(2/25/19)
While this week I don’t have anything as exciting as Wand IDs to report (though there is another Wand ID shoot this coming Wednesday…stay tuned), my job and my personal life have remained as interesting and as new as ever. That’s one of my favorite parts about living and working in a place that is so different from what I’m used to – every one of my experiences is completely fresh, and even if it isn’t the most extraordinary, the fact that it’s not something I have seen and done so many times before is what really makes my time here interesting.
These past two weeks at work have involved more opportunities to write my own scripts for promotional material for current Disney Channel shows. I have written scripts for more episodes of “Fancy Nancy,” and this time I was able to sit down with an editor as he walked me through my script and showed me what worked and what didn’t. I feel as though this is one of the best ways to learn – actually sitting down one on one with someone who has so many years of experience in the field and knows promo editing like the back of his own hand. It was also pretty cool when we veered off topic for a bit and he showed me a reel of his past work, which included things like the “Camp Rock 2” trailer, “Andi Mack” series trailers, and the “Phineas and Ferb” movie trailer. It was yet another experience that felt almost surreal to me, knowing that these were videos that my friends and I used to obsess over and here I was sitting in the small, cozy editing bay where they were pieced together.
I also had the chance to visit TVA, or Disney’s Television Animation studio, where so many of my favorite cartoon shows were brought to life. I felt inspired just walking around the halls of this incredible building, which had walls adorned with colorful sketches and a small gallery with Disney works done by various employees around the building that is apparently refreshed every month. I sat in on a meeting regarding the marketing strategy for a new animated series coming to Disney Channel called “Amphibia” and had yet another moment of feeling like a small fish in a very big pond as I sat at a fancy conference table surrounded by the showrunner and executive producer of this new show as well as many other important contributors to the network and series strategy. Even though I did feel like a small fish, it couldn’t have been a cooler and more inspiring big pond to be swimming in.
In terms of personal adventures, no surprise here but my friends and I went back to the Mexican restaurant with karaoke on Friday night and sang our hearts out. I really love the group of people I am out here with, and it has been so fulfilling to learn about their lives and get to know individuals that are heading down the same career path as me despite having never met them before. I also went back to beautiful Santa Monica, hiked an INTENSE hike up to the Hollywood sign, saw a comedy show, ate at unique restaurants, and spent more time than is probably healthy in the hot tub.
I am so excited for everyone in PLA to be here over spring break, and I am really hoping to meet up with you at some point! I hope you all enjoy LA as much as I have so far!
