Full Sail Grads

Beth Wheatley: Entertainment Supervisor�at NBC/ Universal in Hollywood

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:00:00 EST

The Entertainment Business Master's graduate is managing the theme park’s performance groups

Beth Wheatley always knew she’d leave her hometown of Deland, Florida for life in Hollywood. “Sometimes you just know where you belong. I always felt I was out of place in Florida.” So, before she even graduated from Full Sail’s online Entertainment Business Master’s program, Beth hightailed out to L.A. to accept a stage manager job at Universal Hollywood.

Once she graduated, she applied for another position and was promoted to Entertainment Supervisor for Universal. In no time flat, she was helping run the day-to-day operations of all the entertainment venues and shows at the colossal L.A. theme park.

“I’m in charge of performance groups such as Can Can dancers, Stilt Walkers, and NY COP improv actors,” says Beth, who’s also involved in the audition and hiring process. “I have only been here a year but I’ve already been instrumental in�some of the new and exciting developments with the company. Since the merger with Comcast, the company has shown tons of growth and investments in the future.”

Outside of her day job, she’s also producing and stage-managing Point Break Live, a stage version of the movie Point Break. “I also created and produced Showgirls, the live stage version of the 1995 cult classic film using drag queens in place of Elizabeth Berkley and Gina Gershon’s role.”

The move to Hollywood has been an eye-opening experience for Beth, who learned quickly that networking and keeping good relationships are critical to success in L.A. “Overall, it’s not as glamorous as everyone thinks. A lot of actors are on unemployment and there are a lot of artists working for free just trying to get a shot. One day you’re on an ABC show, next you’re looking for anything you can do to make money.”

So, is she moving back to Florida any time soon? Not a chance. “Florida will always be my home, my whole family lives there,” she says “But there are more opportunities in the entertainment field here. I really enjoy where I am right now. I have done more in one year than I had in five in Florida. It was my time.”

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Richard Herrera on the Road with Lupe Fiasco

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EST

The Show Production graduate is production manager and front-of-house engineer

Show Production graduate Richard Herrera

While hanging backstage during a stop on Lupe Fiasco’s recent world tour, 2003 Show Production graduate Richard Herrera is explaining to us how he landed his role as the Grammy-winning artist’s production manager and front of house engineer. It’s a partnership that began four years ago, and the story is a reminder of how important timing can be in the entertainment industry.

After running audio at legendary L.A. rock venues like the Glass House and Key Club, Richard had taken a position as entertainment technician with a popular cruise line, handling the live audio on board one of their signature ships. Each week they would come back to port to switch out passengers, giving the staff a few hours to run errands in town. One day during this break, just minutes before he was supposed to set sail again, Richard got a call from a friend about an opening on Lupe Fiasco’s tour.

“I was out buying groceries and about to catch the last bus back to the ship when I got offered the gig as front of house engineer,” he says. “My first show was going to be in Cincinnati in a couple days, followed by a set at Lollapalooza, then two sold out nights at Madison Square Garden. It was unbelievable, but I only had 15 minutes to tell my boss I was leaving and grab all my stuff before the ship left. So I threw everything I had in a bag, ran down the ramp, and it took off.”

Like a scene from a movie, Richard was left standing on the dock with his bags at his feet while the cruise ship sailed into the distance, but it didn’t take long for the reality of the situation to sink in. He quickly called a cab, booked a flight on the way to the airport, and flew off to Los Angeles to prep for the tour. A week later he was mixing the audio for Lupe Fiasco at some of the biggest shows of the artists’ career.

“I wasn’t really nervous because I’d worked with so many bands while I was in L.A., and was pretty much ready for anything,” he says. “After I did Madison Square Garden they were just blown away, they told me it sounded better than any shows they’d ever done. After that I started to build a great relationship with Lupe, and I’ve done every show he’s played since 2008.”

That trust would eventually see Richard be offered role of Lupe’s production manager, putting him in charge of coordinating nearly every aspect of his tours, from the catering to the ground transportation. In addition, he’s also had input on the look of the show, and still takes the time to run front of house for each date. The success of their collaboration is evident in the tight marriage of music and visuals, and watching the set you’re struck by how directly the songs connect with an audience as a result.

“Lupe’s brilliant, and we spent a lot of time thinking about the setup of this show,” Richard says. “Even now, I still get affected because the presentation is so dynamic. It goes from hitting some really emotional moments and then just turns into this big party. When the sound is really dialed in and the whole crowd is feeling it I’ll get goose bumps. That’s still the thing I love most, when you hear the roar of 20,000 people going nuts as this music changes the vibe of the room.”

It’s funny to think how different the last four years would have been for Richard if hadn’t followed his instincts and made it off that cruise ship in time. Seeing how naturally he carries himself while coordinating the setup of the stage, then running the audio console during the show, this world just fits him. And not just from a professional standpoint, as the friendships he’s formed with both the crew and Lupe have added something to the experience beyond the excitement of touring.

“We’re all just family here, and that’s so important when you’re out on the road for so long,” he says. “Here’s one example – we’re headed to Europe next week for some shows, my girlfriend lives in England, and I’m actually going to propose to her after we finish. The funny thing is, Lupe’s holding my engagement ring in his pocket right now. He knows I lose things all the time, so he was like ‘give it to me, I’ll let you have it back when we go to the airport.’ That’s an awesome feeling.”

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Sam Tannen: App Developer in Los Angeles

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EST

The Film grad dives into the booming industry of mobile apps for kids

Film graduate Sam Tannen

Sam Tannen’s passion for drawing, writing music, and making films runs deep. While in the Film program at Full Sail, he created his own comic book series, which he self-published the same week he graduated and moved to LA. As the years have drifted by, Tannen has spent his time illustrating, publishing strips in newsweeklies and independent papers, as well as doing quite a bit of art direction for small, low budget films.

But it wasn’t until he leapt into the world of mobile app development that all his talents started to perfectly snap together. “I’ve been drawing comics for years and have created a lot of cute illustrations, but they’ve always been for an adult audience,” says Sam. “Then I started teaching myself how to create games for mobile devices and discovered that there was this whole industry of people creating apps for kids. I realized I could basically do this already.”

So, Sam started creating interactive storybooks like The Magic Chicken and Animal Kablaminal using several self-taught software platforms and selling them through the iTunes App Store, Android Market, and Amazon for 99 cents. “If I’m really focused, I can get one done in a month or less,” says Sam, who has already put out three apps under his company Saturday Buffet.

One of the perks of this enterprise is the opportunity it affords Sam to write and record his own songs. His books, which are designed to be pretty quirky and goofy, are fully voiced and filled with his music. If he gets enough songs together, he’s even considering putting out an album on iTunes.

“For someone like me who has so many different creative interests, it’s incredible that I can create something all by myself and send it to Apple, Google or Amazon to sell it. They take a percentage, but it’s still such a huge opportunity for me,” shared Sam. “I’ve gotten a really good response. I’m really happy and think I’ll keep focusing on this.”

You can check out Sam’s work at: www.saturdaybuffet.com

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Patrick Driggett: From the Armed Forces to Video Game Producer

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EST

The Game Development grad is a producer at Ready at Dawn studios.

Game Development graduate Patrick Driggett

Patrick Driggett has just taken his first job in the gaming industry, as a producer at Ready at Dawn studios in Irvine, California. It’s a career move he’s been building towards for a number of years, and follows such personal and professional milestones as serving as an imagery intelligence analyst during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and over half a decade as a software engineer at a popular computer simulation company.

“I’ve had some amazing experiences, but there’s always been that thing in the back of my head telling me that I wanted to work on games,” he says. “Even while I was in the military I fell into a circle of friends that were all just gamers, where I would do my shift, then I’d get off and we’d all hang out together playing games like Everquest. It was around that time I’d start noticing ads for Full Sail.”

After finishing his service Patrick moved to Orlando to be close to his family, and began looking into our Game Development program. “I knew that a traditional school wasn’t for me because I’m a nose to the grindstone kind of person – if the pressure’s on then I’m happy,” he says. “Full Sail just seemed like a great fit, and it offered everything I could ever imagine wanting.”

Patrick had an easy time transitioning into the program following the structure and discipline of army life. He was used to long hours in front of the computer, and had a natural talent for taking leadership on group projects. That drive eventually carried over to his job search, and months before graduation he had already secured a position as junior software engineer at Engineering and Computer Simulations, a local leader in interactive software and tools.

“I was really excited when I learned about the simulation industry being so big in Orlando,” he says. “It was something that interested me because it was niche in between gaming and the military that I had come from. I thought it would be the perfect place for me right out of school, and while I was there I got to work on games, commercial projects and training for the National Guard Bureau, it was a real mix
of everything.”

He would spend six-and-a-half years at the company, with promotions to senior software engineer and project manager, before deciding he “was ready to do other things.” During that time gaming was still one of his biggest passions, and on a tip from a friend he looked into a position with Ready at Dawn, creators of such critically acclaimed titles as Daxter and God of War: Ghosts of Sparta. As it seems to happen when he dedicates himself to something, Patrick would join the company shortly afterwards, starting the next chapter in a life that continues to challenge and inspire him in new ways.

“It all fell into place over a couple of months,” he says. “I did a Skype interview, they flew me out to meet them, and then I was hired. Being here has already been the most amazing few weeks of my professional life. I always worked hard, but now that I’m working on products that I’m this passionate about it’s very exhilarating. I’ve been telling my friends that I feel like I won the lottery.”

Jason Story: Technical Director at Fox Sports South

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EST

The Show Production graduate is in charge of live video editing.

Show Production graduate Jason Story

As a technical director at Fox Sports South and Sportsouth in Atlanta, Georgia, 2004 Show Production graduate Jason Story is in charge of the live video editing for pre-game and post-game shows the network produces. Since Fox Sport South is one of the largest regional sports networks in the nation, Jason’s packed schedule sees him handling broadcasts for college and professional baseball, basketball, football, ice hockey, and more.

“I’m in charge of a very large video console that has a couple hundred buttons on it, and I control basically anything you’re going to see during those half hour pre and post-game shows,” he says. “When you see a graphic overlaid on video that says how many yards a player has run for, or you’re looking at the different camera shots that are being punched up at any time – that’s me.”

You usually only think of the players as the ones under all the pressure on game day, but the tightly scheduled shows Jason helps produce are a massive orchestration in themselves. Even just as a viewer, these 30-minute segments are packed with information to absorb, so you can only imagine what it must be like handling all of that content during a live broadcast.

“The way I explain it to people is imagine your typical eight-hour work day, now take all that stress and put it into two half-hour shows,” he says. “Literally that entire time you have directors and producers in your ear saying what they want on screen, and you really have to roll with the punches. I think that’s what really drew me to this though. I like that it’s high stress because it’s very rewarding when you pull it all off.”

As a lifelong southern sports fan, growing up watching Florida State and Atlanta Braves games with his dad, the job at Fox Sports South also offers Jason a number of other perks besides the rush he gets on game days. His role has put him in the enviable position of interacting with current players, sports legends, and even being able to be a part of important milestones for his teams.

“My favorite aspect is getting to work with the people that I do, and I’ve had so many great experiences,” he says. “Probably the best for me is that I grew up a huge Braves fan, and had the opportunity to be there for Bobby Cox’s final game that he managed. When we were finished with the pre-game show I had to walk through the dugout to get back to the media area, and actually bumped into Cox right before he went out to the field. It was an amazing experience because I was able to shake his hand and tell him to have a great game. That’s going to be with me for the rest of my life.”

Brett Cassell: Editor on 'The Rosie Show'

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EST

The Film graduate’s Full Sail connections helped him land a gig at Harpo.

Film graduate Brett Cassell

Brett Cassell’s is a classic story of “it’s not always what you know; it’s who you know.”� Back home in Chicago this past fall after working as a lead assistant editor for The Car Show on Speed and Strangers in Danger on Fuel TV, Brett was tipped off by a fellow Full Sail grad, Nick Hill, that Harpo – Oprah Winfrey’s television production company – might have an open editor position. Several interviews later, he landed the spot on The Rosie Show and Rosie Reality.

“This industry is very close-knit. So much so, that someone’s word goes really far,” says Brett, who graduated from Full Sail’s Film program in 2007. “If a friend is working at a place that needs someone, they will ask everyone if they know anyone that might be good for a position. If they�recommend�you, then you will probably get the job, if you meet the requirements.”�

Not that Brett is saying it’s all a walk in the park. “Don't be mistaken and think it is easy or anyone can get in. There are a lot of skilled people I know that haven't gotten in.”

In his role on The Rosie Show, Brett works with a team to produce segments. “I’ll sort through a lot of footage and then build a string out. After that I will do an initial cut then discuss some notes with the producer,” say Brett, whose career experience includes making music videos and producing short films in South Korea.

“I love the thrill of making something out of nothing, seeing a project evolve each time I start it, and seeing it go from just an idea to fruition.”

He’s also learned to go easy on himself and be okay with the occasional slip-up. “You are going to make mistakes.�I was fortunate to know a great person who helped me out and groomed me to be a good and hard worker, no matter how many mistakes I made along the way.”

Trey Sharp: World Artist on 'Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim'

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EST

The Computer Animation grad is part of the design team at Bethesda Game Studios.

People often talk about getting lost in their favorite video games, but they usually don’t mean that literally. For the Elder Scrolls series, however, losing your way is actually part of the fun. Few titles have offered such a rewarding sense of exploration as Bethesda Game Studios’ first person role-playing franchise, which has reached its pinnacle with the most recent chapter, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

The game is a massive open-world adventure packed with vast landscapes, bustling cities, and countless hidden areas. It feels like a living world, and that impressive artistic achievement helped it win Game of the Year at the 2011 Spike Video Game Awards. The acclaim is a testament to the talent of the design team at Bethesda, and we recently learned more about what went into the production when we caught up with Computer Animation graduate Milton “Trey” Sharp, who spoke about his role as world artist on Skyrim.

“The Elder Scrolls was just an amazing experience,” Trey says. “One of the coolest things when you're doing environments is that at any given time your work is taking up 80 percent of the screen, and it’s really the environment that sells the game. I’m really proud of the scale. There’s no single serving experience to Skyrim, you really have to throw yourself into it, and I think people really enjoy that.”

Based on the sheer size of the land mass and number of quests available, playing through Skyrim can be an overwhelming experience, and it’s easy to rack up 60 to 100 hours just on a single play through. Taking a step back to look at the amount of content packed into the game disc, you can only imagine the unified effort it took on the part of the level designers and artists to create an immersive experience of that scope.

“Essentially how it worked is that the whole world was broken up into quadrants, which are called cells, and you’d get assigned a group of around 40 or 50 cells,” he says. “They’re all just blank too, there’s nothing there, so you have to sculpt height maps, paint the textures, and make the terrain look interesting. So in one area you’ll make snow, and then a path through the snow, and maybe some of it is stained red from an animal carcass. Then you’re placing trees and everything else that exists in that area. It was a lot of work.”

Another challenge in creating a world as big as Skyrim is making each new area look unique, while still feeling like a seamless whole. Repetition is a common factor when working on so much terrain, and Trey paid careful attention to detail in each environment he handled – things like making sure that when you walk through someone’s house that their belongings seem perfectly scattered, or creating organic clues of how to navigate the landscape.

“For story missions you’d have to do something like build a pathway up to a fortress on top of a mountain, so the trick is to lead the player to without it being confusing,” he says. “In those moments we have to give the player a visual reason to want to explore in a certain direction. On the other hand, there were also times where we got to create secret pathways for the designers to hide goodies in. That was fun, knowing that you’re creating these little play spaces where players can find something cool.”

It’s both the intimate and grandiose moments that make Skyrim such compelling entertainment, inspiring a curiosity in players that continues to reap new rewards after dozens of hours of playtime. Since wrapping production on the game Trey has become senior world artist at Superbot Entertainment, and appreciates having been able to contribute to The Elder Scrolls canon – which he explains only helped to reaffirm why he chose to pursue his career in game graphics.

“Being at Bethesda was an amazing opportunity for me, people spend their whole careers trying to get there, and I’m really proud of that work,” he says. “It’s funny because there was a time where I thought I might focus on architectural design instead, but my love of games set me on this path, and it’s really the perfect happy medium for me. I get to be creative and express myself artistically, and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else now.”

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John Blais: From San Juan to the Latin Grammys

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 12:00:00 EST

The Recording Arts grad was part of the team behind Calle 13’s award-winning latest album

Recording Arts graduate John Blais

John Blais and Ramon Martinez

2008 Recording Arts graduate John Blais picked up his first Latin Grammy statue this fall for his work as an engineer and mixer on Calle 13’s hit album Entren Los Que Quieran. It would be a remarkable achievement for any young artist, but the honor is even more inspiring when you learn that only a few years before John was actually training to become an airline pilot. Yes, a pilot.

All that changed one night when he was studying for a flight school exam, and a friend invited him out to a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert. John was a lifelong music fan, and although he debated it, he eventually dropped his books to head to the show. While there he found himself standing near the front of house mix station, where he recognized Dave Rat, owner of Rat Sound Systems, working behind the board.

“I knew Dave from seeing him in magazines, and he noticed me staring at all this gear, and asked if I wanted to check it out,” he says. “So he brought me into his area and let me hang out during the entire show. It’s crazy, I was studying for a flight exam that night, and then a few hours later I was next to Dave and the mix engineer for one of my favorite rock bands. Standing behind them was an instructor from Full Sail – he gave me a card to the school, and I think it was just destiny.”

John enrolled in the Recording Arts program shortly after, and found a strange seamlessness in the transition from airplanes to audio. He had a good ear for music, and felt a natural intuition for the technical side of music production. Following graduation he moved back to his native Puerto Rico with his new skills, and began looking for opportunities in San Juan’s active music scene. After a few months he built up a relationship with Playbach Studio, and its owner Ramon Martinez, who quickly noticed something special about his work ethic.

“John has a big confidence in himself, he wasn’t afraid of anything when he started, and that’s something you have to have in the studio,” Ramon says. “You really need to build the confidence of the client. If people are paying money to come to a studio and record, they don’t want to feel like there’s a rookie on the board. Because of that he’s getting really big on the island.”

After building Ramon’s trust as a studio assistant, John was given opportunities to help behind the recording console as assistant engineer, and finally, engineer and mixer. This would lead to him joining the sessions for Calle 13’s Entren Los Que Quieran. The band was a favorite of his while growing up, which would have been memorable enough, but the record would eventually go on to net a record-breaking 10 Latin Grammy nominations, and walk away with nine of the awards, including Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Song of the Year.

“I listened to Calle throughout high school, so I felt fortunate and blessed just to have the chance to work with them,” he says. “For this album they ventured out to uncharted waters, tried some very different trends that no one else was trying, and hit it big. It was just a great experience, and the Grammys are awesome, but it only makes me want to work even harder next time. I think the most important thing in this business is to be humble and always be learning.”

Stories like John’s are a reminder that no one’s path is set in stone, and he says he often laughs when thinking about where he would be now if he hadn’t taken a chance on a career in music. He might have been a great pilot, he may have even flown you around the world, but his work as an audio engineer has taken him on a different, but equally exciting journey.

“It’s magical, and no other industry offers this,” he says. “Always inside me I had this passion for audio gear and music. I remember growing up, my dad had this really cool stereo and I’d be listening to Billy Joel, the Beatles, and the Eagles, and every time I heard a good track I could feel my hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Even now, making music, it’s still like that for me.”

Two Grads Back on Campus for ESPN BCS Shoot

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 12:00:00 EST

Jason Black and Erik McGrew are concept developers at ESPN.

Erik McGrew (left) and Jason Black came back to the Full Sail campus to work on ESPN's BCS special.

The Full Sail University Sports Lab Powered By ESPN opened on our campus in 2010, kicking off a unique collaboration between Full Sail and the sports entertainment giant. The room is both a learning facility for students, as well as a live production space where ESPN crews can produce content for their television programming and other media outlets.

Recently the Sports Lab held a shoot for a 2012 Bowl Championship Series (BCS) virtual preview. The segment is part of ESPN’s popular College GameDay show, and featured host Desmond Howard providing a rundown of the upcoming game, as well as a recap of past highlights. The production ran for five days, and was developed with the help of Computer Animation graduate Jason Black and Digital Arts & Design graduate Erik McGrew, who are concept developers for the network.

The grads joined ESPN’s College GameDay in the summer of 2011, where the majority of their work has seen them utilizing Brainstorm, a proprietary software program that lets them digitally manipulate live game footage, and is used by the network for a variety of applications.

“The short answer is that Brainstorm is a real-time graphics rendering engine that allows us to do motion tracking over a broadcast,” Jason says. “It’s almost like a video game engine, and you can get really deep with it and make some pretty cool content.”

“What we’re doing with it for this project is helping with an interface where the host can use a touch screen to move players around,” Erik adds. “The technology is like something out of Star Trek, and it’s pretty surreal to be working on this shoot in the Sports Lab, because I actually used to have my motion capture projects in [that room] back when I was a student.”

Jason and Erik got hired specifically to learn Brainstorm, and were tipped to the opportunity by Full Sail’s Career Development department when the network came looking for ideal candidates. After an intense two-week training period, they joined the College Gameday team, and have spent this year’s season traveling the country to featured games, where they handle the camera-tracking and program virtual graphics into shots during a live show.

“My friends all think I’m in the broadcast truck getting to watch the game, but there’s so many other things going on,” Erik says. “For every single shot we’re cranking out notes, recording positional numbers, x, y z, values – and it’s all live. There’s a crazy amount of work, but I think the cool part for me is there’s people who have been here for years who are coming to us to ask about certain problems, which is an awesome feeling.”

After wrapping the BCS preview shoot on campus the grads are heading back out on the road to cover the remaining college football season, which will include a stop at the BCS game in New Orleans on January 9. Another perk of the job – they’ll also be helping out during ESPN’s coverage of the Rose Bowl and Super Bowl. Being able to say you’re a part of the biggest football games of the year would be an envious position for anyone to be in, and the grads explained that they’ve enjoyed being able to become a part of these annual traditions, as well as the ESPN family.

“We really lucked out with these jobs,” Jason says. “I’m really proud to be a part of ESPN, and the people here have all just been fantastic to work with. We had to spend Thanksgiving away from our families this year, and they cooked a meal for everyone. People that had been on the show for 20 years were telling stories of past seasons, and we got to be a part of that. There really is a close feeling with this group.”

“This just shows that you have no idea what can happen to you, I honestly can’t believe I’m here right now,” Erik says. “You don’t realize how big football is until you’re out there at these games each week, and it’s been cool to be a part of that. I look back to where I was six months ago, just starting the whole Brainstorm training program, and I feel like we’re not even the same people.”

Jason Potter: Stop-Motion Film in Portland

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 12:00:00 EST

The Film grad pursues his love for stop-motion movies while working on the biggest film of its kind ever made

Film graduate Jason Potter

That Jason Potter and his colleagues at LAIKA are psyched to have just completed 60 seconds of their film, ParaNorman, in the past week might seem strange to some. But for those familiar with stop-motion moviemaking and the painstaking effort it takes to produce millions of unique film frames, the accomplishment is extraordinary.

“Normal stop-motion animation has 24 frames per second but because we are shooting in 3D, we’re shooting 48 frames per second,” says Jason. The Full Sail Film grad works as a senior data wrangler at LAIKA, the same Portland-based animation studio that created the film Coraline in 2009. ParaNorman, a movie featuring zombies, ghosts and a small New England town will be released in theaters on August 17, 2012. �

“Animators will animate the main puppet and then go back and animate the trees and then go back and animate the secondary characters.”

That might seem tedious to some, but for Jason – such a huge stop-motion fan that he has a tattoo of Tim Burton’s stop-motion film Vincent on his arm – it’s a dream come true.

“This type of film has a particular quality to it that CG will never have,” says Jason, one member of a team of more than 300 people including animators and photographers. “It’s not something that someone drew. These are actual things moving around. We have handcrafted and transformed everyday materials into living creatures infused with dimension and soul. I think that it’s pretty awesome that a company like LAIKA will take all the extra time to do it so that everything is real.”

For Jason’s part in this colossal undertaking, he works on the processing and integrity of all the stop-motion shots that come off stage. He’s been working on ParaNorman for just under a year and plans on being involved until just before the movie comes out in August 2012.

“We have 52 sound stages all shooting at the same time in this giant warehouse with huge black curtains that section [them] off,” he explains. “I take all those frames and process them.” Jason also runs the in-house movie theater where directors see their dailies of what is said to be the largest stop-motion movie ever made. “It’s really cool because I get to hear the director’s comments and also be the first person to see every shot.” �

Jason moved to Portland after graduating from Full Sail five years ago. “I wanted to enjoy where I lived first and figure out the career second. I didn’t want my career to determine where I lived.” Jason obviously loves living in Portland, a place he says is filled with so many “nice” people that he spent the first couple of months trying to figure out what everyone’s angle was. “And I like grey, even though I grew up in Florida. I don’t really like sunshine.” �

After ParaNorman wraps up in a few months, Jason hopes to stay with LAIKA and continue working in stop-motion. “This industry is filled with a really interesting and strange group of people,” he says, laughing. “It takes a very unique personality to want to stay in a darkened room for days on end moving a little puppet a milometer every few seconds.”

For more information about LAIKA, including the teaser-trailer for ParaNorman and Coraline content, go to www.laika.com.

Alyssa McCraw: Interning on Nashville?s Music Row

Mon, 26 Dec 2011 12:00:00 EST

The Entertainment Business grad is in the creative department for the Big Machine Label Group

Entertainment Business graduate Alyssa McCraw

Consider a list of the country’s foremost musical epicenters and Nashville is sure to top it. So when Alyssa McCraw graduated from the Entertainment Business Bachelor’s program this past September, her sights narrowed on the musical metropolis in northern Tennessee.

“I always knew I wanted to be in the music business in Nashville,” says Alyssa, who applied for an internship at one of the most successful record labels in Nashville, Big Machine Label Group.

Thanks to an introduction by Full Sail’s Career Development team and armed with the inside knowledge she gleaned from doing a project on Big Machine Label Group in her Entertainment Business Marketing & Strategic Planning course, Alyssa landed an intern spot creating visual creative content for artists like Taylor Swift, Rascal Flatts, and Reba McEntire.

“I work in a pretty small department but we basically do everything creative,” says Alyssa, who just finished designing the inside cover of next month’s issue of Billboard magazine. “We handle about 90% of the creative work in-house, which is one of the things that makes Big Machine so great. They don’t outsource that work.” �

It was straight into the fryer for Alyssa since she arrived in Nashville nine weeks ago. “I've had more experiences in the last month than I feel I could have had in years,” including getting the chance to attend Big Machine's CMA after party. “You never run out of things to do in Nashville.”

In January, this 20-year-old will wrap up her Big Machine internship and then she’ll choose from the many exciting options she’s currently considering.

I'm keeping my options open," she says. "Right now I'm in Nashville, and that's where I'm supposed to be, but in six months or a year from now I may be in L.A. Or maybe not - it's a transition period, but I'm up for anything."

What she is sure about is that this internship has padded her portfolio beyond her wildest expectations. No photocopying, no coffee runs, just a lot of valuable industry experience which will surely pave the way for her next adventure, wherever that is.

Cameron Downing: Video Production Specialist on 'The Woodsmith Shop'

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 12:00:00 EST

The Film grad helps produce a nationally syndicated television show.

Film graduate Cameron Downing

Cameron Downing could be a poster child for why internships work. After graduating from Full Sail’s Film program earlier this year, he headed back to his hometown near Des Moines, Iowa to work as an intern on the television show, The Woodsmith Shop, a nationally syndicated how-to program for budding woodworkers. Three months later, he landed a full-time gig at August Home Publishing, the show’s parent company.

As the video production specialist, Cameron runs the control room during the show’s shooting and then helps process the resultant footage. “I assist in editing the episodes as well as web promos and DVD promos,” says Cameron, who also helps with camerawork on the show from time to time. “In addition to my Woodsmith Shop duties, I help create videos for various magazines around the company, which includes lighting, shooting, directing talent and editing.”

The Woodsmith Shop is a 30-minute show that typically focuses on one woodworking project per episode. All the footage, shot using three camera angles, is collected on three Blu-ray decks in the control room where Cameron works. “I then import the footage off the decks and onto the computer, sort and name the files, and create a rough cut to begin editing,” he says. �

Originally from Pella, Iowa, about an hour away, Cameron commuted to work over the summer but then moved to downtown Des Moines when he was hired full-time. "Downtown Des Moines is small metropolitan city that's actually really cool, it's really been transformed in the past few years,” says Cameron, who has been doing some independent film work on the side, including shooting a recent music video.

"My ultimate goal would be working in cinematography on movies. It's the whole reason I went to film school," says Cameron, who at 20 years of age can see himself living out west at some point. "But I'm doing something in my field. I enjoy working here at August Home and I'll continue pursuing freelance opportunities to help me expand my knowledge of film and cinematography."

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Andrew Powell: Lead Assistant Editor on 'Bachelor Pad' and 'The Bachelor'

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 12:00:00 EST

The Show Production graduate has been with the franchise for over three years.

Show Production graduate Andrew Powell

After nearly ten years on the air, The Bachelor and The Bachelorette remain a ratings powerhouse for ABC, and that success has been the inspiration behind Bachelor Pad, a spinoff that brings together cast members from previous seasons of both series to live in a house and compete for $250,000.

The show recently wrapped its second season, and, to learn more about what it takes to assemble the reality hit, we spoke with Show Production graduate Andrew Powell, who works as technical editor on the show, and has been with the Bachelor/Bachelorette franchise for over three years.

“These shows pretty much shoot consecutively, so it’s essentially a full-time gig, with me working an average of 42 weeks a year,” he says. “We’re finishing Bachelor Pad right now and then I’ll go immediately into the next season of The Bachelor. It’s fast-paced, but I like that.”

A typical season of Bachelor Pad is filmed over the course of three weeks, with the cameras running constantly to catch the drama that unfolds between cast mates. This results in a daunting one hundred thousand minutes of raw footage for the editing team to sort through afterwards. Andrew’s job is to oversee all of that material, as well as manage and lead the assistant editors through digitizing the tapes, sorting and grouping footage together, managing 40TG worth of data,� pulling selects and doing strings outs for editors, prepping all shows for final delivery, and finally doing promo and publicity pulls for the network.

“For this Bachelor Pad we shot about 2500 tapes [of footage], so it took many hours to boil all that down,” he says. “At the peak we had 27 editors working on all of the episodes, so it’s a small army. That’s basically how all the bigger reality series go – Survivor, Dancing with the Stars – all these editors working around the clock. It’s about doing what you have to in order to deliver shows to the network on a weekly basis.”

While many reality series remain structurally similar from season to season, Andrew explained that there’s never a shortage of surprises working on something like Bachelor Pad, where you’re seeing real emotions play out on camera. It’s a formula that continues to have a unique appeal with audiences, and he has enjoyed his role in helping create entertainment that makes magazine headlines and captivates millions of viewers.

“I’m astonished that we’re either the top show or number two show in the nation every single week that I’ve been doing this,” he says. “I’ve put out something like 150 hours of television, and it’s just amazing that that many people are watching it. Some days I really can’t believe they pay me money to do what I do – to have a hand in getting something popular to air, and that’s a good feeling.”

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Seven Full Sail Grads on id Software?s ?Rage?

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 12:00:00 EST

The grads recently visited campus to discuss their work on the game.

id Software's Rage

id Software defined the first person shooter with franchises like Wolfenstein, Doom, and Quake, and their latest intellectual property, Rage, is continuing that innovation in unexpected ways. After more than five years of development, the title hit stores this fall and has been praised for its expansive apocalyptic setting and inventive gameplay that combines vehicle combat and role-playing elements with the type of visceral action the studio built its name on.

Rage is an engrossing experience for fans of the genre, and helping realize that vision were seven Full Sail graduates who worked on the game at id’s Richardson, Texas headquarters. This includes Jeffrey Farrand (mobile team programmer), Christopher Hays (build team programmer), Jon Lietz (weapons team programmer), Juno Madden (tools programmer), Dan Martinez (programmer), Steven Serafin (technical producer), and Grant Shonkwiler (technical producer), who visited our campus shortly after the game’s release to speak about their involvement during production.

“To be a part of a project this massive in scope is pretty overwhelming,” Grant Shonkwiler says. “You don’t realize when you’re sitting at your desk how big a game like this is, so it’s been great to see how much people really enjoy what we made because a lot of work went into it.”

The most striking thing when you first boot up Rage is the visuals, from the attention to detail in its vast landscapes to the fluid character models. For all the destruction and mayhem contained within its world, this is one beautiful game, where any screen shot could be a postcard. Both the single player and multiplayer modes run at 60 frames per second, giving it a realistic fidelity that even took the team by surprise.

“The first time I saw Rage, my mouth dropped,” Jeffrey Farrand says. “It’s ridiculous the amount of detail that went into creating the environments and enemy animations. It’s so far beyond anything I’ve ever worked on before.”

“It’s funny because my first day at the studio I looked at someone’s computer screen, and thought ‘Oh wow, that’s a cool background picture, where is that, the Grand Canyon or something,’” Juno Madden adds. “Then he just picked up a controller and started moving around in that world. It blew me away. I didn’t realize it was the game.”

Those impressive visuals are supported by equally dynamic gameplay, with Rage delivering a gut-wrenching campaign that throws swarms of enemies at the player in ways not seen before in a shooter. These aren’t your typical mindless drones, the artificial intelligence has enemies moving and reacting like flesh and blood opponents who will do anything to stay alive and take you out – instinctually climbing walls, skirting along railings, and dodging fire.

“The ways in which the enemies run around and traverse the world is very dynamic and something you just don’t see in other games,” Steven Serafin says. “It really pulls you into the experience when 30 mutants are running and jumping at you like that. I’ve never seen anything else like it.”

Thankfully id’s games are known for their weaponry, and the developers outfit players with the tools to match the intensity of these enemies, from the standard lineup of guns to specialty items like the “wingstick” and alternate ammo. Jon Leitz was one of the programmers in charge of Rage’s diverse arsenal, and explained the attention to detail his team spent in giving them a palpable sense of power and menace.

“It took a lot of time and iteration to get each gun feel right,” Jon says. “We really worked to make the enemy hit reactions realistic, so when you shoot someone in the leg you see them stumble, or if it’s in the chest, they fly back. The audio also played a big part, and we went through 25 different shotgun sounds before we got one we liked. I think that attention to detail is really what sets us apart in the end.”

Rage is one of those rare games that succeeds in reminding players why they fell in love with the shooter genre, and each area in which it innovates can be attributed to the hard work of the different artists, programmers, and designers that seamlessly blended its mechanics into a cohesive package. Now that their long months, and even years, of hard work are behind them, these grads are enjoying hearing the reaction from the company’s loyal fans, who have been waiting a long time for id’s latest masterpiece.

“It didn’t really hit me fully until I was watching TV and saw the commercials for it,” says Chris Hays. “Then my family would call me and say ‘I just saw your game on TV.’ It took it from something I just did at work, to something that I see outside every day. That’s when it was really amazing for me.”

“What it comes down to for me is it’s a realization of a dream,” Dan Martinez adds. “It’s an absolutely surreal feeling to have gotten through the production and come to the light at the end of the tunnel – then go to a midnight release with over 200 people, and having them recognize you because they follow you on Twitter. That’s unbelievable.”

Ryan Key: Founder of Keyhouse Media

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 12:00:00 EST

The Music Business grad launched a media company in Texas

Music Business graduate Ryan Key

Search engine rankings. Optimization. Customer engagement. These are what keep Ryan Key busy these days, now that he runs his own media company with his wife, Lena (also a Full Sail grad). After graduating from Full Sail in 2009 with his bachelor’s in Music Business, Ryan tried the employee route, working for a small ad agency in his hometown of Fort Worth, TX.

But when the company’s partners broke up the business so they could all go do their own thing, Ryan followed suit and founded Keyhouse Media, an interactive creative agency specializing in online marketing, search engine optimization, email marketing, mobile app development and corporate video. �
“We’re primarily an online marketing specialist concentrating on small and midsize businesses locally and nationwide,” explains Ryan, who has clients from Fort Worth but also San Jose, Austin and a handful in Florida.

Keyhouse’s clients are diverse, ranging from landscape businesses and martial arts studios to construction companies and medical and healthcare product resellers. “We help these businesses grow and transition into the digital age.”

Ryan sees his role as not only getting the creative work done but also educating his clients about effectively using tools like social media.

“Often our clients don’t really care how we do what we do; they just want the web traffic,” says Ryan. “But we try to teach them about the importance of client engagement and help them understand how to create future business with digital tools such as mobile apps and social media.”

Helping his clients see that online marketing can be as affordable as they need it to be has been a rewarding part of his professional life.

“The really great part of our business is when we get a call from a client saying they got five new leads from something we did.”