What you didn’t know about the people of Citizen Pictures:
Everyone who has worked for Citizen Pictures from freelancers to executives have really interesting career stories and accomplishments. Talents, awards, sweet gigs, and famous run-ins you would never know about. I’ve decided to flat out ask. Because I don’t have time to sit down and chit-chat for hours on end, I put a short questioner together via e mail. These are some of the responses I got…
What you may not know about Jim Brisnehan (Head of Design):
The craziest job I’ve ever worked on: I guess for me, the shoots that have involved special effects like exploding a model of a small building in the parking lot at LSI. The project was for The Learning Channel’s “Alien Invasion Week”. In the promo, a UFO shoots a laser beam into what is supposed to be TLC’s building. One of many fun shoots with the gang at FXWest. ALSO: I have five local Emmy Awards.
What you may not know about Heather Hansen (Production Manager, Programming):
When I was an assistant editor I had to go by myself from Chicago to Detroit for a one day edit that was supposed to one spot with a client I knew well. The job quickly had me cutting by myself for the first time in a room full of Macy’s executives... for two weeks. It was exciting for a couple of reasons- I got to do a big spot package by myself and I also got to get some new clothes at the mall with the company card.
What you may not know about Mallory Potock (Associate Producer, Programming & Corporate):
I’m really proud of a short promo video I did for the Colorado Therapeutic Riding Center. I shot it over the summer a couple years ago to be shown at an auction I co-chaired benefitting the CTRC. It was a great learning experience about everything that goes into a project and grew my already tremendous respect and admiration for every member of a production team. From going over shot lists, to teaching me to use the camera, to editing and VO talent- I had some outstanding support and guidance from everyone at Citizen and Base2! The response to the video at the auction was outstanding. I think that was the project that made me really excited about going into this field!
What you may not know about Robin Bond (Executive Producer):
How I got into the industry: It wasn’t really “the industry,” but rather, Navy training videos. I was a writer/editor (print journalism) for a D.C. consulting firm. They won a contract to write and produce Navy training workbooks and videos. I was the only one with a top secret clearance (which I had been granted automatically because I worked with my dad at the FBI when they had a shortage of admin help in the 80s). So I got to climb around on the ships in Norfolk, VA and shoot the training videos. Then I went to grad school for Film.
What you may not know about Katie Jewett (Sales & Marketing Coordinator / Client Relations):
I am really proud of being a part of [The movie] "Auto Focus". It was a period and biographical film so it was amazing to watch the wardrobe designer and art director work. We shot at amazing locations all over LA, and were also one of the last productions to shoot at the Ambassador Hotel, where I got to go down into the kitchen, one room away from the room where Robert F. Kennedy was shot. I met a lot of interesting people on that shoot, including Robert Crane, Jr., who toured the Ambassador with me and told me a little bit about his Dad (beyond what the film was about... what would now be referred to as his sex addiction). I also worked on George Clooney's directorial debut "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind", and can blame him for one of the worst hangovers I have had before or since.
What you may not know about Heidi Brueggeman (Accountant):
The coolest job I worked on: Titanic, when I was at BlueSky/VIFX, a CG house owned by Fox. That production had deep pockets, and every CG house in LA had a slice of the pie. We had amazing catered meals, three times a day, for the first 6 months I worked there. I gained at least 5 pounds!
What you may not know about Will Kingston (Assistant Editor, Programming):
I like to say I've "accidentally won an Emmy", because co-worker AJ Koch and myself produced an animated spot for Masters TV, which is a program on CET. The producer liked the spots and put them in the running, and we received a call out of the blue saying "You won a Emmy! (And a Telly.)" Hilariously (sadly?), the cost of purchasing the Emmy would have exceeded the budget we were paid for the project, so there is no gold statue to prove this actually happened.
- Britt