Review: Creative Careers Day in Film Making

So last week I got to attend a fantastic opportunity at Home (formerly Cornerhouse) in Manchester. The new venue is currently hosting a bunch of fantastic events for young people to achieve training and hands-on practical experience.

The day was from 11 a.m. till 4 p.m. and consisted of a group of us learning about camera work, shot angles, shot types, having a chance to create a short film ourselves and even use professional editing software to see the finished film. We started off by introducing ourselves to one another and then quickly moving on to using the cameras and tripods - we looked at white balance, shot types such as: wide shots, long shots, medium shots, close-ups, big close-ups, extreme close-ups and even had a chance to look at the three shot technique (master shot, medium shot, and close-up) and experimented with the 180 degree line rule. We then looked at shot angles, such as: point of view (POV), over the shoulder (OTS), establishing, low and high angles and canted (or dutch) angles. We even got the fantastic opportunity of having a personal tour around the theaters and the projection rooms.

After trying out several of these shots in small groups we then had the chance to go into the Home gallery and shoot a short film for ourselves incorporating as many of the shots we'd discussed as we could (our group decided to play a goofy game of wink murder which turned surprisingly sinister at the end).

I loved doing this as it was really beneficial and also super fun, when we finally returned to the room we got to use industry standard editing software to piece together the film and add effects, titles and sounds. Seeing the end result was a real treat and all of the pieces created were really fantastic.

Overall, I had a fantastic time and learnt so much from Home. If you're interested in getting involved in any creative days - whether it be film or art, visit the Home website (http://homemcr.org/) for more info! 

The 'Fuck My Life' Complex

I've come to realize something very abruptly in the last 10 months of the first year of college, and that is that most students seem to have an attitude towards their personal lives, their own egos, appearance, even their own personality, which is so far beyond negative it's verging on mass suicide. It's something which I've branded the, 'Fuck My Life' complex, particularly in students who undertake studies in arts, performance or something of the creative persuasion seem to have an uncontrollable need to help others and hide away from their own problems - and as I undertake 4 courses (and 3/4 of these are creatively based) I see how I've fallen into this category myself. 

Recently, I posted a review of a trip I took in February with my art class to Morocco, when I was there we had many unsuspecting tender moments which shocked and moved me. Pretty soon into the trip I found out that two of my friends had attempted suicide in the past 8 months, many of us had self-harmed and at one point a guy who I have never seen at any sort of low burst into tears and left the room. It soon dawned on me that most of my class mates are, well, pretty fucked up (myself included). Depression, self-harm, suicide, eating disorders, personality disorders, sleep disorders, self-deprecation, self-loathing were- no, are enormous issues in today's youthful society. And what bothered me the most was when I was keeping up-to-date with the UK general election, there was only one Party Leader during the Leader's Debate (Nick Clegg of the Liberal Democrats) who mentioned (and I say mentioned purposefully, as it was skimmed over so briefly that it was almost whispered) the tsunami of mental health illnesses that have flooded into our country and swept up so many people in the process.

During March of 2015, the HSCIC publicized their monthly statistical report for the end of December 2014 concerning mental health and learning disabilities: 921,498 people were in contact with mental health services... Nine hundred thousand people. And that's just the people that actually contacted services for help! I'm physically disgusted with today's attitude towards mental health shame, and how so many people are suffering inwardly as well as outwardly. Just because you may not spot it, doesn't mean it isn't there. And I'm not saying that there aren't already enough problems what with ISIS, the economy, education, employment - I understand that the current government has a lot on it's plate but they're looking the wrong way! How are we expected to be strong in hard times when there is so little help and support coming from our own government. So, in my next posts I'll be writing about mindfulness, tackling depression, battling self-loathing and dealing with sleep disorders and offering as many links to help people understand and deal with their problems, because frankly, I'm sick and tired of people saying, "Oh yes, it's just awful" and, "There's so much that needs to be done" and then going home having a bath and watching TV in their own little world. Stop saying, and start doing. Because if this post helps just one 12 year old girl from cutting her arm tonight I'd say it's a pretty good start.

http://www.mind.org.uk/ - A brilliant charity website which offers guidance on mental health

Bring on Summer!

Today I'm feeling ridiculously ready for warm white sandy beaches, strawberry mojitos and sexy Italian waiters that me and my friends can giggle at. This post is dedicated to summer, with the top things that get me craving the warm weather and some of my favourite summer songs!

1. My tan - for someone who has olive skin, there is no finer feeling than putting on that little black dress after a few days bathing on the beach to see the glorious glow that the sun has left your skin!

2. BBQ's - my entire family love food, so summer starts for us all when we crack open the BBQ and stuff ourselves with hot and spicy sticky chicken wings, beef burgers, cheesy jacket potatoes and potato salad. 

3. Alcohol - (please drink responsibly) whether it be a sweet strawberry mojito, a pitcher full of sex on the beach or a pint of Guinness on draft, after a long day a cool refreshing beverage is well deserved.

4. Music - my music really hits off my summer mood as it gets me raring to go off on my holidays! 

5. Sunshine and friends/family - whether it's sitting in the garden with my girlfriends or catching up with my tribe of a family - I love spending time in the sunshine getting ready for my summer fun.

I have playlists for absolutely anything and everything, from bubble baths to jazz and blues, so it's no surprise I have one for summer as well! My top summer songs have to be:

-> T-shirt Weather by Circa Waves

-> Jammin' and Is This Love by Bob Marley

-> We Come Running by Tiësto (remix) 

-> You Are My Summer by La+ch 

-> Have a Nice Day - Stereophonics 

-> Sunchyme by Dario G

Current Work - Pencils within Portraiture

Pencil work is both equally as beautiful in colour and black and white. Below, again linking to my current portraiture project, are some of my current pieces and some of the equipment that I use and, I personally believe, are the most effective. 

A4 Coloured Pencil Artist Research (Marion Bolognesi)

The small piece to the left is a coloured pencil piece I completed in my sketch book as part of my artist research into Marion Bolognesi. Her work is usually completed in water colour but as a medium that is like painting with smoke, I decided to interpret her art work and attempt to re-produce it using the same colour pallet but in a completely different medium. For this piece I used Derwent coloured pencils which can be bought from an good art store or can be found online.

A4 Graphite Pencil Artist Research (Marion Bolognesi)

Again, this was completed in my sketch book as part of my artist research into Marion Bolognesi. In this piece I removed the colour completely from the focus and instead created a tonal drawing focusing on dark and light and the grey-scale rather than a warm colour pallet that the reference photograph shows. This allowed me to see the change in mood by removing the colour and to perceive my work from a different perspective. This piece was completed in a Derwent sketching set which included: charcoal, graphite, graphite stick, putty rubber, sharpener, tinted charcoal, sketching pencils, and coloured sketching pencils. 

Current Work - Portraiture

A4 Fine-liner and White Emulsion

Below I've just selected a couple of pieces of work that I've currently completed - or am nearing completion for my art course. 

The piece to the right is a full frontal fine-liner and white emulsion piece I did on A4 cardboard of my Dad. As I'm currently focusing on timelines I accentuated my Dad's wrinkles (to his dismay) through the use of cross-hatching techniques and multiple other drawing techniques. My current topic focuses on human timelines and particularly looks at the change in the human face as it grows older. 

This piece was taken from my own personal photo-shoot of my Dad and is one of many pieces that I have completed in a similar style with changes in medium, surface, size, style and inspiration. 

A3 Fine-liner 

The piece to the left is an A3 completed angular portrait of one of my sisters. I love fine-liner as a medium as I am able to select the finest (mine finest is 005) or the thickest (my thickest is Faber-Castell's Bold) to create different line styles and structures in order to create tone, highlights, the impression of marks or mark making with quick strokes of my pens. 

Again, this piece was completed from one of my personal photo-shoots of my sister for my art course. The angular pose in which I ave captured her allowed me to show my talent in 3-D effect (her nose, as an example) and proportions. 

I post all of my artwork online via my twitter account, @allanna_tagg, follow me if you would like to see more of my work. Hopefully I will soon be setting up a Facebook page for commissioned pieces of work - I have completed several commissions already which I will create a post about as soon as possible. 

Moroccan Madness

Recently, I have returned from a 5 day adventure from Morocco, Africa. I had such an amazing time that I thought I'd update you with a little information on what went on and some art work that Morocco inspired me to do...

Day 1

So, after a cramped and bustling 3 hours and 5 minute long flight, we finally arrived in Marrakesh and were greeted by our lovely guide, Nabil. We then had a coach journey through the city to our hotel which was fantastic (minus the food). After settling in, and eating some curious cuisine we had a wild card game of Czechoslovakian Spoons (look it up) and reared ready for the next day!

Day 2

Day 2 involved getting up at the ungodly hour of 7 a.m. and driving into town to visit the Moroccan Souks. After the initial hitting stench of donkeys and shit, you're smothered (almost literally) by spice smells, meats, and the overwhelming scent of leather. People are constantly shouting and talking at one another, you're eyes are assaulted by the array of colours which attack you non-stop, and the space... There isn't any. Basically. And yet, the people are so friendly (and weird: at one point a man put his head directly in front of my own and simply said, "Asleep.") that the first hand senses seem to fade off into the distance. After winding our way through the labyrinth of the souks we found ourselves in the heart of the market place - confronted by acrobats, monkeys, snake charmers and thousands of stalls filled with oddments and trinkets galore. After a quick talk on the history of the souks and a the market square we had some free time to explore, wander round or what myself and a friend decided to do was eat on a gorgeous terrace over-looking the entire square. After returning to the hotel, eating some suspicious looking food (and immediately regretting it) a few of us decided to walk into town and head to a great bar called LEVEL 5. Followed by a much deserved McDonalds we staggered home through the drizzly rain and back to the hotel for a decent night's sleep.

Day 3
Waking up at 6 a.m. is very difficult when you're supposed to be on holiday, but in order to survive the 2 hour coach journey into the Atlas Mountains, the early get up was much needed. The trek through the mountains was pretty tough: steep hills, steps taller than myself (not hard to be), and all this was done through the scorching Moroccan heat. Probably the best day of the entire trip, the views were unbeatable, the location was breath-taking and once we climbed through the village and reached the guest house at the top - the entire journey had been worthwhile. We were welcomed by outstanding folk who had prepared a delicious traditional Moroccan feast! FINALLY, DELICIOUS FOOD! After resting up a while and scoffing down the amazing food, we made our way back down through the mountains to the minibuses which brought us back to the hotel.

Day 4
On our second to last day we decided to head out to the coastal towns of Marrakesh (which were unfortunately 3 hours away by coach) and visit an Argan Oil factory. We got to meet the wonderful ladies who spend hours every day picking, crushing and grinding down the argan nuts to produce fantastic products such as the Argan Oil itself, shampoo, and several herbal remedies. We then drove into the city and leisurely walked through more markets and souks to be confronted by the beautiful sight of the ocean and the huge stretch of beach. Once we had been taken around the markets we were left to our own devices for a while which was cleverly spent  eating delicious pizza and buying gifts for friends and family. A quick walk down to the waters edge and a look at the gorgeous beach made the 3 hour journey definitely worthwhile. Back at the hotel we order in some well deserved Domino's pizzas and then headed out into town to check out Marrakesh's night life.

Day 5
Well the final day came around fast! We had to be out of our rooms for 9 a.m. and so we decided to spend the unplanned first part of the day walking around town, and eating ice cream at the most beautiful ice cream parlor I've ever seen! We then met back up outside the hotel and split off into two groups, some people went into town to do some sketches and the rest of the group went camel riding! (Yes, yes I did go camel riding.) An amazing experience I will never forget. We arrived back outside the hotel at around 5 p.m. local time, and left the unbeatable Morocco behind.

An Abstract Introduction

Art. Food. Sex. Life. Hm, for the foreseeable future, or maybe the near future, I'm almost certain that that is all I'll need to live. Art. Food. Sex. Life. Maybe you're wondering why. Maybe you're wondering if this is important to you. Maybe you're not wondering at all. Maybe the only reason you have found yourself on this blog is because you're bored shitless of whatever it is you are supposed to be doing. I think the latter is the most obvious choice here. Well me too, I too am bored shitless. And seen as I suffer from insomnia I have even more time to waste doing absolutely nothing. 

I say that, but when I think about it that's what I'm doing... I'm thinking - constantly. Can't stop. I'm addicted. I have a problem. It is an issue in my life. Even this, right now, this is just a twisted, weird, tangent of a narration I am having with myself in my head. But, yet I'm enjoying it. I love thinking. I love dreaming. I love being able to be whoever I want to with absolute control over myself and well everyone else. Now that sounds quite psychotic, doesn't it? It's not though, think about it, in your head, in your mind, you get to do, say, act, perform, talk, eat, sleep, shag, fuck, abuse drugs for fun, abuse people who treat you badly, without any judgement being passed. Of course there is always your own opinion of yourself, but hey, I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who really knows me, maybe you do too. On the face of it, I'm a completely different person to who I'd really like to be. If I smile at you, I might not be agreeing with you or laughing at your chauvinistic "joke", or your homophobic insults, or your prejudiced remarks, I might really be beating you to death with the lead pipe in the dining room - but you all thought it was Professor Plum, right? Violence is not the answer... Not always. 

What I am trying to get at, what is really making my skin crawl, are bitches. Now as a female, and as a feminist, I am not just referring to women, and I am absolutely avoiding sexism. What I do mean when I say the term 'bitches' is a human being who is so hypocritical, so self-centered, so critical towards others, towards people who will walk from a crowd and go the way that they want to go instead of where they "should" want to, and are so wrapped up in their own "perfect" lives they cannot see the damage they are doing to others. Maybe us, as human beings, should start to think about ourselves in an out-of-body way. Look at yourself, look at your life. Start being who you really want to be and stop worrying about what may happen. Art. Food. Sex. Life. Maybe you need to start living, maybe you need to stop worrying, and maybe you should make a change to help yourself, and others. Take that trip, ask that guy out, learn French, eat pizza, drink, laugh, fuck bitches and get money. But ultimately, love who you are. 

An inspiring video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAKtEI7PBho