Week 8 EOC: Professional Organizations

To stay up to date with what's happening in my industry, there are a couple of organizations and conventions I could be a part of to continue to learn and to network.

1. Consumer Electronic Show (CES) - This is a big convention to attend. It showcases some of the new technology and products that will be available to the public in the near future. And since it is in Las Vegas, it is cheaper and convenient for me.

2. National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) - This is another a big convention, also held in Las Vegas, that showcases the new technology and products that the entertainment industry will use. My major is a huge part of the entertainment industry so it's logical that this should be a convention to attend.

3. National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) - This is a convention that is held in Anaheim, California where new products for music making are showcased. Music being the thing that drove me to pursue my major, this is a show I should be attending.

4. 48 Hour Film Festival - This festival is one where a film is created from scratch in 48 hours. Having helped on a small part of a project for this festival once, I see what it means to work in a team. This festival is fun and challenging at the same time but it could give me lots of experience and networking opportunities.

5. Audio Engineer Society (AES) - This organization is a must for me. It is an organization just for audio people from all over the world and can provide me with a lot of knowledge and resources. It has also been around for a long time and that shows that it is an organization that is worth being a part of.

Week 7 EOC: Tell me about your career goals

I've always had career goals. That was the reason I even considered going to college. I knew what I wanted to do and needed a way to get there. Going to school has given me the opportunity to get closer to what I want to achieve. Before I knew much about the industry I wanted to be in, I thought that my career goal was going to be easy to achieve. It wasn't until I started getting more knowledge and actually working in the industry, that I saw that it might take longer than what I thought. That didn't stop me though, I'm still sticking to what I want to achieve and I'm planning on working until I reach that goal. Right now, I'm at the bottom of my industry. I have some experience but I don't have what I need to do what I want. I am however, in the same line of work as it. I'm doing the grunt work right now but that 's what I need to do in order to get to where I want to. My current goal is to be a live sound engineer and right now I'm just a stagehand. I want to be able to run a mixing console during a concert, instead of just setting up all the equipment and stage for it. I'm not there but I'm close and I'll continue to do what I need to do in my current job to get the experience to be able to reach my goal. Before even attending school, I knew this was my goal and it has stayed consistent throughout the years. I am willing to take any job opportunity that will make me come closer to my goal and I will use this to evaluate my next job opportunity.

Week 6 EOC: Seduction of the Online Web Surfer

To get the attention of people who visit my website I am going to put somethings on it that will get their attention. One of the main things I plan on having is a short 10 second video play and just to get attention of someone visiting my site for the first time. Another thing I plan on having is a slideshow that shows some of my work being displayed on the home page. Also in my front page is my twitter account which will be updating anything I am actively learning about my industry or any article I have read that I think are interesting. I will also have a coming soon tab on my website so that I am able to communicate to people that I am actively working on projects even though it might not be posted on my site. As of right now this is what I can mostly think of having to attract attention.

Week 5 EOC: What would you do for your dream job?

In the movie “Whatever Works” we meet a woman, which is from the south, who has gone to New York City to find her daughter. Once she finds her, she moves in with her and starts to experience the city. Time passes and the woman discovers that she has a passion for art and because of that she ends up opening her own art exhibit. From what I saw, I believe that the reason she had gone her entire life not knowing that she wanted to pursue that passion because she didn’t know she had it. In her life in the south, she was a conservative, Christian, married woman and I don’t think she saw her life outside of that. But once going to New York and seeing a different type of world and talking with people who were actually in the field, she saw that it was something she wanted to do. I believe that her passion came out when she was surrounded by the culture and the people that made it possible for her to achieve what she wanted and she chose to follow that.

If I apply how art has changed my life, it’s not something like what happened in the film but I did choose to pursue my career path through a form of art. That art was music. In high school, I didn’t know what I wanted to do but I did know that I liked music. Another thing I liked was going to concerts to experience the music live. It was a completely different experience for me when I was at concerts and when thinking what I wanted to do as a career, I thought something with music would be a way for me to actually love what I would do. I would always see the giant mixer boards they would have at concerts and wondered what someone had to do in order to be able to operate something like that. I thought that would be the perfect job for me because I’d be doing something with music and being part of a concert, which are two things I still love today.

To get to that dream job, I decided to go to school and learn as much as I could about it because I had no idea of how any of it worked. As I look at myself now, I believe I have gone through a lot to get to that job I want. I feel like I’m still far away from it but closer than I have ever been. I am currently working on call as a stagehand, which is a related field to what I want to do. This job gives me a good opportunity to network, because the company I work with has a lot of high level clients in the city. Some of these include casinos like: Bellagio, MGM, The Orleans, Mandalay Bay, and many more. With the experience I’m getting from that job, even though it’s not every day, I feel that within a few years of graduating from school I will be able to get my dream job. 

Week 4 EOC: The Devil Wears Prada Deeper Meaning

In the movie "The Devil Wears Prada", there is a deeper meaning that could be applied to anyone looking to get a job in any field. In the movie, Anne Hathaway's character goes in for a job interview but as she goes through it, it is obvious that she hasn't prepared at for the interview. That's a big mistake for anyone trying to get a job especially if the company you are interviewing for is well known or has some reputation. To make yourself stand out from other interviewees it is important to research the company and people working there so that you know how they operate, what they do, and ask any questions about the company as a whole.

Another mistake that her character made was that she didn't dress correctly for the interview. This could be because of her lack of research. But as she went into the interview, she was under dressed compared to the people working there and it made her stand out. It also made her look like she didn't really care about what she was going there for. That's something important to consider when going in for an interview. If you don't take the time to dress the part, it makes you look like you don't want the job and the employer might disregard you for someone who is willing to take the time to dress the part.

Despite the mistakes of Hathaway's character, she got the job. But even though she got the job, he attitude towards working where she works isn't all that great. She just sees it as a job to get her by and not as something she could potentially grow into a career. On a couple occasions people tell her that millions of women would kill for her job. And that's something to take into consideration, if you don't really like a job and are just there to get by, you could get replaced by someone who is willing to put their everything into the job and sees the opportunities that the job could bring.

In short, the deeper meaning of "The Devil Wears Prada", is to be professional in what you do.

Week 3 EOC: Deeper meaning of Swingers

The deeper meaning of "Swingers", I think, is being able to know enough about yourself to be able to talk about yourself comfortably. Throughout most of the movie, the main character has problems talking to people. He comes off as socially awkward but he has his friend's constantly trying to help him out. They give him tips on how to talk to woman and try to get their numbers. While he tries to put into practice what his friends told him, he messes up by either not saying enough, which makes him look like he knows nothing or saying too much, which comes off as excessive. He blames his inability to talk to women on the fact that he is still not over a relationship that ended 6 months ago. Eventually, after having messed up and made himself look like a fool in front of some women, he does things right when talking to a woman at the bar and they hit it off. He was comfortable enough to be able to talk to the woman but at the same time he didn't say to much or too little and he also let her talk about herself. Everything he put into that conversation can be translated into networking. Networking with people isn't that much different from trying to get someone to give you a phone number, you have to be able to approach someone without looking like you don't know what to say or saying why too much that the person is overwhelmed.

Week 2 EOC: Profile Statements

1. Hard working audio engineer with 2 years of experience looking to apply my skills and knowledge to assist in the successful execution of media productions, while also learning about different areas in production.

2. Aspiring audio engineer looking to further my knowledge and gain experience in the
entertainment field.

3. Motivated audio engineer with experience in sound design, live sound production, voice overs, and music production looking to apply my skills and knowledge in the audio field to assist in the completion of media productions.

Week 1 EOC: About me, Elevator Introduction, Objective Statement

About Me

Audio is an important part of who I am. Being able to make something come alive just by using

the power of sound is something that I find really enjoyable. Whether the sound is heard from a laptop

speaker for one person or an array of speakers for a big audience, it all feels amazing when I bring a

piece of entertainment to life. With my determined work ethic, I strive to make every project

exceptional and memorable. My passion for audio is what fuels me to work hard and do my best in any

project I do whether it is big or small. I make my skill, knowledge, and my work ethic to speak for

themselves and make it a reflection of the person I am. I have confidence in my abilities but, being

human; I make mistakes and fail from time to time. I don’t see failure as an end to things but as an

opportunity to learn. I am always looking to learn more and expand my knowledge and I open myself up

to any opportunities that will allow me to improve. I am not afraid to step out of my comfort zone and

try and experience new things. I try to incorporate what I learn from those experiences into my work

and into my life. I believe that my ambition, my work ethic, and my willingness to learn will take me far

in life and what I do.

Elevator Introduction

Hello, I’m Erick Hernandez; I’m an audio engineer that does audio work for different forms of

media including: music recording, animation sound design, live sound productions, and more.

Objective Statement

Audio engineer looking to apply my skills and knowledge to assist in productions.