I started Leechon internship earlier this year. At first it was moving quite well, until I hit a slight bump in the road. No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy.

I put the internship on hold for a little while. During the hiatus I took the opportunity to talk with some of the interns and get their feedback on the challenges in front of us and on the progress thus far. After making some changes to the initial plan we’re moving forward again.

The following video is from Jawaad, one of my interns from Fort Lauderdale, FL.

See his blog post here: Florida Muslim Issues – Secret Project in the Works
You can follow his progress as a Leechon Intern here: Leech On ‘n Turn

The biggest challenge for the interns was developing the foundation and theme for the story. Without a solid theme for the script the story will fall apart. I decided to help the interns by taking an active role in developing the theme and story.

The other day I was watching some video interviews of industry renown screenwriter and script doctor Robert Towne posted up by screenwriter Scott Myers on his blog. He mentioned that when he made films he would address hypocrisy in certain levels of society. He would tell the story of how things are and how things really are.

For the interns and their stories I’m thinking about taking the same approach. When it comes to issues in Muslim communities, what are some things that are one way on the surface but are completely different when you take a deeper look?

An example of an issue with a level of hypocrisy is: during President Nixon’s time the president was talking about coming together but at the same time he would deceptively hide things from people about what’s happening in this country and the world.

I’m looking forward to your responses.

Since the internship started, we’ve covered a bit of ground. We’re almost about to reach the end of Phase 1. Here’s a video from Jawaad Khan talking about his experience so far and what he’s learned.

There’s only a few days left until the deadline. If you haven’t applied yet, then apply today.

As I stated in the video, as Muslims we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us and it’s not a one-man job. It’s for this reason I’m launching the internship.

My goal is to personally train SEVEN producers who have a solid understanding of the foundations of marketing, media, financing and are able to successfully produce professional films in a systematic manner.

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I’ve received a number of questions regarding the internship and I hop this post will answer those questions:

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• QUESTION: I’m interesting in learning graphic design/after effects/[enter technical skill]. Will this internship allow me to do that?

• ANSWER: No it wont. This internship is development and training in areas of being a PRODUCER. Think of it as a project manager. As a producer you’ll be focusing on your ability to connect with people, leadership, storytelling, self development and organization, understanding business and sales, hiring people, financing.

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• QUESTION: Is this an on-site internship? If not, how exactly will it work?

• ANSWER: No, it’s not an on-side internship. Assignments, meetings, followups and accountability will be done virtually via MessageMastery.com and phone calls. There will be some instances where I’ll personally be there on site are your location inshaAllah for specific training.

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• QUESTION: Is this a paid internship?

• ANSWER: No. What you’ll be getting out of this internship is knowledge, experience and relationships with contacts to help you more forward in your professional life. In the event, the intern successfully graduates from the program – that individual will have the opportunity to work with me professionally and benefit financially.

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• QUESTION: How long is this internship for?

• ANSWER: It’s expected to last until the June.

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• QUESTION: How much time do I need to commit?

• ANSWER: That really depends on you. How much time can you commit? Assignments and tasks have deadlines. If you spend an average of two hours a day to fulfill what you need to complete – you should be able to meet the minimum requirements of assignments and tasks.

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LAYOUT OF THE INTERNSHIP

The internship is in three phases.

• PHASE 01 - is all about establishing the foundations of a producer. Foundations in marketing, relationship building, social media, personal development and  leadership. A lot of this will be me walking you through processes and getting yourself settled in.

• PHASE 02 – is where your development as a leader and connector will take off. In this phase I’ll be doing some live in person training with the intern.

• PHASE 03 - is the major portion of the internship in terms of time. Time will be spent on the graduations assignment which is to finance and produce short film on a budget slightly under $10,000.

As I stated earlier, interns that successfully graduate from this program will inshaAllah have a real opportunity to work with me professionally while also earning money.

The benefits that you as an intern will gain is the increased ability to influence people, professionally work twoards benefitting Islam, connect with people that will help you grow professionally and Islamically and gain the pleasure of Allah-swt along the way.