Job Interview #3

Well this was my last "job" interview of the week. Tomorrow is the only day this week that I don't have an interview, and Friday I have the interview at Creative Circle. Today's interview was at The RTC Group in San Clemente. They publish trade magazines for the "Embedded Technology" industry. Embedded technology is basically any technology that is not in something like a personal computer. It includes the computer chips in everything from cell phones to military UAVs (Un-manned Aerial Vehicles). The job description itself was not really exciting but the description of the working environment and the values that the company holds to were very exciting. Imagine a company that is based in honesty and integrity with both the clients and the employees. A company where, even though the design isn't very interesting, they are committed to doing better design on every project than they did on the previous one. that may not sound very impressive when I say it, but during my interview I sat at the table with the Owner of the company, the Creative Director, and the rest of the design team for 1 hr. and 45 mins. and had them all look at my portfolio, ask me questions, and talk about the company. I could go on and on about everything I heard during my interview but the thing that will decide this job for me or not is that if they make me an offer it comes with the requirement that I relocate to a city that is a reasonable driving distance from their office within 60 days of the first day of work. They need someone to start work in 2 weeks (at the very latest). I'm really overwhelmed with possibilities/decisions right now so...

...I guess we just get to wait and see how things go.

Paul

Job Interview #2

This interveiw was at a advertising and marketing company called Kelly Media Group, located in Upland. They specialize in taking television shows that do the "call the number at the bottom of your screen now and get your free (insert item)" thing. They help their clients buy television time, take all the calls that come in, and ship out whatever the people are ordering. They also mail advertisements and postcards and newsletters (read junk mail) for the same clients. Up until now they have been contracting out all of their design work (website, letters, mailers, etc.) to who knows where and paying a lot of money for it. Now they want to hire an in-house designer to do all of these things for them so that they can save money.

The interview itself went really well. They said that they have interviewed a lot of people for the position but my work was "by far the best [they've] seen". They also said that I should hear back from them sometime in the next week or so. So that's good. I am not thrilled with the client list (as it includes a large percentage of Televangelists) but the office is only 20-30 minutes away and the pay is pretty good. I guess we will see if they call me back.

(#3 up next)

Paul

Job Interview #1

This one was at InCase Design Corp. in Irwindale. It was for a production artist position which basicaly means a job that uses design tools without actually getting to do anything creative. The office was really cool and the senior designer who was interviewing me was cool too. She looked at my resume/portfolio and said that I did not have enough production design experience for the position and that it would drive me crazy trying to do the job because it was to dry and technical for me. She also said that they are going to be hiring a new creative in a couple months and that because she liked me and my portfolio she would keep my information around for when they start interviewing for that position. Hopefully I will have a job already by then, but another possibility never hurts.

(job interview #2 comming soon)

Paul

Things are always changing.

I have finally recieved the sad news from UCI that I am not on the roster for next fall. I was half expecting this and have already put my contingancy plan into action. I have 3 job interviews next week at various design and production jobs and an interview at Creative Circle, a creative staffing agency downtown. I have also sent out emails to my favorite motion graphics firms in LA hoping to get a portfolio review and some advice on starting a career in motion design. Hopefully one of these leads will turn into a something, I'll just have to wait and see. At this point I am planning on continuing to do more artwork in order to beef up my portfolio for applying to grad school again next year. So...


Paul

The Denouement w/ Garage Voice - Pictures

Garage Voice...







...and The Denouement.















Paul

New Official Website

I just got myself an official website for my design portfolio. You can see it in it's temporary state at www.paulhoppedesign.com

Paul

Hello Newsletter Visitors!

Hello to everyone who is visiting because of a tip-off from my family's newsletter. I'm glad you are here to look at my humble space on the Internet. I highly recommend a viewing of the pictures of my trip, and a visit to the blog for the film project that I am a part of A Film By Sam Ward. Also, If you leave any comments be sure to include your name so that I will know who you are. Thanks for visiting! Please enjoy your stay and come back again soon as I am always adding new (and hopefully interesting) stuff.

Paul

A New Housemate!

Her name is Eleanor and she is a little baby Siamese mix. In these pictures you can see her in the two moods she has displayed so far: Running/Climbing and Cuddling.

Paul

Blogs To See

Our claymation related blog is up and running now. A Film By Sam Ward contains news, pictures, comics, and other stuff dedicated to the world in which our claymation films exist. Go check it out!

Also, if you are into video games, UltraRobotNinja (a friend of mine) has just started a blog about all things gaming related. His first post is about his experiences and thoughts on the Halo 3 Beta (which I got to play with him last night). If you don't know what that means then this may not be the blog for you.

That's all for now.

Paul

A Chinese Whirlwind: Part 3

The next day we got up early and drove 2.5 hours to a part of the Great Wall of China called Simetai. It was worth the drive for a couple of reasons. The first is that, being far away from the city means that there were no crowds and it was less touristy. The second is that the location we visited was the highest point on the Great Wall. We were met at Simetai by the pastor of my parents church in Thailand and his family. Their eldest son works with the British government in Beijing and speaks Chinese. He had also been to this place a few times and knew his way around. This allowed us to relax because we didn't have to worry about any of the details and we could just enjoy ourselves. Which we did.

Pictures anyone?


There it is


We got to ride this cable car about 2/3 of the way up.


On the wall


Out the window of a turret.
It's amazing how the wall just keeps winding off into the distant mountains.


A cranny in the turret


Steven up high


Steven enjoying the wind and wall


Anime Snapshot


A family on the wall

The next morning we got up really early and got a taxi back to the airport. From there we all flew to Bangkok and parted ways. I flew back to LAX through Taipei and my family flew straight back to Chiang Mai. So ended the Chinese Whirlwind and my trip to Asia.

Paul

A Chinese Whirlwind: Part 2

The next morning we took a taxi to Tianamen Square and walked up through the Forbidden City. This sounds simple enough but took a long time and was very taxing on our feet. It was, however, amazing and worth the trip. So... lots of pictures...


Tianamen Square


The entrance to the Forbidden City


About to enter, Mao is looming.


Walking in (I really liked the lighting in this archway.)


Panorama of the second entrance. David's head is on the right.


Closer to the walls


An idea of the scale


Now we are inside (and we found the Starbucks)


Forbidden rooftops


Further towards the north of the walk we came to the gardens


Boys, Dragon, Goldfish


Pretty


And now we come out the north end and look back across the moat (not pictured) to see the wall that surrounds the city. If there was someone standing over by the trees then you would have a better idea of how huge the wall is. The small tree is about 20 feet tall.


One of my favorite parts of the day was seeing a bunch of men in the park standing around playing various games. These guys were playing Go, but some others were playing cards, chess, and dominoes. There was also lots silence followed by loud spurts of arguing and yelling about various rules and strategies. It was great.

Get ready for part 3!

Paul

A Chinese Whirlwind: Part 1

We were not around for the third day of Songkran because we had to leave for China. We flew into Beijing, took a taxi about an hour to our hotel, and checked in before it got dark. Then we decided to try and walk to find a night market that my Mom had read about. So began our Chinese Whirlwind.











We never found the night market (read: Got lost and walked around for 3 hours) but we did walk through a cool park with some metal sculpture things, and see some cool lanterns hanging around. We did however find a "Snack Street" with some excellent (and some gross) food.











We ate and then walked back to the hotel.



(Part 2 coming up!)

Paul

Here Comes The Flood...

The reason I chose to visit my family at this time of the year was because of Songkran (the Thai new year celebration). It is basically a 3+ day nation-wide water fight in which no one who steps outside is exempt. Chiang Mai is famous for being the best place in the country to celebrate it.

Here's how it works: Half of the city piles all their friends and relatives into the back of a pick-up with buckets and water guns and a giant trash-can full of water. Then they drive around town soaking everyone in sight. The other half of the city stands by the side of the road with hoses, buckets, and water guns soaking everyone in the trucks.

The first day I spent with Steven and his friends in the back of a truck. We were lucky to have a truck with a removable cover and benches in the bed.



I don't have any pictures from the second day as it was spent walking around downtown with David and his friends and I didn't dare take my camera with me. It was an amazing experience and very hard to describe. If you have ever been to a big concert with no seating you know what it is like to stand with people up against you on all sides making it very difficult to walk. Imagine that, except there are trucks full of people that are trying to drive through the middle of it and everyone is:
- Singing/shouting
- Somewhere between slightly and heavily drunk
- Throwing water on everyone else.

It was great.

Paul

P.S.
(OK I lied, I do have pictures from the second day but they were taken in the morning, while riding in the car with my dad. There weren't many people out and traffic was actually moving because most people were still sleeping off their hangovers.)