Crikey Moses

I'm absolutely jiggered. It has been absolutely fantastic to see that everyone who has watched the documentary has found it both informative and entertaining. Anyway, as someone very intelligent once said:

The past is history, the future a mystery, but today is a gift - that's why we call it the present.

So, no more looking back on past achievements. I'm looking to do another documentary over the Summer. It may not be as ambitious as The Future of News but it will be a way of keeping myself both busy and out of trouble as I wait for September to roll around for my journey of America. They say it's best to write about what you know so that narrows my expertise down to football, action films, and videogames. I'm looking into buying a digital camcorder without spending any more than £220, which is proving quite difficult as it must also have a microphone port so I can use an external mic. These are just minor problems though and as soon as I get started on it I'll keep everyone up to date.

The last couple of days have been absolute bliss! The weather has been mostly alright and I've just been able to take a step back and unwind after a very, very stressful six months. I've been able to go back to my first love - videogames. This arrived in the post which I am very much looking forward to starting:



I've never played a Star Ocean game before but seeing as this is a prequel I doubt it will have any impact at all on my overall enjoyment of the game.



I also sat down today and read the latest instalment of Rob Kirkman's seminal Zombie thriller The Walking Dead. As always, the volume ended on a huge cliffhanger and I'm eager to see what happens to Rick and his ragtag crew of survivors.

You may have noticed a couple of slight changes to this blog. I've put a search bar and a little Twitter widget so there's more synergy between my blog and my Twitter page. I would hate people to miss out on what I was having for lunch. Anyway, I'm off to enjoy a pizza, take aim at some people on Call of Duty 4, and to just enjoy being able to relax.

Jambo out.

A New Dawn

Well, tonight I start (and hopefully finish) my last ever essay for academic purposes - that is unless of course I apply for a Masters degree in 2011! It's a strange feeling knowing that tomorrow is my final day of University. As I said in an earlier blog post, I've met a lot of cool people and it will be sad to see them go; however, it is an exciting period of my life and I am anxiously looking beyond tomorrow and towards the good times: My trip to Wales in July, my tour of America and the rest of the world, my eventual return, my next bout of education and then hopefully entering the world of work ideally doing something I really enjoy. There is nothing that frightens me more than the thought of being stuck in a job I detested with no real prospects or excitement in my life.

In other news, the documentary is coming along really nicely and the finished piece is being converted as we speak in one of the editing booths at the St Peter's Campus. The website I've been working really hard on goes live tomorrow so I'll be sure to post the link up on here and I'd really appreciate it if you would click it, watch the documentary, and leave your views here. I've got a rough copy of the documentary on my Macbook and I've been having a watch every now and then. I cannot explain how proud I am of this production! I will say though, as much as I am proud of it, I am starting to get a bit sick of the sight of it. It has been a real labour of love. Blood, sweat and tears went into this thing (I damaged my ankle ligaments again during the promotional photoshoot) and I honestly believe it has paid off. If the opportunity comes my way, I would love to get the chance to make another documentary - though maybe with a bigger team so the workload could be shared more!

Anyway, I've got 2,000 words to write for my critical evaluation (this has been a good warm up, I suppose) so I'm going to get to work on that.

Jambo out.

Website woe

A lot of you will know (especially if you've been reading this blog) that I'm working on a documentary on the concept of the future of the news industry. Well, the good news is that filming has officially ended and we are in the final days of editing. As part of the design brief, we have to make an accompanying website to compliment what is presented in the documentary. The job of designing the website and sorting out the content is in the hands of myself and the presenter on the documentary. I'm acting as the code monkey - frantically punching html code as fast as I can and creating the graphics - while the presenter works on the content. It promises to be something very special indeed with behind the scenes footage, clips of the full interviews, cool shots we took but couldn't put in, and loads of funny mishaps. I'll let you guys know when it is finished. It's going to be a lot of work as the deadline is on Wednesday but all of us involved are very proud of what we have created and are looking forward to hearing what you guys think of it too.

[just a little edit to say I've finally fixed the problem I was having with the 'About Me' section on the menu bar on the right. A quick fiddle around with some html editing sorted everything out. Much love.]

Jambo out.

The final hour

As some of you may know, I'm in my final year at University. My dissertation is basically a practical project in the form of a 30 minute documentary with a little written critical evaluation tagged on at the end. I've been working on this project since January, having pitched the initial idea in December, and I'm constantly amazed at how much progress the team and I have made over the last few months. There are only 10-11 days left of University and we are halfway through the editing process and, without meaning to blow my own trumpet, it is looking really professional. All three of us in the team have put a lot of time, effort, and money from our own pocket into this project and we are confident that the final piece will be strong enough to get us a job in documentary film making should that be a path we wish to pursuit.

The last three years have been fun. I've met a lot of cool people, done stuff I'd never done before, and been more independent than I've ever been in my life learning how to manage budgets (for two months I lived off £1 a day) and look after myself. I'm not looking at the end of University as the end of an era, if anything it is just the beginning. I'm going to travel the world for a year starting in September which I am really looking forward to and will chronicle in this blog and on Twitter. I'm going to do a Masters degree when I come back (probably at one of the three local Universities) and then after that I'll be let loose into the real world. Although a chapter is coming to an end, all that's really been revealed are the minor details, the crux of the story is yet to unfold and there are many, many pages ahead of me full of discovery and wonder. This is my book, and I'm determined to make it a bestseller.

Jambo out.

The Future of News

This is a class project I'm working on. I've never done a title sequence before but figured I'd give it a go. Opinions sought.

My humblest...

... and most heartfelt apologies for not keeping you fine folk up to date on my humdrum existence, but, in my defence, I have been rather busy. You see, this last week I've been filming for a documentary down in London and have been mingling with the delightful men and women folk at Sky and the BBC news departments. Wake up was around 06:30am each day and we did not get back to the hotel I booked (which I'm told was in the roughest part of London) till late on so I've been swamped with travelling and work. Anyway, that's the excuses out of the way.

I've been learning -and re-learning in some cases - a few new magic tricks; mainly card ones. For those interested you can see them on my YouTube page (which I will eventually get round to adding to the list of websites on the right).

You may recall I blogged not so long ago on my late night spending sprees in ASDA... Well, this one took the biscuit: An HDTV. In my defense, I've had a 28" behemoth CRT in my room for the last God knows how many years so I was in need of a change and, Hell, there's no harm in future-proofing is there. Here is the gorgeous beast:

I have owned a 32" Samsung HDTV for a couple of years now and have been over the Moon with it so when I saw this sleek little number for £200 I just couldn't say no. The money for the documentary came through too so if anyone asks, this is for research purposes, you catch my drift? *nudge nudge, wink wink*

Currently looking at buying a 120GB iPod classic as my music collection now overwhelms my poor little 30GB iPod Video. It has served me very well but its time has passed and I must move on. I shall give the ol' Video one to my parents who have been toying with the idea of getting a big MP3 player for themselves. Now, what to get engraved on the back...? If the engraving is free from Apple then you bet your arse I'll want to take advantage of it!

Anyway, I think that's all for now.

Jambo out.