Meet the Spring Interns!

Through the Snowmageddon that has become 2015, four new FableVision interns have battled the weather that has imperiled the city of Boston – fighting T delays and bitter cold temperatures to make their way to the fun (and thankfully warm!) FableVision studio at 308 Congress St.  

Whether we are tweeting with the marketing team or bringing illustrations to life with the artists, all of us have the opportunity to develop our individual skills at FableVision’s creative and colorful studio here in Boston. With that being said, say hello to FableVision’s spring – even if it is still snowy – interns!

Paloma Diaz-Dickson, Art Intern

My name is Paloma Diaz-Dickson and I was born in Houston, Texas and grew up in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. I attended a German school K-12 and did a semester abroad in Germany when I was sixteen. I returned to the US for college, first attending Williams College for a few years before transferring to the Art Institute of Boston (now Lesley University College of Art and Design) and completing a BFA in illustration.

Having done a previous internship at a small toy company in Lakeville, MA, I discovered that I mainly enjoy producing illustrations intended for children, which is what led me to FableVision. In the future I hope to continue producing art and illustrations for toys, other children's products, games, apps, and other interactive media for children. 

"Chicken Bus" by Paloma Diaz-Dickson is a digital piece loosely inspired by public transportation in her hometown, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia.

Interesting facts about Paloma:

• I have probably seen the 1985 Anne of Green Gables mini series close to 100 times.
• I have eaten a piraña that I fished out of the Amazon river myself.
• I can do ten push-ups in a row.
• I have been ice fishing. It was very cold, but lots of fun!
• I have held many baby sloths in my lifetime and will hold many more.

Alyssa Graca, Marketing Intern

My name is Alyssa Graca, and I am currently a senior at Simmons College studying Communications and English, with a minor in Cinema and Media Studies. I grew up in the small town of Somerset, MA – being in Boston has been a change, but it has now become my second home!

Ever since I was a kid I loved drawing, writing, and making videos – cartoons and books were what originally inspired me to want to pursue a career in media. FableVision thrives off of a desire to educate and inspire children, so I immediately felt a connection when I first heard of their studio here in Boston. I was ecstatic to join the FableVision team as a marketing intern, and have absolutely loved every minute of it! From drafting blog posts to researching information for upcoming projects, I have already learned a bunch and can’t wait to see what other experience I will gain during the rest of my time here!

Interesting facts about Alyssa:

• I used to be terrified of roller coasters until my friend forced me on Bizarro at Six Flags New England - which we then proceeded to ride a total of 3 times that day (and another 8 the next time we went!).
• My favorite cartoon (and the one that had the most positive impact on my life) is Danny Phantom.
• This past summer I visited my dad's old hometown in the Açores, which was the farthest I've ever been from home.
• My childhood home was haunted; I am a firm believer in ghosts.
• I have been to the Kids' Choice Awards - which was a totally unexpected, yet super amazing experience!

Kat Jia, Art Intern

Hello, I'm Kat Jia. I'm one of the art interns at FableVision. I focus mostly on animations with Flash. I spent my childhood in Beijing China, and came to America when I was 12. My teenage years were spent under the lovely sun of California, and I eventually came to the East Coast to study art at Rhode Island School of Design. I love the autumns here with golden leaves, but the now [winter] is a little harder to handle. I came to FableVision because I really enjoy hand drawn animation. It's really exciting to see that FableVision still believes in that handcrafted feel in this age filled with 3D modeled animation. In the future I hope to continue to animate and learn how to tell stories more effectively. 

Interesting facts about Kat:

Kat's piece is part of a non-fiction children's book about mushrooms.

• I'm on a lion dance team~ Two people make up one lion, with one person controlling the head, and another person being the butt.
• I like making steam buns, especially on warm days. It's super exciting watching them rise to twice the original size - that's when you know they will turn out really fluffy.
• The cube is my favorite geometric solid. I think it's slightly awkward, which makes it all the more adorable.
• I'm pretty good with giving shoulder massages.
• I love fresh laundry. They smell so lovely, and come out so warm from the dryer. I always wanted to dive into the pile and nap inside.

Alice Kim, Marketing Intern

My name is Alice Kim and I was born in Aurora, Colorado and grew up in Seoul, South Korea. From kindergarten to 12th grade, I attended Department of Defense schools – i.e. for children of military parents stationed overseas. However, I always knew I wanted to come back to the U.S. for college and decided to attend Boston University, despite having never visited the city. Fortunately, I immediately fell in love with the city and had a new home [far] away from home.

With graduation creeping up in less than three months, I am slightly anxious to figure out my next “big step,” but am hoping to continue my career in marketing somewhere within the entertainment industry. I stumbled upon the internship opportunities at FableVision and realized how it could be the perfect chance for me to refine and improve upon skills I have learned before, including social media management and research. Working in such an open and collaborative environment has been great and I am excited to see what else is in store with this internship!

Interesting facts about Alice:

• At 21, I still don't know how to drive.
• Last year, I flew from Boston to Seoul to London and back to Boston - circling the entire globe.
• I am told that I am very reminiscent of Monica Geller from Friends (minus the OCD).
• I can still name around 90% of the original 150 Pokémon.
• Back in the day, Freddi Fish, Putt-Putt, and Pajama Sam were some of my favorite computer games.

Share your own facts, passions, and interests with us at FableVision! Join FableVision Studios' league of interns. You can apply on the website here. 

That's a wrap, folks!

An outside view of FableVision's office (we're on the top floor next to the My Sky sign!)

As the sun sets a little bit earlier every day and the wind develops a surprising chill, the summer finally ends, and so do our internships at FableVision Studios.

It's been a wonderful and unique journey for the six of us. Three art interns sat at the center work table, hunched over their Macs, diligently working on Peter H. Reynolds' upcoming animation, The Testing Camera. With styluses gripped and eyes focused, the art interns learned more about animation, various kinds of software, and the media production industry.

Meanwhile, three marketing interns occupied the front desks with their laptops, greeting employees and visitors with a grin. We learned about all of FableVision's projects, the children's media industry, and important marketing concepts. We blogged, tweeted, Facebooked, Googled -- and wrote, a lot -- all summer long.

In the bittersweet end, each of us leaves FableVision with new knowledge, new perspective, and new ideas. Some of us did not come in with a lot of marketing skills or software knowledge or even a complete understanding of how FableVision works. But after four months, we've learned about these things in a hands-on, real life way which cannot be replicated in the classroom. 

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Screenshot of artwork from The Testing Camera

Jazmine, one of the art interns, shares about her invaluable experiences she had during her internship:

Interning at FableVision has been a blast. I'm so grateful I had the opportunity to intern here for the summer. I really enjoyed working on Peter H. Reynolds' The Testing Camera. It was both challenging and rewarding. Peter has a very unique style that can sometimes be tough to recreate with my own hand, but it was a valuable learning experience and great to be part of making something with such a powerful message.

The best advice I can give to future interns is to always ask questions, no matter how silly you may think they are. I came to FableVision not having as much knowledge in Flash as I would have liked, and I had to ask a lot of questions. From those questions, I learned something new every day. Now, at the end of my internship, I have a lot more Flash knowledge under my belt and real work experience in the art/animation industry. 

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Griffin's original artwork displayed and illuminated for FableVision's Creative Juices Art Show.

Griffin chimes in with a reflection on his marketing internship:

As I look back on my summer, I try to remember all of the things that have happened in the past three months. After all, one of the most important parts of an internship is what you get out of it. It's the memories and connections that are made throughout the course of one summer. And wow, I made so many memories at FableVision. From the Creative Juices Art Show to the weekly lunch time adventure (in which I learned that you are never too old to play on a playground), FableVision is not a place I will soon forget.

It's always such a strange transition from internship to classroom, but hopefully my time and experience gained here at FableVision will help to shape and inform my decisions in the future. I also wanted to say thank you to Sarah, Andrea, and the whole FableVision team for making this summer so great!

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Brand and Development Strategist Andrea (aka one of the marketing bosses) and marketing intern Amy grabbing an ice cream from the giant Hood milk bottle.

In addition to gaining industry experience, we all gained a little something extra by interning at FableVision: we learned how to embrace the creative, childish side of ourselves. FableVision taught us how to be ourselves, have fun, and let our imaginations wander freely.

Working for the marketing department of a media production company was not my first thought when applying for internships. But, because I expanded my horizons a little bit and took a chance, I ended up having an incredible experience. So, my advice to all the internship-hunters out there would be to take a chance. Don't limit your options. Keep an open mind. You never know -- you might end up exactly where you're supposed to be.

Don't worry, InternVision isn't leaving forever! A big reason we created this blog is to pass it down to future interns so we can build on each of our unique internship stories. FableVision is accepting applications for their fall internships, you can get more details about applying here. Watch out for more posts by the incoming fall interns!

Childhood Media Inspirations

FableVision is a media production studio, so, you could say, we have lots of places to draw inspiration from. Our studio is filled with bright colors, funky stuffed animals, illustrated books, and so much more. In addition to what we have here, each animator, producer, developer, and marketer brings their own experiences as a personal source of inspiration. That's what makes our ideas so unique. So, we got to thinking, what kinds of things, specifically media-related things, influence us personally and form who we are individually? While there are countless media influences in our lives, we kept coming back to one idea: childhood television shows.

Everyone has vivid memories of a favorite childhood movie or TV show that has stayed with them to this day. Our attachments to these special shows can influence our likes and dislikes, our aspirations, even our values and character. We asked the studio what TV shows or movies have stayed close with them through the years. The answers we got may surprise you and could even bring back your childhood. Take a stroll down memory lane with us and check out our office favorites!

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The Carol Burnett Show

Brian Grossman - Technical Director

Growing up, I loved The Carol Burnett Show. I've always enjoyed the format of variety shows (The Muppet Show, Saturday Night Live) with lots of quick, fun stories and goofy humor. 

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Actor and comedian Robin Williams

Cecilia Lenk - Creative Strategist

My favorite movie as a child was Blade Runner. It's dark and dystopian and has robots - what's not to love?

I also loved Robin Williams and his work - both his truly great movies and the somewhat unwatchable ones. I can't fathom that he is gone. Whenever Robin Williams showed up, either on TV or in a movie, it always made me happy.

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Batman: The Animated Series

Hannah O'Neal - Artist/Animator

As a kid, I consumed a bunch of weirdo media! Some TV shows that I really loved and inspired me were Sailor Moon and Batman: The Animated Series. Movies that I loved to watch and inspired me were Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King. Thanks, Disney!

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3-2-1 Contact

Jordan Bach - Senior Developer

My favorite TV show for a while was 3-2-1 Contact. It was a great show about science, and I learned about the mysteries of the world and how scientists figure them out. The last few minutes of each episode was a serialized mystery called The Bloodhound Gang, which was awesome and a great way to teach critical thinking.

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Looney Tunes

Renee Kurilla - Lead Animator

I watched a lot of cartoons as a kid, but what I loved the most was Looney Tunes. The characters felt like friends to me, and I spent a lot of time drawing them - my parents even let me paint them all over my bedroom walls. My favorite character was the Tasmanian Devil with Michigan J. Frog as a close second. 

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The Brady Bunch

Danielle Gillis - Producer

When I was a kid, we were limited to watching TV from 5-6 p.m. when my Mom was making dinner.  We'd watch re-runs of The Brady Bunch and The Monkees.  So I wouldn't say that my media experience as a kid inspired me to do what I do now.  

However, all of those other hours of the day I would play with my brothers and sister and kids in the neighborhood. We had wild imaginations - we made up games like rock factory, witches and worm circus. We spent hours making up stories for our dolls and doing arts and crafts. I believe that's what inspired me to do what I do now. I've never lost that sense of playfulness and fun.

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My Neighbor Totoro

Taryn Johnson - Production Artist and Animator

We had a very small movie collection growing up, but one of my favorites was My Neighbor Totoro. I felt like Satsuki and Mei were just like me and my sister, running around being silly and imaginative. I used to pretend we had our own Totoro in the woods behind our house!

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Martin and Chris Kratt with beloved child icon Zaboomafoo 

Amy Wetzel - Marketing Intern 

Growing up, I watched a lot of PBS, and my favorite show was probably Zaboomafoo. I loved learning about all the different animals and seeing the Kratt brothers interact with real animals on the show - and I totally wished I was friends with Zaboomafoo the lemur in real life.   

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Barbra Streisand in the 1968 musical comedy Hello, Dolly!

Sarah Ditkoff - Communications and Development Strategist 

I didn't watch much TV growing up, but I loved movies, especially long ones I could really relax into when I was home sick -- in particular, musicals. I especially loved My Fair Lady, The Music Man, Hello Dolly, and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

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Soleil Moon Frye as "Punky Brewster" 

Andrea Calvin - Brand and Development Strategist 

I wanted to be Punky Brewster. She was the quirky girl that could handle everything - from saying no to drugs, to helping her friends, to battling scary giant spiders, and running a pizza place. And she had amazing style! 

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The cast of The Amanda Show: Josh Peck, Drake Bell, Amanda Bynes, and Nancy Sullivan. 

Emma Doherty - Operations Intern 

I watched a lot of Nickelodeon as a kid, and the show I made sure to never miss was The Amanda Show. I loved all the different sketches and would try to act them out with my friends. I basically wanted to be Amanda so that I could have my own show because I loved to make people laugh.

What were some of your favorite television shows or movies growing up? Comment or share with us - we'd love to hear!

A FableVision Journey: The Production Process

One of most common questions FableVision interns ask during their interviews is, “So how do you create all of these games and apps?” While I’m sure we wish the answer was simply “we snap our fingers and magic happens,” in reality the solution is much more complicated. As an example, let’s look at a recent video FableVision produced for EDmin.

Although this video is just one and a half minutes long, it actually took two weeks and eight people to complete. Animation, script, sound, and video editing are just a few of the tasks needed for this project to reach fruition. In this post, you will get an inside peek into the studio and our tried and true formula for success.

Step 1: Project Proposal

It all starts with an idea. A client approaches us with their objective and the FableVision proposal team responds with a creative solution (or two). The amount of flexibility we have in design varies from project to project. Sometimes people will come in with a clear vision while others may present us with only an idea of what they want. In that case, it’s up to FableVision’s creative interpretation to push it to the next level.

Step 2: FabLab

After the proposal is approved, the next step is an all-day brainstorming session - what we call "the FabLab" - with the FableVision team and our clients. Together, the team constructs their game plan  This marathon collaboration serves to construct goals and define the parameters of the project, clearing up any questions from the project proposal.

Step 3: Define and Design

This is where we get into the nitty gritty of the project. After establishing guidelines and goals, the production team (including both FableVision personnel and content advisors) breaks down the process into specific deadlines and objectives. A team usually contains a developer, producer, artist/animator, sound engineer, and whatever else a specific product needs (e.g., creating a website would require an interface designer). Together, they put the project under greater scrutiny and make a lot of changes. At the end of this step, we have a clear idea of how this project will take form and when.

Step 4: Build and Launch

Step 4 is the final production stage, but also one of the longest. The actual implementation and build-out of the project is carried out at this point, as our artists and programmers collaborate to create the finished and tangible product. From there, the client and team launches the project on its target platform, which could be uploading it on the App Store to putting it on television.

Step 5: Celebrate!

Every Monday we have an office meeting that highlights the progress of all our current projects and display all of our shiny new products! This is our opportunity to give others a pat on the back for a job well done. Some projects are over quickly (two weeks to a month) while others take a little longer (some are over a year long!). But regardless of the time commitment, FableVision follows this polished formula for success. And congrats to you too! You just made it through your very first FableVision production process!

Still want to learn more? Here's a video about our production process, explained by our very own FableMonsters: