Hey! So just to say I have began a new blog for my second year as a Media Production student, why not take a peek?
https://grantsnaithyr2blog.wordpress.com
UNITED STATES – CIRCA 1950s: Woman with surprised look. (Photo by George Marks/Retrofile/Getty Images)
As part of our new module 161MC Creating Impact in Media Production we were asked to stop and analyse what is called our digital footprint, our presence in the open expanse of the word wide web and whether this presents a coherent message to consumers. I am currently active on Facebook, WordPress, Twitter, YouTube and Vimeo however I am new to Twitter and have yet to really do anything but follow others.
Taking a look at my footprint across the other media sites it is clear that I have a passion for film and the moving image. My last few posts on Facebook have been film related and my only contributions to Vimeo and YouTube so far have been my own short films. Since starting my university course, one thing I have began to realise is that I am already a media professional. Actions I have taken to present myself as such have been on my Facebook page where I changed my profile picture and cover photo to more career oriented images whilst keeping a slight amount of casualness and fluid creativity. I also did the same with my YouTube and Vimeo channel as I realised that these are the kind of sights that potential employers would be looking upon and they would have to sell me to them in the future.
Areas I could improve on are apparent. My Facebook page has been littered with various status’ throughout the years that have been unprofessional in style, I have been debating restarting fresh or starting a second page so that professional and social could be separated somewhat (although as was illustrated in todays lectures, that is never truly possible). What I do know is that I am still a true media professional who is learning and adapting at an astonishing rate.
Well I am sad to say, that is a wrap on the East Winds Film Festival and what an adventure it has been. I have seen absolutely amazing visuals, jaw dropping narratives and bone tingling soundtracks during my time here and have had a unique chance to hear from the mouths of real life directors just what goes into these labours of love, and it has gotten me so pumped for this Media Production course. Thankyou so much to Coventry University, not only for letting me on this course to become the media pro i’ve always wanted to be but also for arranging this film festival and giving us tickets to see these amazing creations.
So I watched two films on my final day; Bugs 3D and The Teachers Diary. The first of these films ‘Bugs 3D’ I chose simply to go and enjoy an old classic monster horror film, and I was not disappointed. In fact I would say it was that and more and some parts I genuinely didn’t see coming. The visuals were okay, though the CGI was far from modern hollywood style films we are so used to seeing as a Western Audience. Enjoy the following trailer and see what you think.
I then went to watch ‘The Teachers Diary’ directed by Nithiwat Tharatorn whom I had previously met in a brief encounter on the first nights events a former professional wrestler, finds a new job as a teacher at a primary school. Song is the only teacher at this school and must learn to cope with the loneliness of being cut off from the rest of the modern world.
His only relief t is the diary notes of Ann, a former teacher who moved away but accidentally left her personal memoirs behind. The more Song reads about Ann the more he is drawn to her and what it would be like to meet Ann in person. It is a truly great film, with some great humour and some really touching moment, which is saying a lot because I’m not normally one for a film like this but it really did reach out to me. I had heard that this film was the company GTH’s reach out for oscar level success and from what I saw I would say they did a great job with it. Watch the trailer and take a chance and watch this film because you might find yourself surprised like me.
At the moment I find myself on cusp of filming for 105MC and in-between tasks for 160MC so I’ve had an odd space of light work load this week and I have used it wisely. I have been in touch with several different friends from different walks of life to discuss my three pronged attack, or in other words my three amazing side project ideas.
Idea One – The Last Dance: So this idea came about based off of a piece of music that I posted up here previously, Torture (Instrumental) by Friction. The idea is that of a couple who have been recently married who have been in a terrible car accident resulting in the woman’s death. The two embrace in a last dance in a spot light to this emotional music. Out of the three projects I have made the least leeway on this one despite it being the first idea I coined out of the three. The reason is simple, this video relies heavily on dance and my friend who teaches dance at a local community centre unfortunately suffered a dislocated knee and has been unable to meet with me to chat. Without her knowledge its hard to start creating a storyboard but I have a start and finish mapped out.
Idea Two – Motocross Documentary: A friend of mine met me in a coffee shop (yes, I took my lecturers advice and started visiting coffee shops) to help me get to grips with my new Mac book. Our conversation quickly changed to his other passion, motocross sports and how he wanted to create a dramatised documentary around the sport. I said i’d absolutely love to get involved in making this a reality. Since it is not really the season for motocross our work again is limited, so far I have been working on creating networks with those involved in the sport so that when the new season rolls around we are prepared. Out of the three this is the only project I don’t regard as ‘my child’ as I have no idea about motocross, yet I think this will be an exciting experience and I am really happy that my mate Ross Hudson wants to do this project with me, especially as he is interested in doing Media Production at university someday.
Idea Three – Steampunk Outlaw: My most recent and easily most ambitious idea draws its inspiration from the video I posted up of the music video to Eye of the Storm by Lovett. I want to create a short film of an outlaw character set in a steampunk world of magic and wonder. To accomplish this I have reached out to various people I know are talented with 3D design and art back from my time at college studying the subject. It was never my strong point but I knew many people who seemed blessed with the skills and patience to manipulate those millions and trillions of dots to get the right look. I’ve already put together a team of two to three people on animation and have met with some other people interested in the project. This is an ambitious project and I expect won’t be complete till the end of my third year and as such will be the final prong of my attack.
The Journey Begins 