Project52: Week Twelve - Bush

Project52: Week Twelve - Bush, originally uploaded by Jessica M. Cross.

I'm wanting to film a project for uni at the reserve across from my house, so yesterday I went on a location scouting trip. I hadn't been over there very much recently, and even then when I've been I've only gone on the track to the reservoir and back. This time I went in a completely different area and loved it. I got surrounded by a ton of butterflies, but only having the 18-55mm lens meant I couldn't get a decent picture - and now have an urging to go visit the butterfly house at the zoo! I did however get this really nice picture of the bush. It was hard to get the exposure right because of the sun, and I also realised that I had rubbish in the bottom of the picture so I took a few, but in the end I just did an Auto Tone and cropped it in Lightroom and got this which I am really happy with. I thought about putting it into black and white, but decided to leave in colour - I think the different shades of brown and green are essential to the picture. There are lots of other photo opportunities in the reserve, I'll be making sure to go back another time during the year.

Incidentally, yesterday was Red Hill Show day, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that I won Best in Show for the second year running! I also got another first, three seconds and a third! Really surprised myself after entering the exact same photos at Berwick and not winning a thing. Having said that, I would have chosen one of the other entries to win - I thought it was amazing and would love to take a similar photo. It's all someone's personal opinion though I guess. Now I just have to choose which ones to enter into Melbourne - I had 10 in Berwick/Red Hill, but their entry fees are $2 compared to $10, so I'll have to only choose 2 or 3 I think.

Project52: Week Eleven - Fire

Project52: Week Eleven - Fire, originally uploaded by Jessica M. Cross.

Another week where I didn't think I would get a photo, but opportunity came late Saturday night. It had been a crazy week, and, to top it off, it was my weekend on at work so I really had no time! However, it was the neighbour's birthday, and when I got there they had a fire going, plus they had a tree that was really nicely lit by the light on their shed. With all the people there I couldn't really take photos of the tree, so I took photos of the fire instead. Used my tripod of course, then in Lightroom increased the blacks to take out some odd bits and pieces, which also had the effect of making the colours a bit more extreme. It's the same thing I do on photos of fireworks and I think it worked really well. Perhaps not quite as impressive as a photo I've taken of embers at a bonfire, but still nice.

Project52: Week Ten - Stairs

Project52: Week Ten - Stairs, originally uploaded by Jessica M. Cross.

Okay, I (half) cheated this week. This is a another photo from the Botanic Gardens, only I decided to try and make it look like an oil painting using a Photoshop tutorial I found on the Internet. It was just too hard to take a photo this week. I had some unexpected events occur (some good, some terrible) and, having possibly gone through the entire range of emotions possible, meant that I couldn't find any creativity in me (not to mention getting behind on uni work). Having said that, it was quite fun experimenting with the oil painting effect and I learnt lots out it as it involved using filters I haven't used before.

Now things are more or less back on track and looking forward to really getting back into it this week.

Project52 - Week Nine: Pandora

Project52 - Week Nine: Pandora, originally uploaded by Jessica M. Cross.

No, not Avatar's Pandora (though I still wonder why they weren't all wearing bracelets). This was my Christmas present from my parents, and the subject of another 'Oh dear it's Saturday I need to take a photo' made worse with a 'Oh dear it's raining I'm not going out in that'. I've actually been wanting to take an up-close photo for a while. It was really hard to focus on, but I quite like it. It's just sitting on a notebook that was on my desk at the time, and I added an 'antique photo' effect. Quite cute I think.

So uni is now in full swing (well it is the second week) and I'm already struggling to fit it in. I WILL DO IT!

Project52 - Week Eight: Botanic Gardens

Project52 - Week Eight: Botanic Gardens, originally uploaded by Jessica M. Cross.

Well, I thought this week was going to be a piece of cake. We had planned a few weeks earlier to go see 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon' (don't laugh) again (I said don't laugh!) at the Moonlight Cinema at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne. I was wrong, of course. It was just one of those zero inspiration days, and even trying to take night skyline shots didn't work (though that may have been the logos of the companies I've been applying for depressing me). This was the best of the lot. I've taken something similar before that's doing the rounds of this year's Shows, but I think I possibly like this one better.

Incidentally, if you're ever planning on going to Moonlight Cinema, get there early - we got there at 7:30 (gates opened at 7) and it was already close to full - and the movie wasn't even starting until 8:30. Was still an awesome night, highly recommended.

Project52 - Week Seven: Experiment

Project52 - Week Seven: Experiment, originally uploaded by Jessica M. Cross.

I know, long time no post again. The last few weeks have been kind of crazy - as well as uni going back, I've been filling in applications for graduate positions. These involve lots of questions about teamwork and leadership and why accounting, which are all good fun. Hopefully they pay off - I'm through to the final round with one already which is a good thing.

This photo is a strange one. I was experimenting with my flash (and incidentally discovered it rotates as well as being able to adjust the angle - I've only had it for a few months!) and I overblew it. Big time. All you could see was a slight right edge and some of my hair. For a bit of fun I pressed auto tone in Lightroom and it somehow found my room's purple wall colour. And my hair colour. I played around with the other settings and ended up with this. I was kind of hoping to take a 'real' picture later in the week, but it didn't happen so this is it.

Project52 - Week Six: Cloudy Sunset

Project52 - Week Six: Cloudy Sunset, originally uploaded by Jessica M. Cross.

Last night, while out in the horse's paddock, I saw these amazing clouds while the sun was setting. It looked spectacular, but of course while I got my camera and came back it had disappeared. There was still this pattern of clouds left though. It looks quite unusual - there was storms elsewhere in the state, but they were doing a nice job of going around up unfortunately, so all we got were these orange-y/purple-y/blue-y clouds.

I forgot to bring my gradient filter with me, but in Lightroom I did an auto tone and increased the blacks to take out the detail in the bottom third of the picture.

It was hard to choose between this and another picture, I might post the other at a later date to see what people think.

Project52 - Week Five: Reading

Project52 - Week Five: Reading, originally uploaded by Jessica M. Cross.

Week 5's photo is one I started planning around week 2 or 3 I think! My problem was that I feel awkward taking photos of myself when people could potentially be watching. Finally a day came round when no one was home so I ducked outside and took it.

It's a good way of showing how I've essentially spent most of my free time since the start of the uni summer holidays - I've read the complete works of Jane Austen, Michael J. Fox's autobiography 'Always Looking Up', the complete Twilight saga, the complete Keys to the Kingdom series and I've just started on the book pictured - a collection of the works of the Bronte sisters (I'm trying to read some more classics, and I'm quite enjoying them). Reading has been easier than movie watching this summer - I've spent part of it with various renovations, meaning the house hasn't been as cool as normal, so it's been too hot to have my computer on my lap.

This photo was actually a test photo, but I liked it the best out of what I took, so I've cropped it to get rid of my hand holding the wireless remote. Not sure if it looks odd? I also had the issue that in front of the tree was quite dark and the paddock quite bright, so I used a Curves adjustment layer and masked out the paddock bit, then did a Levels adjustment over the top. Quite happy with how it came out.

Project52 - Week Four: Nelly

Project52 - Week Four: Nelly, originally uploaded by Jessica M. Cross.

Slight delay in posting for weeks 4 and 5 due to Internet issues! They were taken in the particular week, though I only finished editing week 5 today; the hot weather has meant I've avoided doing anything on my computer but the opening of graduate program applications and the need to get a head start on uni work has ended that. The week 4 photo was another last-minute-on-a-Saturday one, just didn't get around to it during the week. This is Nelly, our Miniature Pony foal (there's photos of her being born etc elsewhere in the feed). I decided she was this week's subject, but she's so friendly she walks right up to me, too close to get a decent photo! This was the best I got, it's a touch out of focus I think, but I like it and thinks it's cute. No editing to this one, just auto tone in Lightroom.

Focus on Frankston Photography Competition

First of all, I have taken the last two weeks photos, but I've had Internet issues and hence haven't uploaded. Hope to get to them during the week.

In the meantime, voting has opened for the Focus on Frankston Photography competition. I have three photos entered and any votes would be much appreciated! I can't give direct links as the website is kind of annoying but here's mine:

http://focuson.frankston.vic.gov.au/Competition/Pub/Gallery.asp?lngCompetitionCategoryId=5 - Frankston Fireworks (red fireworks in the bottom right-hand corner)

http://focuson.frankston.vic.gov.au/Competition/Pub/Gallery.asp?lngCompetitionCategoryId=1&PageId=6 - Frankston Foreshore (stormy pier shot in bottom row)

http://focuson.frankston.vic.gov.au/Competition/Pub/Gallery.asp?lngCompetitionCategoryId=4&PageId=3 - Ballam Park Tree (tree on top row second from right)

There are also some fantastic shots in the other categories that I didn't enter so I highly recommend having a look.

Project52 - Week Three: Books

Yet again, this week's photo isn't what I intended at the start of the week. Initially I thought I was going to do another portrait, but seeing as I did one last week and it was a bit too sunny for what I wanted, I decided to do some product photography instead. I was kind of lazy and decided to leave it until Saturday, when I realised the idea I had wasn't going to work, so I had to come up with something quickly - which was this. I've had this idea in my head for a while - I just love the different colours in the HP children's covers and I thought it would be fun to exemplify them against a white background. Admittedly, it's not particularly original, but I like it. I shot it using my DIY photo box, but since I'd used it last it had kind of disintegrated a bit, plus I couldn't use the lamp I normally use. Having said that, I still got what I thought was a nice photo and figured I'd fix the rest in Photoshop.

The first thing I did was fix the white balance and crop it in Lightroom. I then took it into PS and did lots of playing round with the curves. I wanted the colours to be bright, but the background white, so I crushed both the whites and blacks. The only issue with this was that because my hardcovers have covers on them, they reflected and faded out, so I used the quick selection tool to do separate curves adjustments for those. There's still a few funny spots, but overall I'm happy.

Hopefully this will be the last of the (more or less) random shots - I really want to choose a theme and plan things out more than I have been, so that's my aim for next week.

Project52 - Week Two: Sisters

I didn't have much time for photo taking this week - hot weather early in the week meant that most of my time was spent either in the pool or reading Twilight. I haven't put my compact into it's underwater case yet - I really should do that to be ready for the chance to take photos in the pool. The rest of the week was mostly split between preparing bits and pieces for my best friends' engagement party, working... and reading more Twilight. I therefore decided to focus my photo thoughts towards Saturday night's party - hence the late posting.

I was asked to help with the family photos, which I was glad to do - I'm still learning what to look for and how to position people and the like for these sort of shots - I find them hard because personally I prefer more relaxed, spur-of-the-moment sort of photos (for example, as I was doing a speech one of my friends had my camera and got what I consider to be one of the best photos from the night). However, one I did love was this one of Courtney and Rhianna. The two of them just have these gorgeous smiles on their faces and they look so natural in front of the camera, lucky things! To me the photo feels almost like it could be out of a magazine. It was originally a much wider shot which I cropped down to a square (something I don't normally do, but in this case it just suited). I had to adjust the white balance and tone in Lightroom (then the levels in Photoshop) - the light wasn't spectacular, but luckily was really easily fixed. I also added additional lens blur in Photoshop - the not-particularly-outstanding background was too in focus for my liking (it's times like this I wish I had a portable background - one day!). I'm still not sure if it's too overdone, and I'm sure there's something else I could do to make it really outstanding, but I'm not sure what just yet. I'm sure this is a shot I'll revisit in the future.

Project52 - Week One: Dahlia

Believe it or not, this blog is being resurrected - hopefully for longer than a week! After being inspired by people undertaking 365 day photo projects last year (such as Katie Elizabeth who I found on Flickr) I decided to undertake a (slightly) less arduous version - Project52, where I take one photo a week and post it online. My main reason for only once a week is that I intend each week to spend a few hours on the week's photo - for example, I may choose a theme and do a photo shoot based around it, or research a new technique (whether in camera or in Photoshop) and attempt to implement it (and I still have a uni degree to complete, full time work to find and my current part time job among other things this year). I also intend to try and go out at least once a month and have a shoot somewhere that isn't home - though I am very lucky in that I have many possible photo locations at home due to living on six acres. My plan at the end of the year is to then put them all into a photobook to have a record of my year through my camera's lenses. Each week I'll post a photo and describe what I did in the hope that we can all improve and learn.

It was nice to discover January 1st that two of my friends, Bianca and Kiera, are completing Project365. You can see Kiera's work at http://shootingproject365.wordpress.com/ or on Flickr and Bianca's work on Flickr. I'm looking forward to seeing what they come up with each day!

Currently my photos are only posted here; I only have a free account on Flickr and the other day I decided to upload my recent photos seeing I hadn't updated since early in the year. I promptly forgot to leave room for January's photos, so you'll have to come here until February to see them.

This week's photo has been a case of happy mistakes, I suppose you could say. My intention was to take a black and white portrait under a particular tree that I've been eyeing off, however, I fell off my horse Tuesday morning (don't worry, not really hurt, just a sore shoulder) but that put paid to my plans for Tuesday, which meant I had to move Tuesday's to Wednesday (when I was going to do the shoot) and due to work and other commitments the only time I had to shoot was a few hours this morning. I don't think it's a bad thing as the place I have in mind would actually suit a shoot with a couple I think. (Any couples wanting a photo shoot let me know!) I therefore changed to something simple, being a close up shoot, but while I normally like to shoot the roses in our front garden, I decided this time to photograph a flower that had caught my eye the other day (and I have hence been informed by my mother it is a dahlia).

The photo is taken using a 50mm prime lens and Hoya +4 close up filter at f/2.2 at 1/4000 (in Av mode) plus I used my tripod and wireless release. This wasn't the most in-focus of the photos I took (due to the aperture and the wind) but I really liked the framing and the bee. One of the main issues I had was that the plant was right in front of our pool fence - while the pool made a nice background, the wire mesh fence certainly didn't! It was hard to find an aperture that blurred the fence out while keeping the flower in focus. With most of the later shots I decided just to worry about the flower and fix the background in Photoshop, but in the end this one stood out the most!

When I opened the photos in Lightroom, it was pretty clear that the sun (which was coming reasonably straight on) had washed out the colours slightly. Using the auto tone in Lightroom improved it, but they still didn't 'pop' like I wanted, so I decided to be brave and try playing around with the curves in Photoshop (which I have little experience with). After trying a few of the presets and moving some things around I pressed the 'auto' button - and this was what came out! Complete opposite to what I wanted, but I loved how the middle of the flower had stayed bright yellow, and the background went the interesting mix of blues. I had intended to go out and shoot some more once my camera battery had recharged, but immediately changed my mind on seeing this. I also applied an Unsharp mask (following the suggestions in Scott Kelly's The Digital Photography Book Vol. 1) to try and improve the sharpness slightly.

So there you have it for week one! The rest of the posts will not be as long, I assure you.

Facebook Statuses from Phillip Island

I went on my first holiday in a while in January, and while its taken me a month to post it, I had the idea of summarising it into what I possibly would have made my Facebook status if I had had access to Facebook. So here we go...

10/1

• is looking forward to going to Phillip Island.
• is sad that Suzi got sandwiched. Did find it funny that she didn't swear but Pat did. Her only reaction was "my car!!!!!" (okay, that one may have been a little long!)

11/1

• recommends 5kms out from San Remo on Phillip Island Road if you are after a tan (we spent around 3 hours out in the sun. It took one hour for us to remember sunscreen. My arm was red for a week, plus another week peeling and I still have a watch mark from where I'm now tanned)
  
• likes the house very much. So airy and pretty!
• is looking forward to going to Amaze 'n' things.
• loved the mirror and getting to defy gravity at Amaze 'n' things.
• thinks the Coles in Cowes has to be the busiest Coles she's ever seen.
• has fallen in love with You'll Love Coles after-sun.

12/1

• went to Smith's Beach today and turned Pat into a mermaid.

13/1

• loved Glynn walking to the beach under an open beach tent.
• had fun taking photos at Cowes Beach of sinking people and mancastles.
• has filled up her 4GB memory card. It took 6 CDs to empty it.
• went to the penguin parade and possibly had more fun in the lolly shop than the parade itself. But did like the ninja penguins.

14/1

• doesn't think she's ever gone through so much sunscreen.
• went to an awesome Chocolate Factory complete with Charlie-style machines and wasabi flavouring.
• loves that Dana finished Breaking Dawn on the stairs.
• is reciting her way through Philosopher's Stone with Courtney (and the others).
• has come to the conclusion (with the others) Godric Gryffindor was a crossdresser or a girly-man based on the Sorting Hat.
• says that Pat has confirmed what we already knew - he has a big head.

15/1

• is sad that her time on the Island is almost over.
• thinks it is funny Courtz is not allowed to say sorry ('fairies!')

16/1

• thinks getting the ferry back was an excellent idea. Or would have been if the weather had not decided to be so horrible on the last day :(

So that was my holiday - Facebook style!

50 thoughts about my 2008

I'm taking the lead from Ally, Courtney and Pat and writing a list of 50 thoughts about 2008 (admittedly a little late, but, hey, I've been working!). In no particular order:

1. Made some awesome new friends!
2. Became closer to some of my old ones in the process.
3. Bought a digital SLR camera, which has been a dream of mine since I bought my first digital compact back in 2003.
4. Exhibited in the Royal Melbourne Show.
5. Went to the theatre to see Wicked and became immediately obsessed.
6. Read Twilight and became immediately obsessed, even though I feel as if I shouldn't be.
7. Had one of the best two hours of my life watching the film version of Twilight with Courtney and Ally and laughing all the way through it.
8. Bought a new notebook computer, making the big jump to a MacBook Pro.
9. Buying the full Adobe Master Collection and finally having the full versions of Photoshop and Premiere, as well as discovering Encore and After Effects.
10. Learning to work in 3D in Maya.
11. Converting nearly all our home videos onto DVD.
12. Turning 21!
13. Having the best 21st birthday anyone could ask for, complete with Harry Potter themed treasure hunt.
14. Receiving an amazing present from my best friends in the form of the collector's edition of The Tales of Beedle the Bard.
15. Reliving history by reading Harry, A History by Melissa Anelli.
16. Finally owning my car.
17. Completing the Relay for Life - in full HP costume.
18. Liam's Pirates vs Ninjas 21st.
19. Pat's 21st.
20. Dana's Cartoon 21st.
21. Brendan's poker 21st.
22. Lisa's 21st gathering.
23. Going to the filming of Spicks and Specks and then seeing the finished result on T.V. later.
24. Wednesday nights on the ABC - consistently great programming all year.
25. Completing a short DVD at uni and starting to feel somewhat professional.
26. Watching the boys play soccer.
27. Meeting one of my favourite authors (Garth Nix) and getting him to sign Superior Saturday.
28. My bookshelf which is now too full due to all the fantastic books that were released this year.
29. Making pet rocks with Courtney for Pat's 21st present.
30. Doing well at the races at Mornington by betting on horses with links to Twilight.
31. Watching the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince trailer at the same time as Pat and Courtney.
32. Monster sundaes at the Hog's Breath Cafe.
33. Sweeney Todd.
34. Buying the full band kit for Guitar Hero: World Tour.
35. Losing my phone, cancelling the SIM card, then finding it. In my room.
36. Discovering, through the magic of iTunes, Wizard Rock.
37. Cedric by the Moaning Myrtles. Makes me laugh every time.
38. Bought a slab of Midori Illusions on sale, then the alcopops tax came in. 3/4 of my investment is still undrunk.
39. Joined the stockmarket by signing up to a Wesfamers employee plan.
40. Survived driving into the city.
41. Had my wisdom teeth removed.
42. Spent 3 weeks with a blocked ear and therefore only partial hearing.
43. Had a day out to Equitana with my mum for free.
44. Watched some films on The List.
45. Added some films to The List.
46. Worked on her racing lines in Mario Kart.
47. Didn't blog as nearly as much as last year, perhaps because this year wasn't quite as exciting (not that it was a bad year).
48. Conversations on Skype with the Plotters and the Huffle chat.
49. Survived another year at work.
50. Got a Captain Jack bobble-head statue.

And here's to another brilliant year in 2009!

Fill-in blog

Wow. I did such a good job on keeping up on blogging last year, and this year - nope. Sure last year was more exciting and all, but surely everyone wants to know about how boring my life's been right? Yeah, you're right, I would not want to hear about it either, but I have a few minutes to spare, so I may as well talk about it.

First of all, I'm writing this from my now seventh month old MacBook Pro (I wrote 3 blogs about an iPod and none on a new computer!). My Dell notebook was sllloooowwwlllyyy on it's way out (and, sure enough, it died a month after getting the Mac). I needed something more powerful for video editing and 3D, so I took the plunge and switched to Mac. Even though it was more expensive, I feel it suits my needs better, plus it's just plain cool. I don't think they are for everyone though.

Part of the reason behind the no blogging is that this would have to have been my worst semester at uni yet. Don't get me wrong, I still love uni, but ridiculous things like having the mid semester break before week 12 and having 5 assignments due in a two week period (admittedly across 2 faculties, so there's no one really to blame for that) have made life a little hard. Not to mention getting my wisdom teeth out (which went really well) and getting sick a week and a half later (courtesy of my family). I'm really looking forward to the summer break. I know I'll be wanting to go back to uni by January, but for now I need it! Surprisingly grade-wise I'm not doing too badly, but it will be nice to have the pressure off!

I got to see Wicked the other week, which was fantastic! I've fallen in love with the show and would jump at the chance to see it again.

I think 2010 is shaping up to be the next big year movie-wise. As well as Deathly Hallows Part One (which still sounds strange to me!) and Voyage of the Dawn Treader (my favorite Narnia book) they've been announcing the casting for Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. The fact that Tim Burton is doing a version of Alice is already fantastic, but the cast being announced is amazing as always - Johnny Depp (of course) as the Mad Hatter, Helena Bonham Carter (of course) as the Queen of Hearts, Anne Hathaway as the White Queen, Matt Lucas as Tweedledum/Tweedledee and an new Australian girl as Alice. Reports are already saying its very different, as of course a Burton film will be.

I've also become a little obsessed with the Twilight saga. It's crazy - they're written in the first person (which I don't particularly like) and not written particularly well (in my opinion) but they draw you in so well. I read Eclipse in a day - the only other book I've done that for is Deathly Hallows. I'm looking forward to the film - I've been a fan of Robert Pattinson since he played Cedric, and the fact that it was not made with a major studio backing interests me very much.

Well, I think that is about it for now, I must try and post more often!

The Half-Blood Prince Teaser Trailer

Wow. Really, really long time no blog.

Today the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince teaser trailer was released (and Pat, Courtney and I waited to watch it together, which was good fun!). As the film series has progressed, I've become more and more interested in how each film has been marketed. As WB has realised the power of the Internet and the web-based fandom, more and more has been released prior to the film, to the point almost too much was released for Order of the Phoenix (and much of which I therefore purposely avoided).

This time around, however, it has been completely different. As compared to getting our first lot of photos nine months ahead, and the first teaser trailer six months ahead, instead it was six and five months ahead, which left many fans (myself included) excited at even a rumour of the trailer being with the film! Tonight, when the trailer has finally arrived, it is quite different to its predecessors, who in the past have often been full of lots of quick glimpses, whereas tonight we got almost a whole scene. It feels as if WB has completely changed it's marketing strategy for the film.

While this was a surprise when I first encountered it, as I think about it, why not? First of all, while they are part of a series, each is a different film, and like anything, should be treated as such. Half-Blood Prince has a different, more linear, plot, one that perhaps does not lend itself to an episodic trailer like the others. Also, it is the first film to be released post-Deathly Hallows, as compared to Order of the Phoenix, which was released while the hype was greatest, almost to the point it could have been overwhelming to people out of the fandom. A longer gap gives more time for people to begin to become interested again. Finally, it is the first film since Chamber of Secrets to feature a returning director. Of course, with Order of the Phoenix marketing through trailers was more essential than ever - your average Harry Potter fan had never seen a David Yates film, and therefore had no idea what to expect. This time around, the previous film could almost be thought of as the real teaser trailer for the coming films. There was less need to 'wow' and excite us like last time.

This trailer left me intrigued more than anything else. It appeared simple, but on more watches I noticed tiny things - for example, I do not think the scenes in Dumbledore's office at the start match with the memory shown, as he says "the most important memory he has collected", which is strange wording when talking about your own memory (as the memory of young Tom Riddle in the trailer is). In addition, the book calls Slughorn's memory the most important. More than likely it is just clever trailer editing (and makes me more interested in the process of editing trailers). Other points of note include the strange wheat field (is that Fenrir or the older-young Tom Riddle?) and the small shots of Ron (after the poisioning) and Ginny (outside during the battle I think), no Hermione or Slughorn, and both this trailer and the incredibly short IMAX one finished with quotes almost word-for-word from the book.

Four final things I have to mention - Hero Fiennes-Tiffin, just from the trailer looks to be an incredible young actor for his age (better than Dan, Rupert and Emma at his age) and reminds me of Haley Joel Osmont in The Sixth Sense. The cinematography looks brilliant as always. The effect with the Pensieve is already interesting and I'm looking forward to hearing from visual/special effects about that one (or is it just water? To me it looks slightly thicker, or something), and finally - the music had me hooked immediately. I hope that is a clear sign of the score to come, or, in fact the whole film to come!

Can't it be December already...?

Nintendo, why must you do this to me?

I've hardly used my Wii lately, due in part to uni, my new notebook, and that I was a touch bored of the games I had. But all that may be set to change - Mario Kart Wii, WiiFit and Dancing Stage: Hottest Party all come out in the next two weeks! Why must they all come out in the middle of semester, after I've just spent money on new computers and software?

I'll get Mario Kart: it was the only game I ever really played on N64, and I've been waiting for it ever since I got my Wii. WiiFit can wait, while it would be great for study breaks, I don't think I can justify $150. The really tricky decision is with Dancing Stage. I love DDR, but I have Dancing Stage for PS2, and felt that it was really average, with a not particularly great range of songs. But this one for Wii has the Scissor Sisters' I Don't Feel Like Dancing! and Lips of an Angel! They aren't the originals, but they are two of my favourite songs. What to do... I guess it will just depend on what it costs.

AJ's Return

I normally don't do these things, but Kiera posted it on Facebook and I thought it was really cool! (Please remember that I have a lot of rubbish in iTunes that was added to try and make an ultimate party collection...)

1. Put your iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc. on shuffle.

2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.

3. You must write that song name down no matter how silly it sounds.


How would you describe your life?
Crying in the Chapel - Elvis (30 #1 Hits)

How do you feel today?
C'est La Vie - B*Witched (B*Witched) (hey, that one almost makes sense and is kinda true!)

What is your life long goal?
Metal Guru - T-Rex (Dad's BBQ Songs)

What do your friends think of you?
New Beginning - Shannon Noll (So Fresh: Summer 2005/Best of 2004)

What do your parents think of you?
Moon Dance - Original Soundtrack (Danny Elfman) (Tim Burton's Corpse Bride)

What do you often think about?
The Sacking of Trelawney - Original Soundtrack (Nicholas Hooper) (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix) (well, I was thinking of it the other day thanks to Leaky...)

What do you think of the person who likes you?
Not While I'm Around - Edward Sanders and Helena Bonham Carter (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street)

What does your best friend always say to you?
The End - Imago (The Butterfly Effect)

What do you want to be when you grow up?
Heroe's Return - Original Soundtrack (Night at the Museum)

What is your favourite saying?
Dirty Girl - Rob Mills (Australian Idol: The Final 12) (ewwwwwww......)

What will you dance to at your wedding?
Prologue - 65 Million Years Later - Original Soundtrack (Armageddon Complete Score 1)

What will be played at your funeral?
Holding Out For A Hero - Jennifer Saunders (Shrek 2)

What is your biggest fear?
Ultimate - Lindsay Lohan (Freaky Friday)

What is your biggest secret?
The King of the Golden Hall - Original Soundtrack (Howard Shore) (The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers)

What do you think of your house?
Cirith Ungol - Original Soundtrack (Howard Shore) (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King)

What will you name this bulletin?
AJ's Return - Original Soundtrack (Armageddon Complete Score 2)

Hmmm, I wonder what the result would be if I did it just with normal music (I'm surprised a PotterCast didn't end up in there) or even just soundtrack music. Am also extremely disappointed with the lack of Ben Lee! Will perhaps save that for another day - I really should get back to Marketing homework!

Thoughts on the Film Industry

Wow, long time, no post. A fair bit has happened since December 22, including the fact that I'm writing this from a MacBook Pro, not my Dell notebook. But that's another story, perhaps for another time.

I've just been to the movies to see a great little Australian film - Hey Hey Its Esther Blueberger. I've been looking forward to seeing this film for quite a while now - I do believe it was originally supposed to be released before December Boys, but, like so many Australian films, it was delayed. Starring Keisha Castle-Hughes, Toni Collette, Christian Byers (from December Boys) and newcomer Danielle Catanzari, it is the story of a private school girl who doesn't fit. I really enjoyed it. Some of the writing was a touch rocky in places, but then again it was better writing than Emerald Falls, the telemovie that I watched last night that had a great premise, but was horrifically written (and was like nearly every Australian soap written and rolled into one).

It got me thinking on the drive home how that, with the exceptions of Order of the Phoenix and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, that the only movies that I have really enjoyed have been lower budget. I won't say shoestring budget - they all have a little bit of money behind them - but they're not the massive budget feature films that the studios have an obsession with. Juno, December Boys and Esther Blueberger were all far more enjoyable, and looked great on screen. Yes, I liked Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, but a lot of that has to do with the fact that Dead Man's Chest was so bad, and I dislike how unnatural it felt. It really is sad, these films are so great, but do not get anywhere near the publicity they deserve. For example, the closest cinema to me that showed December Boys was in Cheltenham - half an hour away.

I can't help but wonder too how many other great scripts like these are out there, waiting to be made, but aren't, because the funds have to be redirected to a film like The Golden Compass when it goes over budget. It has me thinking about the sorts of films I want to make - while everyone dreams of wanting to be behind the next Lord of the Rings, I now think I would be prouder to say I had made a film like Juno - a good story, great looking and enjoyable for people of all ages. (Except for the Old Kingdom trilogy - I'm desperate to see them on film and the only way to do them justice would be big budget.) The fact that films like Juno have done so well has me hoping that we shall see more of these good films, more often.

My AFI membership is due for renewal. I had considered not renewing it, seeing as the AFI price at cinemas is generally more than the student concession price. But today has my decision made - I will be rejoining, to show that I love and support good Australian filmmaking. I'm going to try and aim to see as many Australian films as I can as well, so I can help vote for the AFI awards. I'll also try and review as many as can. Here's to more good films for the rest of the year!