2009 brought some new additions to the team here at Cinematics.  One of them being a shiny new metal Cinematics sign.  In this headline piece we infiltrate the Oregon City based game animation studio and hang (pun intended) with the quiet sentry on a pleasant Sunday afternoon.

Cinematics: When did you start working at Cinematics?

Metal Sign: I was hung up in late December.

CMS: What did you do before Cinematics?

MS: I was a slab of polished aluminum alloy in the basement of Liberty Wielding.  Before that though I was a loose collection bauxite (AlO_x(OH)_3-2x, atomic number 13) floating around in the earths crust somewhere below Indonesia.

CMS: Do you enjoy working here?

MS: Beats laying around in 1400 degree magma with all the other metals.  Some of them are tough to get along with.  Especially iron.  He’s an inflexible @$$hole.

CMS: What does a typical day for the Cinematics sign look like?

MS: Well, I usually hang out and watch the sunrise.  Then the crazy homeless guy with the dog comes and spits on the window.  Then I watch all the Cinematics, funnelbox and Clink teams wander in, needing coffee.  They go get coffee, come back in, repeat throughout the day.  Sometimes people try to hang on me and do pull ups which is pretty annoying.  I sometimes pass the day watching the reels playing on the digital screen next to me.  That’s pretty entertaining but you can only watch them for so long.  I wish they would switch them out for HBO every once in a while.  Every so often one of the animators comes out and talks to me, tells me secrets, confides their deepest desires, fears, etc.  Personally I think that’s kind of weird. I mean, who talks to a metal sign?

CMS: Crazy people.

MS: Yeah, and they all seem to work here.

CMS: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

MS: Probably still here.  I dont think the studio is going anywhere anytime soon.  I might get replaced with some kind of holographic 3D imaging at some point, but I think that’s a ways off.  Until then I’ll just be hanging here slowly rusting.

CMS: Any plans after Cinematics?

MS: I’ll most likely get recycled and turned into PBR tall boys.  Which is fine by me.

CMS: So you’ll still be hanging out with the Cinematics team then.

MS: Like I said.  I dont see us parting anytime soon.

CMS: Well thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me.

MS: Did I ever have a choice?

CMS: Not really.

MS: Thanks.  Can you go now?