Development & Scriptwriting (Mandatory for Aspiring Screenwriters, Producers & Directors)

Narrative, documentary, and creative styles of film & media
Developing ideas and storylines for television & film
If the student wants to focuse on screenwriting ONLY, they will continue developing their scripts through 1-1 mentorship over the course of 8 weeks (skip Stages 2 and 3)

Stage 2 – Production Tools & Principles (Mandatory for Aspiring Producers & Directors)

Pre-production
Lighting, Grip, Cameras, Shooting
Post-production
Video Editing

Stage 3 – Producing & Directing (Mandatory for Aspiring Producers & Directors)

Producer Responsibilities
- Pitch Decks
- Budgeting & Capitol
- Script Breakdown
Director Responsibilities
- Storyboarding
- Shot Lists
- Blocking Scenes
- Directing Talent

ACMA Media Fellowship & Short Film Production (Offered to Four Selected Take One Program Graduates)

Learn and experience
- Stipend and Resources Provided to Produce Short Film
- Distribution Determination
- Marketing Model for the Project
- Talent Casting, Location Scouting/Permitting
- Exhibition

Take One Pathway Breakdown

We highly encourage any aspiring filmmakers, regardless of their skill and experience level, to apply for the Take One Program. Applications are CLOSED for the Fall 2021 Program. Sign up for our newsletter to be notified about ACMA’s Take One Program and other Internship Opportunities: CLICK HERE to sign up for our newsletter.

Take One Instructors

Eric Michelson

Creative Director / Instructor

With over 20 years of tv/film and video production experience including producing, directing, writing and editing, Eric Michelson‘s experience includes corporate training programs, commercial spots, music videos, live fashion and music events to short films and documentaries.

Eric is the owner of Carma Media Productions and has co-produced 4 seasons of Cathlyn’s Korean Kitchen including Top Chef Korean Food Challenge and Hansik Stories for tvK24, ArirangTV and PBS. Since 2014, Eric had co-produced, directed and edited 2 seasons of Asian Voices show. Since 2016, he has been instrumental in mentoring and providing hands-on vocational media workshop to API youths through Take One Youth Internship program.

Cathlyn Choi

Supervisor / Instructor

Dubbed "Korean Food Ambassador" by the media, Cathlyn is a multi award winning TV show host and producer of the first Korean TV cooking show in English on PBS called “Cathlyn’s Korean Kitchen" and Asian Voices, a cultural and educational television program featuring Asian and Pacific Islanders, community, art, culture and events in Southern California.

Cathlyn is the co-owner of CNA Digital Media Marketing Services, specializing in digital media marketing and TV/Film production. In addition to being the founder and board chair of Asian Culture and Media Alliance, Cathlyn serves on the board of Taylion High Desert Academy and is the President of Korean Women’s International Network, San Diego Chapter. In addition to 20 years of international business development and new media marketing background, Cathlyn has over 18 years of experience as a reporter, TV show host and MC in Korea, Brunei and US.

Nathan Tafao

Assistant Instructor

Nathan Tafao is an America Samoan Videographer based out of San Diego. His venture into film accidentally started at home recording his eldest son Kavi making home videos and somehow led into landing his first job as the Videographer/editor for the El Camino High School football team. Soon he would start his own business and create what is now known as Bigghead Productions.

Over the past 10 years Nathan has grown his business by working with companies such as Island Block Radio, Aiga Foundation, AIM Ministries, Seven60 Athletes, Poly Atamai, IMUA and many more. He has since expanded his services and now specializes in wedding videography. He is most passionate about spending quality time with his wife Shannon and 3 kids Kavi, Keanu and Kobe.

Kayleb Lee

Filmmaker

Kayleb Lee is an independent American filmmaker based in Los Angeles, CA. He’s a USMC Combat Veteran and graduated Summa Cum Laude from The Los Angeles Film School. He’s produced six award-winning short films, including three he directed and edited.

Take One Mentorship Team

Sina Hajhassan

Career Coach

As Entertainment/Media Chair, then President of the Undergraduate Communication Society, Sina got to live his passion of leading a team and helping his peers get clarity in careers within the communications industry through our organization’s offerings. He also coached students and friends on professionalism, using LinkedIn, resume writing and job interviewing.

Sina served as a Senior LinkedIn Champion and Director of Triton LinkedIn Group, a program that was only offered at eight college campuses in the nation. Working with his team, the Career Center at UC San Diego and actual LinkedIn employees, Sina got to further develop his knowledge and skills in career coaching.

Son Nguyen

Senior Recruiter @ LinkedIn

Son is currently the Senior Lead Campus Business Recruiter at LinkedIn. He is responsible for hiring and coaching entry-level talent for 300+ business and technical roles in the SF Bay Area, Chicago, New York, and Dublin. Prior to joining the talent acquisition team at LinkedIn, he worked in recruiting for Target Headquarters as well as college admissions at Notre Dame, Columbia, and Michigan.

He was born and raised in Bellingham, WA to Vietnamese refugees. Son is the first in his family to attend college and holds a BBA of management consulting from the University of Notre Dame along with an MS of strategic communications from Columbia University. He is passionate about his Fighting Irish, Seattle sports, and coffee.

Elliott H. Jung

Trial Attorney

Elliott H. Jung grew up in Los Angeles where he watched his immigrant parents trying to survive in a completely different culture. He found his life’s calling when he attended law school at Southwestern Law School in downtown Los Angeles, and is currently a partner with Hepburn, Hernandez, & Jung.

He was first accepted to work at the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office Appellate Unit and was then chosen to work for the Honorable Mark E. Windham handling a variety of criminal matters that were assigned to him by the Judge. He has since then worked with the Honorable Ronald S.W. Lew, Senior United States District Court Judge for the Central District of California and the Federal Public Defender’s Office. He was invited to teach as an adjunct professor at California Western Law School teaching the school’s main trial skills program and guided law students into becoming an effective advocate for their clients. Elliott also coached law students to compete in local and national trial competitions against other prestigious law schools.

Shaina Ghuraya

Filmmaker/Producer

Shaina is currently a Writer and Netflix Animation, and a graduate of the University of Southern California's Master of Fine Arts program in Film and Television production. She jokes that she is a triple threat (disabled, Punjabi, and a woman), and is a fierce activist for people with disabilities. Shaina has developed her style as a director - bold, unrelenting, and quirky - focused on making comedies that promote diversity and inclusion.

Shaina is also one of the founders of the production company Rebuilt Minds where the goal is to produce stories that embrace diversity and explore intersectionality.

Kayleb Lee

Filmmaker

Take One Fall 2021 Class

Alijah Jacob

Alijah Jacob Castillo Buada (he/him/his) is a Filipino-American creative and aspiring screenwriter who majors in Television, Film, and New Media with an Emphasis in Critical Studies at San Diego State University.

He has always been invested in the art of self-expression and has worked to cultivate an intrinsic connection to writing. Alijah Jacob looks especially towards Asian creatives like David Choe and Eddie Huang as foundational blueprints to the construction of his own professional career and voice as an Asian-American filmmaker

Andrew Cao

Andrew Cao, 24 years old, I recently graduated from San Diego State University in 2020 in General Business. Also, I am studying Visual Communications at San Diego Mesa College.

One day I hope to become a VFX artist and video editor at Marvel. In my free time, I like to hang out with friends, watch movies, and play basketball.

Angelica Correa

She/Her

Angelica Correa (she/her/hers) is a third year student at Cal State LA, studying Television, Film and Media Studies with an emphasis in production/post-production.

She was born in Los Angeles, California but is currently living in San Gabriel, 15 minutes away from campus. Prior to college, she gained recognition for her short films and music videos in high school, winning awards from her school’s film festival, ranging from first place music video to best commercial. She hopes to gain post-production and production experience from Take One while also gaining more skills for editing and sound producing.

Audson Tong

Ausdon Thong is a graduate from California State University of Fullerton with a degree in Cinema & TV Arts with a focus in Screenwriting.

He has loved movies and television since he was younger but noticed that there wasn’t much representation for someone like him. It was through that observation he decided to be part of new generation of Asian-American filmmakers. He is currently a host of his own produced true crime podcast on Spotify and in development of a new horror anthology podcast. His goals are to improve his craft on acting and become a director and producer in the future.

Brittany Wang

Brittany Wang is a young screenwriter born in Tianjin, China and raised in Rockville, Maryland. She graduated from the University of California Los Angeles in 2019 where she supplemented her economics education with classes in screenwriting, production, and film history.

She is currently based in Los Angeles, where she works in M&A consulting and freelance production. Recently, her feature screenplay Motherland progressed to the second round of consideration for a Sundance Development Fellowship. She is currently working on her second feature screenplay and a variety of spec scripts.

Christina Lee

ESAE is a self-taught producer, singer, and artist based in Los Angeles and Orange County. ESAE (pronounced ee-say) is derived from the first two syllables of her Korean name and means second generation, which is an integral part of her identity.

As a second generation Korean-American, she grew up experiencing first-hand pressures and expectations that millions of immigrants and Asian-Americans in particular face, while secretly nurturing a genuine love of music and a unique artistry born from that conflict.

Clara Truong

Clara is a fourth-year undergraduate student at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University with a deep appreciation for art of all mediums.

She is always looking for an excuse to exercise her right brain, and does so mainly through music and photography. In her spare time, Clara enjoys reading, traveling and walking other people's dogs.

Cody LeDoux

He/Him/His

Cody LeDoux is currently enrolled at California State University LA majoring in Television/Film/Media. Hailing from Sacramento, Cody moved to LA to pursue his career in The Film industry.

He believes that creating an amazing story from the ground up is the best feeling in the world. When it comes to Production, there is no one spot where Cody will stay, his skill set can be seen from scriptwriting to editing and everything in-between. Storytelling is in his blood and he hopes to learn a lot from Take One while promoting Asian voices and culture.

Colin Gaja

Collin Gaja is a current junior studying Broadcast Journalism and Documentary and pursuing a minor in Sound Design at Chapman University in Orange, CA.

He originally wanted to pursue a career in film and media arts due to the time he had in high school, taking a broadcast class in his senior year. Now in college, he decided to branch from the media art part of film and move onto the film side as he grew interested in sound and sound design. He has currently worked on a couple of sets for students and non-student projects and has been a part of a couple of sports broadcasts for a club at school. He hopes to work in live sports broadcasting or do sound for a film in the future.

Darlene Do

She/Her/Hers

Darlene is a 4th year student at UC Irvine, majoring in Business Administration and minoring in Asian American Studies.

Growing up in Little Saigon, Orange County, she has a deep connection to her Vietnamese culture and a passion for Asian representation in the media. This passion has driven her to participate in the Take One program to make a visible change and impact. In her free time, she enjoys grabbing coffee, playing tennis, and karaoke.

Donald West

Donald West is a fourth year at Cal State San Marcos, on track to graduate this year, majoring in Arts and Technology with a minor in Video/Film Production.

Donald enjoys playing and watching sports and hopes in the future to be able to combine interests of video production and sports together by working in the sports industry.

Ina Ycasas

Ina Ycasas is currently a 2nd year student majoring in Writing for Screen and Television at the USC School of Cinematic Arts.

With a love for storytelling in all forms, she hopes to write for movies and television that highlight her own Filipino-American heritage and aim to uplift the voices of Asian creatives.

Jazmine Martinez

Jazmine Myleigh Martinez is a biracial (Filipino/Mexican) Cal State Los Angeles transfer student aiming to be a screenwriter for film and any other mediums she could get her hands on.

She has experience in journalism and other forms of content creating, with an overall love for many forms of storytelling.

Jodson Thong

Josdon Thong is an alumni of California State University of Northridge. He graduated in the spring of 2020 and his field of study was in the Cinema & Television Arts, specifically in Screenwriting.

As a screenwriter, he has a number of stories he’d like to share with the world on the big screen one day. He’s currently in the works of producing, writing and voice acting in two fictional, audio drama podcasts.

Katherine Perez

She/Her/Hers

Katherine Alexa Perez-Rojas is a Hispanic whose family is from Nicaragua but she was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She is an aspiring screenwriter who is majoring in Film/Media at Cal State LA.

She hopes to learn as much as she can when it comes to writing so she can accomplish her goals of working with a big company. One day, she wants to create a script for any movie, show or game that accepts her. Katherine hopes to gain as much knowledge as she can and is happy to be in a program like Take One.

Lara Coker

Lara is a Communication Studies major at Cal State Long Beach. She has traveled extensively throughout the world and has a deep interest in learning about other cultures.

Lara plans to continue her education by attending graduate school for Public Relations after she graduates from college. She also has an interest in Media production and storytelling.

Lauren Yamada

Lauren Yamada is a Chinese & Japanese American filmmaker born and raised in Southern California. She is currently a senior at Cal State LA majoring in Television, Film, and Media Studies with a focus on Production and minoring in Entertainment Marketing.

She has a keen interest in physical production and has live broadcast and on-set experience. She is currently working on her thesis film.

Merrienne Jimenez

Merrienne Jimenez is a published writer graduating from University of California San Diego with a Bachelor’s Degree in Literature and World Cultures with a concentration in Media.

She has supplemented her studies with dual minors in Film and Ethnic Studies. She aspires to expand to videography and enter the genre of documentary to contribute to providing platforms for queer and POC voices.

Nicole Tanaka

Nicole Tanaka is from Los Angeles, California. She has always had a passion for storytelling since she was a young girl. Currently attending Pasadena City College, she is majoring in Design Media Arts and hopes to do video and production work within the film and advertising industry.

Nicole also looks forward to sharing Asian American stories and building more diverse representation within the media.

Oliver Real

Oliver Real Villa was born and raised in Long Beach, California, and is currently a freshman at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, majoring in Aerospace Engineering and minoring in Photography and Video.

An interest of Oliver's is filmmaking/film production which he's learned a lot about and gotten a lot of hands-on experience with over the years. A goal of his is to hopefully be a Director of Photography and operate cameras for tv shows and movies.

Ran Ran Yang

Ran Ran Wang is a Chinese-American writer and director. She graduated from the University of Washington in 2019 with a degree in Business but quickly transitioned into the entertainment industry through an opportunity to do literary scouting.

Recently her short film The Waiting Room premiered at the West Sound Film Festival. She is currently writing features and original pilots. Her work focuses on the power of friendship and found family.

Soo Ahn

Soo Ahn recently graduated with a film degree from Cypress College, Cypress, CA. She hopes to transfer to a four-year college by Spring 2022. I enjoy making documentaries in my free time, learning lessons from people, and watching cinematography/editing YouTube tutorials.

What she envisions learning from ACMA’s Take One 2021 internship is elevating her cinematography technical skills so I can be more confident to take on more beautiful shots on cameras, blossoming a network of local/CA filmmakers and writers, and building a portfolio she can proudly look back on. She is focused on building her portfolio for practice and so she can show others what kind of work she is able to make.

Wendy Reyes

She/Her/They

Wendy Reyes is a Mexican-American upcoming graduate of Cal State University of Los Angeles majoring in Television, Film, and Media studies. With 2 yrs + of editing and several PA work experiences, they are always up and ready for new accelerating challenges within the media industry every day.

Her main goal is to visually bring the art of music and performance to life with her passion for the production and editing process. Someday she hopes to hold her own production company with its main focus being music videos and the performing arts.

William Pellegrini

William Pellegrini is a Hispanic man whose family immigrated to the United States from Honduras. He was born in San Diego, and majored in Communication at San Diego State University.

Since he was nine, William had a strong pull towards stage acting which quickly blossomed into a love for film and media. While acting is where most of his experience lies, he looks forward to learning from Take One and expanding his horizons with writing, directing, and producing.