Month: May 2016

Day 6 -The Business Behind Production

Today was the first of three days I will spend with Trailblazer Studios. Today I spoke to people in their production department. When I first arrived I met with Tom Waring, the CEO of the company. He game me a tour of the facility. They have one large sound stage that they can rent out to companies that want to use it. It is one of the largest stages in the Triangle area, rivaling that of a stage in SAS. They have another smaller one which they have converted into office space for some of their production people. They also have many edit bays, both online and offline, as well as two sound studios. One for surround sound and one for music. They also have a few rooms called “Finishing Rooms” where people do color corrections and other final edits as well as show the final product to the clients. The building had a much different feel than the news studios I went to last week. It felt much more relaxed and casual. Even so, the Trailblazer office felt much more closed compared to the open concept that most of the news rooms had.

After the tour, I spoke with the executive producer of the show Salvage Dawgs. She went through the process of planning out shoots and episodes. She showed me an episode and explained to me what sorts of notes she takes to send back to editors who make the final cuts of the episodes. She also explained how the channels order shows and how long they have to be. After I met with her, I spoke to the producer of Kate + 8. She went over budgeting and scheduling with me. She and most of the other people in production are in a “dry spot” currently because they are all between shoots. Either that, or they are out shooting on location.

After a nice lunch with some of the other employees/interns, I spoke with the producer for Salvage Dawgs. We sat in their main studio for a while talking about the film industry. college, job opportunities, as well as what he has been doing at Trailblazer. I then sat with the show-runner of Kate + 8. He went over how they handle shoots, how they plan them , and what his role is between the companies and the talent. Then, I spoke with a production assistant who works on promos and write ups for new shows. He was saying how he enjoys his job despite being on the bottom of the totem pole in this case because he can work with all the departments.

Overall, I really enjoyed the day. I look forward to working with their post-production team tomorrow.

Polymer = Many Things

Lets break it down…shall we…

Up close and Personal: Pictured above are two polymer films under a microscope 

Today was all about polymers, which directly translated means many things. And they are not wrong, polymers are actually a combination of hundreds, thousands even, of molecule chains. This makes them easy to melt, easy to mold, and most importantly easy to work with. Some even go as far as to call it “hobby plastic”, because of its eclectic properties. A material scientist I met today, Stephanie, taught me how to make the polymer films used in the HIV prevention devices. I even made the solution using the calculations attached (thank you Mr.Rushin for making this possible)! Then she showed me two different films under a microscope. The polymer itself is a peachy color and the crystals actually refract light, making some pretty awesome rainbows. On the computer, however, the lens is black and white so the colors don’t really show.

Cameron and I also got to talk to several different scientists today as well. First we were introduced to  Jeff, who is an aerosol specialists focused on preventing harmful contaminates and particles from being inhaled into the lungs. He is currently working on a project to create small measuring devices that can be worn by people with potentially hazardous exposures. Not only is his work interesting, but he was more than willing to give us life advice as well. He emphasized the importance of introspection and self-reflection when thinking about possible choices –  whether it be college decisions or career paths. We also met with Sarah and Jeff, both are scientist specializing in polymers. They both shared their experience in the science field and how they got where they are today. They too encouraged us to take opportunities in college and to get to do as many internships and research as possible.

Calculations: Amount of PCL to use

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Some polymer film I made heat sealed together next to a polymer ring

Day 5: Cary Towne Center

T0day I had the opportunity to work out of the Cary Towne Center location. I got to shadow Dr. Besharat again, but today I got more insight on the practice’s protocol for pediatrics. Many of the machines they use on a average age human being are either too complicated or just too big for a small kid to use. They have to use basic technology on children. This includes using a book to test for colorblindness and using pictures instead of letters to adjust the child’s prescription. Additionally, they use a slightly different solution for dilation so that it can absorb through the child’s eye lid and the child won’t feel anything on their eye. From an anatomical standpoint, the biggest difference between an adult eye and a children’s eye is that the child has an extra layer around their retina. This extra layer is almost like saran wrap in that it is clear and it is like a film that is wrapped around the retina. This usually peels off as the eye develops with age. I also got to watch diagnoses of angle close glaucoma, blepharitis, as well as stage 2 cataracts. Up to this point no patient has had any of these conditions. I also got to observe a patient that had degeneration of the cornea. In this condition, the cells of the cornea peel off due to extreme dryness of the eye. The usual treatment is to use lubricating drops as well as a bandage type contact lens temporarily to avoid pain. In the long term, a corneal specialist will need to be seen. The below pictures are of the sign on the outside of the Cary practice and of the less complex machinery Dr. Besharat uses in a pediatric setting to evaluate the inside of the eye and the overall health of the eye.

Day 5: Marblelous!

Hey, Grace checking in today! After being gone Friday, Khushi and I are back with some more finance work at our location for this week, CRS Granite. A family owned granite wholesaler, we toured around the warehouse before settling in, spending the day engrossed in delivery reports, reciepts, and invoices. We organized, filed, and fact checked the numbers across the company’s expenditures, getting a taste of what bookkeeping was like at a small corporation. I had tons of fun and can’t wait for tomorrow!


A sneak peek of how much paperwork we filed!

The Power of Song

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When you think of music, marketing is hardly the field you most directly associate it with. In fact, you’d probably think they have little to no relation what so over. However, I discovered today that the two, and especially within Centerline, are pretty much dependent on one another. I spent today with a digital sound designer who’s job is to ultimately transform a soundless video into something inspiring- its a heavy task to say the least! His work ranges from embellishing videos with popping noises or the squeak of a hamster, to entire full production songs. His desk area was decorated with an array of gadgets and instruments with a large synthesizer, electric percussion board, guitar and  trumpet to name a few. He showed me how each of the digital synthesizers and percussion boards work and being a musician myself it was a really cool experience. We watched some of the projects he’s worked on in steps: beginning with the original video submitted to him, then the first layer of music added,then the other and so on. As the process progressed I was able to see how the entirety of the video’s vibe would change at the simple addition or subtraction of an instrument. It really is amazing just how much music and sound can turn a fairly complex video of software jargon into something beautiful or funny or interesting. After my time in sound, I sat down with a woman from the strategy department, which is a fairly new department at centerline. I heard about her job and the purpose of strategy at the agency and the consulting work that she does for clients. We also went into discussing her work and education in PR and the experience she had at working at big PR agencies in New York and what lead her to centerline. Through talking to her I was able to learn a bit more the marketing and PR industries, and the diversity within agencies. I’m starting to get excited about all the places I’ll be in years to come!

Evie

Why Doesn’t Anyone Pay Attention to Local Government?

Day 3

For the past two and a half hours, I was doing some basic data entry for the NAACP records on county boards of election. These next few weeks are very big in terms of local government, as a congressional primary is being held on June 7th. I’m willing to bet a very small percentage of the North Carolina population even knew there was an election; an even smaller one that was informed about the issues/candidates. The general misconception is that people are only affected by national elections, that all the power rests in the executive office. But the issues of inequality starts from the bottom, as gerrymandering and voter ID laws threaten social and economic minorities and skew voter participation. This is the message that Meta was trying to convey to Durham and the rest of the state through the NAACP chapters, and why my busy work was important.

-Rosie

Liza Day 6: The Switch

It was fun to be back at McKinney after a long weekend. Now that Regina has returned from LA, I’m switching from the business pitch and focusing on a Possible Summer Olympic Project and the HB2 Project!

At 10 am, Dr. Mac came to visit the space and meet Josh and Regina. I enjoyed showing him around and introducing him to the company. At 10:30, Regina and I attended a meeting where we discussed the progress and schedule of the possible . After that, I conducted some research and put together a word doc illustrating some very specific information regarding the Olympic Project.

In the afternoon, we had one more meeting to regroup the Olympic Project before I switched gears to the HB2 Proj. I used Smart Sheet (similar to Excel) to list out the cast members, locations needed in the doc, possible props, and music selections. It was fun to explore Smart Sheet and learn how to use a new program.

Looking forward to photographing and scouting the locations for the HB2 Doc tomorrow!

-Liza

Day 5: Papercuts and Countertops

Today, Grace and I switched to our new location of interning for the second week- CRS Marble and Granite. The day was pretty laid back, and we arrived at about 10 o’clock. First, we toured the showroom and the warehouse, and looked at the different colors and cuts of granite that the company wholesales. Essentially, CRS is like the middle-man between the rock quarries and the countertops in houses and buildings. They sell directly to fabricators, who are the companies that actually install granite slabs to customers’ homes. Our first task of the day was matching financial statements to receipts. Since there are many different locations and trucks that all transport granite, the owners need to make sure that all credit cards the company owns are accounted for. Next, we filed invoices in huge binders that are way too heavy to carry around! As our last activity before lunch, we filed Delivery Orders and Purchase Orders by month. Then, Grace and I went to lunch at Brier Creek, and enjoyed a quick meal at Noodles & Co. After coming back, we were given the monstrous job of organizing Delivery Orders into numerical order, as well as noting if any orders were missing or wrong. The job took us about 1.5 hours to complete, and our fingers were definitely burning after sifting through all that paper!image1Two of the huge binders that we had to organize today!

Day 1

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I began my work experience by standing at the base of the massive Wells Fargo building and feeling incredibly intimidated. wells fargo.jpg After a few moments, I gathered the courage to walk in and get on the elevator to the 23rd floor. There I met Andy Walsh, whom I was to spend the next 2 weeks with.andy walsh  Andy is a Cary Academy alum that graduated in 2008. Andy went to NC State where he was student body president and the recipient of multiple service awards. Currently, he is a Government Relations Assistant at the Smith Anderson law firm and the President of the Cary Academy Alumni Association. When I arrived on the 23rd floor the secretary called Andy down from his office and he took me on a tour of the building. The 23rd floor is purely dedicated to meeting rooms for clients and the office of the managing partner. This is designed to make clients feel special and give the lawyers an excuse to never clean their desks. Andy’s office is on the 24th floor which is where we went next. The Smith Anderson Law firm has 4 full floors in the building and the views are incredible, but the 24th floor is where everything gets done. Andy introduced me to his four-person team. Dana, Kara, Richard, and Andy make up one of the most effective lobbying teams in the state. While Andy is not a registered lobbyist he still contributes heavily to the lobbying effort. After our tour of the building and after I had met everyone, we went to the General Assembly building or the GA. This is where we will spend most of our time over the next few weeks. This is where most of the Senators have their offices and where the Senate and House chambers are located. Mondays are a very slow day for the Legislature, so after the tours and introductions, we called it a day and I began my 54-minute drive home.