JTWO Welcome Intern Ian Schobel
Perspectives
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.
JTWO's DLYGAF Project is Featured in Philly AD News
We are proud to announce that our DLYGAF project has been featured in Philly AD News. Read the entire write up below.
Shaq and JTWO want you to Drive Like You Give a F*#K!
“Philly based film production company, JTWO Films recently partnered with NBA Legend Shaquille O’Neal and Responsibility.org to produce a national safe driving campaign reminding drivers to Drive Like You Give A F*#K!
The new campaign, JTWO’s tenth project with O’Neal, features a series of public service announcements and social media ads unlike anything you’ve ever scene before targeting young adults in an attempt to get them to think twice about driving impaired. Drive Like You Give A F*#K follows the story of the fictional Responsible Driving Enforcement Agency’s Chief O’Neil and Officer Vasquez as they review the case files of several impaired driving offenders. Each offender has their own backstory representing one of the four big “D’s” of Impaired Driving – Drunk, Drugged, Distracted and Drowsy – via the offender’s characterizations. A Drunk hard partying Sailor, a Drugged prescription pill popping Grandma, a Drowsy overworked Clown and an average looking Distracted John Smith all of which provide comedic relief throughout.
The spots Directed by JTWO’s Justin Jarrett and Produced by JTWO’s Travis Capacete and Jelani Thomas were produced completely in-house by JTWO from concept through post-production and filmed on their RED Weapon 8k Helium Cinema Camera over the course of several shoots in Philadelphia, Washington, DC and Atlanta.
JTWO has worked with several national non-profit organizations around the country via their Projects That Matter Initiative. The Initiative, which was launched seven years ago with the mission of providing creative content production services to Non-Profits at affordable costs has been incredibly successful with JTWO filming documentaries and brand films in Haiti, Kenya, India and seemingly every part of the U.S. They have worked with everyone from Olympic Gold Medalist Simone Biles, the YMCA, Walmart and The United Nations to local charitable organizations such as the Eagles Charitable Foundation, Bringing Hope Home and The Franklin Institute.”