Working at the Movies: Meet a Digital Artist

If you want to make a movie, you need a camera, a story and some actors. These days, maybe you also need a computer. With the computer, you can draw some special scenes, and much, much more. Computer artists are called "digital" artists. These artists help make many movies today. Can you think of a few movies that have computer art scenes in them?

Maybe you are good at drawing or painting. Maybe you also like to do art on a computer. Then, you might be interested in a "Hollywood" job. You could draw monsters, spaceships, the future, or the past. In San Francisco, and nearby, there are some movie studios where digital artists work and help make popular movies. At City College, there are film classes, graphic design, and computer art classes.

Computer jobs are not only in science or business. They are in art, too. Watch this video interview with a San Francisco digital artist. Think about his job. Would this work be good for you or someone you know?



After you listen, try these exercises:

• Here is some vocabulary and a paper with some sentences to write.
• Here are some questions to talk and write about.
  

Auto Transmission Specialists

When you think about getting a job, people suggest you think
about questions like these:

1. What are my skills?
2. What am I good at doing?
3. What work will I enjoy that pays a good salary?
4. How much training or education do I have?
5. How much training or education do I need to get?
   

Also, people suggest you think about practical questions like these:

1. What kinds of businesses are strong in the U.S.A.?
2. Which businesses are getting bigger?
3. Which businesses have a lot of success, so I can be successful, too?
4. What is good about owning a business?
   
5. What is difficult about owning a business?
6. What is better for me, to have a partner, or not to have a partner?
   

In this interview, we met a man who came from Vietnam. He told us that when he flew to Washington, D.C., he looked out the plane window. He said to himself, "So many people! So many houses! So many cars!" He thought for a minute. He told himself, "All these cars- I will be a mechanic and take care of cars. This will be a good job for me!"

He took some classes, and started a business. He spent a lot of time carefully. Now he has a partner, many good customers, and a strong successful business. He was thoughtful and practical, too. Watch this video about two automotive transmission specialists.

• After you watch, you can click here, listen and fill in the blanks.
• Click here to read the answers.
  
• Talk in your class about owning a business. Would that be good for you? What business would you like to own?