Bit of a lengthy one today, been a while since I started spewing text onto this blog, I'll get back on it, semi-pinky promise.
Personal
So through the past few weeks, creatively I haven't had much time to devote to development in this sector, been a lot of house hunting, spending a bit of time out with people and working.
I was an extra for a TV show this Monday, as this was the 2nd production I was on, it was really nice to see how different productions run and what to expect. Overall it was pretty enjoyable and it's always a pleasure to see new faces, places and do something I enjoy from the norm. Ran a DND one-shot session with some friends over the weekend, as always, seeing the difference in party compositions, reactions between party members and enjoyment from how I ran it is always a joy. They were tasked with rescuing of finding the fate of an old mans best friend, Spuddy the pup, whether it be alive or dead, he wanted closure.
This ended in entering a cove in a bay, rescuing an alive but shaken Spuddy, and fighting through a duo of Giant Crabs, awaking an ancient, building size crab narrowly escaping from its pincers as the cove collapsed in on the ancient crab, a hairline escape.
Lit another show, This time it was a mixture of performances, the folk duo I have lit before, a Sinatra/rat-pack singer, and then a Comedian called Jimmy Cricket.
This faced as a challenge to create different moods and atmospheres within a limited board, as the RGB sliders, one of them was permanently stuck on 100% for green, meaning I was limited to blues, whites, aquas and green, and the natural coloured stage lights.
With this challenge, I found to give more energy and movement to the stage lighting, light intensity was the way forward, and the use of it whether it be just a spotlight during a ballad or a transition between an emotional Irish folk tune transitioning into a jovial lively melody could be aided with a led change from blue to green.
Overall, I felt there weren't many changes and enjoy having the freedom to explore and play with the lights and further learn how to effectively light a stage, after all, kinesthetic learning is one of the most effective ways of learning.
I also joined in at an open day at Z-arts, a learning/ creative centre for children and families, giving them a place to create and learn away from the constricting, score-based system of primary and secondary education.
They provide a chance to explore and express creatively, without actually feeling like learning, with the ever-increasing demand for well-being, they give a chance to provide that, build confidence and social skills in a stress-free environment, developing transferable skills often neglected in most school systems. This is something I feel could be a really really great way to develop ideas and really make a difference in where schools systems lack.
SLR photography
As I mentioned in an earlier blog,(I believe, been a while ey) I bought myself a Zenit-B SLR camera, loaded a film and took some shots, of friends, places, nature and ghosts.
I haven't looked at them yet, still awaiting processing, so it's a tense wait. Before I look my predictions for the film roll will go like this:
- There will be a lot of light leaking, if not completely white-out photos due to light exposure from the back panel when I fixed a jam.
- A fair majority will be just a touch out of focus or over/under-exposed, first attempts usually will.
- I will have forgotten half of the photos I have taken on here, including testing the camera rewind, so likely a messy double-exposure.
Looking at my predictions and the end product... it was more or less these 3 that survived, from the looks of things, I got a light leak at some point rendering the rest of the roll completely white, time to load a new roll and rinse and repeat. My next roll has been souped so hopefully, we'll have some more wild and wonderful looking photos.
T-Shirt Design
I designed a graphic for a t-shirt and want to test it both embroidered and printed.
The design is taken from the language I wrote for a DND campaign of an ancient civilisation of insects which have been lost to history, developing on it to give it a more sharp and tech-ware look. This will be printed on a black shirt, with the design white
In time, I will have this on an actual t-shirt and see how I can develop this, or even if I like it... Expect news on this next update.
Monologue Development and Clowning.
Coming up the end of the year 2021, I was looking at artist residencies and noticed how poorly documented my work is, as well as it does not show professionalism within my work. So for the start of 2022, I have a list of works, pieces and developments I would like to complete either in that year or next, with a focus on building my skills, and improving my skills in documenting the work for a portfolio I can give to artist residencies in the future.
From this, one of the ideas Is to display lighting skills, expression as well as acting through a self-made monologue. I have started to do writing activities and challenges to look at developing and writing style of monologue to look at how I can create an effective piece, and how the lighting rig can accompany it
I've also been watching videos, and developing more ideas into which how I can create another piece of clowning, something I would like to pursue once more, as I remember enjoying it hugely. I remember there was a distinct person who if I had the luxury to perform again, clowning would be the one I would go with.
Sorry for being so MIA, this month has been chaos. I'll be on the ball again in no time.
Peace,
- S (18/11/21)