Livvy: Hello and welcome to NET TV! I’m Livvy Sanders..

Evan: and I’m Evan Fernando..

Livvy: The theme of our show today is ‘Weird and Wonderful’!

Evan: Coming up on the show, we have presenter challenges, which were shot outside of the studio, of myself and Livvy trying out weird and wonderful food.

Livvy: But right now we have some examples of the weird and wonderful things that are floating around the Internet.

Evan: Whether it’s screaming Goats on YouTube or body oddities, there will be plenty of things to quench your thirst for the weird and wonderful!

Livvy: We looked around for some weird and wonderful videos and created a countdown of the top 5… so check these out…

-TOP 5 VIDEOS-

-INTRO TO THE GUEST-

(Evan out of shot)

Livvy: Right now we have an interview with Dee Ajayi, who can do Yoga! She will be doing a demonstration to display her talents and showing us just how far the human body can be pushed.

-INTERVIEW WITH DEE-

1) So Dee, tell us a little bit about yourself… how long have you been doing yoga for?
2) How did you discover you could do it?
3) Do you practice everyday, or is it more of a hobby thing?
4) Is there anyone who inspired you to do this, or anyone that pushed you to start doing it?
5) Why is it such a massive part of your life, what pushes you to carry on doing it?

-DEMONSTRATION, BRING EVAN IN-

Evan: Sorry, we’re gonna have to stop you there as we’re running out of time. Thanks for coming in Dee. You guys voted for presenter challenges so up next Livvy and me take on some eating challenges of our own! check these out…
-INSERT VT OF MESSY PRESENTER CHALLENGES-

Livvy:

Well I hope you enjoyed that! Make sure to check out our Twitter and Facebook pages to see the full challenges and loads of behind the scenes access! The links are on your screen now. Obviously the last challenge didn’t go so well for me, Well done Evan for those ones. But now it’s time for me to try and redeem myself with a challenge that the Weird and Wonderful staff have set up for us.

Evan: -introduce and explain challenges-
So the whole idea is… we have to see who can pop the most balloons in 30 seconds with a pin on their heads, lets get kitted up and go……. you ready?

-IN STUDIO PRESENTER CHALLENGES-

Livvy: Anyway, because we all like to see weird and wonderful talents that other people have, we have Exile The King in the studio – they’re going to be playing some drums and a bit of guitar and we’re going to be able to see what they can do, so that’s what is coming up next!

Evan: So that’s it from us for this week… if you enjoyed the show you can let us know on the NET TV Weird and Wonderful Facebook page. Facebook.com/NetTvWierdAndWonderful

Livvy: Or feel free to send us a tweet on our twitter page, @NetTVWaW. I’m Livvy Sanders..

Evan: I’m Evan Fernando..

Livvy: and this was NET TV, we really hope you enjoyed the show and thank you very much for watching!

Evan/Livvy: Bye! –salute-

-CUT TO EXILE THE KING-

I hope everyone is having an amazing month of May. I am LOVING the warmer weather. As the saying goes, “You really appreciate something when it’s gone.” It has  been such a long winter…and now that warm weather is here, I feel so happy. 

One of the things that always goes along with collecting makeup is organizing. I feel like I’m in a constant state of organizing.  I have found a girls DREAM ORGANIZER! It’s a clear acrylic case called the ICEBOX by Sherriblossom. It is beautiful, sturdy, clear and holds lots of makeup. Many celebrities have this case ..it is the most luxurious of storage units. I’m so lucky! Go check out the cases for yourselves here.

I have switched up the background of my videos. Since all my content is mostly beauty related I decided to change where I film. Hope you guys enjoy this video.

Also, if you missed it, I posted a haul of some new summer accessories, and new lip products I got. If you haven’t seen this video yet, definitely check it out! I found some new $2 ELF lip products that I had to test out and share.

Love,

Lauren

This most recent wedding was no different. Great fun wedding party, gorgeous location outside of Los Gatos, CA. I was shooting with my co-conspirator Guru Khalsa, who was photographing the wedding, and Alison Gay was second shooter on the video, covering the groom’s party. This makes it so much more stress-free to have two shooters, one assigned to the bridal party, one to the groom. You just get so much more and quality shots, and a happier crew! We shot on Canon 5Ds and 7Ds, with a variety of Canon lenses: 24mm f1.4 and 50mm f1.2 for the dancing as they are super fast primes, 100mm macro on a few shots, 70-200 f2.8 locked off on a tripod for the ceremony (love this lens!), and 24-105 f4 for a lot of the groom party shots.

I got to do the edit for this, and as usual we ask the bride and groom to choose two songs they’d like to have as soundtrack. Don’t really worry about music licensing as these are for personal use only, but for commercial and documentary work that will be shown publicly or for profit, it’s important to always make sure to use licensed music that benefits the musician. As someone who has been JUST a cameraman and JUST an editor, it’s always a pleasure to play both roles for a piece. I always say that editing your own footage is such an important part of making you a better SHOOTER – you become much more attuned to the shots you end up using/not using, and as you do this more, you become a much more efficient shooter. This of course in turn leads to a smoother editing phase. Win-win. I did this edit in Premiere Pro CS6, which is great for handing the DSLR’s native H.264 files without having to transcode first.

I am hoping to make wedding video a steady business for me. Like I said, while it presents its own challenges, it’s really fun work, and you get to be creative and have a good time helping make beautiful memories for people who are usually caught up in such a whirlwind that they barely remember half of the most important day of their lives! Here’s the edit below, please have a look and I’m happy to respond to any comments/questions!

This blog will give you a behind the scenes look at the individual pieces that go into my work, and will follow my evolution as an editor.

I have a lot of ideas in the pipeline, so expect this page to fill up quickly!

-Ian

In 2010 the Producers Guild of America had recognised transmedia storytelling as part of new media, mentioning that a project or a franchise must consist of three or more narrative storylines within the same fictional universe. A transmedia producers role would include to ‘hire or partner with other companies to develop software and technology’, in order to showcase on multi-platform content (PGA, 2010).

A transmedia storyteller may create many entry-points, across different platforms, so that a fan of a tv show, film,book … , can interact, and find more about their favorites in social media, using twitter, facebook, google plus, etc.

All media producers, loves  transmedia,  because , you give your audience more of what they want and love but you can also bring in a whole new audience that otherwise would not find your content.

Multi-platform delivery will always help  a producer, building his audience, and making his programme interactive, so fans can relate to the show  and become fans. Many producers are using multi-platform delivery to  make an impact in media, and it’s a great opportunity to  promote your work as an artist, get to know your fans, listen to their opinion, and making your work easier  for the audience to reflect on.

Transmedia   may also be a start promoting point for the new media students, allowing them to show their work and put it out there, bringing fans together, and connect with them.

Here you can see how transmedia works:

‘Dear Ryan, Gemma, Tom, Emma and Harry

Elena’

Well. That seems a little unfair. Here was our reply:

‘Dear Elena,

(Noire Studios) .’

Of course, it’s unlikely they’ll put us back into the competition, but we felt we had a reason to reply, and some points to get across. Either way, we made a decent film with basic equipment and a short deadline. Portfolio stuff.

To the artwork…

Emma Louise Pickering:

‘Demons Need Love Too’ is a lot deeper than it sounds. Emma’s mental process when creating this was that bad/negative thoughts (or ‘Demons’) can only survive if you let them (or if you accept/’Love’ them). The sulking demon in the picture is wanting you to love him, because if you don’t, he will cease to exist.

Ryan Williams:

Another random zombie, this time stamped with our newly acquired ‘Noire’ stamping machine thing. Yay for zombies! Yay for stamps!

Noire Inspired Artwork – Sue Gordon:

Look at these excellent ravens! Beautifully done! Kudos if you can guess what the white parts on the bird have been created with. Any ideas?

Thank you…

…to EVERYONE who liked and shared our video, and those who watched it, commented on it and enjoyed it. Sorry if we’ve let anyone down due to our disqualification. But have no fear. We’ll continue to make films and continue to improve. Watch this space.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend,

Tom

First of all, before you start taking contracts from people to record their weddings, you must invest in a good quality digital video camera recorder though it is not necessary to buy the latest one in the market, you can buy one with the necessary features to record a wedding.

Another one of the important wedding video tips is to have a good quality audio system which can be operated with remote. You can install it in groom’s pocket and other important family member’s pocket to catch the audio and record their wedding speech properly.

Make sure to capture the emotional moments carefully, because people are not ready to video record themselves

Make sure to capture the emotional moments carefully, because people are not ready to video record themselves in that moment but it is still important to record them; for that it is necessary to have a camera with really good zoom in it. You can record the event without disturbing the real mood of the family and the wedding couple.

It is important to record the whole wedding ceremony and no one should miss out in this recording. No doubt couple is the most important part of the ceremony but all the guests who attended the wedding should be in the video too.

Make sure you reach to the wedding venue much earlier than the actual wedding starts

Make sure you reach to the wedding venue much earlier than the actual wedding starts and record the outer decoration of the church, isle and interior as well. Record the food and the guests sitting around the garden, capture some of their dresses and emotions too. This will help you in putting the whole wedding ceremony in a more complete way and remember one of the most important wedding video tips is that it is not about putting most special effects in it, it is mostly about capturing the real wedding and real emotions attach with it.

Becoming the eponymous environmental saviour would be hard enough, but Beavan has a wife and child to consider as well. Fortunately, his (admittedly more materialistic and commercially-dependant) wife Michelle Conlin, also a writer (for Business Week magazine) is willing to support him in his endeavour. Their three year old daughter Isabella just has to make the best of it, as the family give up packaged goods, cars, petroleum products, disposable nappies, toilet paper and for six months, electricity; all to reduce their negative environmental impact and highlight how wasteful our current society can be.

Throughout the film, the family show how it is possible to live without so much we supposedly depend on, and how doing so can have many benefits, both obvious and unexpected. As well as saving a fortune in unnecessary luxury spending, the couple find they interact more with their community; buying locally grown produce and gaining knowledge from a local allotment gardener. Their efforts are all the more impressive considering they live in New York city, where space is limited and the pace of life is particularly frenzied.

Without a television or other artificial distractions, the family spend more quality time together; whether playing charades with friends or washing their clothes in the bath by trampling them, the whole family has fun together and feel closer for it.

Source

Along the way the family are forced to make compromises; for example, their improvised electricity-free eco-fridge, based on a design employed in Nigeria is a failure, and the compost bin Beavan is initially so proud of only ends up infesting their apartment with flies. An impressive effort is shown throughout though, and such setbacks certainly highlight the limits of trying to live more responsibly.

While it is clearly and understandably a major change in lifestyle, much of the hardship and conflict in the film seems contrived. Conlin’s caffeine dependency seems particularly manufactured, and despite a couple of lapses, she seems to have little trouble giving up the privileged lifestyle we are initially led to believe she leads. This certainly doesn’t reflect badly on her, but puts much more of the film’s content into doubt. Are the friendly encounters at the farmer’s market genuinely indicative of the positive effect of their amended ways, or merely staged for the sake of the film? Is there really a friendly old hippie-gardener in New York handing out advice on the best way to grow tomatoes? I hope so…

Source

While Beavan clearly has some degree of investment in the subject of self-sufficiency and responsible living, the fact that he admits to using the project to promote his book shows a decidedly contrary reason for doing it. He is exploiting a hot-topic for personal gain, which undermines much of what he learns and expresses during the project. In much the same way as Al Gore’s 2006 film, An Inconvenient Truth, this is entertainment first and tends to overshadow any actual critique of modern living practices or effort to change them.

But therein lies the awful compromise; that to get an audience for such important principles, it is often necessary to betray them. This is far from an ideal world, and without financing, nobody would have the chance to see Beavan’s efforts and be educated about the need for more sustainable living.

Yes, he is commendable in reducing his environmental impact, but the act of making the film only serves to highlight the depressing futility of his intentions in a larger world that is incapable or unwilling to take on such responsibility. I doubt the dozens of crew-members chose to follow his extreme example, and just the air and road miles racked up in promoting the film at the many festivals it won awards at will have completely undone his hard work.

The real hero of the film as far as I can see is the New York hippie-gardener, who has apparently lived his entire adult life ethically and responsibly, with no incentive of a book-deal or film profits to compel him. Where’s his film?

It may have its issues, but I did both enjoy this film and find it valuable research for my similar upcoming project. It was particularly useful to see the practical limits to living such a lifestyle, and since Beavan and his family went all in, aiming to live with absolutely no impact on their environment, I can learn from the issues they encountered and begin to set reasonable goals for myself. The idea of such responsible living is very important to me, and I hate to think about the possibility of having to compromise in some way, so I will need a very clear goal and plan for reaching it and promoting it if I am to avoid such a conflict.

Source

Questions To Ask
• Can I see samples of your work?
• How long have you been a professional wedding videographer? How many weddings have you done?
• What packages do you offer? What do they include?
• Are you able to accommodate any restrictions with lights and tripods at the ceremony location?
• Can I keep the raw, unedited footage as well as the finished product? Is there an added fee for this?
• Do you offer DVDs?
• What is the charge per extra copy made?
• Will you be able to film while a photographer is present?
• Will you be the one who will be shooting my wedding? If not, can I speak with that person?
• What types of cameras and microphones will you use? How new is the equipment? Where will they be placed?
• Do you attend the wedding rehearsal?
• How long will it take to receive our completed video after the wedding?
• Will a backup camera be on hand for the event?
• How far in advance must I book your services?
• What is your cancellation policy?
• Is a deposit required? If so, when and how much?
• How far in advance must I book your services?
• What is your cancellation policy?
• Is a deposit required? If so, when and how much?

Related articles

• MVP Weddings Cinema to be a Featured Videographer at the Premier Bride… (prweb.com)

At the start of this academic year I was incredibly naïve to how hard it is to make a good impression. I remember panicking a little because I had little to no technical experience – I couldn’t even put up a tripod! After a phone call with my mum she talked me out of my new irrational fear of tripods and told me that my course mates weaknesses were my strengths. For a while I felt it was true. During the first couple of terms when everyone was willing to jump behind a camera, I put my hand up to do the script or the organising, or just general help for context and media theorem. I realised, especially with the TV studio where you’re not in a group with your mates who share the same hangover as you, it’s not about playing on their weaknesses but strengthening them with your help. And even from this 10 week module, I know who I do and who I don’t want helping on my final project and on theirs.

I remember on the open days they often expressed that it’s all about helping all of us as students to be on the same level. Although i’m not as technologically challenged as I was at the start of the year, I know i’m not the best. I think the point of everything we’ve done this year is to show us it’s not just about being trained to be a director or a cinematographer but more about learning an art form, as corny as it sounds. I can bet that 8/10 of the people that walked through the door on that day wanted to be a director. I know I did. Being a director now is the last thing I ever want to do. Well…I mean, if someone comes up to me and offers me a job to direct on a film I’ve always wanted to direct then sure…but as a ‘career’ choice.

And that’s a thing. The career. As a media student I get a lot of flack for studying media. Often the question comes up ‘what are you going to do with that?’ which is by far one of my favourite questions ever, because these guys melt when I start to burn them.

“Well personally, I’d like to become a producer, because that’s where the money’s at. At this point, you’re basically controlling the world. You’re controlling who and  what people are exposed – what your watching on your TV, what adverts appear on your Facebook, which people become celebrities and what music is playing in this club. Then again, I could become a media advisor for a political party, a campaign manager for a future Prime minister  Maybe I could work in radio, or television, perhaps for a newspaper – although print format is outdated, there’s a lot of stuff online. Perhaps a location manager, where I get paid to find locations for films – which involves a lot of travelling. Or a casting director? I could give the next Johnny Depp their big break. I could go on to build the set in the next Star Wars film or direct the films that will be called ‘the best trilogy since the Original Star Wars’. My possibilities are endless. What do you do? Medicine? So are you going to be a doctor?”

Okay maybe a little too much hope and optimism for the likeliness of employment after University, but Star Wars is being shot in the UK and I did do a set on a television show about aliens…so you never know.

I’ve also started to notice the effects of having an online presence and being influential online.Personally, I used to hate having ‘an online presence’ and wanted anything about me private – I didn’t want to expand from my social groups of Facebook and Twitter. I understand, now, the importance of this presence, and how it’s more important for people of my generation to use the social facilities given to us. Having an image to brand yourself is important. I know a couple of people I have on my Facebook who are almost like ‘Facebook celebrities’ – everyone has them on Facebook, slags them off when a friend sees there name come up on your wall, then like every status, contribute to anything they need help with, such as uni work, promoting nights out and even turning up to the gigs of the Facebook celebrities’ friend’s gig.

How I feel i’ve developed over the past year isn’t really about how well I can use a camera, but more about the understanding of the media and how it controls everything we do. It is the most powerful industry we have. It can set trends, it can be used to cause mass hate, it can express some of the most powerful messages yet can also be completely ignored. I’ve noticed this year that the media is so powerful it’s managed to create an super-duper glue between students and their smartphones.

I feel i’ve become more tolerable of people. I used to hate people. I would’ve had myself next to Heathcliff, Sherlock Holmes and Dr House as major misanthropists. But i’ve learnt that people are okay. Some of them. I’ve only hissed at one person in the past three weeks.

At the start of the year, I may have freaked out about not knowing how to put up a tripod, but now I know I have other strengths in creative legwork, contextual knowledge and the ability to speak up and direct others. I’ve worked out that part of the job for being a good media producer is to work hard, be reliable and be helpful and constructive to people. You could have absolutely no creativity what so ever, but if you turn up on time, work hard and get the job done effectively, you’ll have produced a great piece of media.

“Work hard, have fun, don’t be a dick” – Steve Dawkins

Dusted Wax Kingdom – The Trip-hop Netlabel

running time: 17:05 min.

Some people collect records. Mitko is different – he collects artists.
Find out what drives the Dusted Wax Kingdom netlabel and meet one of the people
behind modern Trip-hop in this 17-minute short documentary.

The Dusted Wax Kingdom netlabel, based on the Black Sea coast in Varna, Bulgaria,
has been releasing Trip-hop music for over five years.
Everything they create is shared for free with their listeners,
spreading the love and passion for old-school samples and beats.

Some of them only do it for the fun; others are making great money
out of a new and unique business model.
Find out how they create, why they release their music independently
and what inspires them to keep going.

This is the first ever documentary film about a netlabel, made in Bulgaria.
It is released under a Creative Commons license.

The film looks at the digital phenomenon of netlabels,
using the Dusted Wax Kingdom as a case study.

It features a high quality, free, fully Creative Commons licensed Trip-hop soundtrack
with unique music from the netlabel.

To find out more about the Dusted Wax Kingdom netlabel, visit dustedwax.org

If you enjoyed the film, please share it and help more people find out about this unique music.

The objective is to destroy Gang Triangle and the main hero takes on the name Metaman Gatsu, the last fighter of the cosmos and protector of humanity. I really like how smooth the animation is, intensive driving and fighting scenes, color and lighting of the scenes really suit its purposes.

For more info and see the movie: Official Page METAMAN

Photo and Video by BoomBros

the last days were quite busy but we found time to organize a little shooting outdoors. During the post production we recognized that his eyes are realy amazing, so we decided to draw the viewers attention onto them. To do so we first made the picture black and white but held the eyes blue to make them more eyecatching.

Wow, just one year ago today we were posting our first blog inviting everyone to join us in the view behind the camera. It’s crazy how fast the time has passed and all the topics we were able to cover.

Thanks to all of the readers and SalterENT supporters for continuing to check out the latest with us and in the industry!

Moving forward we are able to really sit back and realize there is a huge platform for all things video production. If you feel like you would be a great guest blogger we are looking for you. Email us at production@salterent.com. We have a lot of things in store for the upcoming year and can’t wait to share them with you all.

So, let’s look forward to many more years to come… Happy Blogoversary!

Happy Anniversary to us all!

Love

The SEG Family

My final year film “Renaissance: Prototype” (Link at the bottom of the post) won an award for best film out of my year (this came as a complete shock to me… firstly because I thought that other films were better, secondly – how rare is it that a sci-fi film wins an award over contemporary dramas?) so I’m writing this post to maybe share some yodaish “wisdom” (not that you need my advice really, it’s probably gonna be poorly written and I’m probably not gonna get everything I wanna say out…) Right that’s enough big headedness, I hate writing it but I had to put it out there so you know these words have some kind of substance.

Jonas Alexander as James Sheppard in my film Renaissance: Prototype, good actor and good friend of mine. Starring in upcoming sci-fi drama pilot “The Coop”

This is not a post about where to get camera equipment or anything like that, I assume you either have your own camera and editing software or you rent them from uni or a bit of both… I don’t care how you do it just make a film.

In my opinion, one of the most annoying things you can do when you’re making a sci-fi film as a student is have a 5 minute film with a guy walking around a deserted countryside or city or something. The locations might be good but really that’s all it’s going to be. I have seen loads of films where there’s no real plot and it’s kind of just a lone man on a journey with some visual effects and some nice locations. You have to care about the characters otherwise it makes the film boring and you turn off about halfway through. Though visual effects and locations are nice they should just be a backdrop to the story.

Gareth Edward’s short film “Factory Farmed” I feel, is partly responsible for this, can I call it a movement? Watch the video above! I’m not slating this film by the way, I feel that it a brilliantly mesmerising film and has a lot of build up and tension with a very nice twist but it is the students that completely miss the point as to why that film is good that make the films that I am talking about. Gareth Edward’s guerrilla approach to film making is great and highly recommended for a student on no budget. This is showcased brilliantly in his film “Monsters”. But people wanting to replicate that style often miss the point and all I think they take from it is “right, gonna grab a camera and a friend and go walking out in the countryside and get some nice looking shots, it’ll be great!” What I’m trying to say is try and find something which makes your film interesting and unique.

So Tom, if you’re so bloody smart, what makes a film interesting and unique? I hear you ask. Well in my experience I’ve found that ideas come in different ways. But I think I can split them into my own three different sections. I feel like I’m writing for a book or something eurgh… you’ve read this much for advice so why not keep reading.

Concept

This usually comes first for me and I hate the fact that that happens. I come up with a world, place and rules but then there’s no plot then there’s no characters then I just end up with a world in my head that’s full of people and interesting quirks but no story so I throw the idea in the drawer for later, probably never to be seen again.

It’s great to have a world with it’s own rules and quirks to set your film in. This is part of the reason why I love sci-fi in general it can be anywhere or anything that you want whether it’s in a galaxy far far away or in the not too distant future. The more you build on a world the more believable it is. For “Renaissance” Prototype” I ended up writing pages and pages of story on how we got from the present (now… no wait… now… dammit catch up!) to the future time in which it’s set. I hardly used any of it but it was good to give the actors so they have an idea of the world their characters need to inhabit, that and it’s an infinitely useful thing to draw on to keep the script consistent. Anyway building a world is very important when making a sci-fi film because if the audience don’t believe it then that’s where your whole film falls apart.

Plot

The plot/story normally comes first to me and it’s normally the most refreshing to get because you can build the concept and the characters around it. I’ve found that basic stories are the best when you’re studying, maybe take an existing story and interpret it your own way. In my film “Surface” (Link at bottom of post) I took the idea of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden and thought myself “that would be cool if it was like all post apocalyptic and stuff.” as long as your characters and concept are interesting a simple plot goes a long way.

Ellie Beatson and Marshall Smith as Ella and Sam in my post apocalyptic film “Surface

Characters

Like Concept, I’m annoyed when this comes to my head first because then I’ve got a character or characters and nothing to do with them and no world for in which for them to inhabit. But again, like concept, these characters need to be very thought through to give your film that believability and make the film interesting. Characters can be interesting things to write in a sci-fi film because i’ve written a few characters which have purely been there to personify a theory or theme. Like in “Renaissance: Prototype” I wrote the character Rachel to really bring out the sense of family dysfunction in her interactions (or lack of) with her mother.

Okay so there’s four things….

Theory 

Theory is essential to making a great sci-fi film. The weird thing is, normally, for me this comes once I’ve got one or two of the above points down on paper. With “Renaissance: Prototype” the theory of memories making us feel human although we may not be was the key theory and theme but out of what I was writing in the script came a very cold detached family life. Technology is keeping this family apart. A few drafts after I realised that having a sub theme in which we can relate to made the film a whole lot more interesting.

The theory behind a sci-fi film is what makes it stand apart from the others. I’ve found that sci-fi can take us into worlds which answer the question “what if?” Minority Report – “What if we could stop murders before they happen?” Equilibrium (I hated that film but it’s just and example) – “What if we were forced to feel no emotion?” Logan’s Run – “What if we were killed when we reached the age of 40?” (Is it 40? not seen it since I was little). Asking questions like that give your film meaning and purpose.

Harrison Ford in Ridley Scott’s “Bladerunner” – one of my favourite films – massive inspiration when I was writing “Renaissance: Prototype”

Don’t be afraid, like I mentioned when I talked about plot, to “borrow” theories and interpret them in your own way. With “Renaissance: Prototype” I took the ideas and theories from Bladerunner and placed them in a suburban family situation, making it much more personal to me and more identifiable too.

Hopefully I’ve covered everything in those four points, might have to elaborate in a later post… maybe.

All these points will hopefully help you make a good sci-fi short. But now you need to consider budget, unless you’re rich it’s going to be impossible to make a huge effects heavy space opera. What I do when I approach writing any film is write it around the resources that I have at my disposal. As you’re writing it think about how you can make it. If you feel it’s impossible just write something else. This is really were creativity sparks as you’re making the most of what you have.

Me and the production crew on “Renaissance: Prototype” had to take our scripts to tutors to talk them through what we were going to do. The tutors had a few concerns. Maybe with the line “They get in the car and it drives off by itself” They looked at me confused and asked me how we’d achieve it. I just said “Well we put the actors in the passenger seat and don’t film the driver…” (You be the judge whether it worked well or not, although, to be honest, I think I’ve just ruined the “magic for you”).

This last point is possibly the most student orientated. You’ve not got much money, you’re learning, experiment and be creative (wow, cheesy). I’m looking mainly at the word count now. This post is a long one so I know I’ve wanted to write more so i’ll post that at a later date I reckon. Depends if people want more. Some of this stuff is very generic and can be applied to any genre of film. I’ll probably post more about the sci-fi conventions (theoretical conventions, not like a big expo…)

Anyways… Apologies for the spelling and grammar. Hope this has been informational for you, if not, leave feedback and i’ll post more of my experience and knowledge accordingly.

Here’s “Renaissance: Prototype”

Here’s “Surface”

p.s. I’m going to show you my latest sci-fi film. It was originally intended as a sequel to surface but after we shot it I realised it didn’t work out. I put it together as an experimental piece (a cop-out of sorts) but it just turned out to be the kind of film I was complaining about earlier, to be honest, the original cut was much more like the films I was complaining about. So in a way I kind of saved it…

Interview with Daniel Wood and David Armstrong about the music production and editing processes behind “Forgettable You”, part of the 9 Doors portmanteau horror film.

Pets can lighten up an employee newsletter.

Let’s try something new…Try drawing a cartoon character from your pet. It’s easy—just draw a quick sketch, add some bright color, exaggerate a feature, and add motion or gesture. You don’t have to be an animator to try this.

Have fun animating your dog, cat, pet turtle, hamster or pot belly pig. The character you create can be the new mascot for your animation project or a way to add a character to otherwise drab content. Then bring them to life with some gestures, thoughts and words. Add speech and thought bubbles to allow the animal to comment on the article or topic. Who knows? Your readers may even want to adopt your animated character as the new company mascot.

Then add the character to your corporate communication for a lighter feel. Of course, don’t try this on an annual report or a letter to the Board of Directors. An employee newsletter might be a great place to start.

In the sample above, I created these characters from two of my former dogs, Shoogie and Cotton, an akita-chow mix and a pure breed samoyad.

Lighten up and so will your audience!

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If you’d like to talk about an animated character illustration for a newsletter, poster, website or other communication, please drop an e-mail to hwdesign@west.net.

Filming – media course are engaging

Media is a creative course, which allows students to explore artistically different aspects of the wide spectrum, from TV production, to journalism. University courses are now able to give their students the essential tools and knowledge they need to be able to tackle the high demands which the media industry are now requiring.

The different forms of media are forever changing, and in this roller-coaster industry, it allows jobs that are perhaps not invented yet for future students.

Ciara, a first year media student at Coventry University thinks that the rapid development of new jobs gives her more of an opportunity. “There’s always going to be new jobs being made for new forms of media… There will be new websites, TV channels. 10 years ago, you wouldn’t have imagined online newspapers, but now it’s taking over print media”. Ciara has to learn different techniques and theories to which she can apply to different categories of media.

For media students, they may have their desired career in which they are aiming for. But by the time they finish their course, who knows. The job may not even be in existence anymore.

As the media is ever changing new jobs are appearing left, right and center. However, the jobs are becoming a hell of a lot more competitive and there could be 70 people going for one job. There has to be something that stands out from the crowd for you to get a job in media. So is all worth getting into that much debt for an industry you may not even get into? Many people think no and feel that media courses are taking the governments money.

Media Courses – Very broad allowing you to go into anything.

Rhys who attends Coventry University taking automotive design quoted that “media courses are taking funds from my course…buying new MacBook pros for the media students and giving them free printing credits, where as on my course I have to pay for everything myself”. Many feel that media is a course where students are there to get an ‘easy’ degree. But is this true?

I think media courses are just as essential as any other course. People dumb down media, perhaps because they don’t know what it exactly it. But how are you reading this? You wouldn’t be able to read this if it wasn’t for media. I think media is an essential part of our daily lives, and without it, we’d be lost. It may not be as important as doing a medical degree, but it is important within this technological age we live in.

In between two lungs it breath,
I cut it out fresh to give it to someone who is in need.
I held it in my chest with all my might,
And now you can hold on to it tight.
Cut it, pull it, put it in my hand,
Take it I can not withstand,
Take it put it on your stack
Take it and never come back.

(this is my own writing, no copy)
Love to hear your thoughts on this

So honestly, my project animations are so roughly sketchy it shouldn’t be bearable. As a result, I’m working on a new animation with some increased quality. Here is a run cycle animation for one of the participating characters. Done in Photoshop. and ofc all rights reserved.