Volume II

So I've started walking that road now. I caught up with my actual course tutor today (as we do every Friday) and we decided to make a few amendments to my initial brief since I had to write and brief myself a project and get it approved.

Anyway, I think I have a much better idea of where I'm heading with this project now. There comes a point where you must really stop digging for more research and start getting some ideas down on paper, and today was that point. Although with me, I never stop doing research. I'll always gather a few more bits and pieces even whilst developing my ideas and sometimes even when I've almost finished a project ready for print and hand-in. Not only does it get you extra marks (sometimes), it also helps the direction at times too. So with the research coming to an end now, I'll be spending the weekend eating, sleeping, and thinking up ideas to start developing on Tuesday - college day back.

Having an extra long weekend this week means I should spend Sunday and Monday to start and finish my movie scene storyboard. Heck, whilst making my way out of college today I had to bump into my visual communications tutor who once again asked how I was getting on with the storyboard. I told him 'it's almost there' - yeah, I lied, but it'll be there on time for Tuesday.

Do you like Starbursts? I do. Wooly's are now doing them for cheap, and knowing my mum she brought a load of bags home the other day. Juicy things!

Tuesdays used to be art history and contextual studies followed by visual communication with regards to film and motion picture. Two lessons, one lecture theatre, a pen and a pad, and one whole morning. Imagine the fun. That was till 6 weeks ago though where we had to end it and start a final unit to help us ready our portfolios for any upcoming interviews (mine's done; successfully too) and also help get set (mentally) for the big courses we're each hoping to go on to and enjoy next year.

So, since I've already kind of liked passed this unit, I decided to get on with my FMP. Yesterday I was pretty bog down about it, but after going through with it with a tutor today morning, I'm kind of seeing the light. The road which I need to get on now, and get down quickly too before it's too late. I couldn't be more thankful, if only we had him for more lessons.

Life is just starting, for me it is anyway. Forms, appointments, current accounts, evidence of who I am and where I live etc, the list just goes on. There's just so much going on right now, I wish I could be teleported to some place in Mexico and hang out riding horses all day. Not that I can ride a horse, but I'm sure it's a lot of fun.

I only got spoken to very briefly today. Seems as though I'm not very behind as I thought I were. Maybe take this week to finish off on research and then on Friday start working on and developing any ideas that I have currently. This last (FMP) project I must say is turning out to be a nightmare. Coming up to it some months ago, I was really looking forward to it. I was told I shouldn't get too excited as it'll tire and exhaust me out, but like always, I take the words of my tutors like second-hand advice. I'm such an idiot.

Why do I sound like I'm about to go and jump out of my bedroom window ... well not that I'd get very far to the bottom since the front door extends underneath it, but I got my PN1 form today. Add to that, I'll have to open a new bank account which I hate doing since the last one I tried to open turned out to be a disaster. But that form, it's got 28 pages of filling in to do. Yes, 28!

But who cares, right now I'm off to catch some sleep in the evening sun before it goes down. Maybe wake up in a few, get some supper, check my e-mail (again), and then back to bed for another early start tomorrow.

So I tried, I really did. I gave it my all. Pleased to say I managed to do some, but not enough. See this is the problem.

To stop doing a project and not working on it for a few days (weeks actually), you get out of the mind set. And when you return, sometimes you just can't get back into it. It's a bummer, and so I'm just going to sit out till I get back to college again. Hopefully I'll get a jump start again from one of my tutors first day back.

I guess I should expect a telling off and a not-so-impressed look too.

It's what I've been doing recently. I just can't seem to find the motivation to work on my projects, any of them. Sure it's an Easter break, but I still have work to do, and loads of it too.

Still, yet again I plan to do some work tomorrow. I had the idea that telling other people might help in the sense that if when tomorrow evening comes, if I say I haven't done anything, I'll feel a feeling of shame - which might be enough motivation to get me to do some work the following day.

So tomorrow, no e-mail, no blogs, no RSS reader, no downloading, and no surfing. Matter of fact, I'll be tucking the notebook into it's case and under the desk when I log off tonight.

In simple terms, this blog is a diary, an online journal. I've never kept any regular diaries, but I do have a production diary, a visual diary, and a copy diary. That's a lot of diaries I know, but it's important I keep them.

The production diary is one I've just recently started to keep. For each individual project, I must list tasks, targets, ideas, and show routes taken to how I reached the final solution/s. It's a job to do on the side, and I hate side jobs. I just like to get on with the darn thing, and finish it. But my tutors say it's essential I keep one. And I won't realise it just yet, but in due time I will see how important it is to keep a book of notes for each project. In most cases I'm known to disagree with them, but I think this time I'm going to go along with it. Hopefully it's the right choice.

I never did really think I'd keep a visual and a copy diary, but after a conversation with peers, I see how useful it is to keep one no matter the hassle. See for some strange reason, once the clock ticks 01:00 hours, the creative blender inside my head starts to make juice, and loads of it too. Ofcourse at the time I'm in bed trying to get some adequate sleep before getting up for 6 in the morning again, but the ideas just keep flowing. At first I used to shut them out and say to myself I'll remember them for the morning, but as you might've experienced, you never can remember them, hence why I started to keep a visual and a copy diary. So now instead of shutting the ideas out, I sit up, get hold of a pencil, and scribble the ideas down very quickly. It's worth the effort.

But why 2 separate diaries? Well say when the time comes to route for a copy line (for example), I'd know exactly which diary to go through, rather than having to sift through one big diary with a load of visuals and copy mixed in. It's just the way I work, I like organisation.

Living in England means we have our own names for holidays and unique culture which the rest of the world finds odd. Those Yank comedians just think we're weird for some reason, to hell with them. It's Easter break.

Anyway, here comes a 2 weeks of no college. Sadly it won't be a 2 weeks of nothingness though. I need to get a storyboard for a movie scene done for when we get back, and also kick some arse with my FMP which I've started a few weeks late again. I'm starting to get slack ever since I got my place on the new course for Sep '06.

Would you believe it, the battery on my notebook just died when I hit 'Publish Post'. Might aswell add now, I'll also be giving my hole a good tidy up too. Too many sketchbooks and other bits are lying around, and the dust is almost taking over.

Times are changing. I remember in the old days audio was on cassette tapes which would be played in personal walkmans. Then came the CD players. Now it's the time of the 'Pod and MP3 players. Don't get me wrong, but I quite like the way technology has evolved and made life better, easier, and geek yet chic both at the same time. But I'm not going to talk about that. I'm going to blog about books, audio books to be precise.

The first ever audio book I heard was when I was a kid. About 8 years old or something, my kid brother got diagnosed with asthma and he got a load of goodies from the nurses whilst in the hospital. One of them was this book that was on a cassette tape. It was about a dragon that gets asthma attacks and about how others helped him around and made life easier for him. Cut a long story short, it was cool. Since then, I've always read books by actually reading them. Till a fortnight ago.

So I downloaded my second audio book. Now if you knew me, you might've guessed already it was one of Tom Clancy's. Strangely enough though, I didn't get listening to it right away like I would've done had I got it in print, but anyway when I got some free time that weekend, I started listening to it. To be honest, at first I quite liked to just sit there and listen to someone narrate the story to me. It did feel a little awkward, but I thought it would get better later on. I'd just need to adapt to it or something.

I was wrong. Just after 3 chapters, it started to become a drag. The whole thing of having to find time first of all, then getting comfortable, then picking out the chapters, and then being able to listen to it became a tough thing to do. Even more annoying was having to go back on the time elapse bar finding parts to hear again when you didn't hear them right first time round. God, it is seriously boring. I didn't think audio books could be so boring, even though they are written by my favourite authors. I guess I'll just have to stick to the real reading of books instead. It is better in many ways, and makes a better read too. Not to mention that authentic feeling you get, if you get what I mean.

On the subject of books, last week I bought my first ever fiction book. Yeah, I only loan the books I read, never buy them. I only buy books if I know I'll need them over and over again. In all cases, it's always books on design. The books I read, I loan. I'm not passionate about reading, it's just a hobby.

And he's back, Jean Claude that is, and this time in Second in Command. He plays the role of an official known for his efforts in 'Nam I think, and he gets made second in command during an assault on an American Embassy.

Ok I'm going to get to it. Firstly it was nice to see him back in action. I loved his movies, all of them. The martial arts mixed in with guns and high explosives, it's what I lived for back then.

Anyway, the storyline was good. Well good, and told nicely too. Couldn't care too much for the clichéd lines, but there's not much new you could do to avoid them in movies like this. Frankly, I really wanted to like this movie. But there were too many things that I just couldn't accept. The cinematography for example, it was a load of rubbish. No war showing technique, the camera direction was boring, and the effects were lame old, same old.

The acting was horrible too. With a cast I've not seen before (other than Jean Claude), I'm going to assume it was a low budget. Whether I'm right or not, it was terrible acting. Half the marines and hard hitting re-con soldiers looked like wimps. They were almost like smiling, as if happy they are playing a role and being filmed on a movie set. I sat there pulling faces and was sure that even I could've looked more convincing than them.

But the worst bit of all, the technical bits. Seeing a lot of army/military movies and playing games and reading books of the sort does kind of make you somewhat a knowledgeable if not expert in the field. I admit I'm still learning about such stuff, but the knowledge I do posses currently tells me that most of the technical issues in this movie are very far fetched.

God there were so many, I can't even remember most of them. The communication tower for example. The Embassy is faced with militia fighters. Maybe it's just me, but why would they bother to take out a single security camera and then RPG the entire communication tower? Just doesn't make sense. What's more? As the RPG guy comes out from behind the car, the snipers on the Embassy roof fail to spot him and as if like they'd mistaken him for somebody else, they shout 'in-coming' as they see the rocket blasting towards them. And then when it hits, the power in the Embassy goes out. Seconds later the back-up frame kicks in and it's restored again, but for some reason the computers don't work. Maybe it's just me again, but even if the communication is down, the computers still ought to work right? Heck, my notebook still works when my router is being an arse. And to top it off, the two snipers on the roof were the best they had. Yeah right.

Another thing I was amazed to see was that the militia had bugged one of the hostages. Well we only find that out after they were rescued from outside the Embassy. But wait, the bug used was very sophisticated. It was tiny, and I'm talking MI5 tools here. Maybe it's just me, but the militia were not even in hard body armour, yet they have a device 50mm in length that can listen and transmit? I do find that hard to believe.

I can see this entry is getting very long now so I'll end here. And so like I said, I really wanted to like this movie, but I guess something's just shouldn't be liked. And as for Jean Claude, he sure still has it. But I'd prefer if he continues on with the likes of Inferno instead.

The real fool is the one who tries to fool someone else on a day well known.

What do you say, it must've been a real good day for con-men worldwide. To be honest, I was constantly thinking about what if I had continued on with my side hobby of years ago aswell. Make no mistake, today surely would've been lottery day for me too.