The 3 min project.

We have been given 3 minuets to fill with what ever we want.
Oh gee...
I could do anything.
Best way to start is with some ideas. Best way for ideas, spider diagram.

 

So there it is. My spider diagram.

I think my favorite of all these ideas is my comment on American health care.
During the summer just gone, at about 2AM I got into an upset and angry mood. I can't remember why but I know it happened because I wrote this...

His tightly closed fist crashed heavily into the side of my face. My jaw hung loosely as the warm blood pooled around my tongue. I staggered back against the cold brick wall of the alley. My attacker's friend stood watch while the muscular hulk grabbed me by the neck and pinned me to the wall with one hand. His right arm pulled back, then repeatedly jabbed into my stomach. I spluttered my red juices out onto his arm. He threw me to the ground, my nose breaking on impact with the tarmac. He crashed the heel of his foot into my back. Unable to move all I could do was take the beating. His foot slammed into me again, snapping my spine. He rolled me over and started cracking my ribs. The deep grunts of laughter bounced from bully to bully. My vision began to fade but I tried to stay focused. I focused on his gritty face. A painfully pleased grin fixed under two blood-lusting eyes.

I blacked out for just a moment. Re-awakening to the sound of a metal pipe being dragged towards me. I looked over just as it swung into my crotch. I tried to crawl away but it was too painful. His heavy boot slammed down onto my demolished ribs, holding me in place. He lifted the steel bar into the air, lining up the next swing. Now I wanted to black out. I didn't want to feel the crushing pain push up my massacred spine. He removed his foot from my chest, leaving a print on my drenched shirt. He grabbed each of my shoulders and sat me on top of a dumpster. I slumped back, waiting for this horror to end. I felt a sharp cracking pain in my shin. And then in the other. I rolled my head to the side to see the shimmer of light speed towards my legs. The watcher waited eagerly, where the alley met the street. Suddenly my feet were being grasped by gigantic hands. They tightened, crippling my feet with-in them. I was then swung from atop the dumpster and into the wall opposite it. I fumbled down back into a pool of my own blood. I lay they spluttering more blood into the miniature lake, waiting for the next blow. 

Now how does that have anything to do with American health care, well unlike the U.K., U.S.A don't have the NHS. The victim of this attack will have to pay for all of the medical treatment required to make him better. So after that horrible beating I plan to have it end in a hospital bed just as a Dr hands our 'John Doe the bill.

Here are a few more ideas for what I would want in the piece. Just to clarify, I'm not suggesting having Quentin Tarantino and the Watchmen in my 3 minuets. I jotted them down as I would like to fit with-in their styles. I might try slowing some of the shots down in editing, hoping that it will really hit the audience with the shocking attack.

I'm not too sure where I can film this, for both the beating and for the hospital scene I need some where nearby that kinda looks like an American alley. I'll also need some actors. I don't think costume would be an issue. As long as my actors can supply clothes they don't mind getting fake blood on. 'm sure that washes out. I'll have to check. After Halloween I plan to go and buy lots of fake blood, hoping that it will be cheep in a sale. I'm sure that I could use a class room in college as a Hospital room. A few props will be needed for that.
The heart-beepy machine...
The water bag...
Get better soon balloon...
Cheep Flowers...
Grapes...


There is a lot of work to be done still. Got to start some where though.

The Moon

So as I went to bed last night the moon shone on my face. I decided to write down my thoughts.

The moon is bright in the sea of darkness.
Reflective and clouded in mystery. (Although not that much anymore. Thanks America!)
It is as clouded in the night as I am in thoughts.
Will I get closer to the moon?
I doubt it.
I think about the painting of The Reef. I think about how I haven't revisited it. I didn't mention it at all in my last two roundabouts.
Will I ever revisit The Reef?
Will NASA ever revisit the moon?
Or have we got everything we needed?

Seeing you only makes me think of science. You are empty. Void of life. A void in a void.

Is there anymore to say?
Maybe my focus is too narrow. I shouldn't just look at the moon, but instead, the entire night sky.
Can this be transfered to other aspects of my life...
I try to keep an open mind. Maybe it's not enough...
Do I ever do enough?
(My triple distinction says yes)
The moon is bright, and so am I.

October assessment

Man that was a thing!
Before I start I would like to thank my brain for not helping me at all during the 10ish minuets. Thank you for backing out and leaving me on my own for this.

So I think overall it went alright. Nothing great, but it wasn't terrible. I couldn't remember my blog's web address and so I had to sign into Facebook and then find the link I posted the other day on the group page.
What pathway are you thinking of?
Media of course.
So what kind of films do you watch?

Why was the only think I could think of Iron Man. Not even the film. In my head all I could picture was him flying round and round. I had to answer with super hero films before I was silent for too long. This caused the assessment to be all about superhero films on a budget.
This is why I thought it was average. We talked about making a super hero film based in Blackburn. We shared a few ideas that I plan to explore in more detail. I just fear that I'm going to become 'that super hero kid' just because I forgot every film I watched this year. Like Robot and Frank, Dogma or Life of Pi.

I was then asked what books I read.
I don't read many. (Hide in shame) The Stainless Steal Rat is a great series. I recommended to any Sci-fi fan.
What comics do you read?
Now that is something I do read. Batman, Aquaman, Watchmen. Mostly DC as I prefer their characters and the stories tend to have darker themes. Another point for 'that super hero kid'...
I can't argue that I don't have a large interest in the films and comics, I do. I just hope that super isn't the main focus of my work.

Media and photography 2! Return of the cameras. Unit 18.

Media

We started work on the scratch film. Each of us were given 7 seconds and a bunch of pens to work with. I started with a big red box to mark my start point, I continued it for 1 second. I then drew a red and green line turning 90'. This was then followed by an arch. Now for my favorite second. The best punctuation. The question mark. In green. Followed by the best shape. The triangle. In blue. I then finished off with a few dots and lines.
After everyone had finished their 7 second piece we watched the entire film. Seeing my part between the others completely changed my opinion of it. It looked very empty and plain, it looked like it lacked colour.

Photography

This is one of the first pictures we took. We didn't really know what would happen with this effect. It's our starting point. A rubbish low starting point that we can hopefully shoot out from.

This is an image using the torch of an iPhone being swooshed from side to side. This is the sort of effect we were looking for. Now we knew how to get what we wanted we started to experiment with movement.

This an an image of me jumping and spinning in the air. I think this would have been better if the room had been completely pitch black. I like the near symmetry that is with-in the image.

For this we placed the light source on the floor and stood over it. It reminds me of some ghostly figure,lurking in the dark.

This one was also done on the floor. I changed my movement and created a different shape. I think it looks like a Muppet or a cartoon character.

This is another one of someone spinning up and down. I like the way the swirls clash with each other and fade away. Again light is coming in from the door not so much ruining it, but it doesn't help.

The 24 hours of Dolphinholme

Upon arrival I did the most important thing of the trip. I looked at some goats.
At 12 we began working.
We had a 6 man production team to work on the documentary a few of us had planned prior to arrival.
SUDDEN TEAM MEETING!
We began the meeting by going over what we had already planned. He is a picture of a few notes I had quickly made the weekend before.

After we had covered this, 2 of our members went off to film cut-aways. I think they were getting bored of talking and wanted some action. Splitting into smaller teams means we can get more work done. While they filmed cut-aways we talked more in depth about what we wanted to film, how we were going to edit and questions for interviews. I really enjoyed this meeting. It was very independent and very professional. I felt like I fit in to the meeting, rather than just nodding to what others were saying. I also liked how casual it was. I was drinking Dr Pepper from my Watchmen mug. It was like I was sat at home.
After a quick lunch we grabbed our equipment an went to film our interview. Due to this being a work place, the farmer wasn't available straight away. We booked a meeting with the farmers son in the afternoon and one with the farmer for the next morning. While we waited for the farmer's son we filmed more cut-aways. Some of the animals and some of the surrounding landscape. The interview went well. The shot was well framed and our sound man assured us that the audio was fine. After the interview we continued to explore the surrounding area and film cut-aways. You can never have too many. Unfortunately the cloud cover was thick and we couldn't get the shot of the sun set I was hoping for. Ah well... We hope to get the sunrise instead.

In the evening the barn was turned into a mini cinema. Firstly showing a short art film by Andy Warhol. I didn't really get what it was about. Just some faces looking into a camera. I'm sure there is a deeper meaning that 'us youngsters' wont understand. A musician then played . His stage name, Pictish Trail. The footage kept playing behind him as he played. It sort of matched with some his music. It was like a flashback/family video scene in a film. His music was great to listen to and he was funny to talk to. He had some wonderful musical ideas and was clearly talented.
Justin Wiggan. The sound artist. The visiting lecture showed us his 30-40 minuet performance. I didn't see it as art and it really weirded me out. People were leaving. Looking back at it though, I see the creativity and hard work that has been put into this. Referring to the cave painting theory, I would say this is a Buffalo. A very abstract buffalo.
We tried to watch The Dark Crystal but it was getting late. We decided to got to sleep. It's been a busy day and we plan to be up before the sun. Normally I end the day on online, so I feel kind of odd ending it a cupboard bed...

6:35AM
Not a great nights sleep. I'm too big for that bed. It's raining heavily and it's still pretty cloudy. I don't think we can get the sunrise we are wanting. Back to sleep.
7:50AM
Re-awoke to a 'good' breakfast, I'm a bit of a fussy eater so I wont complain. We then went to interview the farmer. We asked him the same questions we asked his son the day before. It looked very professional and news worthy.
We then decided to interview a few students about their experience. It was totally on the spot. We were just killing time. I don't think the footage is that good as we were rushing a little bit.

Extra stuff.
Additional photos...