Career Fair Prep Workshop

At the Career Fair Prep Workshop, Carrie Brooks gives a brief layout on how the Career Fair functions and gives tips on how we, students attending the Career Fair, should behave.

Well, by behave, I mean behaving professionally instead of casually. Instead of the student going to each booth to talk to the companies, the companies comes to the students. This forces the student to show up and be active instead of lurking in the corner.

So in our little space, we should treat them as our "offices." We should be mindful of their time, indications of looking at a watch or glancing at another table, because they may have a limited time to actually be at the Career Fair. It would also be smart to give away items like a business card. Well, exchange business cards, so they have your information as well as you having theirs.

But as we're practicing our professionalism, we also need to research, not only the companies, but ourselves since we're pitching ourselves to these companies. Then we also have to consider the following: Do we fit in with what they're doing? Do we fit in with who they are?

Some tips Carrie Brooks had to give while giving an interview are:

• introducing yourself confidently
• place your name tag on your shoulder
• make eye contact (it's a sign of respect in our culture)
• listen and answer concisely
• learning attitude
• do not complain, don't include personal problems
• talk about projects/internships
• talk about how they relate to a job
• Talk about homework 
• how do they relate to the goal?

After the interview, thank them for their time and for the opportunity. If you're interested, reiterate that interest. Send a thank you email or a written note. Then after a week or two, follow up with another email.

Demo Reel Review

Smooth transitions. It didn't feel long. Had a variety of shots. Love the way he presented himself, but wish that he had contact info. However, the logo was really appealing. Even though they're different material, they all feel connected. I'm sure it's because of the transitions that he used.



Relied heavily on the music. Beautiful shots, but some of them felt too rushed. I liked the idea of having one of the shots play as the brand is the main focus. It highlights you and your work.



Put down their strongest pieces. Never a dull moment, continues to flow. The moment one part seems to lose interest, it shifts to a different scene. Eva López really wanted the viewer to focus on the animation style before revealing her name at the end of the video. Variety of shots and moods from super dynamic action scenes to everyday life.



I was really baffled by the preview pictures, and, I'm not going to lie, it caught my interest. Bold name and title to really push that UMPF. Contrast in dynamic with each scene. Focuses on the pacing and the transition. Also, nice touch of humor at the end of the video (it's not his fault, it's the media's fault for repeating that scene a billion times).




I felt like some of the shots they included weren't as strong as some other shots. The name is too small and it's not even long enough to read in the beginning. Then you can notice how much the camera shakes/moves without it being smooth. There are some shots where you're just admiring it (i.e. the arrow towards the screen), but other times it feels completely unnecessary to show (all the frontal facial shots). I also didn't understand the text. Were they trying to say that it was from a certain film they made? Because one of the words included "festival" and I was confused as it was for an advertisement or a demo reel. Towards the end, it was great! Those shots were great! But I feel like they relied on the audio too much. Also, their name is waaay too small. Compared to the "Identity" fonts, "The Big Bad" seems to be swept under the rug.



It felt really disconnected. Suddenly it was actual footage??? beginning showed the information, but it was so fast that it was like "I didn't get a chance to read your name"'



Text is bland. Everything is centered in the middle when she introduces herself. The text of her role becomes hard to read on the left corner. Goes on for too long for someone who seems to be new at the game??? Other that or the material she presents isn't as strong as other parts. Not sure about the bits with animation? I don't see how that fits the overall theme?

Skype Talk: J.A.W. Cooper

Visiting Artist: Gregory Euclide

I wasn't sure what to expect from Gregory Euclide's artist talk. I'm glad to say that I was delightfully pleased, even though the talk was delayed for about 10 minutes. His presentation was very lively, and he was very keen on showing and explaining his process on his art-making. 

Euclide was born and raised in Wisconsin. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Wisconsin, and later received his BFA from Minneapolis College of Art and Design.

Artist Lecture: Carey Gibbons

Carey Gibbons is the future Illustration Art History teacher at MCA. Instead of discussing about her work, she discussed the work that was exhibited in the main galleries.

Jim Lamarche's illustation in Winter Is Coming

In Lamarche's illustratinos, we're observing nature with the girl. The viewer is usually above the girl, giving the idea that we're also observing her too. It's like inception... with observation. There's a quiet contemplation in his work juxtaposed by the wind blowing and giving motion to the leaves. The color connects with the landscape and the words "Winter is Coming" is repeated throughout this children's book.

Script Review: Total Recall (1990)

A review of a beautiful movie called "Total Recall". For those of you who have not seen this movie, I highly recommend it because it's a fantastic story. However, this does contain spoilers.

Outline for Pitch Idea

TITLE: I Hate Group Projects (WIP)
GENRE: Slice of Life
THEME: Treat others how you want to be treated.
MAIN CHARACTERS:
Clementine Judd: 

Not the coolest kid in town. However, what she lacks in class, she makes up with determination. She's usually self conscious because she knows people don't like her. She's very awkward and is not exactly the "epitome of beauty."

Austin "Samuel" Staggs:

Just like his initials, he can be somewhat of an A.S.S. He can be suave, but he does not want to be associated with the odd-balls of the school. He also seems to get annoyed easily. He is currently in the track team and loves how he can run to clear his thoughts.

SECONDARY CHARACTERS:
Mr. A. D. Hope: 

The chemistry teacher who wants to push students to do their best. 

BASIC PLOT: Clementine and Austin have to work on a school project together, but it's obvious that Austin does NOT like the idea. Clementine struggles to work on the project with Austin and are almost done when Clementine's pet destroys their project. Austin leaves Clementine to work by themselves before coming back hours later. Austin and Clementine end up receiving a good grade, but Clementine wants nothing to do with Austin.
UNIQUE ANGLES/ASPECTS: From the perspective of the person who is being disliked
TARGET AUDIENCE: Young Adult

STORY STRUCTURE
ACT 1
Setting of film: High School - Present Day
Film begins: In a classroom. Austin walks into class and looks at Clementine disgustingly and tries to sit as far away from Clementine as possible.
Inciting Incident: Clementine looks at Austin and asks if they have a pencil, but Austin won't acknowledge them.
Plot Point 1: The teacher pairs Austin and Clementine together to work on an outside class project.

ACT 2
Setbacks/How does the protagonist deal with them?

• Austin speaks to the teacher, saying that he cannot work with Clementine
• Mr. A. D. Hopes says it'll be a way to bond with each other and, who knows, may become friends (good opportunity to work with someone you're not familiar with)
• They meet at Clementine's home (not a setback)
• Clementine has a cat/dog [either or]
• Austin is not a pet person, but won't say anything about it, but is uncomfortable
• Clementine has annoying quirks
• snorting loudly
• chortled laughter
• loud breathing
• Austin gets sour towards Clementine, Clementine notices and is uncomfortable 
• Almost done with project, let's take a break
• Clementine ends up getting a snack
• Austin can't stand the way Clementine's eating, so he goes back to work on the project

Second plot point that jumps to Act 3: Clementine's pet destroys the project

ACT 3
Climax: Austin explodes at Clementine [because they took forever working on the project]. He declares that they cannot be in the same place, Clementine tries to calm Austin down, but Austin leaves. 

Denouncement: Clementine is left alone working on the project. Austin goes back to Clementine's place hours later and offers assistance. The project ends up doing well, and Austin thinks they may have misjudged the person.

Ending: Austin goes to Clementine and tries to make amends "You know, you're sort of a cool person." Clementine look at him and says "You... have to be the biggest asshole I've ever met" and leaves. Austin is in shock as Clementine leaves with a smile on her face.

Some Inspiration Sources

• Buffy the Vampire Slayer's "Living Conditions"
• Where Buffy gets annoyed with her roommate and each little thing they do intensifies

• Pay It Forward (Nothing too vibrant, muted palette)

• Family Matters's Steve Urkel similarity where everyone is annoyed by Steve, but he grows on you