Please Put on Your 3D Glasses

I saw this tonight in 3D. It's James Cameron's Avatar (2009). His major feature films are The Terminator (1984), Aliens (1986), The Abyss (1989), Terminator II (1991), True Lies (1994) and Titanic (1997) amongst others. Having seen these films I was obviously expecting a long ass movie and a little CGI work bending on the idea of the matrix. I don't want to overwhelm you with very apparent compliments about the film, for all the hard work is self-explanatory if you watch it. I will say however, that James Cameron and his team have done an incredible job putting together a whole new fantasy world, through speed, story, motion, sounds, plants, animals, colours, lights, machines, pictures, language, and people. Avatar is an intensely hypnotic composition of movement and energy flowing through a body of incredible effects. *thumbs up boys*

I Am Nothing I Am Just A Man

During November I got myself involved with Josh Loftin's/a good friend's/film student's experimental production entitled, the title of this post. Those of you who know of the ridiculous and elaborate titles directors (humorously) give their crew to give them the false impression of importance and symbolic value, will know that the person (I did my fair share) who makes the coffee is credited as the runner. My contribution was solely dedicated to one particular scene, the opening. The director stands in front of a huge piece of handwriting, the camera tracks in, director walks off. 30 seconds. simple. honest. So my contribution? Sourcing the materials, the sourcing extra help on day of shoot, the construction of the walled paper, and when extra help was still scarce, the grip for the tracking with Shawn Glowa on camera and Rachel King doing sound.

After production I attended their crit and saw some pretty amazing work by other students, although was particularly pleased to see Josh's piece as successful as he intended. It has also been entered as an experimental piece in the New Talent Awards 2010 for the Scottish Baftas.

Joshua Loftin and the construction of the set.

Tree Drawing

Incredibly anal but it's still a drawing

Bruar Forest, where the gorges are, a few months ago; walking and looking up. Call it boredom, call it distractions, call it development, call it discovery, call it anal, call it a drawing.

Boxing Day

snow cat

Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust

I got this album last week after only hearing a few songs

from it previously. It's a really stunning piece of work by Sigur

Ros that flows lucidly through well crafted orchestral

compositions. Tracks lead into one another creating a full

bodied piece instead of the usual start-stop disruptions

between song changes, it's quite easy to, and I'm sorry for

saying this, get lost. My Personal Favies are

Ára Bátur and Festival.

Another recent purchase is Boxer by The National. I'd only heard snippets from these guys over the past year and they'd been on my 'list' for who knows how long. I think I'm really getting into bands where the lead vocalist has a deep and sombre voice. There's no sexual attraction I'll add.

Ok maybe just a little.

Folk like Joy Division, Talking Heads, Depeche Mode, The Smiths even siñor Bowie have been popping up and saying hello quite regularly on my 'old and funky' Spotify™ playlist, so The National's contribution for my quest to find a pretty deep sincerity and solemnness from a band, is quite considerable. Ok so Talking H

eads isn't exactly humourless and gloomy, but it's still on the old and funky list.

Other Peeps on that list include:

• MJ
• Lou Reed
• Prince
• Queen
• Notorious BIG ( 'yes boy' )
• Fugees
• Jefferson Airplane
• Simon & Garfunkel
• Duran Duran
• Gloria Jones
• Costello
• Stevie Wonder
• The Specials
• Mamas & Papas
• Echo & The Bunnymen
• Tears for Fears
• The Stranglers
• Rolling Stones
• A Flock of Seagulls
• New Order
• Pet Shop Boys, aaaand
• Lenny fuckin' Kravitz

I'm sure you'll all agree they all have old and funky qualities.

Fargo

Then the tracks stopped. My own, were on their own.

Although many would love the idea of a silent escape. It was frightening.

Crunch

Crunch

Crunch

Silence dominates this forest.

The deer know it too.

This forest does not belong to us.

This tree does not belong to anyone.

Fargo

That Thursday Morning

they cut a bigger hole so they could see better

they cut a bigger hole so they could crawl through

i think you can shut yourself out for so long

eventually it becomes not as natural to want this

Heaven & Hell

Harvey Dent = Two Face.

Krakow

This is my brother Oliver

Why can they not just speak Scottish?

Pandamonium

Image split and split. Removal. The taking away of things. The understanding of content by whats left. How much do you need? You don't need it all I'm sure. How much can I take away so you can get just what you need and no more. Too much? It was when I started cutting up the image, the projection, I realised the content didn't have much significance, but more that things were happening, and happening through shapes, and images being drawn through shapes and stopped by shapes. That seemed important.