Write a graphic novel, learn origami, get in shape, learn Italian...find something that excites & inspires you. What steps can you take today to start this project?

Career

Work on a passion project!

It's important to take chances and put yourself in situations where it's uncertain if you will fail or succeed. Write down 3 small ways you can do something out of your comfort zone, then try them!

Day to Day

Find 3 ways to get out of your comfort zone!

Watch the Yo Gabba Gabba! gang try to shoot a scene where one of the show's characters goes surfing. They run into all kinds of problems--do you think you would have fun doing something like this?

Go behind the scenes of filming a tv show!

Film, TV, Stage, and Radio Directors

Interpret script, conduct rehearsals, and direct activities of cast and technical crew for stage, motion pictures, television, or radio programs.

Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

Enterprising

Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

Artistic

First Interest High-Point

Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

Social

Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

Conventional

Second Interest High-Point

Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Realistic

Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

Investigative

Third Interest High-Point

Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed

Directors- Stage, Motion Pictures, Television, and Radio

Actors, Producers, and Directors

Producers and Directors

Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations

Entertainers and Performers, Sports and Related Workers

Direct live broadcasts, films and recordings, or non-broadcast programming for public entertainment or education.

Supervise and coordinate the work of camera, lighting, design, and sound crew members.

Study and research scripts to determine how they should be directed.

Cut and edit film or tape to integrate component parts into desired sequences.

Collaborate with film and sound editors during the post-production process as films are edited and soundtracks are added.

Confer with technical directors, managers, crew members, and writers to discuss details of production, such as photography, script, music, sets, and costumes.

Plan details such as framing, composition, camera movement, sound, and actor movement for each shot or scene.

Communicate to actors the approach, characterization, and movement needed for each scene in such a way that rehearsals and takes are minimized.

Establish pace of programs and sequences of scenes according to time requirements and cast and set accessibility.

Choose settings and locations for films and determine how scenes will be shot in these settings.

Identify and approve equipment and elements required for productions, such as scenery, lights, props, costumes, choreography, and music.

Compile scripts, program notes, and other material related to productions.

Perform producers' duties, such as securing financial backing, establishing and administering budgets, and recruiting cast and crew.

Select plays or scripts for production and determine how material should be interpreted and performed.

Compile cue words and phrases and cue announcers, cast members, and technicians during performances.

Consult with writers, producers, or actors about script changes or "workshop" scripts, through rehearsal with writers and actors to create final drafts.

Review film daily to check on work in progress and to plan for future filming.

Collaborate with producers to hire crew members, such as art directors, cinematographers, and costumer designers.

Interpret stage-set diagrams to determine stage layouts and supervise placement of equipment and scenery.

Hold auditions for parts or negotiate contracts with actors determined suitable for specific roles, working in conjunction with producers.

Create and approve storyboards in conjunction with art directors.

Confer with stage managers to arrange schedules for rehearsals, costume fittings, and sound or light development.

Promote and market productions by giving interviews, participating in talk shows, and making other public appearances.

Introduce plays and meet with audiences after shows to explain how the play was interpreted.

Create graphics for television broadcasts.

Digital video cameras

Grass Valley Ignite Automated Production System

Lens finders

Multi-line telephone systems

Multimedia editing equipment

Notebook computers

Personal computers

Robotic cameras

Sound mixing equipment

Studio lighting systems

Tablet computers

Teleprompters

Vectorscopes

Video editing equipment

Video switchers

Waveform monitors

Adobe Systems Adobe After Effects

Adobe Systems Adobe Audition

Adobe Systems Adobe Photoshop

Apple Final Cut Pro

Avid Technology iNEWS

Avid Technology Media Composer

Avid Technology NewsCutter

Avid Technology Pro Tools

Broadcast Electronics AudioVAULT FleX

Chyron CAMIO

Content management systems CMS

Extensible markup language XML

Facebook

Graphics creation software

Hypertext markup language HTML

MAGIX Software Sound Forge

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Office

Microsoft Word

Ross Video Xpression

Scripting software

Sony Vegas Pro

Twitter

YouTube

Co-Creator, Director & Writer/Lead Singer

(female narrator) Everywhere you turn, people try to tell you who to be and what to do. But what about deciding  for yourself? Roadtrip Nation is a Movement that empowers people  to define their own roads in life. This past summer, teams of Roadtrippers crossed the country, hoping to gain insight into their lives. On the road, they met all kinds of interesting people to learn how they found their way. This is Roadtrip Nation. [dialing phone] [phone rings] Oh hi...hi, my name is  Tina Yonas. My name is Vanessa Cunto. Hi, um, my name is Calvin and I'm with Roadtrip Nation. I'm going to be traveling the U.S. with two other girls and... (Tina) I'm about to graduate college and I don't know what to do with my life. We're traveling from the West Coast to the East Coast, Finding stories of people who are living life by doing what they love. And see what kind of roads they took in their life. And we're really interested in hearing your story. ♪ banjo music ♪ I'm in team "Tabula Rasa", which means blank slate. The team consists of myself, Calvin, and Tina. (Calvin) Trying to organize our trip and getting our interviews together, we've had to talk a lot on the phone. (Vanessa)  Like, I need to talk  to Calvin about this or Tina about that, but having never met them. (Vanessa)  This is basically the month of July, starting off in L.A. Oh, actually, Tina's on. Let's see if Tina will talk to us. (Vanessa) Hi! (Tina) Hello! (Tina) Can you hear me? (Vanessa) I can hear you. (Tina) Okay, cool! Nice to meet you for the first time! (Vanessa) Yeah, same here! (Tina) This whole process-- booking the interviews and getting ready for the road trip has been really intense. It's a lot harder  than I thought it would be. (woman on phone)  Please hold. You will experience silence while waiting. (Calvin) So this is my first cold call. Do I know what I'm gonna say? [phone connection lost] Oh...oh! [practicing] Hi...hello. (Vanessa) Hi, may I please speak with Dave?  There's no Dave? This is like the tenth time I've called. (woman on phone)  So you want to come to Portland to spend time with this person that you don't know who he is, or how to get a hold of him? (Calvin)  No, I know exactly  who he is. His name is Gus Van Sant. (Calvin)  I don't exactly know  what I was thinking. Well, I know exactly what I was thinking. I was expecting this to be a little bit easier. Yes, may I please be connected with Gabby Marterman? [surprised]  Oh my god, "Sure"? That was so easy. (woman on phone)  White House comment line.  How may I help you? I was curious if there's any way I could get a hold of Michelle Obama? Vanessa, Tina, and I look forward to seeing you on the 30th. [excited] Whoooo! Ahhhhh! That is what it feels like when you book an interview! [sighing contentedly] My name is Calvin Stalvig and I'm 22 years old. I'm from Superior, Wisconsin. My mom's a single mom and I was the first child, the first of four. As soon as I was 12 I was babysitting. Like, I was raising three children by myself.  All I wanted was to be normal. I didn't want to say, "I have to babysit my brothers and sisters 'cause my mom works nights and 'cause we're broke." I never wanna be an outsider or challenge anything because it's just really safe being a part of everything else. I mean, I'm a black kid in a school of only white kids. And I'm poor, and all of  my friends have money. I just wanted to be normal,  so I made myself normal I guess. I'm the first person to graduate from college. You know, I'm proud of you. I'm so proud.  (Calvin's mom) This is the happiest day of my life. (announcer) Calvin Stalvig [audience cheering] (Calvin) I guess I didn't really realize how important it was, for my family, to graduate. Saying "I don't know" is one of the scariest things for me. I'm never going to figure out who I am I'll die still wondering who I am. But this trip is a way  for me to consider who I am. ♪♪ (Vanessa) To know that we  were all going to experience this really great thing together, and start that journey by meeting each other, was a really nice thing to look forward to. (Tina)  [excited]  Oh my god, Vanessa! How are you? (Vanessa)  I'm good! [laughter] (Calvin) Man...so it begins, finally! (Tina)  I know, I know! Oh my god! There it is! [excited] Aaahhh!! [laughter] (Tina)  [laughs] Are you serious? (Vanessa) Oh my gosh,  I'm so excited! [excited] Oh. Oh my god. (Tina) Just looking up  on the ceiling and seeing all  the different signatures, and words of advice, I couldn't help but think and wonder what's ahead of me. My name is Tehetena Yonas, also known as Tina Yonas. I am a student at the University of California, Riverside, and I started working-- doing radio shows, that sort of thing. My parents have always told me I'm an idealist, and I just think it's because I'm doing things that are counter-convention. The things that are the most representative of me are the craziest things I own. Like, these boots represent me really well, which also goes with the jacket. I want to talk to people who are doing jobs that my parents would think are just lucky. I really want to go see for myself. (Tina) I'm excited to drive the RV.  I just finally got my license. Driving in the RV is fantastic if you're not driving. (Vanessa) Ugh, I'm scared. (Calvin) Wait, watch out. [scared] Ahhh.  Sorry! (Tina)  This is like a moving theater. I don't feel like this is real, I feel like I'm in a premium arcade. I feel okay.  I don't really feel good about anything right now. Okay. Is that right? No!  [RV scraping against curb] [laughs] Oh, sorry! (Tina) I cut too far in, so I crashed into the sidewalk and I bent the hubcap. It was one of the worst sounds. It was really stressful and way harder than I thought it was gonna be. [laughs] I don't even know what I'm going to do when there's cars... and people... and buildings. [laughter] My name is  Vanessa Cunto. I'm a little over a year out of college. My parents were encouraging of me being creative, so I went to college for painting. There was really never any discussion about what you could do after college, and take your degree that you just earned and kind of put that to use I guess. I had this idea in my head that it would be such a failure to move back home. That was hard to deal with-- I was kind of that person I guess. (Vanessa's mom)  I think different people take different time. I just hope that, as long as she's happy, I hope she continues doing her art. And if it takes many years, then that's fine. We'll be here to help her until then.  I think that she needs to explore, expand, and reach out for who, really, she wants to be. (Calvin)  I just suddenly realized that tomorrow starts. We start in Anaheim and then from there it's nonstop across the country, however many  miles that is. (Vanessa)  5,600. (Tina) 5,600 miles! ♪♪ (Vanessa)  Our first interview  is with Christian Jacobs of Yo Gabba Gabba. Christian Jacobs: He produces this kids' television show. Trying to explain Yo Gabba Gabba to somebody-- It's difficult. You sound a little crazy. ♪♪ (Calvin)  If Christian asks  me to dance on the Yo Gabba Gabba show...I'm going to do it. Even if he doesn't ask me, I think I'll do a wiggle. So you should look out for that. (Tina)  I'm feeling good. I'm excited. (Calvin)  I'm feeling nervous. (Tina)  Oh my gosh! (Calvin) Ooh! ♪ toy guitar music ♪ Hi guys, I'm Christian. How are you? (Tina) Hello, I'm Tina. Nice to meet you. Tina, nice to meet you. I'm Vanessa, nice to meet you. ♪♪ My name's Vanessa, I'm from Florida. I have a couple different interests. For the past two months I've been working at a production company. I was just wondering how you started out in production? [whistles] That's a good question. Someone told my parents, "Your daughter and son are so cute.  You should  put them in the movies." My parents were naive enough to go, "Okay, let's go for it!" I grew up doing commercials and things in the industry, but in front of the camera as a child actor. Like, Rice Krispies or whatever, you know? I couldn't focus on the things normal kids do because I literally was going on auditions every day as a kid. So toys became my... I don't want to say salvation, but I was so stoked on toys because these were my things I could play with in the car, or when I'd get home. Pulling out my robots and shooting missiles at a wall really helped my imagination grow. So this is the toy collection inspiration room. (Tina) It's amazing. (Christian)  I've been collecting stuff for a long time and my wife was like, "That's not going in our house." [laughter] (Christian)  One of the things that inspire us here is things that stimulate your imagination. (Christian) I think I had a good foothold  on how production works, but once you become an adult that's all out the window. The competition was really fierce, but it was also, I didn't... no offense to anyone that likes 90210, but I just didn't really feel like being a part of that kind of fake world. I was into music and skateboarding. I got into a band and I just kind of left the business. (Tina)  Did you have hesitations  going into music? Or was it like, "I'm just going to jump in?" Yeah, definitely,  because... I'm such a huge fan of music, when I first began writing songs it was stuff that meant a lot to me. And then I played a couple of coffee shops, and people were talking, and I'm playing this song about my heart's broken. [laughter] I was like, "This is terrible. I've gotta rethink this." It was hard for me to put my whole soul out there in music, so I changed from this kind of introspective balladeer to... I put on a superhero costume and we'd go out there and fight monsters on-stage. It became like a toy, a cartoon. Kind of sarcastic. There are personal things in there a bit, but it's so much easier to get them out there in that way for me, because I'm not afraid. I put on a costume and a mask, and people say, "You look stupid!" But I know! I know I look stupid.  I'm winning! I win! Do you know what I'm saying? I created this. I'd draw a mustache on myself and I'd black out one of my teeth, 'cause one time I went into a club and I saw that someone had done that on our poster. Had done a mustache  and a tooth. And so from that night on I started doing it, because the kids at that club would see that and say, "Oh, he looks just like the poster." I thought about it and I was like, "Preemptively I'm gonna strike! I'm striking first so I can't lose!" Which sounds kind of backwards-thinking, but it was very positive in the long-run because it unlocked that kind of fearlessness. Like, I can do this. I'm not afraid. This is the  magic mustache... Magic mustache... And I think that led to us not being afraid to do Yo Gabba Gabba. Just do it ourselves.  Like, we don't need someone to pay for this, we can pay for it ourselves; we can do it. And that's a whole other story in itself. You can tell it.  [laughter] I'd been in the band, the Aquabats, and we had a few record deals. We'd been touring the country, and we had a deal with a network to do a television show based on the Aquabats. It got really tough because when you're at a network  they have their objectives and you have your creative objective,  and sometimes they don't meet. Long story short: We had an idea and we knew that just going to a network with it-- we were going to end up in development again. So we were like, "That's it, we're doing it ourselves." We took out loans on our houses and we just got the financing together with some other friends as well. We shot a little pilot and we sent it out to networks, and no one responded. We were just naive about it. Like, "Let's put it on the internet!" So we put a trailer on the internet and sure enough, on our website, we had like two million hits in a week. It shut down our server, and people were going crazy and passing it all around, like, "What is this crazy thing,  Yo Gabba Gabba?" That's when the networks started calling and saying, "Someone sent me this and I see you have two million hits."  And we were like, "Yes! this is working for us! This is crazy." So we met with a few people, a few networks, and Nickelodeon seemed like they got it. That's when it all began, and we began making the show. (Calvin) Going back to  that time where you had to  take out loans. What was the dialogue like with your wife and with your friends,  but especially with your wife? Well I was working at a clothing company, and right around the same time we started really-- 'cause we'd had this idea for a while, Yo Gabba, and it was just having the guts to go for it. We were getting older and I'd just had my third child. Not me, but my wife had just had our third child. And thing were getting-- we just could feel like things were closing in on us. While you're young you can take chances,  but once you start having kids, and you need to have a steady income, it's hard. It was tough, and talking to my wife about quitting my job and going for it...I think that's a testament to my wife. She's amazing, and she's very patient. I was scared...but we knew we  had to just put it all in.  This is it, you know? All or nothing. Yeah, I'm definitely missing that motivation in my life where I don't have a choice. Let me see how I can phrase this. When I graduated college I moved back in with my parents and there's nothing motivating me to get out, Sometimes it's like, "Okay, I don't want to live with my parents anymore", but it isn't like I have to move out or take care of someone else. I have to get out when I make the decision. And it's like, "But I'm scared, so let me just stay here." (Christian)  Well, you bring up a good point. You gotta put yourself in those sink or swim situations. You really do. That's what our culture is losing. We're losing the, like, "Make things tough on yourself so that you're stronger." We're getting to the, like, "Oh, that's too hard", or "Convenience is the way to go." You know? No way, make it hard. Work at a production company and learn the ropes, but be ambitious. Don't just go home and watch Lost after you're done. Stay up late and write a script. Sink or swim! It really wasn't until we had to do this  or it was never going to happen, then we finally did. So if you're in that situation now where you're at home or you're just kind of floating and you're not really sinking or swimming, I would jump into the frying pan. Just say, "I'm going to move out. I don't know how, but I'm going to do it." 'Cause that will motivate you to get it done. When you have to do it, you'll do it. So that's a good point. You might want to move out of your house. [laughter] (Christian) And then you  can play, you know? We spend an incredible amount of time playing around. But that's the goal, that was the goal. (Christian)  You can see we spend a lot of time doing stuff that's important here at work. It was like,  "What do you want to do?" I just want to do whatever I want to... everything, anything, everything...play. Just play all day with my toys, you know? That was the goal, and so I worked really hard crawling through the mud to get to the play zone. [laughs] You know? (Christian)  There's three of you guys and there's three robots. That'll work. Okay, here, stand in the middle. (Christian) ♪ beatboxing ♪ (Christian) ♪ Roadtrip Nation in  the house ♪ ♪ Roadtrip Nation in the house ♪ (Christian) You guys can do that; Just feel the beat guys. Feel it. (Christian) Whether you're working with a charity or this and that, I think that all of us, humans on the earth, have a responsibility to share and to give back.  Like, let's help each other win. That's why when Vanessa called and said, "I want to do this", it was like "Yes, of course!" I wanna preach it from the mountain tops: Just give back. Let's give it to the kids. Let's help each other out. So any dumb advice I can give you guys... If anything it's like a pep talk. Like...just go out there and give it all you've got.  I mean, literally give it all you've got. (Christian) Give 'em the best gifts. (Calvin)  Your ideas can be so crazy, and they can go places. And it just allowed me to feel like, you can be crazy too. Like, you have some outlandish ideas and you can go places with them. (Vanessa) It was great! I was, like, freaking out the whole time. Really?  Oh my gosh. Just because...everything  he was saying. In my mind I was like, "Yeah." (Vanessa)  I have ideas of what I want in my life, but there can be an event that changes it. No one ever knows what's coming up ahead, and it could change everything. It could be better than you even expected it. It makes it really exciting to pursue anything, and whatever comes, just embrace it. (Vanessa)  I know there's going  to be hard parts of this trip, as great as it's going to be, and I'm excited that I have to work through them. ♪♪ (Tina)  Tracing the map of where me, Calvin, and Vanessa will be going in the next six weeks is really exciting. I'm really excited about Vancouver, and I'm really excited about Jackson, Wyoming. I cannot wait to be in Philadelphia. I've never even thought of what the South could be. (Calvin) Doing anything  with intention, suddenly you realize the significance with everything you're doing. So traveling with intention and meeting people and realizing that I'm looking for something deeper in me... I'm pretty excited. ♪♪ (female announcer)  Roadtrip Nation extends beyond the program you just watched. It's a movement that includes students creating their own Roadtrip experiences. Here's a snapshot of the movement in the classroom. Tomorrow me and my team are going to the state capitol to interview Superintendent O'Connell. I'm excited and nervous at the same time. (Amanda) We don't know what we want to do with our life. We have pressure to know what we want to be right now. But at the same time I don't think most of us know. (Amanda) Well, when we interview Jack O'Connell, the questions we'll ask him is how did he get to where he is right now,  if it was really his passion. Our teacher, Mr. Pesci, is driving us, so hopefully it goes well. Cross our fingers. [laughter] (Amanda) We're wondering if you have  any advice for us while we're deciding what to do with the rest of our lives? I think the majority  of students come to a crossroads in terms of what to do. Find something you're interested in, something where you can make a difference, and then be the very best that you can possibly be. And then work hard. There is no substitute for hard work, no substitute for preparation. Thank you, sir. I was really nervous, and then we sat down and he was so nice and welcoming. It wasn't like an interview.  It was like a conversation. One thing I really liked about what he said is there's no shortcut to success. I think that's likely true. That's probably going to stick with me forever. (Calvin) Tina, Vanessa and I, we're gonna be traveling up the West Coast. (Aleks)  I was so happy with what I was doing, I didn't have time to be miserable on the street.  I had purpose. (Jay) Even though I got a C in my high school architecture class, through the passion, not through the talent, I came to design houses that actually worked. (Lori)  My favorite phrase when I was your age and for the next twenty years was: "All I have to do is redefine success." (female announcer)   To watch more interviews  from the road and listen to the music that keeps us driving, visit www.roadtripnation.com. Online you can learn more  about the Movement and how to bring the Experience into your classroom. ♪♪ 

<p>Meet Team "Tabula Rasa" and follow their first attempts at cold calling, from local restaurants to the White House, hoping to speak with Michelle Obama. They meet each other and their RV for the first time in Southern California, before heading to interview Christian Jacobs, lead singer of The Aquabats, and co-creator, writer, and director of the hugely popular Yo Gabba Gabba pre-school television show.</p>


Costa Mesa - Anaheim

Your attitude is your altitude and I, who was I talking to, I was reading something about, I was reading something on the Internet about successful people and they all have that kind of thing in common, is that positive attitude. Like I'm gonna go for it and if I lose, I lose. But I'm going for it, you know what I mean? I just think it yeah,, it sounds cliche, but you just got to keep your eyes on the prize and realize, there's another rhyme, that prize is not far away. You have to have small victories on your way to winning the war and you have to really relish your little milestones. You have to like throw a party at all your milestones and but at the same time be ready to cut it lose. Know that like, don't put all your heart and your tension into this one thing. Have different pathways to those rewards. Have different avenues of creating those positive experiences. And again, another cliche, just don't stop believing like, don't stop. And so that way, if you don't ever stop believing in yourself and believing that you can achieve it. And at the same time, you're having a party and all your milestones. So you can't lose. You set yourself up so that you just can't lose. 

Perseverance

Success

Attitude is your Altitude

(Roadtrippers)  Oh my gosh. Oh! (Christian)  Hi Guys. (Roadtrippers)  Hello. (Christian) I'm Christian, How are you? (Roadtripper #1) I'm Tina, it's nice to meet you. (Roadtripper #2)  Vanessa. (Christian)  Vanessa. Alright we talked on the phone. (Roadtripper #3) I'm Kelvin. (Vanessa)  My name is Vanessa. I'm from Florida. I have a couple different interests, and for the past two months i've been working at a production company. And um, I was just wondering how you started out in production. [Whistles] That's a good question. Someone had told my parents, "you're daughter and son are so cute. You should put them in the movies." And my parents were naive enough to go like, "Okay, let's go for it." And so I grew up actually, in doing commercials and things like that. In the industry, but more in front of the camera, as a child actor, you know like rice crispies, and whatever, you know? I couldn't ever focus on things normal kids do because I literally was going on auditions every single day as a kid. So toys became my like, you know, I don't want to say salvation, but I was so stoked on toys because these were my things I could play with in the car or when I get home. You know pulling out one of my robots and shooting missiles at a wall or whatever, you know, as a kid it really helped my imagination grow. Anyways so this is like the toy collection inspiration room. It's fun 'cause i've been collecting stuff for a long time, and my wife is like "that's not going in our house". One of the things that inspire us here is things that kind of stimulate your imagination. I think I had a good foothold on how production works. Once you become an adult that's all out the window. Not only was the competition really fierce but it was also, I was trying out for stuff I just didn't, no offense to anyone that likes 90210, but I just didn't really feel like being a part of that kind of fake world. I was way into music, and I was into skateboarding, and I got into a band, and I just kind of left the business. (Tina) Did you ever have any type of, hesitation of going into music or "you know what i'm just gonna do it". (Christian) Definitely! "I'm just gonna jump in." You know definitely. I think because i'm such a huge fan of music, when I first began writing songs, it was stuff that really had a lot of meaning to me. Then I remember playing a couple of coffee shops and people were like talking and i'm playing this song about my hearts broken. [Roadtrippers laughing] And I was like, "this is terrible. I gotta rethink this a little bit." Because it was hard for me to really put my whole soul out there in music. So I changed from this kinda introspective balladeer, to I put on a super hero costume, and we go out there, and like fight monsters on stage and I became like a toy, a cartoon. Kind of sarcastic and there are personal things in there a little bit, but it's so much easier to get them out there in that kind of way, for me at least, because i'm not afraid. I put on a costume and a mask and people say you look stupid. But I know, I know I look stupid. I'm winning. I win. Do you know what i'm saying? Like I created this. I draw a mustache on myself and I black out one of my teeth. 'Cause one time I went into a club and I saw that someone had done that on our poster. Had drawn a mustache and a tooth, and so I was like, from that night on I started doing it. 'Cause I saw that the kids at that club would see that and say, "Oh he looks just like the poster." But then I thought about it, I was like, "Preemptively i'm gonna strike, I'm striking first." I can't lose. Which sounds kind of backwards thinking, but it was very positive in the long run because it basically unlocked that kind of fearlessness, like, "I can do this,  I'm not afraid." This is the magic mustache. Magic mustache. And I think that eventually led to us not being afraid to do Yo Gabba Gabba, and just do it ourselves. We can do this. We don't need someone to pay for this. We can pay for it ourselves, we can do it. And thats a whole nother story in of itself. You can tell it. Yeah. Umm, I'd been in the band, The Aquabats and we had a few record deals and we had, we'd been touring across the country and we had a deal with a network to do a television show based on The Aquabats. It just got really tough, because when you're at a network they have their, uh, objectives and you have your creative objective and sometimes they don't really meet. But anyway long story short we had an idea and we knew that just going to a network with it was going to, we were going to end up in this kinda development again. So we were like, "Okay, that's it. We're doing it ourselves." We all, you know, we took out loans on our houses, and we, we just basically got the financing together with some other friends as well. We shot like a little pilot and we sent it out to networks and no one really responded. We were just naive about it so, "Let's put it on the internet." So we put a trailer on the internet and sure enough, um, on our website, we had like two million hits in like a week. And it shut down our server, people were going crazy and they're passing it all around, "What is this crazy thing? Yo Gabba Gabba?" And then that's when the networks started calling saying, "Hey someone sent me this. I see you have two million hits." And we were like, "Yes! This is working for us. This is crazy!" So we met with a few people, a few networks, and Nickelodeon seemed like they got it, and that's when it all began. And we would begin making the show. (Calvin) So going back to that time where you had to take out loans what was the dialogue like with your wife, and with your friends? But especially your wife. (Christian) Well I was working at a clothing company and right around the same time we started really, 'cause we'd had this idea for awhile, Yo Gabba. And it was just having the guts to go for it, 'cause we were getting older and I just had my third child, not me but my wife had just had our third child. And things were getting, we just could feel like things were  closing in on us. While you're young you can take chances, but once you get, you know, start having kids you need to have a steady income. It's hard. It was tough. And talking to my wife about quitting my job and going for it. Um, and I think that's a testament to my wife. She's amazing. She's very patient. I was scared, and, but you know we knew we had to just put it all in, this is it, you know. All or nothing. (Vanessa) Yeah, I'm definitely missing that like motivation in my life where I don't have a choice. Let me see how I can phrase this. When I graduated college I moved back in with my parents (Christian) Uh huh And there's nothing really motivating me to get out, rather than you know, sometimes it's like "Okay, I don't want to live with my parents anymore", Right! but it wasn't like I have to move out, or I have to take care of someone else. It's like I have to get out when I make the decision. Yeah. And it's like, "But i'm scared so let me just like stay here." Well, hey, you brought up a good point. And it's like-- You bring up a good point. You gotta put yourself in those sink or swim situations, you really do. That's what our culture is losing. We're losing the like, "Make things tough on yourself, so that you're stronger." We're getting to the more like, "Oh, that's too hard. Convenience is the way to go." You know. No way. Make it hard. Work at, at a production company and learn the ropes. But be ambitious. Like don't just go home and watch Lost after you're done. Like, stay up late and write a script. Go, sink or swim, you know? It really wasn't until I had to do this or it never was going to happen. Then it finally did. So if you're in that situation now, where you're at home, or you're just kind of floating, and you're not really sinking or swimming, I would jump into the frying pan. Like, just say, "I'm gonna move out. I don't know how i'm gonna do it. But i'm gonna do it." 'Cause that will motivate you to get it done. When you have to do it, you'll do it. So that's a good point, you might want to move out of your house. [everyone laughing] And then you can play, you know? We spend an incredible amount of time playing around, but that's the goal. That was the goal. So you can see we spend a lot of time doing lots of stuff that's important here at work. It's like, "What do you wanna do? I just want to do whatever, everything, anything, everything." You know, play. Play all day with my toys. And that was the goal, so we worked really hard crawling through the mud to get to the play zone, ya know? There's three of you guys and there's three robots. That'll work. Okay here, stand in the middle. [robot noises] [laughing] (Christian) [Robot accent] Roadtrip Nation in the house. Roadtrip Nation in the house. You guys can do that out of beat. Just feel the beat guys. Feel the beat. And whether you're working with a charity, or this and that, I think all of us humans on the earth have a responsibility to share and to give. To give back, like let's help each other win. You know what I mean. That's why when Vanessa called I was like, "Yes of course!" I want to preach it from the mountaintops. Give back, you know. Let's give it to the kids, let's help each other out, ya know. So any dumb advice I can give you guys, like if anything it's more like a pep talk, just go out there and give it all you've got. I mean literally give it all you've got. Give 'em the best gifts. 

Character

Choices

Dedication

Experience

Family

Fear

Individualism

Opportunity

Passion

Struggle

Interview

It seems like it's really interesting that when you were going into auditions with that I don't need this attitude you're being rewarded for it. So do you think that almost having no fear, did it help you go into endeavors like music, did you ever have any type of feeling like this hesitation of going into music. Or was it like, I'm gonna do it, I'm just gonna jump in. >> Definitely, I think because I'm such a huge fan of music, I started playing music and I was in bands. The music I was really into was more introspective and at first when I first began writing songs it was stuff that really had a lot of meaning to me, and then I remember playing a couple of coffee shops and people were like talking, and I'm playing the song about my heart's broken and I was like this is terrible. I got to rethink this a little bit because it was hard for me, to really put my whole soul out there in music because I'm a sensitive guy. People don't care, that hurts my feelings you know what I mean. I'm not like other people but definitely I think that confidence in anything and they say like all these squeaky wheel gets the grease and all that stuff but it's true and it's human nature that people, humans respond to the alpha human. The person that has no fear and that goes out there. But for me, being positive, it will cuz there are people like that in the industry that are, have a lot of confidence and are very driven and devil may care and they don't care what, they're gonna do whatever they have to do to get what they want. And you see that a lot but in my experience you can still be that way and also work with people and collaborate and you're gonna, it's gonna be much better in the long run if you're not that guy or that girl that's like. Wow, that person's kinda hard to work with because they don't care about anyone else but their goals. I know you can be confident and bold and positive without being polarizing or pushing people away or hard to work with. Being a diva or whatever. You can do it. You just kinda have to figure out how to unlock that in yourself. And I think with the Aquabats, the band was one way of unlocking that in myself was putting on a costume and acting silly and letting people just yell at me at first and then eventually people come and they love it. 

Confidence

Confidence in Music

There's no reason you can't do what you wanna do. I think also not taking things so super serious. I guess we already touched upon that, being able to like let things go and just shrugging them off. My grandpa had a saying, it was like for every problem under the sun there's a solution or there's none. If there be one, hurry and find it. If there be none, never mind it. Oh, well, right? You got a problem? Fix it quick. But if you can't fix it, let it go. It's not worth stressing about. So let it go, you know? And if that problem happens to be your career and it's not working out, just do something different. That you still love to do,right? Because there's not just one thing that you love to do. You love to do lots of stuff. So,you know, if it's not working out in this area ,go do something with bikes, go do something with art, go do something with you know. We love lots of things. Just pursue your passions with passion. And maybe it'll connect. And if it doesn't, oh well.. You've been passionate about your life. There's no way you can lose, you can't lose. 

Shrug Things Off

My dream is to do my own thing, do my own thing, you know. And everyone can and should. >> Mm-hm. Mm-hm. >> And I really think there's room enough for people to do their own thing, whatever they want to do. You have to work at it. You have to work at it. You can't, it doesn't just fall into your lap. In a lot of ways, I think, wow, this just fell into my lap. It just seems like this just happened. But you know, obviously we've been doing this for a long, long time. We've been trying to make things like this happen forever. Not just Yo Gabba Gabba, but other things. The Aquabats, and we've had other shows and other productions we've been trying to launch, other cartoons. And that's some advise that I would give too is don't just put all your eggs in one basket but you have different things that you like to do. You like to do art and you like, you're into documentaries and do it all. Do it all. Go out at the same time and shotgun approach. Do it all. And one of those things is gonna pick up. One of those things will land. Work at a production company and learn the ropes but be ambitious, don't just go home and watch Lost after you're done. Stay up late and write a script. There's so many ways for us to be distracted as well. And, to just kind of Wally style, just sit in a chair and look at the internet. Go on eBay. I do that a lot, but. If you want the brass ring, you gotta chase it down and grab it. 

Chance

Hard Work

Don't Put All Your Eggs In One Basket

You know, as a kid there was like, a little crew and we were all the same age so they'd say we need a six to ten year old you know, all American boy. So all of us would show up and there was like, Corey Feldman and River Phoenix, and all these guys that were my age and we were all friends. I knew, I'd see them on auditions and be like yeah, you know. But, there was a time when I'd go on auditions and I'd sign, like I remember one time specifically, and I think that was the end of my, I was like, I'm over this. I signed in on an audition, because you have to sign your name in on a paper, and I'd been sitting there for like two and a half hours waiting for them to call my name and I'm like what is going on? And all these guys I knew had just came in they were going in and I was just siting there. And I went and looked and someone had erased my name off the thing and put their name instead. And my name was like three pages back, you know. And I was like, are you kidding me? This is so lame. And I got to that point where not only was the competition really fierce but I was also trying out for stuff I just I didn't, no offense to anyone that likes 90210, but I just didn't really feel like being a part of that kind of fake world. I wanted to my own things and do stuff that inspired me. And I think that was just as a young actor, I was like I don't want to have to compromise what I like to do. Just so I can make money. So I just kind of left the business 

Quitting Acting

As a kid actor your life consists of, you go to school, your mom picks you up, and you go on auditions for the rest of the day. This is taxing, and if your heart's not into it, it's terrible. My heart wasn't into it, so I remember a few times specifically saying mom, I'm done. And she was, okay this is it, and I would get the part. >> [LAUGH] >> And I'd be, okay, I'll do it, I'll do a little more. And then when you actually work, it's fun, it's fun. But when I became a teenager I definitely lost that. I didn't really care, and I was way into music, and I was into skateboarding. I just had other interests, but at that point I became a little bit more in charge of my own destiny. I think as far as that went. And because my Mom, my parents are great, and I love them a lot. And I think on one hand, it was kind of hard on the kids, that we had to do that. And on the other hand I wouldn't trade those experiences cuz they benefit, the benefit you. And hardships, hardships can go two ways. It can be a barrier to you, an obstacle in your life that is just hard to get over, or it can be something that makes you stronger. I think that being resilient is the key and teaching that is important to kids, too. Letting them go through some working hard and giving them experiences, I think is important. I think it's important for kids, so anyway, that's a long-winded answer. >> No that's great, thank you. >> [SOUND] [LAUGH] 

Hardships Can Be Beneficial

I really feel like what I do everyday is such a blessing. And I have to pinch myself, like, I'm so freaking lucky. This is awesome I get to do this. And, yet, I look back at all the heartache and struggle and go, okay, well, I guess I earned it. I put myself in that position to make it happen. I'm not patting myself on the back, cuz there is some luck involved, but we did shotgun. We took all the roads, like take all the roads you can. Stay up late. I remember one time I was working in a graveyard shift driving a forklift. During the day and then I was selling, no, at night and then during the day I was selling computer parts and then still trying to go to practice and just like not ever sleeping and just, but doing what I had to do to get, pay the bills and at the same time get where I need, get where I needed to go. You got to do whatever you have to do. Aside from anything illegal of course. [LAUGH] Right? But you, there are people that get lucky but I think everyone, everyone, you got to earn it like a luck. Luck is only there for people that put themselves in that position. 

You Have To Earn Luck

I'd been in the band The Aquabats and we had a few record deals and we had, we'd been touring across the country. And we had a deal with a network to do a television show based on The Aquabats. Just going to a network with it, we were going to end up in this kind of development again, so we were like, "Okay, that's it. "We're doing it ourselves." We were just naive about it. Like, "Let's put it on the internet." So we put a trailer on the internet. And sure enough, we had like two million hits in like...a week. While you're young, you can take chances. But once you get, you know, start having kids, you need to have a steady income. It's hard. It was tough. That's what our culture is losing. We're losing the like, "Make things tough on yourself "so that you're stronger." 

Christian Jacobs Highlight

Going back to that time where you had to take out loans, what was the dialog like with your wife and with your friends like, but especially your wife? >> Well I was working at a clothing company, and right around the same time, we started really, cuz we'd had this idea for a while, Yo Gabba, and I think it was just having the guts to go for it cuz we were getting older and I just had my third child, not me but my wife had just had our third child, we just could feel things were closing in on us. And while you're young you can take chances but once you start having kids and you need to have a steady income, it's hard, it was tough. And talking to my wife about quitting my job and going for it, I think, and that's a testament to my wife, she's amazing and she's very patient. I was scared and but you know we had to just put it all in, this is it you know, all or nothing. 

Money & Financial Security

All Or Nothing

Did you ever have any type of hesitation of going into music, or was it like >> Yeah, definitely. >> You know what, I'm just gonna do it, I'm just gonna jump in. >> Yeah, definitely, I think because I'm such a huge fan of music, when I first began writing songs, it was stuff that really had a lot of meaning to me. And then I remember playing a couple of coffee shops, and people were like talking, and I'm playing this song about my heart's broken, >> [LAUGH] >> And I was like this is terrible, I gotta rethink this a little bit. Because it was hard for me to really put my whole soul out there in music. So I changed from this kinda introspective balladeer to, I put on a super hero costume and we go out there and fight monsters on stage. And it became like a toy, a cartoon, kind of sarcastic and there are personal things in there a little bit, but it's so much easier to get them out there in that kind of way for me at least. I put on a costume and a mask, and people say you look stupid. But I know, I know I look stupid. I'm winning. I win. Do you know what I'm saying? Like I created this. Like I draw a moustache on myself. And I black out one of my teeth. Cuz one time I went into a club and I saw that someone had done that on our poster. I had like got a moustache and a tooth. And so I was like from that night on I started doing it. Because I saw that the kids in that club would see that, and say like oh he looks just like the poster, but then I thought about it and was like, pre-emptively I'm going to strike, I'm striking first so I can't lose. Which sounds kind of backwards thinking, but it was very positive and in the long run, because it basically unlocked that kind of fearlessness. Like I can do this, I'm not afraid. This is the magic mustache, magic mustache. And I think that eventually led to us not being afraid to do Yo Gabba Gabba and just do it ourselves. We can do this. We don't need someone to pay for this. We can pay for it ourselves. We can do it and that's a whole other story in itself 

Acceptance

Courage

Magic Mustache

I have a couple different interests and for the past two months I've been working at a production company. And I was just wondering how you started out in production. >> That's a good question. Someone had told my parents, your daughter and son are so cute. You should put them in the movies. And my parents were naive enough to go like, okay let's go for it. So I grew up actually in doing commercials and things like that, in the industry, but more in front of the camera as a child actor you know like Rice Krispies or whatever you know. I couldn't ever focus on things normal kids do, because I literally was going on auditions every single day as a kid. So toys became my like, I don't want to say salvation, but I was so stoked on toys because these were my things I could play with in the car, or when I get home. Pulling out one of my robots, and shooting missiles at a wall or whatever as a kid really helped my imagination grow. Anyway so this is like the toy collection, inspiration room. >> Amazing. >> It's fun cuz I've been collecting stuff for a long time and my wife is like, that's not going in our house. So. >> [LAUGH] >> One of the things that inspire us here is things that kind of stimulate your imagination I think I had a good foothold on how production works, but once you become an adult that's all out the window. Not only was the competition really fierce, but it was also trying out for stuff I just didn't. No offense to anyone who liked 90210, but I just didn't really feel like being a part of that kind of fake world. I was way into music. And I was into skateboarding. And I got into a band. And I just kinda left the business. 

Desire

Inspiration

Values

Toys

Yeah, I'm definitely missing that like, motivation in my life where I don't have a choice, but let me see how I can phrase this. Because when I graduated college, I moved back in with my parents, >> Mm-hm. >> And there's nothing like, really motivating me to get out, rather than you know, sometimes it's like okay I don't want to live with my parents anymore. >> Right. >> But it's not like I have to move out, or I have to take care of someone else. It's like, I have to get out when I make the decision. >> Yeah. >> And it's like, but I'm scared so let me just stay here. >> Right. Well hey, you bring up a good point, you gotta put yourself in those sink or swim situations, you really do. That's what our culture is losing. We're losing the like, make things tough on yourself so that you're stronger. We're getting to the more or like, oh, that's too hard or convenience is the way to go, you know. No way, make it hard. Work at a production company and learn the ropes. But be ambitious. Don't like go home and watch Lost after you're done like, stay up late and write a script. Sink or swim. It really wasn't until we had to do this or it was never gonna happen, then it finally did. So if you were in that situation now. Where you're at home or you're just kind of floating and you're not really sinking or swimming, I would jump into the frying pan. Like just say, I'm gonna move out. I don't know how I'm gonna do it, but I'm gonna do it. 

Risk

Self-Reflection

Sink Or Swim

I'd been in the band the Aquabats. And we had a few record deals. And we'd been touring across the country. And we had a deal with a network to do a television show based on the Aquabats. It just got really tough because when you're at a network they have their objectives. And you have your creative objective. And sometimes they don't really meet. And we knew that just going to a network with it, we were going to end up in this kind of development again. So were like okay that's it, we're doing it ourselves. So we all took out loans on our houses and we just basically got the financing together with some other friends as well. We shot a little pilot. We sent it out to networks and no one really responded. We were just naive about it. So let's put it on the Internet. So we put a trailer on the Internet. And sure enough, on our website, we had 2 million hits in a week. And it shut down our server and people were going crazy and are passing it all around. Like what is this crazy thing? Yo Gabba Gabba? And then that's when the networks started calling saying, hey someone sent me this and I see you have 2 million hits. And we were like yes, this is working for us, this is crazy. So we met with a few people, a few networks. And Nickelodeon seemed like they got it. That's when it all began and we began making the show. 

Christian Jacobs

Co-Creator, Director & Writer/Lead Singer

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