Reluctant Designer

Bloated on Pocari Sweat + Look left, right, up and go "Ahh..."

Well, this week for two days straight I missed out on fun-filled office time to attend a three-day shoot for Pocari Sweat's three-variation TVCs. Looked forward to it? Indeed. The first part was hardest: getting up at 5AM, out of the house at 5.30 to be in the office by 6 and then leaving for the set before 6.30. As you see, there are half-hour intervals between the key frames because daily activities here are time-precise and conveniently timeslottable, discounting the unspeakable evil that is the Jakarta Rush Hour(s). After you've overcome the first part of the day, the rest is pretty much pleasant. If you're an insignificant intern like yours truly, the final part is also a breeze: you can leave the set whenever you get sick of lounging and devouring junkfood all while contributing to your colleagues' funny comment pool about the talent's chugging Pocari Sweat like dry gin and overexpressive eyebrows (both true comments). In my case for two days, however, I had had to postpone home time (despite stomach's desperate cry for proper food, despite stomach's chronic aching, despite stomach's painful nags to excrete Number Two - damn you, stomach) to wait for the client's President Director. To wait until he took his leave, I mean.

Seeing a TVC shooting process firsthand is fun, I tell you. I wasn't involved in it, I sat and watched and ate junkfood, I socialised with the crew, I oogled at the talents; some of whom were exceptionally good-looking. The experience is priceless ^^. Hopefully, there will be an invite to go see the "offline". [Edit: The offline is over and done with. Argh.]

The Beautiful Bunch

The advantage to being a Beautiful is that you're beautiful and soon to be on national TV. That's if you're not already an on-air pro. Two girls and an ex-model main talent actually got the Polo-clad President Director off his comfortable seat for an unrestricted view of the choice ladies' subtlest gestures and facial expression shifts. He even had the gall to walk a whole way to the right of the shooting area and take pictures. I'd ask for copies but I fear they'd be mere silhouettes, or worse, long range. Hopefully, the fellow knows how to photograph.

As a main talent, you do what the crew want and, in most cases, you're a camera natural. I feel sympathy for the 30something-year-old gentleman from the Ramadhan version of the TVC for having probably said it 70 times with various directions and options and apparently still not getting it right. The pretty girls and the funny guy (who's a spitting image of Sogi from the comedy program "Extravaganza" for those of you familiar with Indonesian TV) had it so much easier, but they only had to (when I was there anyway) take a chug of PS and pretend to enjoy it, that is, "C'mon drink drink drink, show your #1 refreshing smile, look straight into the camera and say Ahhh..... Now quickly look left, look right, look above you and below you and QUICKLY drink drink drink....." It took the less lucky ones two screw-top packs while the favourables of the bunch could flaunt their half-bottle fills.

The Unseen Bunch

Being an Unseen is a barrel of merriment, I'm sure. Despite being not-so-fair of appearance as the Beautifuls, you get to laugh at their silly hiccups through your TV that gets a live feed from the Director's viewfinder. And they can't see you, let alone pick out the discriminating bastard that comments on their overexpressive eyebrows. On top of that, you get a better seat, freer mobility between your comfortable seat and the restrooms, and the catering crew will take off-the-menu orders... like the three boxes of J.Co Donuts someone very determined managed to get us (where from, I wonder). The downside is, you'll get bored after seven hours or so that you'll wish your team were bustling with activities like the PH crew, or wish you were so beautiful like the Beautifuls as to warrant 4 seconds a slot on national TV.

Freezing like frozen Hell & In hindsight...

..and I made use of the car's heater on my way home. Didn't think you'd do that in Jakarta, right? I fled the full-blast air cons of the studio and was pounded full-on by a rain of free-falling, er, water drops *is uncreative today*. I don't think anyone was wearing enough layers of clothes in the studio because, even bundled up until only the eyes were visible, moans of "By Allah, it's cold!" never ceased.

In hindsight, I regret having wasted those two days enjoying the trivial parts of TVC-making. Now to remember bringing a camera and a notepad on the upcoming Garuda Airlines TVC shoot...

On the subject of music...

1 The "Death Note Theme" track from the animation OST begs for an orchestral + choral live by Sydney's own Eminence Symphony Orchestra! They promised two Nights in Fantasia this year which, I'm sorry to say, I don't get to see =(. I can imagine it brought to live on an epic scale comparable to the five-star treatment enjoyed by FFVII's immortal "One-Winged Angel".

2 I'm so drunk on D-Project's "SAYONARA, SO LONG"... hogging the current top on my iTunes for three weeks in a row. I don't know much about the song except that Japanese adults and adolescents will recognise it as a danceable 80s number... Actually, unless they're Tokyo Babylon fans, I'm not sure about adolescents. I wonder if my Japanese Creative Director will find it funny that the clueless intern listens to 80s Jpop on Repeat for hours on end. The first Tokyo Babylon Image Album from track 5 onwards is fun and fun!

-B

Payday's every Friday + Should I redo this logo, senpai?

I never am sure where to start if I haven't blogged in a while...

Well, for one, I am dreading the mere two hours I have until my ideal bedtime as we speak, er, type. I've only tasted the industry for 17 hours and already I'm missing my free time. Yes, I've plunged myself headlong into the energy drain that is the workforce - as a lowly unpaid intern, but an active employee nevertheless. As I've retold what I'm about to tell a number of times, you can say I've dishonoured my vow to "only tell it once".

Now, as per usual, the Arcs in le bold.

Arc 1: Er, my CV says I want to be treated like a trainee

If I weren't sitting across an HR Director in the middle of an interview and were to be truthful, when asked what did I know about Dentsu, I would've said never heard about them in my life before a very capable friend of mine lent me their and Saatchi&Saatchi's contacts. I only had to choose between the two, and the reason I opted for the former was simple and shallow: I'm a Japanophile. I had no idea what to expect, but now I sort of do. It just so happened (as it sometimes does in life) that the company my father works for is a Dentsu client, and so, having this advantage and more at hand, I had my CV relayed over to one of the company's big shots who then handed it personally to Dentsu's Senior Advisor. I'm not proud of my means of getting in front of a prospective employer, but... anything to reach a starting point! The entry process was easy as a pie; that is, after my interviewers had had their confusion sorted out ("No? You're actually applying as an intern [and not get paid and no contract?]? That's easy!").

So I got here after one interview coupled with a tiny mishap on my then-prospective employers' part. Not too shabby, my very capable friend said. I say, go and do the same trick on Landor Australia; only then is my feat worthy to be knighted Sir Totally Unshabby Er... sorry, you're a girl? Then, Dame Totally Unshabby. As I'm typing this down, I'm looking out the window and straight at Hotel Mulia, possibly on eye level with its 25th floor (oh, I don't know!) since it looks like we're on a slightly higher terrain. It's 4PM and my suspicion that they only need me here to browse my fave LJs and forums and tune in to my own iTunes has strengthened. I shouldn't complain, mind, because the other day was hectic for three hours and I begun to wish for some fangirldom-filled alone time.

Arc 2: There are only ad people in the room

Yes, I'm a career woman now. Feel free to laugh as long as you keep it down because presently there's only a handful of people on the floor and they. are. quiet. Save for the forever-active background mp3s playing out of someone's iTunes at a mouse's standard of loudness. I get one work a day that goes for about 3 hours max. (yes, like the other day) and the rest of it to myself. I'm here from 8.15AM to 5PM for 5 days a week. To date, I've done 11 variations of logotype for Garuda Airlines's roadshow and one variation of graphic applications for its vehicles. Of course, whether any of my ideas get to the implementation stage is a different thing altogether. After all, my designated Art Director is simply sharing his workload with me. I'm content with just having extra pieces to put in my portfolio.

My impression of Dentsu's creative department in bullet points:

• Everyone is friendly to you. Most anyway. The ones who don't care don't bug. There's at least one who's really outgoing with you and everyone.


• You won't find an opportunity to watch anime because the position of your cubicle is such that your back is facing the entrance. Plus, no matter in which cubicle, passers-by will always be able to see your computer screen.


• People will ask why you're still seated by the computer come lunchtime. The basement cafeteria has no windows and provides no smoke-free zone. You will wonder why no one spends their free hour watching anime on their laptops instead.


• In times of little rush and a lot of free time, people will socialise with one another, whether it be sharing finger food, gathering round someone's computer screen to look at photos or pestering a birthday person for food (this happening the exact day before my birthday).


• You can come and leave anytime you wish, except you're a lowly intern without a contract, and a bad rapport with your employers means getting axed with no prior notice.


• The person you click with will most likely be your fellow interns - you'll all be around the same age and carry yourselves with similar airs. That is, more or less equally clueless-seeming. And worrying your silly heads about whether you've gotten involved with the wrong company.


• Colour printing costs nothing at all!! The downside is, it won't be on glossy paper.

-B