Write up on some Spreadsheet on companies

Running Pony Production Memphis, TN 

Description

Now that I know someone who has done an internship there I feel like it's  the perfect place to start. I can have her take a look at my resume aswell and let me know what they are particular about and what would better my chances for getting accepted there. I have also checked out the site and watched the demo and I feel like they have a wide field of opportunity for digital media. From 2D an 3D animation to video editing.

Paradigm Marketing and Creative(Paradigm Productions, LLC) Memphis, TN

Description

Paradigm Marketing & Creative (formerly Productions Productions) is in the business of creative story telling. We design integrated marketing, branding, presentation, fund raising, project and product development strategies into cohesive solutions while utilizing the latest technologies in 3D animation, motion graphics, interactive, web based and print media

Equipment / Gear / Software

Sony HD Video Camera, dolly track, green screen, lighting rigs, 2 edit suites, 3d render farm

It looks like they have an extensive field of work for digital media students. So they would be a good choice, I would Imagine.

I think its a good idea to start with local companies.

Interview

I did my interview with Tiffany Lauren Baker. She is a senior interested with 2D animation, and so I felt it was a good choice. I asked her the following questions
Where she interned at. What the application process was like. What her experience there was. Why she picked the place.
She is at Running Pony Production which is a local Memphis animation company. She said that she was looking for local companies so she could plan where she would live and how she could commute in a manageable environment.. She started from getting local places from Gadsby and other students. When she finally narrowed it down she had to go through a stream of back and forth emails  with the company. But she finally got to the person who mattered most and got the internship.
Her interview over there was casual, from dresscode to workload. They dont have her working on huge projects mostly because they have professionals there who are paid for it. Other than that, they treat her well and have her do some handson artwork here and there.

Experience with Camera

Had fun playing with depth of field, and focus. the quality of the shots was amazing. We had to take some shots indoors, the lighting wasn't strong enough, so we stepped up the ISO, and the grain was definitely more visible.
The first set of shots taken outside had the florescent white balance set so they were blueish, it sucked that we spent a day outside and got weirdly colored shots, but at least we know it's not gonna happen again. Its funny how unnoticeable it was until we looked at everything as a whole.
Interesting experience all in all.

Readings

So, here is the deal, I feel like the readings on the cameras are much more helpful now that we have the cameras at our disposal. Now that I can practice what I've read it makes sense.
Lighting
Very interesting, Key light(main) Fill light and Back light(secondary) and then there's the background light. I never did put into consideration that the different lights can be manipulated to that extent, to give the subject the feel that you want. A question that I would ask about that is, wouldn't you want to do all the manipulation in the post production? Is it more advisable to just get everything in a 'flat or default' way and then work it out later?
I liked the lighting simulator.
Getting the light right for every shot might be a task.

Cast

We are really looking foward to working with talent that is not from the school, just because most of the people we know from the school who would fit into some of the roles would not agree to act e.g. Jill :)
So far we've been able to get a couple of successful characters, they are willing to involve some of their friends as well. We also have a facebook page calling for actors, NB we already have our main characters, I'm just talking about extras.
We were discussing the other day that everyone has to look like they belong in the scene and everyone has to support the main character as best they can otherwise her character will not reach her potential.
Back stories have been written so that the talent can identify with the characters even more.
Of course, we have a bunch of students from the school who we can fall back on if our cast fails us.

Group Meetings

Alright so we have been meeting up, trying to get our story tightened up, and working up our schedule for the preproduction and production process. Working with the camera has been good, I can already tell that it'll take time before we can get comfortable around the equipment, not only because it is expensive but because we're still getting used to the settings and trying to figure out exactly what we can do with the camera. You know, to make the shots look interesting and so on.
I think the group is working efficiently as a whole. Considering the fact that we started out with a new story, the decisions we've been making havent been as crippling as I thought they would be, in terms of agreeing with each other and moving on, and making progress.

Melchin

The visiting artist talked about a number of his works. He really emphasized the fact that he went through a whole lot of research before he actually did any piece. He said he felt like informing himself on the subject only made the art better in the overall. He also mentioned that during his research, he would come to find out that the pieces he would decide to make are more or less subjects that have influenced him or affected him in his life at one point or the other, and, even though at face of it he didn't realize it, the research and finality of the work showed it to him. He spoke of how much he has travelled and how that too has come to influence his work. Infact one of the major topics he raised and maybe his biggest project to date was influenced by his visit to NewOrleans, to see what he could do to help with the Hurricane Katrina situation that was going on. He said something very interesting that I related to quite well. He said he came to realise how small he really was in comparison to the whole situation, and that he felt helpless. to be contd..