Last week I actually spent some time in the office. Since I’ve started my internship here, it’s been all go all the time. We were doing a different shoot every time I would come in. It was great. We were all over the place. Greg broke the news to me that I would be getting some office time in, but I didn’t know what to expect. I had been to the office before, but one time was for my interview and the other was to grab some water before we shipped off to Notre Dame. So really I hadn’t been in the office yet to work, but I was still looking forward to seeing what it was like when SolidLine wasn’t running all over the country on different shoots. I really didn’t know what to expect. I’ve never really been in an office type environment. I’ve been cutting, trimming, and edging grass for the past three summers, so being inside an office in Chicago was going to be a big change. A cleaner change.

I was a bit nervous going into the office, but I got myself together and finally headed through the door.
I was a bit nervous going into the office, but I got myself together and finally headed through the door.
I arrived to the office and was not sure where my desk would be, so I waited in the waiting room. But nobody came to get me so I eventually got up and headed further into the office.
I arrived to the office and was not sure where my desk would be, so I waited in the waiting room. But nobody came to get me so I eventually got up and headed further into the office.

The Solidline crew is very relaxed in the office, but they still are able to get things done when they need to be done. We had a creative meeting and talked about upcoming projects. I was also able to watch Michael edit some video, which was overwhelming a bit, because Michael just flies through the editing. I think he was saying about 10,000 words a minute, explaining different things on Avid, but I felt I kept up quite well. Michael did have an issue with captioning for a video, and he got all worked up for nothing. He was worried that something was wrong, or he was sent the wrong thing, or it was something with the time code. We ended up having a brief meeting while he was trying to figure this out, and the actual problem with the situation was Michael’s patience. If we would have just waited, everything would have worked just fine. But we jumped the gun, thought there was some big problem, and we were wrong. Oops. Hey-at least I learned another important lesson about being patient.

Michael got frustrated and I was not sure what to do, so I just sat there.
Michael got frustrated and I was not sure what to do, so I just sat there.

We also met with the Evans Scholars to discuss a new project about a caddy training video, as well as a video about the Evan Scholarship, which is awarded to caddies that excel. The meeting seemed to go really well, but I thought it turned out to be GREAT because the Evans Scholars client, another Michael, was talking about wanting to get Tiger Woods and Bill Murray to do intros and outros for the video. Now, I don’t know how serious he was about this, but he seemed pretty confident that something could be worked out.

Oh, and our meeting with Mike from the Evans Scholars closed with a bang. My name, Cornbread, seemed to become an official title. I was introduced as the summer intern, Mike, but Greg and Michael told him that I was also known as “Cornbread” because there are 3 Mikes in the office, and “Mike” and “Michael” were already taken. Now I hope you can follow me, but Michael from the Evans Scholars, even after all our talking about the new project, stood up, shook my hand and said, “Hey it was nice to meet you Cornbread.” Greg, Michael, and Ed all got a good laugh out of it, as did I. It was like I was “knighted”, but instead of being called “Sir,” I was going to be known as Cornbread.

Michael and Greg got a kick out of the client calling me
Michael and Greg got a kick out of the client calling me “Cornbread”

I did have a slow part of the day, organizing business cards for Greg. He told me he had some business cards for me to go through for him, but when he pulled out three large stacks, I knew the day was going to slow down. He assured me that this was apart of working. It wasn’t going to be all fun all the time, like when we are out on shoots. I was understanding, and I started to get tired after organizing the business card information. I was scanning the cards into the computer, and correcting any mistakes the scanner would make . I thought I would breeze right through it, but I was terribly wrong. Over four hours and 204 business cards, I had finished. I gave Greg his business cards back, but he wasn’t concerned with everything being stored, he was worried about the actual business cards being in the same order as they were when he gave them to me. They definitely were not, but hey, all the information was in the computers.

Scanning business cards is an important job
Scanning business cards is an important job

 

The scanner only really grabbed about 75% of the information correctly...
The scanner only really grabbed about 75% of the information correctly…

 

We finished Wednesday with a recording session of the talent for the Transparent Health video. It was interesting to see how that was done, because it was over the phone. The talent recorded it, while we just listened in on the phone lines making sure he was at the right pace and correct tone. That went well until Greg laughed at me because I began to give my two cents about the recording. I was asking if he was saying the correct thing, or pronouncing words correctly. Greg, as well as everyone else here at SolidLine, likes to keep things “cool” in the office, so everyone will give each other a hard time so nobody gets too serious. It keeps the crew calm and focused.

We finished off the week with a shoot at UIC Medical Center on Thursday. We were reenacting scenes for the Transparent Health video. I did my usual, unloaded and put together equipment. Oh, and since I’ve gotten such great knowledge on using the slate, I was able to control that for a bit as well. But when they needed more actors for a few scenes, Greg was quick to nominate me as a volunteer. I’m no actor by any means, but I thought I handled myself quite well on camera. I threw on some scrubs and got to work. Now when I say I got to work, all I was doing in scenes was helping a doctor take care of a patient with other doctors and nurses. Greg continued to re-assure me that I was doing a great job, so I continued with my award winning performance throughout the night.

No matter where we go, the truck always looks pretty cool.
No matter where we go, the truck always looks pretty cool.
The crew gathers to review the production notes and script.
The crew gathers to review the production notes and script.
Here I am acting. I should be getting my SAG card soon...
Here I am acting. I should be getting my SAG card soon…
Our clients kids helped us act in the shoot, and of course they loved the slate. I was pretty proud to be Slate Operator at this point.
Our clients kids helped us act in the shoot, and of course they loved the slate. I was pretty proud to be Slate Operator at this point.
Mike and Ed obviously called each other the morning of the shoot because they wore the same SolidLine polo...
Mike and Ed obviously called each other the morning of the shoot because they wore the same SolidLine polo…

The shoot went as smooth as it could go, and we got a variety of different shots completed. At 11pm we finally finsihed the shoot. We packed up the equipment, loaded up the truck, and the day was done. Well, I drove Ed home first, and then my day was done. Everything went as smooth as possible, and another week was in the books at SolidLine.

I am getting pretty good at loading...even at night.
I am getting pretty good at loading…even at night.

Week 4 is just around the corner…

You can contact summer intern Mike Radostits (aka “Cornbread”) at [email protected].
For more information about SolidLine Media, visit us online at www.solidlinemedia.smartwebsitedesign.com.  Or call 312-939-8600.
Copyright 2009 SolidLine Media, a division of KV Media Group, Inc.

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