Katching Katzenberg: The DreamWorks Exhibition Opening
By Paul Mignone
Today I had the fantastic opportunity of attending the opening of the DreamWorks Animation Exhibition being held at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI). The opening was held at the Sofitel on Collins Street, where I and Bernard joined media, artists, computer vendors and even government officials at the event. Given the formal nature of the event, I should have dressed better for it in hindsight! Saying “I’m a uni student” is an excuse that can only be stretched so far!
Paul and Po: Peas in a Pod!
The highlight of this event (besides the fantastic lunch), was the interview between ABC’s Virginia Trioli and DreamWorks Animation CEO and founder, Jeffrey Katzenberg. I must admit that I didn’t know much about Katzenberg before this event other than he was the CEO of DreamWorks. Therefore I never realised the amazing career story behind the man. However in the sixty minute interview, he spoke about his early career spanning from politics, Paramount Pictures and the Walt Disney Company. He also touched on the topics of his falling out with Michael Eisner, leaving Disney, and the creation of DreamWorks SKG and DreamWorks Animation.
Virginia and Jeffery: From the nosebleed section!
In his interview, Jeffery made two points which struck a chord with me both personally and professionally. These points are what I believe makes the ResBaz initiative so important.
1) The need to create companies that are both financially viable, and that foster innovation and risk. We’ve heard this line from a million business professionals before, but I was surprised to hear Katzenberg mention that the first Shrek movie was a ten year, high risk project. While it was a huge box office success, it was also considered risky for an animated film, as it told the story in a way that appealed to both adults and children. This was something that hadn’t been done before.
A hypothesis or an idea, which is high risk, will take years to develop, and may not work in the end. For PhD students and researchers, this story sounds very familiar, and it was refreshing to see that research and film production are not as far apart was we first think. This is why I believe ResBaz is important, as it is giving students opportunities to develop an idea or project, and seeing where it takes them.
2) Katzenberg also gave a fantastic piece of career/life advice at the end of the interview. No matter you do, always try to deliver above expectation. It doesn’t matter if its friends, family or work, consistently delivering above the expectations of others will consistently bring you rewards in the long run. With ResBaz giving students the skills (e.g. software carpentry), resources (e.g. 3D printing) and opportunities to exceed their own expectations, we hope it will help to create better researchers, and hopefully more inspirational individuals like Jeffery in the future.
