Well folks, we have reached a very exciting milestone in Windsong Productions’ history, our one-year anniversary! I’m sure each person in the office could tell you countless stories about what it took to get here, but that would take hours. So, here is a collection of some of our crew’s favorite memories (each in less than 100 words) from the last year. Enjoy! – Gue
Anthony Taylor: “At the first Germ we had in our studio a well known and respected member of our music community said, “I can’t believe we’ve got something like this in Fresno. And in this part of town too.” That was a huge indicator to me that we were doing something creative and special. And that people were taking notice. It’s cool to be part of something like that.” – Ant (67 words)
Kyle Gentz: “Hulk Smashing* Windsong’s brand new blu-ray player. Wait, no… Hulk Smashing Byron’s iPhone. Okay… so, just Hulk smashing everything in general. Sorry guys.” – Kyle (24 words)
*Hulk Smashing is in reference to the Marvel Comics character, “The Hulk” and his ability to smash literally, anything and everything.
Joann Mercado: “It’s hard to choose a favorite memory at Windsong Productions. For the first time, in a long time, I’ve found a place that is more than just a job to me, this place is awesome, it’s a family. You know, that cool family that everyone wants to be a part of but can’t be because well, it’s like an exclusive Country Club, there’s a long wait list of who gets to be part of this cool group. Too aggressive? My favorite memories, because I refuse to choose just one, would have to be all of the creative brainstorms, The Germ events, working on public relations for Bike Month and 4 a.m. live shots, Byron’s unintentional dance lessons and his impromptu vocal performance to “I Wanna Be a Hulkamaniac,” Anthony carrying Byron like he was his two-year-old son and random moments of fake aggression, Kyle Hulksmashing my 1992 Hamper Hoop and not fixing it, Sara’s tears of laughter and face hugs, Tony NOT giving me a high five…ever, Krause kicking me out of our SHARED office, Chelsea dancing in a cow costume and Scotty attempting to learn the Fushigi. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of co-workers, here’s to another year of laughter, production schedules and deadlines. Viva La Windsong!” – Joseph (202 words)
Josh Krause: “It’s hard to choose one special memory from the 3+ months I’ve been here at WSP. I love what we do here and enjoy the people I work with. Every day is a special day here at WSP. Does that sound cheesy? Probably. But it’s actually true… I was just named employee of the month* so I’m trying to win that back-to-back. Hope this helps, GO TEAM WSP!” – Krause (71 words)
*Every month, the title of Employee of the Month is selected by the previous recipient. So, if Josh Krause wins again, we know it’s rigged.
Scott Coulter: “My favorite memory would have to be going on my first Windsong shoot. It was Anthony, Kyle and myself driving out to Woodward Park to shoot a dental vacuum video. We were tasked with making a heavy piece of machinery look as sexy as possible, while maintaining an environmentally-friendly appearance. The sun was in the perfect spot and I don’t recall seeing any clouds. Basically, the setting was perfect. The only thing missing was a rabbit running around in the background. We worked hard as a team to make one great dental vacuum video, and I’m proud of it. I knew from that moment on, that I was a part of something very special and I’m thankful to be a member of such a fantastic team.” – Scotty AKA Soulter. (127 words)
Tony Bennett: “It’s hard to believe that it’s really been a year. It went by so fast that I really don’t have a favorite memory from Windsong’s inaugural campaign. In fact, my lack of memory is common knowledge around here. Just ask anyone and they’ll tell you, “Tony? He can’t remember what happened five minutes ago, let alone a year ago.” Truth be told, I don’t remember much at all from the past 15 years or so. The last thing I really remember is January 18, 1999. That was the fateful Sunday when the Vikings (who had gone 15-1 in the regular season and had an average margin of victory of over two touchdowns) lost to the Falcons in the NFC title game. Kicker Gary “Automatic” Anderson missed only one field goal in a two year span back then… and guess which one it was?! That’s right. The one that would have iced that game and sent the Purple Crew to the SuperBowl where they would have crushed John Elway and the Broncos, denying Elway his second straight title and heroic ride into the sunset. Am I bitter? Nah, I don’t have time to be bitter. But, Mr. Anderson better hope that I never catch him alone in a parking lot. Anyway, time to get back to work. Now… what was I doing?” – The Tony Bennett (222 words)
Chelsea Gue: “There was one time when Anthony was extremely excited about the fact that he saw a celebrity at Chipotle. The only catch was that he could not remember this man’s name for the life of him, nor could he remember why this man was famous. So after agonizing about who it could be, we did a little investigating. As it turns out, Aflac Agents are big names in this town.” – Guey (70 words)
Sara Bourbeau: “Looking back at the last year, there isn’t just one favorite memory that stands out. As cliche as it sounds (and it’s WAY cliche) it’s been amazing running a great company with the best people around. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. Here’s a few of my fav memories of the first year for the time capsule:
– Children’s Hospital Central California, “Business of Kids” shoot. Jill Wagner and I not being able to watch the final scene on the monitor for fear of the boy ACTUALLY jumping into the pool from the roof.
– Kaplan College, “Celeste Vasquez” shoot. Fresno to San Diego to Sacramento then back to Fresno… in a weekend. Best part? Pizza Rock in Sacramento. Go there!
– Collaborating with new clients, agencies and creatives. It has been an amazing experience to work on new projects with new people.
– Breaking down in the middle of the street on Ave. 12 at 1 a.m., the day before Windsong opened its doors (also my birthday) in a 16 foot truck full of Ikea furniture because we put gas in a diesel truck. Ooops.
– Our show “Nothing to Do,” The Germ, hiring new Windsong peeps, traveling to Maine, Miami, Maryland, Chicago and all over the Midwest, Bike Month, staff lunches and parties and our great office mate Blare Media.” – Sara without an H (223 words)
Byron Watkins: “Getting to work with new people. Trying things I haven’t done before. Doing stuff that scares me. It is always the most rewarding.” – By (23 words)
So the moral of this blog is, never give your crew a 100 word limit as they will “Hulk Smash” it.
Love it!