As a student at UTLA, I keep a weekly journal of my experiences at my internship. I figured they could be up here as well.

Intern Report: Week 1 (Sept. 1-4)

Reported to my first day at Goodspot. I felt a bit overdressed. I was wearing what I thought was average work attire—button down shirt with slacks—only to find the employees in t-shirts and shorts. Goodspot is a marketing boutique that specializes in producing movie trailers, promos, etc., with only five employees. There was Richard the CEO, Dave the editor, Kyle the design director, Mark the junior editor, and Romina the writer/producer. Everyone except for Richard is around my age. I had interviewed with Romina a couple of weeks back. Goodspot was a company in the UTLA directories and I sent them a resume and cover letter and a link to my demo reel last summer. Romina contacted back saying, “Like your style. Call me when you get the chance.” While I was in the midst of interviewing with companies in LA, Goodspot was the only company that specifically asked about my abilities as an editor/filmmaker, and was the only one that mentioned about the film work I had done and my demo reel. Every other place I had interviewed seemed more concerned with my organization skills and ability of work in the office. So, Goodspot it was.

So, I report to Romina and see what I can do. She lets me in on a little secret; the company is on the verge getting a gig from Hillary Clinton. The State Department is looking to Goodspot to write/produce a video to introduce a policy implementing solutions to world hunger. Interesting. They want something catchy, fast, possibly animated, with a lot of design work. Nothing melodramatic. So my first day I spend at the computer looking up videos on the web that could inspire the staff in coming up a look and feel for our own video. Not how I was expecting to spend my first day as an intern, but I was thankful for all that time I “wasted” in college surfing YouTube. Due to that, I was able to find a list of videos that I forwarded to the staff.
Second day. Everyone, including some outside help, gathers around the conference table to brainstorm. They invite me to sit as well. We talk. A lot of back and forth, but it was very good atmosphere. No idea was dismissed. Everything was considered and expounded on. I was able to pitch my own idea for the video, in which Richard was rather impressed, and it was one of the final three scenarios considered. I was sent to get lunch. More talking. Ideas are finalized. It is about gardens, or countries represented by gardens to show the interconnectivity of the earth. Some gardens flourish, while others are desolate. What happens in one garden in turn effects those neighboring. We all break to write our own scripts. I have writer’s block. I cannot think of what to write. An hour passes, and I don’t have anything to show, but that’s okay, because neither did the design director. We look over three scripts that were written. More talking. I stay about an hour and a half over when I’m supposed to, not because I have to, but because I want to. It was a good day. I was treated like any other employee, and my ideas and voice was heard.
The next day Richard comes up to me and says how impressed he is just from the first two days I’ve been here. That out of all the interns he’s had, I’ve had the best start.
Then he says, “So don’t f@#* it up.”
Duly noted.

I’m sitting next to the hottest girl ever watching “The Fugitive” in a shoe box apartment in Los Angeles. Life is pretty perfect.

Recap on honeymoon road trip extravaganza coming soon.

500 days of Noelene will continue as well.

Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck take a Roman Holiday

Tonight, Noelene and I treated ourselves to a date: Roman Holiday and fruit popsicles. It was Noelene’s first time to see it. This has got to be one of my favorite movies, and as far as “chick flicks” go, my favorite chick flick (genre is up for debate, its a classic as well). In fact, I love this movie so much that I featured it in one of my first films: A Walk in the Park.
William Wyler’s brilliant blocking induces some of the most endearing situations found in cinema. Not to mention his inspired casting by introducing the (then) unknown Audrey Hepburn to the silver screen. She’ll charm your socks off. Gregory Peck? Spot on. Beautiful pictures, beautiful people, beautiful city. Prepare to fall in love.

I am getting married in two weeks. That’s really crazy to think about. Whenever people mention that to me, or I realize that myself, my face twitches and I get the jitters. But despite all of my awkward reactions to the thought, I am so very happy. I am marrying the woman I love. She is my soulmate. She is my everything. Wow, the thought that I am marrying the girl of my dreams is nothing short of incredible. She is my greatest blessing, not like I did anything to deserve her . . .

Noelene and I, on our most recent drive home from Flowermound (where her family lives), spent the whole car ride talking about all the memories we had in the past year or so dating. We recounted our own versions of the story of how we got together, etc. We then realized that alot of this was not recorded, and knew that it should. Our story, we so strongly feel, is magical. It’s stuff of fairytales. It’s like something that comes out of a storybook or a silver screen movie. So, in addition to writing it in my personal journal, I’m writing an abridged version here on this blog. I’m not writing the whole story, but I hope to get through all the main points before we seal the deal on August 7th. I’m titling this sequence “500 Days of Noelene” cause if you think about it, we’ve known eachother for about that amount of time (ok, I did the rough math, and its over 500, but I love the film, we both saw it at the Paramount, and I’m a cheesy film geek, so I indulged myself. The difference with this is instead of breaking up, we get married!)

Not so long ago, on a campus not so far away . . .

I had been in Austin, TX since Jan. ‘06, she’d been in Austin since Fall of ‘03. We had both been in Austin for a couple of years together: same school, same institute, neighboring wards. I had no idea she even existed. The first time I had heard her name was when my roommate, Arthur, started to date her in the Fall of ‘07. The fact that Arthur had a new girlfriend was big news in our circle of friends and ward, so I was like “Who is this girl?” Why haven’t I even heard of her before this? There was one moment when I was sitting with Tony in the Institute and I asked that very same question. Tony pointed and said, “There she is.” I turned to look and all I saw was the fleeting image of the back of her head as she walked out of sight down the hall. “Oh, great, that helps.”

I did eventually meet her when she came to the house with Arthur. My first thought upon meeting her was, “Go Arthur!” She was beautiful, fun to be around, and cool, but I didn’t see her as anything but Arthur’s girlfriend. A couple weeks later, I was filming a short film called Crosswalk for a 24 hour film fest with Arthur and the other guys. We needed an extra girl to play a bit part at the end of the film last minute, so Arthur volunteered Noelene. When that time came to shoot that scene, Noelene met us at the street corner where we were filming. She was wearing a red dress, and carrying another dress, because she wasn’t sure which she should wear for the scene. I looked up from the camera to see her coming, and that’s when I first noticed her eyes. She was about 50 feet away on the sidewalk, and all I could see were those eyes. They were piercing, smiling, green, bright, and beautiful.

We finished shooting. Later that night, I was editing and the guys were all hanging out in my room hoping to make the festival deadline. Noelene came by with pizza for everyone. She was a good girlfriend. Sure, she had pretty eyes, but that made me all the happier for Arthur. I still thought of her as Arthur’s girlfriend, nothing more, nothing less.

More telling of the tale to come . . .

Myself Mustachioed!

Last night we had left-over dinner at Lindsey’s. It was really nice and low-key. Earlier Lindsey had told us of a girl she knew who had tattooed a mustache on her finger, so it could be applied quickly in any given moment. Short a tattoo parlor, we opted for a sharpie, and facial hair ensued.

Working an all-nighter on Delilah, and came across this still.

Copperfield, played by Tina

. . . and I’m staying up late for no reason. I’m considering waking up early and surprising Noelene with breakfast tacos, or at least ingredients to make them . . .

Click here to get a sneak peek!

I am NEVER one for spoilers, but I’ve waited to see this film for two years ever since I started reading reviews of the script, and now it is finally coming to theaters May 29th. So this time I couldn’t resist, after reading that this won’t spoil or ruin my viewing experience at the theater. This is probably one of the most charming preambles of any film. I’ve always admired Rian Johnson for bringing back forgotten nuances of film from the 30’s and 40’s, and his unashamed presence on the web. It turns out he’s just a fanboy like the rest of us. (Click the poster to get a sneak peek!)

I had a great time at SXSW. Easy volunteering jobs, and great shows. I will just give you the highlights of the past week: as in the best band I saw, and the one movie I saw.

Noelene and I saw around 15 bands, which considering the limited time we had, is good. Everyone (except a couple) were great. But the best show I saw was probably at the smallest venue I went to, and the band was The Temper Trap. You will hear about these guys soon enough. Blew both of us away. I had only heard of one of their singles which I had put on a mixtape, so I wanted to check out what else they offered. I feared that they only had one good song. Unfounded to say the least. A solid set, it didn’t dip or slow down for a second.

\”The Science of Fear\” by The Temper Trap

Next, Noelene and I were able to get into the Saturday screening for 500 Days of Summer without a badge or a pass. I was for sure that it would be packed, with no room for measly ticket holders. But it turned out to be plenty of room for everyone. It was Noelene’s first time in the Paramount Theater, and it was such a good film. Pitch perfect. EVERYONE has experienced this movie sometime in their lives, through its low points and high points with Joseph Gordon-Leavitt, you’ve been there. Afterwards I got to shake the director’s, Marc Webb, hand. I didn’t want to bug him for an autograph, but just thanked him for such a new and fresh film.

These kids convinced me it was cool to wear pink pants.
Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head was the perfect exclamation point at the end of a grunt work day at SXSW. This dance band had the whole venue hopping. They’re like sunshine in a neon fanny pack. Do yourself a favor and check these guys out, you owe it to your dance moves