The Wolf Magazine

Issue date: 2/5/10 Section: Music and Entertainment

Media Credit: Angie Hernandez

Media Credit: Angie Hernandez

Many Loyola students decide to squeeze more out of their jam-packed days by going beyond the classroom and establishing their own professional companies.

These aren’t Fortune 500 global companies, but they are a start. They are called Production EUs (Entrepreneurial Units), which are a way for students’ ideas to come into fruition. They are student-run companies that are independent from the university.

Jay Crutti, coordinator of technology for the College of Music and Fine Arts and adjunct instructor, is the adviser for production EUs on campus.

“I give them advice on the best business practices and intellectual framework,” Crutti says. “I am there to make sure they don’t break laws or go against Loyola’s mission.”
The employees of these student-run companies must be Loyola students because of payroll.

“The EUs are a division of Loyola but they make decisions independently of the university,” Crutti says.
The students are in charge of every aspect of the business from hiring and firing, to payroll and writing contracts.
This is not a company simulation — these EUs are real businesses. They must maintain a profit or they could go bankrupt.

“EUs are a really great preparation for the real world and changes the nature of how students get internships and jobs,” Crutti says.

Instead of students applying for internships and jobs, they are already competing in their job market. They are able to network and make contacts to land a job upon graduation.

“A vast majority of leaders in these organizations start their own company after graduating. Hopefully these EUs remove the fear of starting your own company,” Crutti says.
Here are the four EUs on campus and what they do. Their services are here for hire to the Loyola community as well as the New Orleans area.

VITAL SOUNDS
RECORDING:

The student-run recording studio’s clientele includes artists from Dr. John and the Mardi Gras Indians to the Monk Institute. The company receives client referrals from Loyola faculty and through the students’ own contacts.

The board is composed of the president, the operations manager and the chief financial officer, says Noah Adams, Vital Sounds Recording president and music industry studies junior. The business has about six engineers, 15 apprentices and 15 work-study students.

To become an apprentice, students must take a skill assessment. From there, the student will be classified as a beginning, intermediate or advanced apprentice. Each skill level receives advice from an engineer who is appointed to help the apprentices at each level. 

Once the apprentice feels confident they have the skills required to be an engineer, there is an exit skills test, Adams says. They must emulate a real commercial session and the board evaluates the session to see if it is up to the company’s standards. The apprentice must have three projects in their portfolio to be a certified engineer.

Certified engineers can expect to make about $20 an hour. To become an apprentice, interested students can go to the weekly meeting which is on Mondays at 7 p.m. in room 427 of the Communications/Music Complex.

“We recruit at music industry forum but we’re really just looking for enthusiastic people,” says Adams.


IGGY VISION:

Shooting the New Orleans Philharmonic Orchestra and filming weddings is all in a day’s work for Loyola’s student-run video production company. Client referrals have come from Loyola’s professors since the company’s six-month inception.
IggyVision is looking to expand its clientele base; they have filmed promotional videos for the university and are branching out to music videos for musicians in the area.

The board is composed of Drew Platt, IggyVision president, a chief financial officer and an operations manager. They currently have about 10 employees on staff ranging from camera operators to video editors.

Prospective employees do not need prior experience because the company offers training sessions. They have weekly meetings every Tuesday at noon.

The company averages about two or three jobs a month, according to Platt. They pay for the employees’ gas and use
their own cars to get the job sites.

“Prices vary depending on the length of the job. There are six pricing tiers,” says Platt, music industry studies sophomore.

NOLA SOUND:

The oldest production EU on campus is NOLA Sound, which was founded in 2006. Their clientele includes UPB, Jazz Club and the Office of Institutional Advancement. They are a sound and lighting production company.

NOLA Sound has four board positions: chief executive officer,  Chris Castaneda, chemistry junior, chief financial officer, chief operations officer and chief technical officer, music industry sophomore, Amy Pertuit. Each applicant must submit for the board a resumé and cover letter and go through an interview process.

The company has about 15 employees ranging from board members, sales positions, stagehands and engineers. Students who want to become involved with the company do not need any previous experience. They have general meetings on Wednesdays at 5 p.m.

“Our client base is primarily from Loyola organizations,” says Castaneda.

They are trying to expand their clientele base to the New Orleans community. They send out letters giving information about the company to potential clients. NOLA Sound has volunteered at Voodoo Fest to meet potential clients.

According to Casteneda, on average, the company has about one gig a week, and has made more than $40,000 in profit since its founding. They are hoping to purchase a cargo van to use to get different gigs in the city, as the university vans that they now use aren’t  always available.


MARKIT DESIGN:

Designing posters for a breast cancer benefit show and creating logos for NOLA Sound and Vital Sounds Recording are only some of the projects in MarkIt Design’s portfolio.

The company has three board members: Perry Spadoni, creative director and graphic design senior, Hope King, business director and graphic design senior and Eileen Castle financial director and finance senior.

Working on a referral basis, most of their clients are from the university. They are working on an ad campaign to get the company’s name out into the community.
Prospective employees must submit a portfolio to the board so that they know the employees’ strengths and weaknesses.

“Someone may be better at creating a logo than an album cover,” says King.

The company employs about 12 people but needs more business before they can hire more employees.
Employees are paid by the project. MarkIt Design follows the American Institute of Graphic Art’s guidelines for charging reasonable rates for their clients.

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