come out. come down

Oh Dear....

2007-08-31T17:06:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it's what the 1st of Septmember, by a few hours anyway. I just read back over my last blog (of which I promise I will write more regularly) and what have I done this year? I had such high ambitions!!

Good news is.. I'm filming the Besival again next weekend, this time the video will end up on the website and used by the Bestival people to promote their festival etc. Gonna be challenging this year, got alot to cover...B ut I can't really do a worse job than those Channel 4 loons....

Anyway, so the other thing I mentioned was that I was gonna work on two music videos...
Kinda of haven't. I can definately see them taking place in the very near future, I've already spoken to Rob about it and he seemed interested.

Anyway, what have I done with my summer?

Well I worked at RIAS for 8 weeks. Big mistake, BIG MISTAKE! Absolutley lovely people, and I didnt mind the job that much but its so creatvly draining. I just got home and wanted to collapse or die or something. Anyway, made a few dollar dollar there. I'm now gearing up to film the Bestival again.

Something totally unpredicatble has happened...
I've always been interested in Music, obviously... ha!
But last June, my friend Ben and I decided to start DJ-ing.
Now a little over a year down the line we've been a part of making Big In Japan (in my opinion) the best clubnight in Bournemouth, possibly even the best along the South Coast.Things are going from strength to strength. I've played all over Bournemouth, Southampton and Brighton... And have my eyes on London in the near future. I'm also remixing and producing tracks.

I get worried though, feeling that if I work too hard on one thing, either film or music, one will lose out. But then, why shouldn't I be able to persue multiple things. I really enjoy DJing and Producing - and it looks like its here to stay.

So updates on my agenda...

Get some tracks out there on the dancefloors.
Make the best promo video i've ever made for Bestival 2007.
Get a few Music Videos under my belt b y early next year.
Play a few gigs up in London / More in Digital in Brighton.

Good times ahead, thats all I can say.
Exciting times,

Jason

what a year

2007-01-05T20:56:00.000-08:00

2007. I have this IMMENSE feeling that something great is going to happen every single day of this year! That may be a brave statement, and in a way, this little voice is saying that after these first few days - things can only get worse - But NO! I, myself, me - am going to make sure that something happens every day. I'm not expecting everyday a miricle to happen, I mean, something good could just be writing another page of my screenplay - but i just have to go to bed feeling good about the day that has just been. Okay - So... Since the last blog. What have I been up to?

Well - finished the Bestival video. Or had i finished that before, i can't remember. But yeah, its live on my website. Its quite funny actually, cause i finished it, and sent it to Rob Da Bank about 3 days before Christmas, and i never got a reply. I was so worried, I mean it'd taken more over three months to finish, and even after all the effort and stress of moving away from home/starting uni bla bla, it still seemed like too long -

But, on the 2nd of January, I sent him a Happy New Year e-mail and just put on the end a cheeky - 'did you get the link to the video'... and he said no. It was such a relief! Now was the second stage of worrying, waiting for his feedback. A few hours later, I got an e-mail, and he liked it. Fuck me was I relivied. I mean, that weekend remains the best weekend I have had EVER, so to make a video that lives up to that was pretty daunting - but... I did it. I really am happy with the video and stuff. LOVE IT! So anyway, hopefully Rob and Ziggy from Get Involved! are going to throw some more work my way - which would be amazing!

Okay, so one of my big missions for 2007 is to save up and buy myself a nice camera. Even if its just a Canon XL1, I just need my own camera. I had the chance to film The Klaxons DJ set at 60 Million Postcards and New Years Eve at The Lock Tavern in Camden which would have been amaing - buut I had to pass pureply on the basis that I couldnt get hold of a camera! It sucked!

Okay, so what other news! I've been talking to a very lovely and talented Photograher from Brighton (originally from Athens) called Leonidas about collaboration on my new film project. I'm really excited about the chance to work with a still photographer on the composition and aestetic look of a film, and I think this would be the perfect opportunity. Vasically, the story i'm trying to tell between this five individuals is so big, that to tell it in 20/25 minutes is going to be a pretty epic mission! And if you think about what a still photographer has to achieve... conveying a billion things and emotions in a single frame - it will be a great chance to explore how the two forms of photography, both moving and still - can complement each other.

One of my main ambitions for the next few months is still to direct at least one or two music videos. I have been speaking to a friend Jules Powell about possibly working with him in the future. His company Rebel Monk has got some really hot stuff under its belt, with some amazing directors on the roster - anyway, check the website! www.rebelmonk.co.uk !

Now lets talk about Shortbus! - Well, I watched it for the first time about 72 Hours ago, and its safe to say it hasn't left my mind. To begin with, it scared me as the film I am writing is in some ways similar, and I was worried that they may be too similar, but I figured that my film will take on its own life - I mean my style in itself is so different to John Cameron Mitchell's - so yeah. Anyway, I loved the honesty and authenticity in both the story and the characters. I have never seen a film so well acted before.

I have had the utterly amazing opportunity to exhange a few messages with actress and writer/director Sook-Yin Lee over the wonderful MySpace (if you read this, thankyou :P ) which has really made me think about quite a few things - mostly, focussing on the characters. She mentioned that its really hard for actors to find decent roles, I kind of knew this already, but hearing it from someone who is so talented really anchored the notion, I mean if Sook-Yin Lee isn't reading many screenplays that she wants to act in, the surely that says something. So this is defunately a huge priority on my new project.

Well, its 5.17. It feels like years since i've slipped into the land of nod before 4AM, something that will have to change in two days time whe I go back to Uni! I just find it so much eaiser to create things at this time in the morning. It just seems more magical.

Anyway.

As the clock ticks ever closer to sunrise - I will take my leave.

Thanks for reading!

Jason

xx

all work. and all play.

2006-12-15T01:01:00.000-08:00

Okay... So -

I've been rushing around London over the past weekend with my good friend Claire. We we're asked to shoot a short promo for the Styleslut party at 93 Ft. East on Friday the 8th of December. It was really good fun, met some really nice people - and got some really cool footage of the bands and people dancing - I'm editing it down as we speak and hopefully should have a rough cut online by early next week.

Ebony Bone @ StyleSlut (photo: DirtyDirtyDancing.com)

But doing one thing over the weekend would never have been enough! We decided to try and get Adventures In The Beetroot Field to let us make a promo video for their Canvas Warehouse Party on saturday the 9th. We figured we had the HD Camera for the weekend so best not let it go to waste!

Surkin @ AITBF (photo: DirtyDirtyDancing.com)

Filming canvas was such hard work but really really fun. I mean we were shooting from around 6pm - 6am - But... We met some amazing people, the AITBF guys, Crispin, Jammy and Dan were really cool in sorting stuff out and letting us have the run of the club to get some of the best footage i've filmed at an event. Infact, I have finished the first rough cut of the event, I am a little reluctant to release it on my site yet - gonna wait til any edits have been made!

So why have I been doing all this? Well, I have, as most young people aiming for an almost impossible dream - got an agenda. This is almost a secret plan that I have, almost like a checklist. If I do this, then I will get this in return.. Etc. Its been ages since I've been paid for work that I have done. I hear alot of people complaining about not being paid - But I belive if that notion even pops into your head, theres pretty much no point in doing the project. If money is on your mind, you're not going to enjoy what your doing and therefore the work will be substandard - Thats how I feel anyway.

Altogether, i've got so many projects on the run, sometimes it's really hard to focus on one, and to sort out priorities, but once I get into the editing, its like the other projects fade and I put my usual 110% into the one i'm working on.

So what have I got planned for the new year?

I really want to work on one or two music videos, I'm still really fixated on making a film with Patrick Wolf, an unconventional documentary that pushes boundaries etc. I am also planning a 15-20 minute short with Claire. I'll talk about this in a later post, but its going to really exciting and one of my most ambitous projects so far.

Over and Out!

x