The Water Cooler Repossession

The title of this blog post means exactly what you think it means. The water cooler was taken away at work today. I was sitting at my desk when a delivery man asked to see the person who was in charge. I went to find Leah, the temporary CEO after the slight "restructuring" that happened a few weeks ago. What happened after this....well it might be the subject of my first short film so I don't want to give away too much. Basically, we refused to relinquish the water cooler, siting lack of a warrant, and the water cooler guy said we hadn't paid for it in months. Money money money. That's always the problem it seems. Once the cooler was gone things were pretty awkward in the office. I think this was the first time I actually felt the financial burden of running a company. The film world is definitely one of luxury and in the current competitive market, I guess the water cooler can't even make it. :(

Nitehawk Cinema Northside Cont.

Today I was finally able to watch a film in the Northside Film Festival. There were complications Tuesday (as always the unpaid intern doesn't get told all the details...but no hard feelings!) but today was the day! After trekking what seemed like millions of promotional fliers to the theatre Monday after work (the one hour commute to Brooklyn from my UWS apartment is not fun, but I have to say...definitely worth it) I was finally able to sit down and enjoy one of New York's best independent theaters (and there are a lot, trust me).
I watched a film called Everyday, Saturday. You can read my review of the film here, and my Q&A with director Dorian Tocker here. It was really awesome to see someone so young have their film premiere at a festival in Brooklyn. The crowd was small but appreciative and I can tell this won't be his last film. It gave me inspiration to pick up my own camera and have some fun with it while I'm here. Sometimes you just have to create what you've been lingering on forever.
Nitehawk Cinema was also amazing. They have a delicious menu and really creative film screenings, as well as a wall filled with obscure and awesome VHS movies. Definitely a place I'll be frequenting for the rest of my time in the city. I love these midday explorations :D.

Media Mayhem

Today I covered the Northside Entrepreneurship Festival in Brooklyn. It was probably my first time ever really experiencing a social media conference like this one, and Williamsburg as well. So it was basically internet savvy hipsters. You can only imagine... But in all seriousness, it was an amazing experience. I learned a tremendous amount from the speakers about where independent film has been where it is now and where it's headed. It was information that I finally felt was relevant to me and directly to my future. If I want to get in this game I need to keep one foot out the door ready to jump onto the next boat and stay relevant in the industry. The field seems to be growing even more reliant on grassroots movements and on top of that very individual marketing strategies. More than ever learning and knowing how to market and promote seems immensely important.
The day got a bit weird when I ran into one of my ex-bosses. We didn't chat because she was really busy but it felt weird seeing her out in the world still working and doing things. I guess being fired really isn't the end of the world.

I spent the rest of the morning exploring the promoters for the event and their various apps. Very cool stuff which made me realize how expansive the film world can be. There were people there from screening venues, concession venues, and even a startup that helps you locate people. Everything seemed to be related and it was comforting to know that having a film studies degree will not be limiting at all.

Meeting the Idol

I went into work on Tuesday ready for something I've never experienced before. I was going to see a live taping for a Martin Scorsese directed talk show, Guest Host. I got invited through one of my film professors from Columbia and I took advantage of it immediately as an opportunity to write about it for the IndiePix blog. This is the type of underground stuff that I never thought I'd ever have the chance to go to. And here it was happening. Walking from my east side office to the basically Hell's Kitchen studio was a borderline nightmare, but it was all worth it. The waiting room was quiet but there was an anxious air that lingered as more and more groups of people went in and there he was. A small, stout, balding gray head perfectly kept and primmed. He was standing near the cameramen in the back and even from the front of the room his laugh resonated with me. It was an unapologetic laugh that I can still hear every now and then if I think of the day. He eventually came up and introduced the guest host and the classic Fran Lebowitz. He stood right in front of me (I got lucky and sat int he front row!) and I must say his suit was out of this world. It looked like one of the most expensive pieces of clothing I've ever seen. Hearing him speak was even more impressive, his charisma and brilliance shown through. THIS WAS THE GUY WHO DIRECTED GOODFELLAS AND TAXI DRIVER AND THE DEPARTED!!! I felt like I was seeing an idol. And I guess in reality, I was. And then Spike Lee came out, he was the guest host. Double whammy. This post really isn't doing the experience justice, but to get more of an idea of how awesome this Tuesday was read the post I wrote for IndiePix here:
http://blog.indiepixfilms.com/indiepix-news/impressions-scorseses-guest-host-w-spike-lee-fran-lebowitz/

Office Restructuring Pt. 2

I got into the office, sat my usual desk enshrouded in darkness and to my surprise it felt even lonelier than usual. The entire back office staff was gone. Leah, the new liason for interns sat Megan (the other intern) and I down and talked us through the change. Words like tax evasion, restructuring, and leadership were thrown around until she finally got to the point: IndiePix is broke....to put it bluntly. Her words resonated with me because I felt that now more than ever I was an essential part of the office. Granted, I am cheap labor, but I can rise to the occasion and do something meaningful. I got a new desk out of the whole changeup, which I can't complain about, it's right in front of the sky light and I have a great view of the elevator and everyone who comes in. This includes mail carriers and the other floor tenant's visitors as well. It's definitely interesting.
Either way, I had more important things to attend to that night. It was my first film festival, or at least first time covering one. I went to the Brooklyn Film Festival and watched the Tibetan film, Old Dog followed by a Q&A with the director. Sitting in the theatre with my blazer, amazing chocolate chip cookie (Brooklyn's Best), and notepad in hand I felt this great satisfaction. I can definitely do this for a living. Maybe not with IndiePix (seeing as how I doubt they have any funds to last more than three months...) but absolutely somewhere.

Some Office Restructuring

Around 10pm last night I got an e-mail from Leah, one of the marketing people who just graduated from college and is easily the most enthusiastic person in the office. The subject read, "No need to come in tomorrow" and continued explaining that there would be "some office restructuring and meetings going on all day." It seemed innocuous enough to me, after all, no one got fired on Tuesday so why would they be fired now?
WRONG!
While I've been going about my day working from home (which proves to be a lot more relaxed, it was a beautiful day today so I took advantage by working in the park :D) I received another e-mail this time reading almost like that phone call I got from my mom when my cat died. "There have been some really tough decisions made by the management, and Paige has been dismissed." 
My initial reaction was: OH MY GOD! This was the woman who first interviewed me back in February, the one who set me up on my first day, the one who just gave me an assignment the day before. How could they have just so easily let her go?
Luckily, this doesn't actually affect me or my internship, but on a bigger level it shows me how to corporate world functions. People come and go and sometimes their "hidden talent sheet" might not be up to snuff. All I can do is work on myself and keep learning. 
Time to start working on those project planning sheets now, my first experience with real event planning and marketing. Cool, guess I can add this to my own "hidden talent sheet". 

Small Victories

I went to the bathroom today and looked outside the window, and there it was staring right at me: the Empire State Building. My humble desk doesn't have a window unless you count the massive and glorious Mac computer monitor (gotta love the perks of having to do some occasional design work), so I always find it difficult to situate myself in terms of the rest of Manhattan. But there it was, right next to the coconut blossom soap dispenser, New York's most iconic building symbolizing everything related to success and power, the Empire State Building.
I immediately remembered the first time I step foot inside it with my family when I was visiting Columbia for Days on Campus. We took a tour to the top and devoured the view of the city lit up at night. This was just a little more than two years ago, and here I am sitting at a desk just a few blocks away from it working at a company that will hopefully give me the experience and guidance to propel me to a successful career one day.
I went back to my desk and was told to design a DVD sale sheet for this film called Redland. Sure, I thought, I can do this, why not. I opened up InDesign and PhotoShop and instead of my usual anxiety-induced "oh boy where do I start?!" I busted out a pretty sweet sale sheet. Matt, the guy who decides which films we buy walked past it and even said it was good.
I sat there thinking, well if I've gotten this far I gotta keep going. A small victory for me indeed.

My second on the job felt just like what The Office looks like on TV. Some company big guy investor type came in and held individual meetings with everyone. All of a sudden everyone was whispering, making hourly trips to the water cooler to find out what was behind this surprise visit. "Someone is getting fired," is what Brad, the designer who sits next to me declared with a look of shear fear and anxiety on his face. Only two days in and I was already experiencing an office shake-up.

One by one they went in, they were supposed to write a page on their responsibilities and any hidden talents they have. In other words, this big guy was saying, "Why shouldn't you be fired?" Even though I'm an intern and I'm not costing this company anything (gotta love not having a salary...) this whole thing still freaked me out. Is this how unstable the film industry is, even on THIS somewhat corporate level? All these guys are trying to do is sell movies...rough.

I sat at my desk and just continued my work, freaking out as I had to use PhotoShop for the first time since high school (has it really been over 2 years?!?) and realized how important it is for me to perfect these different skillsets, no matter how challenging or intimidating they are. It's a competitive market out there, and if I ever have to write one of these "hidden talent" sheets, it'd be nice not to have to adjust the margins and font just to fill the page.

The Elixir of Life

My bag was packed, outfit planned, and alarm set: I was ready for my first official internship as a college student. I wasn't sure what to expect from IndiePix. I hadn't been to the office since my February 29th interview in which a rainstorm prevented me from exploring the neighborhood and becoming acquainted with the route. So as I boarded the subway all I had was HopStopped clue as to where I was going. Thirty minutes later I made it to 32nd street and 7th avenue, just a few avenues away from 31 E 32nd street: my workplace for the next two months. I walked past a stretch of Manhattan that in two years I still had never seen. Manhattan Mall? Bally Total Fitness? Metro PCS?! I thought these things only existed in Miami, I thought, but no, here they were right in front of me. All these new sites pulsated excitement through my veins as I reached the building. Hello IndiePix.
First task as intern? Watch a movie, not bad. I sat there watching a documentary on street sports and I was both confused and entertained, not really sure what my role was supposed to be. But then after I was given my official daily assignment: write two blog posts a day for each online blog associated with IndiePix. And it made sense, my job is not just watching movies or reading articles or writing stories, but living, breathing, and believing in the power of FILM.
I ate Chinese food with my coworkers and read my fortune, "Work is the true elixir of life. The busiest man is the happiest man." After six hours of nonstop film immersion, it's safe to say I'm on my way to a very fulfilling summer.