Tough to get a Job now-a-days!

As the downturn persists, U.S. employers flooded with résumés increasingly insist that job hunters jump through unusual hoops."Job seekers frequently face a process that makes the Spanish Inquisition seem tame" because management sees the sour economy as a golden opportunity "for upgrading talent," says Jennifer Berman, a Chicago human-resources consultant.

Oakley Sunglasses at Night Art Tour

Oakley Sunglasses at Night Art Tour joined AILV on May 21 at night in front of the school. In addition to a full Oakley gallery exhibit, beats being played by Oakley's resident DJ, and free food and drink, the event featured 40 pairs of Oakley sunglasses designed by students wanting to make their mark on the Oakley brand.

A week prior to the event, participating students at the Institute were given white Oakley Hijinx and very few guidelines. Leaving no material left behind, the students showcased their artistic talents on an Oakley eyewear canvas.

Residing Judge Andrew Petterson, who last year designed 50 handcrafted Oakley Frogskins, held court over the festivities. He is a freelance artist with an Oakley connection. Though a bright and Red Bull (and something else) fueled conversation, he revealed that he had been raised in Boise, Idaho and moved to the West Coast at age 19. He makes his living in the automotive industry as a custom paint designer. He freely admits that he has no creative control over his day job, so he uses his Oakley connection to express himself. Living in Huntington Beach, he is connected into that snowboard, skateboard young guy lifestyle that inspires the Oakley brand. Although unschooled, he was inspired by both his parents who were artists and educators. Though laidback, at 28 years old, he admits to an intense commitment to his creative energies. “I live this,” he says, “but I love what I do.” Induced to share his body art, he says he worked in collaboration with the tattoo artist to blend his original designs with the artistic ability of the other artist. They hooked up though a chance meeting with a mutual friend who had a tattoo that Andrew admired. The tattoo artist needed a paint job to restore his car and Andres wanted a chest to knee tattoo and a deal was stuck. Visiting his third Art Institute, he admitted that for the first time that he was a little intimidated by the talent of the students at our school. The quality of the students work, both in the sunglass project and student work on display, impressed him.

Rett, the marketing manger from Oakley was equally excited about the school. He revealed that he like to continue our relationship. He suggested that he might be a good addition to our marketing classes. The target market for Oakley products is exactly the market that is hardest for current marketers to reach.

Try these site for more information and pictures!
http://oakley.com/community/posts/1377
http://www.944.com/nightsites/gallery/oakley-at-lv-art-institute/

Outstanding Job for a Couple Talented Web Designers

Above is the REAL LVMI, Nick's and them Lynn's.
To the left is the google search from today...

See the previous post! It seems that some of our student work is being confused with the actual websites they are redesigning. As an instructor, I have used this project a number of times. This confusion can be the result of a number of issues, but I think it clear that the students involved - Lynn and Nick - can be commended on well done work. Compare their proposed redo's of Las Vegas Movie Insider witht he actual website. Both Lynn and Nick came up as number 8 and 11 respectfully on a google search with the real LVMI coming up first.

Student Work - Too good!

Some good news and some bad news... Lynn's webwork was so compelling that it showed up on a google search as the EIGHTH listing... and it is not a real site! This certainly shows how wonderful Lynn's work is and how well she designs her web pages. Unfortunately, the actual owner of the site, who supported our class project, discovered this problem and asked to have the site altered as not to cause confusion in the marketplace. Check them out!

http://lynnschaferdesigns.com/movieobsessions/
http://lynnschaferdesigns.com/martian_animation/
http://lynnschaferdesigns.com/lvmi/

This is what the original website owner thinks of the Web Marketing Class:

Thanks Frank, you’re awesome. I really love what they’re doing and I’m very honored that you use my website as a tool in your class.
It’s pretty cool!

Shawn Lane
Cheyenne Marketing

CineVegas Cafe Series

I went to the CineVegas Café Series over the weekend. The featured speaker was Trevor Groth. I’ve known him for about seven years, although I am not sure he knew my name for the first few. As a long-term volunteer for the festival, I have seen many changes. I think Trevor was one of the best. He has been involved with the Sundance Film Festival for many years: first as a volunteer, then as staff, then programming and he was recently promoted to Head of Programming for Sundance. I told him that he was the first person that I had seen interview on the Sundance Channel that I actually know.

As Artistic Director for CineVegas, he discussed the upcoming festival and opened the conversation to questions. I asked him what he thought of the article in the WSJ about the tightening of funding for independent films.

According to the article “Indie Films Suffer Drop-Off in Rights Sales” from the WSJ April 20, 2009, “In the latest challenge to the American movie business, a crucial source of funding for independent films -- sales of foreign-distribution rights -- is rapidly drying up… But today, due to factors ranging from the credit crunch to burgeoning online piracy, even the biggest names aren't always enough to sell an American film abroad.”

Trevor said, “ With the challenges of the domestic economy combined with the paradigm changes brought on by digital media and downloading, the industry is trying to figure out how to monetize films and filmmaking. While this is going on, the festival circuit may offer an opportunity to get your product out and be seen by the marketplace.”

Once upon a time, records (now cd’s) were the focus of the recording industry. Artist toured to promote their record sales. Now it is just the opposite. Recording and downloads help promote the touring and concert industries.

Again, from the WSJ article, says Mr. [Graham] King [a Hollywood film producer who won an Oscar in 2007 for "The Departed]. “With credit drying up across the globe, many foreign distributors simply don't have the capital to buy… At some point these buyers have to find some product for 2010 and 2011, so Cannes and Venice will be interesting,"

Certainly, the conversation on Saturday supported this contention. Trevor said that the submissions for both Sundance and CineVegas have never been higher.

Making Freelancing Work For You

In the Wall Street Journal, there is a report on how Web sites that advertise freelance work have been expanding, with some listing twice as many ads as they did a year ago. The sites — including Elance.com, Odesk.com and Guru.com — also feature opportunities in a wider variety of fields now, including accounting, law, engineering, sales and marketing. Many people also use Craigslist to advertise freelance gigs, too.

To be sure, freelancing is a juggling act in itself. The arrangement requires the ability to meet deadlines while always searching for and securing that next gig. There are also safety concerns if your job involves working with strangers. And working for yourself can have tricky tax consequences.

The good news is that many freelance job sites help simplify things by offering the option to create a free profile describing the services you offer. You typically can also upload work samples, post employer testimonials and complete competency tests in areas like software coding and email etiquette.

Do you think you have what it takes to freelance?

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124157147509390007.html

GarageBand on the Mac's

GarageBand puts a music studio on your computer, where the band is never late and always plays in tune. Since it is on a Mac, you already know how it works... kind of. It is pretty easy to play with, but you have simply got to have some talent to make real music. Some of our students do! The school has higher end and more comprehensive software, but for some students, this is all they will need. GB is part of iLife and is standard on all new Mac's.

With GarageBand, you can record, arrange, and mix your music, and then share it with the world. GarageBand includes a complete recording studio, a set of pro-quality instruments and effects, and a large library of prerecorded sounds you can use in your projects. Whether you’re an experienced musician or you’ve never made music before, you can create your own songs, podcasts, and ringtones using GarageBand.

We have GB08 on the AILV Mac's. Since Apple has released a new version, if you want some Video Tutorials on GB08, click:
http://www.apple.com/findouthow/music/garageband08.html

Jobless Tap Power of Merchandising - Wall Street Journal

Stephanie Aucoin got a job offer the same day she was stopped in an elevator by an executive who noticed her new yellow wristband with "Laid Off Need a Job.com" embossed with black letters.

The executive, who was a chief financial officer at an alternative energy company, was looking for an assistant and told her to stop in to meet with him. "I did," says Ms. Aucoin, 48 years old, who started the new job in March after being laid off from an executive-assistant position at a local accounting firm last September.

The silicone bracelet -- think of Lance Armstrong's Livestrong original version -- was an idea Ms. Aucoin, of Sarasota, Fla., developed with Barbara Bourn, 59, a former colleague.

Courtesy LaidOffNeedAJob.com

Hopeful entrepreneurs, most of whom have lost their jobs, are capitalizing on layoffs while also highlighting the plight of the jobless. They are dreaming up layoff-related merchandise, offering wristbands, mugs, T-shirts, board games and more to the recently unemployed -- whose ranks are growing. More than 5.1 million jobs have been lost since December 2007, and more cuts are expected in the coming months.

Padding dwindling bank accounts is what originally motivated Ms. Aucoin and Ms. Bourn. "We needed to find a gimmick" to earn money, says Ms. Bourn, who was forced to sell her house after her hours in an interior-design sales position were cut back.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124088057511061859.html

Sgt Eric Gordon at NAB Networking Party

G-Day Frank

It was great chatting with you the other day and thanks for taking interest in the Canadian Armed Forces ''Army News''.

Check out our web site at http://www.army.forces.gc.ca/lf/index.asp

We have been in production since 2003 and have been growing ever since. We train our soldiers in-house on a course that last about 8 weeks. Below is a brief detail of what we are all about.

Army News is part of Army Multimedia whose role is to provide reliable and accurate internal information to Canadian soldiers and the Army chain of command using traditional and emerging technologies.

Some of Army Multimedia's main tasks are to gather news about and for soldiers, update the Army website daily and produce and distribute two bilingual Army News video episodes weekly as well as special programming as required.

In carrying out these functions under the leadership of the Director Army Public Affairs, Army Multimedia supports the Army by helping shape Army culture, informing our internal audience and connecting with Canadians.

Eleven Army News field teams of soldier-reporters and CF image technicians, supported by public affairs officers, gather news throughout the Army for Army Multimedia.

Army News teams are located in Halifax, Gagetown, Valcartier, Ottawa, Petawawa, Toronto, Shilo, Wainwright and Edmonton. Several Reserve Army News teams are also located across Canada.

Again it was nice meeting you and hope to meet again sometime.

Cheers

Sgt Eric Gordon

Nab - This is free in Vegas - If you signed up

Games: Top 5 Trends Revolutionizing Entertainment Today Las Vegas Convention Center: N252 April 23 • 12:00 p.m. - 1:15 p.m. The video game industry is poised to double in sales from $32 billion in 2005 to nearly $70 billion in 2011 by some estimates. New consuls, increased capabilities and widespread acceptance into mainstream culture make this medium a serious contender in the mass market entertainment industry. Learn about the top trends driving this fast growing industry and how to tap into this lucrative medium.

Moderator(s): Dale Strang, Executive in Residence, Battery Ventures, Former, Managing Editor, International Games Network

Panelist(s): Reto Bodmer, CEO, Evolved Games

YuChiang Cheng, CEO, World Golf Tour

Glen Schofield , Vice President and General Manager, Electronic Arts Redwood Shores Studio Read earlier post ot see hour one guy found the "secret code" to get into the industry event.