Ventings of a frustrated fan
 

Do you want to know something really really frustrating??? About a year ago... I was this => <= close to becoming an intern at CBS Digital to help the team that was working on the digital remastering of TOS. This was right after the summer I interned at the Visual Effects Society.

One of my classmates told me the co-chair of my department mentioned that they were looking. I gasped and rushed to find him. I told him I heard and said I am a really big fan... sad to think I'm the only one in my entire department to show any interest. He gave me the contact info...he called ahead to give the person in charge good things to say about me. I sent out my resume and stuff... The person called! Said they liked me. Said they needed me only for Mondays.... I had important classes all Monday!! I had to turn it down!!! GAAWD!!!!!! I told her to please contact me again if there are other opennings. She said of course with a friendly smile in her voice. A girl who graduated a year before me got that spot and landed a permanent position for a while. Of course after a year all the remastering work was finished and disbanded with no new Star Trek stuff for a recent graduate to somehow get involved with.

Star Trek was one of the main reasons why I wanted to work in the film/tv industry as an artist. Here it was dangling, just dangling, ready and willing to be taken. And I knew it was far far more important to finish my degree...finish my thesis...get as much out of my classes. When I look at that the remastered series... I feel the pain of it all the time as i continue to try to make my break in this industry.

The Writer's Strike is not helping my situation. I just started with this 3D film previsualization company. Hoping someday that I can get enough of the right experiences and help do pre-vis work for a Star Trek film someday. I was only there for a week in Dec. to help rush finish a movie being filmed now. They said more work is coming. No phone calls yet. I'm the newest so lowest on the pecking order. I'm now back to building boring websites and teaching art, doing bits and peices of vfx for independant films. Don't get me wrong I'm well fed, paid and respected by those around me...but this damn strike is making it really hard for me to make my break.

::Gone With the Wind Music in the back:: Someday!!! Someday I tell ya! I will work for Star Trek!!!

Oh man, that's harsh! I can't say I've ever had that close of an experience, but I can
almost feel the pain you must be going through, to turn down something wonderful like
working for Trek. But, in the long run, I know you'll know it was worth finishing your
degree and stuff like that, and hopefully, you'll land a spot in any of the upcoming movies
or possibly series of Trek.
Good luck, and keep us posted!

While it's great to see that Star Trek inspired you so much ... aren't you worried that if you pull the curtain back, it might take away a lot of the mystique?

Ditroi, from your writing style, I'm of the assumption you're relatively young, early to mid 20's, yes? So, don't worry about it. Life has a way of taking care of itself and, as long as you stick to your guns and continue to push resume's in the right directions, you'll get where you want to go. Remember that you are GOING to start small, period... that's how you get big, and it's the very rare happenstance that someone, even someone very talented as you appear to be, will catch their break early enough to make a real go of it.

One of the things I'm perplexed about the most -and this is being written to sort of substantiate my rant about catching a break- is a lot of people, including myself, will take a look at movies and television, the actors that have made it big young, and even people like Walt Disney -who fell on hard times, spent over a year in prison, as with Tim Allen, and still picked themselves up and kicked the world's butt- and will not only strive to live a life similar to that, but will insist on it.

However, when we realize the world owes us nothing, but that the only way to move forward is hard work and continuing to push ourselves into all the hard places, we can move ahead and live a full life. The happy side effect comes long IF you get picked up for your talent and make an even bigger full life out of it.

Take this all from someone who's lived a VERY hard life, especially over the past decade, and is, just this year, 36 years after being born, starting to see it all turn around for the better. I lived life the hard way; although I know the world doesn't owe me anything, I have still done everything in my power to push in not only the hard places, but the wrong places.

That's my 50 cents, and all I can afford right now.

Plus, I bet right now would be a great time to apply either at Paramount or CBS Interactive.

It was during the last semester of my graduating year... I couldn't give it all up for a once a week non paid PA gig that could lead to actual computer work... It had to be done. sigh. One consolation... I ended up Interning at Sony Imageworks. That was fun but didn't really blossom into anything yet.

I'm the kinda person who loves to watch all the behind the scenes stuff...make up, models (real and computer made), practical effects, compositing, the music. The many layers of effects required to make that one scene look seamless.

For me it makes the appreciation of a film even greater. In Transformers.... over a million polygons to build just Optimus Prime!!! 600,000 animating parts. Makes me more in awe when I know it took an army of passionate people to make it happen... and I want to be a part of the magic.

I like how you said "yet"... keep at it. I do have a curiosity question, though, and I honestly don't know, which is why I'm asking...

Could those classes have been moved to another day?

Ooh, ooh, could you have asked to postpone the classes by one semester, citing the dream job that COULD explode into something magnificent?

Regardless of what your answers are, I think I have to agree with sir num nums (Oh, what I wanted to change that to, hehe :biggrin: ), now is the right time to put in for several places, including finding out, for certain, who will be building the new Star Trek Online and applying there.

LOL I'm 28... this is my second degree... You know why? My fellow art graduates in the whole LA area and I jumped in in 1997 to catch the wave of traditional animations new golden era... All the major studios were doing it. I had a teacher who was a background painter for DreamWorks Animation. Near the end of the 4 years he said I was pretty much ready, told me to hold out for 6 months. Because the industry is going through some reshuffling. ALL the studios even Disney decided to slam shut... the traditional animation arm in this country. There are many we blame for this mostly the short sighted execs at the studios who failed to recognize traditional animation as just a film style and not some flash in the pan trend when Pixar started making their well crafted films. I love Pixar... I love 3D but there is something lost... artists my age are still a bit bitter. I worked for 2 years doing all kinds of jobs...with the help of my mom paid off my loans... Looked around at other possible careers... computer science... vet... I just can't see myself happy doing anything else. Bit the bullet and went back into school.... graduated... now we have this Writer's Strike... The execs don't mind! More cheaply made reality TV!!! YEAHHH!!! :(