It. is. over. *weeps with joy*

Hello everyone,
I have finally gained freedom from the pressure, stress and evil that was this last semester.
Our final film 'The Full English' is finished and Im really pleased with what me and Sarah managed to achieve.

Heres the link, http://vimeo.com/24161583  ...go watch!

Third year has definite lived up to my expectations, it has been the most pressure filled, stressful time in my entire time in education. But I have also met some amazing people who have in turn made me a better person and experienced things that I would have never had the chance to do if i hadn't bitten the bullet and come to University. Im so looking forward to graduating  and seeing everyone in their fancy robes.

One thing I wont miss about Uni is being away from my family, I know I will have to move out eventually but this summer is my last summer as a student and Im going to enjoy it with my family and friends around me.

So to paraphrase: everything finished, I can go home soon and Im really content.

Till I remember I have a blog again, bye!

Shiny Audition Times

Hello everyone,

The auditions to find the voice of Eggy and Toasty are finally underway, it feels awesome to actually have some auditions under our stylist co-directors belt. We had some help though, firstly our lovely Stop Motion second year girlies were on hand to guide bemused auditionees through the labyrinth that is Staffordshire Universtiy Library. Also the lovely Richard Stephenson (http://dmc-film.blogspot.com/) was our audition consulant, on hand to help with advice and an array of weird hybrids accents (don't ask). We still have most of the people that got in contact to audition but I definately feel like I know what to expect now.

Things are also cracking on with the sets for 'The Full English' with yet another second year joining us to help on them, I'm really optimistic that they will be finished in time and to a really high standard. The puppets are also coming along with a few people helping me make the background characters such as the beans and the mushrooms. Still alot of work to do but when the work is to make bacon with facial hair I cant complain.

Here is one thing that is definately keeping me sane, Walter Moers is one of my favourite authors and definately worth a try if you like quite surreal, unique stories. Below is the front cover of his most recent book but try and start with 'The 13 and 1/2 lives of Captain Bluebear' as its one of those series of novels that overlap slighty and its like he's mentioned an old friend when the main character of one of the other books is referenced in the newer ones. I realise I sound like I'm getting paid for saying all this but he really is an amazing author so I don't care (also I need the money).



Don't be fooled, I thought they were childrens books too but they are mental.



Update :D

Hello lovely peoples,

Dont you just love when you find things that you didnt even remember losing? Case in point I've had a bit of a cleaning frenzy day today and whilst clearing out a drawer full of junk I found not only my awesome zombie nighty from topshop but also a £15 itunes voucher from two christmases ago! WIN.

Zombie pattern nighty rescued from behind the drawer

Myself and Sarah's animation 'The Full English' is coming along relatively smoothly. Here are the first photos of the tests of a couple of the characters.

Toasty- version 1

Fork Bouncer- version 1

Today will be a day of working out the scale, drawing set designs up all nice and that and probably a bit of criminal minds too.

and finally here is a picture of my cat 'Moo' because I'm feeling a little homesick today and she is a little bit awesome. She only has one ear, walks with a limp and has 4 remaining teeth but she is the tiny furry dictator of our house.



Oh she may look cute but one false move and she will look at you distastefully.

Bye!

Recruiting starts...

Bonjour beautiful people,
This week recruiting the second years for our (our btw = myself and Sarah Lawrence aka http://paper-boat-animation.blogspot.com/) major project really got under way. We had already asked some of the tutors their picks of the second years so that we felt all professional and head hunter-y but what was awesome was that most of the names we were given were the lovely people that then volunteered to help us, cue tiny chuffed faces from myself and sarah.
Im so excited to really get going with our project and have a small army of equally enthusiastic people helping us with it,  I know we wouldn't be able to do it alone so thank you to everyone that wants to take part in our breakfasty adventure.
I will try and update regularly on our progress too,
Bye!

A new semester begins...

Hello everyone, I realise I haven't updated in a while but what with hand ins and then christmas at home with the family, its been a bit hectic; you know with all the food I had to eat and so on.
But it is a new semester and the work is already starting to mount up (eek). I have three main projects on the go: first is the major project which will be the love story between an egg and her toasty solider set in a 1930's burlesque club. For this I am attempting a full stop motion set and multiple puppets for the first time, as well as hopefully having a team of second years to help me out.
The second project is a website animation with quite a considerable amount of lip synch and design work to be done for it.
But the third project which I found out about only this very afternoon is a project with Barry Purves (I know... awesome huh). Its going to be alot of work but I just couldn't turn the last project down as I knew I would regret it.
Looks like theres going to be alot of sleepless nights in the near future for me... not that I'm complaining it will be fun, I will make it fun goddamn it!
Wish me luck!

2 down...1 to go

There is only one more thing to hand in which is my Individual Short Animation. I chose to animate an old lady breaking it down bhangra style at a bus stop, though as I had never animated anything dancing before it wasn't actually as fun as it sounds. I got a little stuck with it but just ignored it for a fortnight and now its all edited and the music is on there and I'm feeling a little more confident with the thing. Will try to remember to put the link to it on Vimeo on here in a couple of weeks. I am so exciting to get it all handed in and done, I just want to be home and feeling all christmassy already!

Also as part of my Animation Futures Module, I did some design work for this 'ere blog so below is what I came up with. My train of thought was this 'what is the my realisation of Joy?'...a pug in a teacup...yeah...

Till I remember to write on this again, Farewell.

Postcard design for blog...yeah its pretty much a pug in a teacup...

The first post..eep

Why hello there people of the world wide web, how lovely to see you
I feel like this post, being the very first one, should be beautiful and amazingly thoughtout but seeing as
every subsequent post will be ramblings or just screaming, Im sure it will be fine =]
Ive just got back from Leeds, after attending the ThoughtBubble comic convention. It was a little bit awesome, though I dont think I've ever been around such a high concentration of nerds so I was a little uncomfortable at the amount of extremely unflattering and revealing fancy dress costumes in attendence. My boyfriend got to meet John Romita JR, shake his hand and get him to sign his Daredevil comic which meant there was a inane grin plastered to his face for the rest of the day, bless him =] I found some absolute bargains and plenty of interesting and beautiful posters and postcards so I was very content.
Currently having a tiny celebration on account of finishing the first draft of my report, which consists of eating refresher bars and listening to Flight of the Conchords...the celebration not the report, that consists of research, hard work and anguish.
oh and Ive now been banned from using any kind of sharp inplement after developing quite a skill for missing the bread and just carving up my own fingers, so i can only be trusted with using a spoon, though i sure with my level of clumsiness I'll manage to gouge out my eyes or something...
Bye!