That age old expression is true, it really is all about who you know. However that doesn't always have to mean a better job or Super Bowl tickets...
...One of my closest friends friends from college is a guy by the name of Craig Rittenbaum. Craig works for Dreamworks Animation. Yes, that Dreamworks. Most recently he was the Production Manager on the film "How to Train Your Dragon."
Craig was nice enough to participate in my class blog and answer my student's questions about the making of an animated movie.
To that point my students knew me and that I had a website. They might have known someone else with a website. They've seen movies. But through this assignment, and Craig's generosity, they were able to correspond on a website with someone who was directly responsible for making a movie they were all planning on seeing.
To be able to make that connection for my students was quite the experience. Craig expressed his enjoyment of it as well. It's not every day the Production Manager of an animated film gets to talk daily and directly with the very audience he is creating for.
It was a great assignment and I hope to have Craig collaborate again on a future blog post.
