Flashpoint Academy’s Class of 2010 experienced a behind-the-scenes look at working professionals in action during Flashpoint Academy Career Services Development Week. Students visited several high-profile companies in each of their disciplines and got an in-depth look at how the day-to-day business within each of those companies operates and were treated to one-on-one sessions with employers.
SOL DESIGN
The week kicked off to an exciting start when the Animation/VFX students visited Sol Design, a creative design and effects company that works across several categories of media including entertainment, advertising, broadcast, and interactive. An extensive tour of Sol and their parent company Cutters was led by 3-D designer Brian Bullock, who gave the students a breakdown on how each department works together to create one project.
CRC
The Recording Arts students “got an earful” at Chicago Recording Company (“CRC”), a historic recording studio in downtown Chicago where dozens of notables have recorded hits including Michael Jackson, The Smashing Pumpkins, and Britney Spears, just to name a few. Students who concentrate in sound design for film were granted a tour by studio manager, Rose Razal, of CRC’s multi-level post production studios, while those focused on music recording got valuable knowledge from studio General Manager, Chris Shepard, and a private listening session in one of CRC’s state of the art ProTools HD studios.
RAVEN
On Tuesday and Wednesday, the Game Development students took a bus trip up to Madison, WI to visit Activision/Blizzard affiliate, Raven Software, where they got the opportunity to meet with executives ranging from the game design team to the decision makers that hire the staff.
NBC
Back in Chicago, several of the film/broadcast students got an up close and personal look at what goes on behind the scenes and in front of the camera to produce a successful syndicated television series at NBC Studios with two tapings of the Judge Jeanine Pirro Show. Afterwards, the film/broadcast students got an exclusive Q&A with Emmy-Award winning director Joey Ford.
PIXEL BROTHER & KARTEMQUIN FILMS
Both Pixel Brothers (post-production facility) and Kartemquin Films (documentary filmmakers best known for “Hoop Dreams”) hosted field trips at their facilities where students watched sample demo reels and participated in a Q&A to analyze the quality of the work.
PIXEL
KARTEMQUIN
Overall, the Flashpoint Academy Career Services Development Week presented our students a golden opportunity to network and experience a “day-in-the-life” of working professionals in their respective industries.
