31st - Fun

Seeing in the new year with our usual, a bottle of Martini Asti. Happy New Year and hope you all have a great 2013!

Well, that's me done - I've completed the challenge!

31st - Fun, a photo by YNWA Media Productions on Flickr.

30th - Your Winter Wonderland

Well we didn't get a white Christmas this year so I've made a little winter wonderland scene instead with some fake snow around some of our Christmas ornaments.

30th - Your Winter Wonderland, a photo by YNWA Media Productions on Flickr.

29th - Sky View

The full moon set against our Christmas lights on the conservatory.

29th - Sky View, a photo by YNWA Media Productions on Flickr.

28th - Words

Going January sale shopping in Norwich - hoping to get a few bargains.

28th - Words, a photo by YNWA Media Productions on Flickr.

27th - Night Time

The lights on the Christmas tree in the dark.

27th - Night Time, a photo by YNWA Media Productions on Flickr.

26th - Grateful

I've used a bit of artist license with this photo - a "grate full" of hot coals.

26th - Grateful, a photo by YNWA Media Productions on Flickr.

25th - Morning

My bacon and mushroom sandwich on Christmas morning, with a little bit of holly for that added Christmas touch!

25th - Morning, a photo by YNWA Media Productions on Flickr.

24th - Favourite Part of Christmas Eve

I don't really have a favourite part of Christmas eve now that I've grown up so I thought I'd take a photo of Mum's new batch of homemade mince pies.

24th - Favourite Part of Christmas Eve, a photo by YNWA Media Productions on Flickr.

23rd - Scarf

You can see what I was hoping would be Christmas number 1, and it made it!

23rd - Scarf, a photo by YNWA Media Productions on Flickr.

22nd - Tradition

2-in-1 - we always have our Christmas cards put up on a line of fishing wire and have decorations strung across the ceiling.

22nd - Tradition, a photo by YNWA Media Productions on Flickr.

21st - Peace

The only dove of peace that we had on a Christmas card this year, which was a bit surprising - you don't really notice what's not so popular on Christmas cards until it comes to the time when you need one.

21st - Peace, a photo by YNWA Media Productions on Flickr.

20th - Tree Topper

The fairy on top of our Christmas tree that's nearly as old as me. She's been up there every year for as long as I can remember and will continue to do so for a long while to come hopefully.

20th - Tree Topper, a photo by YNWA Media Productions on Flickr.

19th - Candy Cane

Now this was a tough one! Between 3 of us we looked on all the Christmas cards, through the TV magazine and in some various other places but we just couldn't find a single candy cane. Desperate times were beginning to lead to desperate measures when I finally managed to spot a little group of them on our Christmas place-mats. At last!

19th - Candy Cane, a photo by YNWA Media Productions on Flickr.

18th - Stockings

My little stocking that was made for me by a friend back in upper school - it still comes out every year!

18th - Stockings, a photo by YNWA Media Productions on Flickr.

17th - Presents

The grand total of 3 presents underneath our Christmas tree. Now that I'm back home more will get wrapped so the pile will soon begin to grow - Mum's been saving the wrapping for me!

17th - Presents, a photo by YNWA Media Productions on Flickr.

16th - Outside Christmas Lights

Part of the Christmas lights on the front of our house.

16th - Outside Christmas Lights, a photo by YNWA Media Productions on Flickr.

15th - Favourite Holiday Song

Faith Hill's 'Where Are You Christmas' from the sound track for 'The Grinch' - it's the song that little Cindy Lou sings!

15th - Favourite Holiday Song, a photo by YNWA Media Productions on Flickr.

The Alternative Lunch

Hello, and welcome to 'The Alternative Lunch' - our TV Show for the TV Studio assignment.

We all had a lot of fun with this assignment, it was hard work but I really enjoyed it. Having been the Floor Manager for this task I have been able to see that this is something that I maybe would like to do as a job now because I really liked being in the studio and taking charge of the floor whilst we were recording. It's something that I definitely want to gain more experience in and will look into for my work experience placement.

I hope you enjoy watching this as much as we enjoyed making it!

14th - Christmas Tree

My baby Christmas tree before I have to take it down tomorrow ready to take it home. And then I'll be putting it back up again!

14th - Christmas Tree, a photo by YNWA Media Productions on Flickr.

13th - Family

Since it's still 2 days until my family will actually be here, I thought I'd get a photo of calling 'home' instead. The photo's not too great but my Dad had just answered so I was in a bit of a hurry to take the photo.

13th - Family, a photo by YNWA Media Productions on Flickr.

12th - A Beautiful Sight

Tonight the infamous Coca Cola Christmas truck was in Liverpool so I went down with my flatmates to see it. Coincidentally, tonight I saw their Christmas advert for the first time this year!

12th - A Beautiful Sight, a photo by YNWA Media Productions on Flickr.

11th - Green

This one may seem like a bit of boring photo but I struggled with this one today. However, this chair signals my last uni deadline before Christmas as I spent most of my afternoon sitting on one of these to edit together the title sequence for our TV Studio production.

11th - Green, a photo by YNWA Media Productions on Flickr.

10th - Wrapping Paper

My wrapping paper for my Christmas presents this year!

10th - Wrapping Paper, a photo by YNWA Media Productions on Flickr.

Christmas Soundscape

The second assignment for the Beyond the Camera module was to create a soundscape in small groups and could been on any theme we wanted but had a limit of 2 minutes. We decided that we wanted to do our's based on Christmas since the deadline would be just before we broke up.

This assignment was the first time that I'd used Audacity and After Effects and found them both fairly easy to use once I'd got to grips with what I was doing as it was a process of repetition for both of them.

Merry Christmas!

9th - Something You're Reading

It was a difficult one today because I'm not really reading anything at the moment. I've decided that I'll use the text that my Dad sent to me earlier since it's only a week now until I'll be back at home for Christmas. By the way, it is meant to say "Liverpool" on the message.

9th - Something You're Reading, a photo by YNWA Media Productions on Flickr.

8th - Ornament(s)

These are my little crackers. I've had them for a while now & still none of them have been pulled - nor will they be! They get used as decoration around my little baby tree.

8th - Ornament(s), a photo by YNWA Media Productions on Flickr.

7th - Bright

Today I was spoilt for choice after I'd been down to Albert Dock to take a few photos down there. In the end I decided to go with a photo that was the reason why I went in the first place, a photo of the trees all lit up for Christmas.
The other photos will be uploaded to my Flickr as well.

7th - Bright, a photo by YNWA Media Productions on Flickr.

6th - Shopping

So here's all my Christmas shopping, all of which I managed to do before December began (within a week as well). However, it did mean that November's bank statement was a bit of a shock when it came.

6th - Shopping, a photo by YNWA Media Productions on Flickr.

5th - Today's Temperature

Having a Tartiflette to warm me up on a cold day. It wasn't the best I've ever had but it was still nice.

5th - Today's Temperature, a photo by YNWA Media Productions on Flickr.

4th - Joyous

Today the plan was to treat myself to some Tartiflette (a French dish) but unfortunately they'd run out so the photo for today is my Grande Amaretto Latte & Amaretti biscuit which I got for free in Caffe Nero - I'd managed to get enough stamps on my card for one!

When I went to take the photo though, my camera didn't want to turn on as it had run out of battery, annoyingly. Hence the reason why this one's not quite as good quality as the rest as I took it on my phone.

4th - Joyous, a photo by YNWA Media Productions on Flickr.

3rd - Red

One thing that we all seem to pay more attention to at Christmas than at any other time of the year is the red post box - my Christmas cards are already in it!

3rd - Red, a photo by YNWA Media Productions on Flickr.

2nd - Favourite Holiday Movie

This one was easy, you just can't beat 'The Grinch'!

2nd - Favourite Holiday Movie, a photo by YNWA Media Productions on Flickr.

1st - Your View Today

Since I have an essay to finish writing and a Christmas tree to put up, the view that I've had for most of the day has been that out of the window in my room.

1st - Your View Today, a photo by YNWA Media Productions on Flickr.

Capturing December - Challenge Accepted

Whilst on Pinterest the other night I came across a photo-a-day challenge that someone had pinned. This challenge is entitled 'Capturing December' and lasted for the whole month and, being Christmas, had a Christmassy theme to it. I repinned it with a view to perhaps having a go at it. Now, I've decided that am going to take up the challenge! All of the photos that I take will be uploaded to my Flickr account and then posted on here with a little bit about why I chose that particular photo for the category of the day.

There will be no Instagram, but maybe a bit of Photoshop here and there.

So here's the challenge! Keep checking back throughout December to see how it's going.

Multi-platform in Action

Last night my flatmate and her friend stayed up to watch American election on TV, both of them being politics students. I stayed with them for a while watching it and it suddenly occurred to me that I was witnessing multi-platform viewing in action! The TV was on in the living, my flatmate was sitting on the sofa on her iPad and her friend was on the same sofa on her iPhone. Both checking Twitter and various other websites linked to the election.

It was quite a strange sight in ways as, in the Digital Media Cultures lecture especially, we often touch on second screen experiences when watching TV but to actually be able to watch it happen was quite funny in a way.

Britain in a Day - LJMU Playlist goes LIVE

The LJMU Britain in a Day playlist has now gone live on the site! Check out our selection for the playlist here.

To see what our involvement with Britain in a Day was all about, see the blog post from the time.

TV Studio - Recording

We've now had a shot at recording live in the TV studio! For our first group recording session we had to film a short piece for a children's TV show demonstrating how to make a paper aeroplane.

It was interesting to find that, once we got into doing our rehearsal, the whole camera script pretty much went straight out the window - but that's what happens in a professional studio sometimes.

For our time in the TV studio I will be acting as the Floor Manager and will also be operating a camera for parts of the shoot.

The first recording went down really well so that's given us all confidence for the big project and now it's time to crack on with the work for the real thing now we've had our practise run!



Image Composition

For the first assignment of year 2 in the module Beyond the Camera, we had to create an image composition using Photoshop.

I took my inspiration from the Liverpool Biennial art installation in Keys Court, Oded Hirsch's 'The Unexpected Guest'. Using a photo of this piece of artwork as the main feature of my composition, I wanted it to look as if someone had been in the lift when it had crashed through the floor.

I used 3 different photos in order to create my composition.

Cutting out the lift doors from my main photo I was able to layer this with the other 2 photos in order to create a realistic composition.

New Year...

...New modules, new building and so much more to learn. We're into year 2 of Media Professional Studies and the brand new Redmonds' Building - been waiting a whole year to get in here! Plus we get to play with the newest industry standard TV studio in Britain - £1.1 million worth of kit and I can't wait to get to grips with it.

I think this could be an interesting year so let's see how it goes!

Another Strange Ambition

This time it's more of an urge than an ambition - designing business cards. I've already designed my own so what I could really do with is a commission.

Graphic design is something which I've had an interest in since I had to do it as part of my A-level coursework and having done more of it in my first year at LJMU, it's something that I really want to get my teeth into and just do.

All I need now is a Photoshop license thrown in...or I could just get my colouring pencils out.

Quote

"What's certainly true, though, is that a film has a life of it's own, and that's what wins Oscars. You can get together the best director, cast, crew and script money can buy, and still come up with a bummer. No-one can forecast the organic growth of a movie in its shooting. And occasionally you get one that starts as a carrot and ends as an orchid." - Taken from Reginald Hill's 'Auteur Theory', a short story in the book 'There are no Ghosts in the Soviet Union'.

Liverpool SoundCity! Expo 2012

For Liverpool's SoundCity! festival this year I spent 2 days working as a Runner for the Expo down in the Echo Arena. This was the first year that the Expo had taken place and was an exhibition of lots of DJ, Music and Digital companies.

I know it's taken me a little while to write this post but I think that's because I'm not really sure what to write. This was my first chance to gain experience as a Runner and it's definitely a job that I want to do again.

I learnt a lot from this whole experience and I realised that I was capable of doing things that I didn't know I could. Even though I'm a media student the Expo was a great opportunity to get to know and network with people who work with sound, as that's the one of the areas that I tend to shy away from - I'm sure those contacts will come in useful one day!

I'd love to have the chance to be involved with more Expos like Sound City and really want to do this again next year - it's as much about the people you meet as it is the experience you gain and building up your CV.

Expos are also a great way to expand your wardrobe for free if you're lucky - thanks to Vestax and Denon DJ.

If I decide one day that the media industry isn't working out for me (or even between contracts) at least I now have a plan B - I'll become a professional van packer - I'm sure Prism and PMC would have me!

Britain in a Day

'Britain in a Day' is a BBC Learning project which aims at creating a film and a video archive using footage which has been shot by the British public on one specific day - that day being 12th November 2011. The project was inspired by Ridley Scott's film, 'Life in a Day'. LJMU, along with many other universities around the country, were invited to get involved with the project.

By getting involved with the project it gave us an opportunity to see what the BBC has to go through when checking crowd-sourced videos for compliance. This involved us each watching a series of videos on YouTube and going through a check-list of things that all the videos had to adhere to.

Whilst we were checking our videos for compliance we had to pick out a few which we wanted to put forward for our 'uni playlist'. This playlist is a selection of 10 entries which we liked as a group and will go live on the 'Britain in a Day' website over the coming months. It wasn't easy trying to decide what order we all wanted to videos to go in on the playlist but we got there in the end.

End as You Begin

So my first post about 'Hustle' came after the very last episode, and now the second post comes after the very first episode. In the other post I asked if anyone wanted to buy me the entire box set of all 8 series - well who would have known that a blog could be such a good way to drop a hint! I now own series 1 and 2! (Thanks Mum and Dad - Dad googled my blog - I never knew 'Hustle' DVDs came in Easter eggs.)

Back to the title of the post then. Having watched the first episode there were a few things I noticed that paralleled the last episode as well:

You need to get the whole crew back together.

You have to get shot by one of your own whilst the other side think they're one of their's.

Money falls from the sky, one way or another.

Everyone has to break the forth wall.

And, Mickey will tell you it's one last con...

The glamour of grifting has only just begun!

A Different Way to Use Images...

You may well have gathered by now that music videos are something which interests me quite a bit. Well here's another one for you.

I happened to be watching Demi Lovato's new video for 'Give Your Heart A  Break' and at the end of it, caught site of what is now another ambition of mine. Throughout the video Demi had been putting photos up on a wall of her and the 'boyfriend' in the video. Once she'd finished she projected a another photo of them together on top of all the photos on this wall.

I just really liked the whole idea and, even though it is very ambitious and a bit out of my reach at the moment, I want to do this some day.

A Year On

So today was the final deadline day for assignments and I've just submitted my final essay. Now I'm all done for my first year of uni! It seems like the time has gone so quick and it's definitely been an experience. It's had it's ups and, unfortunately, it's not been without it's downs, but I've come through and I'm still here. The point of this post was to sum up this year, but I'm not really sure what to say about it. I can't tell you if it's been what I expected, which is what everyone asks, because I don't really know what I did expect - it's been a whole new ball game. I'm just glad I don't have to catch a bus any more and can't wait to get into the Redmonds' Building next year.

The plan now? Well, I'm going to try and get as much work experience in the media industry as I can and start on my little business venture. So here goes...

Sea Odyssey Giant Spectacular

From Friday 20th April 2012 to Sunday 22nd April 2012 the city of Liverpool was taken over by 3 Giant Marionettes as part of the 100th year anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. The Little Girl Giant (30 ft), her Uncle (50 ft) and her dog Xolo were created by Royal De Luxe and make up the UK's largest piece of street theatre to date. Read the story of the Giants and visit the website to see what all the hype was about at www.giantspectacular.com.

This was an incredible event to have witnessed across all 3 days and something that won't be forgotten in a hurry by anyone who turned out to see the spectacle.