Every day we rise, we set out on a new journey with the sole intention of pushing ourselves — pushing each other — further than we ever thought possible. That’s how we grow. Not just as individuals… That parts easy. Growing as a team, though. That’s much harder. It requires more love, more drive, more ambition, more selflessness than you can imagine. But that is what makes us unique.
We are all connected by the stories we share. Our superstitions, beliefs, and ambitions are evident in the characters we create; the desires that guide them, the faults that destroy them, and the themes that define their existence. Though the space in which we tell our stories has evolved beyond the communal fireplace, the emotions that our stories solicit remain the same.
C&I is a combination of fresh, incredible ideas, the perfect team — who fears no project or deadline — and a little bit of magic. It is tough to describe what C&I means to us because it’s more than a company. Being able to help business owners and corporations accomplish their marketing goals through storytelling is an incredible feeling, and we are addicted to seeing these campaigns work.
This video project began as commercial for our company and ended being something far larger. More than just a tool for promotion, this video explains a lot about who we are and how we are different. It resulted in a company motto. We love our jobs, the fact that we get to wake up everyday and do what we love is surreal to us. More than that, we get to help people promote and market their dreams.
Working Here is Hard.
There are some things in life that are easy. Working here is not one of them.
You will be pushed, you will be motivated, and you will grow immensely. This isn’t a little job where you can just coast, so you can have time to work on your side project. This is going to require all of you. You still have time to bail, no hard feelings. But if you wanna grow to the next level creatively and professionally this is it. Remember growth doesn’t always feel good, but if you stick it out, and look back at where you came from, there is nothing more powerful than the before and after photo. Never Give Up. Never Surrender.
The Manifesto.
So you are a part of the C&I team. You might be wondering what someone who works here looks like, so we made a little list.
If you do well here, you have these qualities.
1. You have High Energy
2. You are not a “chill” person
3. You are ambitious.
4. You want to build something. You don’t want to come into something thats already done.
5. You love it when your phone is clear without notifications. you don’t have 1000 unread text/emails/voicemails
6. When you make a mistake you are quick to be vocal about that mistake and take ownership of it.
7. You’re not afraid.
8. You are not timid.
9. You are not scared.
10. You want more out of life.
11. You don’t want a job.
12. You want purpose.
13. When things are going bad you don’t run and quit. You dig in.
14. Being overwhelmed with work doesn’t scare you. You make plans to how you can meet your goals, no matter how crazy hard they are.
15. You are a HUSTLER.
16. You apologize when you did something wrong.
17. You could care less about your ego.
18. You want to be on a team.
19. You don’t watch your other team member overloaded with work, you step in to help them.
20. A 401k, regular job and 2 week vacation isn’t enough for you out of life, you want more.
21. you are obsessed with cinema and film.
22. You saw every Star Wars film in this order.
- Episode 4 – A New Hope
- Episode 5 – The Empire Strikes Back
- Episode 6 – Return of the Jedi
- Episode 1 – The Phantom Menance
- Episode 2 – Attack of the Clones
- Episode 3 – Revenge of the Sith
- Episode 7 – The Force Awakens
- Episode 8 – The Last Jedi
- Episode 9 – The Rise of Skywalker
23. Film touches you in a special way
24. You watched the Matrix many times in theatre.
25. Politics matter to you. and Justice. Being on the right side of history matters.
26. You think everyone should be respected and treated as equals no matter if they are Gay, Straight, Black, Asian, Trans, Wants to Marry a Tree, Woman, Old Person, anything, you think everyone is equal.
27. Problems don’t bother you, you wanna fix them. You are a fixer
28. You thrive under pressure.
29. You like to work.
30. You don’t like things handed to you that you didn’t work for.
31. You love art.
32. You think deeply about life. You love a good conversation.
33. Your family or significant other understands this is your career and supports you
34. Trump sucks.
35. Film will always be a part of your life no matter what
36. You don’t live with your parents.
37. You can’t be quiet
38. You’re organized–OCD to a certain level
39. You’re a fast typer
40. You’re good with computers
41. You want to see things through
42. You’re curious.
43. Have an opinion
44. You say what you think.
45. You can grind it out.
46. You have a New York Hustle mentality.
47. You communicate directly; you’re honest
48. You’re very communicative, both on and off set
49. You don’t care about Valentine’s Day
Because we're curious and because we live in a fast-paced industry.
Take a screenshot of your test results. You will need to upload them to the quiz below at the end of the orientation.
How We Work
We live by Podio
Podio is our collaborative workspace. We work with a ton of clients and utilize even more software and technical platforms. There’s no telling where a project will take you so we keep all of this information close by. This is where we create and manage projects, consolidate our communication, and work together to get the job done quickly and efficiently.
You will live by Podio. Seriously, it will be open on your computer and your phone 24/7.
NOTE: Your personal computer might be great, but we take care of your computer needs here. Please do not bring your personal computer to work. If there is something you need that you don’t have, let us know!
Podio Tasks
In addition to all of the info you will learn from the videos below, we also utilize Podio for simple tasks. For example, you might be tasked to return some cables to the truck, or write a YouTube description for a video, or find a location for a shoot. These items are too small to be full-on projects in Podio, so we have a space for tasks. Here’s how you get there.
Step 1: Click on the upper left-hand menu, then click Global
Step 2: In Global, you will see an app called “Team Tasks”. Click on that.
Step 3: You can make a new task by clicking on the green button and entering the relevant info, then clicking the green “Save Task” button on the bottom right.
IMPORTANT: DO NOT utilize the native Podio task function if you stumble upon it. That does not feed into our company-wide Global View system, and your task will get lost in the dust.
Here's an introduction to Podio from the boss himself.
Pay attention. There are a ton of valuable nuggets in here to help you fully own your day.
Global View
Now that you know the basics, we’ll go through an advanced tutorial. This is how you will you use Global View.
Your Personal Workspace
You Personal Workspace is your direct line of communication to leadership. Don’t hesistate to share your thoughts. This is your safe space.
Departmental Workspaces
Look around. There’s a lot of departments working together. Here’s how we breakdown our Departmental Workspaces.
Filling Out A Project
Accuracy is essential to success. Here’s how to properly fill out a project.
The Ladder
With so many moving parts in motion, organization is key. We use The Ladder to keep moving forward.
Leave Requests
Some of our new hires start their careers at C&I Studios with prior engagements on their schedule, such as weddings and vacations. This is how you will you will submit a Leave Request.
Financial Requests
No matter the task each team member owns their project from start to finish. To complete some of your tasks, you will need to order gear, purchase software, etc. This is how you will sumbit a Financial Request.
Clean Desktop
Ah, the Clean Desktop rule. Know it. Obey it. Live by it.
iCal
You’re responsible for your schedule, so don’t miss a meeting. Check your iCal everyday and often.
The Mexico Form
This is extremely important.
Now that you’re a part of our team, you may find that some people will approach you inquiring about our services. They might own a business, be an independent artist, a talent manager, or someone simply interested in hosting an event in our studio. You can easily find yourself sitting at Next Door chatting it up with someone who owns a pro sports team and wants to know if we can do some work for them (seriosly… it’s happened!).
We have a sales team that takes care of getting information from these people and closing the deal. But we trust that our employess, regardless of their department, make moves to bring in potential business. Every month, our team members are tasked with providing 3 sales leads. We’re not asking for you to close the deal. We have professionals who specialize in that. We’re just asking that you put us in touch with a brand, business, or individual who can benefit from our services.
To make it easy on you, we have this thing called a Mexico Form. All you have to do is fill it out and our sales team will reach out on your behalf. If your sales lead becomes a client then you earn 3% of that sale! It’s an easy way to earn some extra cash and to work with clients that excite you.
We also offer the same benefit for any event and production rental you bring to the studio.
Our Mexico Form for clients and for event rentals is linked below. Check them out, memorize the URLs, and put them to good use!
Our Non-Compete Agreement
To fulfill your responsibilities, you will be given access to senstivie client information and C&I Studio’s trade secrets. Our client’s information is protected with encryption and regular password updates. This information needs to remain private. We take that very seriously. Our trade secrets are also ours to protect. They are the key to our success. To ensure the information we share with you remains safeguarded, we ask our employees to sign a non-compete clause, which is outlined in each employee contract.
The Employee Handbook
(click to open)
