losing the light

we're just rounding out the first week of the school year and i'm already coming home after midnight.

years ago while working on a camera truck, i thought of how the positions on a film set could be broken down into two categories: those who want the day to end and those who don't want the day to end. for most of the crew, you work, then you usually have some down time, then you work some more, and the cycle repeats until they call wrap and you go home. you can leave work at work and just enjoy your evening on the rare event that there actually is anything left of your evening.

but there are a small number of jobs that are not running down the clock but racing against it. the director, the producer, the cinematographer, and the 1st a.d. are spending their day doing all that they can to be as productive as they can, to wrangle the crew and the talent to make the day's list of shots. and when the day is done, they regroup and discuss what to do the next day. the next morning, the race starts all over again.

i've been on both sides. yes, it's fun to be calling the shots and the day flies by, but there's something to be said for, when they call wrap, just being able to ship up the day's film as fast as you can and not having to think about it until the next morning after your breakfast burrito.

as i'm entering my fourth semester here at grad school, i've thought of how i look at my days. there's so much expected of me that, if i was just going through here like a below-the-line crew member, the hours would be easily flying by. and i sometimes find myself in that mode, staring at the clock and telling myself that i'll go home at 11:30 and so i begin dawdling some, browsing wikipedia or rereading a friend's blog for the fourth time as my "breaks" between work become more frequent. soon enough, i've made it through another day and let myself go home. after all, i've got things i need to take care of there, too.

but the people who are racing the clock on set--the director, the producer, the cinematographer--they are the ones with the creative control. that weight rests on them because they are making the artistic decisions and working to make the movie as best as it can be; it's their responsibility. and in this one-man show, that's me. i'm not here in school just to get to the end of each day. i'm here to get the most out of each minute, and whether i get something done today or tomorrow, it's not going to get done unless i do it.

so that's one of the paradigm shifts that i'll be working towards this year.

in other news, the oscar nominations will be announced tomorrow morning. you'll hear my thoughts here soon enough.

+1

one of the things i like most about my life in texas is my job. unlike most viz students, i don't work in the department but managed to procure a job with the division of research, doing video work for them. which means that i get to get out of langford for a bit and work with real cameras and lights, instead of all that virtual stuff. there are only five other people in my office and they're all significantly older than me, but they're also all really cool.

tonight was the work Christmas party and i was told that "significant others are welcome." i considered bringing one of my insignificant others but opted instead to go as the cool single guy. at parties, i have a tendency to clam up but with some effect at the start, i can push forward and be a part of the cool crowd and did so nicely tonight. the party was great. my boss hosted at her home, and i'm normally not one to give much thought to others' houses, but susan's place is beautiful. not "lame rich person" nice but genuinely cultured and stylish. proving that this wasn't just for looks, she made amazing "heavy hors d'oeurves", which constituted a dinner of fine meats and cheeses, olives and garlic and homemade pot pies. the chocolate desserts maintained the class.

i don't think i will ever live down the "sweet child o' mine" incident (we're actually still trying to tell the vp that it's a bad idea), as that was a story that we related to everyone's wives and husbands with much laughter. a few days before the party, i was asked to be in charge of the music, and i did my best, plugging in my ipod and going straight for the good stuff. when the white elephant gift exchange came around, susan (60s, grandmother) looked at me and asked for something more lively. and everyone was happy with daft punk's tron: legacy soundtrack, followed by the dropkick murphys.

my office is awesome.

wish you could have been there.

fall show

i just got home from school. i was there for 41 hours. excepting a few hours for work over those couple of days, pretty much the whole time was spent on the top level of langford building c. i think i've been up for 24 hours. that was after i slept for two and a half hours on the floor next to a computer, using my leather jacket as a pillow. i listened to the charlie brown Christmas soundtrack on repeat the whole night through. it makes for good animating music as well as good Christmas music. i have eaten nothing but pizza for the last 36 hours. my roommates kindly brought me my requested toothbrush around midnight a few nights ago; being able to brush your teeth in the morning really makes an all-nighter more bearable.

i wish i could say that this hard work has produced a phenomenal project that i'm proud of and am hoping will win us a student emmy. instead, the best i can say is that i handed in my animation project by the deadline, and sometimes, that's ok.

my friend the auror

i hadn't given much thought to what to be for halloween (y'know, grad school and all....) but a friend at church suggested i go as harry potter, which sounded easy enough for me.  i've already got the glasses and the scarf, although i decided i'd try to follow the look from the fourth movie, since his hair was longer then.
by the stream behind the institute building i found a branch that i fashioned into an excellent wand and, after raiding my roommate's closet for a maroon and gold tie, i was more or less set.

drawing that scar was trickier than it should have been, and when cassidy pointed out it was on the wrong side i confidently denied such while thinking in my head, "dang it, she's right...."

meanwhile, a half dozen states away, kristin was making herself into a really incredible tonks.

this just amazed me.
seriously dang awesome.
but she wanted the picture to feel a little less... "kitcheny", as she put it.  i had to agree, it had a definite muggle feel about it...
so i sent her a few suggestions on how to improve it, along with a few examples.
after some back and forth critiquing, she produced this:

yeah.  that's my friend.