Monday, July 27, 2009

more office encounters

I just met this guy. I didn't know until I just looked at his wikipedia page, but he directed the music video that most struck me when I first looked at Radical's website. At first I was just "oh! It's Jorma!" but then that changed into "wow, this video's amazing... *stunned silence*"


Man, I love this internship.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Happy dances and humiliations

So, remember how yesterday I said I was meeting my dad's ex for dinner? Turns out we're actually meeting tonight. I, of course, didn't find this out until I'd already waited for her for half an hour outside the restaurant. I'm ready this time, though I'm not as nicely dressed as I was yesterday. Ah well. Wearing a skirt two days in a row is still a little too much to ask of me.

Also, I'm glad I didn't wear a skirt today, because Ryan's got me moving and alphabetizing old digibeta tapes that they pulled from the building across the street last week. It's monotonous work, but not quite repetitive enough for me to zone out/meditate while doing it. That kind of thing is better suited to prepping time cards or applying mailing labels, like I used to do for Mom growing up.
Still, this task has its benefits. Not only have I stacked and sorted loads of tapes from Tarsem's and other directors' commercials and music videos, but there's a box in there that's just FULL of stuff from The Fall! I cannot explain how excited/happy that makes me. Yes, I've met Tarsem and actually spoken to him, but today I was actually able to hold in my hands a physical piece of my favorite movie! I did a little happy dance and squealed a bit. I'm surprised nobody noticed or said anything.

Speaking of Tarsem, yesterday he came up to my desk while I was working on my Arashi photoshop series and said "watching more sitcoms, are we?" I said no, and when he asked what it was I was doing now, I told him I was "playing around in photoshop." Interested, he came up behind me, so I showed him a little bit of what I was doing.
...I guess this is once again best summed up through my twitter post:
OH MY GOD TARSEM JUST LOOKED AT ME TOYING W/ PHOTOSHOP AND SAID "HMM" LIKE HE WAS PLEASED!
about 22 hours ago from web

Also, I think he said something about me having the same hair as his sister...

This isn't the first time someone here has noticed me playing in photoshop, although the other two people who I've shown have actually said more than "hmm." They both told me that I was really good, even though I protested that all I'm doing is tracing over pictures that somebody else took, then coloring them in and shading, and they said that I could charge for these... maybe I'll start offering to take commissions. I don't think I'm really good enough for that, and I make stuff for my friends for free anyway, but I guess if somebody wants to give me a photo and pay me, I can churn something out for them.

Chris out.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Creative contributions

I've finally been given the opportunity to do something I never thought I'd get to do this summer. Have some creative input on an actual project.

This morning, Chris, Dave Meyers' assistant, invited me and Kyle, the other intern here today, to come into Dave's office. Dave told us about this script he'd written and was sending around to producers, but had one flaw in two characters' relationship that he was having trouble resolving. We sat and talked and brainstormed for over an hour, it was super cool! Finally, he let us go with the "homework" assignment to do some more research/brainstorming, planning to meet back with him at the end of the day to talk over it some more.
This is kind of awesome. I won't say anything specific about the script, 'cause it feels like a breach of trust/privacy, but just the chance to talk creatively about making movies, instead of discussing practical things like time cards and shooting schedules, was a huge relief. It also reminded me how I've got to get back to work on my script for my senior project.

Tonight I'm having dinner with Kris, my dad's ex-girlfriend, who got me this internship through her connections at Radical. She lives out in Long Beach, but is in Venice for some meetings today, so we're going to meet up after I get off work and go somewhere for dinner.
I'm a little nervous since I've never met her before and I'm not sure I'll know what to talk about, but I think it'll be okay. Let's just say that I'm glad I dressed a little nicer this morning (denim skirt and blue button-up blouse over my white OCircus shirt) rather than my usual attire (jeans and a t-shirt, although I do try to dress office-appropriate). My footwear, however, is almost always my standard aquamarine flip flops that my mom bought me from CVS last summer. The only days I don't wear them is when I'm PAing a shoot, or otherwise know I'll have a lot of physical work to do, in which case I wear my Converse. The flip flops have seen better days, however, and may be ready for retirement soon. I think I'll try to hold out until the ball of my foot wears its way through completely, and I can feel the pavement when I walk. I'm cheap that way.


In Tarsem news, I have another tweet to share:
TARSEM CAUGHT ME WATCHING HIMYM AND CALLED ME A TERRIBLE PERSON FOR WATCHING A SITCOM
about 20 hours ago from web

to which Patrick replied
Tarsem apparently has bad taste in TV shows. Too bad for him.
about 16 hours ago from web


I will say, for Tarsem's benefit, that at first he thought it was Flight of the Conchords and that seemed to interest him, so his taste isn't all bad. And, as my dad pointed out this morning, as a commercial director, he's got to want people to watch TV, so he really isn't one to discourage sitcoms.
How I Met Your Mother is awesome. So there.


Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll return to manning the reception desk while Crystal's out getting lunch. AND I'll dig in to my own free turkey melt that I managed to jump in on the order for. :)

Chris out.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Weekend recap

OMG I JUST SAID "HI" TO TARSEM (the capslock is back!)
4 minutes ago from web


There you have it. I finally worked up the courage to say something to him. Well, it was more a function of the fact that there's not that many people in the office today, so as he was walking passed me, our eyes met and we exchanged hellos. I'd like to think it was a big, sweeping drama of a thing with elaborate sets and costumes, but it was the plainest, most boring of exchanges.

(If those teaser images aren't enough to make you run out and rent The Fall right now, I fear there's just no helping you)


Aaaanyway. Last week was the usual officey stuff. Then, on Saturday, I ventured out to the sketchiest of sketchy warehouses (ok, it really wasn't that bad) to PA for Banana Bread, a short action flick written and directed by Barton Landsman, starring Ron Livingston's brother (who has a cackling laugh to rival my own). Also, apparently the Fruit of the Loom's Apple Guy had a cameo during Friday's shoot.
It was a lot of fun, and I met some new people who were much more approachable than the people on the Sears shoot (not that the Sears people were cold and distant, just they were more all-business-all-the-time than the Banana Bread people).
After we wrapped and cleaned up, Pearson, a fellow PA who'd just graduated from Williams College, gave me a ride (in the director's Lexus hybrid SUV) to the wrap party, which was at this bar in the Arts District. The bar had a bouncer at the entrance checking IDs, so I thought maybe I wouldn't be able to get in, but either he didn't care or he couldn't figure out how to read a Massachusetts license, 'cause he let me in anyway. Pearson ordered drinks for me, and a good time was had by all.

Sunday meant staying in all morning/afternoon, resting after Saturday's business/craziness. Then Jake and I headed to Hollywood to see the Watchmen Director's Cut at Mann's Chinese 6. It was our first venture to the more touristy part of LA, and it was quite interesting. As for Watchmen, the director's cut was significantly longer, but it did seem to tell the story better than the original theatrical release. I think Jake put it, "it's like reciting a Shakespearean monologue, but you're pressed for time, and you don't want to cut any of the text because it's Shakespeare, so you take out all the dramatic pauses." With all Zack Snyder's "dramatic pauses" thrown back in, the movie lasted a while longer, but it worked. I wasn't bored blind, like I usually get at long movies.

Speaking of movies, I forgot to mention that Friday night Jake and I went to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in IMAX 3D.
DON'T. DO THAT. DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY.
The IMAX part was pretty good-- a 70mm print instead of your usual 35mm-- but the 3D was a total ripoff. The first scenes (the bridge collapse, Harry and Dumbledore visiting Slughorn's house) were in 3D, but as soon as Dumbledore and Harry arrived at the Burrow (which got blown up wtf??) a little "take your 3D glasses off now" sign flashed on the screen, and our glasses stayed off the rest of the movie. The movie was good, but the fact that no one mentioned that only the first ~20 minutes of the movie were going to be in 3D left me a little miffed.


And, since I flooded the beginning of this entry with links, then abruptly went link-free, here's something completely different.


Chris out.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

I continue to be infatuated

Tarsem came in again today. It was very surreal. Allow me to convey my reaction by pasting in my twitter posts from during his visit:


TARSEM JUST WALKED IN OMG WILL THIS FEELING NEVER GO AWAY?
7 minutes ago from TweetDeck

TARSEM IS PLAYING WITH THE CREEPY ALIEN DOG
7 minutes ago from TweetDeck

I THINK I AM ASLEEP AND DREAMING -- THIS CANNOT BE REAL
5 minutes ago from TweetDeck

TARSEM JUST QUOTED MONTY PYTHON
1 minute ago from TweetDeck

I WILL NEVER STOP TALKING IN CAPS WHEN IT COMES TO TARSEM
less than a minute ago from TweetDeck



To explain the "creepy alien dog," one of the Executive Producers has this Pomeranian named Bilbo (as in Baggins) that looks like a strange combination between a teddy bear and an ewok. When it wants attention, it makes weird noises, kind of like an alien.
This is sortof what the dog looks like

except the fur on the legs is longer, there's almost no fur on the body, and what little fur there is on the body is dark grey, which stands in stark contrast to the bright orange fur of the head and legs.


Anyway, my workday's almost over. Dunno what's going on tomorrow (except that Jake and I are going to see Half-Blood Prince in IMAX 3D!), but then on Saturday morning I'm going to this sketchy warehouse to PA on a short film shoot!
I hope I don't die...

If I post here again, then you can be sure I didn't die in the sketchy warehouse.

Chris out.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Perspective.

Some of you may remember my post from a month ago where I freaked out because I was in the same room as Dave Meyers, a semi-well known music video/ad director. Well, shortly thereafter I was on set with him too, so that magic wore off, but it was still kind of cool.

Still more recently, I boasted about printing out mailing labels for Tarsem, who directed The Fall, one of my favorite movies. Pah! Mailing Labels? That's nothing!

Today, I was in the same room as Tarsem himself, although I didn't know it was him until Tracey told me hours later. He is SO COOL, this tiny preppy Indian guy with an Aston Martin and a foul mouth. I didn't speak to him or make direct eye contact or anything, but I listened to him telling dirty jokes and teaching people how to say "bullshit" in sign language (which I already know, of course*).

So, yeah, an AWESOME day today, even though most of the day felt really fruitless and I wanted so badly to go home early, I'm glad I stuck it out if only for this.
Also, my coworkers bought lunch, so I got my usual spinach quesadilla without having to pay for it, and there was an ice cream cake for Cesar's birthday (Cesar being the guy who's in charge of the parking lot and showed me a shortcut the other day that saves me ~5 minutes in my morning commute).
Ari said he was going to put the All-Star Game on, but so far that's not happening, so I guess I'll have to follow it online like I do most Red Sox games.

Also, the guys I was working with yesterday and this morning are all New Englanders! Dunno how they ended up here, but there's Mikey from Woburn, Brian from Worcester, and Phillip from New Hampshire (not sure where). It was kind of nice hearing an honest-to-goodness Boston accent out here. Reminded me of home and family (extended family, mind).

Anyway, day's almost over so I guess it's time I start packing up to head home.


I still can't believe that was Tarsem!

Chris out.



*I took it upon myself to learn lots of dirty sign language, so that if I ever go deaf, I can be really mad about it. Ask me sometime to show you how to say "eat shit and die, motherfucker!"

Friday, July 10, 2009

The new frontier

I'm writing this post from the front desk at Radical.

My first day here, one of the two receptionists unexpectedly quit. Apparently, in this economy, Radical isn't going to hire someone to replace her, so interns have been filling in. So far, only Esther has done it, but Esther isn't here today, and Kyle needs to be free to do a run because he has a car and I don't, so I've been sent up here to assist.

So far I've learned to work the phones, printed out a few mailing labels (including one for the director of one of my favorite movies), and showed people how to get to the fitting room. Now Crystal, the girl who actually works up here, is arguing with somebody over the phone because they sent 19 sandwiches when they promised food for 30 people, but once lunch is settled, I'm going to go eat. Once I've finished eating, I'll come back to the desk so that Crystal can go run errands. She says she'll be gone around 45 minutes. That means I'll be manning the desk ALONE for 45 minutes. I am freaking the heck out.

Chris out.

Monday, July 6, 2009

Slow going

I know at least one person has been eagerly awaiting my next blog post (hi Mom!), and so here it finally is.


I'm back in the office again today after almost a full two weeks on set, with a total of two days off. I only had a week to get settled in at the office, so being back here is kind of like starting all over again, except I recognize more faces. I've been here since 10 (it's currently 2:30), not doing anything, really. I asked my boss if there was anything she needed from me, or anything I could do for her, and she said no. I said, "well, okay. I'm right here if you do need me," but so far nothing. Maybe I'll ask her again when I finish writing this. The one thing somebody needed an intern to do was to go drop something off someplace, but since I don't have a car, that ruled me out pretty quick.

If I do move out here after graduating next year, I will absolutely need a car. Taking the bus has been fine for me, but almost every day (that I'm working) I run into some situation where I can't do something or something is made a lot harder for me, because I don't have a car.
It helps that I have my license, though. On Thursday, the last day of the Sears shoot, at the end of the day, I was trying to figure out how to get home (because it was kind of far, so taking the bus would've sucked balls). The director asked me if I was a good driver, I said yes (duh), and so I drove her car back to Westwood.
Turns out she doesn't like driving, which works out perfectly for me, since I love to drive. She was visiting from New York, so she had a rental car (which I probably wasn't supposed to be driving, but I didn't get into an accident so it doesn't really matter now, does it?). It was pretty nice, to be behind the wheel again. I miss driving. More so than I miss it when I'm at school, because at school I don't really go anywhere, just walk around campus. Here, I commute every day, and even though the traffic is terrible, I'd much rather be driving than riding the bus.

On the topic of plans for after graduation, Jake and I have been throwing around some ideas. He wants to go to film school, preferably at USC or UCLA, so if that happens for him, he and I could find an apartment (maybe with Patrick too, if he goes the film school route as well) and begin the adventure of living in LA (for reals!). All this is contingent upon finding a job, of course, and it's not even close to top priority at the moment, but it's something we've talked about. If things go well this summer, maybe I can keep up a relationship with Radical.... who knos.


Let me take this opportunity to say that the 'w' key on my keyboard is being a bit tricky, so if there are any typos because of that, you'll just have to excuse me. If there are typos that in no way involve the letter 'w' well, that's just my own damn fault.


Yesterday I went over to Jake's apartment and we worked on writing our senior projects. He introduced me to a program called Celtx, which is the free, open source version of a softare he uses (the name of which I forget at the moment). It took me a while to figure it out, but I think I'm getting the hang of it, and I've started writing the opening montage.

He also lent me the book Story, by Robert McKee, a book that's been recommended by several of my cinema professors, but which I'd never taken a look at before. I read the chapter on "The Substance of Story" last night and this morning, and it was really helpful.
More reading material came to me in the mail last week-- the newest issue of Film Comment from Dad. Finally, having a dad who works at a magazine printing company finally yields something useful! I read a bit of that on the bus this morning, and it made the trip a lot more pleasant. With things going at this rate, I might not need to get a library card after all!


Now, I never made any promises to keep this thing regularly updated, so don't expect stuff to appear here soon.

Back to work with me!
-C