Brainwaves of Sken

What made you pick your major?

Well, to get at that we have to get at what made me pick my school.

I started at U of D-Mercy (’cause of a girl, naturally) while I was working full-time. I kept a 4.0 while I was there, and discovered college could be very different than I imagined – with mutual respect and excitement.

I applied to Denver University’s Digital Media Studies program, and was accepted – I visited, and they were pretty slick. Then came the understanding of how much they cost, and my nature as a (technical) Dependent. What a shitty system that is.

Being too embarrassed to return to the teacher at UDM whose recommendation letter I asked for (at the expense of his own program), I spent my free time digging into photography and local filmmaking efforts.

Eventually, my filmmaking partner convinced me to go to a recruiting day at Madonna with him – he was interested in Pre-Law (he dropped out right away, actually) and was sick of hearing me whine about missing college.

I picked through their catalog for the most interesting direction – TV/Video Comm. It related to what I was doing on my off-time, and everything else looked boring. I kept a double major with Graphic Design for two of the three years I was there – graduating a year earlier, though, was a big incentive to drop it.

What do you love about it now that you are actually working in your field?

I simultaneously must be very creative and very technical. I have something new to work on every day, and I can constantly improve. I utilize my sense of timing (which has improved incredibly) and skills from my life as a photographer. Doing what I do requires a diversity of understanding.

I’m working with an intern, and I get to point out these things I’ve picked up over the years, which is a lot of fun. We largely have a good attitude here.

What do you hate about it?

My hours aren’t entirely predictable (though they should be at this point). I am entirely beholden to my coworkers for a script, and can do little if it is too late, too long, too imprecise in language, or largely incompatible with video.

Would you pick it again knowing what you do now?

Yes and no. I still think it was the best major available at my school, but I might have pushed harder for a more challenging environment.

If you could change one thing about your life what would it be (saying a stable job environment is getting off to easy)?

I like to think that if there’s anything in my life that I want to change badly enough, I will do so.

I would like to live someplace a little more interesting and less depressed, and have my friends near me. How’s that for a big wish?

~ by Skennedy on April 1, 2009.

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