DWA Update (catchier blog title to be added later)
Hello everyone…Thought I would give an update as I have just completed week 4 of my internship at DreamWorks Animation SKG.
Working at DreamWorks has been definitely an opportunity I am very glad I was offered and did not pass up. I love it here. Like I mentioned in my previous post everyone here is so awesome and incredibly talented! The internship program is also extremely organized and makes all of us interns (about 30) feel welcomed and provides us with special opportunities.
One of those opportunities was today we had an hour Q&A session with a production manager who started off at Disney and has been working at DWA for 10 years now. He was the production manager for Kung Fu Panda 1 and 2 and is taking a break for a bit now before starting on another movie. Our time with him was about 20 min of him telling us his background, how he got here, etc. Then we were able to ask questions and get a better insight into the production and management side of animated movies. It was particularly interesting to hear his thoughts on how finances and creatives work together to complete DWA movies. next week we are meeting with Consumer Products Promotions. The Q&A sessions end with Jeffrey Katzenberg in August!!! He’s the “K” in SKG.
For the better part of my time spent at DreamWorks so far I have been working on a variety of tasks. For those who do not know, I am working in the International Consumer Products division for Europe. One of the most important projects I have been working on is planning a HUGE event just outside of London on 9 July. DWA has partnered with Sainsbury’s (2nd largest grocer in UK) to put on “Pandamonium in the Park”! This event is a fun, family day out that will have activities for all ages throughout the day and will culminate in a live concert by Hans Zimmer and John Powell (composers of Kung Fu Panda 1 and 2, Pirates, Gladiator, Madagascar 1 and 2 and more)! Hans and John, who have won and been nominated for numerous Oscars, will play music from KFP 1 and 2, Shrek, Pirates, and more in the evening. It has been a blast helping plan this. One particular task I have been in charge of is the videos that are to be played during intro and throughout the concert. Last week I wrote a script that Jack Black recorded for the intro video while he was in Australia for the KFP2 premiere. The event will be at the Althorp Estate, home of the Spencer family and resting place for Princess Diana. If anyone is in London this summer (MK!), I highly recommend going because it will be amazing and I helped plan it 🙂 I only wish I was able to go somehow.
I have also been working on retail presentations for upcoming movies like Madagascar 3 and Rise of the Guardians. Both movies look absolutely incredible. It had been fun to develop retailing programs to be pitched to agents and retailers across Europe and hope to see some of them in stores next year.
My boss travels quite a bit and as a result I have been putting in some long (12hr) days to help her prepare for overseas meetings. It’s been great to be so highly involved in the actual working of the company rather than doing some mindless tasks. I’ve yet to get coffee for anyone so that’s always a plus!
Working here I have also got to see a substantial amount of Puss in Boots footage, which is coming out on November 4. This movie looks so good…and its super funny! A must see.
Another cool perk of working for DreamWorks is that they have a theater on campus where they show all genres of movies every Monday night. A couple weeks back was Fast Five. Last week was Bridesmaids and I forget what this week is.
So that’s a quick insight into my experiences so far at DreamWorks. As always, leave some questions in the comments and I’ll see if I can answer them
Cheers,
-Jason