Posts Tagged ‘Massachusetts’

Summer Internships with Mass Appeal Entertainment

Mass Appeal Entertainment Internship

It is that time of year and students are returning to Boston for the Summer or looking to come to Boston for an interesting Summer Experience! Whatever your story is, we are interested in meeting you! Mass Appeal Entertainment is currently seeking interns for the Summer Semester to carry on with the post release promotion for previously released albums such as Eye Legacy from Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, Life ‘n Love from Lisa Lisa, and Festa Mascarado from Suzanna Lubrano, as well as to assist with some high profile exciting forthcoming releases, specifically, The Process from Memphis Bleek and a new album from Noel Gourdin. It is a great time to a part of Mass Appeal Entertainment! Please take a look at the position descriptions below and if you are interested in learning more, please request more information. You can also apply by following the Application Process below!

Application Process

To apply for an internship with Mass Appeal Entertainment, please send a resume (and/or a portfolio) and cover letter to Rochelle Goldsmith. Once you email your material, we will schedule you for an interview. We will then call you once we make a decision. This is a great internship in a competitive industry so we must be firm in our selection process. However we do invite anyone who is seriously interested to put their best foot forward and apply!

The cover letter should include the following:

  • Why you want to intern with Mass Appeal?
  • What you think you can gain from a Mass Appeal internship?
  • What you think you can bring to Mass Appeal?

Thank you!

Sincerely,

Rochelle Goldsmith
General Manager
Mass Appeal Entertainment
119 Braintree Street
Suite 211
Boston, MA. 02134
Direct: 646-290-8256
IM: rolu03
Twitter: @massappealent
Twitter: @Seeindaworld
Rochelle@massappealmusic.com
www.massappealmusic.com
www.bluejaystudio.com

Mass Appeal Entertainment Internship Positions

As a general overview, there are currently THREE Internship Departments. These include Marketing, Creative, and General Business Administration (GBA). A detailed description of the positions, qualifications, and some responsibilities are listed below. There are various ways in which an intern will find there assignment in any one of the departments.

  1. An intern may initially have a strong interest in one of the departments and may request placement in a more specialized internship.
  2. After excelling in the GBA department, an intern may be requested to transition to a specialized department for further progression both in the intern’s development AND for the greater good of Mass Appeal Entertainment.
  3. Mass Appeal Entertainment Management may accept an intern for the purpose of building a specified department.
  4. The Creative positions require a certain level of skill, prior experience, and specialized knowledge and therefore will be staffed only by interns in the given field.

Marketing
General Campaign Assistance with a large focus on New Media Marketing:

Marketing Interns will sit down with Management to learn about the different Mass Appeal Entertainment Artists and Projects and brainstorm innovative and creative ways to effectively expose the product to the public. This will include reviewing grassroots and viral marketing techniques, print, and new media outlets. We are seeking smart, motivated, computer savvy, music-loving individuals to handle our street marketing and promotions, New Media strategies, focus groups, product testing, and event marketing. Interns will become a vital part of the online music marketing process by implementing marketing plan initiatives and creating awareness campaigns for a number of Mass Appeal Entertainment artists and brands. They will also be given a chance to preview and express views on some of the latest releases.Interns will be briefed on the techniques necessary in the New Media, Grassroots, and Viral Marketing elements of Mass Appeal Entertainment’s General Marketing Campaign. They will be provided with a detailed Initiative guide with lists of key websites, including but not limited to: social networking sites, music and culture sites, Artist fan sites, message boards/forums, and content hosted sites.

The Marketing interns must be able to identify, assess, and build relationships with new social networking, general music, and lifestyle websites. These great contacts will be acquired by the interns, and will therefore be available to them future projects.The Marketing Interns and New Media team will be responsible for seeding the digital content received by the Graphic Design interns and distributing it through the web.Qualifications for this position include:

  • A love of music and entertainment
  • Strong interest and at least basic knowledge of Marketing, Advertising, and Publicity
  • Must be a strong writer with excellent spelling and grammar
  • Must be proficient in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, AOL, and other Internet designs
  • Must be comfortable working in a team setting with regards to accepting responsibility and an outstanding capacity to pay attention to detail and follow through
  • Creative individuals are encouraged to apply

New Media:

The intern will receive credit for his/her experience, as well as, extensive knowledge in addressing the target markets for specific projects throughout the world wide web, the knowledge of various technology/social networking sites, and the ability to provide substantial feedback on the quality of Mass Appeal Entertainment’s projects . The New Media Interns will work closely with the Marketing Campaign and Creative interns to spread visually creative content on various websites designed to increase Mass Appeal Entertainment’s Artists exposure.Qualifications for this position include:

  • A love of music and entertainment
  • Strong interest and at least basic knowledge of Marketing, Advertising, and Publicity
  • Must be a strong writer with excellent spelling and grammar
  • Must be proficient in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, AOL, and other Internet designs
  • Must be comfortable working in a team setting with regards to accepting responsibility and an outstanding capacity to pay attention to detail and follow through
  • Creative individuals are encouraged to apply

New Media Interns will:

  • Work in a variety of social communities and message boards where they will post Mass Appeal Entertainment content as him or herself.
  • Search for new communities, blogs, and networks for Mass Appeal Entertainment to use to promote music as the library and catalog of talent goes into new and emerging genres.
  • Work with Management to promote artists and develop content for social networking and music websites.
  • Support and maintain the maintenance of social networking sites for artists. (including but not limited to: MySpace, facebook, imeem, beebo, hi5, blackplanet, etc)
  • Work with YouTube and other viral video websites to promote video content.
  • Track content placement on the Internet, taking screen shots, and building reports with statistical data using web based tools like alexa.com and tubemogul.com.

Creative
Graphic Design

Mass Appeal Entertainment is looking for Graphic Designers to work on a variety of projects including, but not limited to: album covers, CD labels, One-sheets, posters, flyers, online banners, ads, and innovative Marketing Material. We would really like to see some ‘out of the box’ ideas that can be distributed digitally by our New Media team. Our artists represent different genres and musical trends, and the Graphic Designer must be able to capture an artist’s musical personality in their design. We are always looking to build our content with innovation and passion. We want your work to be seen in as many places as possible, both in the digital and physical world. We are currently in a re-vamping stage and will need an abundance of content to create maximum awareness and exposure for our projects. You can and will work closely with New Media interns and Management who will be responsible for posting the creative content.The intern will receive credit for his/her experience, as well as, portfolio and resume enhancement. The Graphic Designers will work closely with the other interns to visualize and execute the most creative and effective strategies to portray the ideas of Mass Appeal Entertainment.Qualifications for this position include:

  • Prior graphic design experience
  • Excellent knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign or equivalent such as Quark, or Quark Express
  • Excellent understanding and experience in branding: including what branding means and its importance to the recognition, credibility, and quality of an artist’s product
  • Ability to produce multiple drafts quickly and efficiently
  • Ability to take initiative and conduct current market research of trends in; design, music, fashion, and current label artists then incorporate research into designs that reflect each Artists’ style, music and branding
  • Improve and refine consistency of design themes and branding
  • Demonstrate ability to multi-task and consistently meet deadlines
  • Comprehend marketing strategy and offer design solutions that will help promote the Mass Appeal Entertainment’s Artist roster
  • Must be comfortable working independently and in a team setting with regards to accepting responsibility
  • Must have an outstanding capacity to pay attention to detail

Web Design:

Interns will be responsible for designing or re-designing Mass Appeal Entertainment’s internet presence on a variety of websites including social networking sites, individual artist websites, and creating innovative platforms to increase awareness of Mass Appeal Entertainment owned content. It will be important to integrate all aspects of Mass Appeal content, including Audio and Visual capabilities, preferably with interactive features. We would like to incorporate the graphic design and video aspects of Mass Appeal’s documentation into our web design projects.The intern will receive credit for his/her experience, as well as, portfolio and resume enhancement. The Web Designer will work closely with Graphic Designers and Management to display the content provided by Mass Appeal Entertainment.Qualifications for this position include:

  • Prior web design experience
  • HTML/Flash knowledge required
  • Willing to discuss equipment and program needs for this position.
  • An excellent understanding of (and experience in) branding: including what branding means and its importance to the recognition, credibility, and quality of an artist’s product.
  • Ability to produce fully functional results in a timely manner.
  • Must be comfortable working in a team setting with regards to accepting responsibility and an outstanding capacity to pay attention to detail.

Videographers/Editors:

Videographers will need to be at location with video equipment (your own or property of Mass Appeal) to collect footage pertaining to documenting an artists development and also the record labels development. The video footage will be used in an online video blogging system, as well as on DVD’s and Reels produced under Mass Appeal Entertainment.Video Editors (If different from above) will be responsible for manipulating and editing the video footage collected by the Videographers, and possibly working with the Videographers or Mass Appeal Entertainment Management to make sure the most effective shots are being executed. The video editor will also be responsible for compressing the footage to be uploaded as a video blog to document all record label progress. The interns will receive credit for his/her experience, as well as, portfolio and resume enhancement. The Videographer will work closely with the Video Editor to visualize and execute the most creative and effective video strategy to portray the ideas of Mass Appeal Entertainment.Qualifications for this position include:

  • Prior video capturing and/or editing experience required
  • Willing to discuss equipment and program needs for this position.
  • An excellent understanding of (and experience in) all video capturing elements including sound, lighting, and B-Roll footage
  • Knowledge of equipment and software is necessary
  • Ability to work effectively and efficiently AND to produce drafts in a timely manner.
  • Must be comfortable working in a team setting with regards to accepting responsibility and an outstanding capacity to pay attention to detail.

General Business Administration

Any interns that are not assigned to OR do not choose to be in a specific ‘department’ will be included in the General Business Administration (GBA). This means that the interns might handle some tasks from each department, as well as, handle any request from Management without a departmental classification. The General and Specific duties outlined in the beginning of this document cover the wide range of responsibilities that may be requested at any given time. It is also within the GBA that most of the interns will start their internships, and upon gaining further knowledge and developing their interests, they can easily transition to a specific department.

HDR Photography… Whether you do it, buy it, or both…. Please just display it for the world to see…

I am not a photographer, at least not by trade. However, I thoroughly enjoy documenting my life whether it’s my latest dinner creation, something I have ordered out, an interesting sign, an oddly large Adirondack chair in Key West, a sunset via progression shots, or family and friend filled memories. I have always had a great respect for awesome photographs consumed by nature or amazing city scenes and I suppose I love these shots because I simply love seeing the world. I love seeing the world through my own eyes and through those of others. My newest discovery is seeing the world in ultra vivid color with crazy details that most human eyes overlook. These new visions have come to me in the form of HDR Photography and I am in love. Therefore, I feel that the world, at least those who are unaware, need to become aware, and will then fall in love with HDR Photography too!!

I was first introduced to HDR Photography by my Uncle, Glenn Spiro. He has a 9-5 but enjoys photography in his free time- whether it being scenery or subjects. He sent me the link to a blog site called Stuck In Customs and since then I have been sending this link to everyone I know. My Uncle recently started dabbling with HDR methods himself and I am excited to watch his progress. His latest HDR Photo is from a local square in Boston and truly give this North End square a new life.


(Glenn Spiro: North End Boston, North End Sq, night. HDR toward the painterly effect. v1).

You’ve probably seen this type of photo 100 times, but never knew it had a name. Now you can search and find new screen savers, wall art, coffee table books, or start a new hobby. Please read on to understand the basics, see some of my favorite links, some of my favorite HDR Photographs, and some of the most talented Photographers that I have encountered on my mission to share my latest obsession and discovery with the world!

Thanks to Trey Ratcliff the talented photographer and writer behind Stuck In Customs, I have been able to learn more about HDR Photography, understand the process, and view daily posts that contain new and inspiring images. As taken from Trey’s Blog, HDR is an acronym for High Dynamic Range. It is a post-processing task of taking either one image or a series of images, combining them, and adjusting the contrast ratios to do things that are virtually impossible with a single aperture and shutter speed. Trey says that the HDR process helps the photos look more evocative… and I agree. Simply put, when you use a tripod, take multiple exposures of one scene, being sure to capture various levels of exposure from under to over exposed images, and merge them together, your HDR Photo will be the result after applying a tone mapping technique. Tone mapping reduces the dynamic range, or contrast ratio, of the entire image, while retaining localized contrast (between neighboring pixels). The best pixels from each of your individual photos will be displayed and the result is smooth contrast displayed with incredible detail in the highlights, mid-tones, and shadows.

An example of various exposure levels and the merged finished product (Taken from Wikipedia)


(Wikipedia)
Some of my favorite HDR Photographs:
Here is the original, non-HDR version of the Golden Gate Bridge.
(vgm8383 on Flickr)

Here is an HDR version of the Golden Gate Bridge during a break in a 3 day storm that hit San Francisco.
(vgm8383 on Flickr)

This image was found on HDR Spotting, but was originally posted by Marco Waagmeester on Flickr

This image was found on HDR Spotting, but was originally posted by Pete Talke on Talke Photography and Places 2 Explore.

This image was found on HDR Spotting, but was originally posted by Walter Hsiao on Flickr

This image was found on HDR Spotting, but was originally posted by Antony…. on Flickr

This image was found on Smashing Magazine, but was originally posted by shoebappa on Flickr

This image was found on Smashing Magazine, but was originially posted by Ariffin on Flickr

This image was found on 2 Experts Design, but was originally posted by Tony Shi, NY-NJ on Flickr

HDR Time Lapse (Courtesy of sqbbe on Youtube)

HDR time lapse sequences made from 7.545 shots. HDR’s batch edited in Photomatix. Video made with Quick Time Pro and Adobe Premiere Elements.

It hardly seems realistic, but any camera that allows manual over- or under-exposure of a photo can be used to create HDR images!

Some of my favorite HDR Sites and Image Galleries:

Stuck In Customs

This is a great blog which has awesome photos and the stories to go with them. Trey promotes contests, shares his interests, photos, and videos. He also has a Newsletter that I highly recommend you sign up for!

Here is the Link to the HDR Tutorial on Stuck In Customs!

HDR Spotting (Gallery)

The HDR Spotting Gallery is one to get lost in. Every image that you look at seems better and better from the last. HDR Spotting offers Tutorials, Software, and most importantly, their gallery.

HDR Spotting is designed to be a next-generation gallery for an emerging group of photographers. This site was started because long-time friends and photographers Trey Ratcliff (for more on Trey visit www.stuckincustoms.com) and Denis Khoo saw an intense desire on behalf of HDR Photographers to get their work noticed and to drive more traffic to their sites.

Their mission is to create an environment that allows HDR Photographers to share their best work and drive people to their respective websites. HDR Spotting is designed to:

  • Make it easy and beautiful to scan many HDR Photos at once
  • Provide an environment that encourages readers to go visit the blogs, portfolios, etc of the photographers that contribute
  • Provide a fun community that can be focused and provide feedback via views and comments

HDR Spotting is a basic free service. The site generates income from advertising, which they want to make as unobtrusive and pertinent as possible.

Contributing is easy! Simply enter your information. You maintain the rights to everything… If your photo is good enough, people will click on it to find out more and maybe jump right over to your blog, portfolio, or wherever you wish. HDR Spotting has a human-team (not AI) that will look through the submissions to make sure no one is posting crass ads or porn or anything.

Cambridge In Color

Cambridge in Colour was started in 2005, and has since grown substantially both in content and in the number of visitors it attracts. On any given day this site has well over 10,000 different people learning about photography, viewing the gallery and contributing to the forums

This HDR Post on this site makes the HDR process seem really easy and it also has a great tutorial. I would recommend visiting this site if you are looking to further understand HDR Photography or want to try it out yourself. They have some helpful screenshots, links, and a place for discussion.

2 Experts Design

This Blog was sent to me by David Santos. 2 Experts Design is a creative and graphic design resources blog that aims to provide readers to wide variety of resources such as graphic design, logo design, web design, advertising, branding, typography, other graphic and web designer portfolio, blogging in general, resourceful material, useful tips, tutorials, photography, colour, marketing and much more. The HDR post has a great example of before photos and the after result. Please see below:

Smashing Magazine

This Blog was also sent to me by David Santos. As a web designer he loves Smashing Magazine because “they always have great tutorials, free information, and tools for designers to use in their work like brushes, patterns, icons, etc.”

Smashing Magazine was founded in September 2006 and it delivers useful and innovative information to Web designers and developers. Their aim is to inform their readers about the latest trends and techniques in Web development. They try to convince you not with the quantity but with the quality of the information we present.

Nourished by the gratitude of its benefactors and powered by the reach of social networking, this community has produced a wide variety of high-quality articles, resources and tools, available to everybody. Every single contribution supports the entire community, and the community supports these contributors with traffic and word-of-mouth advertising: the networking effect at its best.

The HDR post utilized from Smashing Magazine displays 35 extremely beautiful and perfectly executed HDR-pictures. Some of them might look surreal, too colorful, even magic or fake, but they are not — keep in mind that they’ve all been developed out of usual photos, and not a single image is an illustration.

Wikipedia’s Entry on HDR Imaging

Some of my favorite Photographers:
Ben Willmore
Terry Reinert
Trey Ratcliff
Peter Lik (Not necessarily with HDR methods, but his clarity and approach are incredible)

Hello World!

Hey!! Because I am blessed with the honor of popping the cherry of the Mass Appeal Entertainment (Dre Robinson, Ryan Toby, Lisa Lisa, Suzanna Lubrano, Javier, and a forthcoming Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes Album) blogging discourse, I figured it would be appropriate to write a first post about the kinds of visual and audio pleasure that will be passing through your consciousness as you navigate this live body of cyber journalism.

You will be browsing through very loose and free-flowing blurbs on whatever is on the minds of the vibrant members of Mass Appeal Entertainment community. Read about how our interns feel about our newest artists, albums and promotional events. Find out about cutting edge projects brewing within the label, and how we’re devising the best ways to connect you, the reader, with our music. You will come across anything from a narrative about something ludicrous that occurred during our workday, to a rant about the doomed music industry, to a vociferous shout-out to a super-fly, new hip-hop talent.

In the latter case, the post does not have to end with what you read on the blog site. Click on the link to our Podcast and you’ll be taken to our audio universe, where you will be able to listen to songs and artists referenced in our blog. There, you will also find recorded interviews with artists, producers and interns as well as recorded, spoken blog entries.

Pretty much anything goes in the Mass Appeal Entertainment Blogosphere. Don’t be afraid to post comments on entries and engage in live discussion with our bloggers through our Meebo widget. Propose your own topics and submit questions to our artists. Find out about what’s going on in this independent urban label in Boston, Massachusetts from inside our first-class recording studio to within our brainstorming headquarters. The things you read will BLOW YOUR MIND…