I’ve been accepted into the Honours scriptwriting course at Victoria in 2011.
Yay!
Fortunately, I had an idea for a feature length Western just the other day, which I’m going to start jotting down. I also have a few shorts and a biopic that I want to work on. That’ll keep me good and busy for the next year.
More news below…
Dear Cubase,
I’ve just started using you. You’re annoying me. I’m used to ProTools, and there are a few differences that are getting on my wick. Please see what you can do about the following.
1. When you don’t playback where I’ve just made a change. I want you to start playing where my change just occurred, so I can check that I’ve made the right change. Such as if I cut a bit out, start playing from the end of my deleted section, so I can check whether I need to cut out more. Not where the play line is currently sitting. If I process a sound file, I want to hear the processing – so start playing at the start of the amended sound file, not where the play line was left. Hell, if I’ve selected a sound file, that’s because I want to hear it. So start from the start of the sound file, and, again, not where the play line was left.
2. There’s only one place to click to move the play line, and that’s in a space at the top of the window, about 5mm tall. If I misjudge, I don’t move the play line, I create a marker. Uncool.
3. When I make a mistake, and I press Apple-Z, I expect that mistake to be reversed. Multiple times now, I moved or processed a sound file, then accidentally hit .5mm off where I want the play line, creating a marker. I have hit Apple-Z to remove the marker, and you know what it does? It leaves the marker, and changes the move/process I did on the sound file! As though any mistake made with a marker will not be fixed by the magical Apple-Z. UNCOOL!
4. The video window is in the way, and the pool window keeps disappearing. I have to keep typing Apple-P to get the pool window back. Every. Time. I. Insert. A. File. Granted dual screens would work best, but I don’t have dual screens.
5. The online help thing won’t connect to the internets. So I can’t read your help guide. My computer obviously isn’t having issues connecting to the internet (as evidenced by the fact I am typing this right now), so why are you having issues? Also, and this is directed only at you, but must you be one of those programmes that annoyingly, when I select the help menu and start typing in my question, decides it has no information, and I have to open the help manual. Why have the option to type in my question in the first place? If you’re going to force me to open the manual, then just cut to the chase.
I am sure that there are other things that will annoy me as I get to know you better.
I will let you know that I appreciate your short keys to change the selector tool; your colour palette; and the easy way to change various other settings. But, seriously, if you want me to not miss ProTools, you need to work the way I want you to.
Yours Sincerely,
Patricia Hetherington
According to twofifty (an app on Facebook), these are the films from the top 250 that I have not seen. Ergo, I should see them. So I’m putting them on this post here. As I see them, I’ll rule a line through. Then, rinse and repeat, to see which other films I should see.
Films with an asterix (*) are already in my collection; I just need to sit down and watch them. So they’ll be first. The italicised ones are already on my fatso list.
No, I haven’t seen ET or Rocky. 12 Angry Men isn’t available on fatso … if someone can lend it to me, that’d be awesome! (Maybe it’ll be in the Uni library?). Who voted for these though? Taken and Superbad? Seriously?
Black Swan hasn’t come out in New Zealand yet (it’s due out on Thursday 27th January), so I’ll go see that once it’s out.
Right, here’s the list…
Continue reading “Twofifty – a list of films I’m going to watch this year”
Cubase appears to be working for me. This is good. It’s not ProTools, but it’s Cubase working on my home computer. ProTools was on my PC which died recently.
I’m currently doing sound design for a short film – [SIC], directed by Jared Flitcroft. (I’m typing this on a 5 minute break from working on it). The 7 minute version of [SIC] is going to be entered into the Aotearoa Deaf Film Festival.
I’ve decided I want to blog more. Rather than just thinking about doing it, I’m starting right now. I will be posting on this blog once a week for all of 2011. And still whenever I feel like it. But I’m aiming for at least once a week. On average.
I know it won’t be easy, but it might be fun, inspiring, awesome and wonderful. Therefore I’m promising to make use of The DailyPost, and the community of other bloggers with similiar goals, to help me along the way, including asking for help when I need it and encouraging others when I can.
If you already read my blog, I hope you’ll encourage me with comments and likes, and good will along the way.
Signed,
Patricia Hetherington
My friend, Dan who lives in Melbourne, has been experimenting with making short films to his songs. He’s a very talented musician, and it’s great to hear what he’s doing. Below is his latest on Vimeo. I’ve given him some feedback, and asked if I could put his piece here so others can too.
So, please to enjoy. I think you’d like the music if you like Sigur Ros and Arcade Fire.
Feedback can be given direct to Dan on his Vimeo account, or here.
With this project I wanted to experiment more with both film and music. Essentially, I wanted to capture beauty in its simplest form, which is also why I opted to work with black and white visuals.
As well as that, I wanted to work with my friend, Lou, on a track so I asked him to come up with a bunch of guitar lines to use. On top of these ideas, I layered instruments and ambience as well as some interesting edits to create this finished project. Hope you like what I did Lou!!
Yes, I am a dual computer owner. My PC was built for me in 2002. We’ve been together through thick and thin. Through 4 years of University study and a few years of work. However, it wasn’t working in the way I wanted for film editing (it definitely didn’t have enough space, even though it was built with masses of space/ram/memory at the time). It did, however, work with ProTools when my MBox was working. And it has Sibelius.
It’s been living in my downstairs studio since I moved back into the house in 2006. I became a dual computer owner when I invested in this Mac for film editing in … when was it? 2008? 2007?
So I had one computer for sound editing and one computer for film editing. Both were downstairs. Then I worked out I wasn’t heading down to my cold dark studio to do work. So I moved the Mac upstairs, and left the PC downstairs. In a cold dark damp room.
Then we had a flood situation in the studio. A broken pipe. Destroyed carpet. In emptying out the room, the PC was one of the first things to move. That was in about … May? (My sense of time can get a bit warped.) The computer hasn’t been plugged in since then. Before that, it hadn’t been turned on in months.
So, finally, finding some time, I decided to plug in my PC and get it working. Plus I need to use ProTools. (As an aside, did you know that MBoxes don’t work with Macs with Intel Processors? Yep. VERY annoying. Otherwise I would have had this debate when I got the Mac).
I cleaned the desk, found all the cables, plugged it in, and turned it on.
ERROR.
Loud squeal noise.
ERROR PAGE.
This brings me to my dilemma.
I don’t use the PC anymore, but I need it for ProTools. Do I pay someone to get it fixed, or do I cut my losses, say it’s obsolete, and invest in a different Digidesign system that works with Intel Processor Macs?
Should Patricia get rid of her PC?
(polls)
Oh crap, and now I don’t have Sibelius. Crap.
I recently won tickets to an advanced screening of ‘Unstoppable‘ – thanks 20th Century Fox NZ.
Basic story – an unmanned train on high power, heading into a residential area. How to stop it? Argh! It’s based on a true story.
Director: Tony Scott (Deja Vu, Man On Fire)
Stars: Denzel Washington, Chris Pine, Rosario Dawson.
I would recommend this film to people who like watching action flicks. And anyone who wants to make a good action sequence. Seriously, the entire film seems like an action sequence. Even the slower, more intimate moments. The camera rarely stops moving. Perhaps its because I’ve been reading more on mise-en-scene, but I really noticed how Scott was constantly using crane, dolly, and helicopter moving shots; he almost always put things in the foreground of the shot – which creates more movement, and makes the trains/cars appear to be moving faster.
Plus, crash-zooms. Lots of them. Ah, zooms – something that has been lost from cinema since the 70s.
Actually, I didn’t read that Tony Scott directed the film before I saw it. Writing this review, and looking at Tony’s body of work, I think I need to look into more of what makes a Tony Scott film – there are definite similarities in ‘the look’ of his films. Give me some time to research…
[Ooh, I’ve found lots to read. I’ll put what I find in a different post. In the meantime…]
Oh my gosh, what a fantastic idea.
Nicolas Cage as … everyone. Blogspot.
Thanks, Gemma.
Gemma did a Christmas song list. I am a grinch, and dislike Christmas. Well, at least I dislike certain aspects of it, including Christmas songs on heavy rotation. And Christmas joy. Bah Humbug.
Anyway, these were in Gemma’s list. I hadn’t heard them before, and I doubt I’ll hear them blasted out of the radio or out of store/cafe speakers, so I can’t hate them.
And, a late addition
Bob Marley (doesn’t sound like him though, does it?)
For those outside New Zealand, I should explain that Mere Kirihimete is Maori for Merry Christmas.
Busy Times 