SO IF YOU WANT TO SEE LOADS OF PHOTO'S head on over to my Flickr Page. It's very worthwhile. Sort of. Not really. Anyway the photo's are organised into groups and everything. Want to see photo's of our trip to Belfast? Well you can! Sets worth checking out are the fun ones like: I Heart Things, and Stuff. They're not just photo's of places, but collections of things that are slightly interesting.
Simply click on the image above to go!
IESSO
WE WENT TO SEE TRANSFORMERS LAST NIGHT and I just wanted to give my review. Before I start though, I should mention that I am not a fan of the 80's TV show or movie. Not because I didn't want to be, I just didn't get into it. Anyway with that being said:
Transformers was a very good movie. The action sequences were really cool! The fighting, the explosions. All totally awesome. Even the cheesy dialogue from the Autobots was bearable. It was really cheesy though. The human characters were very poor though. VERY POOR. Not so much the acting, that was fine, but they were just unnecessary. I appreciate that Sam/Spike Whitwicky was crucial, as well as some supporting characters, but overall there just seemed like too many characters with too little explanation about them.
That's all ok too.. I don't really mind that either. But another thing that bothered me was the direction the film went. At some points it was comical and funny, which was clearly based on the 80's stuff. If this style was throughout I would've had no problems, I wouldn't have liked it so much because I was never a fan, but I wouldn't have been annoyed either. Similarly most of the film is extremely serious and realistic, and that is great! It's a movie for people who grew up with the franchise and have now matured and want a mature film dealing with talking car robots. And that's fine too! BUT the problem is that right at the height of action they'd switch to comical farce mode and completely ruin the moment.
That's really annoying, but it's still not the worse part. There is a character that really ruins the movie for me, he's called Frenzy and was based on Soundbyte, but is smaller and thinner. Without ruining anything by giving away plot details all I can say is he is basically Jar Jar Binks. Remember Star Wars was pretty awesome untill JJB started speaking gibberish, well it's that all ovre again. You'd think Hollywood would learn it's lesson after him, but there was Golemn as well (not too annoying, but slightly) and now this robot thing. Very annoying. No-one in the theatre laughed at his 'jokes'.
Is the movie for kids? No, it doesn't establish what is going on at all and is very violent. Is it for diehard fans of the original? I don't think so, most of the characters have been radically changed! Is it for hipster kids who think it's cool to like Transformers for their 'ironic' values? Probably. I went to see it because it looked like a load of fun. And it really was, don't get me wrong, it was great fun! But there were a few elements in there that were it's own undoing.
What would I give it? Mixed reviews:
✭✭½ for the movie as is
✭✭✭✭½ for the movie re-edited to remove Frenzy's voice.
IESSO
PS. YOU CAN BUY ME ONE OF THESE IF YOU WANT.
But make sure it's the 24inch one with 4GB of RAM and 1TB harddrive.
SO I CAN FEEL IT CREEPING BACK AGAIN. I'm getting that feeling in my stomach, making me move slowly, making the world go by too fast. I can feel it making me miserable. Making me want to curl up in a ball and hiding. Yes my friends, it's my good friend depression. Being out of work (basically), broke, and feeling like I've wasted 4 months and AU$20,000 is taking it's toll on my psyche. I got another rejection today. They were looking for someone with more 'experience' and more of a 'safe bet'. Whatever that means. But at any rate it's making me miserable. Where I am now is great, the work is good, the people are nice, it's hard work but worth it, but it's only freelance, so I can't rely on it.
And today's lunch summed it all up. Having forgot to pack a lunch (I say forgot but really I just didn't have the energy because I was up late the night before working) so I had to by lunch. I planned on doing that but didn't get the time, so it was a 25p pack of chips (crisps as they say) and naturally the vending machine in the office broke! So my chips were left hanging.
Luckily some people helped me shake the machine and they were freed (until they were eaten of course). Anyway it's not all bad, I just thought it was 'poetic' or something. Also, before you 'get all up in my face' about the poor diet may I remind you that we have a fruit bowl. So I'm eating apples, pears, apricots, etc all day.
Ok, talk laters.
IESSO
SO DINOSAUR COMICS ARE FUNNY. Today's comic (01/08/07) is particularly funny and inane (good combination bytheway!) So anyway, I'm getting the sneaking feeling that you guys aren't reading it enough. So please make sure you read it everyday. It's got all the best elements of humour, I just don't understand why you're all not just constantly emailing me for telling you about it. Unless of course no-one is reading my blog. Hmmm. Sigh.
IESSO
PS. Linus is exempt from this because he recommended it to me.
YESTERDAY WAS A SUNNY DAY so we went out walking in the afternoon. It was nice. We ended up in the Tate Modern in South Bank. We caught the bus back, and took some cool photo's on the way. If you're ever in London, and don't want to pay for a tour bus, but do want to catch a bus that shows you everything, try the 139. It goes from Waterloo Bridge in the south to West Hampstead in the north. I've got a nice Flickr set to show you the journey. You can see Houses of Parliment and the Thames riverbanks, Trafalgar Square, St James Park, Piccadilly Circus and even the Abbey Road crossing. Pretty good no?
Check it out yo!
ALSO: We saw Sophie Ellis Bextor in Soho. Soryi was all "Hey!! There's SOPHIE ELLIS BEXTOR!" and I was all like "WHAT?! WHERE!" and she was standing like a foot away looking at us yelling about her. It was funny.
IESSO
Yes, we finally joined Facebook too. I know. After all the criticism and constant requests we caved in. Anyway we joined together as Saul Greenburg.
That's some bad photoshopping if I do say so myself. Which I do. It is possibly the scariest thing ever. Except this (same result, different logic).
See you all there!
WES&SASO
TODAY AT 4.00PM WE STOPPED WORK AND HAD A TEA BREAK. Today's theme was Yorkshire, which doesn't mean anything to me, bit apparently it's in the north. And the tea was strong. Anyway someone made cakes and bought special tea to bring in. They take in turns. Last week was Devonshire tea. Very fancy. Very cool. Very nice.
IESSO
I DON'T LIKE IT EITHER... why did they destroy a perfectly nice logo like the Qantas kangaroo? Apparently new plane shapes require a differently shaped roo, but they could have still kept the spirit of the old one.
The Qantas logo has changed over the years, loosing it's iconic wings in 1984, leading to the now old logo design. Perhaps they could've brought the wings back if they had to redo the logo. The part that bothers me most is the kangaroo's chest. It looks like something I drew as a kid, rather than a stylised kangaroo. Some people are saying pterodactyl, but I dunno if it's that yet.
But I'm putting out a challenge to anyone who wants to enter. Redraw the kangaroo as best you can to fit within the new triangle shape. I am determinned to prove that it's not the logo that's bad, but the poor rendering of it. Send me your images and I'll post them up. I'll do one too of course. You have 1 week!
IESSO
THE FIRST DAY WENT WELL. It was different from what I was expecting... equal parts more hectic and less hectic than I feared. The hours were long (8.30–6.30) and there's a lot to do, and it needs to be done well, but they pretty much left me alone to my own devices. I was expecting a team of PR-bots, as well as my bosses to be constantly monitoring me, but they didn't. When I showed them what I was doing they were pleased, but then just left me alone to continue.
There are a few unexpected things that I've never experienced in an office before:
- An elevator
- A fruit basket every morning
- A cafeteria
- A coffee maker that makes 7 kinds of coffee and 5 teas
- A Starbucks
- A reception area with sign-in sheets
- A mailroom with delivery people
- A phone book to contact people within the office
- 6 floors with well over 500 staff
- Ricky Gervais standing outside having a smoke
Today is now my second day at work, and it's going to be pretty intense I reckon. I need to get my work done today because I'm not going to be here tomorrow.
(I'm working on a freelance basis, so they only need me here for 2 days this week.)
UPDATE: They've asked me to stay on till the end of the week a few minutes ago. So that's more work, experience, and money!
UPDATE 2: I've had to remove some of the names and details. And officially I got it wrong when I said the workplace was a PR company. They're definitely advertising. And they company I'm in is purely design. Hope that clears things up.
Take care everyone.
IESSO
I DON'T WANT TO SAY THEY COPIED but they're very similar styles. Watch the 'Finally' video by CeCe Peniston, and the original iPods ads (the black silhouettes on colored backgrounds) and tell me if I'm being crazy. I realise that they're produced in a drastically different way, and the CeCe video isn't really the same... but there is definitely a similarity between some of the shots!
iPod Commercial vs Finally
IESSO
SO I START MONDAY. It's only on a freelance basis for the moment, because we're taking 'baby steps', but it seems pretty promising. They really liked my work and were excited to get me in before 'someone else snatched me up'. So I'm pretty excited. But I'm nervous. They're a freaking huge company, who is world famous! I've already got a project to work on and everything. For a phone company, working with (he's doing the TV ad) an English footballer with a squeaky voice, skinny wife and a new job in LA. But don't mention his name.
Anyway, hopefully it'll be a permanent thing, and I will no longer be a bum!
IESSO
I'VE HAD A FEW INTERVIEWS IN THE LAST WEEK. The best and most promising, and of course most exciting was with The Ministry of Sound. I'd be doing CD's, records, posters, t-shirts, loads of great stuff... I went for an interview with the head designer and production manager, and it went really well! REALLY REALLY WELL! My chances were good. I had a second interview with the head of PR and their external consultant, and they basically bullied the head designer into going with someone else. DAMN!
I had a few more interviews as well, but that was really promising, and sounded like a load of fun! I was really looking forward to it. Like I had never looked forward to a job before. And now I'm about the same amount of miserable as I was a week ago. Despite the prospect of another job... but it's not the one I wanted! It is very organised and professional, and voted best place to work in the UK a few times, but it's not the one I wanted!!! (imagine a baby yelling that about icecream, and that's the voice in my head saying it as I type)
Maybe it's for the best. Maybe if that's the kind of tactics they use then I don't want it anyway. Maybe it wouldn't have worked out anyway. Maybe it's not my work, but my lack of experience. Maybe. I'm still really disappointed though. They really did get my hopes up. I was practically promised that job after the first interview. The second one was a mere formality.
DAMN!
IESSO
THIS TOTALLY WORKS! Get yourself some 3D glasses and prepare to be amazed!
IESSO
PS. Fingerguns=cool.
I'VE REWORKED MY PROMOTIONAL PIECE TO SEND TO POTENTIAL EMPLOYERS. It's got larger sample pages, as well seperate PDF's for the cover letter, as well as CV/resume. I've also changed the color from red to cyan. It's a bit friendlier and less agressive, but still strong and vibrant. Plus I love cyan. Best color ever.
Let me know what you think. Click HERE to download the promo PDF. Careful, it's 2.4MB.
I know it's a bit big, but it's print resolution. Kind of.
IESSO
ONCE AGAIN I'M PLAYING AROUND WITH 1984. It's just so perfect for experimentation. I think. Anyway I sent a brief to Colin (from uni) about a project I'm playing with. How do you launch a movie remake of 1984 without advertising that horrible TV show 'Big Brother'? It'd be a really tough challenge. And I don't know the answer. But I intend to find out.
I don't think this is the answer. It's too realistic and too propaganda-ish. It needs to be much more over the top. I think more Nazi-like! And even more intense. To show that it's fake, it has to be hyper-real. But the project would be good for students, getting them to think about the message, about type, about images, about identities (of all the different goverment departments) and most importantly about how it's marketed! Should be interesting.
And I'll keep trying.
IESSO
I'VE BEEN TRYING TO THINK OF A GOOD TITLE FOR THIS POST, but I couldn't. Anyway in the past few days I've had a few more intreviews. They were with recruitment companies, not studios, but they were generally positive. The previous post was with another recruitment company, but it was very depressing, they weren't responsive, and I was just another candidate. These other three were much more encouraging, not just because they're better companies (they know more studios) and they were very encouraging. I have some work to do regarding my portfolio, mainly just doing a version without the magazine to distract! Although they do like the magazine too, it does make it more interesting/memorable. Anyway...
The most recent agency has a few studios in mind for me to send my CV/folio to, and we'll see what happens. I'm still terrified, but maybe things will get better. I might even get myself a proper job even!
IESSO
PS> This is gold.
SO THERE WERE TWO BOMBS IN LONDON TODAY. But we didn't really know about it until we went to Piccadilly Circus (only a few feet from where the car-bomb was) and saw that the streets were blocked off by police. Everything was fine, no-one was hurt. But it was a bit alarming, and weird to be in a city that gets bombed.
Read more here.
We're fine. Don't be worried.
IESSO
A neutron walks into a bar. "I'd like a beer" he says. The bartender promptly serves up a beer. "How much will that be?" asks the neutron. "For you?" replies the bartender, "no charge"
LINUS HAS ARRIVED IN LONDON with a bang! Not really, his flight was normal... Anyway it's great to see him! He's our first visitor since we've been here, and since we left. (I guess Bindy visited too actually) Anyway Linus also holds the record shared with my family of 'person I've seen on most continents'. Out of the four continents I've been too I've seen him on 3 (North America, Australia, Europe), and my family on 3 (North America, Australia, Asia)
So yesterday we saw all the touristy stuff; Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Piccadilly Circus, etc... And for the next week who knows? He's probably end up getting on our nerves (which is his style) or drive us insane (with the same style) but at any rate it'll be fun. And it'll lift my spirits, which are at a record low since 'those days'.
I'll try to post up some photo's as they're taken of exciting adventures!
IESSO
MAYBE this will help answer your questions.
Make sure you click on the image for the full size.
IESSO
