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FableVision's Cultural Cookbook

It's finally here! We fall interns have been hard at work illustrating, animating, editing, and compiling FableVision's Cultural Cookbook — just in time for Thanksgiving! We hope you'll find these stories and recipes just as delectable as we do.

Use the fork and spoon icons to move forward and backward though the pages. Want to check out a specific recipe? Click the corresponding animated food icon to be transported directly to that page. If you need to find your way back to the start, just click on the menu button in the bottom right.

For an inside look at the project, be sure to check out our behind the scenes post. Click through the image below to get to the full project. Note that the Unity web player may not work on older browsers, so please switch over to Firefox or any other preferred browser if it doesn't work on your version of Chrome. Happy reading and eating!

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FableVision’s 2016 Fall Interns Present: An Appetizer

At FableVision Studios, we’re focused on creating “stories that matter, stories that move.” Inside the actual studio, we each have our own stories that fit the bill and have flavored our lives in ways that matter most to us. These stories have come in different forms, from works of art to literary pieces, animations, and videos. As part of our independent intern project, Jen, Adam, and I decided to compile anecdotes and recipes from our fellow FableVisionaries to create one cohesive, interactive, and incredibly delicious story.

Here’s a taste of what we’ve cooked up this semester.

From left: Adam, Jen, and Tessa

Ingredients

  • One marketing intern (Tessa Berliner)
  • Two art interns (Jen Sanchez and Adam Reed)
  • Ten weeks
  • Many secret intern meetings
  • Countless hours in Photoshop, Unity, and Flash
  • A dash of creativity
 
 

Begin preparing individual ingredients.
It was during the initial Intern Meet and Greet that we decided to combine our talents and make something truly incredible. We actually started with two separate lists to determine our final idea: one of different themes and the other of different forms of media we could potentially produce. We landed on the idea of creating an interactive cookbook — partially inspired by our hungry stomachs but mainly inspired by the melting pot of cultures around us in the studio.

                                   The Original FablePigeon

In the original iteration, a wandering pigeon led the reader through the cookbook by interviewing various FableVisionaries, but we felt that it was missing some dose of relatability. We scrapped the bird (sorry, FablePigeon!) and decided to interject ourselves into the story, much in the same way we found ourselves interjected into FableVision’s company culture. We pitched the idea, honed our concept, requested the recipes, and started embarking on the cultural cookbook journey.

Jen's original page layout.

Combine ingredients and mix until well blended.
After deciding on our topic, we split the roles among the three of us: Jen was illustrating the layouts, Adam was designing the animated ingredients, and I was editing the recipes and stories and piecing it all together in Unity. We felt that this split best represented each of our strengths  while also giving us something new to learn.

This collaboration carried over into how we conducted our private intern meetings, with each of us presenting our progress and coming up with design ideas together. We’d present our progress to our internship advisors periodically for  guidance. We let our ideas marinate and we watched a well-seasoned recipe book come together.

Bake covered for 20 minutes.
We’re not revealing the cookbook in full quite yet, but we thought we’d give you a small taste below with a sample recipe (call it an Appetizer), as well as a glimpse into what’s cooking in the FableVision oven. Be sure to check back for the full meal — it’ll be a real treat!

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Meet FableVision's Fall 2016 Interns!

FableVision Studios' Fall 2016 interns. From left: Adam Reed, Jen Sanchez, and Tessa Berliner. 

A new school year at Hogwarts (or, uh, FableVision Studios) means a fresh batch of interns, and the fall 2016 interns are nothing to sneeze at. These FableFirst Years may come from opposite coasts (with a quick pitstop in the Midwest), but they’re joining forces to bring a new culture — and a whole lot of food — to FableVision Studios. Despite some major identity crises caused by the updated Pottermore Hogwarts sorting hat quiz, these three have proved that they’ve got pretty magical abilities in the studio. After only a month, they’ve spiced things up with gummy bears, empanadas, an exclusive cookbook (more on that later), and just a dash of magic.

FableVisionaries, wizards, and friends alike, get ready to fall for this semester’s FableVision interns!

Tessa Berliner, Marketing Intern

Education
Northeastern University ‘17: Journalism with a double minor in CS & Game Design

Hometown    
Palos Verdes Estates, CA

Expected Hogwarts House
Gryffindor

Sorted Hogwarts House
Hufflepuff

Quidditch Position        
Seeker                

Favorite Food            
Pancakes            

Favorite Dog
Pug

Why do you consider yourself a Gryffindor?
I like to look at the pros and the cons of the Hogwarts houses a lot, especially the ones usually considered “perfect.” I can be incredibly stubborn but I’ve also found that I fit best in leadership positions. I can be a bit of an idealist but I also have a habit of looking at the world in black and white rather than with theoretical grey areas. I also definitely subscribe to the “Gryffindor is best” way of thinking, which is 100% just a Gryffindor belief.

What's your favorite Harry Potter book and movie?
Favorite book is Prisoner of Azkaban because it introduces Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. Favorite movie is Sorcerer’s Stone because of all of the nostalgia it carries with it.

How does being a Gryffindor affect the way you work?
I have a tendency to take the lead on group projects or in student groups — I even directed a musical last fall — though that doesn’t mean I don’t take advice from others. Harry would’ve gotten nowhere if he didn’t have Hermione’s research and logic and Ron’s understanding of the wizarding world! I also think that the Gryffindor sense of right and wrong binds me to the timeframes, schedules, and deadlines I perpetually set for myself. Who knows what would happen if I didn’t follow them? (I do. It’s not pretty.)

Favorite Harry Potter quote?
“One can never have enough socks.” ― Albus Dumbledore

What do you hope to gain from your time at FableVision?
I’m honestly just excited to be surrounded by so many creative, multi-faceted people. When I work on games teams in school I usually wear a few different hats myself as director, producer, designer, and writer. I’m hoping to learn from interdisciplinary professionals here at FableVision and figure out not only what makes them tick but also what about their positions makes them happy.

Adam Reed, Art Intern

Education
University of Saint Francis ‘18: Animation

Hometown            
Noblesville, IN            

Expected Hogwarts House
Hufflepuff       

Sorted Hogwarts House
Slytherin

Quidditch Position
Chaser

Favorite Food            
Chocolate milk and blueberries    

Favorite Dog
Lab or Boston Terrier

Why do you consider yourself a Hufflepuff?
I feel like I'm a Hufflepuff because I value patience, working hard, and being a nice person, above all else. I think the whole ambition aspect of Slytherin is what got me sorted in there, haha.

What's your favorite Harry Potter book and movie?
My favorite book is Deathly Hallows but my favorite movie is Sorcerer's Stone.

How does being a Hufflepuff affect the way you work?
A Hufflepuff works hard and values patience. You need both of those things as an artist, so I try my best to use those two traits when it comes to my mindset towards art. Hufflepuffs are also known for being friendly and welcoming, I feel like my drawing style illustrates that because it's fun and silly.

Favorite Harry Potter quote?
“You sort of start thinking anything’s possible if you’ve got enough nerve.” ― Ginny Weasley

What do you hope to gain from your time at FableVision?
During my time at FableVision I want to learn what it's like to work in a studio environment because it's something I've never been able to experience. More than anything though, I just want to grow as an artist/animator and be a sponge so I can soak up all the knowledge I can during my time here.

Jen Sanchez, Art Intern

Education
Savannah College of Art and Design ‘17: Animation

Hometown            
Peabody, MA        

Expected Hogwarts House
Hufflepuff    

Sorted Hogwarts House
Ravenclaw

Quidditch Position
In the stands

Favorite Food            
Burrito bowls            

Favorite Dog
My dogs!

Why do you consider yourself a Hufflepuff?
I consider myself to be loyal, a little shy, and a diligent and hard worker. That and I have an affinity for food, sweets in particular.

What's your favorite Harry Potter book and movie?
My favorite would have to be Goblet of Fire.

How does being a Ravenclaw affect the way you work?
Despite my initial doubts, I actually find it quite fitting. I’m very hardworking, analytical, and practical when it comes to my work. I typically like to research and find references for things that I draw/ animate before actually getting started. I also have pretty nerdy interests such as studying anatomy and learning about ancient civilizations. (Minoan Crete in particular.)

Favorite Harry Potter quote?
“I am what I am, an’ I’m not ashamed. ‘Never be ashamed,’ my ol’ dad used ter say, ‘there’s some who’ll hold it against you, but they’re not worth botherin’ with.” ― Rubeus Hagrid

What do you hope to gain from your time at FableVision?
What I had hoped to gain during my time at FableVision is the experience of what it’s like to work in a professional studio environment. FableVision has not only reached my expectations, but exceeded them as well. During the short time I’ve spent at FableVision, I’ve already learned far more than I ever imagined I would. I’ve learned how to properly collaborate with the other interns and pitch a project. I’ve learned new things about software I thought I was proficient in. I’ve even been exposed to new and upcoming artists that have already started impacting the way I think about art. I’ve already learned so much from the FableVision staff and I simply can’t wait to see what else they have to teach me.

Interested in interning at FableVision Studios? Learn more and apply on our website!

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Farewell from FableVision’s summer marketing interns!

Summer break is coming to an end, and the marketing interns are drawing our time at FableVision to a close. It's sad that time moves so quickly. We did a lot of great work and had an amazing time! We sincerely hope the adage, it's not good-bye, it's see you later, is true for us and the FableVision team.

Courtney and I both started in June, a bit nervous, and quickly jumped into the world and work of FableVision—drafting social media, helping write and research case studies, writing blog posts, and much, much more. In the first couple of weeks we were learning so much that I'd go home and be able to physically feel my brain processing all the information—it was exhausting in the good way, like when you finally get to lay down after a long day's work.

(Speaking of which, anyone who thinks interns don't work hard, or are merely coffee camels, hasn't heard about FableVision's internship experience. Come to think of it, I don't think we were ever forced to go get the office's coffee? Maybe we missed out on a life-changing experience.)

In the first weeks of our internship, Courtney and I created the awesomely customary Meet the Interns blog post, which we had a lot of fun with! We also got assigned big projects that would take a while to come to fruition.

Chief among them was the joint art and marketing intern independent project "Drawing Courage," an anthology of fictional comics centering "around themes that have shaped us into the creative people we are today: identity, loss, love, and self-care." This was a doozy of a project, and not something I personally had prepared for—I didn't think interns would be given such responsibility!—but it quickly became the best part of the work-week. Meeting with Yury and Mimi, the wonderful art and animation interns, and writing comics with Courtney, all while making sure everything was getting done on time was great training for project management, and a real bonding experience for the interns.

I began writing TechTalk, a look into how the tech team at FableVision makes all the projects that come through these doors really come to life, and Courtney began writing her utterly charming post about what it's like to work at FableVision and be a part of what she calls the "FableFamily," as well as an in-depth behind the scenes post for "Drawing Courage."

Few things force you to grow as much as being handed work and being told, "I trust you, make it great." (Something Sarah and Mitul said comfortingly often to us.) I could write all day about the wealth of great times in my three short months at FableVision, but I can reasonably sum them up as "amazing" and "hard work" and "worth every second." Being an intern at a friendly, smart, driven company has been a wonderful privilege, and if you're reading this and wondering if you should apply—what's stopping you? Come join the FableFamily for a while.

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