Sideshow visit
- Thread starter ChrisCJ99
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I'm glad I wasn't collecting whenever they were in mainstream.
Seems like a lot of collectors are trying to trade up with their GG items...
That and people trying to dump some of their Master Replica items
..................
Sorry, I did not......
So here's the report I wrote up for my interview with Travis at Sideshow...... I'll be making a presentation to the class as well next month 
I’ve always found myself extremely intrigued by technology and the amazing possibilities that multimedia could achieve. When the opportunity presented itself to interview a professional in the digital field, my choice was instantaneous. Sideshow Collectibles. Although the company specializes in high-end collectibles, I was aware that Sideshow had an in-house department that was responsible for all the media of the company.
Having been an avid collector of Sideshow’s products for many years, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity for me. I contacted the public relations department for Sideshow via telephone, and made a request to interview the head of the Multimedia department. To my surprise, I was scheduled within days to speak to the manager of the multimedia department of Sideshow, Travis Watkins. Upon arrival at Sideshow in Thousand Oaks, recognizable collectible items such as the life-size Iron Man bust, the life size C-3PO and R2-D2 figures from Star wars, the Hulk Premium Format figure, and more immediately greeted me. The lobby in itself was a museum. It had such a stunning aura, which conveyed the massive influence and success that Sideshow has retained in its respective industry.
Upon sitting down in Travis’ office, I still hadn’t processed the fact that I was actually sitting within Sideshow’s headquarters and getting to see what’s behind the pearly gates of the amazing world of high-end collecting. Before working at Sideshow, Travis received his BA in Multimedia from Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, CA. The program was relatively new and only had a graduating class size of about 12 students. After receiving his degree, Travis worked in several positions at various locations ranging from production assistant up to editor. Although the educational experience introduced many different areas of multimedia to Travis, most of his knowledge was learned on the job, in post-school life. Like most jobs, the position at Sideshow was brought to Travis’s attention by word of mouth. After submitting a reel and doing some freelance work for Sideshow, Travis was brought on board as the sole member of the multimedia department. Over five years the department, which he now manages, has expanded to having three additional team members.
The team is often tasked with providing collectors additional or alternative information about the company, artists and the collectibles. But the ultimate responsibility of the department is to celebrate Sideshow, collecting and popular culture through digital media. When people think of collecting movie and comic figures, they might recall the movie “40 Year Old Virgin” where a nerdy guy has partially secluded himself from society and dwells in his residence with an obsessively organized collection of toys. However, this is not what the real world of collecting is like at all. Travis’s team works diligently to convey that collecting is an art form, and a hobby that can easily adapt to anyone’s lifestyle. A typical workday for Travis includes the ordinary responsibilities of any management position. He checks emails, attends meetings, provides in progress projects with feedback, updates his team with any current creative processes, and gives creative direction where it’s needed. Travis does not have a set work schedule, and the hours vary anywhere from 8am until 10 pm, sometimes later. The multimedia department uses high-end video equipment to capture the essence of the collectibles and artistic process throughout the Sideshow building as well as in their video studio. After filming and photography, they polish the work in editing suites using software such as Final Cut, After Effects, Photoshop and Flash. The work produced ranges from commercials to documentaries, to short ridiculous movies. Travis’ believes a difficult aspect of his job is keeping an equal balance of administrative and business oriented practices with the mind-set of a creative endeavor. The most rewarding aspect of his job is working with a collective of passionate like-minded individuals and rallying around an idea to evolve it into something that celebrates Sideshow and the art of popular culture.
As all artists do, Travis and his team seek influence and inspiration. They obtain this through various mediums such as websites like motionographer.com, /film, watchthetitles.com, blogs, movies, commercials, music, museums comics, and magazines such as IDN, Empire, Interview, Hi Fructos and STASH. There are boards on which members will post ideas, photos, torn pages out of magazines and other random things to inspire ideas. For brainstorming there are dry erase boards around the office to help communicate and conceptualize.
Although a sense of “very corporate” may be perceived upon first glimpse of the large facility and high-security doors, this is immediately contradicted when taken behind the doors and introduced to the staff. Sideshow is very friendly and family oriented. A relaxed atmosphere with casual attire and moderate music playing contributes to a productive and successful work place. The company has a total of about 70 corporate employees and about 80 freelance artists. The idea of a family-oriented work environment is also evident with the extremely low turn over rate of the employees. Of the 16 years that Sideshow has been in business, they have retained about 98% of the their employees.
After speaking with Travis and learning his experience with the industry, I now have a true sense of what to expect when pursuing my career in the multimedia field. I got the chance to see what the real world is like and now have a more tangible goal to aspire to. I one day hope to receive the opportunity to contribute my skills to a company with the same work environment as Sideshow, and ultimately hope to become a part of the team and family at Sideshow Collectibles.
I’ve always found myself extremely intrigued by technology and the amazing possibilities that multimedia could achieve. When the opportunity presented itself to interview a professional in the digital field, my choice was instantaneous. Sideshow Collectibles. Although the company specializes in high-end collectibles, I was aware that Sideshow had an in-house department that was responsible for all the media of the company.
Having been an avid collector of Sideshow’s products for many years, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity for me. I contacted the public relations department for Sideshow via telephone, and made a request to interview the head of the Multimedia department. To my surprise, I was scheduled within days to speak to the manager of the multimedia department of Sideshow, Travis Watkins. Upon arrival at Sideshow in Thousand Oaks, recognizable collectible items such as the life-size Iron Man bust, the life size C-3PO and R2-D2 figures from Star wars, the Hulk Premium Format figure, and more immediately greeted me. The lobby in itself was a museum. It had such a stunning aura, which conveyed the massive influence and success that Sideshow has retained in its respective industry.
Upon sitting down in Travis’ office, I still hadn’t processed the fact that I was actually sitting within Sideshow’s headquarters and getting to see what’s behind the pearly gates of the amazing world of high-end collecting. Before working at Sideshow, Travis received his BA in Multimedia from Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, CA. The program was relatively new and only had a graduating class size of about 12 students. After receiving his degree, Travis worked in several positions at various locations ranging from production assistant up to editor. Although the educational experience introduced many different areas of multimedia to Travis, most of his knowledge was learned on the job, in post-school life. Like most jobs, the position at Sideshow was brought to Travis’s attention by word of mouth. After submitting a reel and doing some freelance work for Sideshow, Travis was brought on board as the sole member of the multimedia department. Over five years the department, which he now manages, has expanded to having three additional team members.
The team is often tasked with providing collectors additional or alternative information about the company, artists and the collectibles. But the ultimate responsibility of the department is to celebrate Sideshow, collecting and popular culture through digital media. When people think of collecting movie and comic figures, they might recall the movie “40 Year Old Virgin” where a nerdy guy has partially secluded himself from society and dwells in his residence with an obsessively organized collection of toys. However, this is not what the real world of collecting is like at all. Travis’s team works diligently to convey that collecting is an art form, and a hobby that can easily adapt to anyone’s lifestyle. A typical workday for Travis includes the ordinary responsibilities of any management position. He checks emails, attends meetings, provides in progress projects with feedback, updates his team with any current creative processes, and gives creative direction where it’s needed. Travis does not have a set work schedule, and the hours vary anywhere from 8am until 10 pm, sometimes later. The multimedia department uses high-end video equipment to capture the essence of the collectibles and artistic process throughout the Sideshow building as well as in their video studio. After filming and photography, they polish the work in editing suites using software such as Final Cut, After Effects, Photoshop and Flash. The work produced ranges from commercials to documentaries, to short ridiculous movies. Travis’ believes a difficult aspect of his job is keeping an equal balance of administrative and business oriented practices with the mind-set of a creative endeavor. The most rewarding aspect of his job is working with a collective of passionate like-minded individuals and rallying around an idea to evolve it into something that celebrates Sideshow and the art of popular culture.
As all artists do, Travis and his team seek influence and inspiration. They obtain this through various mediums such as websites like motionographer.com, /film, watchthetitles.com, blogs, movies, commercials, music, museums comics, and magazines such as IDN, Empire, Interview, Hi Fructos and STASH. There are boards on which members will post ideas, photos, torn pages out of magazines and other random things to inspire ideas. For brainstorming there are dry erase boards around the office to help communicate and conceptualize.
Although a sense of “very corporate” may be perceived upon first glimpse of the large facility and high-security doors, this is immediately contradicted when taken behind the doors and introduced to the staff. Sideshow is very friendly and family oriented. A relaxed atmosphere with casual attire and moderate music playing contributes to a productive and successful work place. The company has a total of about 70 corporate employees and about 80 freelance artists. The idea of a family-oriented work environment is also evident with the extremely low turn over rate of the employees. Of the 16 years that Sideshow has been in business, they have retained about 98% of the their employees.
After speaking with Travis and learning his experience with the industry, I now have a true sense of what to expect when pursuing my career in the multimedia field. I got the chance to see what the real world is like and now have a more tangible goal to aspire to. I one day hope to receive the opportunity to contribute my skills to a company with the same work environment as Sideshow, and ultimately hope to become a part of the team and family at Sideshow Collectibles.
Fritz
My muse is a fickle b**ch
Nice job! 
Dusty
just me
Great report, Chris! BTW, Travis is my husband - sorry I didn't get to meet you! He mentioned he had an interview with a student, but didn't mention that the student was also a Freak If I had known, I would have made a point to come in to meet you too!
I just want to stress that Chris has not overstated a thing when it comes to the work environment and family-oriented (Sideshow employees and their significant others and kids being the family) way of business at Sideshow. I don't want to sound too cheesy, but I owe practically everything awesome that I have in my life right now (husband, baby, awesome job and support, great friends) to Sideshow. As with any career or job, there can be some rough days, where the ins-and-outs of the minutiae can start to break you down, but then you take a step back and really appreciate it all. Here's to Sideshow, here's to art ... and here's to our collectors like the Freaks who make it all possible
If I had known, I would have made a point to come in to meet you too!I just want to stress that Chris has not overstated a thing when it comes to the work environment and family-oriented (Sideshow employees and their significant others and kids being the family) way of business at Sideshow. I don't want to sound too cheesy, but I owe practically everything awesome that I have in my life right now (husband, baby, awesome job and support, great friends) to Sideshow. As with any career or job, there can be some rough days, where the ins-and-outs of the minutiae can start to break you down, but then you take a step back and really appreciate it all. Here's to Sideshow, here's to art ... and here's to our collectors like the Freaks who make it all possible
p!tu
Shiz-lakin-a-craka-lakin™
Great report, Chris! BTW, Travis is my husband - sorry I didn't get to meet you! He mentioned he had an interview with a student, but didn't mention that the student was also a Freak
I just want to stress that Chris has not overstated a thing when it comes to the work environment and family-oriented (Sideshow employees and their significant others and kids being the family) way of business at Sideshow. I don't want to sound too cheesy, but I owe practically everything awesome that I have in my life right now (husband, baby, awesome job and support, great friends) to Sideshow. As with any career or job, there can be some rough days, where the ins-and-outs of the minutiae can start to break you down, but then you take a step back and really appreciate it all. Here's to Sideshow, here's to art ... and here's to our collectors like the Freaks who make it all possible
so cheesy....tears running down my face......cant stop,, lol
Crimsonbob
Super Freak
Great write up ChrisCJ99 and i hope you go all the way to the top
Help P!tu get a full time job at Sideshow please, he's got the energy the drive and definitely the passion
Great report, Chris! BTW, Travis is my husband - sorry I didn't get to meet you! He mentioned he had an interview with a student, but didn't mention that the student was also a Freak
I just want to stress that Chris has not overstated a thing when it comes to the work environment and family-oriented (Sideshow employees and their significant others and kids being the family) way of business at Sideshow. I don't want to sound too cheesy, but I owe practically everything awesome that I have in my life right now (husband, baby, awesome job and support, great friends) to Sideshow. As with any career or job, there can be some rough days, where the ins-and-outs of the minutiae can start to break you down, but then you take a step back and really appreciate it all. Here's to Sideshow, here's to art ... and here's to our collectors like the Freaks who make it all possible
Help P!tu get a full time job at Sideshow please, he's got the energy the drive and definitely the passion
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