Final Notes

So let's wrap this all up with what I came out with. This is a picture I took of the studio, not a very good one mind you. Proof that something doesn't have to be big and grand to have everything you need, or to create the right stuff.

And here are two of the twenty layouts I created for this project/program. I spent a long time picking out the perfect layout size, which is actually an 8.5x11 sheet of paper. The idea of the project was to create something that could be viewed on a digital format, however, it had to printable on the off chance someone wanted it printed. It had to be for the 'everyman'. It took me a while, after the size was determined, to come up with what needed to be on the pages, such as copy and image size (so that we could make approximate and versatile layouts.) Everything had to start with an idea or a basis to be followed, always something friendly to both user and creator.

It also had to be understood that everything had to be interchangeable, and no copy was real copy. Simply putting in Lorem Ipsum would not work for everything, which is when we began to attempt to figure out how real copy would fit, and how to distinguish the different titles. Should we change the font? Make it bold? What would be the best and most visually appealing solution?
For these two seemingly simple pages, a lot of work and thought went into it. Details are important, and sometimes, simplicity is key. I am glad to know what I know now thanks to the Summer Fellows program. And with that, I believe this is my last entry. Thanks for the opportunity!

On Set of The Good Wife Photo Shoot

Last week as an intern I had the exciting opportunity to go to a photo shoot for the hit CBS show, The Good Wife. Sadly we were weren’t allowed to take photos (for security and privacy reasons of course) but just being on a real live photo shoot was amazing. I had never watched The Good Wife but I was pretty familiar with most of the actors. For someone who has never really ever encountered a celebrity sighting I was very excited to get to see five or six actors all at one time.

Industria, where the photo shoot was being taken, was on the Lower West Side; tucked away on a deserted street. I arrived at 9:30am where CBS crewmembers were already busy at work. A lot was going on: Wardrobe was on one side, hair and makeup was in another corner and the rest of the studio space was filled with lights, equipment, props and furniture for the shoot. The photographer was taking pictures of each actor individually, then onto group shots and lastly photos of just Julianna Margulies. Besides Julianna Marguiles (who plays “the good wife”) other actors who were at the shoot were: Josh Charles, Christine Baranski, Matt Czuchry, Archie Panjabi and Alan Cumming. A photo shoot is a big production and a lot of work goes into making it happen…not only is there the photographer, but there are photographer assistants, people who move around the props, make up assistants, stylists, the photo editor for The Good Wife and many more.

It was so exciting to see the images appear so clear and crisp on the screen. The photos taken at this photo shoot I learned were going to be used for promotional ads, ads you’d find on buses, in subways, on billboards etc. as well as for magazines. Hundreds upon hundreds of photos were taken that day and I can’t wait to see what photos they end up choosing.

I think it would be an unbelievably amazing opportunity to be a studio photographer who gets to shoot celebrities for a living. I really enjoyed being on set of the photo shoot for CBS’s Emmy nominated show, The Good Wife and now it’s one more thing I can check off of my bucket list.

Typography

I've had some time to think it over now and I guess there were little tidbits of information that were more important the more I thought on it. You don't really realize the value of something until it is no longer around. With the lesson passed I was hard pressed to continue thinking about the project and the assignment and all the things I had worked on. Even now it is hard for me to think of specifics. In my next and final post I will provide a few examples of the project that I worked on, though it isn't really anything to behold to the regular eye. We left it unfleshed and incomplete, many pieces of it still in the works. The finer details of the assignment gone with the wind, I suppose.

And yet, there are typographical things to be learned. For instance, have any of you heard of the Golden Rectangle? Apparently it's pretty important in the design world. It's said to be something of a 'perfect' shape, though nothing is perfect. To be honest, the truth is that it's the most visually appealing shape in history. The rectangle has side lengths that are part of the golden ratio: 1:1.618. It was used to build the Parthenon and paint the Mona Lisa.

You have to find the sort of... perfect shape to pull the layouts together and that's the difficult bit. That could take days depending on where the assignment needs to go, who is going to look at it... so on and so forth. I never realized all the thought that needs to go into one singular design process. We must think for the common man. Does the common man want to fool around with computer settings to see what he is looking at? Is he going to print it out, should we consider standard printing sizes? Is it to be printed ourselves made special in some kind of 4x9 brochure format?

And once you think you've sorted out one detail, you stumble upon another: the content. Are their images, copy? Does it need to be retrieved, do you need to write it yourself, if so what needs to go in it, so on and so forth. When at last, you think you have found a layout with which you are satisfied, you must begin to think of the finer details. You have created a barebone layout with only dummy copy, but will the real copy hold up so well in your format? So you try something, you try something extreme, and it looks awful.

Everything has to be changed and adjusted. The littlest things are what matters, and what help a project stand out. Thinking about these things over time made me realize the importance of what I truly learned. It was in the subtle hints and details that I took for granted. And I learned: nothing in design or the art world in general can be taken for granted.

So far so good

CBS as we all know is one the most well known broadcasting companies in the world. But what I really wanted to find out is what it was like in the corporate world as a photographer and what was it's really like to work for a major television network.

Thanks to the UArts Summer Fellowship Program, two weeks ago I started my internship at CBS in New York City, and so far the experience has been something I'll never forget. On Tuesday, July 5th I waited at New Jersey Transit for the 8:17am train and arrived at Penn Station. From there I then took the Subway all the way to 50th street and 7th Ave. From there I had a short walk to the CBS building which is alongside 6^th Avenue. 6^th Avenue is a very business oriented district so all around me I saw people in their very professional business attired heading into work, it felt so surreal that I was part of that group. Once arriving to my destination I saw the CBS building also known as the "Black Rock". All day I tried to keep my nerves intact because I had no idea what it was going to be like. Since this is my first internship, I hoped that I wouldn’t do or say anything too embarrassing. But once I met I met the lovely Nancy Eichenbaum, the Senior Photo Editor for CBS who also happens to be a Uarts alum, my nerves subsided. Nancy showed me around the Media Arts/Photo Department and introduced me to the other photo editors on the floor who all were very friendly and welcoming, as well as the three other interns, Casey, Ashlee and Alana.

My jobs include anything from looking through old negatives, headshots and contact sheets from shows such as The Young and the Restless, Star Trek and movies starring the late Elizabeth Taylor but also running errands where I get to see where CBS gets their images printed from. As interns we get to look through photographs from past and present television shows, edit photos and interact with such talented people who are not only good at what they do but love what they do. The work environment and the people at CBS are all very professional, laid back, and hard working, a place where I would someday love to work.

I am truly thankful to the Uarts staff, Nancy Eichenbaum and the Emerging Leaders Program for giving me this opportunity, and I can’t wait to see where what will happen in the weeks to come.

The Show

Today is the last day :( These past two weeks flew by! I can't believe it's over...

This video link is the "Indestructible" dance choreographed by Danielle Bower. Danielle is a Uarts alum! Danielle dances at Broadway Dance Center and teaches at the Rock West.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RpvZE6Amw0

This video link is the "Balloon" dance choreographed by Tracie Stanfield. She is an amazing choreographer, artist, and advocate for dance. Her class is intense; Tracie demands a lot but in return the dancers get a lot of constructive feedback.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1k52QcLIxg

This video link is the "Shelter" dance also choreographed by Tracie Stanfield. Tracie choreographs and teaches in NYC at Broadway Dance Center.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_L_09APHmU

The girls did well in the show and I'm proud of them! They have come a long way in such a short amount of time. I was surprised how close we became and I'm really going to put in the effort to keep in touch with all of them!

I had so much fun dancing and helping out here at the Rock West! I met so many Uarts alumni as well as other dancers and choreographers. This was a great opportunity to network with different people. I'm planning to go to NYC with friends from the program to take open classes. Nicole (the director at the Rock West) also encouraged me to come take class anytime!! I'll definitely be heading out to West Chester on the weekends! I'll miss my Rock West dance family! I know I'll be seeing them again soon though.

-Arielle

The City Life... for the summer at least!

©AEspinal Photography




So I live, breathe and OWN the New York Metro... and it only took me about 3 weeks to learn!

It’s really funny because my whole entire life I've lived right across the city that never sleeps.
Ever since I was a little girl I gazed u p o n the city lights that never seemed to turn off, for those who wandered the city streets without a bedtime. It amazed me, and left me wanting to know more.
This summer I was given a great opportunity to travel to the city everyday, but that wasn’t the best part. The best part was to actually intern for one of the greatest and most powerful networks on television today, CBS.
I started interning for CBS on June 6th and decided to commit myself entirely, by working every day from Monday – Friday. Working everyday would give me a chance to understand how the internal clock worked. Working everyday also gave those professionals that I would be working with a chance to understand me and know me, not just as ‘that intern’… but by my name and by the qualities I bring to the table.

The first day I started at CBS was definitely unexpected.
My alarm went off at exactly 7:05 am. I reached down to grab my phone and realized that the night before I hadn’t connected my phone to the outlet to charge and had 10% battery life! Knowing I had to other things to worry about and I figured I could plug it in at work I followed in my morning routine. Shower, brushed my teeth, and picked out a business casual outfit with black heels. After reviewing my checklist I had prepared the night before for my morning duties, I left the house.
Stepping out of the house the humidity attacked my hair… I walked five blocks headed towards the light rail (local train) and basically went from having straight hair to a curly afro… and the moment I got to the train the train pulled up but my heel broke… but I trekked forth. As I got on the train I looked for a seat, just my luck I sat next to a man that hunted for gold in his nose for the entire train ride, which last 15 minutes. When the train pulled to the station, I got off and transferred over to the Path station. While I walked over to the path, my good heel got caught in a crack while I crossed the street… good thing the light was red. I shook off all the bad luck and made the rest of my day better by thinking optimistically. Two more trains later I got to Rockefeller Center, which was two blocks away from the CBS building. I walked the two long city blocks in the horrible humidity and finally reached the tall dark skyscraper that cut a hole into the sky… even though it was a bit intimidating on the outside… the lobby was painted in this gold leaf color... warm and inviting. From then I knew I would enjoy my time at CBS… something as subtle as the color on the walls really speaks in volumes for me, and I was right. I met my employer Nancy and was welcomed with arms wide opened by everyone that day.

Talent Show

Tonight we had an impromptu talent show! It was nice to just relax and laugh after a long week. Preparation wasn't allowed for the talent show. The girls just got up and did whatever they felt like doing. This is a video of two of my jazz girls. Erin is the blonde and Cottie is the brunette. Erin is the mom of the group. She's the one who makes sure everyone is awake in the morning and makes sure is everyone is accounted for (she helps make my job super easy haha). Cottie is the funniest girl in the group. She always has a witty comeback and keeps us all smiling. This video is just a snippet of how much fun we all have on a daily basis!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6QKJunX9zw

-Arielle