One week jobber Amanda Lowe is in Vancouver this week, working with Reframe Marketing. As part of her tasks, she figured it would be great to promote an event about One Week Job!

So here’s the deal:

We’re holding a “pop-up” event just outside the Vancouver Art Gallery in downtown Vancouver. We’ll have a booth to meet Sean Aiken, and a roaming guerrilla film crew (myself + Amanda) that will roam the streets and interview locals on topics like jobs and passion.

Check out the Facebook Event

Full Details:

• Vancouver Art Gallery at 750 Hornby St (view map)
• Thursday, July 29th 2010
• 11am – 1pm

We will be starting in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery at 750 Hornby St, and moving around the core.

Hope to see you there!

- Ian

For me, as the director, it was a treat to watch the audience react to the first viewing of the film. I also felt it was an opportunity to share my thoughts on the meaning of the project.

Here’s my final speech:

Here’s the full text:

At the beginning of the film, you probably noticed a quote from the Buddha.
I’ll read it again

From the bottom of our hearts, Sean and I thank you for coming tonight.

Photo: Elaine ‘Bayley’ Happer

Photo: Matt Procopation

Photo: Elaine ‘Bayley’ Happer

Photo: Elaine ‘Bayley’ Happer

Around 8pm we moved into the adjacent theater for a short book reading with Sean and I. We ended the night with a special advance screening of the documentary One Week Job.

Special thanks to Sean’s sister Natalie for organizing the event, and to Steam Whistle for providing the beers!

Thanks to everyone for coming out!

To fix the situation, I tapped the skills of Vancouver graphic artist and illustrator Amanda McCuaig.

After approx 2 weeks of back and forth collaboration, the final result is, in a word, awesome. So awesome that I wanted to share with you the step-by-step process we took to make the vision a reality.

The Evolution of a Movie Poster

The first step was coming up with the general concept. I knew we needed to hint at all the jobs Sean tried over the year, but it had to be in a way that was still visually pleasing (without being overly complex). Amanda sketched her ideas out first:

Afterwards, she applied the sketches above a photo of Sean from the journey:

Then, we added the blue sunburst effect (which we use throughout the graphics in the film):

I wasn’t a big fan of Sean’s jumping photo (it’s fun, but too darkly shadowed), so we decided to swap in a photo of Sean hitchhiking:

Next, we realized the range of jobs weren’t clear. To compensate, we added a few tags like “Fashion Buyer” “Baker” and “Stock Trader”:

Now we’re getting somewhere! At this point, the title “one week job” seemed a bit too boring, in comparison to Amanda’s awesome “hand-sketched” feel. So we decided to replace it with hand-drawn text:

The poster was almost there… but something still wasn’t quite right. Sean’s hitchhiking photo was nice, but didn’t convey the idea of “searching for your passion.” We decided to do a last minute photo shoot to try a few more poses. The result (along with the tagline and crew titles):

Lastly, we realized the final touch was adding the epic words “1 man. 1 year. 52 jobs.” And with that, the poster was complete:

Filmed in Sept 2007 in Montreal, Kyle talks about the importance of finding a job, higher education, and how to take care of your little place in the world.

Feel free to share the trailer far and wide.

The trailer features a number of elements not seen before, including the post-project interviews I conducted with Sean’s parents, girlfriend, and even… me! Also showcases a sneak peek of the awesome animations done by Vividus FX.

You can learn more about the film and meet the crew here.

Enjoy!

Today, Sean’s latest interview was published in The Globe And Mail: 52 Jobs In 52 Weeks.

And just like during the project, Sean’s story tends to provoke a divided opinion. The comments on the interview range from positive:

“I think that what Sean did is very brave. How many of us are stuck in jobs for years and once we leave we realize that we were miserable?”

To the appreciative:

“Maybe Sean won’t make a great Chartered Accountant but he is creative, well spoken, thinks outside the box and has an abundance of initiative – sounds like a great employee right now.”

And the not so positive:

Nice resume Sean – I’m sure business will be astounded to have your varied experience and ratty hair-do.

And the downright mean:

“This guy is what is wrong with a lot of todays youth and the parents are to blame. He is utterly useless and will go on to lead a useless and meaningless life. Mommy and Daddy will pay for his fun and convince him he is a successful contributing member of society. GIVE ME A BREAK!!!

Now, we live in a free country, and it’s perfectly fine for others to share their opinion of Sean’s journey. Yet it’s interesting to turn the scrutiny around and use One Week Job as a mirror to study our own life situation.

Ask yourself: what is my immediate reaction reading Sean’s story? Then ask yourself: why?

What does that say about how you see careers and life in general?

Chances are, if you’re the type of person who believes work should be meaningful, that life is about adventure and not “earning a living,” then you’ll likely support the project.

If you’re the type of person that believes life is hard, that work isn’t supposed to be “fun,” then you might feel resentment towards the project.

Of course, there’s no right or wrong answers.

But at the very least, before judging someone else, we owe it to ourselves to look inward and see what we find.

- Ian

The caption reads:

“When Sean Aiken of Port Moody decided to take a myriad of jobs to figure out his career path, he kept a blog, along with video clips, resulting in publicity throughout North America. After stints as a veterinarian’s assistant, a Hollywood Producer, a firefighter, and an astronomer, Aiken’s memoir of his 52 one-week jobs is One Week Job.”

“Most people say they ‘hate my job’ and don’t take any accountability for it… in all honesty you need to do something about it.” – Ryan Paugh

It’s been a while since the last update on the documentary (almost a year in fact). Much has happened since then, so I figure it’s high time to share it.

First, let’s go back to early 2009. Sean and I had asked everyone to help donate towards the film, to help us pay for post-production expenses like footage logging, and shoot new interviews with Sean’s previous employers in far-flung places like Edmonton and Toronto.

Meanwhile, I continued to edit the film, and was finally able to complete the first 80 minute assembly cut. This is equivalent to the first draft, where your work may contain solid elements, but still has a long way to go.

Enter Company X

Around May 2009, out of the blue, Sean and I were approached by a fledgling company in Miami – we’ll call them Company X. They were interested in creating a website geared towards job seekers, and understandably, they loved Sean’s project. In exchange for helping cross-promote their own soon-to-be-launching website, they would invest some funds in the film to see it to completion.

Considering we still needed a substantial sum to finish post-production, Sean and I agreed to the partnership. Company X invested in the film and hired a production company (let’s call them Company Y) to bring their expertise to the table.

Around August 2009, I sent my initial cut and raw footage down to Company Y (also in Miami) and they spent the next 2 months re-crafting the film.

Welcome to Miami

In late October, Sean and I flew down to Miami to finally meet everyone in person. We watched the first re-cut of the film from Company Y. We sat on the beach and drank beers. And we generally had a great time. Things were proceeding along.

In November, Company X decided to dissolve.

Sean and I weren’t privy to the full story, but suffice to say, they were no longer building their new career website, and therefore, we decided to part ways. This also meant retrieving our footage from Company Y, and returning the production back to Vancouver.

Taking It Home

So in Dec 2009, here’s where we stood: it had been almost a year since my first cut of the film. Aside from some helpful, but mostly cosmetic, changes from Company Y, the film remained the same.

Sean and I decided it was time to retake matters into our own hands.

We assembled our own team in Vancouver. We enlisted the expertise of Jessica McKee, goddess editor, and Caroline Manuel, music supervisor extraordinaire. And finally, we asked the creative collective Vividus FX to design original graphics and animation to illustrate Sean’s story.

The Present Day

There’s a saying in the book writing industry. “When you think you’re done…you’re halfway.” This truism also hits home for documentary filmmaking.

But now we’re in the home stretch.

The film has gone through a major finesse, we’re collecting amazing indie bands for the soundtrack, and the FX are stunning.

On the eve of Sean’s upcoming book release (late March in Canada, May 4 in the US), the film is on track for completion this Spring. While challenges remain (for instance, licensing expensive media clips), when we consider how far we’ve come, and the unwavering support from friends, family, and strangers along the way, we know the goal is attainable.

As we gear up for a big year, we’ll keep everyone posted!

Thanks again for joining the journey.

- Ian