14 Replies Latest reply: Nov 22, 2011 9:09 AM by Bill Hunt RSS

    Anyone from Colorado Springs?

    davidbeisner2010 Community Member

      My wife and I are contemplating moving to Colorado Springs sometime next spring... anyone here live out in that area and have suggestions on doing job searches in the area?

        • 1. Re: Anyone from Colorado Springs?
          Community Member

          negative on the col springs ...lived in denver 5 years 71-76 approx.

           

          more schools (colleges ) in denver area than col springs if thats what you want ??  what sort of work ?

          • 2. Re: Anyone from Colorado Springs?
            davidbeisner2010 Community Member

            Eh, don’t really want to work for a school…. And definitely want to live in

            CS as opposed to Denver.

             

             

             

            Not really even sure what I want to do out there, which is somewhat of a

            problem! I’m kind of just exploring all my options right now. I’ve got

            experience in promotional video production, live video production,

            commercials, and even some film stuff (worked as gaffer, grip, best boy,

            dp, focus puller, all the basics…). I’m also looking into emergency

            services (I’ve got a background as a fire-fighter) and other stuff too…

            kinda just in the exploration stages for now. I’ve got about 6 months till

            I wanna move, so I’ve got time to just explore a bit before getting heavy

            into applying for jobs.

            • 3. Re: Anyone from Colorado Springs?
              Community Member

              well.. the biggest thing down there is the air force academy and so on ( military ).. is about 45min drive to denver if you have to work up there, which isnt that terrible a commute if need be..

               

              theres way more film and video stuff in denver area but who knows.. maybe something growing ( expanding ) in Co spr area.

               

              film work as crew is probably sparse and real competitive...even stuff shot in NM and CO etc is usually crewed by LA guys first.. then maybe some locals picked up to fill out crew ( 3rd's ). If you can start your own production company and hook up with agencies that would be cool.. but again, more of that up in denver area...

               

              hmm, theres one guy in NC that is expanding ....see if I can find site etc...

               

              Bryan at this place

              http://www.cinemanix.com/

               

              could see if he wants to join you in opening something in denver maybe ...

               

              can mention me ( remind him I am friend of george cochran from nyc ) if you want.

              • 4. Re: Anyone from Colorado Springs?
                davidbeisner2010 Community Member

                Thanks; I’ll hang onto this info in case I decide to try and go that route…

                 

                 

                 

                I’m also exploring the possibility of talking a national LED screen rental

                company I’ve worked for into starting a truck out of CO… whenever they have

                work in that area of the country they have to drive in from LA or Missouri,

                so it seems to me that CO would be a good central location for picking up

                lots of work in the west.

                 

                 

                 

                Basically just driving jumbotrons and/or built-wall LED screens around to

                various different events. Great business out east here during the summer,

                but winds down in the winter. I’m thinking CO could be a great place to

                keep business going during the winter with all the winter sports they have

                out there.

                • 5. Re: Anyone from Colorado Springs?
                  Community Member

                  never had any experience with that stuff... looks kinda cool though.. ( googled it )..

                   

                  you do installation as well as delivery / p.u. ??? do the truss etc ??

                  • 6. Re: Anyone from Colorado Springs?
                    davidbeisner2010 Community Member

                    Yep… we deliver straight to the event location, and if we’ve brought a

                    jumbotron, we just set it up (screen comes out the roof of the trailer),

                    fire up the “Whisper Quiet” generator, connect whatever video feed(s) to

                    our mixer, and go! If it’s a built-wall, we’ll have all the trusses we need

                    to build a wall up to 20 feet wide by however high you’ve ordered, and the

                    only thing that we require is that you have a forklift on site to lift the

                    wall into place and provide support for it during the event (usually set up

                    behind a stage in an outdoor location, and the screen hides the lift). Then

                    we provide the computer and controller for the screen, and we simply tell

                    it how many mini-screens were used in creating the big screen (each

                    mini-screen is 2’x3’) and it automatically figures out how to distribute

                    the video signal that you give us such that it hits all the screens

                    properly. Beautiful technology, working with 8mm LEDs, at the last concert

                    I worked (Third Day was the closing act in Knoxville), you could see the

                    hair on the performer’s heads blowing in the wind… Pretty incredible stuff!

                    Plus, it’s so bright that you can see it in full daylight, and the screens

                    are weatherproof so we can run them in all weather. It’s a lot of fun, plus

                    you get to go to a lot of events for “Free” since we are paid to stay on

                    site throughout the even to provide support and service if there’s a

                    problem.

                    • 7. Re: Anyone from Colorado Springs?
                      Community Member

                      I think I know why you like it so much... you are sick of being indoors.

                       

                      I can understand that...  as being a grip i've been out or at least " active" physically , and different locations etc .. but although that sounds like fun and lucrative etc etc.. it also gets not so much fun when you get older.  make sure you get all your benefits for retirement, taxes taken out so you can get unempl if needed (plus SS if needed later on ) during slow period, all that stuff... health ins these days is who knows what re: paying into it..with new jobs...

                       

                      anyway, think long term too .. is fun to be out in all weather etc and work " per diem " when young...and when you're 60+ the straight 40 hour week inside starts taking on a nice dreamy feeling

                      • 8. Re: Anyone from Colorado Springs?
                        davidbeisner2010 Community Member

                        Yeah, I hear you… honestly, I really do want to be active, with the

                        possibility of being outside, but I also don’t really want a per diem job,

                        either, because I want more stability for my family… one of the reasons I’m

                        leaving my current job (and the town I’m in) is that I’m just simply not

                        making enough to pay the bills and put food on the table every month… I’ve

                        gotta have extra jobs to make everything happen. That’s the cost of a

                        private undergraduate degree these days, and the cost of allowing my wife

                        to stay home with our son and get her own degree… Sucks, but it’s reality

                        right now. Looking at the economy out there, if our quality of living

                        remains the same (i.e., cheapest meat possible, lots of rice and beans,

                        cheap old car, etc…), I should be able to effectively make nearly double

                        what I do now, as far as having money to throw at debt and start socking

                        away. Shoot, I could get a job on the back of a garbage truck there and

                        make more than I do at my job here!

                        • 9. Re: Anyone from Colorado Springs?
                          Community Member

                          ya, if you get an 8 hr/day job inside you still have enough time ( barring family stuff ) to get OUT and so on...do stuff outside..and weekends too...

                          talk to bill hunt.. his wife linda might know some human resource person in Co Spr area re: doing video related stuff for hospital(s) in area...you know how they sometimes do in house stuff to document things and also promotional stuff etc etc...as a steady thing.. years ago the univ of col medical center had a photo dept. for that sort of thing and a tech person worked full time doing that stuff.  could be photographing slides of samples of tissue, all kinds of stuff to be done.

                           

                          same at air force...civil job in support of activities on base...video etc..

                           

                          and if you hooked up with starting the led screen thing.. that would give you time to keep looking etc...plus help your friend get started...

                           

                          Im sure you'll find something good ...just might have to sorta grab what you can at first and then see whats up when you get settled...

                           

                          ps... pikes peak is 14k feet high, dont know what col spr is...but its probably up there...so be careful when it becomes

                           

                          BEER THIRTY !  YIPEE.. WHICH IT IS NOW HERE !

                          cause at high alt you kinda get whacked in head faster from beer consumption ( and wine ) !!!

                          is good, cause takes less to get a little buzz...

                           

                           

                          ps..when i was there cars had carberators and valves etc.. and distributers... and i had to have my car tuned up a little for the alt...ran pretty bad when i got out there...but a little tuneup did the trick..

                          • 10. Re: Anyone from Colorado Springs?
                            Todd_Kopriva Adobe Employee

                            My knowledge of Colorado Springs is 20+ years out of date, but I recall that the base closings and other factors contributed to it being a very hard place to find work. This led to several of the most interesting jobs that I ever had---as I was willing to accept anything.

                             

                            But it's a beautiful place to live, right up against such enormous mountains, and with milder weather than I was expecting at more than a mile high.

                             

                            If you're looking to move to that area but aren't set on Colorado Springs, I encourage you to check out the greater Albuquerque area. I've loved my time down there (even though my motorcycle was stolen on my last trip there). The economy is reasonably good, and film and video work is booming. Sony just moved one of their larger post-production facilities there. I think that it has a lot to do with the generous rebates and other support from the New Mexico government for the movie industry.

                            • 11. Re: Anyone from Colorado Springs?
                              Bill Hunt CommunityMVP

                              David,

                               

                              Never lived in The Springs, but spend many, many days shooting down there. Lovely smaller city (not quite so small now).

                               

                              Considering what you have been doing, I would search Colorado College. They are a lovely, smaller institution, and were always fun to work for. I shot several brochures for them, but that was a lifetime ago.

                               

                              HP has a big presence there too (along with other high-tech corps.), and I believe that their Emulation division is still very active. At one time, all work (design, video, photography, etc.) was done out of house. However, in about 1986, they brought everything in-house (actually did work for other divisions up in Ft. Collins and Loveland), including building a video studio. Our last project for them was to help design their studios, equip them, and also set up their image compositing lab - analog back then mostly. The concept of "in-house" vs "outsource" is a cycle with most corporations. About every 7 years, a new CFO decides that it's cheaper to do it the other way (other than whichever way they ARE doing it), and makes a big case for the change. Do not know what cycle they might be in now?

                               

                              The Springs is a lovely city, and just about the right size. There is a good arts community, and so very much to do, especially if one is at all into the outdoors. Back when, the restaurant scene needed some work, but that has probably changed greatly - heck, just got back from Denver, and its restaurant scene had changed, but not really in a good way.

                               

                              From my trips there, it seemed that the populace was more focused on community, family, religion and generally higher sets of values, than in Denver. Denver was always a boom, or bust city, and folk there were always more interested in lining up behind the next "snake oil salesman," who had just come to town. The Springs seemed much more level-headed, and fewer were looking to "get rich quickly."

                               

                              Much has probably changed, since I was last there, and they may well be experiencing "big city" troubles, that just did not exist some years ago. Still, it's a lovely place, and though I-25 is probably still hell, it moves at a slower pace, than Denver, and I mean that in a very, very good way.

                               

                              Good luck, and if nothing else, enjoy your research trips. Wish that I still knew anyone at either Colorado College, or HP, 'cause I'd share names. Back then, Bob Rogers was a Sr. Designer with HP, but he's probably long retired.

                               

                              Hunt

                              • 12. Re: Anyone from Colorado Springs?
                                Todd_Kopriva Adobe Employee

                                I spent a semester (four blocks) at Colorado College (CC). Loved it. It's a terrific school for its size.

                                 

                                It's funny that Hunt mentioned both HP and CC: the couple that I lived with when I was going to school there included an HP exec and a CC professor.

                                • 13. Re: Anyone from Colorado Springs?
                                  Bill Hunt CommunityMVP

                                  Todd, I told you that The Springs was rather small...

                                   

                                  I really loved all the time that I spend down there, though there were two late night shoots (HP), where I had to navigate a blizzard on Monument Hill, to get the film back, so that it would be ready for the art director at 8:00AM the next morning. I do not miss those blizzards, and while it could be sunny in Denver, and also in The Springs, Monument Hill always had really lousy weather. There was a story (urban legend?) about an old Arapahoe chief, who begged the state to NOT build a highway over Monument Hill. He was coming at it from two fronts - the hill had sacred elements about it, plus the weather there was almost always horrible. Not sure about the first part, but he certainly got the latter one correct.

                                   

                                  Personally, I hope that The Springs has NOT grown up too much. It was so lovely and nice, and parts of those are too often sacrificed, as a city grows.

                                   

                                  Good luck to David,

                                   

                                  Hunt

                                  • 14. Re: Anyone from Colorado Springs?
                                    Bill Hunt CommunityMVP

                                    As for CC, IIRC Phillip Anchutz funded a pretty large R&D lab there. Sort of a really MINI Stanford, but they were doing some cutting-edge research (and teaching) there. Do not know if Anchutz is still a big supporter, but they were once very well-funded. Do not recall any HP cash on campus, but maybe that came later, or was just in a different department, that I never shot. I think that Marvin Davis was also a big contributor too.

                                     

                                    In my interactions, I never encountered that academic hierarchy, that flourishes in institutions of higher learning. Even as a supplier, I had to fight that at CU, U of Denver (at least in their law school) and CSU. One had spend inordinate amounts of time, just with red tape. CC was another story - just easy to work with, and everyone, up to the president, was so very helpful - totally different mind set, form many other campuses. Good folk from top to bottom. They remind me of the folk at Creighton U.

                                     

                                    That was one reason that they came to mind for David. Don't know what they might have, but if it's anything, and academia has not corrupted them, they would be great people to work with, or work for, and that counts for a lot.

                                     

                                    Hunt