Fifteen*1

Just stumbled across the 332 Edward St blog that one of my housemates did up in June 2006. Consisted of one entry (and the above image). Dear god I miss those times;

"Scott Finlay* 19, answers the door wearing nothing but a dressing gown, ug boots and a smile. 'Someone's here' he yells out to no-one in particular. He gestures to them to follow him, as he turns and heads down the corridor. Upon passing the door on the right, he bangs on it and keeps going. Movement can heard on the other side, but that quickly subdues. Scott passes the hallway door and disappears to the left. The next room appears to be a loungeroom. In the 3-seater, Jason Fletcher* lies wrapped in three cotton blankets because it's too cold to sleep in his room, aka the "ice fortress". The fire place which has been converted to a gas heater isn't on, because the cord is not long enough to reach the only powerpoint in the room. Against the wall on the right, resides the daybed. Not comfortable nor even functional, the bed serves to prop intoxicated tenants up from the floor, when not in the bathtub. A ridiculous tv unit holds a big black television 3 feet from the ground, underpining the tv is a dvd player and a monopoly board game. A partition connects the loungeroom to the kitchen, where Scott sits at the table in the middle of the wood slat floor. He sips from a coffee mug, slowly and deliberately, momentarily looking from them as, Dane Kirkland* enters the room. It's 9:41 in the morning of a Saturday, you could get breakfast at McDonalds at this time, but not Dane naturally awake. He is barely conscious but says hello, then progresses back to his room and shuts the door.

Such is the house of 332 Edward St.


Tenants:
- Dane Kirkland.
18. Currently studying a double degree of BA (Multimedia)/(Graphic Design) at CSU Wagga. He is a first year, but hopes this is not his only year. He one day plans to design parachute graphix and start his own business. Name pending. He is a man of few words, which doesn't mean he doesn't talk much, just that his vocabularly isn't very expansive. His new word is: Gigantanormus. (He likes making words up.)

- Jason Fletcher. aka the 'J-Fizzla'
18. Attends CSU Wagga trying to get a BSc in Spatial Science, though he is not entirely
sure that it is exactly what he wants to do, but he's doing it anyway *Dane nb - thats stupid*. He's a procrastinating photographer, who really should do more photography than he does currently and not be so damn picky. He also wishes his room wasnt so damn cold, so he could sleep in there occasionally.

- Scott Finlay.
19. Attends CSU Wagga, undertaking a B Social Working degree. He enjoys moonlight strolls down the Esplenade, and skipping in the rain. Likes to wear womens products when he thinks no-one can see, and really shouldnt let other people write his bio for him, because they'll just make shit up. But he really is at Uni."

Thirteen*6

Well here we are. 136 posts later I have reached the 1 Year Anniversary for my blog - who would have thought I'd actually keep going at it this long?

It's difficult to wrap my head around the fact that 1 year ago I was in 4th Year uni, down in Melbourne on work experience when I started this blog. And now I'm in Sydney still looking for a job.

How time flies.

I graduated on the 15th, it was a double whammy with my birthday the same day. It was a good day, the rest of the trip was pretty uneventful - I was quite disgusted by several friends who were very unwilling to make an effort to catch up while I was in town for a very limited amount of time. I was quite displeased. If it is them visiting, I make an effort and meet them halfway. But apparently if I'm in town I am expected to go to them at their convenience. No doubt they are offended I only saw them briefly once, but I did invite them to a few different happening whilst I was there. The best they could do was catch up with me for a little bit on the first day and ask me when I was coming down next?? I was there for 5 days, come on!

Having said this, there were a few friends who made a huge effort. I greatly appreciate the effort!

Nine*7

Portfolio site V8.5 has been online for almost a week now. Go and check it out at www.dkirkland.com. With this complete and fully functional I have finally been able to move on from that (revisiting for the occasional update) to working on some vfx for my new showreel. You know, the sort of stuff that I have saying and been meaning to do for the past 4 years whilst at uni but when it comes to doing it my inspiration wavers to the point of non-existance. Uni Holidays will do that to you. So I spent a bit of time scouring through old backups of projects, both uni and personal - looking for things that need starting/finishing/touching up. One that I am focusing on at the moment is a re-envisioning of Nick and my zombie short film disaster 'Perennial' from first semester 3rd Year (2008). I was abysmally disappointed by the project, possibly due to a combination of my not taking charge as I possibly should have and letting Nick take the reigns. Mind you, I am equally at fault as he is. So you could call what I am now doing MY version of one of the scenes. Mind you, the footage isn't the ideal for this sort of work. Nor are the actor's non-existant makeup.

A brief history; Perennial originnaly appeared as a rotoscoped piece with digital backgrounds insterted and lighting added later on. It turned out ok, but not fantastic in my books. So here I am nearly 2 years later attempting something that may or may not work with the footage. I am still going to attempt digital backgrounds - which in itself makes my job harder, despite the fact that we filmed in the blue/greenscreen studio down in TV Land at CSU Wagga we were making use of the space opposed to the bluescreen itself. Thus my first hurdle - keying out the background manually using masks is a hug task, and as is attempting to get the optimum "key" from the background as is possible.

Original Footage:


Masked Footage:


So you can see there that I am getting a decent result, but I have no hope of handling that hair better than I have in the above shot. But I think once it's all blended in it may be reasonable. The major issue that I have is that obviously the actors are lacking in the appropriate makeup - due to the rotoscoping there was no reason for us to worry about makeup - time saving back then, painful now. I have a number of options however - go for the 80's Dawn of the Dead style zombies which could be achieved very easily by playing with the saturation and colour balance, or of course there is a bigger transformation that would require essentially frame by frame edits of the actors into zombies via photoshop and some motion tracking. It's not the worst idea in the world, but time-consuming and my aim is to have this completed somewhere in the week of the 11th - 17th of January. Which is also something that may or may not happen with me moving to Sydney on this coming Tuesday. We'll see. I am hoping that the masking of at least these 3 actors will be done before I move - hard push but it could be possible. After that it is a bit more straight forward (in regards to the masking). For those interested here is what the original styling looked like;

This is just one of the things that I am doing in attempts to improve on both my skills and the work that will be shown to potential employers. I am slowly making my way through the VideoCopilot tutes as well, which are great for learning and relearning quickly. We'll see how I go.

Nine*4

I am working on Version 8.3 of my portfolio as we speak. The current site was always meant to be a placeholder until i finished uni and found the time to create one with my entire portfolio available. That time has come. I actually bought a template and am customising it to suit my needs, which is so much faster than created one from scratch - and right now I just need something up there. Looking back about a year when I had completed Version 1 (which was quickly superseded by consequent versions) it's come a pretty long way. All that there is left to do now is fill out the site with content, which I am in the process of right this moment - it just takes a bit of time sorting through a few years worth of work, making it web friendly and creating some sort of blurb to accompany it. Not that the latter really requires too much anyway.

The plan (as it stands) is to have this site active and online by the end of next week, which is a very attainable goal. The only thing that is really going to slow it down is my moving from Wagga to Young on Monday. So basically I won't be working on the site Sunday/Monday, but there is a reasonable chance that depending on what I am doing in between now and then that it may be completed by then anyway.

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

Blogging ala. Time Filler/Killer

I am sitting here desperately trying to think of a tagline for part of a advertising campaign for a new (completely fictitious) caffeine-free/sugar-free energy drink for uni. I had the perfect tagline once upon a time but i forgot to write it down thinking - yeh sure i'll remember that. Oh well. The concept is there, it is just a matter of nailing that one line. Here's a work in progress shot of part of the campaign (print side);

Energy Drink Uni Project WIP
Originally uploaded by dane.kirkland

Sorry for the blue there in the image. It's not as horribly vibrant in actuality as it is there, cmyk on the web you know.. =p The general idea behind the concept is that the drink ('Now') allows you to revitalize yourself in a healthier way than say red bull, v, mother etc. and give yourself that boost of energy without the adverse effects of high levels of caffeine and sugar which is degrading to your general health. The idea that this new drink takes you out of the moment and transports you into your 'fantasy' - allowing your mind to relax whilst your body catches up, recharges - gets that boost of energy.

So there's the idea, now how to put it into a cohesive, concise sentence that is both catchy and straight to the point.

Anyway, that's where my mind is at currently. I am struggling to come up with a decent line so i thought blogging may be a nice alternative. Let my own mind wander a bit as i attempt to resolve the issue. A few of my current tagline thoughts follow;

LET IT TAKE YOU WHERE YOU WANT TO GO. NOW.
LIVE THE DREAM. NOW.
LET IT TRANSPORT YOU.
LET YOUR MIND WANDER WHILE YOUR BODY CATCHES UP.
GIVES YOU THE BOOST YOU NEED TO ACHIEVE.
BOOST INTO THE DREAM.
LIVE THE DREAM.
BE THE MOMENT. NOW.

Not really happy with most of these. There's potential there however.

I came across this trailer moments ago;

Looks quite good, although admittedly i am a sucker for post-apocalyptic films - it is nice to see Mila Kunis getting her action star boots on, i have always been a fan of her since That 70s Show. It's also fantastic to see Gary Oldman back as a villain.

Ummmm. What else was i going to mention? Ah yes, so this is the final week of my final uni holidays and it is strange to think that after this there will be no regimented holidays or schedules that dictate my year as such. No month gaps of leisure that are pre-determined and organised by others - it will all be reliant upon my employment (status) and other circumstance *cough* money *cough*. I am positive that i will be completely unsure as to what to do with myself at the end of this year. Although i do have a solid plan for moving from Wagga, i shall be departing permanently when i go home for Christmas (whenever that may) and then hopefully between Christmas and New Years I shall wander up to my temporary accommodation in which i will be staying until Liz and I can get ourselves sorted and set up. Which will also hopefully be relatively hassle-free (although i have my doubts). Some random cool videos that i want to remember about rather than having a billion bookmarks.





Also a picture of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's upcoming film that i am sure i have mentioned, Paul - i found these over at collider.com;

A Beautiful Week Awaits

\ This week hold so many fun things for me to do;

I still have Episode 2 of Tales of Monkey Island to finish as well as the Special Ed of the Secret of Monkey Island. So far this episode of Tales of Monkey Island is feeling a little repetitive and not as polished as the first episode – some poor animation in parts involving Elaine just sliding across the screen.

Today I downloaded the first part of the Ultimate Sith Edition Expansion for The Force Unleashed. I must say it was fantastic, not overly long only took an hour or so but the level design was rather fantastic – capturing the feel of Jabba the Hutt’s dungeon beautifully from Return of the Jedi. It really makes you feel like you are playing through an alternate version of the original trilogy – complete with the music and Ben Kenobi.

Adrian’s purchase of the Ghostbusters game (PS3) at some point this week means that I will be paying him a visit and we shall bust ghosts together – it will be beautiful, proton beams flying everywhere in glory. As will the release of Batman Arkham Asylum on Thursday although I noticed a copy of the Batarang in EB today and it looked like arse. Obviously a mass-produced moulded plastic thing.. I’ll get a closer look on Thursday so I’ll let you know how the Collector’s Edition goes.

I’m also heading home for the weekend so that will be a nice getaway from Wagga. Never thought I would say that about Young =p

Oh and the recent news of Disney buying Marvel has given birth to rumours/hopes for Pixar to do a Marvel movie or an Incredibles sequel that involves Marvel characters.. My thoughts?

WORST IDEA EVER!

Which idea am I talking about? Both. Pixar makes original films – that is what they have always had going for them, I am certainly hoping Disney keeps their meddling hands out of that one, they have already done enough by demanding sequels to a few Pixar films that could do without.

Oh and some videos I watched today included Halo 3 ODST footage, see Halo like you’ve never seen it before;

SYMPOSIA09 Web

I recently completed building the website for this year’s SYMPOSIA. For those of you who are unaware SYMPOSA is a design conference similar to AGIDEAS and SEMI-PERMANENT that is held in Wagga Wagga NSW. It is in its 6th Year. I am pretty happy with how the site worked out – I learnt a bit about streamlining the way I make flash sites which will definitely assist in my portfolio site which is currently at the stage of a functioning template awaiting content.
Ooh and linkage to the SYMPOSIA site here.

Gigs

Alot has been happening in the 3 weeks or so that I haven’t posted so I have got a few catch up posts to do. I have been working on the website for SYMPOSIA09 which is an annual design symposium held in Wagga Wagga similar to AGIDEAS and SEMI-PERMANENT. The little edits and tweaks of the information are the most time consuming, including several alterations in regards to the pricing alone! But this is something that is inherently unavoidable in this particular industry. I have also been working on concepts for motion titles for the event which will introduce the speakers and their work, as well as brainstorming for another motion graphics project that I can’t really speak about as of yet.

These are progressing at an acceptable rate, which just happens to be a rapidly as is allowed. This combined with my final graphic design assessment for the semester (environmental design) is taking up the majority of my time, whilst trying to fit in bits and pieces of things that I enjoy.

I have been to 2 gigs at the Uni Bar in the past 3 or so weeks; Faker and Josh Pyke. Both were incredibly enjoyable, although I was surprised that Josh Pyke pulled a larger crowd than Faker. One part of Faker’s performance that I greatly appreciated was their attitude, it’s great that bands make an effort to come to the smaller centres (such as Wagga) and they obviously enjoy coming; obvious with the way that Faker interacted with the crowd, not dissimilar to Gyroscope’s efforts last year. Josh Pyke had a similar reaction to Wagga and the uni, and his performance was better than what is on his albums – which is definitely something that you look for in seeing a band live, otherwise what is the point in going to a concert?