I am currently enrolled in a course titled Digital Media Practicum, which is laid out for students to work in teams to design, organize, and produce digital media projects for clients. Practical work experience in different production team roles: project leader, music designer, graphic designer, video producer/editor, print and web designers.
Our first project for the semester was for each student to setup and conduct a video recorded interview with professionals involved in the graphic design industry. The requirement were an established business with three or more employees and if possible with individuals involved with different phases of the business. The interviews were to be in the 15 to 20 minute range. Each student will share their interviews with the other students in the class so as to provide a broader picture of the industry.
My interview was with MOB Media, Inc., in Foothill Ranch, California.
MOB Media’s motto is: "whatever it takes" mentality to make your product or service successful and one of their many clients is the Fox Movie Channel. The name for the company comes from the initials of the last names of the founders of MOB Media, Inc. They have used this as a theme to play on being a mobster, you see it in the names they have assigned to key members of their team and in terminology used. This is all tongue and cheek fun that adds to the charm as you see on their website.
Project One Development
First Phase – Select 10 graphic design business to request the opportunity for an interview with and to develop a letter for the request. The letter was emailed to the selected 10 with a note that I would follow up with a phone call to see if they would be willing to do the interview. The project only required us to conduct one interview, but by sending out 10 request would improve the odds of getting an interview.
A few days after sending out the letters I started making the phone calls, as it turned out the first business I contacted agreed to do the interview.
Second Phase – Simultaneously while working on getting an interview I was working on what questions that I would ask. Some of the questions were basic and others were to get a perspective on how the firm conducted business. The project required that we asked about six to eight questions and I developed 17 so that it was possible to ask as many as possible in the 15 to 20 minutes that I had use. As it turned out I was able to ask 14 of them, but due to limits of video file size the list was edited down to six questions.
Third Phase – The interview went real well, I had to make some adjustments. Original I was to have the interview with Gary Millea, Director of Creative Services and Lisa Bolen, Human Resources, but when I arrived Gary was not available. As I was setting up the camera and talking with Lisa, she asked me to pause because she thought that she could bring someone else into the interview. Raina Halverson, Senior Designer and Gary’s Assistant joined the interview. I have to admit that if my interview had been limited to just Lisa, who turned out to be very knowledgeable, the interview would not have met the project requirements.
Not having someone to run the camera turned out to be a short coming of the finished project since the subjects are not positioned very well and the focus is not as good as should have been. Part of the problem was I had to reposition the camera a second time to allow for the addition of Riana and failed to double check the mechanics of the setup. Next time I will pay closer attention to those details.
Forth Phase - Edit the raw video, start a Blog and post the video on the Blog with more information about the project.
Conclusion – What was the purpose of Project One? The project had several purposes; make the students more aware of the needs in the industry, develop organizational skills and have students step out of their comfort zone. These three components will help the students move out into the industry better prepared. Santa Ana College does a great job of teaching design theory and how to use the equipment to turn visions into reality; this class helps the students to package themselves and their talents.
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