Video's nd schtuff

When I was about 12, a couple of my friends and I made a video called “The British News From Down Under.” A video which, to the outrage of millions of viewers, sadly no longer exists. However that video was the beginning of what has become one of the most time-consuming, stressful but most enjoyable hobbies I take part in.

Pictures from the hit series “The British News From Down Under”

Making this video when I was 12 years old was nothing more than innocent fun, creating a news show whilst adding a geographical related pun in the name and including guns was a great deal of fun for us. It’s now 5 years on and we’re still making videos! More on that later. 

From here on out, I began to get a grasp on more advanced editing software. I spent a stupid amount of money on a camcorder and BOOM the quest to create higher quality videos had begun! I made videos about pretty much everything I could. Every ridiculous and random thought had the potential to be turned into a video (shown below in “I can Talk”) Another prime example of this is Graeme Lye: Behind the laughter, (Made with the help of award winning director Josh Agnew, a key member of the Oscar winning series, The British News From Down Under)

Taken from “I can talk”.    I loathe this video…

This was the point, only one year ago, I though I had cracked the key to creating a good video. EHH ERRRR! Incorrect you silly child, incorrect. I discovered the wonderful world of Adobe After Effects very soon afterwards. This brought to the field a whole new depth of adding aspect ratio changes, colour correction and SFX. The closest thing to Special Effects I had come close to was dividing a video in to two, creating, essentially, a “clone”. Now I was able to work in 3D space, create explosions and muzzle flares! 

A lil frame from “Rad Jump”. My first real uploaded attempt at SFX

Currently I am working on a project called “LyeHard”, spawned through some of the same minds that revolutionized the world of media through the release of the internationally successful, The British News From Down Under. It is the first time I’ve ever worked on a video that has taken more than a day to film. So far production time has been several months but release will hopefully be near summer. It’s by far the most complex video I’ve ever had to produce but also the most fun. It’s made me realize how little I really know about the video related world. 

The Dream Team. Myself (Left) Josh Agnew (Right) 

So, why does video and post-production appeal to me? It’s the feeling of managing to create content from piles of raw footage that can make a viewer react in a certain way. Taking days to make a video is worth it for the seconds or minutes of enjoyment that come from watching the final product. 

Whether or not I pursue media as a career is still unknown to me. However, I intend to keep it as a hobby for as long as I can. 

Teaser Trailer For LyeHard

The 'Nuclear Ninja' Mission

Japan, a country that is presently proving itself to be one of the bravest I have witnessed in my lifetime.

After suffering an enormous tsunami as a consequence of the devastatingly large earthquake measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale, the population now have to deal with a potential meltdown of Japan’s crippled nuclear plant. This is the point in which I stumbled upon a heart wrenching article titled 

‘Nuclear Ninja’ Suicide Mission To Save Japan

The article describes how 180 technicians are voluntarily exposing themselves to potentially fatal levels of radiation in a desperate attempt to cool the reactors that put the country at risk. These people, who’s identities are unknown, stayed at the plant after 700 of their colleagues fled due to the lethal radiation levels. Scientists have warned these men that they will almost certainly die trying to carry out their mission and those, if any, who are lucky enough to survive will face a lifetime of severe health problems. The men have already told their families not to expect them to return. As it stands, five of the men have already died.

I could go on and on about how inspiring the article is, showing the true nature of human spirit but I won’t. All I can say is that my heart goes out to these men and the whole country who face unimaginably hard times.

The Article 

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Fukushima-Nuclear-Plant-Workers-Are-Heroes-After-Risking-Own-Lives-To-Avert-Meltdown-In-Japan/Article/201103315954904?lpos=World_News_Second_World_News_Article_Teaser_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15954904_Fukushima_Nuclear_Plant_Workers_Are_Heroes_After_Risking_Own_Lives_To_Avert_Meltdown_In_Japan_

The Frustration Of Time

Frustration of the commonly placid

The title, yet again, may be somewhat confusing to the reader. By placid I am referring to myself. I, and some others, would probably describe me as a relatively relaxed and not hugely angry chap. Nor do I get frustrated or annoyed by seemingly simple things. There is something however. Something that seems to pass every single person by without the third party even realising it. Something so simple, yet when explored in any great detail reveals countless complexities and confusing theories that even the brightest minds can't explain. I refer, of course, to time itself. 

Older - They Might Be Giants

Now, as said in my first blog, I am not silly. I think it's best before we continue that you understand i'm not completely obsessed with the idea. Don't worry, i'm not losing sleep. Thanks for worrying though.
ANYWAY, above is a song which perfectly sums up what is happening every single second. That one line "You're older than you've ever been and now you're even older" is staggeringly obvious but, to me, fascinating.
So after hearing this song I thought i'd try and research the fourth dimension in a bit more detail. Big mistake. Stephen Hawking bombs in there, talking about his theory of time actually having matter, therefore having 'density' and then wormholes and really fast trains slowing down time. I soon gave up and tried to piece back together my broken mind which had been blown by the words of Hawking.
It's not so much the argument of whether time travel is possible that annoys me, which still is quite annoying, but rather the sense of lost time. I'm a lazy fellow and I love it, however sometimes I tell myself off for wasting time i'll never get back. I assume that's life though. Just like History, it's just "one fucking thing after another" and i'm sure the future will present much the same pattern.
I think the topic of this blog has become a bit vague. Ma bad. I'll stumble on through.
There is nothing in life that is a constant, an example being a light bulb which eventually will burn out or the battery of a phone which will run out. Time, however, is a constant (depending on whether you believe it's a man made theory) and no matter how hard you try, you can never stop time from progressing forward. It's probably in human nature to assume control over most things, however this is one thing that will always be completely out of our control.


As you can probably tell, i'm not a physicist so I wouldn't take any of the ideas expressed in the blog too seriously...

Individuality

How to define a person

In these blogs I am and will be writing in the future, you may notice a certain theme. I tend to waffle on about topics that I've always found interesting but are too strange or boring to talk about in real life. This next blog is no exception.


I wouldn't say 'from a young age' but for a long time i've wondered how a person can be defined as the person they are. For example, if I said Spielberg you'd think of movies, Led Zeppelin you'd think of music and Kanye West "i'mma let you finish"... that being his biggest achievement. Not being the brightest bulb in the box, it took a considerable amount of time for it to actually hit me. 


So I move on to this man

Remi Gaillard is a French daredevil and in my view, one of the funniest men on the internet. 
His antics involve public embarrassment and his videos are generally  famous worldwide. At the end of all of his videos, a quote is shown. 

"c'est en faisant n'importe quoi qu'on devient n'importe qui"

It's only by doing anything that you become anyone

And BOOM I was that little bit less ignorant.  Thanks to google translate.  It's only by a persons actions that someone is truly defined. 

Below is my favourite Remi Gaillard video

My tale of 2010

2010

I may have already lost you due to the misleading title, suggesting an in depth summary of the year just gone. Don't worry, that would be silly. I'm not silly. 

However! I will tell you about a present I received. The present, not to boast, was a Blackberry 8520. It came in a big box with an Orange ribbon. I did think this box to be hugely oversized for such a small device, but all was answered when I looked inside. 

Inside were five orange bags, one watch box and the Blackberry. Inside each of the orange bags, which were labelled "spin", "cuddle", "play" etc, was various toys ranging from a half broken yo-yo to a miniature pack of cards. These gifts were given free of charge (which was advertised quite heavily) from Orange as Christmas gifts to their customers! However nice the sentiment, the gifts (not including the watch, which was quite nice) were upstaged horribly by the beautiful 8520. That box summed up my 2010. I know, right? 

Those orange bags represented the times which weren't so good, but amongst all of those pieces of crap were the good times. In the end, all of it lead up to one of the best Christmas's i've ever had. 

I lost friends, made friends and i've now got the best bunch of friends I could ask for. 

So to conclude and to use a trademark of the wonderful Josh TS, I will use a quote. 

"Everybody needs a bosom for a pillow" - Fatboy Slim 

No relevance, just a great song. 

Brimful Of Asha (Norman Cook Remix) < That's the song in case you were wondering