Sarah Bockett came to Northeastern with no clear sense of her future course of study. “I had no idea what I wanted to do,” she notes, “I had taken art classes in high school, but I never knew that it could lead to a career.” She laughs, “No one in high school told me that.”
Someone at Northeastern, however, did. Animation Professor Ed Andrews was eager to help Sarah identify her talent and channel it into a rewarding career. “When we first encountered Sarah, she was definitely searching for her path,” says Andrews. “She had not yet found her passion.”
In Animation Basics, however, Sarah’s talent and enthusiasm shone through. “She showed instant promise,” he notes. “What’s more, she made friends with everyone in the class right away. In this industry, it’s important to get along with your peers. Sarah has a real knack for that.”
Professor Andrews helped her on her way. He recommended that Sarah work as a marketing intern at a local production company called Rust Monkey. The connections she made there changed her life. “There were so many Northeastern people working at Rust Monkey,” she remembers. “We all became close friends.”
By the time Sarah graduated in January of 2005, many of her friends from Rust Monkey had found success in California. While she was nervous at the prospect of a cross-country relocation, she knew that there would be a small army of alumni ready to help her acclimate. One NU friend told her, “You need to come. When you arrive, you’ll pull confetti from your hair.”
As promised, Sarah’s friends, classmates and coworkers from Rust Monkey provided her with a launching pad for her West Coast career. Sarah recalled, “I slept on my friend’s couch, at first, and walked to work.”
After taking on a few small projects, Sarah received a pivotal call from Motion Theory, a production company to whom she had submitted a résumé. It was there that she began her work on a now-famous series of commercials for Hewlett Packard.
The commercials focus on the hands of some of today’s most recognizable celebrities, professional athletes, and musicians. As the celebrities’ hands maneuver around the screen, their passions are graphically brought to life. Music, photographs, and personal effects spring out of the subjects’ gestures. Jerry Seinfeld, Serena Williams, and Jay-Z are among the household names that appear in the series. Though their faces aren’t shown, the viewer instantly recognizes the celebrity behind the ad.
Sarah’s accomplishments don’t end with the HP series. She has made her mark on other high profile projects, including a Budweiser Select commercial for the Super Bowl featuring a futuristic game of table football between music mogul Jay-Z and celebrated coach Don Shula. Video game trailers, advertisement series, music videos--and the calls keep coming in. More remarkable than the portfolio itself is the fact that Sarah has accomplished it all in the three short years since she graduated from Northeastern.
Drawing from her own experience, Sarah recommends that students maintain contact with their friends from school. “Stay connected and don’t let them forget about you. Be memorable. I learned that from Ed.
And just be yourself and believe in yourself–you just have to find where you fit. Everything works out if you want it to. Call it magic!”