The return!0

Hey guys, been quite a while since I’ve posted anything. I wasn’t able to find a Wifi connection during my stay in England, and our portable internet connection for the countryside has been screwing around for the last couple of days. I know I’ve said it before, but from now on there will definitely be more regular updates here. So, well, let’s get started! What have I been up to?

Well, last week was quite amazing. I spent Saturday the 28th through to last Sunday to work on the FXhome Film Project in England as Camera Assistant – which means I basically helped out operating the camera, making sure lens, focal length and loads of details concerning every take were written down, and generally helping out on set. If you take a look of the quick set tour Joshua (“schwar” of FXhome) filmed last Tuesday you should be able to spot my several times writing stuff down near the camera. It was a really fun week, and it really feels that I’ve gained a lot of experience and also, loads of new friends. I had to get up at 6AM every morning, and every day ended at around 6-7PM, so it was quite a lot of work (made me sleep for days when I got home ). All fun work though, and I think it really helped that most of the crew met up after shooting most days to go to a pub or restaurant – really strengthened the bond between all of us and definitely helped us get through the week. This also meant I celebrated my 18th birthday (29th June) at FXhome, which was really quite fun. A few of the guys took me to a restaurant on my birthday. Then, on the first real shooting day, on Monday, everybody sang for me which I DID NOT EXPECT…also we had loads of cake. Simon filmed the whole thing for the behind-the-scenes documentary, so I guess it won’t be too long until you see my shocked but happy face on YouTube. To sum it up a bit, it was an amazing week, and I think the film will be pretty awesome. The project really got me into trying to get started on filming “Campsite” as soon as possible. I sent out the script to a whole bunch of interested people Friday the 27th. Haven’t had too many replies just yet though, but I guess some of you are on holiday Started to work on the general storyboard for the film – but the work for it is a bit hampered mostly since: a) I can’t draw. b) I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to follow the shotlist when we all get on location.

As I said, I can’t wait to get started on “Campsite”, as I’m sure it’ll be a fun – although long and sometimes quite intensive – shoot. I’ll keep you posted when I have more news concerning the film.

I’ve watched quite a lot of films the last 2 weeks. Didn’t really have much to do in the small student apartment I lived in for a week, so mostly I just watched some DVDs I brought. Among these were “Cloverfield” (which is still awesome), “The Bank Job” and “40-Year Old Virgin”. Got quite a few DVDs for my birthday that I hadn’t seen – and then I decided to follow that up with about 35 cheap DVDs I bought in London. So there’s really no need for me to get any more films soon Although I did watch “Wanted” in London – awesome film, with some seriously amazing visual effects. One of the better action films I’ve seen actually – Very recommended! Going to watch “Day Watch” this evening on my home-theatre setup here on the countryside. It’s a russian sci-fi film which also features some great VFX (always a plus ) and it’s directed by the same guy who made it’s prequel, “Night Watch” and also the previously mentioned “Wanted”.

Havn’t really played a lot of games, as my week was pretty busy while in England – we did play quite a lot of “Rock Band” at the wrap party though, which meant I had a chance to show off my very extreme drumming skills. Which is awesome in a way, yet said, as I just realised I’ve spent an awful lot of time to learn to play some plastic pads set to resemble drum pads, while I could have learned to play real drums or a real guitar. Or well, tried to learn – as I’m pretty sure the real thing is about an infinite amount harder than it is portrayed in video games. I did actually buy “Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots” for Playstation 3, and I’ve spent some rainy afternoons here on the countryside to play through it. Actually finished it just a few hours ago. I’m pretty sure it’s the best game I’ve ever played, even though I wouldn’t recommend it to people who can’t be arsed with keeping track of the story. To sum it up, it was a brilliant game with some amazing graphics and a really good story. It’s the last chapter in the action-sneaking series of “Metal Gear Solid”, and it sure was a good ending. I won’t tell you how it all goes down though – you’re just going to have to play the game yourselves!

So as I mentioned at the beginning of this news post, it won’t be quite as long a wait until my next post here – probably just a few days. But until then, take care everyone!