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If Murphy-Goode is looking for a laidback person to fill the 'Wine Country Correspondent Position,' does it play to my advantage that I submitted my video just twelve hours before the deadline?
The truth is – I may be a sandal-wearing Californian native that enjoys days filled with nothing other than a good meal and a beach, but my approach to the "A Really Goode Job" application was far from ‘laidback.’
In the weeks before the June 19th deadline, I started to get nervous.
After all, fitting my entire life into sixty seconds of streaming video seemed like the type of challenge that I would see on some sort of twisted reality show.
As I sat in Northeastern’s library hour after hour weeding through the hours of footage I had collected in pursuit of chasing a seemingly intangible dream job, I half-expected Ashton Kutcher to show up at a key moment.
Now that the video is done, I can’t help but say all the laborious hours I spent married to a steady regimen of coffee and tea have paid off. A lot.
Not only was making my video a blast, but it seems that quite a few people liked it as well. Since the movie went online on Saturday evening, it has already accrued over 200 "Favorites" and continues to turn heads.
Four hours after my application went online, I landed an interview with the Murphy-Goode team. I must have done something right.
In the end, I was extremely pleased at how my application turned out and have many of my friends to thank for their help.
Director’s Notes
The first part of my application was based on the game of Liar’s Dice. When I met the Murphy-Goode team at the Michael Jordan Steakhouse in Grand Central Station, one of the staff members mentioned that the game was a ‘morning tradition’ in the Goode-Lifestyle. After I learned how to play, the guys in purple gave me two dice cups with a Viking hat – Winemaker David Ready is from Minnesota – and I was on my way.
For those of you who don’t know, Liar’s Dice is a game of ‘one-upping.’ You start with two or more players. Each player has five special Liar’s dice. One side – normally where you would find the "1" - is wild.
To play, you bet and roll your dice. Looking at your dice (and your dice only...), you try to guess different numbers of dice that you and your partner have together based on probability.
The object is to keep one-upping your opponents until one of you is forced to tell a lie. If you sense that your opponent is lying, you call them a "Liar!" and they lose one of their die if they are caught. The ‘last man standing’ with dice at the end of the game is the winner.
As Liar’s Dice is one of Murphy-Goode’s most featured wines and the game is a morning staple at the winery, I decided I had to include it in my application. I determined that the ‘one-upping’ aspect of the game gave me a great gateway to showcase some of my skills and experiences.
The Liar’s Dice was filmed in the Curry Student Center using my green screen and some furniture we ‘borrowed’ from other parts of the campus. My friends – Sam Simms, Dom DiLuzio, and Pete Barozzi – helped me shoot three camera angles. I used the green screen to superimpose two clips to make it look like I was playing Liar’s Dice with myself.
As we were wrapping up the final shots, I ended up bumping into Pete, who bumped into one of the wine glasses and red wine exploded all over the green screen. This was hilarious. We caught the whole thing on tape. If I make a blooper reel, this clip will be available somewhere on RockySlaughter.com. I’ll openly offer this clip to any stain removal company that can work laundry miracles.
The remaining cooking and drinking clips were shot at one of several wine parties I threw at my place in June. The filming may have taken quite some time, but the only downtime seemed to be when we were refilling our wine glasses.
Special Thanks
This application would not have been possible if it weren’t for the help of my roommates and friends: Dom DiLuzio, Andrew Tagher, Sam Simms, Rich Thuma, Peter Barozzi, Nicole Mitchell, Jessica Headd, Sam Dickey, Rachael Ahern and her friends Veronica and Dan, Northeastern University General Services and Facilities, and all the students who were bystanders in the Curry Student Center and braved the gloomy weather at Centennial Common.
I also thank my parents for providing support and money for food during my time of complete immersion in the Murphy-Goode application process.
A super special thanks goes to Frank Simms and Governor Michael Dukakis.
Frank – a celebrity voice actor most known for his roll as the "Kool-Aid Man" and the singer behind ubiquitously known jingles from Charmin, Gillete, and Cheerios - provided the instrumentation and vocals for the "We take our wine seriously, ourselves not so much" part of the jingle. He also coached me to find the dark sound that would cater to Winemaker David Ready’s most experienced Grateful Dead palette.
Gov. Dukakis is a professor at Northeastern University and has helped me immensely in the past. It was great for him to record a clip for me to use. He’ll do just about anything in support of Northeastern’s famous Co-Op program.
How I Made My Wine Job Application
by Rocky Slaughter on June 25, 2009
Liar's Dice is a bit easier when you play yourself.
Winemaker David Ready and I at the Market Restaurant in Downtown Boston.
HELP ROCKY LAND "A REALLY GOODE JOB"
1.) Join the Facebook Group
2.) "Favorite" Rocky's Video
3.) Digg Rocky's Video
4.) Join the mailing list
5.) Tell your friends/family to complete steps 1-4.
6.) Grab a bottle of Murphy-Goode and cross your fingers!
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