Royal National Park

Yass

Quick weekend away to Yass for a 2nd Birthday Party for the daughter of a friend from uni. Loverly time (and cold). 

Otford.

Some shots from our bushwalk/swim this weekend!

Beach.

Some shots from Cronulla on the weekend.

Abandoned

Amazing photographs that should belong in a post-apocalyptic world such as those seen in The Book of Eli. Unfortunately this is not a movie; these photos were taken in China, 40-odd minutes from the centre of Beijing.

The photographs document farmers replanting crops - reestablishing the abandoned property as farmland. The 100 acre lot holds the evidence of a fake Disneyland that was underdevelopment and has since been abandoned. Last year there were several highly detailed fake Apple Stores throughout China, but a fake Disneyland is something on an entirely different scale.

Nineteen*1

Nine*6

I have been trying to type this entry for two days now, and I am at the point that I want to do a few other posts so I really have to get on with this.

I came across an article on Phillip Bloom on Monday night. It was on his recent visit to Skywalker Ranch to demo some camera's to the Lucasfilm crew out there, namely George Lucas, Rick McCallum and Mike Blanchard. The camera's that he was giving the run down on were the Canon 5DmkII and the Canon 7D - but focusing on their potential for use in film as opposed to still photography. As someone who is looking to make a short film over the next 2 years (Master of Arts Practice project) I was very quickly very interested in this article and followed it to Bloom's personal blog which went more in depth into what he did whilst out at the Ranch for 5 days.

Skywalker Ranch from Philip Bloom on Vimeo.

It's amazing what can be done with a digital slr, I must say that i was unprepared for the superb quality of the video. No wonder ILM/Lucasfilm are looking into the cameras, moreso Lucasfilm than ILM. Lucasfilm just finished up principle photography on Red Tails and are looking into the cameras for use in shooting some cockpit scenes (WWII Fighters) which sounds as though they are once again moving ahead of the times. The maneuverability within a cockpit with a slr opposed to a full size film camera is of a definite advantage to the film maker - obviously allowing them the freedom for new angles, perspectives and techniques that the physical size of film cameras immediately dismiss. As Bloom mentions in his blog, they are also considering the cameras for some work on the upcoming live-action TV Series; which I am very curious to hear/see more about but that will not be appearing on our radar for a while longer. Obviously the range of the applications for these camera's is of obvious interest to those in the film industry looking to further the techniques of filming, or at least alternative methods.

Following this train of research has given me something to think about in regards to my Master's Short Film. There is an accompanying seminar that is to be written and given in the latter part of the course's duration which focuses on your project and area of focus. I think I will look into new and alternative methods of filming and incorporating visual effects. The specialisation of My Master of Art Practice is Visual Effects, which will focus on digital sets, set extensions and the like.

Photo-graphy (+ misc)

I have always been interested in photography... mostly i like the idea of capturing a very honest view of the world. Unfortunately it's not a talent that i have naturally and would take time that i just do not have to nurture. Perhaps after I am done with uni (6 weeks!) I will explore the world of photography and cameras.

There is nothing that i am looking forward to more than completing my degree, it's a 4 year degree so it's a decent amount of time to spend doing the same thing. Honestly I am completely over uni and having to meet someone else's expectations for my own work - as long as i am happy with my work and it meets the basic assessment requirements i do not see the issue. Apparently I am missing something. I understand that this is what i will have to deal with in the industry, but I feel that there are different circumstances there - someone will be paying me to do what they want so it is fair enough that they push you towards what they want to see and also I will be hopefully working as part of a team - not expected to do everything 100% on my own.

I suppose the frustration for comes from a number of things. I am very over living in Wagga, I will miss old 332 Edward when i move but the town itself drags. For me it is no different than home (Young) which is only an hour and a half away and there is always the fact that yes it is a bigger center, but there isn't necessarily ore to do here. The nature of uni is causing me nothing but frustration - as i said before, I do not care for other people telling how my work should be, as opposed to the suggestions that should be given as an option; not an expectation or demand.

Oh well. I just have to stick it out for 6 weeks, the first of which is this week! Public holiday today means i do not have class until Thursday - so this extra time will be well spent. Right after i finish this blog post.

Done. =p