Rebellion Film Studios

Lasting Impressions

The internship has left me with a very positive overall impression – I now have the belief that I

could work in the consultancy sector, and the inclination to pursue it. One of the most notable

aspects of my experience was the strong feeling that my degree had helped me to do the job

better than I could have done it otherwise. This wasn’t so much because of specific skills I was using, but rather because the background knowledge gained from PPE allowed me to more

quickly get to grips with the context of the work, and because the value placed on clear, logical

thinking carried across.

Having really enjoyed my degree, the similarities meant I enjoyed the internship a lot – in fact,

much more than I expected to, which was a pleasant surprise! After the internship, I feel I’d be much more likely to go into consultancy. Beforehand, consultancy had always seemed

confusing, and I had little idea of what consultants actually did day to day. I think the internship

was the best way to demystify working in the sector. I also feel that I gained a lot of

transferrable skills that would be useful for many different jobs – skills in presentation,

interview technique, Excel, mapping and much more.

Hannah Nightingale, Lady Margaret Hall, BA Theology and Religion, Second Year

Undergraduate, in-person working

Work Projects

I was working within the costume department of

Rebellion Film Studios, which specialises in historical

costume and military uniforms. My main tasks were

preparing costumes to be sent out for theatre and TV

productions. This included mending civilian pieces and

swapping out details to make military uniforms historically accurate. Some of the pieces I

worked on were a Victorian-style bonnet and a Household Cavalry helmet which I had to paint

with careful attention to detail. I got to use my sewing skills particularly when I prepared some

hats for a BBC production and learnt how to clean delicate items in a special machine. The

people I worked with made sure to keep me in the loop with everything they were working on.

They introduced me to clients and took the time to explain things and tell me about the history

behind certain pieces, such as a corset made with real whalebone.

Daily Life

I got the train every day from Oxford to Didcot and then

cycled from the station to where I was working. I then

worked from 9:30-5:30. Everyone was very friendly, and I

settled in quickly as we would take breaks together, which

also meant I got the chance to ask them more about

working in film. I enjoyed how varied my days were; I was

sometimes on my feet carrying costumes about and at

other times sitting working on a particular piece. I liked how

each day was different, working on a different thing and considering solutions for individual

cases. I also enjoyed meeting people working in other areas of the company such as audio

motion. Outside of work I met friends in Oxford and used the time to explore Oxford further,

which included going to the Ashmolean.

Lasting Impressions

I enjoyed my internship experience. I have always had an interest in costume, and it confirmed

this. Even though this seems to be a bit away from my degree in Theology, the historical side

shone through, and I hope I can pick that up in my degree. We talked a lot about the social side

of historical clothing, and it gave me a real insight into how the way we present ourselves

through clothing is really important. I hope to pick up on these ideas in my dissertation, which is

on clothing in the Bible. In this way the experience confirmed links between my subject and my

love of costume, even if they are not at first obvious. I still remain unsure about what I want to

do after university, but my experience has allowed me to consider costume as an option. I now