David Sikes
Forum Replies Created
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Thanks for your help! I’ll give that a shot!
– David
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Great! Thank you both for that feedback. It’s encouraging to know what y’all are looking for in an intern – that it is understood that I am a student, seeking an opportunity to learn and grow.
I greatly appreciate your help with this! Any advice on how to seek out internships on a national level?
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GREAT! That’s perfect! I can’t believe I missed that button! Thanks so much!
– David Sikes
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David Johnson – “Especially straight from school, in my opinion, neither the resume nor reel is particularly important since there usually isn’t much to draw from for either and everyone knows that.”
That is a hugely comforting statement. Don’t misunderstand – my fellow students and I work hard to get involved with as many productions as we can fit into our schedule (when not doing math homework, of course;) ) But it really is very comforting to know that it is understood that we don’t have much to put on a reel. Personally, as I work on my grading reel, it can feel pretty lame only having a handful of productions to pull footage from.. so it’s very comforting to know that it’s not expected to have lots and lots of productions to draw from. If anything, I bet that’s where people begin to pad their reels.
It’s even more comforting to know that integrity, work-ethic and honesty are held in high esteem. That’s not to say that people should fake those things for the sake of getting jobs (they really should be reward enough on their own), but it’s encouraging to know that those traits are appreciated at a higher level, as well.
The post above (I think I’m done) left a similar impression.
– David Sikes
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I haven’t replied to any comments yet, but I have been reading them, and I thank you all for the responses you’ve given.
Mr. Cohen and Mr. Susko, thank you both so much for such detailed, thought out responses. I know those take time to type, and I greatly appreciate the wisdom offered. Everything y’all said really stuck out, and I thank you both.
To all others who have replied, thank you for the responses given. I’ve heard stuff that y’all pointed out (sending thank you letters, expressing the fact that I WILL be there when I say I will, etc.) but it makes a huge difference hearing it from those of you in the industry than just hearing it from professors and advisors at school! It makes such wisdom very real and grounded, and I sincerely thank you all for your responses.
I admit that the variety of posts has given me some confusion of the importance of a reel, as it seems that different people hold reels to differing levels of importance; though I think the general consensus is that it is very important to have a well put-together, HONEST reel.
Much like the last forum I received such answers to, I’m copying/pasting the link to this one and sharing it with some of my fellow students. 🙂
Again, thank you!
Hooray for the Cow!
– David Sikes
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Wow.
As a 21-year-old I am INCREDIBLY grateful for this post. I’ve asked a couple of times on the Cow for a list of “Do’s” on how to pursue a career, resume stuff, etc., but this post serves as a humbling and helpful list of “Don’ts”.
But, I would be remiss if I didn’t say on behalf of my entire generation, “Please don’t give up on us!”
Among our classmates at the University of Alabama work-ethic is held in high-esteem. We recently shot a short, and one of our colleagues (who already had a bit of a reputation for a bad attitude: this same student has been known to talk on the phone while professors are teaching and openly mock other students’ work) was invited to be our sound mixer. One of his friends in our crew vouched for him.
No-show. Didn’t answer phone calls. Didn’t even return text messages, not even to his friends who VOUCHED for him!
Needless to say, its doubtful any of us who crewed on that production will be recommending him anytime soon.
I say that to assure you that those with bad attitudes, out-of-control egos, and awful work ethic aren’t encouraged to continue that way, even from their fellow 20-something peers. No one likes a bad attitude – period.
– David Sikes
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I’ve waited a little while to let a few more posts roll in before I reply. Thank you all for your incredibly helpful responses – I’m very grateful for the wisdom shared, and have already forwarded this thread to a couple of colleagues of mine here at UA!
Mark – thank you for the encouragement, particularly what you said about bachelorhood – with family as an absolute goal of my life, singleness really is the only time I can act boldly and “swing for the fences” as you said – and risk making bad career choices. When I am my only dependent, life is a lot more open!
Tim – That response definitely brought forth some conviction to take my non-production courses more seriously and recognize that the stuff I think I’ll never use might be the stuff I end up using most! I’ll look into opportunities to get a firmer hold on spanish asap! The willingness to take the rough and less pleasant jobs is something I take very seriously – but your story about how you landed that job is fantastic!
I take opportunities for internships very seriously – I’m saving money now under the assumption that paid production internships are rare, and I certainly hope to find some good opportunities! I don’t have a CLUE where to begin looking for internships – if you have any advice on that front (what kind to pursue, how to identify better internships than others, etc.), I would greatly appreciate it!Emre – that article is fantastic! Thanks for that share! I’m printing it out (along with the replied to this thread) to keep and re-read!
Mike – thank you for all those tips! You mentioned becoming well-rounded and learning lots of different skills – that seems to be a theme among the replies to this thread! You said to not sell myself short, and likewise to learn to sell myself. Selling myself confidently is a developing (but still uncomfortable) faculty, but what do you mean by “don’t sell yourself short”?
To all, thank you again for all the wisdom and all the encouragement! The Cow rocks, and y’all really have helped me out – I anticipate that the insight shared will only exponentially become more and more helpful! I hope some others in my position find this thread successfully!
– David Sikes
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Wow. I’m floored and humbled by such a helpful response! Thank you so much!
Responses like this are ones I hold on to. I really can’t wait to see what other answers I get.
Again, thank you. Every bit of that was incredibly helpful and will be held on to!
– David Sikes
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I haven’t personally tried it for the t2i, but I’d give MPEG Streamclip a whirl. It’s a free software, and it can convert to our team’s beloved ProRes 422 (NOT HQ).
Give it a shot! https://www.squared5.com/svideo/mpeg-streamclip-mac.html
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“Don’t get hung up on equipment, the image is everything. Start producing and see where it leads you and buy equipment for a need, rather than a perceived need.”
Gotta hand it to you, that’s some of the wisest advice I’ve gotten in a while. It’s very easy to confuse an actual
need with a perieved need. Thanks!!