Week 10 EOC: Final Class Evaluation

This class was quite interesting. Never would I have thought that I would have been able to understand the fundamentals of a business plan nor would I have thought that I would be able to write one. I now understand the basics that go into writing one. Its not as easy as one would think it is. It takes a lot of thought into how your business should be ran. What the basics are that you will need to get you through at least the first year. After many attempts of taking this class to finally finish it feels great. I now have the start of my business plan. I think I have a good grasp on it so when I decide that its time I take the bull by the horns, so to speak, I can go to some people and have them look at it to help me better it and then possibly take it to a bank and see if they will be able to help me out. I now have more confidence towards being able to hold my own now.

Week 9 Photo Challenge

This weeks photo challenge was to show me as a producer. I chose this photo because it shows me at work. This was a project I was working on with a friend of mine. We were doing a music video shoot for a song of his. We took the whole weekend and went around town and shot the footage.

We had two cameras going at the same time. After the long weekend of shooting I took about 3 days and edited the video for it. It was so much fun. Doing this I truly found out how much I loved being behind the camera and making decision on when to do a shot and where and what not. That was where I fell in love with video and film making.

So I was like the director and producer all in one. Oh how this job fitted me. This was only the beginning to my career. There is so much more to come.

Week 9 EOC: Tennis Clinic

So this weeks EOC is on a gentleman who created his own business running a tennis clinic. Why is this a big deal you ask? Because it didn’t last very long for him. Maybe a total of 3 years or so. So we are going to discuss what he did right and what he did wrong.  First of all what did he do right. He was doing something that he was passionate about. He loved tennis. He was very passionate about it. He wanted to give people the opportunity to learn something that they wanted to learn. He also taught it at a reasonable price at nice resorts that didn’t offer those services. Now let’s talk about what he did wrong. First of all his location was all wrong. He offered his services in Orlando, Florida. Now I am not saying that there is something wrong with Orlando. What I am saying is first off look at the weather situation. What does it do a lot of, rain. So what happens if it rains when he has a lesson? He now has to put it off and reschedule at another convenient time. Then he has to go and squeegee the court in order to use it. Also yes, he is showing someone how to play tennis, a game he is passionate about but he isn’t playing it. He is teaching it. When you do something you love and are passionate about you don’t want to teach it so much as to actually do it. Then he didn’t go into it with a business plan. He didn’t have a positive idea on how he was going to do it, he just did it. Is that ok? Well yes but you need to have a definite plan of attack. You need to have some back up plans. Maybe he will know this for next time then, when he wants to do something else like this. Here is the article if you want to read it.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204369404577208811394364448.html?mod=wsj_share_tweet

Week 8: Photo challenge

So this weeks photo challenge is me as a professional. I don't like the stiff collars or suits and ties. Well and let's think about this I don't do well in dresses or skirts either, I think I would look pretty funny in them. So I take a casual look and feel to things. I do dress up in slacks and a button down if I have to. It just depends on where I am going and what I am doing.

Here I was on my way to First Friday. A nice laid back monthly evening full of beautiful art, great food and tons of friends. You can wander the streets of downtown Las Vegas, moving through out all the different galleries that are showing all the beautiful art pieces. You can find some really great stuff for a reasonable price. You just have to know what you are looking for. In every town I am sure you can find a First Friday and I would tell you that you really have to go.

Week 7: Photo Challenge

This title for a screenplay is very vague, I know. This is a type of comedic, drama, humorous, love story. About two women to meet and eventually fall in love. They spend half of their life together only to be broken apart due to the emotional detachment from each other. This tells how couples can get so comfortable with each other and forget how the little things matter most. This story will make you laugh until you piddle on yourself and it will make you cry from the heartbreak that these two women go through. This shows you that heartache is real. You will be able to feel their pain and pleasure as you walk next to them in their life together. What happens to them after they break up? You will just have to wait and read it.

Week 7 EOC: My Resume and Optimal Resume

My resume. That is the topic for discussion for this week. I think my resume is good and bad. Let me explain why I think this. Well first off for my work experience, actual work not related to school, it is grand. I have held down the same job, well at least with the same company, for six and a half years now. I have to say that is my longest job ever in my span of working since I was 15.  Yes my first official job was at 15 at; you guess it, McDonald’s.  Isn’t that almost every kid’s first job, a fast food restaurant? So yes I have now been at my job for a long time. So when I do my resume it is quite easy now because I really only put my resent job down.

            Now when it comes to filling out the school experience thing, well that is kind of small. I haven’t had the chance to do a lot of work outside of schoolwork. I haven’t been able to do the side jobs that others do. Unfortunately I work to live. If I miss my regular job it makes it harder for me to survive. So yes my school related projects are lacking but that doesn’t mean I have the drive to do them.

            I have to work on that more. I don’t have longer to go in school to work on things because I know once school is out it will get harder. But I know I can make it through dedication and what not.

Week 6: Weekly Photo Challenge

Ok so for this photo challenge we had to show a special effect picture. Well I am personally not a genius when it comes to special effects at all. I don't know enough about programs to create something cool looking. So what I did create was my lower thirds for my demo reel, with some help of course. This is as special I get with special effects. I do know some photo shop and whatnot but that is about it.

For this lower third it is about my music recording piece. It has my logo in the side of it. Along with the band name and what I did on this piece. Hopefully somewhere down the line I can learn more programs that will let me have some free range on how things work but until then this is how I rate.

WEEK 6 EOC: How do I see my role getting started in the industry

How do I see my roll? Well to start I will be on the bottom. I am totally and completely ok with that. I am not going to walk out of school and think that I am going to land some big time job. Would it be nice? Of course it will. Is it realistic, no. I know that I will have to start on the very bottom being a coffee runner or personal assistant just to get my foot in the door. I don't care if I have to wrap cables. I will do whatever it takes to get myself out there. Everyone always starts on the floor and slowly stands themselves up and reaches for the sky. My dreams can be so high and so close to reach. I know what needs to be done in order to reach them. So where do I see my role? Right here, next to you, waiting for my break to show you what I can do. Waiting for my break, that sounds bad. I can’t wait for a break, I have to make my break. I have to work to get myself in there. I have to work to get my life and career where they need to start.

Week 6 BOC: Monty Lapica

Jen Caballero

Week 6 BOC

Monty Lapica

Who: Monty Lapica

What: A filmmaker and made a name for himself in Advertising and Multimedia Services.

Where: Born in Las Vegas

College at Loyola Marymount University’s School of Film and Television

When: 2004 created his movie “Self-Medicated” Released in 2007

Why: He wanted to start a branch of his company here in Las Vegas because “it made a lot of sense to offer the services, especially when the completion is not quite as competitive as the LA landscape.”

How: Wrote and directed an award winning movie “Self-Medicated”.  “A 2007 independent film based on real-life events.” “Lapica made an award-winning documentary film, but since the Las Vegas native has made a name for himself in the advertising and multimedia services realm.”

“He has given back to his hometown through the creation of the Las Vegas International Film Festival, the largest independent film festival in Nevada.”

He merged his film background with his passion for technology. “He is the founder for Recognition Networks, a web based company responsible for discovering and lauding thousands of talented artists around the world.” August 31^st has been named “Monty Lapica and Tommy Bell Day” by then Las Vegas Mayor, Oscar Goodman.  He is firmly entrenched in the Las Vegas arts community. “He is the founder and managing partner of Coloma Ventures.”

It looks like “Self-Medicated” was his only movie he did first hand but that is what got him jump started into the business. He has had his hands in many other things, the most import by stating a very important film festival in Las Vegas. He sits on the board to Tennis foundations he is a tennis player himself. He continues to have his hand out to help others.

http://colomaventures.com/team/monty-lapica/http://www.lvbusinesspress.com/articles/2012/05/07/news/iq_53154751.txt

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self_Medicated

Week 5 EOC: Progress towards my Four Professional Contacts and Progress on Networking

I am slowly working towards some contacts. I can be shy sometimes when it comes to meeting new people. I am looking to go into a business where being shy isn't the best idea. I do kind of have to get over that. I recently started going back to the First Friday shows every month. I absolutely love them! I realized how much I really do love art and how it is such on influence on everything we do. Everywhere we look there is art. Being out someplace where you have the opportunity to meet so many new people and eventually turn them into friends or projects or business partners is great. I know that I will defiantly be attending every First Friday that I can possibly attend.

I have a small group of business cards that a building up. I need to get my networking contacts in order and together for things to come. I need to have things ready so in case of anything I have a possibility of setting events in motion to work more towards my career.

There is more to come!

Week 5: Weekly Photo Challange

OK so for this photo challenge I had to put myself in the directors chair. I also got to show off just a little bit of my Photoshop skills. I don't have many but I have some. So here I took a nice picture, that my teacher supplied, Thanks Pinto! A nice picture of a directors chair. Someday it would be cool to actually sit in one, maybe just to pose for a picture ha! Then at home I had a friend take a few different pictures of me. All at some different angles and picked the right one that would fit for the directors chair.

So first I imported the photo into Photoshop. I unlocked the background so I could add more layers to the picture. I then imported the first picture of me into Photoshop. I made sure to unlock that layer as well. I then used the like masking tool I think it's called, and place the picture of me in the right position on the chair.

I ended up having to use the picture of me 3 times layered throughout to try to position things just right in the chair. I do love to play with Photoshop. To constantly better my skills at it. I have created a few other pieces for other projects using Photoshop and they came out well.

I always love doing random projects like this because it gives me a chance to play around with programs that I am not always familiar with. Bring on the fun and games!

WEEK 5 EOC: Midterm Evaluation

This class has been an experience so far. Never ever would I have thought I would write or at least attempt to write out a business plan for myself. I have always wanted and thought about having my own company but did not nor do I still know how to go about doing it. I am barely learning the steps and what has to be done. It is a lot of work. Not something you can just do with the snap of your fingers. Until you have to do something you never realize what it entails. I think this time around I have a better grasp on this class and what has to be done. I am taking this much more seriously to make sure that I am getting this done this time around. This class gives you more insight to projects and areas you never really looked at before or even you didn’t care to look at. This class is a great experience as it takes you out of your comfort zone and makes you see things and do things differently then before. I know understand that trying to start up a business is not easy. It can be quite complicated. I am quite looking forward to where my business plan will take me and the things I can accomplish with it.

Week 4 EOC: Executive Summary

            Famous Air Productions will be about making videos.  Whether it be commercials, training videos, how-to videos, Public Service Announcements, music videos, etc. In this product you will get the video aspect as well as the audio aspect of it. The musical background will be provided, along with background noise or sound effects.  This type of business has been around but I want to give the market a new spin on things and a more modern look of it. I want to express great ideas to open the eyes of consumers who have never seen or heard of certain products. I will capture my market by making a high quality work and delivering what the client wants at a reasonable price. I want to create an environment for our clients that they feel as if they matter and what they want to do will be implicated in their final product. I want them to be able to speak their minds with ideas and feedback and not feel as if what they say doesn’t matter. To me they will be seen as a real person and not dollar signs. My immediate goal is to establish Famous Air Productions will be to start out small. Working with small businesses out there that don’t have a lot of advertising. I want to make them and their business known. I want Famous Air Productions to put out the quality product that I know it can achieve so that in the long run big business will want to work with them as well by doing corporate videos and instructional videos. With the right backing Famous Air Productions can be one of the best Production Companies around.

Week 3 Photo Challenge: Storyboard for a commercial

                     

 

   Ok so for this post I had to create a storyboard for a commercial. To me I think breast cancer is very important. So I did some research on breast cancer and found out that breast cancer is also common among men. It's not as publicly talked about as much as women but is just as important. Because women go to the gynecologist every year to get checked out it might be easier for a woman to spot the onset of something. I don't think men worry about their breasts as much. I mean we do know that they go get their prostate checked and all because that is a very common form of cancer for men but they should also be worrying about their breasts as well. Kind of sounds funny to say that men should worry about their breasts but they really need to pay attention and not just worry about one section of their body. I want to make a commercial or even a PSA about Breast Cancer awareness and how important it is for woman and Men to go get checked out. Life is to short to not care about yourself. We need to take care of ourselves while we are here and not shorten ourselves of anything.

Week 3 EOC: Where are you now and where are you going?

Where am I right now you ask. I am working full time, not in my field of study, and I am going to school. Am I working in my ideal place? No. I do love my job but it is not my career. It is my day to day job that gets me through and pays my bills. Where am I going. Wow I want to answer that in so many ways. I want to go in every direction. I want to do anything and everything I can in my field. I want to experience every aspect of my career. I want to record, audio and video, for commercials, short films, documentaries, movies or whatever I can get my hands in. I will not say no to something because I can get the experience that I need to know. I want to be able to say that I have done this or that a time or two. I just want to get my foot in the door to anything. Eventually in the long run that will all lead to me starting my own company. I want to go everywhere.

Week 2 Photo Challenge: Professional Photo of you working

 

So this is my photo challenge. A photo of me working. Well as you can see here I have a camera set up on a tripod along with a blimp, which has a shot gun Sennheiser 416 microphone in it as I am recording audio to a Tascam recorder. You are probably wondering what exactly I was doing. At the time I kinda was too ha! But I was at my best friend's birthday party and as a surprise to her I was going to have everyone record a birthday greeting for her. So I set up in the back room of her brother's house, where the party was at, turned off the fans that were causing extra noise and one by one I had people come in a make a recording. It probably took me a full two hours, roughly, to record everyone. It also took me about a month to put the video together for her. I went through and edited all the audio, added still pictures, music and all to it. So when she finally got to watch it she was so happy that she actually cried while watching it. So it might not of been a professional job that I got paid to do but I was still putting to use the knowledge that I have learned throughout these years.