Wow, 2 years since my last blog post. How many times have I resolved to keep a regular diary / journal / blog now? Well never mind, here it goes again.
Someone on Facebook posted their new goals for the year and it made me realise - I have no goals that I'm pushing for at the moment, and even worse, I haven't had any goals for about a year and a half now. That's pretty tragic. I mean that too - I like goals. And I miss uni. I also miss feeling confident that no one is going to read my blog, even though it's public on the internet. No one cares about my blog (thank goodness) but if someone suddenly did read it I'd be pretty embarrassed. In the uni days I would have said, "oh well, it's all true - those are just my thoughts". In these strange 'professional' days the idea of people knowing your real thoughts is horrifying. My god, if many of the people I have worked with over the past year knew my real thoughts I'd probably be cast out as a witch or something.
Well the more I type, the more I relax, so I'm going to go with it.
Goals for this year:
- Lose 5kgs (ideally this will occur within the next 6 weeks or so...)
- Direct 2 short films. (A rather big and important improvement on zero last year)
- Have a way better social life. Yes, I have had a seriously lame social life since moving to Melbourne :-( More than a little depressing actually.
- Like people more; judge them less. Is it acceptable to say things like that out loud/digitally? Probably not. Anyway, if I'm to have a better social life then I'd better stop having such antisocial thoughts all the time!
Wish me luck. I need this.
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Professional Practise - Summary Post
Note to readers: I know this post looks ridiculous. Technical issues. Stupid website.Monday, June 14, 2010
Professional Practise - Secondary Goal - Post 10
Much better on the commitment and motivation and ticking off last week!
There were certainly times when I could have worked a bit more efficiently, but overall last week was good. I almost finished my essay for Critical Film, bought medicine, borrowed books, checked up on travel insurance and ordered business cards for China, blogged about the first draft of Joe's play for the theatre workshop assignment, and bought my boyfriend a birthday present. Now I can tick this blog off the to-do list too, and on Friday I can finally tick it off forever!
Today I will -
Go to class
Pick up a Chinese phrasebook from the library
Buy bread and fruit
Go to the travel agent to pick up my passport and visa (finally!)
Pick up my business cards from the print centre
Finish my Crit Film essay to be handed in tomorrow
make notes about this afternoon's class
And that should put me in a good position to stay in control of the rest of the week :-)
There were certainly times when I could have worked a bit more efficiently, but overall last week was good. I almost finished my essay for Critical Film, bought medicine, borrowed books, checked up on travel insurance and ordered business cards for China, blogged about the first draft of Joe's play for the theatre workshop assignment, and bought my boyfriend a birthday present. Now I can tick this blog off the to-do list too, and on Friday I can finally tick it off forever!
Today I will -
Go to class
Pick up a Chinese phrasebook from the library
Buy bread and fruit
Go to the travel agent to pick up my passport and visa (finally!)
Pick up my business cards from the print centre
Finish my Crit Film essay to be handed in tomorrow
make notes about this afternoon's class
And that should put me in a good position to stay in control of the rest of the week :-)
Professional Practise - Main Goal - Post 11
Delegating:
Once again, didn't do any delegating. I did a little bit of work myself, but mostly my Beijing preparations were devoted to the practical issues such as reading about travelling to China, buying medicine, finding out about travel insurance, asking questions about our accommodation etc., rather than preparing for the documentary itself.
Respecting boundaries:
Didn't apply this week as I didn't collaborate on anything with anyone!
One issue that I can imagine will come up shortly though will be working with the writer of 'One Year Later'. Because he is an ex-student, his motivation to work on 'One Year Later' seems to be very low and although he seemed very interested at our first meeting a few weeks ago, he hasn't made any changes to the script since then. He also said he would do it this weekend and email it to me on Sunday night, but that didn't happen. What I face now is the temptation to seize the reigns and make the necessary changes myself, however that would be stealing his work. So I will just have to stay patient for as long as it takes, because if I can't work with that script then what script will I be working with? Probably not one I am a fan of.
Once again, didn't do any delegating. I did a little bit of work myself, but mostly my Beijing preparations were devoted to the practical issues such as reading about travelling to China, buying medicine, finding out about travel insurance, asking questions about our accommodation etc., rather than preparing for the documentary itself.
Respecting boundaries:
Didn't apply this week as I didn't collaborate on anything with anyone!
One issue that I can imagine will come up shortly though will be working with the writer of 'One Year Later'. Because he is an ex-student, his motivation to work on 'One Year Later' seems to be very low and although he seemed very interested at our first meeting a few weeks ago, he hasn't made any changes to the script since then. He also said he would do it this weekend and email it to me on Sunday night, but that didn't happen. What I face now is the temptation to seize the reigns and make the necessary changes myself, however that would be stealing his work. So I will just have to stay patient for as long as it takes, because if I can't work with that script then what script will I be working with? Probably not one I am a fan of.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Professional Practise - Secondary Goal - Post 9
I have to say that this week I got virtually nothing done towards completing the important tasks on my to-do list.
I was stuck working on the year 3 actors' film all week, yes, BUT there were lots of times where I could have seized the opportunity to sneak into a quiet corner and do my work, but I did not take them. So far my goal of being motivated, committed, and managing my time has been waaayyyy out of my reach, with the only exception being the last 5 hours when I have finally started working hard.
But there's no way of getting around it now; I will HAVE to do better next week!
I was stuck working on the year 3 actors' film all week, yes, BUT there were lots of times where I could have seized the opportunity to sneak into a quiet corner and do my work, but I did not take them. So far my goal of being motivated, committed, and managing my time has been waaayyyy out of my reach, with the only exception being the last 5 hours when I have finally started working hard.
But there's no way of getting around it now; I will HAVE to do better next week!
Professional Practise - Main Goal - Post 10
Delegating:
In my last post I said I was going to make an effort to delegate tasks to prepare for the documentary in Beijing. Basically, I didn't do it. I did do a little bit of work myself by writing some emails to potential subjects in Beijing, but apart from that, nothing. My most recent documentary idea (for documentary class, not Beijing) fell through this week though, so on Tuesday I will be meeting with Scott and Sima to talk about adapting my documentary assignment to cover the Beijing preparations instead. That will mean that it will be much easier to devote my time to Beijing preparations from now on, so I may be doing more delegating starting from next week.
Boundaries:
This week the year 3s worked on the shoots for the year 3 actors' film, with Athina as director. I was filling the role of Director's Assistant, and also took a small turn at 2nd Unit Director as well.
Being the DA mostly meant doing nothing, but at times this was more difficult than it sounds. For instance, being on set close to the director and watching them work all the time with little else to do means there is plenty of time and headspace to think about what I would do in the same situation. I'm generally a pretty outspoken person, so it was often difficult to keep my suggestions to myself. There were a couple of times when I slipped them in if I thought it was timely or important enough, and fortunately my suggestions were appreciated, rather than causing irritation, so I'm pleased that I was able to be tactful and stay quiet or speak at the right moments. I think this is something that would have to be gauged with each different director and situation, and it is important to read the mood well. The other boundary I had to consider was between myself as DA and the people in the production team. As someone who has never been a DA, or worked with a DA, or seen a DA work, this was actually quite difficult to negotiate, because the production roles are called "assistant directors" for a reason. Some of what I was doing intersected with what the 3rd AD and the PA were doing, and I still don't really know what the real difference is with being a DA by comparison.
As for doing the 2nd unit stuff, I think I did quite well when working with Leigh on this occasion, on an interpersonal basis at least. Doing the 2nd unit stuff was a surprise for both of us, and there was no preparation whatsoever, AND we were working with a 2 year old, so basically any attempts to control the situation would have been utterly futile. Since I am normally considered to have control issues, I guess the circumstances saved me from airing these at the time. The work with Leigh was nice and fluid and we felt like a good team, however when we watched the rushes we could see that the product had suffered for the lack of control and preparation.
In my last post I said I was going to make an effort to delegate tasks to prepare for the documentary in Beijing. Basically, I didn't do it. I did do a little bit of work myself by writing some emails to potential subjects in Beijing, but apart from that, nothing. My most recent documentary idea (for documentary class, not Beijing) fell through this week though, so on Tuesday I will be meeting with Scott and Sima to talk about adapting my documentary assignment to cover the Beijing preparations instead. That will mean that it will be much easier to devote my time to Beijing preparations from now on, so I may be doing more delegating starting from next week.
Boundaries:
This week the year 3s worked on the shoots for the year 3 actors' film, with Athina as director. I was filling the role of Director's Assistant, and also took a small turn at 2nd Unit Director as well.
Being the DA mostly meant doing nothing, but at times this was more difficult than it sounds. For instance, being on set close to the director and watching them work all the time with little else to do means there is plenty of time and headspace to think about what I would do in the same situation. I'm generally a pretty outspoken person, so it was often difficult to keep my suggestions to myself. There were a couple of times when I slipped them in if I thought it was timely or important enough, and fortunately my suggestions were appreciated, rather than causing irritation, so I'm pleased that I was able to be tactful and stay quiet or speak at the right moments. I think this is something that would have to be gauged with each different director and situation, and it is important to read the mood well. The other boundary I had to consider was between myself as DA and the people in the production team. As someone who has never been a DA, or worked with a DA, or seen a DA work, this was actually quite difficult to negotiate, because the production roles are called "assistant directors" for a reason. Some of what I was doing intersected with what the 3rd AD and the PA were doing, and I still don't really know what the real difference is with being a DA by comparison.
As for doing the 2nd unit stuff, I think I did quite well when working with Leigh on this occasion, on an interpersonal basis at least. Doing the 2nd unit stuff was a surprise for both of us, and there was no preparation whatsoever, AND we were working with a 2 year old, so basically any attempts to control the situation would have been utterly futile. Since I am normally considered to have control issues, I guess the circumstances saved me from airing these at the time. The work with Leigh was nice and fluid and we felt like a good team, however when we watched the rushes we could see that the product had suffered for the lack of control and preparation.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Professional Practise - Secondary Goal - Post 8
The last week has absolutely flown by. On the one hand, I have been quite proud of the way I have been very focused on the important and very urgent tasks in front of me. On the other hand, I am still quite seriously behind where I should currently be on my to-do list, and it's making me very anxious.
One issue I had this week was energy levels, and this took a serious toll on my ability to work efficiently and keep on task. I came down with a cold late last week, and although I've overcome it now, I've been battling to keep my energy levels up the whole time. I don't know why, but it has been incredibly difficult to get out of bed this week, and also incredibly difficult to stay awake in the evenings, so I have been going to bed early. It must be my immune system struggling, or life catching up to me, or something. I think it's probably also got something to do with the difficulty of the work I am tackling at the moment, especially my documentary work and critical film assignment. The first few steps in any major undertaking such as these are always incredibly difficult for me, and always very slow as well. I haven't had trouble keeping up with other tasks that are well underway as they have become routine. It's just the difficult ones that are exhausting!
Another obstacle has been distraction. When I'm tired, it's very easy to submit to simple distractions, such as hanging out with my boyfriend when I could be researching online. I only did it very little, but it does make a difference in a week where I have been extremely busy.
One way that I can tackle my energy level problem next week is to eat better. This week I had a lot of classes and was going to industry talks and seminars in the evenings, so I ended up eating take-away food every day. I think the high fat content of the food makes me sluggish, and next week I look forward to getting back to eating breakfast every morning, and cooking fresh food for myself, so that I will be less sluggish. Hopefully the improved energy levels will also help me tackle distractions!
One issue I had this week was energy levels, and this took a serious toll on my ability to work efficiently and keep on task. I came down with a cold late last week, and although I've overcome it now, I've been battling to keep my energy levels up the whole time. I don't know why, but it has been incredibly difficult to get out of bed this week, and also incredibly difficult to stay awake in the evenings, so I have been going to bed early. It must be my immune system struggling, or life catching up to me, or something. I think it's probably also got something to do with the difficulty of the work I am tackling at the moment, especially my documentary work and critical film assignment. The first few steps in any major undertaking such as these are always incredibly difficult for me, and always very slow as well. I haven't had trouble keeping up with other tasks that are well underway as they have become routine. It's just the difficult ones that are exhausting!
Another obstacle has been distraction. When I'm tired, it's very easy to submit to simple distractions, such as hanging out with my boyfriend when I could be researching online. I only did it very little, but it does make a difference in a week where I have been extremely busy.
One way that I can tackle my energy level problem next week is to eat better. This week I had a lot of classes and was going to industry talks and seminars in the evenings, so I ended up eating take-away food every day. I think the high fat content of the food makes me sluggish, and next week I look forward to getting back to eating breakfast every morning, and cooking fresh food for myself, so that I will be less sluggish. Hopefully the improved energy levels will also help me tackle distractions!
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