It's that time of year again where girls and boys spend mom and dad's money on back to school supplies. The OC Register interviewed a number of kids out at the various local malls to discover their back to school spending plans. This one 12 yr old girl has a budget of $2000! I don't think I spent $2000 on back to school shopping for my entire grade school experience???
Hell, I don't think I will have a budget of more than a $100 to get ready for year 2 of my MBA program.
If your interested in learning how you stack up against OC parents, check it out:
http://www.ocregister.com/money/mesa-costa-beach-1816399-coast-south
Friday, August 24, 2007
Sunday, August 19, 2007
A True California Vehicle
Lindsey and I used to joke that a car is not a Californian car until it is dented. Well, our "dreams" came true while we were enjoying our weekend together as some drunk or high or both "yahoo" did not notice that we were stopped at a stoplight for over five seconds and decided rear-end us. The day started nice enough - we ran some errands, got our car washed (oh, the irony there), and drove around Huntington Beach looking at the neighborhoods around the beach area. The street parking was very full, so rather than enjoy the beach we decided to head home for some dinner. It was on the way out of Huntington Beach on the PCH at a stop light that we heard an incredibly long screech of hard breaking and felt a smash to discover the "yahoo" driving in a large Chev Silverado truck had flattened our recently cleaned car back-end.Once we pull over to the side of the road, he immediately begins begging that we resolve this personally without the police because 1) he was in an accident last week and 2) had a few beers just before he hit the road (Definitely two reasons to encourage us not to call the police). We immediately noticed he had Florida plates which just increased the possibility that we would never see him again. The driver also learned not to mess with my normally pleasant wife. She was pretty upset and just kept repeating "Call the cops. We are calling the cops." I just looked at the guy and said, "Hey, I am not messing with that. We got to call them."
I told him that he had until the cops arrived for him to get his shit together, but it is being reported. He immediately went on about how we came out of nowhere and it was either us, another car, or a tree. I just decided to try to ignore him, because his stupidity would send me over the edge. The "out of nowhere" comment was ridiculous because we were driving out of Huntington Beach on the PCH. On the weekend, no car, in their right mind, can move very fast in this traffic. Also, we were stopped at a stoplight for 5-10 seconds before he hit us. This means after drinking or whatever else he took off like a bat out of hell on a crowded road and was so out of it he did not notice three lanes of traffic stopped at a light.
Now I will give this guy credit in that he stayed. In this situation, I would have bet big money that he was going to make a run for it. It is pretty easy to get lost in the crowds here, so it would have been easy. But he stayed and accepted the consequences.
Once the cop arrived, the first question he asked the "yahoo" after getting his expired registration and insurance document (he claimed that he did they are both valid even if he didn't have the current documentation), was "have you been drinking today?" This guy was screwed. When the second officer arrived and went with him back to his truck to find the expired registration, he returned with a handful of prescription drug containers that he found in the truck cab. This guy is so screwed.
On a good note, the Huntington Beach police officer was without a doubt our most pleasant experience with U.S. authority figures. He took our information, did not give me a hard time about being a student without his passport on him, cracked a few jokes to make the experience more pleasant, let us know that we could legally drive the vehicle while waiting to get it fixed, and quickly sent us on our way so that he could deal with the yahoo! We couldn't leave fast enough from that experience.
Now, we are going to discover if State Farm delivers the service they promote.
Life as a Video Game Marketer
I have hit the mid-point of my internship experience as a brand marketer at THQ. It has been an enjoyable and great learning experience. Unforeseen circumstances required me to take over the Ratatouille video games. In addition to handling the domestic marketing side of the titles, I coordinate and support the our marketing teams around the world, and manage the Disney/Pixar relationship.
While there are many cool aspects of marketing video games such as you need to research competitive titles, there are challenges that one wouldn't think would be a problem. For example, one task that is a bit of a bane of a video game marketer and can drain countless numbers of hours are screen shots. First, it is difficult to find that perfect action shot that communicates the fun of a title. Video games are dynamic and interactive by nature. Therefore, finding a static shot that doesn't sell a game short can be challenging. Second, aside from Xbox360, the major video game consoles require special equipment (that often isn't readily available) to take screen shots. That means that you will have limited time to find that perfect shot and often you like to be able to quickly take new shots after reviewing the last batch. Lastly, if your title is a licensed property, the licensor will want to approve every screen shot. So even if you work to find what you feel is that perfect shot, it may be not approved.
Another pain in the video game marketer butt is dealing with ESRB rating. ESRB is the ratings board that decides if your title deserves an "E for everyone" or "Teen" rating. Before it goes on sale, every video game must be rated by the ESRB. ESRB rating requires a detailed application that outlines every occurrence of questionable content (I am not going to list everything, but it is a long list). From what I have been told that generally the game developer completes the application, but at THQ it is the responsibility of the video game marketer. Aside from not being fun to complete, the marketer is usually preparing the application based on an uncompleted test build (it is supposed to be the final build, but timing often does not make this practical) and the game design document (which often has differences from the final product). As this does not give us a complete view of the game (the developer definitely knows every aspect of the game), it raises the chance of errors in the application. The ESRB does not like errors in the application, but they do like issuing fines. Anyways, I think you can get the drift on how pleasurable this is for a video game marketer.
So, there you go. Not everything is fun and games for a video game marketer.
While there are many cool aspects of marketing video games such as you need to research competitive titles, there are challenges that one wouldn't think would be a problem. For example, one task that is a bit of a bane of a video game marketer and can drain countless numbers of hours are screen shots. First, it is difficult to find that perfect action shot that communicates the fun of a title. Video games are dynamic and interactive by nature. Therefore, finding a static shot that doesn't sell a game short can be challenging. Second, aside from Xbox360, the major video game consoles require special equipment (that often isn't readily available) to take screen shots. That means that you will have limited time to find that perfect shot and often you like to be able to quickly take new shots after reviewing the last batch. Lastly, if your title is a licensed property, the licensor will want to approve every screen shot. So even if you work to find what you feel is that perfect shot, it may be not approved.
Another pain in the video game marketer butt is dealing with ESRB rating. ESRB is the ratings board that decides if your title deserves an "E for everyone" or "Teen" rating. Before it goes on sale, every video game must be rated by the ESRB. ESRB rating requires a detailed application that outlines every occurrence of questionable content (I am not going to list everything, but it is a long list). From what I have been told that generally the game developer completes the application, but at THQ it is the responsibility of the video game marketer. Aside from not being fun to complete, the marketer is usually preparing the application based on an uncompleted test build (it is supposed to be the final build, but timing often does not make this practical) and the game design document (which often has differences from the final product). As this does not give us a complete view of the game (the developer definitely knows every aspect of the game), it raises the chance of errors in the application. The ESRB does not like errors in the application, but they do like issuing fines. Anyways, I think you can get the drift on how pleasurable this is for a video game marketer.
So, there you go. Not everything is fun and games for a video game marketer.
Saturday, August 04, 2007
Week Four: THQ Internship
Week Four has gone by trouble free. It was the first time I felt a bit tired at the job. I generally get this feeling around the 1 month mark at most new positions. One takes in so much new information the mind just needs a break. The result is fatigue, but you push through it in a week or two.
This week has been spent better learning how to manage the Disney/Pixar relationship, writing the creative briefs, and summarizing the results of my data project studying "Teen"-rated and "E/E10+" children's games based on TV series. The data study has resulting in some unexpected results that I am confused, but excited to learn more about. As always I can't comment on a public blog, but the results indicate something contrary to conventional thinking.
The end of the week rocked with the Bourne Ultimatum free ticket to the premiere. It was a great way to end a tough week. After four weeks, like anyone, I have learned plenty. The video game industry is a fascinating industry as it is still very young and, only now, some companies, like THQ, are trying to transition to more sophisticated and mature management style. There is a lot of trial and error here, but atleast I can say, right or wrong, it is in the right direction.
This week has been spent better learning how to manage the Disney/Pixar relationship, writing the creative briefs, and summarizing the results of my data project studying "Teen"-rated and "E/E10+" children's games based on TV series. The data study has resulting in some unexpected results that I am confused, but excited to learn more about. As always I can't comment on a public blog, but the results indicate something contrary to conventional thinking.
The end of the week rocked with the Bourne Ultimatum free ticket to the premiere. It was a great way to end a tough week. After four weeks, like anyone, I have learned plenty. The video game industry is a fascinating industry as it is still very young and, only now, some companies, like THQ, are trying to transition to more sophisticated and mature management style. There is a lot of trial and error here, but atleast I can say, right or wrong, it is in the right direction.
Flight of the Concords - A Great HBO Show
After the Bourne Ultimatum, I figured I would stay on the "Pop Culture" theme to make a brief comment on the Flight of the Concords - a half-hour HBO comedy. I am not sure if Canada gets it on TMN, but this show is hilariously, unorthodoxly funny. I can't really describe it except to say it's two Kiwi's experiencing New York and the tough life of "wanna-be" musicians. Their experiences of the American way of life and their impromptu songs about their experiences are comedic gems. Too bad, I think the show is a little too unorthodox to last more than a season.
THQ Bourne Ultimatum Perk
This past Friday, I took advantage of a THQ perk where we were offered free tickets to a showing of the Bourne Ultimatum on the "release day". I believe the tickets were offered as part of THQ advertising the new "Stuntman" video game releasing this fall (It actually looks pretty cool and heads and shoulders above the first one).
I am a big "Bourne" fan. I love, and have DVDs of, the first two movies. I think they are some of the most intelligent and exciting action movies to be made in a long time. So when the opportunity to get free tickets arose, I jumped at the chance. The movie, like all previous movies, was excellent and action packed, but contrary to other reviews, I think is was the worst of the exceptional series. First, every Bourne movie has at least one amazing car chase seen. I think the car chase in Paris in the Bourne Identity was one of the best car chase scenes ever. Of course there are chase scenes in the Bourne Ultimatum, but they fall short of the scenes of the first two movies. Second, the director decided to heavily avoid using the steady cam for that "The Shield" in your face in the middle of the action feeling. I haven't decided if he either did not use it correctly (ie, made the shots "too" shaky") or if it was just an error to not use the steady cam. At times it felt as amateur as "The Blair Witch Project". From my limited understandign, the lack of steady cam is used to convey a sense of gritty, "on the streets" feel to the viewer. I've always felt Bourne should not convey this feeling. Bourne is not "on the streets". Bourne is ruthlessly in control - analyzing every minute detail of a situation. This controlled manner calls for a precisely controlled camera shot that was used in the first two movies.
Again, I acknowledge I am nit-picking. It was an action packed movie - probably the best action movie of the summer.
I am a big "Bourne" fan. I love, and have DVDs of, the first two movies. I think they are some of the most intelligent and exciting action movies to be made in a long time. So when the opportunity to get free tickets arose, I jumped at the chance. The movie, like all previous movies, was excellent and action packed, but contrary to other reviews, I think is was the worst of the exceptional series. First, every Bourne movie has at least one amazing car chase seen. I think the car chase in Paris in the Bourne Identity was one of the best car chase scenes ever. Of course there are chase scenes in the Bourne Ultimatum, but they fall short of the scenes of the first two movies. Second, the director decided to heavily avoid using the steady cam for that "The Shield" in your face in the middle of the action feeling. I haven't decided if he either did not use it correctly (ie, made the shots "too" shaky") or if it was just an error to not use the steady cam. At times it felt as amateur as "The Blair Witch Project". From my limited understandign, the lack of steady cam is used to convey a sense of gritty, "on the streets" feel to the viewer. I've always felt Bourne should not convey this feeling. Bourne is not "on the streets". Bourne is ruthlessly in control - analyzing every minute detail of a situation. This controlled manner calls for a precisely controlled camera shot that was used in the first two movies.
Again, I acknowledge I am nit-picking. It was an action packed movie - probably the best action movie of the summer.
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