Time flies when you're having fun.

I haven't written on this bad boy in a while.
Probably because I don't have much to say.
Nothing's happening you know.

Still trundling along with Project 2.
Slowly but surely.
I've done the flowchart, I'll upload that in another post in a bit, probably.

Err.. yeah.
That's it.

Just about to learn some PHP.
For the first time.
eep.

Overandout.
x

Little Wed Widing Hood.

Narrative:

In terms of the entire story's narrative, this is the part where Little Red Riding Hood and the wolf meet, with the wolf posing as the grandma. It comes before the man arrives to kill the wolf.

The picture could be seen in different contexts if you don't know the story. Looking at the narrrative of the image on it's own, it is merely a wolf and a girl in bed. The size of the wolf in comparison to the girl and the accessories it is wearing could suggest that the girl is actually nursing the baby wolf. There is no indication that the wolf is there to do wrong, or that the girl has mistaken the creature for her grandmother.

Interactive Option 1:

It could be a still from an interactive game or web-based game. The user could be in the place of the girl and there could be a set of options determining the fate of both characters.

Suggested options are:

-Ask "the" questions, e.g. "What big eyes you have..."
-Get out of bed
-Attack the wolf
etc etc

From then, each option would have it's own conclusion, i.e. getting out of bed would lead to a chase or just an instant attack.

Interactive Option 2:

Again, taken from a still in an interactive game, the user chooses which questions the girl asks the wolf, with a certain path of questions which lead to keeping the wolf at bay before the hero arrives. The wrong choices could lead to the wolf preparing to eat Little Red Riding Hood.

Interactive Option 3:

A first person shooter based on the role of the hero, battling through the forest to save Little Red Riding Hood. Or an old-school NES-graphic platform game, with the same idea.

Keeping the metaphorical ball rolling

So I haven't posted in fifteen days.
Diddums.

Here's a brief synopsis of anything that has happened worth noting...

I handed my project in. I'm not very happy with the essay but I'd rather hand in drivel than get capped at zero. Then I've had a week off. Hoorah.

Saw Bill Bailey live.
Funny stuff.
Saw Biffy Clyro in London.
Sexy stuff.

Worked a bit, as you do.
Don't know how much longer I'll have my job at 1812. Everything that is done wrong, I instantly get blamed for. They're looking for an excuse to get rid of me, I'm sure.
It's not a nice feeling, really.

Went SUPER LAZY and got my Asda shopping delivered to me.
It's worth the £5 delivery. They organise it into bags and everything. All I have to do is open my door and there it is, ready to be hidden away. Sayphe.

Addicted to a PC game called Crysis.
I'm not a gamer at all, but I love this.
I think it's the graphics that are primarily sucking me in, and the fact my g.card can handle them.
That's about it, I'm bored.

-x-

Shicking Brits.

Hey so I thought I was in control and ahead of schedule.
I've done the images and the website, sweet as a nut.
I've now got a week and a bit to do an essay. I had longer, but kept putting it off.
And now I just don't know what to put in it.

I can write about my images, what everything stands for and how I made it, but as far as theoretical ideas go I'm stuffed.

Shick.

TYPEYTYPEY-TYPE-TYPE

Purrrfection

I read someone's blog post, where they were thinking about natural names used in technology, focussing on cars like the VW Beetle and Jaguars and whatnot.

What instantly clicked with me, was Mac operating systems, and their animal names.
So it made sense to make a little advert.

And here it is.

Thom.

HELLO WORLD.

These posts in quick succession are probably pissing you off if you're on the impserver and i'm hogging the page.
So, sorry, but I didn't want to thwack everything in one post.
(I also like the fact my firefox spellchecker hasn't underlined the word "thwack.")



My next image.
"Hello world."
A phat computer in the middle of a park.
With onlookers.

My friend said "that's a dope idea."
(That means it's a good idea.)
But I don't see why.
Pretty average I'd argue.

I guess it's kind of about the whole wireless revolution. And how, going to the park is no longer about looking at plants. It's about enjoying the outdoors but still using technology and all that. Kind of.
Maybe it also touches on the subject of man-made things being ugly and don't really blend i with nature.
I don't know. I haven't slept much and ideas are flying around all over the shop.

Th0mZh0r.

I Spot A Theme, Ladies and Gents.

Two posts earlier I spladged up my picture about deforestation.
I've made a new one to follow on from it.
Thus I've found a theme, but only for two images.
The other three are to be unrelated.
Here is the deforestation one, followed by the contrasting recycling/replantation image.

That Coastline Thing, But A Bit More.

I just took my One Day Project outcome and whacked an Aristotle quote on it.
How very arty.
How very BUFF.

Laterz.
Thom.

Cut Down Trees; It's A Laff.

Wha-hey, pretty much finished another image for the hand in.
*does a little dance*

So my idea was to be heavily influenced by some Radiohead artwork, and was going to be about logging. The technology coming from the logging equipment of course, and the nature being the logs. I didn't want it to look pretty, it's not about that, it's about alerting the audience to the damage being caused. So how about some good old fashioned blood. Emotive. Yes. And the red itself symbolises a lot.

Here's how it started:



Then I wanted to add more. Some tree stumps and whatnot. But everything I added didn't quite work and it just looked over crowded. So I set to work just emphasising what I'd already created. And ended up with this:



The finishing touches, which you can just see, are some flyers layered over the red splats. This is to symbolise that all this logging for paper, is rarely for a worthy cause. Those people who camp outside Uni all day flyering for the shittest clubs in Britain, provided me with the materials for that idea. So, thanks.

Yeah back to the grindstone for some more ideas.

Another One Day Project My Lovelies.

Well.
I was kinda looking forward to this one day project.
From the last one I actually knuckled down and made a picture, and took inspiration from other peoples' pictures.

But then, when we got our brief... Balls.
Completely irrelevant.
No use to the final shindig whatsoever.

But hey.
Here are our logo designs for "PARADOX;" a new electronics brand.

You've had a lot of dick Chasey, but you aint had mine.

Last night.
I witnessed a fat man on a box with wheels being pulled across a stage via a chain attached another mans penis.
That same genital-puller chugged a jug of beer, threw a third of it back up into the jug and drank it again, threw up in his friends hat (and his friend wore it,) threw up on his friends chest, and generally threw up a lot.
That isn't what live music should be about.
But I can tick the Bloodhound Gang off my list of "seen bands."

Anyway.
We're in week three.
Fuck.

So I'm sorting my visual diary for tomorrow, and sticking this post up purely so if I have to put my blog on the projector, it says the word "dick" in big letters at the top. I'm mature like that, you see.
So yeah, pulling some images together that I love. They aren't really relevant in terms of nature or technology but I like them regardless. Mainly Radiohead artwork.
And on a side-note, their new album is really good.

I also just got myself a domain and stuff.
I'm not sure why, seeing as I can't build websites, and don't really have anything to put up there.
but
www.thomcurtis.co.uk
is born.

I thought I had something to say but it turns out I don't.
Ho hum.

Over and out.
Thom.

Worse Things Have Happened At Sea

That's a bloody good song by Frank Turner, I tell thee.
Go and listen to it.

Anyway.
Today was the one-day project, andddd it didn't go too badly.
As always there were people who blew everyone out the water with mind-blowing images, and then again there were some that weren't so great. I'm thinking my photoshop skills are about average in the year group.
Mine turned out to look more like a painting than anything. Which wasn't the thing I was aiming for, really. I mean, I'm pretty happy with it, I just don't know if it will be strong enough to make it to the final five images.

I really need to get on the case of this visual diary.
I went and found tons of images online, mainly Radiohead and Muse artwork, but I haven't done anything with them past that. And I don't have anything that symbolises Nature or Technology. Just images I think are awesome and like the style of. Hmm.

Laterzz.
Thom.

So. Why?

Note to self: probably an important post.

Why am I doing this course.
Why indeed.

I class myself as intelligent and creative.
Or at least, I'd like to think I am.
I can't necessarily prove I'm creative on a blog, (except maybe the occasional flamboyant vocab,) but hopefully the intelligence speaks for itself. The fact I can spell and stuff?
da fct i dnt tlk lyk dis.
u no?
wel ye i mean its kewl 2 tlk lyk dis enit?
every1 dus it.
Well I don't.
And if you ever type anything like that to me I might just come round and break your face.

Anyway, back to the point.
I think I'm *fairly* intelligent and creative.
And I think those attributes suit this course well.
I used to play around with Photoshop during school and college.
I never really learned anything, just how to make me look alright in photos by adjusting contrast and colours. But I did know there was a hell of a lot going on, and that the program had colossal potential.
The same with Flash, I could make crap animations where a picture slides on and slides off, but that's about it.
And with dreamweaver. Well. Here's some text. Here's a picture. This links here. Publish.
Need I say more.

I could have just gone on some courses to learn about these programs.
And I really did consider it.
Because I'd always fiddled around with it, I kind of classed it as a past-time and when it came to going to Uni, it didn't cross my mind for that very reason. I was in the mind set that I should go on to do something that progresses from something I'd already taken. As it happens, I had never taken anything like Media Studies and such, I'd taken things like Art and Maths. And I was drawn towards the Computer Animation course.
Given that it's supposed to be the best in the country, I was pretty pissed off that I didn't enjoy it.
When it came for looking for a new course, I knew I didn't really want to leave Bournemouth.
And also, in my opinion, if you're going to Bournemouth, you should be in the Media School.
If you want something that isn't in the Media School, then going to Bournemouth won't benefit you necessarily. Seeing as it's the only Centre of Excellence for Media Practice in the country, thus far, it seemed like belonging to such a school would look more than appealing to future employers.
And after all, we're all in this for a job.
I'll get back to that.
So I stumbled across BAIMP in a prospectus and kicked myself that I hadn't seen this the previous year. It sounded like the course for me, something that would allow me to be creative, not to mention the fact that the course seemed to promote new medias and innovative bits and bobs that, in a fast changing world, are important things to know about.

So, back to the job.
I don't just want any job.
If I did, I'd probably wander down to 1812 and ask for a full time position.
Or move back home to sexy Swindon and get a job in The Spot.
Now I've got bar-experience, I don't like the idea of a 9-5 answering phones.
But I want a job I'll enjoy.
Money isn't necessarily important. So long as I don't live in squalor, finances don't bother me. I just want to be able to go to work, be good at my job, and enjoy it. Something related to this course, with all the creativity and what-not.

Eurgh I don't know I feel like I've gone round in circles and no doubt forgotten to right something.
Forget Simon, Tangent should be my middle name.





Enough reasoning.
Now to the present.
We were set our brief yesterday.
Technology and Nature.
5 images.
6 weeks.
My head was spinning.
I'd only have thought of an idea before another slice of a new idea flew in and batted the old stuff away.
Today, some "Photoshop-tennis" (can't be assed to explain it,) has given me oodles of inspiration.
So hopefully I can accquire some shit-hot-photoshop-skills over the coming weeks and pull these brainchildren off. Woopadywoop.

Over and out, bitches.
Thom.

Parisian Skies

I need to blog more often I think.
Don't quote me on that, though.

I feel like I've got alsorts to say, but my mind might be stuck in an infinite loop.
Like my graphics card.
And excuse my French but it's fucking me off.

Anyway.
I'm going to split this into two posts. For future reference, with regards to PDP and such,
ignore this one.
Glad that's all cleared up, ennitbruv.

What on earth has happened since last Wednesday that I feel the urge to write about.
A valid question.
And it would seem, not very much.
So yes, infinite loop it was.
Balls.

Worked Friday.
Worked Saturday.
Worked Sunday.
(hmm pattern yes?)
And then into Uni yesterday to start the proper program.
More of that in the other post coming shortly.

Last night I went to see Maximo Park in Portsmouth.
I blagged free tickets because I said I'd review it for the website, which was pretty sweet.
I was down for an interview too but they wanted me there at half 5 and I had uni until 4.
Portsmouth isn't quick to reach a la train.
Can you believe it?
I actually sacrificed meeting one of Britain's best bands, just to go to Uni.
What a bloody joke.
This time last year, on Animation, hating every day I spent in Uni, I'd have jumped at the chance to escape and do something else.
I mean, christ, someone could have invited me to their house for a bourbon biscuit and I'd have skipped a whole day.
But no, I'm making an effort.
And I enjoyed today.

Hm what else.
Ah yes I'm interviewing Athlete tomorrow.
Woot.
Now that's something Uni can't get in the way of because there's no lectures or seminars.
Time for a celebratory dance.

When we were told to make a blog, Joe clicked onto one randomly and upon skimming through, fell upon a post about Gin. Now, I'm not a copy-cat or anything, but I'm going to do the same.
Not so much a post, more a few lines.

My first experience of gin was after the Leavers Ball in year 11, in the Summer of 2004.
Someone handed me a miniature bottle and told me to down it.
He's the kind of guy who would thump you, and it's best if you're on good terms.
I did so.
It was gross.
I didn't touch it again until I imported loads of cheap alcohol from abroad, and the crates that made it through customs had some gin in. I was selling it on at a minor profit anyway, so anything I didn't like I could flog. I opened one bottle of gin, had a drop, and it was still gross.

And now, we find ourselves in 2007. Back at Uni.
And in the house, I'm offered a gin and tonic.
Why not.
*drink*
That's rather nice.
For the next few weeks I drink more Gin than anything else.
Mental.
And now I quite enjoy it.

Enough.
I'm going to write the other post now.
It's more important.

Thom.

Deja Vu.

I swear I've been here before.
On more than one count.

I've just started Interactive Media Production at Bournemouth Uni, after last years' Computer Animation went breast-skyward. So I find myself back at the start of a course.
And also, I find myself back blogging.
It's something I'd decided to attempt a few years ago, and it didn't last very long.
It's still active and I don't have the effort in my fingers to close it down.
I just won't tell anyone the link. Brilliant.

So we've been advised to start blogging as part of the new course, for helping with the self-reflective writing or something.
The closest I've got to reflective writing is scrawling offensive messages in the condensation on the bathroom mirror for my housemates to find. I get the feeling the Uni-staff are looking for something a little more coherant.

So here is my blog.
Isn't he lovely.
Yes he is.
Let's see how long this one lasts.

Thom.