It's been a while since I've had anything to report on my projects, mainly because I've been trying to earn money like a responsible adult for once. This past week I worked a day on a Scarlett Johansen film called "Under The Skin" where she plays a man eating alien (Species rip off????) followed by a 3 day stint on Emergency with Angela Griffin (Coronation Street). Two entirely different projects and experiences.
"Under The Skin" was one of those experiences that disheartened the hell out of me. I think they overestimated the amount of runners they needed and as a result there were many of us who were hardly used. I was one of them. Out of a 10 hour shift I must have done about 30 minutes of work. That was essentially locking off a street while filming was happening. The rest of the day I felt like a complete spare part. The only consolation was that I got to catch up with some peeps I met while working on World War Z. I also handed out a couple of cards here and there but if I wasn't getting paid for the day it would have been a complete waste of time.
Emergency with Angela Griffin kept me a little busier, even although there were periods of boredom here and there. I was basically a runner/driver with a bit of data wrangling. My main worry going in was the prospect of driving a Ford Galaxy about Glasgow for a few days. Let me put it this way, there were a good few stalls during the course of the shoot. Having said that by the final day I had the hang of it and was actually quite enjoying how the car handled. Parking was still a nightmare though. The data wrangling part I was fine with once the naming conventions were established. The first and the third days were fine and quite slow. The second on the other hand was a fucking nightmare. The low point was having to drop off rushes to a runner flying up from London, in shitty weather, while suffering from the migraine from hell. Me being me I didn't take any medicine because that's how we straight edgers roll. Then I had to return back to the production office at rush hour . Nightmare and a half.
I think I probably learned more about the emergency services than I did about the shoot. What these men and women have to deal with is fucking unreal and they deserve the utmost respect for their role in society. Unfortunately from what I hear they seldom get it. A lot of the call outs were a huge waste of their resources. Seeing playbacks of some of the footage made me feel really ashamed of some of the people I share a country with. Most of the call outs were alcohol related and their behaviour disgusts me. It further reaffirms that my stance on alcohol is correct. If you are looking for a way to cut spending on the NHS do something about the rampant alcohol problem in Scotland. I wonder how many people have died over the years because an ambulance didn't get to them quick enough because they were all out dealing with drunken barbarians or drug overdoses?
I look at the life of a paramedic and I feel so bad for them because a large amount of their time is spent dealing with the crap of humanity. It must really skew your outlook on the world. I definitely could not do their job, I'm jaded enough. Paramedics definitely deserve a tonne of respect for their dedication and for generally making a difference in peoples lives. They have to put up with a lot of shit from the public for very little pay and to be perfectly honest they deserve better. They should only be going out on calls for people who generally need help, people who respect their own health and respect the health of others. They deserve a more considerate public than they have. Well that's my feelings on it. I hope to be getting on with my own work soon. Until next time. Cheers.
Saturday 26 November 2011
Monday 31 October 2011
Ultimate Sports Day overview
I'm conscious it's been a while since my last self indulgent rant so I thought it would be a good time to make an entry. Part of the reason I've been quiet is because up until last week I have not really had much on other than editing a few Attica related videos to the point where I'm lacking inspiration. The other reason is that I've been going through a bit of a shit time with things at home and my personal life. Without going in to too much detail I've been forced to take a good long look at myself and make an attitude adjustment. This is something I'm struggling with but need to do for my own good. Anyway, up until last week things were pretty shitty.
So what happened last week to change things? Well I got a weeks worth of work on a CBBC show called Ultimate Sports Day. Now there's a little story to go along with this and it started a couple of weeks earlier when I got a phone call from a member of the production office asking if I wanted to come in for an interview about being a runner on a childrens TV show. I didn't know anything about it at this point but it was work and that's all I cared about. So I went to the office later in the day and met with the production manager who explained a bit about the show. It came across as a kids reality TV show. It sounded okay but the production manager explained to me that they were wanting a runner to stay at a youth hostel with the kids 24/7 for 6 days. I wasn't keen on this idea for several reasons but most of all was the money they were offering was woefully inadequate for what they wanted me to do. The way I look at life is that the most valuable thing you have is time. I was not about to stick myself in exile for 6 nights for what more or less slave labour wages. So initially I turned down the job. I really hated doing this but I felt that the production manager saw that I was inexperienced and was looking to take advantage.
So fast forward a week and I got an unexpected call from one of my former colleagues on World War Z. He asked if was available to which I replied, "Sure, what's the job?" He went on to explain the job and guess what... It was the same fucking job. I told him this and explained that I already turned it down. He told me that the person they got walked out on the job and they needed a replacement. The deal I was being offered was much more to my liking. Still not great but definitely worth my time. Plus I knew and respected a couple of people on the project. I also found out that all the locations were withing 15 miles of my home so I wasn't going to get in at ridiculous times. So all of this taken in to account I agreed to do the job and boy am I glad I did.
I had so much fun working on this project and I felt like I learned a lot too. There was a fair amount of down time which was a great opportunity to pick the brains of some of the more experienced crew members. I also got to know a couple of new runners and hit it off with them. Life is so much easier when you get on with the people you work with. The programme was filmed between several locations in Lanarkshire, Ravenscraig Leisure Centre, Strathclyde Park, Wishaw Sports Centre and the Time Capsule. There was a lot of driving around and since my car was handy I was given a bit more responsibility, basically being the last one to leave the locations and making sure all was well. Another thing I liked about it was that I got to meet Barry McGuigan who turned out to be a really nice guy and is still in amazing shape for his age. It's really cool to see guys give the finger to getting old.
Overall, Ultimate Sports Day was well worth doing. It distracted me from my problems and introduced me to some new friends and co-workers. I also got paid which is always a plus. Awesome!
So what happened last week to change things? Well I got a weeks worth of work on a CBBC show called Ultimate Sports Day. Now there's a little story to go along with this and it started a couple of weeks earlier when I got a phone call from a member of the production office asking if I wanted to come in for an interview about being a runner on a childrens TV show. I didn't know anything about it at this point but it was work and that's all I cared about. So I went to the office later in the day and met with the production manager who explained a bit about the show. It came across as a kids reality TV show. It sounded okay but the production manager explained to me that they were wanting a runner to stay at a youth hostel with the kids 24/7 for 6 days. I wasn't keen on this idea for several reasons but most of all was the money they were offering was woefully inadequate for what they wanted me to do. The way I look at life is that the most valuable thing you have is time. I was not about to stick myself in exile for 6 nights for what more or less slave labour wages. So initially I turned down the job. I really hated doing this but I felt that the production manager saw that I was inexperienced and was looking to take advantage.
So fast forward a week and I got an unexpected call from one of my former colleagues on World War Z. He asked if was available to which I replied, "Sure, what's the job?" He went on to explain the job and guess what... It was the same fucking job. I told him this and explained that I already turned it down. He told me that the person they got walked out on the job and they needed a replacement. The deal I was being offered was much more to my liking. Still not great but definitely worth my time. Plus I knew and respected a couple of people on the project. I also found out that all the locations were withing 15 miles of my home so I wasn't going to get in at ridiculous times. So all of this taken in to account I agreed to do the job and boy am I glad I did.
I had so much fun working on this project and I felt like I learned a lot too. There was a fair amount of down time which was a great opportunity to pick the brains of some of the more experienced crew members. I also got to know a couple of new runners and hit it off with them. Life is so much easier when you get on with the people you work with. The programme was filmed between several locations in Lanarkshire, Ravenscraig Leisure Centre, Strathclyde Park, Wishaw Sports Centre and the Time Capsule. There was a lot of driving around and since my car was handy I was given a bit more responsibility, basically being the last one to leave the locations and making sure all was well. Another thing I liked about it was that I got to meet Barry McGuigan who turned out to be a really nice guy and is still in amazing shape for his age. It's really cool to see guys give the finger to getting old.
Overall, Ultimate Sports Day was well worth doing. It distracted me from my problems and introduced me to some new friends and co-workers. I also got paid which is always a plus. Awesome!
Wednesday 28 September 2011
Classic Grand Shoot & A Couple of Fannies
So nearly two weeks have passed since Attica Rage's Road Dog live set at Classic Grand and I already have a rough edit in the can. The night came off more or less perfectly and featured the band at their absolute best and unlike Hammerfest it was all about the music. No frills, no skanky dancers smeared in make up and no pyro. The night is what it should have been, a 100% celebration of the music. Quite frankly if you missed this one you missed out.
From a filming perspective it came off perfectly despite the chaotic circumstances. What I mean by this is mainly technical problems, but also one of the two fannies mentioned in the title of this post. First of all the technical problems were annoying more than anything and at least one was of my doing. First of all three of my SD cards didn't work. I later found out that I was mis-sold them (thanks ebay) when I bought them. Since they were not the correct classification for DSLR use they were useless to me during the shoot. Now I could have saved myself a helluva lot of problems if I bloody well checked them when I got them. It's silly little mistakes like this that I obsess over and quite frankly I should be beyond making them at this point. Lesson learned, it won't happen again. The other technical problem is general overheating associated with DSLR use. Only one camera was badly effected so I can't complain too much. It could have been worse and quite frankly the footage captured was fantastic. So major praise has to go to Robb, Michael, Craig and Keith for their efforts. You done me proud lads.
Now on to the other problem. When I started this blog, I did it to keep track of my "career" and also maybe give a little insight, and hopefully encouragement to people thinking of going down a similar path. I'm not claiming to be a success by any means. I am struggling to make a living but I hope that my experiences can be something that people can learn from in some way. However, lately I've been getting more personal which is not really what this blog was intended to be about. I'm a critic of people who air their personal feelings and dirty laundry on Facebook etc. yet lately I find myself doing the same. My only excuse is that I've had a rough year but I it doesn't change the fact I'm a hypocrite. That being said the individual I am talking about here does really deserve to be named and shamed. I won't refer to him by name but his actions at the Classic Grand gig were inexcusable.
Basically during the Attica Rage set this individual thought it would be a good idea to head in and out of the pit area as he pleased, getting in the way of my camera guys, causing them to stop filming. First of all when a crew is filming you leave them the hell alone to get on with it. You wouldn't ask the beeb to stop filming at T in the Park. Why should a club gig be any different? Also when a band is playing you leave them to get on with it. You don't plonk yourself down in front of the lead singer and kick his monitor. I had 5 cameras around the stage and not one of them got in the bands way. That's what professionals do, become invisible. The straw that broke the camels back for me was the individual throwing a drink on stage at one of the band members. My crew had a few thousand pounds worth of equipment in operation at the time and much like Mogwai they don't like getting wet. After the gig, I pulled the individual in question up and explained to him that he was being a hindrance to my crew. He instantly went on the defensive and called my crew "a bunch of wankers" and went on to say, "don't you know who I am?". Let me tell you something if someone ever asks this question we are instantly in douche territory. The conversation concluded with him making over the top and outrageous threats. I left the scene of the crime, offended and ready to explode. Now in hind sight I regret pulling him up while he was drunk. Simply put an arsehole + alcohol = a complete arsehole. I'm sure it's Einstein who came up with this formulae. Does his drunken state absolve him of responsibility? No! If you can't handle it then don't do it. The real disheartening thing here is that all I needed from him was to understand my issue and apologise for his behaviour. If the roles were reversed I would do the same. I've been an arse numerous times to some of the people I care about the most but I'm at least able to acknowledge when I'm wrong and make things right. An apology and a handshake goes a long long way.
So from one fanny to another. And this one I will name and shame since I don't know him on a personal level. The individual in question is Phil Lewis of LA Guns. Why has he pissed me off? Well, he decided it would be a good idea to bully my wee bro and mum. From the beginning of the gig in Ivory Blacks he started eye balling my brother who was standing at the railing with my mum. I was a bit worried at this point but dismissed it as a one off occurrence. Shortly after some groupie skanks decided to come down front and bump and grind next to me. Anyone who knows me well should know that I hate drunk women trying to rub up against my dick. Yeah, I have personal space issues. Anyway I decided to move up the back because that wasn't my idea of a good time. Unfortunately, I left my mum and brother to fend for themselves while this moose continued her drunken jiggling. My mum gave her a telling off as the girl was constantly battering in to her. Then Phil Lewis chimes in. He referred to my mum as "Mrs", when she is only 4 years older than him. Just because his mind and fashion sense is stuck in the 80's it doesn't make him still 25. He said, "quite clearly you're not having fun so why don't you do us a favour and leave," and pointed at the skank and said, "she's cool, she's with us." Well if you want your fans to be out their faces and unable to remember your performance (which was shit by the way) then you are welcome to them. You won't be getting any more of my family's money.
In general it was just a crappy gig. The only highlight was that I had a good chat about wrestling with the guitarist from Komatoze, which was awesome. Man I could talk shite about wrestling for days. Off the strength of that conversation Komatoze will probably be seeing some of my money and support in the near future. They certainly are more deserving of it than a middle aged rocker who never had a prime. Enjoy playing to 40 people per night Phil, I've got a feeling you've got plenty more of it ahead. Now of the couple of Fannies I have to say I have more hate for him. At least fanny number one is successful and has earned his right to be arrogant. Phil on the other hand is just another sad, washed up rocker who is stuck in the past. He seems to forget what his role is. As an entertainer it is his job to provide entertainment for the people paying to see the band. It is that simple. He is not better than the fans. In actual fact he is nothing without them. When you turn round and bully people who are paying customers whether they are enjoying the performance or not you are essentially costing yourself money. And quite frankly if they are not enjoying the gig then it's not them that is at fault, it is YOU. I think that sums everything up. Rant over with... until next time.
From a filming perspective it came off perfectly despite the chaotic circumstances. What I mean by this is mainly technical problems, but also one of the two fannies mentioned in the title of this post. First of all the technical problems were annoying more than anything and at least one was of my doing. First of all three of my SD cards didn't work. I later found out that I was mis-sold them (thanks ebay) when I bought them. Since they were not the correct classification for DSLR use they were useless to me during the shoot. Now I could have saved myself a helluva lot of problems if I bloody well checked them when I got them. It's silly little mistakes like this that I obsess over and quite frankly I should be beyond making them at this point. Lesson learned, it won't happen again. The other technical problem is general overheating associated with DSLR use. Only one camera was badly effected so I can't complain too much. It could have been worse and quite frankly the footage captured was fantastic. So major praise has to go to Robb, Michael, Craig and Keith for their efforts. You done me proud lads.
Now on to the other problem. When I started this blog, I did it to keep track of my "career" and also maybe give a little insight, and hopefully encouragement to people thinking of going down a similar path. I'm not claiming to be a success by any means. I am struggling to make a living but I hope that my experiences can be something that people can learn from in some way. However, lately I've been getting more personal which is not really what this blog was intended to be about. I'm a critic of people who air their personal feelings and dirty laundry on Facebook etc. yet lately I find myself doing the same. My only excuse is that I've had a rough year but I it doesn't change the fact I'm a hypocrite. That being said the individual I am talking about here does really deserve to be named and shamed. I won't refer to him by name but his actions at the Classic Grand gig were inexcusable.
Basically during the Attica Rage set this individual thought it would be a good idea to head in and out of the pit area as he pleased, getting in the way of my camera guys, causing them to stop filming. First of all when a crew is filming you leave them the hell alone to get on with it. You wouldn't ask the beeb to stop filming at T in the Park. Why should a club gig be any different? Also when a band is playing you leave them to get on with it. You don't plonk yourself down in front of the lead singer and kick his monitor. I had 5 cameras around the stage and not one of them got in the bands way. That's what professionals do, become invisible. The straw that broke the camels back for me was the individual throwing a drink on stage at one of the band members. My crew had a few thousand pounds worth of equipment in operation at the time and much like Mogwai they don't like getting wet. After the gig, I pulled the individual in question up and explained to him that he was being a hindrance to my crew. He instantly went on the defensive and called my crew "a bunch of wankers" and went on to say, "don't you know who I am?". Let me tell you something if someone ever asks this question we are instantly in douche territory. The conversation concluded with him making over the top and outrageous threats. I left the scene of the crime, offended and ready to explode. Now in hind sight I regret pulling him up while he was drunk. Simply put an arsehole + alcohol = a complete arsehole. I'm sure it's Einstein who came up with this formulae. Does his drunken state absolve him of responsibility? No! If you can't handle it then don't do it. The real disheartening thing here is that all I needed from him was to understand my issue and apologise for his behaviour. If the roles were reversed I would do the same. I've been an arse numerous times to some of the people I care about the most but I'm at least able to acknowledge when I'm wrong and make things right. An apology and a handshake goes a long long way.
So from one fanny to another. And this one I will name and shame since I don't know him on a personal level. The individual in question is Phil Lewis of LA Guns. Why has he pissed me off? Well, he decided it would be a good idea to bully my wee bro and mum. From the beginning of the gig in Ivory Blacks he started eye balling my brother who was standing at the railing with my mum. I was a bit worried at this point but dismissed it as a one off occurrence. Shortly after some groupie skanks decided to come down front and bump and grind next to me. Anyone who knows me well should know that I hate drunk women trying to rub up against my dick. Yeah, I have personal space issues. Anyway I decided to move up the back because that wasn't my idea of a good time. Unfortunately, I left my mum and brother to fend for themselves while this moose continued her drunken jiggling. My mum gave her a telling off as the girl was constantly battering in to her. Then Phil Lewis chimes in. He referred to my mum as "Mrs", when she is only 4 years older than him. Just because his mind and fashion sense is stuck in the 80's it doesn't make him still 25. He said, "quite clearly you're not having fun so why don't you do us a favour and leave," and pointed at the skank and said, "she's cool, she's with us." Well if you want your fans to be out their faces and unable to remember your performance (which was shit by the way) then you are welcome to them. You won't be getting any more of my family's money.
In general it was just a crappy gig. The only highlight was that I had a good chat about wrestling with the guitarist from Komatoze, which was awesome. Man I could talk shite about wrestling for days. Off the strength of that conversation Komatoze will probably be seeing some of my money and support in the near future. They certainly are more deserving of it than a middle aged rocker who never had a prime. Enjoy playing to 40 people per night Phil, I've got a feeling you've got plenty more of it ahead. Now of the couple of Fannies I have to say I have more hate for him. At least fanny number one is successful and has earned his right to be arrogant. Phil on the other hand is just another sad, washed up rocker who is stuck in the past. He seems to forget what his role is. As an entertainer it is his job to provide entertainment for the people paying to see the band. It is that simple. He is not better than the fans. In actual fact he is nothing without them. When you turn round and bully people who are paying customers whether they are enjoying the performance or not you are essentially costing yourself money. And quite frankly if they are not enjoying the gig then it's not them that is at fault, it is YOU. I think that sums everything up. Rant over with... until next time.
Sunday 28 August 2011
World War Z shoot thoughts
At the time of writing this I have completed my commitments as a location runner on, "World War Z". Now I'm not really allowed to talk about the filming process in any great detail here which is just as well because I saw the inside of bathrooms more than I saw happenings on set. For the uninitiated the locations unit is to ensure that the the cast and crew are happy little bunnies. So if you work in locations you have to start before everyone else and finish after everyone else. This means very little sleep and a grumpy Colin. So before I go on I'd like to apologise to anyone I may have offended while I was working on this. I pissed a few people off, some even unintentionally due to early morning/mentally exhausted texting. That's what happens when you are getting 3-4 hours of sleep a night though. I'm a creature of habit and I miss the consistency of 8 hour sleeps every night.
Back on topic, so what exciting things did I do? Well my daily responsibility involved going around the businesses and assisting with deliveries and taking out the trash to designated pick up points. This was sold to me as a big responsibility, by the locations heads. I can smell B.S. a mile away and quite frankly would have respected them more if they said, "we know it's pish but someone's got to do it.". I've worked minimum wage most of my life I know the deal by now so don't insult my intelligence. Other duties included litter picks, water runs, lifting tables, chairs, fencing, etc. and my personal favourite... toilet cleaning. The lifting stuff I am fine with. In fact I never expected to actually feel in better shape after this job than before it. I feel great and look the most ripped I've been in years. The toilet cleaning was a real eye opener though. It was everything you'd expect but the real shocker was how fucking disgusting the ladies loos were. Oh my god! Ladies I'm only saying this once, toilets flush for a reason. I suggest you take advantage of that because I don't like fishing out jobby lumps with a toilet brush. Boke!
Anyway I might as well tell everyone what they want to know. Yes I saw Brad Pitt. He looked like the guy in the movies. Was I impressed? Nope. Perhaps I'm just a jaded old man, which I am, but the whole celebrity thing just doesn't do it for me. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Brad personally. I don't even know him. I do however have a real problem how media spin puts so much importance on guys like him. He is no better than me or you and contributes far less to society than our scientists and doctors yet media manipulation convinces us that we should be fascinated by him. Our priorities are totally all wrong. The stories I kept reading on my 30 minutes a day down time were full of inaccuracies and some were downright false. Then there were the paps. These people are the vermin of the photographic world, with their lenses that looked like WMD's and their fucking attitude. The fact that they are paid many times what I made for taking shitty photos of a bloke who pretends for a living is downright offensive to me. That's the world we live in, I guess.
Okay so I think I have bitched enough. Now the good parts of the experience. First of all catering was fucking awesome. I ate so much good shit. Chicken, beef, pork, even shark all tasted amazing. If only I actually had the time to savour the food properly. 20 minute lunches just don't work for me. The craft area (or as I like to call it, the magic grotto) was also awesome. Smoothies, soft drinks, panini's, sweeties. I always made sure that I was in the vicinity of it on a regular basis. The amount of swag I came away with was insane. I even went to the lengths of making trips with a black bin bag to stock up home base for after the final day of filming. I was popular with the boys that day. Unfortunately night shift security got their grubby mitts in and ravaged it over night. Bastards.
A tonne of funny moments happened over the course of the 3 weeks but my favorite had to be my encounter with the italian stallion. I was checking passes at home base when this confused looking balding man tried to casually walk by. He claimed to be an "actor" and said, "I'm in movie". I told him that the building was for extras and that he is in the wrong place. He kept insisting so I went and got one of the AD's to deal with the dude. He kept rambling on about being an "actor" and that he was friends with an actor in the film. They ask him to write down who the actor is because his English was very broken. He wrote down Angelina Jolie. RUMBLED! The AD's told him that she wasn't in the film and asked him to leave. The AD's left and I continued to stand guard, trying not to laugh. The guy stared on, confused, before storming off angry. I then joined the extras who were already buckled over in laughter. It's crazy the lengths some dirty wee men will go to in order to have a perv on a "beautiful person"
The most important positive of the whole experience was the people. The team of runners we had were a great bunch of guys and by the end we were an awesome team. Some of the location assistants and catering folk were also bang on and I'd work with them any time. I'd like to give a shout out to the guys and wish them all the best in the future and I hope that they keep in touch. If you want to hang out in the next couple of weeks there is this gig on the 16th at the Classic Grand with a band I seldom mention, called Attica Rage. Unsurprisingly I'll be filming them. I hope to see as many of you as possible there and hopefully we can catch up at the after party.
As well as the runners and some of the location assistants I also got along with most of the day time security. I'd often grab them a coffee or share my swag that I plundered from the magic grotto. There was one in particular I feel like I hit it off with and took a fancy to. She was the cutest most unlikely looking security guard I've ever seen. A really friendly personality and an interesting person too. Since pretty much any female I am attracted to reduces me to the level of a silly wee boy I pulled out iota of charm I possess and amped up the niceness and brought her stuff from craft whenever I was passing by. I even bought her lunch when she was through on her day off. Unfortunately, I kind of fucked up with some of the fore-mentioned early morning texting and have probably ruined any chance of their being any more than just friendship between us. It's a shame but I never learn to keep my insecurities to myself. You know as cheesy as it sounds the 'italian stallion' and everyone else can have Angelina, I'd rather have my wee security guard. It's a shame I won't.
Life goes on, as they say. Time to move forward and get ready for the Attica gig in under 2 weeks.
Back on topic, so what exciting things did I do? Well my daily responsibility involved going around the businesses and assisting with deliveries and taking out the trash to designated pick up points. This was sold to me as a big responsibility, by the locations heads. I can smell B.S. a mile away and quite frankly would have respected them more if they said, "we know it's pish but someone's got to do it.". I've worked minimum wage most of my life I know the deal by now so don't insult my intelligence. Other duties included litter picks, water runs, lifting tables, chairs, fencing, etc. and my personal favourite... toilet cleaning. The lifting stuff I am fine with. In fact I never expected to actually feel in better shape after this job than before it. I feel great and look the most ripped I've been in years. The toilet cleaning was a real eye opener though. It was everything you'd expect but the real shocker was how fucking disgusting the ladies loos were. Oh my god! Ladies I'm only saying this once, toilets flush for a reason. I suggest you take advantage of that because I don't like fishing out jobby lumps with a toilet brush. Boke!
Anyway I might as well tell everyone what they want to know. Yes I saw Brad Pitt. He looked like the guy in the movies. Was I impressed? Nope. Perhaps I'm just a jaded old man, which I am, but the whole celebrity thing just doesn't do it for me. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Brad personally. I don't even know him. I do however have a real problem how media spin puts so much importance on guys like him. He is no better than me or you and contributes far less to society than our scientists and doctors yet media manipulation convinces us that we should be fascinated by him. Our priorities are totally all wrong. The stories I kept reading on my 30 minutes a day down time were full of inaccuracies and some were downright false. Then there were the paps. These people are the vermin of the photographic world, with their lenses that looked like WMD's and their fucking attitude. The fact that they are paid many times what I made for taking shitty photos of a bloke who pretends for a living is downright offensive to me. That's the world we live in, I guess.
Okay so I think I have bitched enough. Now the good parts of the experience. First of all catering was fucking awesome. I ate so much good shit. Chicken, beef, pork, even shark all tasted amazing. If only I actually had the time to savour the food properly. 20 minute lunches just don't work for me. The craft area (or as I like to call it, the magic grotto) was also awesome. Smoothies, soft drinks, panini's, sweeties. I always made sure that I was in the vicinity of it on a regular basis. The amount of swag I came away with was insane. I even went to the lengths of making trips with a black bin bag to stock up home base for after the final day of filming. I was popular with the boys that day. Unfortunately night shift security got their grubby mitts in and ravaged it over night. Bastards.
A tonne of funny moments happened over the course of the 3 weeks but my favorite had to be my encounter with the italian stallion. I was checking passes at home base when this confused looking balding man tried to casually walk by. He claimed to be an "actor" and said, "I'm in movie". I told him that the building was for extras and that he is in the wrong place. He kept insisting so I went and got one of the AD's to deal with the dude. He kept rambling on about being an "actor" and that he was friends with an actor in the film. They ask him to write down who the actor is because his English was very broken. He wrote down Angelina Jolie. RUMBLED! The AD's told him that she wasn't in the film and asked him to leave. The AD's left and I continued to stand guard, trying not to laugh. The guy stared on, confused, before storming off angry. I then joined the extras who were already buckled over in laughter. It's crazy the lengths some dirty wee men will go to in order to have a perv on a "beautiful person"
The most important positive of the whole experience was the people. The team of runners we had were a great bunch of guys and by the end we were an awesome team. Some of the location assistants and catering folk were also bang on and I'd work with them any time. I'd like to give a shout out to the guys and wish them all the best in the future and I hope that they keep in touch. If you want to hang out in the next couple of weeks there is this gig on the 16th at the Classic Grand with a band I seldom mention, called Attica Rage. Unsurprisingly I'll be filming them. I hope to see as many of you as possible there and hopefully we can catch up at the after party.
As well as the runners and some of the location assistants I also got along with most of the day time security. I'd often grab them a coffee or share my swag that I plundered from the magic grotto. There was one in particular I feel like I hit it off with and took a fancy to. She was the cutest most unlikely looking security guard I've ever seen. A really friendly personality and an interesting person too. Since pretty much any female I am attracted to reduces me to the level of a silly wee boy I pulled out iota of charm I possess and amped up the niceness and brought her stuff from craft whenever I was passing by. I even bought her lunch when she was through on her day off. Unfortunately, I kind of fucked up with some of the fore-mentioned early morning texting and have probably ruined any chance of their being any more than just friendship between us. It's a shame but I never learn to keep my insecurities to myself. You know as cheesy as it sounds the 'italian stallion' and everyone else can have Angelina, I'd rather have my wee security guard. It's a shame I won't.
Life goes on, as they say. Time to move forward and get ready for the Attica gig in under 2 weeks.
Monday 22 August 2011
Hammerfest 4 promo video
Since the Hammerfest 4 website has now gone live. I guess it's time to talk about the video that I created for the festival. I've included the link to it below but it is also available to view on the official website www.hammerfest.co.uk . This video came about off the back of the video I produced for Hard Rock Hell 5. I was given the theme of Thor to work with and was told to get a little creative with it. So I came up with the plan of having Thor kind of wash up on the beach and walk along the coast until he spots the Hammerfest flag and hoists his hammer and lets out a roar then bridge in to all the cool stuff you'd expect from a festival promo video. In comparison to last years video I think I have done a much better job.
So with my plan in place I went to the festival with the Attica Rage gang and I began work as well as filming for the final piece of the documentary. You see ladies, some of us men can multi-task too. I met with my Thor on the Friday morning, Aiden Vauls from the Area 51 performance group, and went down to the beach. The good news was it wasn't raining. The bad news was it was blindingly sunny. I was using a Canon 550D to film and could hardly see the LCD, and had forgot my viewfinder, so I was filming blind a large part of the time. I got what I needed but there were a lot of shots I felt were un-useable and I was kind of disappointed with the footage.
I was also unhappy with the vox pops. I'm not blaming my friends, Suz and Emy, who were interviewing as they did what I asked. They had to put up with some generally annoying drunks giving shit answers. Emy also had to put up with some drunk silly wee boys sleazily hitting on her and the like. This pissed me off big time. I am old school through and through, and this behavior annoys me. If I've said it once I've said it a million times, alcohol does not absolve you of responsibility for your own behavior. If you have a problem with that, tough, your a dick. I'm right. Returning from that tangent, on the whole all of the good vox pops were used in the video. Usually I'd like more than I need but sometimes you've got to make do. Thanks again to Suz and Emy for sparing their time to help me out and putting up with the odd twat.
The gig footage always takes care of itself at these things. I've filmed bands live long enough now to know what works and what doesn't. I have to say though I feel that the Hard Rock Hell band footage was more entertaining to watch by the sheer fact that the bands were visually more impressive. With the exceptions of Turisas and Sabaton the bands really didn't measure up. I'm amazed Sylosis got the crowd moving the way they did. They showed very little movement and the singer was typical screamo pish. Either I'm old and out of touch or silly drunk little boys are way too easily impressed. They are the metal equivalent of Michael Bay fans.
So I returned home and got editing. I had plenty of time to get this one done so I wanted to really polish it. I got the basic structure down and then got the Hammerfest peeps to send the photoshop file for the poster. I used some of this really great artwork as the basis for producing the opening title and the closing one. I took the bits I wanted and created water, sky, fire and lightning effects and composited them all together. For the opening I tried to make it look like a supernatural vortex kind of thing like Thor travelling from Asgard. For the end, I tried to mimic the poster but also make it animated. These two sections required the most work. Most of what I do in After Effects is from scratch. Luckily there are plenty of great tutorials online.
The final piece of the puzzle was the opening with Thor. I cut all of the beach footage and just concentrated on shots from a grassy hill located near the coast. Boy I'm glad I decided to shoot that. It pays to have a back up. I still had a problem though. The sunny daytime footage didn't go stylistically with the opening and ending compositions. To solve this I decided to break the rules. I did a day to night effect. Now day tonight effects work best in clear, overcast conditions. I wasn't that fortunate. With a bit of tinkering around I noticed a light outline effect happening around scenery and Thor in shots where the sky was visible. It actually looked pretty cool so I decided to make it a feature of the video. Hey, if you can't be good be lucky. All that was left was to add sound effects a lightning strike and some motion blurring to give it that other worldly feel. There was one more touch that was needed. I had to find a decent way to start the video because opening on Thor seemed a bit abrupt. The solution presented itself when John Davis (HRH management) made a request. I think he said something like, "It could use some runes. I love that shit.". Initially I wasn't sure where I could include them without it seeming forced in. With a bit of trial and error I found that if I faded some ruinic up at the beginning along with the date it would ease in the video and set the scene nicely. Incidentally the runic is just the date again. Totally lacking in creativity there. Overall I'm happy with the video, especially after the disappointing source material I had to work from. It seems HRH and Hammerfest crew like it too as I've already been offered to do the promo video for Hard Rock Hell 6. I'm unsure whether I want to do it at this time but being asked right off the bat if I wanted to do it is good for the old confidence. I might make a living out of this video work after all. So I'll leave it at that for this entry. I'll finish off with a little quiz to test the nerdiness of those reading this.
This video contains samples taken from 2 video games from the late 80's/ early 90's. Can you tell me which ones? Here are some clues. 1. They were both on the Commodore Amiga 2. One starts with an S and finishes with a V. The other starts with an M and finishes with an E. 3. One is four letters and one is nine letters. The winner gets the excelent prize of a romantic dinner with me at one of Glasgows finest restaurants. Good luck to all. Personally I'm pulling for Big C.
So with my plan in place I went to the festival with the Attica Rage gang and I began work as well as filming for the final piece of the documentary. You see ladies, some of us men can multi-task too. I met with my Thor on the Friday morning, Aiden Vauls from the Area 51 performance group, and went down to the beach. The good news was it wasn't raining. The bad news was it was blindingly sunny. I was using a Canon 550D to film and could hardly see the LCD, and had forgot my viewfinder, so I was filming blind a large part of the time. I got what I needed but there were a lot of shots I felt were un-useable and I was kind of disappointed with the footage.
I was also unhappy with the vox pops. I'm not blaming my friends, Suz and Emy, who were interviewing as they did what I asked. They had to put up with some generally annoying drunks giving shit answers. Emy also had to put up with some drunk silly wee boys sleazily hitting on her and the like. This pissed me off big time. I am old school through and through, and this behavior annoys me. If I've said it once I've said it a million times, alcohol does not absolve you of responsibility for your own behavior. If you have a problem with that, tough, your a dick. I'm right. Returning from that tangent, on the whole all of the good vox pops were used in the video. Usually I'd like more than I need but sometimes you've got to make do. Thanks again to Suz and Emy for sparing their time to help me out and putting up with the odd twat.
The gig footage always takes care of itself at these things. I've filmed bands live long enough now to know what works and what doesn't. I have to say though I feel that the Hard Rock Hell band footage was more entertaining to watch by the sheer fact that the bands were visually more impressive. With the exceptions of Turisas and Sabaton the bands really didn't measure up. I'm amazed Sylosis got the crowd moving the way they did. They showed very little movement and the singer was typical screamo pish. Either I'm old and out of touch or silly drunk little boys are way too easily impressed. They are the metal equivalent of Michael Bay fans.
So I returned home and got editing. I had plenty of time to get this one done so I wanted to really polish it. I got the basic structure down and then got the Hammerfest peeps to send the photoshop file for the poster. I used some of this really great artwork as the basis for producing the opening title and the closing one. I took the bits I wanted and created water, sky, fire and lightning effects and composited them all together. For the opening I tried to make it look like a supernatural vortex kind of thing like Thor travelling from Asgard. For the end, I tried to mimic the poster but also make it animated. These two sections required the most work. Most of what I do in After Effects is from scratch. Luckily there are plenty of great tutorials online.
The final piece of the puzzle was the opening with Thor. I cut all of the beach footage and just concentrated on shots from a grassy hill located near the coast. Boy I'm glad I decided to shoot that. It pays to have a back up. I still had a problem though. The sunny daytime footage didn't go stylistically with the opening and ending compositions. To solve this I decided to break the rules. I did a day to night effect. Now day tonight effects work best in clear, overcast conditions. I wasn't that fortunate. With a bit of tinkering around I noticed a light outline effect happening around scenery and Thor in shots where the sky was visible. It actually looked pretty cool so I decided to make it a feature of the video. Hey, if you can't be good be lucky. All that was left was to add sound effects a lightning strike and some motion blurring to give it that other worldly feel. There was one more touch that was needed. I had to find a decent way to start the video because opening on Thor seemed a bit abrupt. The solution presented itself when John Davis (HRH management) made a request. I think he said something like, "It could use some runes. I love that shit.". Initially I wasn't sure where I could include them without it seeming forced in. With a bit of trial and error I found that if I faded some ruinic up at the beginning along with the date it would ease in the video and set the scene nicely. Incidentally the runic is just the date again. Totally lacking in creativity there. Overall I'm happy with the video, especially after the disappointing source material I had to work from. It seems HRH and Hammerfest crew like it too as I've already been offered to do the promo video for Hard Rock Hell 6. I'm unsure whether I want to do it at this time but being asked right off the bat if I wanted to do it is good for the old confidence. I might make a living out of this video work after all. So I'll leave it at that for this entry. I'll finish off with a little quiz to test the nerdiness of those reading this.
This video contains samples taken from 2 video games from the late 80's/ early 90's. Can you tell me which ones? Here are some clues. 1. They were both on the Commodore Amiga 2. One starts with an S and finishes with a V. The other starts with an M and finishes with an E. 3. One is four letters and one is nine letters. The winner gets the excelent prize of a romantic dinner with me at one of Glasgows finest restaurants. Good luck to all. Personally I'm pulling for Big C.
Wednesday 27 July 2011
Healthy Valleys corporate video thoughts
At the time of writing this I have not long returned from handing over my latest project (and invoice). The project involved producing a 5 minute corporate video for a charity called Healthy Valleys. It is a partially government funded institution providing support for individuals dealing with stress and related other related issues. I spent a couple of days down there interviewing clients and staff, and also collecting footage of goings on to help promote their My Way stress management programme. The purpose of the video was to show their value in the community to potential funders. So if it goes down well they'll get their funding renewed/increased. No pressure then!
The deadline was tighter than I would have liked but when I'm being paid good money for a job I have absolutely no right to complain. I say good money because this is probably the first time I've been paid what I feel I'm worth. Hopefully it won't be the last. What I enjoyed about this job was that not only did I help create something that will be used for a good cause but I'm also making a decent profit. Who says you can't have your cake and eat it?... Actually, usually me, but in this instance I'm wrong. Unfortunately I'll be unable to show the video unless Healthy Valleys chooses to display it on their site. This is fair enough, given the nature of the content the call should be their's whether or not to put it online.
Like I said the experience was one of the more pleasant experiences while filming. The fact that the weather was awesome too certainly helped. It was good to see how the staff deal with the clients. They were supportive without being patronising which is something that some doctors and nurses struggle to do. Being around people who have been through a rough spell and came out the other end was also quite inspiring too. It was an interesting experience that certainly beats a "normal" 9 till 5 job.
I was worried about a few things while making this. First and foremost being the the interviews. I'm not famous for my sensitivity in fact I'm famous for being exactly the opposite. Despite this I think I did quite well during the interviews. Getting people to open up and come off as natural is really difficult and is something I am continuously working on. Again, I did good. Once I had enough interview material the pressure was off and all I had to do was collect cut away footage. I managed to get most of what I needed while I was at Healthy Valleys. During the edit I felt I needed some shots of physical activity. Healthy Valleys was off for a week so I was stuck. So what does every boy do when he is stuck? He runs to mummy. I convinced my mum to allow herself to be filmed walking around Millheugh. So I guess I have to thank her now. Errr... thanks mum, I guess. Her ego is going to be out of control after reading this. So from there I had a pretty straight forward edit to get what was required. I think there was around 3 cuts in total. Not bad.
So what's next? Well right now I'm not working on anything other than the Attica film so I think it is a good time to start work on another documentary. It is going to be on the subject of alternative modelling (basically anything that isn't catwalk or fashion). It is going to be another chance for me to be presenting on camera so it's something I'm approaching with excitment and dread in equal doses. I think that is me covered everything. Until next self indulgent blog, cheers.
The deadline was tighter than I would have liked but when I'm being paid good money for a job I have absolutely no right to complain. I say good money because this is probably the first time I've been paid what I feel I'm worth. Hopefully it won't be the last. What I enjoyed about this job was that not only did I help create something that will be used for a good cause but I'm also making a decent profit. Who says you can't have your cake and eat it?... Actually, usually me, but in this instance I'm wrong. Unfortunately I'll be unable to show the video unless Healthy Valleys chooses to display it on their site. This is fair enough, given the nature of the content the call should be their's whether or not to put it online.
Like I said the experience was one of the more pleasant experiences while filming. The fact that the weather was awesome too certainly helped. It was good to see how the staff deal with the clients. They were supportive without being patronising which is something that some doctors and nurses struggle to do. Being around people who have been through a rough spell and came out the other end was also quite inspiring too. It was an interesting experience that certainly beats a "normal" 9 till 5 job.
I was worried about a few things while making this. First and foremost being the the interviews. I'm not famous for my sensitivity in fact I'm famous for being exactly the opposite. Despite this I think I did quite well during the interviews. Getting people to open up and come off as natural is really difficult and is something I am continuously working on. Again, I did good. Once I had enough interview material the pressure was off and all I had to do was collect cut away footage. I managed to get most of what I needed while I was at Healthy Valleys. During the edit I felt I needed some shots of physical activity. Healthy Valleys was off for a week so I was stuck. So what does every boy do when he is stuck? He runs to mummy. I convinced my mum to allow herself to be filmed walking around Millheugh. So I guess I have to thank her now. Errr... thanks mum, I guess. Her ego is going to be out of control after reading this. So from there I had a pretty straight forward edit to get what was required. I think there was around 3 cuts in total. Not bad.
So what's next? Well right now I'm not working on anything other than the Attica film so I think it is a good time to start work on another documentary. It is going to be on the subject of alternative modelling (basically anything that isn't catwalk or fashion). It is going to be another chance for me to be presenting on camera so it's something I'm approaching with excitment and dread in equal doses. I think that is me covered everything. Until next self indulgent blog, cheers.
Wednesday 13 July 2011
MMA documentary and Happy Valleys
I thought it was about time to finally get my fourth year uni film online. It is a film on the world of mixed martial arts/ cage fighting in Scotland.I chose to make a documentary on this topic because it is sport I'm in to and I knew the owner of The Griphouse gym pretty well. Basically it was easy and convenient enough for me to have plenty of other stuff on the go and still pass my course. I met the Griphouse owner, Guy Ramsay, while filming a segment for the Attica documentary. While there I saw the potential for a possible film and asked Guy if he was interested. I also offered to film a Muay Thai show he was promoting. I liked Guy instantly, basically because he came across as intelligent and could explain the role of combat sports in society. I knew he'd have to be a large part in the film and in my opinion he's the best thing about it.
The film is the first time I've ever presented on camera. I think it shows especially early on. What do you expect from someone who is really camera shy? I've never liked being the center of attention hence why in the past I've gravitated towards being behind the camera. It's a hold over from being very shy as a child which is something that lessens with age but I think there'll always be a wee bit of it in there. For me making this films was the first step in over coming camera shyness. In that regard I think it worked. By the end of filming I was less self conscious and felt more relaxed. Hopefully I will be better in my next time around. Click below if you want to witness and have a laugh at my complete unfitness.
For the next couple of weeks I am working on a corporate video for Healthy Valleys http://www.healthyvalleys.org.uk. They are a charity in rural South Lanarkshire trying to improve the physical and metal health of people who need help. I've already filmed several interviews with some of their clients and have also shot a fair bit of activity footage. This is another great opportunity and is a different kind of video than what I'm used to. The biggest challenge is the tight deadline. It has to be done in 2 weeks. Difficult but do-able.
The film is the first time I've ever presented on camera. I think it shows especially early on. What do you expect from someone who is really camera shy? I've never liked being the center of attention hence why in the past I've gravitated towards being behind the camera. It's a hold over from being very shy as a child which is something that lessens with age but I think there'll always be a wee bit of it in there. For me making this films was the first step in over coming camera shyness. In that regard I think it worked. By the end of filming I was less self conscious and felt more relaxed. Hopefully I will be better in my next time around. Click below if you want to witness and have a laugh at my complete unfitness.
For the next couple of weeks I am working on a corporate video for Healthy Valleys http://www.healthyvalleys.org.uk. They are a charity in rural South Lanarkshire trying to improve the physical and metal health of people who need help. I've already filmed several interviews with some of their clients and have also shot a fair bit of activity footage. This is another great opportunity and is a different kind of video than what I'm used to. The biggest challenge is the tight deadline. It has to be done in 2 weeks. Difficult but do-able.
Friday 1 July 2011
MEGA RANT TIME
I apologise for this post as it is in no way related to my film and video work. However, I really need to vent because I have just witnessed something that has really pissed me off. I make no bones about it I am an angry man a good 75% of the time and it is not because of any one thing in particular but a combination of things that get my blood boiling. One of these things is UK politics and this little video pretty much sums up what I mean. So please have a watch as Ed Miliband some how manages to say nothing in 2 and a half minutes.
Okay lets cut through the crap. Basically Ed Miliband does not support the strikes and he believes that the government has acted in a "provocative manner". His solution is to enter in to talks. Okay! I tell you what would be nice. How about the leader of the Labour movement actually doing some leading like the interviewer asks. Labour is still in part funded by trade unions and is supposed to represent the working class. Therefore surely Ed should be trying to come up with an alternative solution besides saying, "can't we all just get along?". I'm not saying he should be supporting day strikes but at least have the conviction to suggest how to progress. Instead, Ed rambles on bumbling and repeating himself like a Hugh Grant character. This is the best the Labour Party has to offer. Really? REALLY? Good luck next election.
My stance on the whole thing is that the public sector workers are well within their right to strike. In fact I don't think they are doing enough. If they want to take on the government they need to strike properly. None of this day strike nonsense. Hell a days strike at the end of the school term. Everyone knows the last couple of weeks of the school term are complete balls. My last week of every term usually involved me going on holiday a couple of days early. At Christmas as soon as the word church was mentioned I was out of there. I'm sorry guys if you're going to have me mime hymns and tell me fairy stories instead of educate me then I'm outta there. Sorry I got side tracked. My point is that their strike at this time means very little. Most kids are already playing truant anyway. If the teachers wanted the governments attention they need longer term strikes. I'm sure Cameron and Loki...er...I mean Clegg would take notice then. It's certainly better than Miliband's do nothing and hope everything works itself out approach.
The bigger issue here is the state of British politics. Labour the Conservatives and the Liberal Hypocrites are all virtually identical. To use a soft drinks metaphor (made famous by Jesse Ventura) what we have is a choice between Pepsi, and Cola, and ASDA's own brand. They are all virtually the same but which one you prefer depends on your tastes. It is a sad realization that in my life time our nation has become a democracy with no choice. What a complete contradiction. Having said that unlike the peeps south of the border I have a choice. With the SNP in Hollyrood there is a very real opportunity that an independence referendum will be held. This is an issue that I've flip flopped about over the years but now I'm 100% for it. At least the SNP have a leader with an ounce of leadership skills and charisma.
For my friends south of the border, I feel for ya. Having said that we had a chance to make UK politics more democratic and guess what we didn't take it. I'm talking about the voting reform that took place on the same day as the Scottish elections. I voted for it so I'm not taking any of the blame for that one. I'm kind of left scratching my head about who to vote for next election. I can't vote for any of the main parties or the three headed monster as I like to call them. Minority and extremist parties tend to be single minded in their policies. The other choice is an independent should one run in my constituency but that is not guaranteed. The only other viable option is for me to spoil my paper. Contrary to what candidates would have you believe, spoiling your paper is not a wasted vote. They are counted therefore it is a valid statement by the individual. You are basically saying there is no one who represents me on this list. I happen to agree with those who think it is a good idea to actually a box for none of above. This means that by ticking the box you are formally declaring that you are not represented by any of the candidates. If enough people vote this way then it identifies a deficiency in the electoral system that will have to be addressed. It's the Brewster's Millions approach to politics (video below). I know it is a comedy but in all great comedy you can find truth. If you don't believe me Youtube Bill Hicks or George Carlin.
This clip from Brewster's Millions is so on the money it is scary. It really highlights that when you vote for a politician you're not voting for policies, you are voting for a carefully created image. Wouldn't it be cool to see a guy running who dressed in casual clothes though. Someone who cut through all the bullshit and told you the truth? I wouldn't even care about their policies. They'd have my vote by virtue of them going out there and putting themselves on the line. It's certainly more exciting than the Ed Miliband 2000. Hmmm... Actually now that I think about it maybe that interviewer sent him in to an infinite loop. Whatever they do don't send them to Microsoft for repairs. They can't even make console that works beyond 6 months. Thats me for now. Hopefully next time I'll actually have some filming to discuss.
Okay lets cut through the crap. Basically Ed Miliband does not support the strikes and he believes that the government has acted in a "provocative manner". His solution is to enter in to talks. Okay! I tell you what would be nice. How about the leader of the Labour movement actually doing some leading like the interviewer asks. Labour is still in part funded by trade unions and is supposed to represent the working class. Therefore surely Ed should be trying to come up with an alternative solution besides saying, "can't we all just get along?". I'm not saying he should be supporting day strikes but at least have the conviction to suggest how to progress. Instead, Ed rambles on bumbling and repeating himself like a Hugh Grant character. This is the best the Labour Party has to offer. Really? REALLY? Good luck next election.
My stance on the whole thing is that the public sector workers are well within their right to strike. In fact I don't think they are doing enough. If they want to take on the government they need to strike properly. None of this day strike nonsense. Hell a days strike at the end of the school term. Everyone knows the last couple of weeks of the school term are complete balls. My last week of every term usually involved me going on holiday a couple of days early. At Christmas as soon as the word church was mentioned I was out of there. I'm sorry guys if you're going to have me mime hymns and tell me fairy stories instead of educate me then I'm outta there. Sorry I got side tracked. My point is that their strike at this time means very little. Most kids are already playing truant anyway. If the teachers wanted the governments attention they need longer term strikes. I'm sure Cameron and Loki...er...I mean Clegg would take notice then. It's certainly better than Miliband's do nothing and hope everything works itself out approach.
The bigger issue here is the state of British politics. Labour the Conservatives and the Liberal Hypocrites are all virtually identical. To use a soft drinks metaphor (made famous by Jesse Ventura) what we have is a choice between Pepsi, and Cola, and ASDA's own brand. They are all virtually the same but which one you prefer depends on your tastes. It is a sad realization that in my life time our nation has become a democracy with no choice. What a complete contradiction. Having said that unlike the peeps south of the border I have a choice. With the SNP in Hollyrood there is a very real opportunity that an independence referendum will be held. This is an issue that I've flip flopped about over the years but now I'm 100% for it. At least the SNP have a leader with an ounce of leadership skills and charisma.
For my friends south of the border, I feel for ya. Having said that we had a chance to make UK politics more democratic and guess what we didn't take it. I'm talking about the voting reform that took place on the same day as the Scottish elections. I voted for it so I'm not taking any of the blame for that one. I'm kind of left scratching my head about who to vote for next election. I can't vote for any of the main parties or the three headed monster as I like to call them. Minority and extremist parties tend to be single minded in their policies. The other choice is an independent should one run in my constituency but that is not guaranteed. The only other viable option is for me to spoil my paper. Contrary to what candidates would have you believe, spoiling your paper is not a wasted vote. They are counted therefore it is a valid statement by the individual. You are basically saying there is no one who represents me on this list. I happen to agree with those who think it is a good idea to actually a box for none of above. This means that by ticking the box you are formally declaring that you are not represented by any of the candidates. If enough people vote this way then it identifies a deficiency in the electoral system that will have to be addressed. It's the Brewster's Millions approach to politics (video below). I know it is a comedy but in all great comedy you can find truth. If you don't believe me Youtube Bill Hicks or George Carlin.
This clip from Brewster's Millions is so on the money it is scary. It really highlights that when you vote for a politician you're not voting for policies, you are voting for a carefully created image. Wouldn't it be cool to see a guy running who dressed in casual clothes though. Someone who cut through all the bullshit and told you the truth? I wouldn't even care about their policies. They'd have my vote by virtue of them going out there and putting themselves on the line. It's certainly more exciting than the Ed Miliband 2000. Hmmm... Actually now that I think about it maybe that interviewer sent him in to an infinite loop. Whatever they do don't send them to Microsoft for repairs. They can't even make console that works beyond 6 months. Thats me for now. Hopefully next time I'll actually have some filming to discuss.
Monday 27 June 2011
Nutmeg Shoot video
I'm feeling guilty about having a lazy night in playing Angry Birds so I figured I may as well post a quick update on things. Unexpectedly I've done a new video since my last post. How did this come about? Well like most things a combination of chance and who you know. Before I begin the whole story I'd like to thank Emy for her recommendation. I owe you a drink and a nervous hug (sorry, not big on hugging). Okay enough gratitude, on with the story.
Wednesday morning I was contacted via Facebook by Megan from evening wear specialists Nutmeg Couture looking for me to film a fashion photo shoot at short notice. My first thought was something like, "Me? What do I know about fashion? The only time I've ever been fashionable is by complete accident." Naturally I had to do it. So Friday morning, with my hearing still recovering from seeing Anvil the night, I head over to the Hummingbird bar/club thingy for the shoot. What followed was probably the best shoot I've had to date. Now I'm the kind of guy who obsesses about the little things ALL THE FUCKING TIME! To the point where I drive everyone around me nuts. This may not be the greatest thing to point out at a personal level but when it comes down to film and video work I think you need to if you're ever going to improve. I'm pointing this out because the Nutmeg shoot was the first time I can recall that I have not obsessed about some little mistake I've made. Now either I'm mellowing with age or I feel like I done a great job. I'm hoping it's the latter because as most friends and acquaintances already know mellow ain't my thing.
From my perspective the shoot went near perfectly. First of all I was surrounded by some very beautiful women so I would have to suck pretty badly to get bad looking footage. Secondly This is probably the best camera work I have ever done. Surprising since I hadn't operated in over 2 months. I've been in editing mode with Attica Rising and the Hammerfest 4 promo video. So coming in I thought I'd be a bit rusty. Obviously not. I'm really happy with the edit too. It's a lot slower than what I'm used to but it needed to be because the requirement of the video is to show the dresses off in all their glory. You can't do that with constant 2-3 second cuts. I think it does the job extremely well. At the time of writing this I haven't had that much feedback from peeps but Megan is happy with the end result. And if the client is happy then so am I.
The whole experience was something new to me and to be honest I was expecting a more student/amateurish set up. I was pleasantly surprised to find that everyone was completely professional and really in to the work going on. I was genuinely impressed and I admire the fact that Megan has the balls (figuratively speaking) to start her own business so soon after graduating. Watching the models do their thing too actually made me appreciate that there is more to the job than just looking good for a camera. To a degree there is a bit of acting involved in order to convey the correct mood for a particular dress. It really was quite interesting and again not what I expected.
I also had a conversation with one of the models (sorry I'm terrible with names) about the whole modelling thing and discussing how she was too short to be a catwalk model. This kind of annoys me a bit. Putting height requirements on any occupation should not be allowed unless it undermines their ability to do the job. In modelling there is no reason for this other than to fit some kind of arbitrary ideal put forth by industry trend setters. It's actually a form of discrimination and I'm willing to bet that the reason for this is down to the fact that a lot of trend setters in the industry are male. Lets face it when it comes to setting unrealistic ideals no one is better at it than men. I know it's not exactly my place to let my opinion be known but I have my reasons.I'm ranting about because it kind of overlaps with a future project of mine. That is all I'm saying right now.
Enough of my thoughts/rants for now. Time for the video so here it is.
Wednesday morning I was contacted via Facebook by Megan from evening wear specialists Nutmeg Couture looking for me to film a fashion photo shoot at short notice. My first thought was something like, "Me? What do I know about fashion? The only time I've ever been fashionable is by complete accident." Naturally I had to do it. So Friday morning, with my hearing still recovering from seeing Anvil the night, I head over to the Hummingbird bar/club thingy for the shoot. What followed was probably the best shoot I've had to date. Now I'm the kind of guy who obsesses about the little things ALL THE FUCKING TIME! To the point where I drive everyone around me nuts. This may not be the greatest thing to point out at a personal level but when it comes down to film and video work I think you need to if you're ever going to improve. I'm pointing this out because the Nutmeg shoot was the first time I can recall that I have not obsessed about some little mistake I've made. Now either I'm mellowing with age or I feel like I done a great job. I'm hoping it's the latter because as most friends and acquaintances already know mellow ain't my thing.
From my perspective the shoot went near perfectly. First of all I was surrounded by some very beautiful women so I would have to suck pretty badly to get bad looking footage. Secondly This is probably the best camera work I have ever done. Surprising since I hadn't operated in over 2 months. I've been in editing mode with Attica Rising and the Hammerfest 4 promo video. So coming in I thought I'd be a bit rusty. Obviously not. I'm really happy with the edit too. It's a lot slower than what I'm used to but it needed to be because the requirement of the video is to show the dresses off in all their glory. You can't do that with constant 2-3 second cuts. I think it does the job extremely well. At the time of writing this I haven't had that much feedback from peeps but Megan is happy with the end result. And if the client is happy then so am I.
The whole experience was something new to me and to be honest I was expecting a more student/amateurish set up. I was pleasantly surprised to find that everyone was completely professional and really in to the work going on. I was genuinely impressed and I admire the fact that Megan has the balls (figuratively speaking) to start her own business so soon after graduating. Watching the models do their thing too actually made me appreciate that there is more to the job than just looking good for a camera. To a degree there is a bit of acting involved in order to convey the correct mood for a particular dress. It really was quite interesting and again not what I expected.
I also had a conversation with one of the models (sorry I'm terrible with names) about the whole modelling thing and discussing how she was too short to be a catwalk model. This kind of annoys me a bit. Putting height requirements on any occupation should not be allowed unless it undermines their ability to do the job. In modelling there is no reason for this other than to fit some kind of arbitrary ideal put forth by industry trend setters. It's actually a form of discrimination and I'm willing to bet that the reason for this is down to the fact that a lot of trend setters in the industry are male. Lets face it when it comes to setting unrealistic ideals no one is better at it than men. I know it's not exactly my place to let my opinion be known but I have my reasons.I'm ranting about because it kind of overlaps with a future project of mine. That is all I'm saying right now.
Enough of my thoughts/rants for now. Time for the video so here it is.
Tuesday 21 June 2011
LA Guns, film progress, RIP Isolysis
Well it has been one of those days. A total mix of good and bad. I met Jonny to discuss the Attica Rage documentary and the next steps while having a good ogle at Rufus T's red headed bar maid. Objectification of the opposite sex, ah, the benefits of being single.....uh sorry, got side tracked. Okay back to the meeting. The loose plan at the moment is for the film to be in a viewing worthy state by the end of next month depending on my motivation or lack there of. We want it out before Christmas so the Attica fans can stuff their stockings full of some Rage. Hopefully I can live up to this promise.
Unfortunately before the meeting I received some bad news via email. I had applied to do a Broadcast Journalism post grad course in order to strengthen my camera presence and interviewing skills because I have a huge man crush on Louis Theroux and would have his babies if it was physically possible. Oops, off on a tangent again... Bringing it back! Anyway, I got told I didn't get in the course. No interview, no nothing. Cheers (he said sarcastically). Apparently someone who has actually attempted to go out and do a bit of film journalism is not good enough to get on a post grad course. So if anyone knows of any post grad broadcast or investigative journalism courses at one of the Glasgow uni's can they please give me a bell. Probably too late now, hopefully I can get lucky in clearing. Anyway this bummed me out and as a result I couldn't concentrate on the rest of the night.
This was a real shame as I couldn't fully enjoy LA Guns, who were fucking awesome. Had it been any other night I would have had a great time. The highlight of the night was my mum stalking the singer for an autograph, after the gig. It was like a rat up a drain pipe. In another life she would have made a fantastic bounty hunter. Dog's got nothing Dot. Shit! Off on a tangent for a third time. What else about the gig? Oh yeah, I ran in to Neil and Sheila who were up to their usual stuff. I nearly got clotheslined by Sheila pushing her way in to the barrier thinking she owns the place with her photo pass. Grrrrr! Just kidding...mostly.
I was riding a bit higher after the gig but unfortunately there was another blow waiting for me when I logged in to Facebook. Isolysis are no more. For those of you who don't know of them, they were an unsigned band from Derby that had a tonne of potential. Bane's voice is reminiscent of Creed's Scott Stapp, maybe even better since you can actually make out all of the lyrics. Sorry Creed fans but Stapp is a bit unintelligible at times. Creed were my access band back in the day so its okay for me to say it. The rest of the band were solid too, especially Dan (in quite a literal sense). Man his guns make mine look like pea shooters, bastard. Sorry, sorry, a little bit of small man syndrome kicking in. In terms of my personal experience of with the guys, well I discovered them about a year ago in Ibiza (of all places) while I was shooting part of the Attica Rage documentary. I can't really recall having much in the way of interaction with the guys. What can I say, I'm a misanthrope (and I'm not kidding). I did enjoy watching them perform and was definitely a fan from that point on. My favourite memory of Ibiza was watching the bromance between Bane and Big C develop culminating in them imitating the Bushwhackers. I've got the footage, shame it was too dark to see anything and looks a bit shitty (damn Panasonic cameras and their low light performance). About a month later I had the opportunity to see them once again at my pal, Emy's, 21st birthday bash which was another great night. Making the effort to attend the gig speaks volumes and shows the type of genuine, down to earth, guys that they are. They travelled a couple of hundred miles to play for free for a friend/fan of the band. Do you think Lady Gaga would do that? Nah! Me neither. For me that night sticks in my mind due to me discovering a new friend, which is a big deal for me since I hate everything. Misanthrope, remember. Unfortunately we've kinda parted ways for now for various stupid reasons. These things happen, and again misanthrope. That's the last tangent I'm going on, I promise. In closing, I'd like to wish the guys luck in the future and let them know I will be cranking out "Condemned" tomorrow while I'm hitting the weights. In my world that's the finest tribute you can get. Also, I'll embed their music video at the end of this blog so everyone can check out what they missed out on. Until next time, cheers.
Unfortunately before the meeting I received some bad news via email. I had applied to do a Broadcast Journalism post grad course in order to strengthen my camera presence and interviewing skills because I have a huge man crush on Louis Theroux and would have his babies if it was physically possible. Oops, off on a tangent again... Bringing it back! Anyway, I got told I didn't get in the course. No interview, no nothing. Cheers (he said sarcastically). Apparently someone who has actually attempted to go out and do a bit of film journalism is not good enough to get on a post grad course. So if anyone knows of any post grad broadcast or investigative journalism courses at one of the Glasgow uni's can they please give me a bell. Probably too late now, hopefully I can get lucky in clearing. Anyway this bummed me out and as a result I couldn't concentrate on the rest of the night.
This was a real shame as I couldn't fully enjoy LA Guns, who were fucking awesome. Had it been any other night I would have had a great time. The highlight of the night was my mum stalking the singer for an autograph, after the gig. It was like a rat up a drain pipe. In another life she would have made a fantastic bounty hunter. Dog's got nothing Dot. Shit! Off on a tangent for a third time. What else about the gig? Oh yeah, I ran in to Neil and Sheila who were up to their usual stuff. I nearly got clotheslined by Sheila pushing her way in to the barrier thinking she owns the place with her photo pass. Grrrrr! Just kidding...mostly.
I was riding a bit higher after the gig but unfortunately there was another blow waiting for me when I logged in to Facebook. Isolysis are no more. For those of you who don't know of them, they were an unsigned band from Derby that had a tonne of potential. Bane's voice is reminiscent of Creed's Scott Stapp, maybe even better since you can actually make out all of the lyrics. Sorry Creed fans but Stapp is a bit unintelligible at times. Creed were my access band back in the day so its okay for me to say it. The rest of the band were solid too, especially Dan (in quite a literal sense). Man his guns make mine look like pea shooters, bastard. Sorry, sorry, a little bit of small man syndrome kicking in. In terms of my personal experience of with the guys, well I discovered them about a year ago in Ibiza (of all places) while I was shooting part of the Attica Rage documentary. I can't really recall having much in the way of interaction with the guys. What can I say, I'm a misanthrope (and I'm not kidding). I did enjoy watching them perform and was definitely a fan from that point on. My favourite memory of Ibiza was watching the bromance between Bane and Big C develop culminating in them imitating the Bushwhackers. I've got the footage, shame it was too dark to see anything and looks a bit shitty (damn Panasonic cameras and their low light performance). About a month later I had the opportunity to see them once again at my pal, Emy's, 21st birthday bash which was another great night. Making the effort to attend the gig speaks volumes and shows the type of genuine, down to earth, guys that they are. They travelled a couple of hundred miles to play for free for a friend/fan of the band. Do you think Lady Gaga would do that? Nah! Me neither. For me that night sticks in my mind due to me discovering a new friend, which is a big deal for me since I hate everything. Misanthrope, remember. Unfortunately we've kinda parted ways for now for various stupid reasons. These things happen, and again misanthrope. That's the last tangent I'm going on, I promise. In closing, I'd like to wish the guys luck in the future and let them know I will be cranking out "Condemned" tomorrow while I'm hitting the weights. In my world that's the finest tribute you can get. Also, I'll embed their music video at the end of this blog so everyone can check out what they missed out on. Until next time, cheers.
Friday 10 June 2011
Update
I'm just back from a day out in Glasgow meeting with the awesome Michael Sherrington, and having dinner with Simon Brown the not so awesome Calum MacPhail. I really should be editing but I'm too tired so I'll rant instead. Okay, first an update on the Attica Rage documentary. Right now I've still got some sit down interviews and some introductory reshoots to do but I've got enough there that I am progressing through editing at a decent pace. This is thanks to having a system that can deal with a project file which contains more that 150 hours worth of footage consisting of over 5000 clips. If anyone tells you that film making is easy then they are an idiot simple as. What I've got so far I'm kind of happy with, or as happy as I can be with it. As anyone who knows me will agree, I don't do happy. I'm hoping to get a rough cut done for the end of July. No promises though.
Still on the subject of Attica Rage. Anyone who reads Metal Hammer will know that the opening track, "36 Insane", from their new album, "Road Dog" is featured on this months cover disc. As a complete surprise to me, Jonny asked me to prepare a video to mark this event only 4 days before the issue release. Thanks for the notice Jonny, ko. Any way I chucked together a video in about a day that I think looks pretty good for what was a days work. I managed to give Magic Bullet Mojo a test on it and I have to admit it's a great wee plug in. It's especially effective of regaining detail in some over exposed footage. Very impressive tool but I expect nothing less from Magic Bullet. The video is below.
In other news I'm posting my honours year documentary, "Combat", exclusively on my website (www.colinwoodmedia.com) right now for everyone to watch and laugh at. If you want to see me completely humbled you should give it a watch. This film is a very significant step for me as I am extremely camera shy and am confronting this fear in this video. I plan on doing more of this style film in order to develop as a personality and also confront subjects that I care a lot about. Again, anyone who knows me and has had heard me rant can probably guess some of these. What can I say the world pisses me off. I blame all those pesky people.
Still on the subject of being pissed off, I'd like to take a minute to offer my condolences to my former colleagues at Haldanes in Larkhall. I hope you all find employment soon and become better off as a result of the company going in to administration. I've heard a lot of rumours going around about the management "shafting" the work force and taking their money and running. I'm sure this is just bitter ranting from individuals feeling cheated by the situation. I've been doing my reading on the whole situation and I highly doubt this is the case. There is not a business man on this earth who would set up a company with a substantial amount of his own money, in order to intentionally let it fail. That just seems plain dumb to me. Here is my take on the story. Basically Haldanes sued the Co-op based on them producing inaccurate data on the performance of certain stores when Haldanes purchased them and Co-op counter sued them for unpaid rent. Whether this is true or not we don't know but I would tend to believe it because I can see what the Co-op would have to gain as a result. By offering up fraudulent data on selected stores performance they would essentially be cutting Haldanes legs out from under them, setting them on a road to ruin before they even got going. With the failure of these stores the Co-op would potentially enjoy greater profits as they become the only game in town, creating a monopoly for a brief period until another company moves in. Unfortunately the victims are the poor Haldanes employees. But this is always the case in business. Faceless corporations have never and will never care about their employees because at the end of the day its all about turning a profit. Speaking as a former employee of the company I have to say that this is not really a surprising turn of events but it is a real shame and my heart goes out to you all.
I also heard through the grape vine that members of the public are coming in and giving abuse to the staff of Haldanes saying things like, "It's about time" and "I didn't think it would last this long". I am seriously enraged by this lack of empathy. How would these people like to lose their job... or their welfare. Seriously what kind of human being takes pleasure in someone losing their job. Quite frankly these people are a waste of fucking skin and I am ashamed to share a town with them.
There is a much broader subject at hand here which must be tackled and that is the power that companies like ASDA, Tescos and the Co-op wield. I put all this together during a discussion with a friend and mentor today. These corporations are destroying small businesses on our high streets. We can bitch and moan about the death of the high street all we want but the fact is this not their fault. It is OURS. These stores hook us in with their BOGOF deals and their convenience and we buy their goods like good little consumers. The price we pay is the death of the local butchers and local fruit and veg store. Unfortunately we live in a society of convenience. We want everything as cheaply and conveniently as possible because we are lazy and to an extend brain washed by these supermarket giants. I for one choose to shop at a butchers and from now on I will endeavour to shop at a fruit and veg shop whenever possible because at the end of the day as consumers it is OUR shopping habits that lead to these unethical companies destroying our high streets and employment opportunities. I urge everyone who reads this to do the same, even although you've probably branded me a nut by now. I don't want to see a country dominated by ASDA and Tesco's. It's like only having the choice of Coca Cola or Pepsi. One's slightly sweeter than the other but at the end of the day they are both still the same. When there is no high street left and all you have is ASDA and Tesco what is to stop them hiking prices and hurting your wallet? The answer, absolutely nothing. Where else are you going to shop? And we have no right to complain because at the end of the day we CHOOSE to shop with them and give them even more power. Call me a self righteous dick for getting up on my soapbox and saying this but it doesn't make me any less right.
That's enough ranting for one blog. Hopefully It'll be a little more light. hearted next time. Cheers.
Still on the subject of Attica Rage. Anyone who reads Metal Hammer will know that the opening track, "36 Insane", from their new album, "Road Dog" is featured on this months cover disc. As a complete surprise to me, Jonny asked me to prepare a video to mark this event only 4 days before the issue release. Thanks for the notice Jonny, ko. Any way I chucked together a video in about a day that I think looks pretty good for what was a days work. I managed to give Magic Bullet Mojo a test on it and I have to admit it's a great wee plug in. It's especially effective of regaining detail in some over exposed footage. Very impressive tool but I expect nothing less from Magic Bullet. The video is below.
In other news I'm posting my honours year documentary, "Combat", exclusively on my website (www.colinwoodmedia.com) right now for everyone to watch and laugh at. If you want to see me completely humbled you should give it a watch. This film is a very significant step for me as I am extremely camera shy and am confronting this fear in this video. I plan on doing more of this style film in order to develop as a personality and also confront subjects that I care a lot about. Again, anyone who knows me and has had heard me rant can probably guess some of these. What can I say the world pisses me off. I blame all those pesky people.
Still on the subject of being pissed off, I'd like to take a minute to offer my condolences to my former colleagues at Haldanes in Larkhall. I hope you all find employment soon and become better off as a result of the company going in to administration. I've heard a lot of rumours going around about the management "shafting" the work force and taking their money and running. I'm sure this is just bitter ranting from individuals feeling cheated by the situation. I've been doing my reading on the whole situation and I highly doubt this is the case. There is not a business man on this earth who would set up a company with a substantial amount of his own money, in order to intentionally let it fail. That just seems plain dumb to me. Here is my take on the story. Basically Haldanes sued the Co-op based on them producing inaccurate data on the performance of certain stores when Haldanes purchased them and Co-op counter sued them for unpaid rent. Whether this is true or not we don't know but I would tend to believe it because I can see what the Co-op would have to gain as a result. By offering up fraudulent data on selected stores performance they would essentially be cutting Haldanes legs out from under them, setting them on a road to ruin before they even got going. With the failure of these stores the Co-op would potentially enjoy greater profits as they become the only game in town, creating a monopoly for a brief period until another company moves in. Unfortunately the victims are the poor Haldanes employees. But this is always the case in business. Faceless corporations have never and will never care about their employees because at the end of the day its all about turning a profit. Speaking as a former employee of the company I have to say that this is not really a surprising turn of events but it is a real shame and my heart goes out to you all.
I also heard through the grape vine that members of the public are coming in and giving abuse to the staff of Haldanes saying things like, "It's about time" and "I didn't think it would last this long". I am seriously enraged by this lack of empathy. How would these people like to lose their job... or their welfare. Seriously what kind of human being takes pleasure in someone losing their job. Quite frankly these people are a waste of fucking skin and I am ashamed to share a town with them.
There is a much broader subject at hand here which must be tackled and that is the power that companies like ASDA, Tescos and the Co-op wield. I put all this together during a discussion with a friend and mentor today. These corporations are destroying small businesses on our high streets. We can bitch and moan about the death of the high street all we want but the fact is this not their fault. It is OURS. These stores hook us in with their BOGOF deals and their convenience and we buy their goods like good little consumers. The price we pay is the death of the local butchers and local fruit and veg store. Unfortunately we live in a society of convenience. We want everything as cheaply and conveniently as possible because we are lazy and to an extend brain washed by these supermarket giants. I for one choose to shop at a butchers and from now on I will endeavour to shop at a fruit and veg shop whenever possible because at the end of the day as consumers it is OUR shopping habits that lead to these unethical companies destroying our high streets and employment opportunities. I urge everyone who reads this to do the same, even although you've probably branded me a nut by now. I don't want to see a country dominated by ASDA and Tesco's. It's like only having the choice of Coca Cola or Pepsi. One's slightly sweeter than the other but at the end of the day they are both still the same. When there is no high street left and all you have is ASDA and Tesco what is to stop them hiking prices and hurting your wallet? The answer, absolutely nothing. Where else are you going to shop? And we have no right to complain because at the end of the day we CHOOSE to shop with them and give them even more power. Call me a self righteous dick for getting up on my soapbox and saying this but it doesn't make me any less right.
That's enough ranting for one blog. Hopefully It'll be a little more light. hearted next time. Cheers.
Tuesday 17 May 2011
Wedding Video & Attica Rising & Nae mare Uni
As of writing this I am awaiting my results for degree number two. That's right, I am officially twice as unemployable as everyone else. Just aswell I have some commissions coming in to keep me going. To sum up my time studying film at university I'd have to say that it was a little disappointing. I find that I've done more for myself off of my own back than the university has for me. In fact the only lecture who gave me a bit of experience in the industry, as well as a corporate video job, has never officially taught me. I found a lot of the theory classes useful in broadening my knowledge of cinema but on the whole the practical classes were a disappointment. It's even more gutting to discover that next year's students will be getting all new gear to play with in addition to a new campus. Bloody typical. Anyway the university showcase is next week and I've been nominated for the second year in a row in the documentary category. So we'll see how that turns out.
A couple of months ago I shot my first wedding video along with my bro and Calum MacPhail. I have to say that it went quite well. The bride turned up, the wedding took place and everything got filmed. It was done in HD using DSLR's so the footage looks nice. It sounded good too. For a first wedding I have to say it is pretty damn good. If you don't believe me, I've stuck together a wee compilation video of the day for all to see. Here take a look:
What else have I been up to? Well, I'm now starting to concentrate on editing the Attica Rage documentary. I had Jonny and Big C come out to mine last week to film a round of sitdown interviews. I've started logging them and placing them in the edit. I'm hoping to get Richie and Bell done next week before the band go out to Ibiza for some pure mad clubbing. I went last year and I still have nightmares about it. Anyway, I'm aiming to have a decent edit done by early July with a near complete edit by August. I predict a stressful time ahead and if I'm being a dick you'll probably not notice since I am pretty much all the time anyway. Where the film goes from there I don't know. Hopefully a DVD release or something but I want it done before I even think of that far ahead.
So until my next update that's me done.
A couple of months ago I shot my first wedding video along with my bro and Calum MacPhail. I have to say that it went quite well. The bride turned up, the wedding took place and everything got filmed. It was done in HD using DSLR's so the footage looks nice. It sounded good too. For a first wedding I have to say it is pretty damn good. If you don't believe me, I've stuck together a wee compilation video of the day for all to see. Here take a look:
What else have I been up to? Well, I'm now starting to concentrate on editing the Attica Rage documentary. I had Jonny and Big C come out to mine last week to film a round of sitdown interviews. I've started logging them and placing them in the edit. I'm hoping to get Richie and Bell done next week before the band go out to Ibiza for some pure mad clubbing. I went last year and I still have nightmares about it. Anyway, I'm aiming to have a decent edit done by early July with a near complete edit by August. I predict a stressful time ahead and if I'm being a dick you'll probably not notice since I am pretty much all the time anyway. Where the film goes from there I don't know. Hopefully a DVD release or something but I want it done before I even think of that far ahead.
So until my next update that's me done.
Thursday 24 March 2011
Hammerfest 3 and Attica Rage documentary
Hammerfest came and went last weekend, and was a blinding success for the band. Attica had a pretty impressive set with dancers and fireworks. This resulted in me gettin burned by sparks and getting doused in kerosene, leaving me kinda stinky for the rest of the night. At this point in time I haven't had a look at the footage due to being busy with University work but I think the footage will turn out well enough to finish the film in style. So with the festival filming and all that out of the way that is my filming commitments complete with the band. So without getting too sentimental (because lets face it - I don't do that) I'd like to take the time to thank everyone who's been involved in my life, filming and beyond, over the past 18 months.
First off I would like to thank the band, Jonny, Richie, Stevie and Big C for agreeing to take part in the project and have a camera shuvved in their faces over the past 18 months. Rather you guys than me. Hopefully it will all be worthwhile in the end.
Next up is the Attica family. Alan, Gem (for keeping Big C in check), Suz (for the jokes), Linda (for mothering me), Emy, Christie, Lisa (for the wrestling banter), Simon, Petrina, Linzi, Donnie, Nick (for not killing me in Ibiza), Neil and Sheila. I'd like to thank you all for welcoming me in to the family and putting up with me. I look forward to seeing you all at future Attica and other gigs in the future. I'm sure I've missed out plenty of you but I could be here all day.
I'd also like to thank a few miscellaneous characters including university colleagues who have helped with filming Calum, Michael and Joe. I'd like to thank Roddy for helping me out on a few sound issues and giving valuable advice (I'll be calling on your services again during editing by the way). I'd like to thank Simon and Mick for helping out with the Hammerfest filming. Sorry about getting you covered in kerosene Simon. I'd also like to thank John Davis for all the access he has allowed me at his festivals and events and also giving me other opportunities along the way.
Last but not least I'd like to thank family and friends. First of all there is my mum and my little bro Keith. Without them pressuring me to listen to Ruin Nation the whole project would not have came about. I'd also like to thank Keith for doing camera work also. Now on to friends. I'd like to thank Michael, Greg, Calum, Alyson, David and Steph for putting up with me talking about this project for the past two years. I don't know how you did it. The same goes for my former work buddies, Johnny, Angela, Teri (my fake little sis), Danielle, Chris, Nats, Conzo and Golder. I'd also like to thank Jen (sorry we never really hit it off) and Gail (for being the best person I know and being a good enough friend to kick me up the arse when I need it). Again there are probably plenty of others I missed out but I could be here all night.
The past 18 months of my life have been a blast. Sure there have been a few ups and downs but on balance it has been a great experience that I wouldn't trade for anything. I can't wait till I finally put the film together for all of you to see. I hope it will meet everyones expectations. Until next time, Cheers.
Friday 11 March 2011
Rebel Rebel web video & Attica Rage news
I've been quite busy since my last update. Before I begin I'd like to take this opportunity to congratulate Attica Rage on getting signed to Rocksector Records. It was an honour to be at Rock Radio on Tom Russell's show as they put pen to paper. Below is a video of their work.
I will be going to Hammerfest with them this coming week to document the album launch party and their mainstage opening slot. It will mark my final official outing with the band for the film which has been a long time coming. The next step is putting it all together and making it resemble a film. That's my summer planned already. Just as well I'm a social leper.
My latest small project took place the day before, "capitalism exploiting your love for another person day" AKA Valentines Day. The project invloved me filming a promotional day at Rebel Rebel barbers in Glasgow. Urban artist Conzo was there putting a design on the windows of the place. There were DJ's and Xbox Kinect which in my opinion looks terrible. Real gamers use joypads none of this Wii-mote rubbish. Straying off topic a bit, sorry. The whole deal for the weekend was basically free haircuts all day. The place was packed from opening and from what I gather it was a big success. It gave me an opportunity to get some more DSLR practice in and overall I'm quite happy with the end result. The close ups especially look great. Thanks goes out to Rebel Rebel and destrukt for getting me the gig. Here is the video.
Nothing much else worth mentioning. I'm busy being a shut in while I try and progress through my university dissertation and cage fighting documentary. Not long until I'm done with it all.
I will be going to Hammerfest with them this coming week to document the album launch party and their mainstage opening slot. It will mark my final official outing with the band for the film which has been a long time coming. The next step is putting it all together and making it resemble a film. That's my summer planned already. Just as well I'm a social leper.
My latest small project took place the day before, "capitalism exploiting your love for another person day" AKA Valentines Day. The project invloved me filming a promotional day at Rebel Rebel barbers in Glasgow. Urban artist Conzo was there putting a design on the windows of the place. There were DJ's and Xbox Kinect which in my opinion looks terrible. Real gamers use joypads none of this Wii-mote rubbish. Straying off topic a bit, sorry. The whole deal for the weekend was basically free haircuts all day. The place was packed from opening and from what I gather it was a big success. It gave me an opportunity to get some more DSLR practice in and overall I'm quite happy with the end result. The close ups especially look great. Thanks goes out to Rebel Rebel and destrukt for getting me the gig. Here is the video.
Nothing much else worth mentioning. I'm busy being a shut in while I try and progress through my university dissertation and cage fighting documentary. Not long until I'm done with it all.
Thursday 3 February 2011
Hard Rock Hell V promo video complete
I thought it is about time to do a little post since I've recently finished work on the Hard Rock Hell 5 promo video. The theme for this years festival is going to be the Village of The Damned. This includes zombies, angels, demons and other assorted spooky shit. The video is viewable on the Hard Rock Hell website www.hardrockhell.com and through my youtube channel. I'll also embed it here at the end of this entry.
I'd liek to talk about the edit for a bit as it was quite challenging. It required a range of editing skills including animation, using filters and replacing sound in the footage I ripped right out of George A. Romero's Night of The Living Dead (1968). Speaking of which the reason I was able to get away with doing this was because the film is in the public domain. For those who don't know the whole reason behind this is because of an oversight when the distributor changed the name from its original title Night of The Flesh Eaters. The original title had the copyright notice underneath which was not replaced when they renamed it. US law required a proper notice of copyright for a copyright to exist. So if you've bought this movie on DVD you've been had. You could have downloaded it and it wouldn't have cost you a penny.
Back on track now. Visually speaking it is one of the more effects heavy things I've edited. I had to create fog and rain particle effects and also animate an explosion for the end. I also chucked a bad video filter over everything to try and mess everything up a bit and make the most of the inconsistent footage quality. One thing I've learned through experience is that if you have a bit of crap quality footage footage try and make it look like you want it to look like crap.
The sound was a simple case of running around with my Zoom audio recorder and making a random assortment of noises. The most embarassing highlight had to have been making zombie groaning noises and growls. Just as well no one was around to see or hear me do it. I also had help in the auditory department. Gemma Parr was kind enough to record some screams and zombie moans of her own. Thank god she did because I didn't fancy screaming like a woman. The music was provided by Attica Rage (surprise, surprise) and thanks goes out to Attica's Jonny Parr for helping with the interviews way back at Hard Rock Hell 4.
Speaking of Attica Rage, I'm hoping to have a teaser trailer ready shortly for the film (hopefully by the end of February). I'm hoping to have the film complete by May but I'm not setting that in stone since something always comes up to get in the way. So I think that's it for now. Until next time, later.
I'd liek to talk about the edit for a bit as it was quite challenging. It required a range of editing skills including animation, using filters and replacing sound in the footage I ripped right out of George A. Romero's Night of The Living Dead (1968). Speaking of which the reason I was able to get away with doing this was because the film is in the public domain. For those who don't know the whole reason behind this is because of an oversight when the distributor changed the name from its original title Night of The Flesh Eaters. The original title had the copyright notice underneath which was not replaced when they renamed it. US law required a proper notice of copyright for a copyright to exist. So if you've bought this movie on DVD you've been had. You could have downloaded it and it wouldn't have cost you a penny.
Back on track now. Visually speaking it is one of the more effects heavy things I've edited. I had to create fog and rain particle effects and also animate an explosion for the end. I also chucked a bad video filter over everything to try and mess everything up a bit and make the most of the inconsistent footage quality. One thing I've learned through experience is that if you have a bit of crap quality footage footage try and make it look like you want it to look like crap.
The sound was a simple case of running around with my Zoom audio recorder and making a random assortment of noises. The most embarassing highlight had to have been making zombie groaning noises and growls. Just as well no one was around to see or hear me do it. I also had help in the auditory department. Gemma Parr was kind enough to record some screams and zombie moans of her own. Thank god she did because I didn't fancy screaming like a woman. The music was provided by Attica Rage (surprise, surprise) and thanks goes out to Attica's Jonny Parr for helping with the interviews way back at Hard Rock Hell 4.
Speaking of Attica Rage, I'm hoping to have a teaser trailer ready shortly for the film (hopefully by the end of February). I'm hoping to have the film complete by May but I'm not setting that in stone since something always comes up to get in the way. So I think that's it for now. Until next time, later.
Friday 14 January 2011
New Corporate Video & DSLR's
A bit of a late New Years update here. My latest video is now on line, A corporate how to video for Ian Kenny Framing Ltd. It is by no means the most exciting video ever made but it served as a good opportunity to work using a DSLR and assess its strengths and weaknesses. So here's my take.
First of all the pros. It is small and light and because it is a stills camera it doesn't freak people as much as a prosumer cam corder. You have the ability to change lenses which is huge if you are a no budget filmmaker. You have full 1080p at 25fps and 720p at 50fps. You also have a small file size due to it using the H.264 compression standard, so you roughly get 47mins on a 16GB HCSD card or compact flash.
Now the Cons. Useability is the main problem. Your hand has to be really steady when attempting handheld. I tend to strap a monopod to it for a bit of a counter weight. Most serious DSLR users buy a rig to combat this issue but this eliminates the compactness of the camera. Also the controls are hard to work with at times. Since you are working with white balance presets it is common to not have your balance correct. This happened a couple of times in this video and it is easily rectified in editing so its no biggy as long as the balance isn't way off. The biggest and most limiting con for me is you can't control the sound levels. So if you want seriously good sound you need to invest in a digital recorder like the Zoom H4n or if you are loaded a 4-channel Marantz. This again is a problem because you'll have to make sure to mark your shots every time (which you should do anyway) and realistically you'll need a second member of crew to act as a sound operator. It could be possible to do all of this yourself but it would slow you down and I guarantee that you'll fuck something up at least once. The final issue is that you are limited to a 12 minute clip length. This is only an issue in some instances when working on a documentary but when filming live it can cause a lot of fucking about trying to get the synch correct in editing.For a live performance I would not even thing about using a bunch of DSLR's to film the entire thing.
My overall impression is that DSLR's are another piece of the puzzle for a professional looking video/short/documentary. They are not the answer and anyone who says otherwise is just a fanboy of the tech. If you view yourself as a professional you have to look at equipment with an objective eye. I think the closest we have to the total solution is Panasonics new prosumer model but at £4,000 is it really that much better than a £700 to £1,300 DSLR I am unsure. Rant over now back to the video.
As you can see the video quality is immense. What you see is more or less unaltered from what was actually shot. As for the actual content of the video it does the job. It shows what it needs to and fits the brief. I think I actually liked the making of it more than the end result. It was pretty laid back and meeting the guys Andrew and Craig was fun. The only other thing I'd like to add is that you can tell by the Rangers shirts being mounted that it was filmed in Larkhall. I was tempted to colour replace the shirts with green in editing. I'm sure that would have went down well with the locals. Till next time, cheers.
First of all the pros. It is small and light and because it is a stills camera it doesn't freak people as much as a prosumer cam corder. You have the ability to change lenses which is huge if you are a no budget filmmaker. You have full 1080p at 25fps and 720p at 50fps. You also have a small file size due to it using the H.264 compression standard, so you roughly get 47mins on a 16GB HCSD card or compact flash.
Now the Cons. Useability is the main problem. Your hand has to be really steady when attempting handheld. I tend to strap a monopod to it for a bit of a counter weight. Most serious DSLR users buy a rig to combat this issue but this eliminates the compactness of the camera. Also the controls are hard to work with at times. Since you are working with white balance presets it is common to not have your balance correct. This happened a couple of times in this video and it is easily rectified in editing so its no biggy as long as the balance isn't way off. The biggest and most limiting con for me is you can't control the sound levels. So if you want seriously good sound you need to invest in a digital recorder like the Zoom H4n or if you are loaded a 4-channel Marantz. This again is a problem because you'll have to make sure to mark your shots every time (which you should do anyway) and realistically you'll need a second member of crew to act as a sound operator. It could be possible to do all of this yourself but it would slow you down and I guarantee that you'll fuck something up at least once. The final issue is that you are limited to a 12 minute clip length. This is only an issue in some instances when working on a documentary but when filming live it can cause a lot of fucking about trying to get the synch correct in editing.For a live performance I would not even thing about using a bunch of DSLR's to film the entire thing.
My overall impression is that DSLR's are another piece of the puzzle for a professional looking video/short/documentary. They are not the answer and anyone who says otherwise is just a fanboy of the tech. If you view yourself as a professional you have to look at equipment with an objective eye. I think the closest we have to the total solution is Panasonics new prosumer model but at £4,000 is it really that much better than a £700 to £1,300 DSLR I am unsure. Rant over now back to the video.
As you can see the video quality is immense. What you see is more or less unaltered from what was actually shot. As for the actual content of the video it does the job. It shows what it needs to and fits the brief. I think I actually liked the making of it more than the end result. It was pretty laid back and meeting the guys Andrew and Craig was fun. The only other thing I'd like to add is that you can tell by the Rangers shirts being mounted that it was filmed in Larkhall. I was tempted to colour replace the shirts with green in editing. I'm sure that would have went down well with the locals. Till next time, cheers.
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