Perspectives

Ian Schobel


Ian Schobel

We’re pretty similar, you and I. We’re just people.

Confined to deteriorating bodies, we each put our pants on in the morning and walk the Earth searching for affirmation that we matter, striving for happiness or success, maybe something in between, in whatever form that may be.

Where we differ is in our perspectives.

Raised by an elementary school teacher and a writer, I was (and still am) a a kid of quiet confidence, intent on exploring my curiosities. I would read everything in sight, soaking up the words like they were life support. I doodled incessantly, on any surface, and writing became an alternative mode of thinking and comprehension, an outlet for the congealed build-up of information bouncing around my head. I wasn’t aware at the time, but I was heading towards a “creative” career. And, man, it’s incredibly validating to know the guys at JTwo recognize the potential I now see in myself.

I declared myself a Media Studies and Production (MSP) major during my sophomore year at Temple University because I saw, on a basic level, the power of media; how the daily onslaught of advertisements, television shows, books, movies and news articles we consume informs our world views. I wasn’t content in being a passive consumer; I wanted to contribute to the production of content, entertaining, informing, and learning in the process.

Within the MSP program, there are four “tracks:” emergent media, media analysis, media business and entrepreneurship, and media production. I chose the production track, but then faced another decision: audio or video. I tentatively decided on video, not wanting to box myself into anything. I needn’t have worried, though. It quickly became clear that sound and visuals exist in a complementary relationship, and I seized the opportunity to study both.

Quanto sei bella Roma

Quanto sei bella Roma a prima sera…

Ah, the memories… those sweet notes drifted through Rome, Italy, where I studied abroad for a semester in 2016. I threw myself into Italian and European culture, traveling as far East as Sofia, Bulgaria. But, as you can imagine, it wasn’t enough to just live my adventure, especially given the culture shock I was trying to manage. I needed a way to synthesize everything I was experiencing, so right off the bat, I starting filming my surroundings with my iPhone. By the end of the semester, I had enough footage to put together a 20 minute documentary, accompanied by narration recalling the tumultuous story of my semester abroad:

In this moment, the early afternoon of my first official day in the JTwo office, I see this 12-week internship pushing me even further than I’ve pushed myself, a catalyst in expanding my skills as a writer, an editor, and sound-designer. I intend to get my feet wet with every aspect of production, though, because they’re all pieces of the same puzzle. And who knows? Maybe my calling is elsewhere. The only thing I’m certain of is that I’m ready to get to work and give JTwo everything I’ve got.

Sweat-boy out.