Bunnies, blisters and three days of lols in Paris

Paris was great! Aside from losing two days to travelling (it felt like an eternity) and a slight blip with the room we got put in there are no complaints here.

Upon arrival on Monday night, after a long and gruelling coach and ferry trip we drove through Paris. If you've ever braved the mean roads of the capital then my hat off to you, since it is terrifying to be driving OR walking. God help you if you stand in the cycling lane too. Parisians are more than happy to ring their bells or beep their horns at the drop of a hat. Once the hotel room fiasco was solved (thanks Sue!) we cleaned up and ventured out for something to eat. After finding a French equivalent to a kebab house (it also sold odd looking Chinese food in little favour cases) we found a small pub called Cafe Bistro or something similar. That pub went on to be our haunt every night while we were there. The staff got to know us pretty well, as did some of the locals!

After a good nights sleep and some croissants we headed off in a random direction to see the sights and get in some pictures. Some coffees we headed for the Montmartre cemetery, it was stunning. So big and each grave was more intricate and lavish than the one before. There were a few that were so over to top though, some even looked like tiny churches. It was so warm that day and the sky was an amazing blue which made for some great shots.

I took a couple of shots through the bars and slots on some graves and caught the statues inside, it looks really eerie!

Walking all morning had given us an appetite so we stopped at an Irish pub for something to eat. The guy who served us was really pleasant and helpful and was quick to throw a strange man who was standing around our table out onto the street (even if he was quite rough!) Paris was full of wonderful little surprises, it was only taking random twists and turns that lead us to them. I caught a random windmill at the top of a street after a passing trip to the Sacre Coeur.
Just looking at all those steps again made me think I sooner not walk up them! The downside to all these beautiful places were the salespeople. They were really pushy in forcing their tricks and tat on people, it takes a fair amount of force and 'no!'s to get them to leave you alone! We also walked past the Moulin Rouge and through parts of the red light district. We were going to visit the museum of erotica but there was seven floors and we were all pretty tired.

That night we went back to the pub and the bunny jokes started! I was explaining the bunny from the last blog (it was a CHOCOLATE bunny) on top form, Will (a friend who also does CLM but in the second year) asked if it was cream filled and of course the subject got turned to the non-chocolate types of rabbit.

After that, and right up to my random selection of a Kinder egg on the way back on Friday (which had, you guessed it - a rabbit!) I've been known as Bunny!

Day two saw us trekking for the Cafe des 2 Moulins; the cafe where Amelie works in the film of the same name. I was a little disappointed as it didn't look anything like the one in the film, but after a coffee I decided to tag along with Andrew as he did what can only be described as 'how to walk to ALL major tourist destinations in one day'. We went to the Arc de Triomph, the Eiffel Tower, the mini

statue of Liberty, and the Louvre. He had been challenged by his friend to repeat some photos while standing on a plinth in front of the glass pyramid, at the entrance to the Lourve.
Sadly, I was too busy taking the shots to catch any myself! Although it was exhausting, it was an epic day I saw so much of Paris and caught probably one of the best shots I've ever taken (I haven't posted it as I'm saving it for one of my projects). By the time we made it back to the hotel I was ready to collapse, I'm still curious about the miles we actually covered but I think finding out might make me want to scream!

That night's visit to our adopted local was rather a speedy one for me as the only thing I wanted was to crawl into bed! Andrew and I joked that our bodies were threatening to kill or seriously maim us if we took another step! I was seriously thinking at a few different stages that we weren't far wrong. Walking back to the hotel that night we took a wrong turn (oh, and while we're on the subject of wrong turns he managed to get us lost! Given it was by around fifty yards, we were still LOST) and we ended up walking up this long street which was full of black people, and shops that specialised in afro care and really long glam nails!

Now that was an eye opener. But then, just like finding hidden gems, Paris seems to be a place where you can turn a corner and life itself changes so dramatically. At the start of the third day Andrew and I walked up a street that must have been a mile long and crammed with jewellery shops along each side. Some had signs saying trade only and minimum spend one hundred euros. It seemed a little strange to me that if it was for trade only that you would go to such lengths to make elaborate window and shop displays? I also noticed that the tourist areas were much busier and scarier than the slightly less touristy places. The atmosphere was different, and more relaxed. Even so, seeing the homeless people was a little heart wrenching, sadly there were people who were pretending to be deaf and dumb and trying to collect money.

We ended up back at the Louvre where we had to reshoot some of the previous days plinth-shots (due to silly manual focus being on - oh yeah sorry Andy, my fault :P) and ended up giggling so much about silly jokes that our sides were hurting. Finding food that afternoon was a disappointment, the place we stopped wasn't very clean and the 'lait froid' (cold milk) was infact warm and not too pleasant tasting. Luckily for me, you can't be around Andy and be sad. He irritates you into being happy (haha) and I was soon in good spirits even though we walked all the way back to the hotel.

Knowing that that night was our last in Paris we all fully intended to make the most of it, so after sitting around our rooms and having a right giggle we went off to our little pub and started drinking.

At this point I should mention my encounter with Sabir on day one (the first full day in Paris) he followed us and insisted I took his number. It was all a little flattering and a little terrifying but it was fun. Not to be outdone, Katie had an admirer stop her in the pub which we all laughed about as he wasn't exactly what you'd call young or good looking.

As the night wore on and we'd all had out fair share of alcohol we started a drinking game. I'm not going to reveal what we did that night as what happened in Paris stays in Paris but lets just say we had a hoot.

Also, playing with baguettes and croissants had become a 'thing' while we were there and it just so happened that Andrew was playing with a hollowed out end of a baguette (complete with a strand of lettuce sticking out of its 'mouth') when one of the waiters walked past. Both his and the waiters reaction was priceless! To say we were in fits of giggles was an understatement. Quoting Scary Movie with croissants on his fingers became Will's thing and I'm sure the staff at the Est hotel thought we were all a little strange!

The staff brought us two lots of complimentary shots, I've no idea what they were but they went down regardless. We were all at various stages of drunk but it was such a great last night. Certainly one to remember (I do have some video footage of it too) and we were all very happy and probably quite loud when we got back to the hotel. It was great getting to know Katie and Andrew better during this trip I hope I've made two new friends :)

The next morning we were packed and showered and ready to leave for ten in the morning the trip home was long and exhausting but all in all I had an amazing time and would have happily stayed longer. I saw so many fun and wonderful things and laughed more than I have since we were last out filming. I've also walked more than I have in a really long time but all in all it was a great trip. One last thing, next time can we please fly?

Murder at Easter time! And packing for Paris

Somewhere in the forest, down a dark tunnel, deep beneath the earth a chocolate bunny, blindfolded and scared, whimpers. Don't be fooled by his bright foil-y grin he is soon to be a very melted, dead bunny!

With nothing but a camp chick with a penchant for shell hats in the gaudiest of colours for company, the rabbit smells a hot doom approaching fast. But who will save him? Without him, buttercups and dandelions will be left to grow freely, and one less Audi driver will aim needlessly for his white bushy tail!

Before I make myself out to be a complete mental case (what do you mean it's too late for that?!) I must explain that this bunny is soon to be an experimental idea I have been toying with as part of the stock photography project we've been given. For those of you who don't know, stock photography is a lucrative way to sell your photos if you have something a bit different. A picture that tells a story, or is unique, or from a field that isn't landscapes.

The brief has asked us to create a small album of stock photography from a subject we feel empathy with. At first I thought about jewellery, purely because I used to be a stock photographer and this was my most favourite subject to shoot. After doing a li

ttle research, and my usual trick of having the most random of ideas in odd places, I changed my mind to chocolate. Except not the usual shots you might expect. Obviously I can't give too much away, but it's going to be called 'Chocolate, with a twist.' Most people know things about chocolate, it gives you the same feelings as being in love, it DOESN'T cause spots and it's a great natural pain killer. But I wanted to concentrate on the different sides to chocolate. They way it makes people act, and feel and what if chocolate wasn't just a treat.

Just a selection of the chocolate, I wonder if you can guess any of the shot ideas just from seeing this? There are other kinds of chocolate, and props out of shot ;) I'm pretty excited about getting started but it probably won't be until I get back from Paris. I'm working on some of the other projects, including the story board for a company. I've chosen to do Volvic, although I've now finished my research I've yet to start the story board. As for the joiner, I've chosen my subject and been once to photograph, but need to revisit a couple more times.

So, Paris on Monday. I'm looking forward to it, although not the huge long coach trip. I really wish we could have flown, or taken the Eurostar, I would have happily paid more! It would have meant more time in actual Paris.

God I want some chocolate now....

Puppet love, sexy cheese and three days of creative futures.

This week is creative futures week, we've known since the start of the course back in October that as part of our studies we're to look into industry. This includes contacting people in the industry for shadowing and work experience, attending talks, lectures, demos etc. As part of that, creative futures is organised so guest speakers can come in and talk about their fields and answer burning questions.

Day one - an opening address from Dr. Stuart Cunningham

"Without creative content, technology achieves nothing." It was a successful opening that caught my attention. It was very statistic-based, but interestingly, it was very Wales-bias. Duf

fy, Anthony Hopkins, Catatonia, The Stereophonics, Charlotte Church, Peter

Greenaway, Rhys Ifans

are a few examples of stars that have co

me from Wales. He explained that we need to stand out from the crowd in order to succeed whether it be freelancing or interviewing for a position. Mentioning the skills and traits that employers look for in potential staff was also helpful as well as what we as students should aim to achieve whilst studying for our degrees.

Dr. Cunningham also went on to talk about

the new creative industries building that is opening at the end of this month

over on the Plas Coch campus. It has been built to be eco friendly and sustainable as well as housing some cutting edge technology with the intent of becoming a hub for local and na

tional companies to hire and film there.

And of course, I cannot fail to mention the grass roof!

This is a view of the new building.

Day one - Key note speaker Barry Purves - Passions and a passport

Barry Purves' filmography includes King Kong, Postman Pat, Engie Benjy, Mars Attacks

and Rupert the Bear. The thing that struck me straight away about his talk was his obvious passion for his art. He showed a short section from the musical The Sound of Music, the part where the Von Trapp children put on a puppet show for the Baron. Mr. Purves explained that Julie Andrews' character is using the puppet sequence to convey feelings she cannot in person. After that part of the film, the Baron's feelings towards Maria changes as he realises that she is more than just a nanny. He went on to expl

ain that a great deal of films contain this method of conveying messages and feelings through inanimate objects also quoting Oscar Wilde; "give a man a mask, and he will tell you

the truth."

A short film that was screened was called John and Karen. The idea behind the short film was simply a couple who had had an argument the night before and John (characterised as a polar bear) had come to see Karen (a tiny penguin) to apologise for his behaviou

r. The colours, silences and emotions portrayed within the film all add up to create a lovely atmosphere. John is a large, awkward polar bear with tiny hands who struggles to convey his emotions. The complete opposite is Karen, a tiny but strong penguin who carries the story (as well as the biscuits but not quite as successfully!) even the biscuits take on a huge significant part.

We were also shows a short CGI film called Overtime by French student Damien Ferrie. It becomes obvious why the frogs in the film look almost identical to Kermit, and it's because the film itself is a is a tribute to Jim Henson that was made in 2008. The music is eerie and beautiful and compliments the storyline well, puppets 'animate' their dead (?) puppeteer/creator essentially reversing the roles, showing the close relationship between the creator and the created. The lighting is very low key, and this coupled with the artificial movement, and the rods that you see on real puppets creates a very convincing story. Finally, look out for the big chicken; it took me three times to spot it, but it is there!

After lunch I went to the talk given by Harriot Buckley which was about putting together a great showreel and CV when looking for work. I found it interesting, and quite helpful but a lot of what was said was common sense.

Day two - Teaching: What's it really like? Andrew Richards came in to talk to us about teaching, and how he got into it. Explaining that he studied art and ceramics for two years as a higher national diploma. Before entering the world of teaching, Mr. Richards started his own business as a potter in Edinburgh. After five years he closed his business and travelled to Albania and India where he helped to open self-sustaining potteries.

Although I have an interest in training as a teacher, it isn't my first career choice, and Mr. Richards is a secondary school teacher. He explained that to be a primary school teacher (which is where I'd like to teach, if I was to go down that route) that it's a different qualification entirely to how he trained. Although the talk was entertaining it didn't really offer any useful advice.

Day two - Social media - How to and why to Steve Graves from the marketing department came in to talk about the importance of social media in the creative industry and how it would effect future jobs. It does without saying that sites like Facebook, twitter, vimeo, youtube, tumblr and many more are being used more and more, celebrities and companies are also using these sites to keep in touch with their fans and consumers. This is because these sites are more accessible than posters or adverts in newspapers and can be more relevant to everyone. Steve explained that in the future people will be paid to post and monitor responses (positive and negative) on social media sites. The talk was interesting and engaging.

Day three - Getting into film and TV Sue Jeffries from Skillset came in to talk about being a part of the film and TV industry. For me, this was the most useful talk of the whole week, given that I am thinking about camera work, certainly working behind the scenes. Sue asked us to think about where we would want to work, why we wanted to be in that department, what we would want to do in that department and what are we good at? Then she opened up the questions to the floor and gave people the opportunity to question her. She explained that work experience, shadowing, gaining contacts within the industry and learning to market ourselves as a worthwhile investment were all important if we wanted to get into the industry.

All in all creative futures has been helpful but I think it would have been more beneficial to have demos and workshops with people in the industry instead of just listening to speakers. Maybe even offer real commission from companies.

Now, to look forward to Paris next week. I'll be making a vlog while I'm away so watch this space for the link!!

An improptu visit to Stoke, 2 nice police men and a piercing studio.

On Monday last week I was informed there would be a trip on the Wednesday of that week. Stoke-Your-Fires was plied as a five day festival of the moving image. This year it was supposed to include film and digital media as well as its core subject; animation.

Animation has become a bit of an expletive among my friends as of late. It seems that we are being subjected to this more and more, Stoke-Your-Fires being a prime example of this. The first I heard was on Monday (apparently we had been told the previous week, but I was absent; probably filming or out taking pictures) and we would be going to a moving image 'festival'. My idea of festivals is a huge open space, lots of stalls, demos, people to talk to and of course lots of freebies! However it seemed it was more of a seminar, once the bus driver found where we were meant to be we were ushered into a large theatre.

The speaker (who's name, as usual escapes my poor memory) introduced a reel of winning short films and animations that had been entered previous to the festival. For me, it would have been nice to have been offered the chance to enter the competition too. It would have given me much more incentive...

The films weren't uninteresting necessarily, I enjoyed Save Our Bacon which was a short animation about a pig farmer who had been duped by a supermarket baron and was down to his last porker. Also, Entropy which won the best short film by a student. It was mostly the dialogue and the obvious difference between scientists and artists and a gifted young boy. "People are live other materials, the react depending on external conditions." And, "everything in life goes froma stage of order to a state of chaos," were two of the lines that really gripped my attention.

After the winning reel was shown we went off for some lunch, and I managed (for the second time in as many weeks) to swallow the metal ball from my tongue bar. This doesn't happen very often, thankfully and doesn't do you any harm it's more of an inconvenience really. Since I had put in my spare the week before I consulted my android phone for the nearest piercing studio and off we went. The first was a tattoo and piercing studio that didn't sell jewellery (?!) and so we were at a loss, seeing some police men, we decided to ask them. To their credit, they were very helpful and even radio'd HQ to ask someone there (who already had lots of tattoos) if they knew any shops nearby. With directions to a shop named Hedonistic we ventured futher into the depths of Stoke. I don't want to offend anyone who comes from Stoke but it seemed to be that everyone we walked past looked glum. It wasn't a rainy day, or even dull but the whole place seemed to eminate a feeling of melancholy. But enough with the Shakespearian rant, on with the show.

The shop was decorated in an industrial style and the man behind the counter was very imposing with his long dreads, multiple piercings and tattoos but he was very helpful and saved the day with his magic box of studs and bars.

After our little excursion into what I can only assume to be England's biggest consumer of anti-depressants, we returned to the museum for a panel talk by four people who work in various different parts of the animation world, which again would be informative if animation was your chosen career path. Although one of them mentioned that getting into a company as a runner was a good way to progress, which is a piece of advice I intend to (ok, attempt to) remember.

Finally, we finished the afternoon with a somewhat riveting talk by Griff Owen who works for Double Negative which deals in visual effects for films. His talk centered around Paul, a film about an alien. I wrote down pages and pages of notes on the talk, and really only learned that Avatar cost $751 million dollars to make.

The ride home would have been more enjoyable if it wasn't for the traffic. Not a complete waste of £15 but it's a good job I don't drink, as that would have been a missed night out....

Next up : Creative Futures.

A trip to the cinema.

What does a trip to the cinema mean to you? Is it a day out with the family or your significant other? To me, a trip to the cinema invokes so many different emotions; some of my earliest memories revolve around being in those seats. In fact, my relationship with the moving image has inspired me at almost every turn in life. As a little girl I could recite most Disney classics word for word, and would happily watch them through, rewind and repeat. From the days when I used to watch those Disney videos until the first several minutes were almost near static from over-use, to my first tentative steps into amateur film production, I have enjoyed immersing myself in a good film.

I love everything about the cinema. I love how the older ones still have those lines on the outside, where in times gone by titles of upcoming and now-showing films would be displayed. These days it looks more like a foreign language since a lot of the letters are missing, but it's still exciting.

Then there's the inside, the smell of warm sweet popcorn, the buzz of the drinks dispenser, the giant cardboard displays of soon to be released films. The neon signs directing you to the refreshments and occasional bar. Buying my ticket is always a joy, I have an unlimited card so handing it over makes me feel like I'm not really paying for a film. I've had that card for just over two years now and have seen around 80 films with it. Some have been amazing, others dire but always an experience. I like to be the first into a screen, for best pick of the seats, if I can I always go for back row centre. No one to kick the back of your seat or throw popcorn at you :) In the dark the rustling and inane chatter is familiar, of course you do get the few annoying people who insist on looking at their phone during the film, or making a noise. But they've never deterred me from returning over and over.

I'm one of those annoying people who loves adverts and trailers. To me that's part of the experience, everything looks better that much bigger. Seeing what's coming soon, choosing the films you will and won't see depending on how the trailer affects me is a huge part of going in the first place. Then the room goes dark and you snuggle deep into the chair and the story begins. The best films aren't the ones with the huge A-Listers, or the biggest budgets. To me the best films are the ones you get totally immersed in, you escape from reality so much you forget you're in a dark room with a lot of strangers. So when the lights come on again you are left with a misty recollection of where you are and the feeling of being part of something much bigger.

After each film, I keep my ticket stub and glue it into my journal. The above picture shows a two page spread of film tickets. I write a brief review and score it out of ten so when the film comes out on DVD I have a reference to look back on when deciding whether to buy it or not. It might come across as a little sad, especially considering about 90% of the films I see, I go to alone. But I actually enjoy my own company, and let's face it there's little more annoying than that friend who asks seven million questions during a film.

I feel I've come a long way since the days of Disney, although I must say I'm still a sucker for the classics. I collect them, only now they're on shiny DVDs and cost a small fortune to buy. Beauty and the Beast was always my favourite, Belle was an aspiration because she loved books as much as I did. She taught me to follow my dreams and always believe that there was much more to life. That may sound rather tragic upon reflection, but I was about four years old at the time...

And so back to my original question, what does a trip to the cinema mean to you? To me it is a magical overload of all my senses. I hope that I go on enjoying trips for a long, long time to come. Thanks for reading :)

Manufactured landscapes, and the secret lives of my friends and I...

During today's creative media production lecture we watched part of the 2006 documentary entitled 'Manufactured Landscapes'. Photographer Edward Burtynsky travels the world and documents massive man-made changes to landscapes. In the picture I have posted here, Burtynsky reveals the mass manufacturing factories of China where products like lighters, Christmas decorations, TVs, toys and tshirts. The documentary opened with a tracking shot that must have gone on for what felt like a mile; row after row of workers assembling parts, performing quality control checks, overseeing procedure etc. The documentary shows one worker who was assembling switches, she told the interviewer that she could put together 400 units in a day without overtime.

The documentary goes on to cover various places that have experienced massive change at the hand of man. This includes E-waste, in the digital age around 90% of North America's recycled computer and electronics end up in China where they are stripped for parts, the workers are exposed to toxins like lead and mercury. Not only are workers affected but the piles of E-waste that sit in the streets are polluting the air, and the water. So much so that water has to be imported into the affected areas.

So, after a very moving documentary, which was supposed to invoke empathy in us and to try and encourage us to use our skills for good in the world. It certainly inspired me that's for sure.

After the lecture, my friends and I had booked the studio for some light painting pictures. Next week is Creative Futures week at uni where we have talks and demonstrations designed to get us thinking about the next steps after graduation. In light of this, the uni was giving out free sparklers. We each took a handful, several torches and some glowsticks into the photostudio.

At first we experimented with a few sparklers and the torches. This is the second time in a few months that I've experimented with light painting, as it is one of my favourite things to do. I was playing with different coloured glowsticks but the light they were giving off wasn't too bright and so I had to hold them right next to the lens.

We moved onto playing with the zoom (barrel roll) where you zoom right into your subject, pause, then zoom out. The effects varied greatly but it was when we started photographing each other that the strange pictures started to come out. Sue also suggested changing the colour tone on monochrome shots. The green picture of Dave looks like something from the Exorcist! We had a lot of fun, even if it was like a workout trying to get the shots!

Tomorrow we're visiting Stoke on Trent, for the moving image festival Stoke Your Fires. More then...