Blogging is escaping me...

Since filming with Ossie Morris, I have been working full time back at Cottingham High School as their Media Arts Technician again and I cannot begin to tell you in one blog post the amount of things that have happened in and out of work! It would just be unbearable to write or read.

At work I've done the usual sort of stuff like making magazines, doing video edits and anything media related for the school. I have loved every single second of it working with the best people in the entire world: Gill Mills, Darren Brewer and Michele Lister. I owe them so much for everything they have done and I'll be speaking about my time here in future blog posts as I'm slowly updating this with everything I have done.

Just as a note, one of the things that has been taking up my time is attempting to set up my own website, with Sam Kelham completely designing and setting it all up, which can be found at www.aleyshaminns.com. There is only a holding page there for now, but within a few weeks it should be going live so keep your eyes out for it! Below is my logo.

On the road again...

I have clocked up a lot of milage in the past week! Last Tuesday and Wednesday I went down to Dorset to interview the legend that is Oswald Morris with one of my lecturers and two other media students. It was fantastic and I actually got to interview him and ask him questions! After studying someone for such a long time, it was nice to meet them. I also took a copy of my Research and Development file for cinematography to show him and he was over the moon and was very impressed at the information I was able to find. I can actually say that he said, I am "...a very clever and extremely talented girl." *egoboost*

Here is a picture of us at his house:

Whenever I look at this picture, all I can see is the shiny shinys in the background!

Goodbye 2nd Year, Hello Wonder Twin

I cannot believe how long I have not posted on here, but I have to say it has been a crazy past 2 or so months. Here is a quick update:

- The fiction piece got handed in stupidly close to the deadline and was a nightmare of 12 weeks- I feel I have learnt tons from this (even though our mark was less than good)
- I made the experimental film and I am extremely proud of it! Click here to see it.
- Digital Media was a huge struggle. We spent 1 week non-stop, which included an all-nighter on the last day, to get it done. We vastly underestimated the time that it would take. I have not to that online yet, we are going to re-make it.
- I did my cinematography work all on my own! Got a first for my presentation and my folder is yet to be marked.

So, I have finished my 2nd year at university and I feel quite deflated. It has not been the best year, possibly one of the worst in terms of work I've produced, but I have made some of the strongest friendships in the process and I am glad I went through the rubbish for the glimmers of great things.

I have started work at Cottingham High School again as the Media Arts Technician. Not sure what to say apart from that it is just great and I love every second I spend there.

I also got an amazing opportunity to meet the cinematographer that I studied! I am going next week to film Oswald Morris, a legend in British Cinematography. It is going to be his last ever interview, as his health is deteriorating (pretty good for 98 though!) and it was just so lucky that I chose to study him, and my tutor loved my presentation that I did, so he asked if I would go!

Lots of exciting things coming up, including a reunion with my Wonder Twin ;) the wonderful Matt Needler, one of the Minecraft Duo, FyreUK.

Watch this space!

A wise man...

A wise man once said:

"At university, you think you are going to learn how to use the equipment but it is the people that you learn to deal with." - Ronnie Fowler, Single Camera Tutor.

Truer words have never been spoken.

I have learnt this with the single camera project I am doing at the moment. As you may recall from the documentary, I have a rather difficult group, but different from each other in many ways. I am not going into it as I like to keep this blog as a record of events and it is public, but I assure you it is an experience I will never forget. To be fair, it was about time that I was placed with a difficult group. All the way through school, 6th form and my first year of uni, I was very lucky with who I got to work with.

It is 1 week and 4 days now until my deadline. It has gone by too quickly and various shoots have been cancelled or have not gone to plan. I have a few pictures and stuff that i will upload but I just wanted to do a quick update about it.

I also have an exciting prospect that I hope will come true! I am doing my cinematography work on Oswald Morris, an absolute living legend and my tutor Brian has said that he is going to film some interviews with him and since I am studying him, he would like to take me along! Such great news, just hope he remembers/ I can get to do it!

Not long until easter now...

Some people find some weird things...

It has been a while since I posted!

A lot has happened in the past few weeks, we hit week 6 as everyone knows is a nightmare. It sinks in that you are half way through and within a month all the work has to be in. It is the time to panic!

But at the beginning of the month I went to Elstree Studios! We went for a cinematography expo with university and it was really interesting to see all of the different sorts of equipment we could be using in the future. Here are the ugly lot I went with ;)

And I got to try the new canon camera coming out! Look at how happy I am!

I have also been doing lots of work on digital media, the main reason why I haven't updated here in a while as i have a digital media blog (you can access this via my profile). Someone in my class passed on this video to me, it relates to what I am doing but I also feel like I need to share this with the world. I just think it's brilliant!

I have done more too, but I'm just too tired to update now, especially after my work today (pictures will follow)

A big shout out to the people viewing me from around the world, mainly in Russia and Germany! I'd like to know who you are, add/follow me or something =D

My first week of being 20

Since the last blog, there has been a lot happening and other blogs to cope with. I have started my digital media blog, mainly for my research and development file to track my progress through the project. That has taken up quite a lot of my time, I just find the topic so fascinating! The blog link is in my profile :)

On the university side of things, I have received some results back. I have definitely been graded a first for the documentary (woop!) I got a first for my Ugly Betty essay and 2.1 for my Prince Essay :) For digital media I got high 2.1s on both my Maya and App projects, still got to hear about the set extension :) So all is good on that front!

An update on the script, I've stopped doing it. I feel the idea was not good enough and another person in my group had a brilliant idea so we're doing that instead. I decided to take on the editing role for the fiction project as I really need to learn avid and doing this will push me into learning it!

I can safely say it's been a great first week of being 20!

Therapist anyone?

So, i am on my phone right now, laying in bed staring into the dark abyss. I have a headache and another reality occupying my brain. I hate script writing. In my post several hours ago i mentioned the perfection quote, i like it but why can't i believe it!
As i have been laying in bed i just keep thinking- how can it be more real? Will it connect? Can the characters have more depth? And these questions are haunting and made me realise i have issues when it comes to believing in my script writing ability.

While ive been sat in bed, ive been thinking about how i can make it more real and the answer is draw on past experiences and feelings. So ive opened my mind. Big mistake. I now have all the horrible and sad feelings i usually use but no way to vent or use them, as this is a completely different style of script. I know i shouldnt be afraid to make mistakes, but when you pour your head and heart onto paper you want people to like it.
Lets hope i can sort this out.
(apologies for bad spelling/grammar, mainly to the frustrated me of the future who will be looking back at this #suckstobeaperfectionist)

Everyone needs a pair of fluffy socks...

Halfway through my first week back and I am writing a script, and I want to tear my hair out. I just feel the pressure of making the script good, as I am the only one actively writing one in our group so far. Bad scripts= bad films and I do not want to be the source of that.

However, this book is a gods send:

Crafting Short Screenplays that connect by Claudia Hunter Johnson is my bible, but I can't absorb myself in the whole writing process because I don't really believe in myself, I just think I'm a bit shit at writing. I think I try too hard.

On a lighter note, my new fluffy socks make my feet feel like they are in heaven =D

"Do not fear mistakes, there are none..." - C.H.J

Happy new year and all that...

So my last post was over a month ago, and who could blame me. I've been stuffing myself with food, alcohol and having a good old rest to recover from the past few months. I am now up, and for the most part, ready to go. I am 20 in 1 week 2 days, so my dreams I had when I was 14 of becoming a media child prodigy have quickly died along with the majority of my years of education behind me. Quite scary to know that in a year and a half I shall be cast out into the world on my own, to find my way into media to do whatever I want with my life.

But I know I am slowly getting there. My last post was a giant rant about people not taking me seriously and all that jazz. However, as I learnt today, my struggles have not been in vain. I was pulled aside at the end of a seminar  to be told that people were very pleased/ impressed in what I had done in the documentary project and complimented me on how I handled such a challenging group. I was also told that as the confident one, I need to take charge and put people in their place more often, which is certainly going to happen. I was also told that my initial grade is a First which i am overjoyed with, let's hope it doesn't change too much in the 2nd marking phase :)

So all in all, so far this year has been good so far :)
(and I won my first ever amount on the lottery: £10 woop!)