This year, we timed our Street Team Summit for the week before Siggraph. The big bonus was that we all got to attend Siggraph and meet clients who we generally only work with through tickets and in online meetings.
So, what is the Street Team Summit?
It's an opportunity for all of us on the Street Team who are scattered across the globe to get together once per year and work, plan, and bond in one location. We spent a lot of time doing our regular jobs—just because we are at Summit, doesn't mean support can come to a standstill. The difference is that at Summit, we did it within shouting distance from each other rather than on Slack.
We also initiated some new projects that you will see come to fruition over the next year, from documentation and videos, to improved internal workflows that will make us more responsive to your needs.
Bonding with coworkers from far-flung locales is incredibly valuable as well. We work very closely and share issues and depend on each other. So things like late nights watching Family Guy and Bob's Burgers are important.
And, when not working?
Of course we spent all day Saturday at Disneyland. And by "all day", I mean OPENING to CLOSING! But we didn't stop there. One team member has a spouse's Silver Pass. So… for exercise, four of us would jog to Disneyland arriving at 8AM, go into the park for one ride on HyperSpace Mountain, then jog home for breakfast/work. It was a 5K round trip from where we stayed!
Batting Cages. 'Nuff said.
We also sampled the fantastic variety of food found all over Anaheim. Japanese, Vietnamese, Mexican, and our very own Street Teamer/Persian chef, Tannaz, gave us a taste of Persian food and showed us the steps to make it. Check out her food blog here.
Week Two: Siggraph
Demoing Shotgun 7.0 in the Booth
Reviewing shots in context anywhere in the app—from any clickable thumbnail in Shotgun—to a Playlist, was really exciting to demo. People understand how important reviewing in context is to helping them get shots finaled—and that importing cuts quickly makes updating shots much more efficient. It seemed like everyone from artists to producers wants in on the action.
It was great making connections with potential clients that are evaluating Shotgun but have never contacted support. We were able to answer their questions and let them know that Shotgun support is an intrinsic part of the evaluation process and that leveraging us is the best way to get up and running.
Great quotes from the Shotgun booth at Siggraph:
- "We can annotate directly on frames? Amazing! This will be so useful at our studio."
- "My key takeaway from Siggraph is that I must learn Shotgun."
Also Overheard:
- We got lots of great feedback about our Street Team support responses.
- Many people have heard of what Shotgun is, and they all say “it is about time I learned it.”
- People at the job fair were talking about Shotgun.
- A potential client mentioned that their current system is not scaling for them and how much more robust Shotgun is - then they returned the next day with a colleague to discuss details.
What the Street Team Saw
VR was everywhere. One of our favorites, Pearl, directed by Patrick Osborne, used Shotgun to help keep track of all the work. There was also an archaeological VR experience which was a fun mashup of Brandon's work at Shotgun and his wife’s profession as an archeologist. Of course, Eli controlling a mechanical puppet via a VR headset and Xbox Kinect, while singing “I am a Frog”, rounded out the list of favorites.
We also noticed Cloud everything. It's nice being a "born in the cloud" software company.
Everyone loves free things at Siggraph. Best schwag? The Shotgun Beer Mug from the Pipeline Hero Awards!
And, of course, the Shotgun Party
- Go-karts. They were fast and fun! Electric go-karts are very cool.
- Super-awesome DJs! Our very own Andrew Lawrence (Espio—look him up) and Patrick Boucher kept the tunes going all night.
- VJ-ing awesome cat videos on the screens
It was lots of fun getting time to chat/connect with clients in a social atmosphere. It’s great getting to interact with many of the people face-to-face after so much correspondence via support tickets and email.
Retrospective
Summit and Siggraph were a great combination and we used our time in a productive way that will benefit you all in the coming months. We really appreciate the time connecting with those of you who made it to Siggraph this year. For those of you who didn't make it, maybe next year? Or just hit us up at http://support.shotgunsoftware.com.
About the author: Matt has been helping the Street Team for over four years—after several years in animation and VFX. He likes music, coffee, and watching his kids turn into adults. Matt is originally from Indiana and lives in the Bay Area.