Burnie Burns Session

Of all of the sessions that I have attended during Mass Comm week, this was my favorite. I must confess to being quite a geek, and loving video games, so this session was right up my alley. I am not a devoted fan of Red vs Blue, but I am a familiar with many of the other online entertainment sources that Burnie mentioned throughout the interview. It was exciting to hear him talk about Penny Arcade, and my personal favorite, Smosh.

Past the geek appeal, the interview was fabulous. Burnie is very personable and witty, and his ability to connect with the crowd made the interview interesting. I learned quite a bit about Burnie and Rooster Teeth throughout the session and I have come to greatly respect him and the company for all that they have accomplished. He is truly a pioneer of online entertainment and he has given me a lot to think about as far as how adaptable and relevant the internet is in the business world.

While Rooster Teeth is not a typical company, and the business practices are often unconventional, I took a lot from the interview about being successful. Rooster Teeth exhibits the importance of innovative thinking and resourcefulness. The company uses video game software that is already developed and ready to make their Red vs Blue videos. This concept was created and perfected by the company, and it is very popular despite them not developing their own methods of animating.

Burnie also reinforced the idea that work should not be a chore but rather a passion. He stressed that he enjoys what he does and his success is a side effect of this rather than a focus. He surrounds himself with others that enjoy the same line of work, that he often finds on the internet. This way of working inspires hope that we might all end up doing something that we love, while still succeeding in all that we do.