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Should we make more Scriptnotes t-shirts?

September 2, 2014 Follow Up, News

scriptnotes_blackWe have very few Scriptnotes t-shirts [left in the store](http://johnaugust.com/store). We’re considering printing a new batch, but we’re not sure which color listeners would actually want.

The first round of shirts came in Umbrage Orange and Rational Blue. The second batch came in only Basic Blacklist.

For the new t-shirts, we’re considering revisiting one of the earlier colors, or something new like WG Gray or Residual Green.

gray samplegreen sample

So, assuming t-shirts sell for $19, tell us:

[yop_poll id=”5″]

And if we make new t-shirts, should we stick with the typewriter logo, or do something new? We’ve talked about doing something that feels collegiate, or sports-ish, or blackletter death metal style.

So we’re not sure exactly what the style would be, but we have talented design folks, so it would be solid.

Given that vague description, what would your preference be?

[yop_poll id=”6″]

Finally, listeners have suggested other Scriptnotes gear. Are any of these things things you’d actually buy? T-shirts are really simple to ship. Everything else is kind of a hassle.

But we’ll certainly consider it if there’s a groundswell of interest.

[yop_poll id=”7″]

As always, you can [tweet me](http://twitter.com/johnaugust) if there’s something you’d rather see.

Hiring a UI designer

July 8, 2014 News

Our tiny company is getting a little bigger. We’re hiring a full-time UI designer for [Quote-Unquote Apps](http://quoteunquoteapps.com).

This is a new position, one that combines art and science (design beautiful things…that actually work). Responsibilities will include:

* Designing art (icons, graphics) and animations for our current and future apps.
* Building and testing interfaces for apps and websites.
* Shared responsibility for support email. (Everyone in the office chips in.)

We make apps for Mac and iOS, including [Highland](http://quoteunquoteapps.com/highland/), [Weekend Read](http://quoteunquoteapps.com/weekendread/) and [Bronson Watermarker PDF](http://quoteunquoteapps.com/bronson/). We have several new apps in development, and will likely make stuff for iWatches, AppleTVs and other future gadgets. We need someone to help us build cool things.

I’ve hired enough people to know that the job ultimately shifts based the special skills each person brings. But we have a good sense of what we Require and Desire.

Required:

**Great taste.** We need someone who can make beautiful, thoughtful art and experiences. We should to be able to have a conversation about any app and discuss where it succeeds, where it fails, and how to improve it. It’s one thing to know what it says in the HIG; it’s another to understand where the trends are headed.

**Expertise.** This person will ultimately be responsible for building interfaces, both as prototypes and in Xcode. They’ll need to be comfortable wiring up little bits that work with storyboards and auto layout.

You can’t learn taste, but you can learn Xcode. What’s important is that this person needs to genuinely love working under the hood, wrestling with constraints and timing and UIScrollViews. Candidates need to be able to muck around with code to figure out why the status bar isn’t displaying properly after rotation.

Prototypes can be a great way of exploring design options, so it’s likely we’d be using something like Origami or framer.js to create mock-ups. We have no musts when it comes to prototypes. Whatever works, works.

We’re not requiring that a candidate have a certain number of years experience working as a paid designer. In fact, it’s more likely we’ll find someone who has been doing something else but Just Happens To Be Great at this.

Our lead coder, Nima Yousefi, was getting his masters in biology. But he’d rather make apps.

We’re looking for someone who’d rather make apps. ((Or, someone who has already made apps. We’re happy to bring someone in who already has her own apps in the App Store.))

Our Desired list is deliberately broad. No one will tick all these boxes, but we’ve found making apps in 2014 ends up incorporating a lot of seemingly-disparate skills:

* Web experience in HTML/CSS/Javascript. Many of the apps we’re working on have a web component.
* Editing skills (Avid, Final Cut Pro). The App Store will soon be allowing demo videos, and we intend to create them.
* Animation and VFX chops (After Effects, Motion or more-sophisticated apps).
* Photoshop/Sketch/Illustrator skills. Beyond icon and logo design, we spend hours tweaking App Store screenshots.
* Copywriting. Sometimes, half the job is figuring out the right word for a UI element, or how to phrase a warning.
* A/B Testing. We haven’t done a lot of it, but upcoming apps will require it.
* Broader coding experience. Nima remains our lead engineer, but there’s always too much to do, and a second set of eyes is great.

A good candidate for this position would be able to talk about most of the following with ease:

– Great opening title sequences of the last year.
– The design challenges of moving to larger iPhones.
– Accessibility, and apps that do it right.
– Are short URLs even worth it?
– Google’s Material.
– iOS keyboard extensions, and what’s possible.
– Localization.
– iBeacons.
– Books you’ve bought just for the cover.

We work together in the Los Angeles office twice a week, keeping in touch other days over Slack and Google Hangout. Candidates don’t need to live in LA to apply, but they need to be able and willing to move here if they get the job. ((We’ll consider international applicants, but visas may be a challenge.))

Salary is commensurate with experience — enough to live in Los Angeles — and there’s health insurance. It’s certainly not Google money, but it’s more than most people are likely to make writing their own apps, with the stability of a small team and guaranteed income.

Here’s the process for applying:

1. Email digital@johnaugust.com. Tell us about yourself. Include links to your work. If you have apps, send some promo codes.
2. We’ll be accepting emails through midnight on Thursday, July 17th.
3. We’ll start interviewing selected candidates via Skype shortly after that.

If you think you’re the right person for this job, apply. Or if you know a great candidate, send them a link.

It’s a great job for the right person. I have a hunch we’ll find someone amazing.

Secrets and Lies

Episode - 151

Go to Archive

July 1, 2014 News, QandA, Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Three Page Challenge, Transcribed, Words on the page

John and Craig discuss why most characters are liars, and how that’s actually a good thing. John offers seven suggestions for picking character names that will help your readers. Then we look at a three page challenge that’s been filmed to see what worked on the page versus on screen.

In follow-up, we discuss the Aereo decision and our mutual love of Slate’s Culture Gabfest.

Finally, we answer a reader question about the proper protocol for checking in after a meeting.

Links:

* [Sundance Screenwriters Lab](https://www.sundance.org/programs/screenwriters-lab/)
* Scriptnotes, Episode 131: [Procrastination and Pageorexia](http://johnaugust.com/2014/procrastination-and-pageorexia)
* The [Aereo lawsuit](http://upstart.bizjournals.com/companies/media/2014/02/14/aereo-vs-the-broadcasters-six.html?page=all) on Upstart
* The Supreme Court’s [Aereo decision](http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/13pdf/13-461_l537.pdf)
* Wikipedia on [cable television](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable_television)
* [Slate Culture Gabfest “Summer Strut 2014” Edition](http://www.slate.com/articles/podcasts/culturegabfest/2014/06/slate_s_culture_gabfest_on_the_fosters_brooklyn_s_industrial_signs_and_the.html)
* [Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0465026567/?tag=johnaugustcom-20) by Douglas R. Hofstadter
* [Pre-lap](http://screenwriting.io/what-is-a-pre-lap/) on Screenwriting.io
* [Three Pages by Rob Yescombe](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/AGunSCENEEXTRACT.pdf), and [the scene on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOgHNw0AbhU)
* [Datura](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datura_stramonium) on Wikipedia
* [@SavedYouAClick](https://twitter.com/SavedYouAClick) on Twitter
* [Clickhole](http://www.clickhole.com/) by The Onion
* [How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking](http://www.amazon.com/dp/1594205221/?tag=johnaugustcom-20) by Jordan Ellenberg
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Scriptnotes listener Regis Duffy ([send us yours!](http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed))

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_151.m4a) | [mp3](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_151.mp3).

**UPDATE 7-3-14:** The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2014/scriptnotes-ep-151-secrets-and-lies-transcript).

Voting for the Three Page Challenge

May 9, 2014 News

At the live [Scriptnotes show on May 15th](https://www.wgfoundation.org/screenwriting-events/scriptnotes-summer-superhero-spectacular/), we’ll be conducting a Three Page Challenge with special guest judge Susannah Grant.

Tuesday was the deadline for entering. All of the entries are now available for reading, both on [Weekend Read](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/weekend-read/id502725173?mt=8) and [here](http://johnaugust.com/threepagelive).

Once you’ve had a look, vote for your favorite(s) — you can choose up to three entries you’d like us to discuss on the 15th. We will probably only have time for two three-pagers on the live show, but I wanted voters to be able to support more than just one entry.

Should you vote for the best written entry, or the one that needs the most constructive criticism? Your call.

Voting is [open now](http://johnaugust.com/threepagelive), and runs through noon on Wednesday, May 14th.

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