Week 9 Photo Challenge: Producer's Choice

Although right below the Executive Producer, I still believe the Producer is the main one in charge of operations and sometimes the behind the scenes work of funding, pre-production, etc. The only reason they are below the Executive Producer is due to financial reasons. But besides that, the producer is the go-to person and the one that makes the decisions that let everything else around them happen. I think it can be the most powerful position (in a way) but at the same time the most stressful. If everything goes bad, it will ultimately fall on the Producer's head. The Times I feel like I'm the producer and in charge are the times I'm sitting in front of a console. Normally when I'm in front of a console I am either engineering the session or working with an engineer deciding what should be heard. But when I'm engineering a session, I am normally the one making the decisions too on what needs to be done, always if it is my project of course. So for this particular project I am working on the Duality SSL console board, about to start a Pro Tools Recording Session.

Week 8 Photo Challenge: You as a Professional

Here is a photo of myself on set working as a Production sound mixer. This is me as a professional. As my chosen career I am not asking someone to entrust me with tons of money. I am asking someone to trust me on set, dressed comfortable and properly to endure 12+ hour long days and nights, equipped to capture the best sound as possible on location, and ready with my game face on! This particular day, I boomed a 12 hour shoot from 6am to 6pm. The heat was excruciating this day and all we had was a cheap AC wall unit in one of the cheap motel rooms available (we were filming in the parking lot) for five minutes break when it looked like someone was about to pass out. It was better than nothing but yes, seriously some cast members almost fainted outside during scenes. I was super glad I had sunblock with me that day.

Week 8 EOC: The Producer’s Most Important Role

Depending on what field or market, the role of a producer varies per job. There are producer positions in all aspects of the Audio/Visual Media Industry: Film, Television, Gaming, and Advertising. But in general, I think the role of a producer is extremely important even if their position lies just below an Executive Producer (I think due to financial involvement). They have a huge involvement in the start-up of a project. They may not be involved with writing screenplays, but normally they are the ones who go above and beyond to get all of the necessary paperwork together and done to get the project started, or even search for the right writer to write the screenplay for that particular concept or idea in order for it to get started. So besides behind-the-scenes pre-production duties, Producers also sometimes get involved with production to make sure everything is going along right to make sure the project is completed within proper due time. So overall, a Producer is holds a lot of importance to every project as they are the ones who make sure a project begins and ends properly.

Week 7 Photo Challenge: Screenplay Cover

This is a screenplay cover to my first personal project I have been considering shooting. For a long time, I have been interested in documentaries. I felt that they each held a purpose and that was to inform someone and anyone. Just that one person can make a difference. So for some time I've been brainstorming on what ideas I could shoot a documentary on and I thought back to my home community to see if there was anything or anyone that didn't have a voice that I could help bring out. Many ideas came to mind, but one in particular stood out, especially because it was such a controversial topic. Even I was against it. But I tried to think of it from both sides now that I would be directing a film about it and saw many stand points that I didn't even think about before that made so much sense. I kind of put a hold on it until I was done with school, but it recently was brought up on national headlines so I know I needed to react fast. The title of the screenplay is "Coffee Anyone?" It highlights the underground world of Asian Coffee Shops and what goes on behind those black tinted windows.

Week 7 EOC: Keeping It Real

Having clients come to a professional facility can do nothing but enhance and improve your clients experience with your business. I found a local facility/office close to my residence called the Watermark Executive Suites, located at 5940 S. Rainbow Boulevard, Las Vegas, NV 89118. I actually have met a client here in the past for a small-scale project. When I arrived at the location, I was blown away to think he either worked here or had an office, and was able to bring in a group of individuals that was going to work on a non-related project side project (that he was funding) on a Saturday afternoon. So when I saw the ad, I immediately thought that being able to give that same feeling to a prospective client of mine, I find would be nothing but favorable to me. After researching what they had available and at what cost, I found more reasons to choose it. The offices started at a low, affordable $500 per month. Along with each office suite comes with a License to Hang (I know that the State of Nevada requires this for most businesses), mail receiving and forwarding, call answering and screening, training rooms (that seat up to 20), and a small conference room! They even offer Virtual Offices for a fraction of a price. But all of these services including a 120-600 sq ft room for a minimum of $500 is worth the rent and more than I could ask for. I believe what you put in is what you get out, and for your business, your main source of income, I am willing to invest what I need.

                                   

Week 6 Photo Challenge: Special Effects

Here is a screenshot of a recent project I worked on for a client, cleaning up audio for a theatrical trailer for an independent film. The trailer was about two and a half minutes and I was requested to complete the work within 24 hours (as well as do any touch-ups the employer requested after reviewing the completed project). The screenshot is taken of a Pro Tools (9.0) session, which is my main go-to software I use for majority of my audio work. Within the session, I am doing what more than half of my projects require, which is dialogue clean-up (also what is about 80% of films itself). But because the shots used, had not been cleaned and completed by the sound department, to get a good finished product for the client I had to clean up the original location audio that came synced with the video. I cleaned up the audio with standard techniques and methods often used for vocal or dialogue clean-up; which included some noise reduction, and EQ-ing techniques (shown in the screenshot) to help filter and bring out nuances within the vocals. After cleaning up about two and half minutes worth of straight dialogue, I was able to get to the fun stuff which was sound designing the trailer: enhancing the sounds of gun shots, and adding cinematic mood triggers such as low-rumbling booms. Overall, it was a great project for me to display an array of skill sets I have to offer to the industry!

Week 6 EOC: How do I see my role starting in the Industry?

There are many options on how I will take my first step into the Industry, and I plan on taking them all. As of today, I am trying to make an impact on the local creative community by doing a lot of good work, paid or not-paid. It's hard to demand money as a student with no real prior experience so if working for free is what I need to get some "real" experience, that's what I'll do and what I have done in the past and currently. But I currently feel through those many projects I have worked on and completed, I have grown and improved on a technical level as well as being a creative individual in this specific field. So with my experience and knowledge (and eagerness to still learn and work), I hope to take my first professional step into the industry as an entry-level assistant to my goal position (sound designer, sound editor, or video game composer). I would like this to be my starting point professionally in hopes that I'm guided and led in the right direction by a potential colleague or mentor in regards to my career. I feel I still have so much to learn and I would be doing myself a dis-service if I tried to learn it all on my own. So I hope within the next year or so, I will be able to call myself an assistant sound designer / sound editor for a stable and growing company in tv/film/interactive media.

Week 4 Photo Challenge: Movie Poster "The Pandress & The Butcher: The First Meating"

Here is a poster I quickly made from a stillframe of a short film I did for the last 48 Hour Film Festival event here in Las Vegas. It was done through after effects with some quick titles and nice fonts (which I believe make or break whatever image you are making that involves titles!) and some color layers to change up the original stillframe.

This poster is for a short film called “The Pandress & The Butcher: The First Meating.” The short was a comedy based off of the topics we drew for the 48 Hour Film Festival contest. The genre given was Superheroes, added with the specific line everyone had to use as well as the pair of chopsticks as the used film prop. So we decided to just have fun with it and our writers came up with an extremely ridiculous comedy. I even had doubts when I first read the script until production began and it all just started falling hilariously together. Although we did not make it onto the big screen, I was really happy to be part of this team’s 48 hour experience because on top of it being a great group of people who are really dedicated to what they are doing, we had an amazing cast of talent that was so gung-ho for this ridiculous script!

Week 4 EOC: Executive Summary

        JBN is the stamp of approval for a dignified sound or production. I am offering a number of services in the Audio/Visual Media industry from the early steps of pre production to the final stages of post. Whether it is catered towards the film industry, gaming, or advertising, as long as there is a need for pristine audio, my services will be available.  Location Sound Mixing, SFX Recording to various stages of post production including; Sound Design, Dialogue recording and editing, Foley recording and editing, and Music Scoring are the specific services I will offer as an Audio Production and Pro Production specialist. Not only am I offering my services to the Las Vegas Area but I am willing to contract out of state as well. As long as there is a way to deliver and receive media, then I will not turn down any job offer.

         The Audio/Visual media industry is sure to be a highly competitive market at the moment especially with the downturn of the economy just like most other occupations at this time. With a long pattern of internal job creation, it is already difficult for new audio careers to begin outside of the tight-knit network, nontheless with the addition of new audio graduates flooding the industry. But I plan to compete back by targeting the right demographic with my services. Also, I plan to continue demonstrating my potential as a diligent worker with a team player attitude to make sure I make the correct impression on the industry to further my career.

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

I am in the middle of two extremely important landmarks in my life: Achieving a school degree, and starting a life career. I am on my path of finally graduating school with a legitimate degree: a bachelor’s of science degree in Audio Production. I believe this degree will open new doors for me, and hopefully a door that could potentially start my life career off in the right direction. I am excited to not only be completing a huge milestone in my life, but starting a new one as well.

Soon I will be heading into the real world pursuing the career I feel I am most passionate about and have decided personally for myself. I will be stepping foot into the real world once again in a new direction and with a new goal. So I honestly do not know where I am going. I am only sure of what I will be working towards for the next however many years of my life it will take me to determine where I belong in the working world. The plan is to move forward as an independent contractor, looking for whatever jobs I can get to get my name and capabilities out there. And hopefully with dedication and hard work, the industry will accept me and take me to my right path to finding a permanent position somewhere.

Week 3 Photo Challenge: Storyboard for a Commercial

Here is a storyboard I compiled a few quarters ago for a commercial scriptwriting class. It was a commercial made for product endorsement, and in this case, a strong and durable Pet toy made specifically for a dog’s strong bite or disastrous chew. Kong Toys has been around for sometime and is known for not only keeping dogs busy when they are bored but also for exercising their brains and forcing them to think or strategize on how to get the treat hidden inside each toy. So my main goal in the commercial was to convey the purpose of the toy and why people should buy them.

A breakdown of the commercial shown in the storyboard is a everyday young to middle-aged woman is washing dishes in the kitchen. She looks out the window and gasps in horror to find her backyard dug up in multiple areas by her rambunctious but adorable dog. The next scene shows them happily and busily playing together with the Kong Toy as a voiceover plays describing what the toy is and what it is designed for. The next scene cuts to the same female peering over her neighbor’s fence to discover the same horror she just discovered in her own backyard just minutes ago. A close-up is shown of the neighbor’s dog covered in dirt, looking as cute and guilty as her dog once did. A straight cut-away to the Kong Toy product is shown and the VO reads: “Never leave your dog alone without it.”

Unfortunately I have yet to attempt to shoot this commercial due to a budget I would need to destroy someone’s backyard (that has grass and dirt) and to find a dog that would cooperate enough to get the commercial done. I have never worked with animals before and I’m sure it is far from easy. 

Week 2 Photo Challenge: Professional Photo of You Working

Behind The Scenes: "Bubblegum & Brokenfingers" (2011)

           This photo was included in one of the behind the scenes stills of the current project I am working on, “Bubblegum & Brokenfingers” (written by Sean Jackson, Somnium Productions). For production, I am credited as production sound mixer but have had to boom operate on different occassions, when there were unavailable boom operators, or the fact that I could get into small spaces, or in this case; part of a micro team to help a semi-exposed actress feel more comfortable. I’ve learned in the industry that you gotta do what you gotta do to get the scene shot and done. 

In this still, as well as for production, I am using my trusty Sound Devices 702 recorder with a AT4053 hypercardioid microphone for this indoor scene. The location of the shoot was at the Palms’ Brenden Theatre Celebrity Suite. And the 2,000 gallon shark tank marked it as one of the nicest suites I’ve ever been in.

  But besides that, the room gave us a lot of space for the gear and crew. The room also gave the gaffers a lot of creative opportunities on how each scene could be lit up. I did not realize this until seeing the finished product and now have a newfound respect for the art of lighting. What also is going on in this scene is probably three back-to-back days of 12 to 14 hours of shooting. Because this film was mostly written for night hours, majority of the movie was shot between the hours of 6pm to 6am. But because we were inside of a room where the only window we had was completely blacked out, we had no sun to tell us that we had to stop. 

I have definitely learned more than expected in this production just because I was thrown into it with no real prior experience so I was on my toes the entire time just trying to soak up and learn as much as I could knowing that this experience would take me a long way with the start of my career. I definitely have my thanks and gratitude to Somnium Productions for giving me this opportunity and letting me be part of the team.

Week 2 BOC: Get Some Copyright Law Under Your Belt

     Copyright Law has been around for over 500 years and is now constitutionalized in U.S. law and regulation. Copyright Law is enforced to promote creativity and encourage innovators since they will safely know that their works will be protected form infringements.

Copyright is is stated to be "an original work of art in a fixed, tangible medium of expression."A fixed, tangible medium means that the work can be seen, reproduced or recorded in some permanent form. Therefore an idea or creative thought alone cannot be protected. Examples of mediums that can be copyrighted are the following: Books, Movies, Music, Paintings, Photographs, etc.

Here are some links that can help clarify Copyright Law in the United States:

• http://www.copyright.gov/title17/
• This site gives you a complete breakdown of the Copyright Laws in the United States via .txt or .pdf format. This is the most helpful because you are able to read the laws word for word and analyze what they mean yourself, especially if you are concerned about taking the word of another individual.

• http://www.supnik.com/ 
• Paul D. Supnik (Beverly Hills, CA Lawyer) Website gives you a breakdown of basic copyright laws aimed towards Entertainment Industry. He highlights copyrights, trademarks, good to know Entertainment Laws, Merchandising and Licensing. This website is extremely helpful since it is aims towards the Entertainment Industry.

• http://www.musicbizacademy.com/directory/copyright.htm 
• Here's an excellent site about Copyright, Trademarks & Publishing Laws and Facts aimed towards the Music & entertainment Industry. This website offers tons and tons of links to specific topics you would want to learn more about in regards to those subjects.

Week 1 Photo Challenge: The Xtranormal Summer Movie Contest: "Zero to Hero"

Here is my entry for the The Xtranormal Summer Movie Contest: "Zero to Hero"

Zero to Hero
by: jnguyen2

Xtranormal's Summer Movie Contest Entry: "Zero to Hero"

The Process:
I made “Zero to Hero” through xtranormal.com’s app, Movie Maker, and it turned out to be a lot more fun than I thought. At first when I was looking through the examples of movies that previous users made, I didn’t understand how I was going to make a movie just like that by just being able to type. As soon as I got started, it was a lot easier than I thought too.

I came up with the concept by going through the options the site gave me. I was able to pick different characters, location scenes, voices, as well as body movements and hand gestures. As soon as I saw all of my options, I immediately started brainstorming on what I could make my movie about. But it all had to start with what characters I was going to use. So after going through all the characters, the  ‘Superzeroes’ group were what caught my eyes most, so I went with them. Here you had supposedly superheroes with absurd powers such as a toilet paper symbol with an outhouse on his head? Telephone symbol? Hot coffee symbol? I don’t even know what those symbols are supposed to mean so I knew I had something to work with here. I already knew I wanted my genre to be comedy so I knew this would fit perfectly. Why I wanted it to be comedy was because not only do I find it most amusing for something short and web-based, but it wasn’t going to be the best looking animation out there. You had monotone robot voices to work with and the animations were just above minimum. But what do you expect from a computer application that allows you to make a movie from just typing? That alone is pretty awesome itself. So from there I just set everything up and just went on a whim with a story based on what body movements and hand gestures I could use. And the rest is history!

Week 1 EOC: What sacrifices are you willing to make for your career?

Without a doubt, one question that one should have a definite answer to. Yet, I sit here staring off into space, trying harder to avoid giving an answer then to just answer it and get it over with already. I guess it's because I'm more afraid to find out what I’m going to actually have to sacrifice in order to make it in my career.

I'm 26 years old, and a female that isn't getting any younger. I know that I want to start a family soon (and am surprisingly already being pressured by my parents!). So I’m stuck with what most women want today: a successful career and a happy family. Now is that too much to ask for? I guess it still is. With an economy in shambles, it’s hard enough to just find a job, let alone find your dream job that pays enough and doesn’t overwork you to death so that you can actually have a life. So okay, I guess now I’m really asking for too much. But hey it’s what I’m going to invest most of my life in, so it better be exactly what I want! So being a young woman in today’s society, I’m being tested everyday on exactly where I’m willing to draw the line in the sand. And it's really hard to say without knowing where I'll be at that point in time in my life the day I'm tested again. Based on my past experiences, the one thing I do know is what I don't want. So for now, I will live by this statement: I will continue to pursue my career as long as my health is well, my family and loved ones are still smiling, and last but not least, live my life to the fullest with no regrets because my life was granted to me and I will never take it for granted. :)

Week 1 BOC: Will you be living in Las Vegas in five years

According to my plans, I will not be living in Las Vegas in five years. I hope to be moving to northern California (the Bay Area) or southern California (the Greater Los Angeles Area) depending on where I can get employment.  I hope to reach the mobile gaming industry and preferably for a corporate company for sound design and scoring, therefore my chances are higher in California, particularly in northern California.

I do understand that the economy is not at its best at the moment especially in that particular state. Therefore, I do understand that if I do find employment in Las Vegas that fits my needs I will then decide to reside in Las Vegas, NV. My overall goal is to be employed at a job that pays adequately and of course where I will be happy.