Career Services: Interview Workshop

When the students entered the workshop, we were greeted and asked to tell Carrie Brooks a bit about ourselves. She put each of us on the spotlight, so we needed to say what first came to our mind as well as prioritizing how we want to present ourselves.

But after the never-ending handshake from my mock-interview, she told me that she was slightly nervous, which brings me to my first point: nervousness happens on both ends. Not only was I nervous, but she was as well. Sometimes we forget that our interviewers are NOT machines. They're human beings; they feel emotions too.

There were a couple of prompts/questions that dove into knowing more about ourselves.

1. "Tell me a bit about you"
1.  How do you see yourself?
2. "What are some of your accomplishments?"
1. What can you do?
2. How do you fit in to [insert institution name]
3. "How do others see you (i.e. teachers, former employers, etc.)"

Some other things to consider when being in an interview: your goals, skill set, strengths and weaknesses (but emphasize or go back to your strengths).

The main thing though is "WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO OFFER"
                 Why do they want you? Why should they hire you instead of someone else?

There were also handouts on "Personal Branding" (how you can stand out) and "Preparing for a Job Interview" (proper interview etiquette).

Kismet Diner

Kismet Diner from Nunneley on Vimeo.

Unfinished Business

Make Each Day Sweeter

Self Critique: Unfinished Business

Project name: UNFINISHED BUSINESS
 
Initial idea: Horror film. Idea of a man in the woods thinking he's being chased by some entity that wants to cause him harm. However, the twist is that the entity was himself.

Source of idea and importance: Desire to branch out on our genres

Desired experience/emotion evoked in audience: Humor?

Synopsis of story: The protagonist is at his most vulnerable in the bathroom. Little does he know that an entity is stalking him.

Theme/Premise of piece discovered after finishing it: Bathrooms are creepy.

Strengths in film: Experimentation. Really trying to focus in on our technical skills. We tried something new. Transitions were decent too.

Problem areas: Pacing. Acting.

Suggestions: We needed to get the actor to play his role better. He had a tendency to smile, which also influenced how the story was read. There are moments in the film where the anticipation could have been pushed further.

Notes on learning process, discoveries, and frustrations: Have someone's role to sort out the videos. There are so many takes that it would be easier if someone sorted it out ahead of time before editing. Writing a script really helps the group out too, so everyone can be on the same page. Also, the more ideas, the better! Don't censor yourself! And share your ideas with your group members! Especially if they seemed focused on the initial idea.

Self Critique: Make Each Day Sweeter

Project name: MAKE EACH DAY SWEETER

Initial idea: The desire to make a more serious film.

Source of idea and importance: How do we cheer people up? Sometimes, it's from a smile. For me, I like to keep chocolates with me. When I see someone is down, I give them a piece in hope it may make their day a bit better.

Desired experience/emotion evoked in audience: Joy and distraught.

Synopsis of story: Character "A" is alone. She doesn't deal with anyone at all. Then Character "B" comes into the picture. "B" is the source of the light that brightens "A"s day. It continues on for weeks and one day "B" doesn't show up....

Theme/Premise of piece discovered after finishing it: When someone else brightens up your life, there's a chance that you're brightening up theirs, thus creating a bigger, more vibrant light.

Strengths in film: Strong concept.

Problem areas: Some of the cuts are awkward. There could be better transitions. There are some continuity errors with the lighting. There could have been more cut ins and inserts in the film.

Suggestions: Zoom in on the important motions. This will also help with the pacing of the video if it feels slow at times.

Notes on learning process, discoveries, and frustrations:  A lot of frustration with this film. Everyone wasn't on the same page; there was a lot of communication issues. Too many ideas thrown without it being processed, er, clarified. A lot of spontaneity and experimentation.  Also, we were filming when Study Club was happening on Sunday. It was interesting to go and film when other people were in the room and making it so it seems like no one else was in the room.

Self Critique: Penny For Your Foughts

Project name: PENNY FOR YOUR FOUGHTS

Initial idea: It was all over the place from dancing to fights.

Source of idea and importance: The idea of fighting for luck. (Throwing a penny into a well, but that idea didn't work out)

Desired experience/emotion evoked in audience: Amusement/Humor

Synopsis of story: Two friends are walking together when person A finds a lucky penny. Person B yanks the penny from person A, and the fight begins.

Theme/Premise of piece discovered after finishing it: Don't snatch things out of people's hands. Don't just go and fight. It's a lose-lose situation, and, who knows?, both parties lose what they wanted in the first place.

Strengths in film: Some match on actions are really nice (like when Amber snatches the penny away)

Problem areas: Continuity errors when Mercedes is picking up the coin. Sometimes, the actor isn't on the rule of thirds line, but smack in the middle. Lighting needs work, it's too dark at times. The part where Mercedes knocks the penny out of Amber's hand is way too fast. It needs to be slowed down. The transition from the two girls on the roof to the penny falling on the ground needs to be fixed.

Suggestions: Take notes on what they do, what hand they pick things up, what motions they do before they redo the motion in a cut in.

Notes on learning process, discoveries, and frustrations: Everyone had different ideas how the shots should be. But the process began to get easier as the group had a better idea what to do.

Penny For Your Foughts

Self Critique: Quench the Thirst

Project name: QUENCH THE THIRST

Initial idea: A person pranks two friends which they blame on each other. It escalates. One of them dies.

Source of idea and importance: High school event where my friends and I were talking, but instead found celery thrown at our table. I went up with the celery in hand and went upstairs (because the lunch tables were on the lower floor) and threw it at the culprit's table before getting out of the area. My friends said that their reactions were great.

Desired experience/emotion evoked in audience: Amusement


Synopsis of story: Painter cleans out brush and grabs a cup of coffee. The painter's friend goes and drinks the painter's coffee, spits it out, and is unconscious. Now the painter and the painter's other friend have to go and find out what to do with the "dead" body.

Theme/Premise of piece discovered after finishing it: Don't take someone else's stuff or else you may be dragged all across school. Don't assume someone's dead by checking their pulse by placing their wrist to your ear.

Strengths in film: Angel's acting. Like holy cow, he was dragged all over school and still remained as a "dead" body. Some cut-ins like pouring the coffee cup or Angel spitting out his drink all over the table. Nice focus.

Problem areas: Awkward cut from around 1:00. Overacting was an issue. 1:39's composition where everything seems to be smack in the middle. Cut at 1:50, not even getting fully into the elevator. Plus the angle changes at that scene too. 2:47 camera shift? 2:53, people are on the left side, instead of the right side. Character placement at 3:50. 4:08, odd angle? Also overexposed in the background. Odd cut-in at 4:26

Suggestions: 1:39's awkwardness, shift the camera angle more left so we can see the door. Keep the angle consistent in 2;47. Maybe full front on the elevator so then there's a natural cut when the elevator door closes and opens? 2:53, allow the people to go to the left side if you want to keep the people on the left side.

Notes on learning process, discoveries, and frustrations: We wrote down what was going to be done, but didn't keep in mind about the types of shots we wanted.  Also, note to future self, bring some artist tape so we know exactly where to place the camera the next time. Photograph where everything was.

Career Services: Internship Orientation

It was a nice overview for academic internships. It focused more on the paperwork side of getting an internship. I mean, of course the cover letter and the resume, but more so about the paperwork associated with getting credit at school. It was a whole different process that I didn't realize was involved with getting an internship for credit.

Even though this orientation was explaining more of the "dull" side of getting an academic internship, it also was stating important questions such as "what do I want to learn from the experience" or "what kind of place do I want to work at". My answers were broad because I wasn't sure. But the more she discussed the different areas we could improve on, the more specific my answers became.

It was a bit dull, but I feel that I have a tad bit more direction with what I want to learn from the internship experience.

Staring Contest: Testing Match on Action and 30 Degree Rule

Anna Olswanger: Literary Agent

This was a great opportunity for students to bring in their story ideas and discuss them with the literary agent, Anna Olswanger. Like the name implies, she looks for written work, BUT she is also intrigued in writers who can illustrate their own work. She did disclaimed that what she says is her opinion alone and not what others will/might say.

It was different (and I was completely unprepared for this event), but it was interesting. She is a children's literary agent, no longer accepting adult fiction. The need for graphic novels has been increasing, she said during her visit. The more vibrant colors would attract a younger audience while black and white would lean more towards the older generations. But what is really important is the story underneath.

Focus on the story.
Develop on your own manuscript.

There is also a distaste for "packages," two people who are partners (one is the writer, the other is the illustrator). This is because the illustrator may not be the best one to illustrate the writer's stories.

Each place will require different criteria, but for Olswanger, she requires the first four pages (of a graphic novel or illustrations) to understand the pacing of the story.

(Also, there is the young adult section and the adult section. Now there's a third category which is called the "new adult" which is the in between of young adult and adult. Isn't that strange?)

Quench the Thirst