Experiment

This was a bit of an experiment. I was really inspired by the stop motion animations below and wanted to give it a go. I've got a project in mind, but I wanted to get an idea of what was possible before I launched into it. Here's a mock-up of the opening.



It's not quite in focus, but I've figured out a better way to do the writing for next time. I'm glad I've started with a test as this is almost 70 frames and they were all very quick to do. I would have hated to get to the end of a section I'd worked really hard on only to find it hadn't turned out well.

The main issue with making this was the logistics. I don't have a tripod so my camera was tied to my bed frame for this, and I am very clumsy so I kept moving things by mistake. I'm not sure that's too big a problem as I really want a purposefully rough and jumpy look.

I have started work on making the 'set' elements for the animation, so hopefully I'll have something concrete to put on here soon of it.

New template

I think this might be temporary. I wanted to change the background to a photo of my own, but I couldn't find one that was exactly right - I think the one I had in mind is on my dad's computer. This one is lovely for now though.

Origins and new things

I work in the sort of place where a lot of 20 somethings who don't know what they actually want to do seem to gather. In some ways it's like being at university, especially in the way that everyone is so like you that you sometimes struggle to get out of yourself in any way.
Someone there passed the address of their blog on to me and it was a nice reminder that there are different people at work.
When I get onto a new blog, I always like to see their first post to find out where they started. With this one, I noticed that it started just a few days before mine, which feels nicely symmetrical. I don't tend to have many friends who blog, so it's a new experience to peer into someone's thoughts in this way, and it's pleasing to know that it doesn't feel intrusive at all. If you want more from the author, here's some music.

I'm reposting a link I found on the blog to an interesting article in which several authors give their rules of writing. It looks like there could be some things in there that trigger inspiration. I have quite a free weekend so I'm hoping to get some writing done. In a way though, I don't feel like I need to get into anything too urgently. I know how much better my writing flows when I'm away and mentally I'm already there.


Here are some graffiti photos I took in Germany last year that I just downloaded from my camera:







I took other photos as well, of a more standard kind. I'll post those soon I should think, but these stood out as my favourites since I took them all while exploring back streets by myself and I can really remember the free feeling of these places.


Finally, something fun and innocent.

Last Days of the Arctic

Thanks Silvie for this, it's beautiful:



by Rax

Weekending

It's felt like a very long weekend (in a nice way). For the second week, I've spent my sunday working in the British Heart Foundation shop, which is a surprisingly nice thing to do. It's quite relaxing in itself and it's a good drive to do other productive things on the day, rather than waste it watching TV. I did get the second series of Dexter today on the way back from the shop though, I can't resist it.

I have finally taken the months worth of photos off my camera. Though I love the large memory that it has, it does make me very lazy about downloading pictures from it. Here are a few of my favourites:

Visiting Countries

One final post and then I'm off to do things with my day other than stay in bed.

I was just playing with the stats section of blogger, which they've updated a lot since last time I looked, and the countries that people read this blog from struck me as pretty amazing. Here's the list, ordered by number of page views:

United Kingdom
United States
Russia
France
South Korea
Germany
Canada
Netherlands
Brazil
Australia

They all have enough page views to denote repeat visits, and I've had visits from South Korea and Russia in the past week! That's pretty amazing to me as I have always thought that either nobody was reading this or it was just a couple of good friends.
I've never even been to half the countries on this list. It's such a lovely idea that I'm in them in this small intangible way. It gives me a very pleasant feeling of being connected to the rest of the world, and I hope I can keep that sensation with me for at least the rest of the day.

Good friends, good food

I had the lovely experience of visiting the London Street Brasserie again yesterday. The food there is unbelievably delicious and they have a wonderful set menu that is more than reasonable in price. Every ingredient there is exactly what you'd want it to be - fresh and full of flavour, and they are combined in delightful ways. I normally tell people that I don't like seafood because I dislike it so much when it's done badly, but at the London Street Brasserie I confidently order things I would never normally eat, knowing that they'll do it well. If you are ever in Reading, you must visit it.

I was there with two of my very best friends from university. One of whom I now work with and one who lives on the other side of the world. It was a lovely combination, and I felt like I was my true self for all the time we spent together. It was the sort of lunch that I feel should be the standard, but instead it was a little jewel set amongst the rocks of too much work and too many other stresses, and I will treasure it.

Already I have something that I've forgotten to post:



It's a video created by the same person who did the animation a little bit further down this page. This new one was for work. It's really lovely and I want to learn how to do this sort of animation. She's explained the process to me and aside from not being able to draw, I think it's something I could do.

Moved house!

Finally I have the internet! I had to move house to get it, but it was worth it...that's not actually the reason I moved, but it is a real benefit. I'm now living with a really lovely girl from work, right in the centre of town. I've not been here long, but it is such a lovely place.
I'll be back blogging from now on. I feel like I'm so out of practice that it'll take me a good while to get back into it, but I'm really looking forward to it.