It may not be spring quite yet here in Boston, but a new group of spring interns have found their way to FableVision Studios! Their collective technical, art, marketing, and production skills—and shared love for the movie Ratatouille—are surely a recipe for success. We’re excited to see what masterpieces they cook up this semester! Read on to learn more about their internship goals, Boston-area recommendations, and who inspires them.
Esther Tzau
Hometown: Weston, MA
School & Major: Tufts University, Computer Science and American Studies (race and ethnic studies)
Position: Technical Intern
Portfolio: etzau01.github.io
Tell us about your journey here! What brought you to FableVision?
When I was a senior in high school, my graphic design teacher suggested I check out FableVision because she knew I’d fall in love with their work and mission. Since then, I’ve been lurking on the InternVision blog, marveling at all the past intern projects, and reaching out to a few former interns. One of the interns I contacted was a technical intern who worked with Brian Grossman and had a really valuable experience. I applied, and it feels pretty surreal to be featured here now as an intern!
What skills are you hoping to work on or develop during your internship?
Gain familiarity with the Unity game engine, plugins, and the scripting languages Unity supports as I develop 2D games with the intern team
Use PHP, MySQL, and the Laravel web framework to build a working web application
Effectively and clearly communicate technical ideas/processes to team members
Remy dreams of being a chef. How is your FableVision internship helping you build skills to get closer to your dream?
My goal is to use my technical and creative skills to support the kind of empowering storytelling, education, and media that FableVision produces every single day. FableVision's team is constantly experimenting with new and emerging technologies, and in the first month I've already learned so much about the tech behind animation and games.
More About Esther!
Anyone can cook! Favorite dish to make: Crêpes! I have many fond memories of my family gathered around the dining room table rolling fresh fruit, whipped cream, and Nutella into warm, buttery crepes.
Favorite place/thing to do in Boston: I love spending time in Chinatown. I grew up going to church in the neighborhood and often join community organizing efforts, learn Asian American histories, and share warm meals with people I love.
Song you’re listening to on repeat: "Feel The Vibe" by BJ The Chicago Kid. Homey and warm.
Gusteau inspires Remy throughout his journey. Someone you look up to: My mama. She is my biggest support and best friend.
Greg Bond
Hometown: Walpole, MA
School & Major: Boston University College of Fine Arts, Graphic Design
Position: Art Intern
Portfolio: gregbond.art
Tell us about your journey here! What brought you to FableVision?
I actually found the internship through the other spring Art & Animation Intern, Natalie! We've been friends for a long time now, and she told me about the internship a little while back. I figured I would go for it and apply, and I was lucky enough to get the position!
What skills are you hoping to work on or develop during your internship?
I want to develop my animation and digital illustration skills while working at FableVision this semester. Animation and digital illustration have both always interested me, but were areas that I couldn't really study in my program at BU. So I'm super grateful that I can work on these skills at FableVision!
Remy dreams of being a chef. How is your FableVision internship helping you build skills to get closer to your dream?
Participating in the Art & Animation Internship is awesome because I'm getting a ton of insight into how a professional animation studio functions! I'm interested specifically in children's entertainment, so FableVision is fantastic, as I'm getting a lot of exposure to children's educational animation.
More About Greg!
Anyone can cook! Favorite dish to make: To be honest, I'm not great at cooking. My go-to is usually turkey burgers, or some kind of fun bagel sandwich!
Favorite place/thing to do in Boston: My absolute favorite place in Boston is the New England Aquarium. I used to go all the time when I was a kid, and I can't help but feel so inspired whenever I visit now.
Song you’re listening to on repeat: I've actually been getting really into K-Pop recently! Specifically, I can't stop listening to “Baby” by ASTRO.
Gusteau inspires Remy throughout his journey. Someone you look up to: I have always looked up to the older members in my a cappella group at BU, In Achord! Ever since I was a freshman, I've always gone to them for advice, support, and really everything. They've definitely become my family at BU!
Janina Huang
Hometown: Boston, MA
School & Major: Boston University, English and Communication (emphasis in advertising)
Position: Marketing Intern
Tell us about your journey here! What brought you to FableVision?
I learned about FableVision my senior year of high school! My sister and I were researching animation studios in Boston, and FableVision popped up. When I saw the 2015 relaunch of Zoombinis in the FableVision portfolio, a game I loved as a kid, I was immediately interested. I’ve been following the studio and InternVision ever since. Now that I’m a senior in college, it’s exciting and pretty surreal to be here!
What skills are you hoping to work on or develop during your internship?
Social media writing! It can be daunting to stare down a blank piece of paper (or Google Doc), and I’m working on getting over that initial block and just writing the tweet! I’ve been having a blast so far, and I’ve learned so much from the edits Monica and Sarah give me. I’m also looking forward to our intern project! Developing and writing for games has been a dream of mine for a while now, and I’m so happy to see each of us interns shine in our respective roles.
Remy dreams of being a chef. How is your FableVision internship helping you build skills to get closer to your dream?
My dream is to put as much good into the world as possible, so being at FableVision is certainly helping! On a professional level, FableVision’s mission and work embody so many things I care about: storytelling, education, and empathy, to name a few. Just being in the studio, listening to and learning from the people who work on these projects, is kind of the dream!
More About Janina!
Anyone can cook! Favorite dish to make: Lately, I’ve been making a lot of soup.
Favorite place/thing to do in Boston: The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum! It’s such a unique art museum with an interesting history.
Song you’re listening to on repeat: “Rain” by Ben Platt
Gusteau inspires Remy throughout his journey. Someone you look up to: My high school English teacher and advisor, Dr. Proll! A major part of who I am—from my choice of study, to my love of writing, to the way I think about the world—is because of her wisdom and guidance.
Natalie Charewicz
Hometown: Chatham, NJ
School & Major: Tufts University and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, English and Art (focus in illustration and animation)
Position: Art Intern
Portfolio: natcharewicz.com
Tell us about your journey here! What brought you to FableVision?
I was following an artist on Twitter who had done an internship at FableVision previously and I found out about it after looking through their page! After that point, I got a bit hooked on InternVision and would constantly keep an eye out for updates and to see what all the interns were working on each semester.
What skills are you hoping to work on or develop during your internship?
Learning how to work creatively as part of a bigger team! Making independent artwork for college classes is really different from being a part of a group project that involves pitching ideas, creating placeholder art, helping with scripts, and so many different moving parts for all areas of production. It’s a lot to juggle at once, but that’s part of the fun.
Remy dreams of being a chef. How is your FableVision internship helping you build skills to get closer to your dream?
This internship is definitely helping me improve my teamwork and collaboration skills, which are really important parts of any field. Plus I’m getting to work on my art in a different setting than what I’m used to, which is great for improving my skills.
More About Natalie!
Anyone can cook! Favorite dish to make: So it’s kind of bold of me to imply that I can make any dish *well*, but I really enjoy making crêpes, especially with my dad.
Favorite place/thing to do in Boston: This changes daily, but I think I have to go with getting brunch and/or coffee with friends (especially at @union; this is free promo. I love that restaurant), and then spending the day just goofing around pretty much anywhere.
Song you’re listening to on repeat: Right now it would have to be “Curiosity” by Amber Liu and “How To Love” by Day6!
Gusteau inspires Remy throughout his journey. Someone you look up to: Rachel Bloom! For those who don’t know her, she wrote and starred in the TV series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, which is a musical comedy and probably my favorite show of all time. It really inspires me that she was able to combine her love of acting and writing to basically live the best of both worlds. I hope to be able to do that with my own passions someday.
Rubin Soodak
Hometown: New York, NY
School & Major: Harvard Graduate School of Education, Ed.M. in Technology, Innovation, and Education
Position: Production Intern
Tell us about your journey here! What brought you to FableVision?
The lighthearted, passionate attitude in everything they do!
What skills are you hoping to work on or develop during your internship?
I want to understand how to take client-driven creative projects from start to finish and it would be GREAT to get some familiarity with Unity and visual design.
Remy dreams of being a chef. How is your FableVision internship helping you build skills to get closer to your dream?
I dream of working on animated content for the clients that FableVision has worked with for years. This is my first time seeing how a studio of this caliber gets their projects done, and I feel like I'm stepping closer to my goals just by being here!
More About Rubin!
Anyone can cook! Favorite dish to make: Chocolate. Chip. Banana. Bread.
Favorite place/thing to do in Boston: Scurry about in dark alleys.
Song you’re listening to on repeat: “Coffee Shop” by Pizzagirl.
Gusteau inspires Remy throughout his journey. Someone you look up to: I’m the oldest, and the tallest, of four kids. But I look up to my brother and sisters. They’re my biggest role models. If they see this, they’ll never let me live it down…
Sophie Chung
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
School & Major: Harvard Graduate School of Education, Ed.M in Technology, Innovation, & Education
Position: Production Intern
Portfolio: sophiejchung.com
Tell us about your journey here! What brought you to FableVision?
The name has definitely been floating around in our program at Harvard for a while now as a prestigious internship site for those who love and desire more experience in educational media. I shot my shot, and look where I am now!
What skills are you hoping to work on or develop during your internship?
Until now, I have dwelled mostly in the film marketing sphere. This is my first real professional chance to dig into the production side, and I'm beyond excited to get that landscape purview as well as the detailed hands-on experience.
Remy dreams of being a chef. How is your FableVision internship helping you build skills to get closer to your dream?
My dream...is to be in the room where it happens. More specifically, to be in the room of strategy and production when the day comes for a pilot children's TV show with Asian American characters and culture.
More About Sophie!
Anyone can cook! Favorite dish to make: I'm actually much more of a baker than a cook. And I do think my banana bread and carrot cake recipes aren't all that shabby!
Favorite place/thing to do in Boston: The Seaport District gives me proximity to water. The South End has personality. And I adore walking through (and getting lost in) the Arboretum. I also love how I can walk anywhere with some good music, look up at the stars, and just breathe in the air. Not a Boston-specific thing, but it's a favorite life thing I do.
Song you’re listening to on repeat: “La La Lost You” (the acoustic version) by NIKI, 88rising
Gusteau inspires Remy throughout his journey. Someone you look up to: Hands down, my mom. My life is inconceivably better for her wisdom and love in it.