Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Today was a 'History Matters' day in which people are encouraged to record some of the tedious detail of ordinary 'vie quotidien' for posterity.
Here's my steam of conciousness time capsule:
Woke up at 6.30,made a cup of tea ansd roused my wife and daughter (11). My son (18) had a late start so I didn't rouse him with a fresh Late coffee as I usuallly do (had one myself though) Read a 'test' from the 'Book of Counsel' ( I'm an 'E**n' man) and then started up my Mac mini to check on e-mails - nothing but porno-SPAM and a notification from Amazon that a CD (by 'The Monks') was on its way. The test was 'Grant that my intention turns not into dangerous ambition' which at the present stage in my life doesn't seem at all likely My wife cooked me a bacon sandwich whilst i washed ands shaved and then to work by car. It's ajourney of 20 miles which I sometimes make by train- but today I left the house at 7.45- to late for the train. Roads busy and on Radio 4 I heard about 'One day in History' and made a resolve to contribute. At the FE college where I work I logged onto ANOTHER PC and then prepared to teach a class of 2nd year BTEC Media students. This morning they were busily working on a College magazine,writing articles about media events such as the take-over of 'Youtube' by Google. I was very impressed by one student who used 'Flash' to animate a graphic for the on-line magazine masthead (www.buzzfocus.co.uk). In the afternoon I taught the same class and we prepared for atrip to Sheffield in order to attend the Sheffield International Documentary Festival. What most interested them was the nature of the YHA accomodation I'd organised in Edale. They had bad memories of a horrible hostel I booked in Prague last February! Got home at 5.30 and immediately poured myself a beer, watched some TV and read the end of a Terry Pratchett novel i've been re-reading.Dinner we ate in front of the TV - Sausages, Mash, Parsnips and onion gravy followed by a plum crumble with cream- good old fashioned fare. By the time i got back on my computer to prepare for tomorrow it was 8pm. My son came down despondent from his microsoft messenger vigil with the news that his Gig at the 2 Pigs in Cheltenham has been cancelled. Chris is a gutarist in a post-hardcore alternative rock band called QwEEK. Upstairs my daughter is practicing Violin and the TV is on the 'History Channel' playing to an empty room. Soon there will be more tea (real then herbal) then showers and bed by 11pm.
Here's my steam of conciousness time capsule:
Woke up at 6.30,made a cup of tea ansd roused my wife and daughter (11). My son (18) had a late start so I didn't rouse him with a fresh Late coffee as I usuallly do (had one myself though) Read a 'test' from the 'Book of Counsel' ( I'm an 'E**n' man) and then started up my Mac mini to check on e-mails - nothing but porno-SPAM and a notification from Amazon that a CD (by 'The Monks') was on its way. The test was 'Grant that my intention turns not into dangerous ambition' which at the present stage in my life doesn't seem at all likely My wife cooked me a bacon sandwich whilst i washed ands shaved and then to work by car. It's ajourney of 20 miles which I sometimes make by train- but today I left the house at 7.45- to late for the train. Roads busy and on Radio 4 I heard about 'One day in History' and made a resolve to contribute. At the FE college where I work I logged onto ANOTHER PC and then prepared to teach a class of 2nd year BTEC Media students. This morning they were busily working on a College magazine,writing articles about media events such as the take-over of 'Youtube' by Google. I was very impressed by one student who used 'Flash' to animate a graphic for the on-line magazine masthead (www.buzzfocus.co.uk). In the afternoon I taught the same class and we prepared for atrip to Sheffield in order to attend the Sheffield International Documentary Festival. What most interested them was the nature of the YHA accomodation I'd organised in Edale. They had bad memories of a horrible hostel I booked in Prague last February! Got home at 5.30 and immediately poured myself a beer, watched some TV and read the end of a Terry Pratchett novel i've been re-reading.Dinner we ate in front of the TV - Sausages, Mash, Parsnips and onion gravy followed by a plum crumble with cream- good old fashioned fare. By the time i got back on my computer to prepare for tomorrow it was 8pm. My son came down despondent from his microsoft messenger vigil with the news that his Gig at the 2 Pigs in Cheltenham has been cancelled. Chris is a gutarist in a post-hardcore alternative rock band called QwEEK. Upstairs my daughter is practicing Violin and the TV is on the 'History Channel' playing to an empty room. Soon there will be more tea (real then herbal) then showers and bed by 11pm.
Sunday, October 15, 2006
This week I started to load links to Filton college student work onto my web-site
(http://www.buzzfocus.co.uk/Buzz/films/studentfilms.htm)
Its extrordinary just how MySpace and YouTube are impacting on the way that young film makers are communicating their work. A couple of years ago the two yearly 'film festival' screenings at Filton were the only forum for 'live' course-work, plus any local film festivals we could get entereed for (such as 'Lights-Camera-Courework' and 'Fresh' at the 'Watershed')
Now I am able google (when did that become a verb?) the work of ex-students, find their current CV and paste a link to thier films into my web-page (and have a chat with them on MySpace too)
It's a very different media world that's appearing and it the Music Biz that showed the way. My son has now been in a band for a year. The first thing the band did was to get a web-site, THEN they practiced, Then they wrote songs, then they recorded a demo and put it up on MySpace,THEN they gigged. By the time they gigged they had fans (MSM friends of friends) who knew their songs before seeing them 'live', then the Fans (including me) videoed them with video-phones/digital cameras and loaded the live performances up to YouTube. No doubt a 'Music Video' will be edited together soon and posted....and so it goes on. (See www.myspace.com/qweek for the latest gigs)
Will they become 'rich and famous'? almost certainly not- but their music is out there - and little or no compromise is required- be yourself and the like-minded will find you. Older types (like me) may regret the diminishing role of 'taste-makers' such as John-Peel-his-name-be praised- but I suspect these will arrive as a new 'technorati' using the new media.
Film-makers are now moving into the same world. This year our student work will probably be up on the web as soon as it's completed (with entailed copyright nightmares) How long before universities and employers expect to see your web page before interview?
Is this happening everywhere/ Do actors post screen tests and videos of their performances? I've just been looking at what purports to be the MySpace page of Anthony Hopkins- I cant believe its genuine - but why not?
