dMBA - There's an App For That

Last week we wrapped up our 1st fall term in Year 2 (Y2) of the dMBA program. With classes in Business Law & Ethics, Project Management and Applied Digital Convergence (ADC), its exciting to observe how Y2 builds on Year 1 (Y1).

Y1 was all about the "nuts and bolts" of business, you know, the theories and science of business - accounting, finance, marketing - the foundation of a solid business education. Now, if Y1 was all about the science of business, Y2 is unfolding to be about the art. The rich class discussions in Law and ADC require critical and creative thinking as these areas are more finessed and not so black-and-white as most of the courses from Y1 - but these Y2 discussions wouldn't be possible without the foundation of Y1. Perhaps more importantly though, is that Y2 is allowing for the application of the principles we studied in Y1 and putting them into practice with new courses like Project Management and New Venture Creation.

My favorite application, however, is happening outside the classroom. I am currently producing a short animated film and am having a blast! Working on this film has put me back in touch with my creativity and I am loving it! From directing the voice actors to collaborating with the illustrator and animators, this creative outlet is just what I need to balance out all of my studying!

Just as rewarding, however, as the creative outlet, this production has helped me see how much I've learned since beginning the dMBA program. Perhaps if I hadn't produced anything before, I wouldn't notice what all I've been learning. With this film, my 1st since starting the program, I notice that I'm thinking about, and managing, the project in a more holistic way. From our HR courses to Accounting to Interactive Technology & E-Commerce to Law, I am now instinctively applying what we're learning in the classroom to the production process.

I'm thrilled to be returning to my creative roots, but am even more thrilled to apply to the creative process all that I've been learning!

* The above illustrations are an early storyboard from my current film illustrated by Zara Steadman.

Who Said, "Grad School Isn't The Real World"? Part Deux

OMG - SO freaking excited! I am THRILLED to tell the world that I've landed the coolest internship this summer with Participant Media in Los Angeles! In addition to its upcoming features, The Help and Jodie Foster's The Beaver, Participant is most notably known for its Academy Award Winning/Nominated narratives and documentaries including Charlie Wilson's War, Good Night and Good Luck, North Country, Food Inc., An Inconvenient Truth and The Cove.

I will intern in the Social Action department, working with Kristen Irving, the Director of Campaign Development, to develop a social action campaign aligned with a soon-to-be announced major motion picture.

I've long been a fan of Participant's films, but its since starting the dMBA program, that I've begun to study their practice of creating social action campaigns in depth. In fact, it was in a Marketing class in our very 1st term that I began to research their business model. Since that time I've continued to follow them closely with the hopes of landing an internship there. So I'm happy to say, my hard work and persistence has paid off :)

As excited as I am about this opportunity, its taken me a couple of weeks to blog about it... "life has gotten in the way", as Professor Nair from HR likes to say. Almost immediately after accepting their offer, my Grandmother was admitted to ICU with pneumonia... and just a few days after that, she passed away. My Grandmother has been a very influential person in my life - so much so, that I've been filming her and working on a documentary, Grandmother Storyteller, about her for the past several years.

Losing her has been devastating. In the days between her passing and the funeral, all I could do was eat Lucky Charms and listen to the '60's gospel-meets-psychedelic-rock hit, "Spirit in the Sky." And oh yeah, see to the "minor details" of grad school (you caught the sarcasm, right?).

The timing of these 2 big events, coupled with the fact that hard work must still be completed, reminded me of something I noticed recently in my 100,000,000th viewing of the classic, "Rocky". You know the famous workout scene which culminates with Rocky triumphantly ascending the steps of the Philly Museum of Art? Its an iconic feel-good scene where Rocky is experiencing the pay-off of all his hard work. But here's the kicker - immediately after that, we cut to Rocky the night before the big fight - he's restless and agitated. He wanders the city and ends up in the Spectrum where he runs into the fight promoter whose comments completely shatter Rocky's fragile confidence. He goes home and tells Adrian he can't go through with the fight. After speaking with Adrian though, he realizes he must go on and his goal becomes to simply "go the distance" with the Champ.

What floors me about this is how quickly Rocky goes from his ultimate high, on the Art Museum steps, to his ultimate low. My own high and low hadn't yet happened, so at the time I was simply struck by the well-crafted writing and how it beautifully juxtaposes such tender human experiences at such extreme ends of the spectrum.

I'm getting back in the saddle now with school. It was hectic for a while - being at Grannie Annie's bedside in her last few days - giving and receiving support with my family - planning the funeral - somehow managing to pull myself together to give her eulogy. During all that, I didn't miss a deadline with school.

Sure, I thought about asking for a little wiggle room from my professors, but I didn't. Each round of classes is only 7 weeks so there is little room for wiggling - it just seemed easier to suck it up and do my homework in her hospital room while she slept rather than to put it off. Besides, I'd look up to occasionally catch her proudly watching me study - and she wouldn't have put up with me not, "going the distance". She was as tough as they come.

I'm off the Lucky Charms now and I'm back to focusing on this exciting opportunity with Participant. After all, it was Grannie Annie and her gift of storytelling who taught me about the powerful impact of a well-told story. With that I leave you with a quote about my Grandmother - one that succinctly explains her grand style of telling a story:

Its a Texas thing.

If you can't improve on a story, why tell it?

South By: 2011

Well, another SXSW has come and gone. As a long-time Austin resident I've had the privilege of enjoying the festival as an annual spring ritual over the years. But this year, as a dMBA student, was particularly fun - people's eyes would light up when they learned I'm a filmmaker AND and a digital media business student. I'm finding organizations are hungry for this blend. I felt so popular :)

So as the festival is ginormous - how do I even begin a blog entry on it? So many panels! So many screenings! And oh yeah... so many parties!

Here are just a few of the most memorable highlights:

Participant Media's Creating Social Action Plans for Films panel. After attending, for every documentary I saw (and I saw A LOT), my mind automatically began to consider a Social Action/Social Media strategy for each film.

Swapping war stories with producer Monnie Wills on the ups and downs of working in Russia.

Attending a panel on visual storytelling by Robyn Girard, a deaf filmmaker and gaining perspective on telling stories from a soley visual perspective.

Getting stuck in the bathroom at the Vimeo theater with another germ-o-phobe. There were no paper towels - only hand dryers and you can't use those to open a door.

Flow Non-Fiction's Branded Documentary** panel. I had actually interviewed these guys on that very topic for a paper. And the panel was awesome as it included a 360 view of from all the stakeholders (clients, ad agencies, etc.)

Making a famous rockstar blush.

Meeting the producer of How to Die in Oregon while in line for a film - when he told me the name of his film I thought he said, How to Dye an Organ. We spoke for a good few minutes till I realized my mistake. Boy, that was weird.

Connecting with a ton of illustrators interested in working on the animated short I am producing with MacBoy.

The Unexpected Non-Fiction Storytelling** panel. Wow - these guys are up to some really creative stuff, challenging the definition of documentary and creating new ways for audiences to engage with stories.

Crying my eyes out during Where Soldiers Come From.

Attending a private reception for Where Soldiers Come From and speaking with the guys and their families. Getting to know some of them on a personal level was way more rewarding than any amount of "industry networking".

Enjoying the rich serendipity of randomly meeting just the right people.

...and doing every bit of it in 3-inch heels.

**Click the link and you can hear the recorded session.

Coen Brothers, look out!

Meet Brandon and Jonathan, the next generation of filmmaking brothers.

I recently volunteered with Mobile Film School, a non-profit bringing media arts education to under-served communities. The students of Eastside Memorial Green Tech High spent two days shooting on the topic of "stereotypes" and I had the privilege of mentoring them as they learned how to edit with Final Cut Pro (FCP).

These kids are smart as whips and though new to FCP, they picked it up quickly. It was incredibly rewarding to help them build their fluency with digital technology so they can give voice their own stories. And I learned a ton from them!

It was great spending the day taking a break from schoolwork - getting away from the business side of things - and diving back into the creative side again. But the best part of the day? Jonathan giving me a big ole' hug at the end and telling me how glad he was I came and how much he enjoyed working with me. ***Sniff***

Right Brain, Meet Left Brain.

I got the giggles in my Managerial Accounting class yesterday. Since giving up Winter Break's relaxing pace for grad school's frenetic race, it can get too easy to lose sight of why I entered the dMBA program in the first place. Its like not seeing the forest for all the trees - the trees being the abundance of homework! But as I sat in Accounting yesterday, I remembered why I'm here and so, despite the crazy workload, I felt really happy!

Happiness induced by Accounting?!?! Yes! I'm sure many people will scratch their heads on that one! You see, this week we are studying the budgeting process. Now, I'm sure I will be mocked mercilessly when my friends hear me say this, but I LOVE making budgets! In fact, last week, I did a sales budget for fun (seriously!) for my friend, Robyn, who is updating the business model for her Spirit of Africa Adventure tours. Now, I've created and managed budgets in my corporate experience, but it was while writing a film budget for a grant proposal that I recognized how much I love each stage of the filmmaking process. I had initially gotten into filmmaking because of the creativity of the production phase; but while writing the proposal, I realized that I relish the business elements, from budgeting to distribution, just as much. From this discovery, I concluded that I didn't want to specialize in shooting or editing, but rather, I wanted to be the producer so I could have a hand in each step from start to finish!

Despite my nerdly enjoyment of working in Excel however, upon wrapping up my Accounting homework, I find my right brain jonesing for a creative fix! And that's why this dMBA program is such a perfect fit - it encourages our artistic pursuits as well. So when I need a break from our traditional business classes, I find time to edit Grandmother Storyteller and polish up a short script that I hope to have animated by MacBoy (production meeting this Thursday!).

But for now, I'm off to research my Information Systems project - building a video editing workstation from the ground up! Did I mention this dMBA program is eclectic?!