A Bite of MyJobs is a Flash-animated film created for the CWEE department at College of the Canyons as an instructional video for receiving internships through the department. Although the film was created in the spring of 2013 in Animation Production class, it was finished and released late in the same year.
Film Details
- Release Date: October 18, 2013
- Running Time: 5 min.
- MPAA Rating: G
- Director: Andrew Bermudez
- Producer: Jeff Baker
- Writer: Daniel Johnson
Plot Summary
WARNING: This section contains spoilers. Skip to the next section if you do not want to find out what happens.
The film starts out in front of the CWEE office, where a bat flies in and transforms into Dracula. He sneaks up on the door, opens it with his hypnotic gaze, and enters the office.
Inside the office, the Career Advisor manages some documents as Dracula sneaks up on her. He ambushes her with the threat of sucking her blood, but she assumes that he is there to get an internship. She guides him to a computer and shows him around the CWEE website, showing him how to use the CWEE program. Dracula tries to interject, but the Advisor directs him back to the computer.
During the lecture, Dracula notices the computer mouse and asks what it is. The Career Advisor tells him that it is a mouse, which causes Dracula to react violently against what he thinks is a rodent. Nothing happens, and the Career Advisor resumes her lecture.
A short time later, Dracula finally says that he doesn't want to play around, but suck her blood. Being naive, the Career Advisor thinks that he actually wants a culinary arts internship and fills out his resume.
At the end of the lecture, the Career Advisor wheels Dracula, still sitting in the computer chair, over to a classroom for an hour presentation. Dracula protests, but is soon absorbed by the 8mm film.
After the film, the Career Advisor spins Dracula, now hypnotized, back to the computer. Giving instructions, the Career Advisor directs him on how to apply for an internship. Dracula, not thinking straight, signs up for an internship in culinary arts and leaves the office. As the Career Advisor bids him ado, Dracula wakes up from his trance and wonders what happened.
Production History
The groundwork for the film was set in place in late February 2013 when a representative from the CWEE department, Gina Bogna, assigned one half of the Animation Production class (known in class as Team Blue) to create a film that explained how a student could use the MyJobs site to obtain an internship. The other team in the class, Team Red, was assigned to create a film that explains what an internship is. Pre-production work started immediately after. The original story featured Dracula's wife getting an internship, but it was re-written when the script needed simplification.
The film was announced on March 3, 2013, with a then-expected release on May 31, with a showing that night at the MEA Showcase. Production ran pretty smoothly throughout the semester, though it did fall behind schedule at times, as New Friends ~ An Environmental Fable and A Friend of the Police were also in production at the time. Lost time was recovered when Dayaan Scarborough was moved from Team Red to Team Blue to finish animation on the mouse gag. Despite this, changes were requested at the last minute, forcing the film to be delayed indefinitely.
After other changes were made to the dialogue and animation, the film was finally released online on October 18, 2013. The CWEE Department version was released about a month later, though that version went under one last dialogue change before its release.
Audience Reception
Though it has not received strong viewership online, the members of the CWEE department loved the finished product, as it aimed at informing students about the CWEE department in an entertaining way. In addition to being available to watch on YouTube and Vimeo, A Bite of MyJobs is now shown in classrooms throughout College of the Canyons.
Mistakes
- Visual Error: Because of the requested dialogue changes, the Career Advisor's mouth does not synch to the dialogue at times.
- Continuity Error: In all of the views of the office, all of the computers are PCs. Yet all of the shots of the computer screen are from a MAC.
- Continuity Error: When Dracula holds the mouse up to the Career Advisor, the potted plant that was sitting across the room disappears. However, when the camera cuts back to this angle later on in the lecture, the plant is restored.
Characters
- Career Advisor (Teresa Bermudez)
- Dracula (Andrew Bermudez)
- Bride of Dracula (cut from film)
Credits
- Andrew Bermudez - Director, Animator, Voice Actor, Concept Artist, Editor, Composer
- Daniel Johnson - Writer, Concept Artist, Storyboard Artist, Animator
- Melanie Modesti - Concept Artist, Animator
- Allan Jones - Concept Artist, Animator, Editor
- Christine Kurt - Concept Artist, Audio Supervisor, Animator
- Dayaan Scarborough - Animator
- Gina Bogna - Client, Representative
- Jeff Baker - Producer, Instructor
- Teresa Bermudez - Voice Actor
Trivia
- This is Mustache Maniacs Film Co.'s second full Flash animation, after Space Attack.
- While several of Mustache Maniacs Film Co.'s films were created for classes at College of the Canyons, this is the only class project that was created in direct collaboration with the school.
- Occasionally, the cut character of Bride of Dracula was named Blondie or Dracula's Wife in the film's preliminary files.
- All of the film's promotional artwork was created with the film's concept art, rather than the final characters and locations seen in the finished film.
Gallery
