Dear Joan,
I'd really like to thank you for everything during the internship. I had a blast and actually learned a lot. Right from the beginning, I remember you saying since you'll almost always be working with producers in that field, it's valuable to walk a mile in their shoes. From what I learned about your job in between my side projects, you couldn't be more right. There is so much tedious stuff that goes into your job, I can understand why you were a little less-than-calm at the end of the Earth Day DVD.
Many kids have no idea what they want to do, even in college. I can safely say this internship, along with my internship from last year, has given me a head start in that department. After doing another film related internship, I am becoming more sure I'd be happy making a career for myself in this or a similar field. With a love for movies and animation, I think I'll be very happy as long as my work goes on a screen. Paper's nice and all, but we're in the digital age now. Let's kick it up a notch!
So once again, I'd like to thank you for taking me on as an intern. I'll always remember my time at Shaklee. Especially that time we had that wonderful cake. Mmm....cake. But anyway, perhaps we'll meet again sometime in the future. Just remember, if you ever need some voice/acting talent, you know who to call. :D
Thanks again for the billionth time!
-Sean Manning
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Monday, May 14, 2007
Week 9
TOTAL HOURS: 72 out of 80
Hello again. Welcome to "Week 9" of my WLE blog, also known as "THE BIG PICTURE." I'm sure you'd like to know what the big picture is, so I won't keep you waiting.
Now that's a big picture.
But what about the larger message of my WLE? What will I be taking away from this experience? First and foremost, I hate 7 AM now. At first we were cool, but 7's really been getting on my nerves lately. Why can't 7 just be 10, or even 12? 12 is cool. 12 has never hurt me as far as I can remember. Oh well, no use fretting over it. But I think 7 AM owes me.
Another thing I have come to learn about over the course of this internship is the working dynamic of a large company. Shaklee is to eMotion as Canada is to Rhode island. One is a $#*%load bigger than the other. Mainly that means more bureaucracy. Things have to pass through more levels to get approval. This can slow stuff down. This contrasts the fast pace schedule many large companies have. At least the department I'm in, things happen fast. Being in only once a week can be tough because by the time I'm back, we've already moved on to other stuff.
But that's also the beauty of the project I'm working on. A while back, long before I even got here, Shaklee wanted these demos. But due to other things going on and the schedules of Joan and Tom, they basically said they'll get to them when they get to them. And so, the project sat on the shelves until I got here. I was put to work on the demos but the project still retained its laid back schedule. There is no particular rush to get them out so it's okay that I can only hack at 'em for a day out of the week.
Working here has also got me thinking about what kind of company I'd like to work at in the future. Big vs. small. With the animation industry, you can go both ways. If I wanted to make movies, I'd be working in a big company, but if I wanted to do specialized free-lance stuff, I could easily work in a smaller company. I've kind of enjoyed myself more at Shaklee, but that's because of the people and not necessarily the company size. I don't think the size of a company dictates the kind of people who work there, so if I'm looking to work with cool people, it's pretty much a gamble. Overall, I wouldn't mind working in a big company, as long as I wasn't stifled. I'd like to have some room for creative interpretation with whatever I do. If I simply have to replicate someone else's vison, it's just not that fun anymore.
And that's enough reflection for one day. I can't believe I'll only have to do this one more time. It all happened so fast. I think I might get emotional...*sob*
Wait. I'll only have to get up at 7 one more time? Score! *loud music starts playing and circus folk begin to do acrobatics. Audience cheers and applauds for 5 minutes. Everyone is happier than they've ever been*
Hello again. Welcome to "Week 9" of my WLE blog, also known as "THE BIG PICTURE." I'm sure you'd like to know what the big picture is, so I won't keep you waiting.
Now that's a big picture.
But what about the larger message of my WLE? What will I be taking away from this experience? First and foremost, I hate 7 AM now. At first we were cool, but 7's really been getting on my nerves lately. Why can't 7 just be 10, or even 12? 12 is cool. 12 has never hurt me as far as I can remember. Oh well, no use fretting over it. But I think 7 AM owes me.
Another thing I have come to learn about over the course of this internship is the working dynamic of a large company. Shaklee is to eMotion as Canada is to Rhode island. One is a $#*%load bigger than the other. Mainly that means more bureaucracy. Things have to pass through more levels to get approval. This can slow stuff down. This contrasts the fast pace schedule many large companies have. At least the department I'm in, things happen fast. Being in only once a week can be tough because by the time I'm back, we've already moved on to other stuff.
But that's also the beauty of the project I'm working on. A while back, long before I even got here, Shaklee wanted these demos. But due to other things going on and the schedules of Joan and Tom, they basically said they'll get to them when they get to them. And so, the project sat on the shelves until I got here. I was put to work on the demos but the project still retained its laid back schedule. There is no particular rush to get them out so it's okay that I can only hack at 'em for a day out of the week.
Working here has also got me thinking about what kind of company I'd like to work at in the future. Big vs. small. With the animation industry, you can go both ways. If I wanted to make movies, I'd be working in a big company, but if I wanted to do specialized free-lance stuff, I could easily work in a smaller company. I've kind of enjoyed myself more at Shaklee, but that's because of the people and not necessarily the company size. I don't think the size of a company dictates the kind of people who work there, so if I'm looking to work with cool people, it's pretty much a gamble. Overall, I wouldn't mind working in a big company, as long as I wasn't stifled. I'd like to have some room for creative interpretation with whatever I do. If I simply have to replicate someone else's vison, it's just not that fun anymore.
And that's enough reflection for one day. I can't believe I'll only have to do this one more time. It all happened so fast. I think I might get emotional...*sob*
Wait. I'll only have to get up at 7 one more time? Score! *loud music starts playing and circus folk begin to do acrobatics. Audience cheers and applauds for 5 minutes. Everyone is happier than they've ever been*
Monday, May 7, 2007
Week 8
TOTAL HOURS: 64 out of 80 hours
So? What do I think? Am I still experiencing success, surprise, and diggin’ it? The answer to these questions and many more are coming right up after the commercial break.
*Fades in to see a child going to school. He begins skipping when all of a sudden he trips on a crack and gets a face full of mud. When he hits the ground, he happens to hit a pebble that jettisons right into a hornet's nest. The hornets get angry and swarm around the child. He cries for help but that only disturbs the bears hibernating randomly on the other side of the street. His loud yells wake them from their slumber, at which point they promptly maul him. A woman dressed in white steps out.*
WOMAN: Dirty mouth? Try new Orbit gum!
*Zoom in to limp body of child. Suddenly he lifts his head and smiles. His teeth are white and shiny. Fade out*
Welcome back! Week 8 is over, and we're that much closer to the end. I'm still enjoying myself here, and it will be kind of weird to leave. I feel I've definitely made more of a connection here at Shaklee than I did at eMotion. Although this is a much larger company, people are still cool and fun to talk to.
This week, we put my skills to the test. We had a meeting with myself, Joan, and two other women regarding my Get Clean demos. I showed them all four and they gave their critiques and changes. How did I do? Let's put it this way. The world "lethal" was used several times. And not like "lethally good". I guess it was to much to hope I could get it on my first try.
Surprisingly enough, Joan said I was more or less par for the course. I guess marketing has a nasty habit of wanting something, then changing their mind the moment they see it. After giving their criticism, basically one of the videos was salvageable. The other three were either not wanted anymore, or required additional footage. Footage that was non-existent and needed to be filmed. So, Joan just told me to worry about the one we have, and she'll deal with organizing any re-shoots.
But with the bad came some good. Something real good. Right after the meeting we had a mini party for Joan, who celebrated her birthday the previous week. There were three pies to choose from, which was arguably the hardest task I've faced during my WLE to date. You should have seen the beads of sweat that dripped down my furrowed brow as I grappled between apple, boysenberry, or chocolate cream. I was about to draw a decision matrix like we did in Josh's class, when I decided screw it, I'm going chocolate. I even had some Martinelli's sparkling cider to wash it down.
But alas, all good things must come to an end. The other part of the day was Joan giving a reprise on the budget lesson I had recieved a week or two ago, and also a bit on scheduling. She ended up drawing this fairly complex chart of most projects progress. A small one like the Get Clean demos had an incredibly simple time line in comparison to a large scale project. I consider myself lucky. This whole talk helped me get some good background in preparation for my final project.
Speaking of which, I wonder when that will be? Because I'm so conveniently 60+ minutes away AT BEST, Mr Harris has found it a wee bit difficult to find his way out here. And I really don't want to present anywhere else because the real interesting part of my presentation involves the recording studio. So, factoring in commuting and presentation time, I could easily take two and a half hours out of the day. I don't expect to present on the 12th anymore, but I'm curious if I can be fit in with all the graduation portfolio presentations at school that need to happen. It's all very tricky business. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
And so, this weeks blogging comes to a close. We'd like to leave you today with some forced responses to the blog prompts meant to appease the teachers.
WLE High: Chocolate Cream Pie
WLE Low: Getting up at 7 am
So? What do I think? Am I still experiencing success, surprise, and diggin’ it? The answer to these questions and many more are coming right up after the commercial break.
*Fades in to see a child going to school. He begins skipping when all of a sudden he trips on a crack and gets a face full of mud. When he hits the ground, he happens to hit a pebble that jettisons right into a hornet's nest. The hornets get angry and swarm around the child. He cries for help but that only disturbs the bears hibernating randomly on the other side of the street. His loud yells wake them from their slumber, at which point they promptly maul him. A woman dressed in white steps out.*
WOMAN: Dirty mouth? Try new Orbit gum!
*Zoom in to limp body of child. Suddenly he lifts his head and smiles. His teeth are white and shiny. Fade out*
Welcome back! Week 8 is over, and we're that much closer to the end. I'm still enjoying myself here, and it will be kind of weird to leave. I feel I've definitely made more of a connection here at Shaklee than I did at eMotion. Although this is a much larger company, people are still cool and fun to talk to.
This week, we put my skills to the test. We had a meeting with myself, Joan, and two other women regarding my Get Clean demos. I showed them all four and they gave their critiques and changes. How did I do? Let's put it this way. The world "lethal" was used several times. And not like "lethally good". I guess it was to much to hope I could get it on my first try.
Surprisingly enough, Joan said I was more or less par for the course. I guess marketing has a nasty habit of wanting something, then changing their mind the moment they see it. After giving their criticism, basically one of the videos was salvageable. The other three were either not wanted anymore, or required additional footage. Footage that was non-existent and needed to be filmed. So, Joan just told me to worry about the one we have, and she'll deal with organizing any re-shoots.
But with the bad came some good. Something real good. Right after the meeting we had a mini party for Joan, who celebrated her birthday the previous week. There were three pies to choose from, which was arguably the hardest task I've faced during my WLE to date. You should have seen the beads of sweat that dripped down my furrowed brow as I grappled between apple, boysenberry, or chocolate cream. I was about to draw a decision matrix like we did in Josh's class, when I decided screw it, I'm going chocolate. I even had some Martinelli's sparkling cider to wash it down.
But alas, all good things must come to an end. The other part of the day was Joan giving a reprise on the budget lesson I had recieved a week or two ago, and also a bit on scheduling. She ended up drawing this fairly complex chart of most projects progress. A small one like the Get Clean demos had an incredibly simple time line in comparison to a large scale project. I consider myself lucky. This whole talk helped me get some good background in preparation for my final project.
Speaking of which, I wonder when that will be? Because I'm so conveniently 60+ minutes away AT BEST, Mr Harris has found it a wee bit difficult to find his way out here. And I really don't want to present anywhere else because the real interesting part of my presentation involves the recording studio. So, factoring in commuting and presentation time, I could easily take two and a half hours out of the day. I don't expect to present on the 12th anymore, but I'm curious if I can be fit in with all the graduation portfolio presentations at school that need to happen. It's all very tricky business. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
And so, this weeks blogging comes to a close. We'd like to leave you today with some forced responses to the blog prompts meant to appease the teachers.
WLE High: Chocolate Cream Pie
WLE Low: Getting up at 7 am
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