I've not updated for the past few days because I'm not sure what to say. I've been alternating between drawing and watching short films. I like watching short films, I can't say the same for drawing. All the written parts of the portfolio are complete - two drafts of the script, five hundredish words on Rian Johnson and this blog. Well, the blog isn't complete but these things won't ever be. I guess the script isn't complete either as I'd like to have a go at another draft.

I'm not proud of my sketchbook. There's nothing in there I can look at and go "hey, that's awesome. Glad I did that!" Logically I know that all I need is practice, practice, practice and pretty soon I'll be doing doodles of Carnegie hall but right now my hands are cold and are cramping a little bit, which is something those lovely comfortable keyboards have never done to me. Maybe the fact that my sketchbook is part of my portfolio shows I understand its importance in film production, even if it's not my strongest work? Certainly I feel it has to be included.

I've not really a lot to say on watching short films either. I've been splitting my time there between NUCA's vimeo channels and various music videos on YouTube. The NUCA shorts seem to be split into Fiction, Documentary and Abstract, with the latter category always shot in black and white and featuring some unsettling imagery. I don't get them, but then I've never really been a fan of conceptual art in any form.

Music videos are even more diverse. There's ones that try to tell the story of the song, ones that try to tell a different story, ones that just want to show how cool the band are, ones that just want to show how cool the director is. That sounds like I'm being kind of negative, I don't mean to be. Watch the official video for "The Greeks" by Is Tropical (or along a similar theme, the banned-on-MTV video for Fightstar's Paint Your Target) for a wonderfully creative look at the games children play. Or watch every single OK Go video. Music videos are a chance for the director to show off, perhaps, or to experiment. To develop their style with a bit of a budget behind them. I'm not just talking about the bands and directors that are actively trying for something original. I'm watching manufactured pop bands with their expertly choreographed routines. I guess these fall into the documentary category? If the TV of my youth taught me anything, its that we are to assume S Club 7 danced everywhere they went. Whatever the truth, you can't just point a camera at them and hope for something the studio executives will love.

All these videos are starting to hurt my eyes. I had an optician's appointment this morning and it turns out I need glasses now. If you're thinking of applying to film school and you found this blog on google somehow and you're looking through for some advice, here's some: get your eyes tested, you'll be watching a lot of stuff. Here's some more: Don't faint during your eye examination, even if you agree that eyes are really icky and no-one should be allowed anywhere near them.

What I'm learning about myself is that I like there to be a narrative. This is not surprising news. I like beginnings, middles and sometimes even endings, though they don't have to be in that order. While I can appreciate the technical awesomeness that goes into Here It Goes Again or the visual aesthetic of Ladytron's Destroy Everything You Touch video, the ones that wow me the most have a story to tell even if it's just a life and a car crash getting all mixed up in the Simple Math video I linked in a previous post. Eatliz - Lose This Child is a great example of visual trickery being applied to a narrative. It's not just in the music videos either, I prefer the short films that tell stories to those that just represent an emotion, no matter how skillfully it's done.


One day left to finalise everything, one day until I find out if we're in the middle or at the end.