I basically am Bear Grylls.

So as you may or may not know, I've been up in Sheffield for the first part of summer. My job hunt has proved to be less fruitful than Chicken Bar and I can't stay inside in my pants 24/7 so some friends and I have started adventuring. With a little help from a certain website, both with my handsome pals and by myself, we've visited various locations all around the city. Here a few pictures I've taken whilst doing so, there are bound to be more in the future. Click on them for a better look.

Let's play catch-up.

I've been neglecting you and I've never been more sorry. However, in fairness to me, I have been busier than you could possibly ever imagine. I've got all my deadlines in this week, I've been making films and reading books and going places and doing things and causing trouble and being good. This year is going at an absolutely unprecedented pace and I am so not ready for it to do so. Plans are being made for summer and next year and the lives ahead of us already but for me it feels like Christmas was last week. 

Speaking of Christmas, I got a neat little camera as a gift and I've been taking pictures of some of the stuff I've done and the wonderful things I've seen. I'll post my favourites below as well as some of the new films I've been making. The black white video is called 'Morning' and it's a type of composograph (essentially something intricate being recorded and edited to create a rhythm or beat). Big thanks to Owen Jones for crawling out of bed and using my toothpaste. The second video is a short documentary made with Owen Jones (producer), Jonny Harrold (audio) and Dave Galloway (visuals); I was editor and director. I think it turned out nicely, please, please, please let me know what you think, we're grateful for any feedback. For now I bid you farewell, but I'll back, and sooner than you think. Be good to each other.

P.s Click on any of the pictures below to see them big and shiny. 

Back to the Steel City.

Everything's going so quickly. Christmas and New Year went by in a hazy blur, as it always does, and I've found myself back in Sheffield already in a bad sleeping pattern and in dire monetary need. On top of all the work I gotta do, I got a smörgåsbord of films and television shows to watch INCLUDING - Every single episode of 'The Wire' & 'Band of Brothers'; as well as 'Rec', 'October Sky', 'Flashbacks of a Fool' and a million others. It's pretty fucking awesome to know that they're there for me to watch depending on what I feel like. 


The other day I watched 'I'm Still Here'. It's a mockumentary detailing Joaquin Phoenix (the bad ass motherfucking emperor in 'Gladiator') and his transition from an actor to an aspiring rapper. The whole things a satire of entertainment business, Joaquin and partner in crime Casey Affleck take everything that's known about the business and spit in it's face. Here's the thing. I was reading the reviews for the film, from critics and audiences as well, and I was mega, mega puzzled. Are people really, really fucking thick? Everyone seemed to think that it was real, that Joaquin was actually an amalgamation of everything that's wrong with modern celebrity. Did they not watch the same film I did? The one where Joaquin sniffs coke off a prostitute's boobs? The one where his best mate takes a dump on a him when he's asleep? The one where, at the end of the film, it says 'WRITTEN BY JOAQUIN PHOENIX'? People are crazy man. Watch it, it's interesting, clever and funny.


I've been busting my way through the Millennium Trilogy films and thus far can't recommend them more. 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' is totally badass. The first of the three films, it tells the story of a journalist who's aided in his search for a woman who has been missing -- or dead -- for forty years by a young female hacker. Whoever sorted out the casting did a stellar job, every character's believable and has depth that isn't really seen in an action / drama like this. The sequel 'The Girl Who Played with Fire' has a story that's a bit more far-fetched but it's still worth seeing. I'm yet to watch the third, but I'll let you know if it's hot or not. The series was all shot in Sweden and makes the place look awesome (and bloody cold). It's one of those films where those locations and settings really add to the story and help add to a proper sense of realism. 


As I said earlier, I've got a film to make by the 9th, so when it's done I'll pop it up on here and whatnot. In the meanwhile, here's a video of my one true love singing sweet, sweet lullabies with her band She & Him. Seriously, Zooey could be covered in syringes and bees and you'd still have to knock me out to stop me from kissing her.


P.s I redesigned this blog, let us know if you think it's crap. 

Apologies and controversies.

To begin, an apology. I've had a shit-load of stuff  to do recently and I've been mega busy trying to make friends and enemies. For those of you who care, I'm having a sweet time at uni, I have no money and no food but the company's good and I've made at least three friends. 
Things I've done since being here that make me a student - 

• Not paid more than £5 for any single item.
• Thrown up in the street.
• Woken up at half 5 in the afternoon.
• Become synonymous with obscene traits (namely, asking questions and being my flat's allocated drunkard.)
• Had a friend cut my hair into an obscure shape.
• Watched more 'Judge Judy' than any one man should ever do.
• Picked up a couple of new hobbies - Drawing, dancing like a prick and drinking copious amounts of wine to name but a few.

The list could go on for a while but those are the real humdingers. 

My course has been nothing but exciting so far. It's weird how if you put a bunch of teenagers together and give them the same concept that they can run with it and come up with stuff that's completely individual and at the same time similar to everyone else's. We went on a trip to this place called Gradbach Mill to shoot some short films. We were given a brief to make a film about  'the land'. It sounds a bit pretentious but there were genuinely awesome pieces made, the best of which you can find here. We've been on a couple of course nights out as well which have been consistently amusing; somehow everything we do ends up like an episode of Hollyoaks. Alcohol apparently turns everyone into hormonal, randy kids; it is literally mad.

We got given a brief for another piece as well. The gist of it was that person A is doing something, get contacted by person B and then goes to meet them. Person A resolves Person B's problem then returns to the task they were fulfilling beforehand. It sounds a bit strange, but the  brief gave us a chance for quite a broad creative scope. I ended up doing a film on mimes. Lord knows how I came to that conclusion but I think it worked out. You can watch the finished piece on my Youtube page here. Let me know if you like it or if you think it's shit, either way I'd like your opinion.  


I've got a load of other stuff coming up, so you keep your eyes peeled.


P.s This is a picture of my hair. My flatmate Jen and I don't know how to cut it so we just keep on shaving the shit out of the sides.