and are happy to share with you their secrets to success in the often competitive and fickle world of entertainment. To continuously add onto your skills, read as well about public speaking and how you can gain the confidence needed to communicate effectively. As always, we are looking for your input! As the Publications Managers, everything we write about is for YOU, so let us know about your interests, questions, and concerns. Feel free to email us at info@mesa.ca or drop by the office for a quick chat. Happy reading! Yours truly,
L
ights, camera, and action! As business students, it’s easy to think that we are limited to just offices and working with numbers. What we want to show you in this issue, “The Art of Entertaining”, is just how many opportunities are available to you, especially in the television, music, technology, and online industries! Inside this issue, we are thrilled to introduce to you the newest additions to our team: Jeffrey and Vincent, our Associate Writers, as well as Anna, our Design Associate. Along with their help, “The Executive” continues to be your central hub of resources, in providing student-oriented perspectives and insight into the business world. The Associates’ articles showcase management positions within industries such as music and video game development, and reveal misconceptions we often have in regards to popular TV shows such as Suits. This edition also features professionals familiar with the entertainment industry. Read about our conversations with singer Joseph Vincent, YouTuber Daniel Shim (shimmycocopuffsss), writer and CBC producer Lisa Gabriele, and web-comics animator Domics! All have varied career paths
The Rising stars: speaker series
NOV 4
Ever wondered what sports management is and what kind of career options there are? Join us from 6-8pm in IC212, where we will have speaker series to expose you to different careers within sports management. The rules for the competition will also be explained there. Sign up now to get the edge over other contestants!
NOV
14-16
LIVE COMPETITION
Looking to showcase your business acumen and go head to head against the brightest and most ambitious undergraduate students from across Canada? Dare to Compete at LIVE Competition 2013. LIVE Competition is a two-day national undergraduate business competition hosted by the University of Toronto Scarborough. LIVE is focused around a multi-disciplinary business competition that challenges Delegates to apply their knowledge in a real world, simulated business environment.
MADE Clothing Presents ...
Advantage Through Image -The Simple Secrets to a Working Wardrobe
The Rising stars: Competition
NOV 6
Phil Kessel, DeMar DeRozan, Jonas Valanciunas: you all know who they are and watched them play. But have you ever come to the thought that you could one day become their managers? This year, MESA will help you discover your potential through its very first Sports Management Competition. In a team of 2-4, (no prior sports knowledge required), contestants will focus on the management side of the sports industry and compete in a rigorous simulation game. Bring out your strategic, time management, and prioritization skills and venture into the world of sports management.
NOV 27 NOV 20
Did you know that when meeting new people, 55% of the impression comes from the way the person dresses, acts, and walks? Being well dressed for that big interview or networking event is the key to success. Fortunately, MESA is providing you with an opportunity to learn about the world of business fashion from formalwear experts! Plus, you definitely won’t want to miss out on the free giveaway prizes and special discounted customized suit packages. So come join us from 5-7pm and find your way to stand out from the crowd!
Games Night
Want to take a break from studying and save Princess Peach as Mario or how about a game of taboo, risk, scrabble or cards? Join us from 1-4pm as we hold our annual event Games Night. It’s a FREE dropin event, where you can come by and enjoy yourselves right before the start of final exams. This year MESA will be introducing the MESA Tower of Games! The tower will consist of 4 levels and the person who completes the tower in the shortest time will win a prize! Remember: The ‘A’ is the most important letter, Search and you might get better, It belongs to Blackbeard but look for blue, If you understand, now solve this clue.
Audrey Chan
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LIVE Co-Chair, MESA
o, you’ve been hearing all this hype about LIVE … What is LIVE Competition?
LIVE is a two-day national undergraduate business competition hosted by UTSC, that brings together the brightest and most ambitious undergraduate business students from across Canada. LIVE’s unique multi-disciplinary business simulation takes experiential learning to a whole new level by allowing Delegates to take on the role of top management in a company. What does LIVE Competition have in store for 2013? LIVE Competition 2013 is being held this November 14-16th at the Renaissance Toronto Downtown Hotel. The venue itself is already enough of reason to attend LIVE, with ceiling high windows that look directly into the Rogers Center Stadium. Students are able to apply their knowledge in a real world simulated business environment in the LIVE curriculum rounds, be inspired by our keynote speakers, expand their network at the Corporate Connections Evening, party with students from across Canada at the evening socials, and get recognized for their accomplishments at the closing Awards Gala! Not to mention the prizes and giveaways, including an ASUS tablet raffle, Mont Tremblant skitrips, and the winning grand prize: $1500 in CASH and one-on-one executive mentorships! How can you get involved? Unfortunately, registration for LIVE Competition 2013 has closed. To get involved with next year’s competition, be sure to ‘Like’ us at facebook.com/ LIVECompetition and ‘Follow’ us on Twitter @DareToCompete for updates! Want to be part of the amazing team that makes LIVE Competition possible? Stay tuned for details on hiring for the LIVE 2014 Executive team!
“By far the most exciting and engaging business competition. It gets better year by year, and offers amazing opportunities to meet people and ultimately have the time of your life.” - Rakhulan Rasiah, University of Toronto Scarborough –LIVE 2010 Top 5
C
Finding Your Fit External Competitions
urious to see what you can do outside of school? Compete in an undergraduate business conference! Follow this flow chart to see what fits you best! Check out http://www.mesa.ca/resources/external-conferences/home/ for more info.
Inez Huang
Publications Manager, MESA
How do you approach a new situation? I face challenges as they come.
Do all the hard work first. Research is key!
Worried about the future?
Yes
Who’s in more trouble?
NO
q
What are you good at?
What’s on your mind then?
Everything!
I like to specialize
y
t new car What do you study?
Environment iPhone or Nexus?
1) Human
Resources
r
People
w
u e
Accounting
Marketing
i
o
Finance
1. Show Me the Green - University of Toronto Missisauga This is a hybrid business case competition as teams must create a strategy to offer a new green product Held Jan. 7-18, $100/team
6. LIVE Competition - University of Toronto Scarborough This multi-disciplinary business simulation covers accounting, marketing, finance, and more. Held Nov. 14-16, $185/delegate
2. Model United Nations - Various Campuses Students act as country delegates, debating on wold issues such as universal education and poverty, to draft resolutions to problems.
7. Accounting Conference - Brock University Teams have 2 hours to prepare a 30 minute presentation to a panel of judges. Held Nov. 29 - Dec. 1, $800/team
3. Focus 2040 - McMaster University Students predict the world in year 2040, focusing on future trends and implementing a new work system. Held throughout Winter.
8. Queen’s Entrepreneurs’ Competition - Queen’s University Groups develop an international business plan, with top 18 teams competiting for $25 000 in prizes. Held Jan.16-18
4. National Business and Technology Conference Teams submit an elevator pitch for a start-up. Those selected present to judges and can get funding for their idea. Held Feb-Mar.
9. hEDGE Finance Conference - University of Waterloo This focuses on sell-side and buy-side finance, with speakers from major financial institutions. Held in August, $275/delegate
5. Canada’s Next Top Ad Exec In teams, students create a multi-million marketing campaign for Chervolet to win scholarships, internships, and even a car!
10. Organizational Behaviour Case Competition Hosted by Ryerson University, teams are given 2 hours to present on an existing business case. Held Jan. 10-11, $150/delegate
Vincent Woo
T
Associate Writer, MESA
he elevator gradually ascends, and you see the main floor pulling away from you. You survey the elevator, humming in rhythm with the smooth jazz playing. Finally, your eyes stop at the digital screen just above your head. *10...11...12...13...* It reaches the 15th floor and the sharp ding pierces your ears. You've finally arrived. As the doors of the elevator part, several associates stop and say good morning. Walking to your office, you smile as your secretary approaches you with a warm cup of coffee just the way you like it. Propping yourself against the chair, you briefly take in the cityscape and proceed to start another day at your favorite place in the world - work. Now, take all the cotton candy and fantasy unicorn fluff and throw it out your window. It sounds pleasant, doesn't it? To have an office of your own, a secretary that knows your exact tastes, associates who respect you... this is what everyone on TV does, but in reality, nothing is ever as glamorous as it seems. The entertainment world has a way of drawing people into their respective shows, be it a series about the business world, to a series about the comedic life of a science professor. Let me assure you though, it's not always fun and games when you step out into the real world. All of these television shows share a few common points. The main characters are always surrounded by a multitude of women, are masters of their respective fields, and have an exceptional amount of work freedom. Though these are all common traits characters share in the television world, these are not shared in the real world. They do not live the luxurious lifestyles portrayed in entertainment. It is important to have aspirations, but it is also important to not let entertainment cloud one's judgment when selecting a future career path. It is not to say the success portrayed in television is impossible to achieve, but a realistic view along with dedication is the only way to get there. There are no shortcuts in life, remember; no pain no gain.
Karen Chan
Publications Manager, MESA
Show
Suits
Mad Men
Big Bang Theory
Character
Harvey Specter : An exceptionally skilled lawyer and arguably the “best closer in New York City
Don Draper: Current senior partner of an advertising agency and skilled marketing specialist
Sheldon Cooper: Theoretical Physicist, who works at Caltech, with prodigious skill in many different fields
Show Life
• constantly goes out and drinks high class champagne • salary in the millions • many desirable women around him • never lost a case
• constantly goes out drinking and has intimate relationships with many people in the office • markets with only his power of speech • knows exactly what a person’s needs and wants are by looking at them • no real friendships in the field
• exceptionally attractive • woman as a best friend • genius level intellect • most knowledgeable person in their respective field • socially inept • lots of free time
Real Life
• probably working at a desk • lose cases from time to time • lack of freedom at work • starting Salary of 90k -150k, to an upper limit of 300k
• there is more than just speech in marketing, there is accounting, finance, etc. • marketing is more than just advertising, it is also branding, public relations, etc. • no such drinking in the office
• possible chance (but not likely) to have an exceptionally attractive woman as best friend • knowledgeable • stressed all the time • much education required: 4 year undergrad + 2 year post-grad + 4 years pHD studies
Jeffrey Ma
H
ave you ever thought about what you would do with your management degree? Ever aspired to do something besides sitting in a boring cubicle, crunching numbers, and doing paper work? While many of us would love to work closely with our favourite actors, musicians, and producers, we overlook such a career path as enticing as it is. How many times have we caught ourselves entertaining the idea (no pun intended) of entering the entertainment industry? Is this idea too good to be true? Not necessarily. Can we all be acclaimed Entertainment and Sports Business Managers like Barry Klarberg? (Who? Just the guy who manages Charlie Sheen, Justin Timberlake, Russell Simmons, Mark Messier and partly owns the Memphis Grizzlies and the New York Yankees. Yes, him.) Probably not, but that shouldn’t dissuade you from pursuing a career combining elements of both entertainment and management. Still not sold on the idea? Here’s a small list of possibilities to get you thinking. Band Manager We’ve all dreamed of starting a band at some point, but for those of us lacking actual musical talent (i.e. not the air guitar) being a band manager may be the next best thing. While a typical management degree is usually enough, band managers need to be industry-savvy and smart with doing what’s best for the band financially while working around the band’s personal interests. Band managers make most, if not all, business decisions and may act as press handlers, booking agents, and promotional agents for the band. Interpersonal skills are essential for tasks such as booking gigs (searching for venues) as well as maintaining the band’s reputation and fan base. Salaries of a band manager tend to be directly proportional to the revenue generated by the band itself; that being said, the industry standard is around ten to twenty percent share of the band’s profit; which isn’t bad at all. Oh, and don’t forget an important prerequisite: a love for music. Film Production Manager For the less videogenic masses, chasing a career as a film production manager may be an attractive and viable option. While
Associate Writer, MESA a management degree will help, technical knowledge about the film production process is essential in order to accomplish the financial work effectively. While most of us cannot afford to travel to Florida to learn film production at the esteemed Valencia College, a Bachelor of Applied Arts for Film and Media Production at Humber is a great way to show that you’ve learnt how to make films. The job of a film production manager includes setting draft budgets, and taking care of invoices for rental, equipment, and logistics fees. Attention to detail and organizational skills are critical, and there is a tremendous amount of deadlines to keep track of. So while you probably won’t be fighting alongside Stark to save Pepper, you could be working behind the scenes to make the project possible. Project Manager in Game Production Now, let’s not forget the ever growing gaming industry. With new titles released constantly in Zerg-like fashion, the probability of finding a game project to manage is decently high. A background in business complemented with some software/hardware/ coding knowledge will be an asset in becoming a video game project manager. Like all projects geared toward consumer experience, video games require much effort behind the scenes to be successful. The video game project manager is in charge of supervising the development team and providing repeated progress updates to the publisher. They must also enforce budget limitations and schedules so that the creativity of the designers can ultimately see the light of day. As a manager, short-term objectives must be met, and work done by the developers and designers must be promptly finished for the milestone (deadline) at hand. Salaries again vary based on the size and budget of the project; for something like Grand Theft Auto V (which generated $800 million of sales within the FIRST 24 HOURS), pay will easily be in the six figures. So start hitting the controller…erm, books.
We know there are many high tier jobs out there, and a fair number combine the perks of working in an ever evolving entertainment industry and the technical challenges faced in a business dynamic/setting. If that is something that interests you, it is encouraged that you look for more information. So learn more about different opportunities and seize them, because the possibilities are endless. And think outside the box…office.
Marketing Around the World Inez Huang
Publications Manager, MESA
O
ne size fits all. A product that fits anybody no matter your size, age, or background. While this may be true for those too-big souvenir hats or your favourite pair of sweatpants, there are many exceptions, one example being marketing. It is near impossible to develop a universal ad appealing to the myriad of demographics in today’s globalized society. Here are some factors firms look at in an ad: Language Speech is the richest way of communication, yet so many things are lost in translation as subtleties, jargon, slang, and idioms. In a diverse country like Canada, this is further complicated by the degree of cultural assimilation within ethnic groups – some prefer the mother tongue, others are used to the local language. Adapting your message is not as simple as direct translation. In the past, Pepsi had a slogan, “Come alive with the Pepsi Generation” which was marketed as “Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave” in Chinese. Colour Not every country enjoys a rainbow-coloured palette, as colours are tied to emotions, symbolism, and cultural folklore. For some of the primary colours: Blue: A rather ‘safe’ colour, it is universally recognized as a negative hue, but in the Middle East it is a colour of protection and in the West it marks conservatism. Yellow: Canadians see yellow as energy, power, and brightness. However, in China, yellow was reserved for the imperial family and is treated as a colour of honour and masculinity. Red: With a stimulating effect, red is a colour that just pops!
Overuse in America shows aggression and caution. However, in India and Nigeria, red is for ceremonies and is a sign of respect. Thought Process The socialization from your upbringing will impact the way you evaluate and perceive the world. Earth’s global village is largely divided into individualistic (Canada, USA, Western Europe) and collectivist (China, Korea, Japan) societies. Differing in the prioirity of personal vs. group goals, marketing should target each country’s unique values. In individualistic societies, user independence, selfidentity, and personalization of a product should be stressed. For collectivist cultures, family is first with brotherhood and selflessness being key. A Melting Pot? As societies become more connected through social media and better technology, some companies use a ‘melting pot’ type strategy, combining aspects from each culture to promote a new event or product. Ethnic food aisles have been growing in supermarkets and multi-cultural events embrace the diversity of clients. Perhaps the trick is not in making one universal advertisement but rather, using info from all cultulres to make that ad universal.
Teach me some manners!
Here are some business etiquette tips:
1.
O.K. go! This gesture to North Americans means ‘okay’, yet in Russia it means zero, in Japan it means money, and in Brazil it is an insult. Maybe it is better to just say O.K. next time.
You have a client meeting in are in Saudi Arabia and 2. You 3. Mexico. if you are a woman - it eating dinner at a client’s house. is usual to pat each other on the Somebody has asked you to pass the salt! Use your RIGHT hand. The left hand is seen as unclean, and is not used to point or to eat with.
right forearm or shoulder. If you are a man, use a gentle grip on handshakes, and greet close friends with an ‘abrazo’ or bear-hug.
Wendy Tran
Publications Manager, MESA
F
rom spiders to heights, everyone has a fear. One fear that instils more panic into the hearts of people aren’t the creepy crawlies or the great amounts of elevation, but simply the task of talking in front of a group of people, or better known as public speaking. It doesn’t matter if you are a great speaker or a novice one, fear takes reign over one’s speech and ultimately challenges the effectiveness in delivering the message you desire to get across to your audience. Tired of being trapped in the prison of public speaking anxiety? Ready to escape your prison? Take the next few steps and you will find yourself bidding goodbye to your fear of public speaking.
“You’re not alone.” Understand that 75% of the adult population shares the fear of public speaking with you. It is not a weakness or anything to be ashamed of. This fear can be overcome with time and practice. “The audience is here for you.” You know that trick of picturing the audience in their underwear? That doesn’t work, but finding friendly faces in the crowd and focusing on them does. The audience wants you to succeed as much as you do. Always remember to look at faces on each side of the room. You never want your audience to feel that they’re excluded. “Your hands say more than your mouth.” Hand gestures are an instant giveaway that someone is not comfortable. Arms glued to your side tells the audience that you are tense, while elaborate hand gestures can detract their attention from your content. Rule of thumb to follow: keep it simple and let your body be natural.
“Don’t just read it, say it!” With everything in life, things get easier with time and practice. So remember three words: practice, practice, and practice. The more comfortable you are with the material, the more you can focus on how you present it. As they say, it’s not practice that makes perfect, but perfect practice makes perfect. “I…uh… want to be…umm… a good speaker” Eliminate those filler words such as “uh” and “umm…”. Though they may seem harmless, these fillers destroy the clarity of your words and impacts the creditability ofyou have as a speaker. TIP: Pause and take a deep breath when you feel that one is about to slip off the tip of your tongue.
“Engage the Audience” Having a presentation where you are doing all the talking is one of the worst ways to transfer information to an audience. It’s boring and it puts the entire task of informing and entertaining the audience on you. When preparing your presentation, structure your presentation as a conversation with your friend instead.
“Slooooowwwww dowwwwwwwn!” When it comes to practicing your presentation, practice your lines in slow motion speed. Concentrate on breathing deeply from your stomache and let your preparation take over. You have no need to rush. By focusing on slowing your speaking down, you’ll make fewer mistakes, jumble fewer sentences together, and lower your anxiety.
“Keep Calm and Speak on” The most difficult yet at the same time the most effective thing to do when speaking is to remain calm. Public speaking is not as horrible as you might think. If you make a mistake or stumble on your words, don’t sweat it because more likely than not, your audience didn’t catch it.
“Banish Negative Thoughts” Before the start of your presentation, you may feel yourself overwhelmed by negative thoughts including, “I don’t know what I’m talking about” or “What if I blank out and forget my lines?” Kick those thoughts to the curb and focus on the present. Make notes that you can quickly refer to if you do forget your point.
S
ince the time Daniel Shim recorded his first video, he knew that broadcasting himself to all was his passion. Shimmycocopuffsss shares what life is like in front of the camera.
Interviewed by Wendy Tran Publications Manager, MESA
How did you first get started with YouTube? I started YouTube in 2006 and I originally started with dancing videos. From that, I decided to try more humourous videos because at that time, there weren’t many YouTubers that had done that kind of stuff. I thought I was a funny guy so, why not try this? The very first video I made was based on that humourous style. People thought the acting was really bad and they left a lot of mean comments. I was a little heartbroken, but it gave me motivation to try harder. From then on, people appreciated the videos I did and from 2008, it started to become more of an actual career thought. What is the meaning behind the name shimmycocopuffsss? There has been so much speculation of where my user name shimmycocopuffsss comes from. People have said that it came from the cereal Cocoa Puffs or Nelly’s song “Country Grammar”, but honestly I didn’t get the name from anywhere specific. I just thought it sounded cool because my last name was already Shim and people called me Shimmy. What is the creation process for a video? I have two YouTube channels. My main YouTube channel is for entertainment aspects. For that channel, I do more of a vlog style, where I’m sitting in front of the camera trying to explain a concept. There’s also the skit style, where acting is involved and I use different cinematography. For those videos, I tend to have at least a basic script so I know the direction I’m heading towards. Improvisation always comes into play because nothing ever goes according to plan. For my second channel, it is more of a vlogging style, where whatever I do in my life, I shoot with my digital camera. The shooting process for the main channel takes a few hours. I rehearse my lines until I feel comfortable with it. The editing process is the longest step, as it is a one-way process where I watch every clip, put the clips together, and add things here and there. Out of all your videos, which one is your favourite? Why? This is a common topic talked about amongst YouTubers. Viewers will always say that your older videos are better. For myself, I actually like my past videos too. That’s because when I started to get into YouTube, I had no restrictions and I didn’t care what people thought of me, so my videos back
then had a carefree vibe. For my recent videos, I’m a lot more cautious with what I say because I have more of a public image to take care of. I do like my video called No Engrish. It’s because I’ve never made any music videos before. When did you first recognize your popularity on YouTube? A lot of people’s YouTube careers are different depending on the exposure they get. Some YouTubers get well known within a few days. For me, I’ve always had a gradual increase of viewers. I started recognizing my popularity when I started making humourous videos. YouTube definitely changed my life. Growing up, some people had dreams of becoming famous or well known. I too had those dreams like any other kid, but I never planned on acting on it. YouTube changed my life in so many ways because not only did it get me exposure and gain viewers, it pays the bills. Rather than going through the education route that people usually do, I’m trying an alternative. How long do you believe you are going to continue on the journey you are now experiencing? I feel that if you build an audience, you can almost do whatever you want with that. I plan on continuing with YouTube as long as I can, until theoretically YouTube dies. However, at that point in time, I should have a really good resume so if I wanted to apply to a job, I would be considered.
S
haring his stories with viewers in a comical light is what makes Domics a pleasure for all to watch. Discover the obstacles and truths that come into bringing comic sketches about life to life from Domz himself! What made you first decide to create web-comics and share it on a public platform? While I was in university, I went through a lot of stress trying to deal with the ridiculously immense workload we were provided in our courses. One of the many ways I distracted myself from this stress was browsing through humour websites such as 9gag and tumblr. I came across numerous web comics that I found hilarious and thought I’d want to give it a try. I knew I had ideas of my own so I decided to share them with the public through web-comics. How has your drawings evolved throughout the years? My first comic sketches were very rushed and I didn’t put too much effort in polishing it. They were barely stick figures whose soul purpose was to simply present the humorous dialogue. The first couple were drawn via mouse, but after a few weeks, I decided to invest in a drawing tablet. From then on, my digital art quality has improved a lot. I’m always striving to improve myself as an artist and I believe it’s apparent when comparing older drawings with my newer ones. What does a typical day look like for you? These days I simply wake up and do my usual errands and then work on animations throughout the day. My work schedule is very flexible but requires a lot of self-discipline to follow through. I’d definitely be working in the architecture industry if it weren’t for Domics; a typical 9 to 5 job with a set salary where I have evenings and weekends to myself. What made you decide to pursue an education in architectural science? I originally wanted to pursue art and animation, but my parents saw no future in it, so we decided to meet halfway with architecture (they recommended civil engineering). I’m not sure if I would have changed my mind, knowing where I’d be today. As stressful as architecture was, I met some great people along the way, as well as experiences that inspired me to start Domics in the first place. I probably would have saved some money on tuition and other expenses if I took an animation program though.
Interviewed by Wendy Tran
Publications Manager, MESA
What made you fearless to explore this career path as an animator? I’d say I still have fear as of today. I don’t have a 10-year plan, nor do I know what will become of Domics down the road. I have no guarantee of a stable lifestyle yet. I just knew it would be something I’d enjoy doing, and since I can potentially make a living out of it, why the heck not! I’m still relatively new to the entertainment industry, so I haven’t hit any major road blocks yet. I’m very thankful to my friends and family who have supported me so far. My parents haven’t discouraged me yet because I’m constantly proving to them that I’m getting somewhere with this. Do you ever find yourself in a creative standstill? I get writer’s and artist’s block all the time, and it’s proven to be frustrating on numerous occasions. I try not to dwell in the standstill too long and take a detour every now and then to explore different perspectives, thus exposing me to new ideas, and sometimes older ideas at different angles. Tip: always have a pen+paper/phone to take notes whenever you get an idea! What advice would you give to people who are struggling to follow their dreams? Follow it if you can; find a back up if you can’t. Find something realistic to your lifestyle, but don’t settle for something less than what makes you happy. Avoid comparing yourself to the standards of others because you’ll lose touch of your original ideologies. The struggle doesn’t end once you’re on the path to your dream. No matter what, there will always be struggle. What’s important is that you stay true to yourself along the process, wherever you end up. What do you see in the big picture for the future of Domics? It would be great to continue doing this until I retire, but that might be unlikely. I just hope to build Domics into a brand that will allow me to let it grow into different businesses. Perhaps some day I’ll run an animation network and manage a team of dream chasers who will be in a similar situation as I currently am. Perhaps in 10 years it won’t be so difficult to convince parents that an internet job isn’t so far fetched.
A
fter getting a guitar at 15, Joseph Vincent found something that he loved and was passionate about. That thing was music. Joseph shares his story of following one’s dream and turning a hobby into a successful career.
Interviewed by Wendy Tran Publications Manager, MESA
Why music? Music and family have been the 2 definite constants in my life. I was exposed to all kinds of music at an early age and have grown up to love creating it myself. It's something that comes naturally to me, and that drives me to only get better in my craft. What does a typical day look like for you? Breakfast, e-mails, errands, lunch, workout, song writing/ recording and filming videos for cover and original songs/collaborative meetings for future potential projects/ keeping up with all social media (whatever is currently happening or all at the same time), family time, dinner, and bed time makes up a typical day for me. When and how did you first realize that being a musician was your dream? I knew that music was something that I wanted to do when I got my first guitar at the age of 15. It was all about how I could make that happen. When I had the opportunity to perform on national television on The Ellen Show in 2010, that was the first time that I truly believed that I could do this professionally. My family, supporters, and fans are the main people that keep reminding me that this dream career is a reality that I am currently living, which I am extremely grateful for. Often people are afraid of the potential failure that comes along with following one’s dream. What made you fearless to explore this career path? We’re all afraid of the risks, the insecurities of our job, and of what we do. My hunger for potential success is so much stronger than my fear of failure so, it allows me to live out my dream. My advice is to just go for it, especially while you’re young, otherwise you may regret never taking that chance.
Where do you draw inspiration from for your compositions? Could you share a story of your favorite song that you wrote? I draw my inspiration from love made and love lost. I draw from experiences and observations of my everyday life. I take advantage of the fact that because of my job I am exposed to many cultures all around the world and meet many amazing people. It truly inspires me. Although, I do prefer to write about the social love endeavors between a man and a woman. My favourite song that I wrote is titled "My Queen", a story about heartbreak. It was all about my thought process and how I was coping with finding the perfect significant other at such a wrong time.
How do you choose the songs that you cover? It's seriously as easy as "I can't get this song out my head", or "this song would sound cool if done acoustically". What has been the highlight of your career? Where do you see yourself in 5 years time? I think the coolest thing I've done career-wise is having the chance to play music on national television. In 5 years I hope to be on a world tour with my song somewhere on Billboard's Hot 100.
Website - http://www. josephvincentmusic.com YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/ user/hoorahjencar Facebook - http://www.facebook. com/josephvincentmusic Instagram - @josephvincent Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/ josephvincent12 Myspace - http://www.myspace.com/ josephvincentmusic
How to Tell Your Story F
with Lisa Gabriele
or more than 20 years, Lisa has worked in radio and television, creating one of Canada’s first reality shows before spending six years as Senior Producer of Dragons’ Den. She has published both fiction and non-fiction, including the bestselling erotica trilogy S.E.C.R.E.T. written under her pseudonym L. Marie Adeline.
Interviewed by Inez Huang Publications Manager, MESA Check out Lisa’s novels at www.lisagabriele.com How did you initially break into the entertainment industry? As a journalism graduate, I was lucky enough to get a job at CBC right out of school—as an editorial assistant in news. Mostly, I made coffee and delivered newspapers. I worked for a decade going back and forth from radio to TV. When the reality TV trend began in the late 90s, I was working at Big Life with Daniel Richler. My colleague Jameel Bharmal and I decided to make the break and start a company together that produced one of the first reality shows in Canada, called Moving Stories. We followed people who were moving, getting to the core of why they were leaving or where they were going. I always wrote fiction, but only on the side. Around that time I got a book deal for my first novel and I left our company to focus full time on writing. Since then I’ve taken gigs at The Current and then Dragons’ Den, which I recently left again to write full-time. But I’ll go back to TV I’m sure. It goes in cycles with me; TV, radio, writing. Sometimes they overlap, sometimes they don’t.
At Dragons’ Den, you must have heard a lot of pitches. What was it like working with the Dragons and entrepreneurs? Terrifying at first! I was afraid to eat in the lunchroom; they seemed so intimidating. I felt like a wispy little creative type. It took me a while to understand the language of entrepreneurship. Turns out ‘wispy creative types’ have a lot in common with entrepreneurs. It’s all about hard work, realizing your vision, and attracting people to your work.
Was there anything surprising from TV “If you can’t production or writing that you didn’t until you worked in it? tell a good story, if you realize I’ve learned that kindness and humility traits of truly successful people. can’t get people passionately are Almost without exception, the Dragons a lot of respect for the producers involved in what you ‘see’, have and crew around them. And no matter what you’re doing in film, TV, radio—or Your company, your business; a story is a story is a story. And a pitch is just a story well told, whether novel, won’t get you’re an entrepreneur looking for an investment or a writer looking for a publisher traction.”
With starting your own TV company, you must have had to give a ‘pitch’ to the network at first. What is that like? A pitch is a short convincing argument. You’re laying out a plan for the people who have the money and ability to help you realize it. A good pitch is clear and it answers every question. I’ve heard a number of them on Dragons’ Den and the clean, short, wellconstructed ones usually get investments. Our Moving Stories pitch wasn’t just a pitch about following people who are moving. We broke the stories down thematically: leaving home for the first time, leaving jail after a decade, newlyweds moving in together. The broadcaster could “see” the stories before we shot them.
for your novel. If you can’t tell a good story, if you can’t get people passionately involved in what you ‘see’, your company, your novel, won’t get traction. It’s that simple. At what point in your career did you realize you ‘made it’? It was the mid-90s. I was working in radio when a dream TV job came up. It was a Washington posting, and American politics was (is!) one of my passions. Since I had little TV experience, I was told I couldn’t apply. But I fought for an interview anyways, for the experience. And because I think I went in with nothing to lose, I got the job. Now the reporters I worked with in Washington weren’t thrilled with my lack of experience, but I just worked twice as hard. I became a damn good TV producer. It was one of the best work experiences of my life. So I guess the lesson is, if you truly think you’re right for something, tell that story, make them ‘see’ that, and then go ahead and prove it. I got a chance to prove myself. That was life changing.
Profbook
...with Professor Borins Interviewed by Inez Huang Publications Manager, MESA
Professor Borins is the founding chair of UTSC’s Department of Management. He writes, blogs, and teaches about narrative, information, technology, and innovation. He is an accomplished author, having published nine books and is a frequent conference speaker. Check out his website at www.sandfordborins.com. What is something students would be surprised to know about you? Well, I have two reasonably young children. Sons who are now 10 and 13. To a great extent, parenting is a major pursuit! And it certainly occupies a lot of time when I’m not working. A lot of what I call “daddy taxi” or driving around. Do you get much time for yourself then? What do you like to do outside of school? Years ago, I used to write travel articles, and quite a few of them were published. I still love to travel and get a fair number of opportunities for business trips. Last year I was in Australia and Denmark. And in the next few weeks I’m going to Paris. It’s often for presentations. I don’t travel as much, or the places I go to aren’t as exotic. Before, I went to a lot of places in Asia – Nepal, Japan, China. In your opinion, what would be one place that everybody should try to visit at least once? Firstly Kyoto, because it’s the traditional capital of Japan and of its culture. Beijing, of course, the capital of China and the Forbidden City. And another place, Borobudur. It’s a Buddhist Temple in Indonesia. It’s a huge, huge temple built 1500 years ago. It’s quite spectacular. When you travel, how do you approach a new place in terms of what you visit or try first? Over the years, I’ve gotten more and more disappointed [in travel articles] since a lot
of them are lists, like the 6 great restaurants I went to in one place. It’s like they’re food articles. So I say, what’s the point? If I was writing a travel article, I would look for museums and cultural heritage sites. I would write a lot about that. I’ve written about the gardens in Suzhou, the Kabuki Theatre in Tokyo. Things like that. Sometimes things off the beaten track too. I once wrote an article about the English astronomer William Herschel who discovered the planet Uranus, using his own telescope. The house he lived in is now a museum. It’s not one of the big sites that people see. But it’s quirky, important, and has an interesting story. What would be one accomplishment you are most proud of? I’m proud of my family and kids. And my books. Some books more than other.The most recent one, about narratives in government is one of my favourites so far. My wife helped me on that; she used to be a playwright. She sort of stepped away from that, in terms of taking responsibility for parenting. But writing is something that she did a lot of. Again, children drive your priorities! To end off, if you had three wishes, what would you want? Well, the joke would be the third wish would always be for three more wishes. But I guess, the first wish would be for more hours in the day to sort of work on my various intellectual interests. And the second wish would be a pass to go anywhere Air Canada goes for free. So more time. More travel. And more wishes.
Best of the Best TV Shows
Guest Writers UTSC Students
Back-to-back exams. Working overtime. Looking for a job. We’ve all been stressed before – sometimes it’s just too much work! One of the best ways to relax (and to not think at all!) is to watch television. We forget about our own worries, as we jump into a world of documentaries, emotional reality shows, and suspensful What exactly are the couch potatoes dramas. So what shows do students like to watch? Read on for some reviews by saying? Send your caption to info@mesa.ca for a chance to win a prize! UTSC’s very own TV critics:
The show is about two brothers, Sam and Dean Winchester, who fight evil to avert the apocalypse outlined in the Book of Revelations, Lucifer is trying to get out of his “eternal” prison in Hell with the help of his minions (demons) on Earth. Sam and Dean Winchester are chosen by God to ensure that Lucifer does not walk the earth again. The show encompasses Comedy, Horror, Thriller, Fantasy, Action and Adventure making it such a unique show as it caters to such a wide variety of viewers. The show also brings folklore such as witchcraft, the Book of Revelations, and the Grim Reaper to life, therefore making the show absolutely original and addictive. The storyline is gripping, original and completely brilliant to say the least. It deals with everything SUPERNATURAL. The only negative critique I have about is viewer interest in the show is diminishing, as every show does have an expiration date. This new 9th Season better be as good or better that the past 8 seasons!
~ Yohan Dumpala, 3rd Year Student
When I first heard about Suits, it didn’t really appeal to me; I thought that it was just another one of those mediocre TV shows. However, as time passed I quickly came to realize how popular it is among Torontonians and soon learned that it is in fact filmed in downtown Toronto. So I decided to give it a second chance and finally came around to see what the fuss is all about. After finally catching up to it, I am proud to say that I am now an avid Suits fan. What differentiates Suits from other TV shows (besides Meghan Markle, hot damn) is how entertaining and nail biting its episodes can be despite being based on the lives of lawyers. Give it Suits a chance and I promise you won’t regret watching it.
~ Richie Rai, 1st Year Student In my opinion, I think Criminal Minds is...wait for it...awesome (HIMYM is awesome too, but I’ll talk about CM first). It took me one episode to get me completely hooked onto the series. Every episode was action-packed and thrilling to see all of the characters coordinating each other’s actions through teamwork to either capture the antagonists in each episode or try to save the antagonists from themselves. This show has amazing characters as the audiences see how their separate back stories have moulded these quirky personalities and how all these different personality types are able to band together to form this very successful crime solving group. Though some scenes may be “creepy” or “disturbing” (stalkers, murderers, etc.), I guarantee that watching this show will give the audience insight about mental patients and their struggles. Remember, nothing ventured, nothing gained! (sorry for the cliche). ~ Billy Liang, 1st Year Student