Secret Headquarters interview

My interview at Secret Headquarters went really well this morning! This is a small boutique post house located in Culver City, about ten minutes from Happy Hour Creative. Dave, the person who responded to my e-mailed website link, gave me a brief tour of their facility, which is pretty nice. In fact you'd never know such a place existed inside just by glancing at the outside of the building. To be honest I wondered what type of neighborhood this was in when I looked on Google Street Level. When I arrived at the location and stepped inside, I realized that the name "Secret Headquarters" connected even more with the place.

During the tour I was shown a Japanese garden they have in back of the building. To the left of this was a very small parking area only big enough for about four cars, the whole outdoor section covered. The two cars in the lot turned out to both be Mini Coopers. I made a comment about that and Dave said there were only four permanent employees who worked there and two of them drove Minis. I immediately piped in that I drove a Mini as well. Dave laughed and called to the head of the company who was in a nearby edit bay, saying 'hey, he has a Mini too!' I started to realize I was more than in the right place.

Along the way it was explained to me that they primarily work on trailers and broadcast spots (YAY!) and occasionally cut DVD special features, promos, and on rare occasions, direct to DVD feature films. Of course I've done all of this and they could see it in my online resume. Sitting down for the actual meeting, Dave had a series of questions regarding my experience, creativity, and how I handle different types of projects. He was looking for someone who could operate on their own with input from absentee producers who looked at completed work through a fiber connect. I explained in more detail how the "Book of Eli" spot came together, as well as my ability and love of running with something, even without a script. All in all it was a very positive interview and I was told that I'd definitely sold myself to them. He wants to bring me in on the next project they get. Sounds like it could be July at this point because June was already proving to be a slow month.

Oh and on a side note, while talking about my work on the four feature films I cut in Vermont, he asked if I was from there. I told him I was actually from Upstate New York. He asked 'where' kind of knowingly. Normally I say the Albany area because a lot of people know where that is. But because of the way he asked, I said Troy which is more accurate. Turns out he's from Massena, N.Y. (near the Canadian border) and knows the Albany, Troy, Schenectady area pretty well. He ended the interview by joking about definitely wanting to work more with someone from his home state. Between that, the Mini connection, and most importantly my work experience, etc., I definitely feel I've paved my way into a new post house.

So score the second interview I've had this month with a new post house (the other being Sam Hurwitz Productions) and an immediate response from the 46 post houses I contacted on Tuesday. That's pretty good, and all I have to do now is start working at these places.