Notes from the Underground
Welcome to the Brian-Edition of the Sposto Intelligencer. I have always had a latent desire to create an Intelligencer, and as you know, fairy tales can come true. After I got the call, I soon asked myself the question: How will I go about writing and editing a company newsletter without it degenerating into a series of feel-good fluff pieces? In other words, how can it be of value to you?
General workplace advice is easy to find and hard to follow. Of course, there are certain lowest-common-denominators: Be on time, show respect to your peers… those are the things we learned in kindergarten. Beyond that there are innumerable variables that go into one’s performance. We’re a shop of varying techniques: artists, wordsmiths, and logicians (designers, copywriters and programmers), even in the subtle arts of project or traffic management. I’m not about to give an advanced design or programming seminar, and it seems clear that everyone has a handle on the basics, so where can we turn our sights?
Our work environment provides us with ample creative opportunities - just the other day I was contemplating the “Tao” of one’s work/play balance as a concept for a Yahoo! HotJobs campaign. I first considered that work and play is not an either/or proposition. Certain activities are more playful than others by definition, but I doubt any task is beyond fun-enhancement. A quick glance at this scientific chart will demonstrate that most of our work is in the “sweet spot” between pure work and play.
Apart from my cheap shots at Paris Hilton and Office Space, most tasks contain elements of both work and fun. I think the trap is set when we allow ourselves to believe that work and play are separate activities. Ever spent part of the work day thinking ahead to something “fun” later on, or to when you can “finally relax?” Consider this, there really is some fun to be had in whatever we do here, but I doubt it can be found if we’re distracted.
In my own work habits, it’s not a question of completion, but rather how I arrive at the completion.I sometimes “spike” assignments with IM conversation or random web surfing in an effort to prop up the fun-value and all I’m left with is a conversation I can’t keep up with, and an assignment that’s weighing even heavier on me because I resist giving it my full attention.
This article itself grew out of some Yahoo! HotJobs brainstorming I did, and at the time I really felt engaged in what I was doing. As we become more engaged in what we’re doing, we can discover ideas to apply elsewhere: Through improved skills and techniques, and even better ways to understand our jobs and how we work.
More Than Meets the Eye:
Yahoo! transformers promo
By Thynne Pukanecz
Yahoo! needed us to create a microsite and some Flash banners to promote their Transformers Fanaticon contest. This contest calls on Transformers enthusiasts to make a video proving they are the ultimate Transformers fan and submit it online. These hopefuls are offered the services of Jumpcut for editing and posting their submissions. Visitors to the site can view the videos and expert judges will decide the winning Fanaticons. These three grand prize winners receive a trip for two to Industrial Light and Magic Studios in San Rafael, Calif., including a prize package for airfare, accommodations and meals. ILM Studios is the creative hub for the Transformers film.
Mandy Zerr’s team of Spostocons have nearly completed this project, which called for one complex microsite and five Flash banners to be sent to Yahoo!. Mandy is acting as Optimus Prime for this venture and her team includes Eric Oswald on design and Tom Smith, who can actually transform into an El Camino, working as the project’s art director. Jeremy Sawruk built the microsite and Jay Frankett provided banner help.
“Designing the microsite went really well. We had a lot of great assets to work with,” says Oswald.
One of the five banners incorporates the Transformers video spot that was directed last month by Jim Sposto. (Don’t take my word for it, check it out on the extranet Transformers Promo.) Justin Pursell, our current intern, was responsible for putting this banner together.
“It was cool getting to work with some Optimus Prime images and building some banners with robotic/metal designs,” Justin said. “I was a huge fan of Transformers and GI Joe back in the day, so it was really neat being able to work on projects that I was into when I was a kid.”
The microsite is still live, but the submission period just ended April 27. Phase three of the project (the announcement of the three winners) will begin soon - Roll out!
