5 reasons to be excited

War Horse trailer: is Spielberg's thoroughbred on track for an Oscar? | Film | guardian.co.uk

This blog entry is mainly a way to vent my energy so i can sleep. I'm too excited!

1. I'm seeing Arcade Fire at Hyde Park tomorrow and I dont think I've been this excited for a gig in a long time. Mumford and Sons and Beirut supporting will be fantastic.

2. Then the next night I am going to see Warhose at the theatre which I have been dying to do so for a few years so I'm really excited. I can imagine the puppets will blow me away.

3. I've been invited to the Horrid Henry screening on Sunday which is nice! It'l be great to see a couple of things I've helped with be on the big screen! And to catch up with the crew I met when working on it.

4. I received an email earlier for the FDI anniversary party. Although I've not done the course yet I have full intentions to do so and it will be a fantastic networking opportunity to I might go. Plus it'l be nice to meet up with a few people who I met down at Pinewood on the set dec course.

5. I was about to sleep with all this buzzing around my head when I realised the Warhorse trailer is out! I for one cant wait for this film, I very much like a good old Spielberg Epic. Plus after seeing a scene being filmed it'l tie in quite nicely.

That is all. Goodnight.

Jack the Giant Killer

This week I have been working in the art department on Jack the Giant Killer with the scenic painters. I was 'very highly recommended' by Richard Bullock which was a bit of an honour and it was nice that my work on Horrid Henry paid off. I won't give away anything away (just incase) but I can tell it is going to be an amazing production. The budget is big enough that they can do some incredible set builds.

It was a great confidence boost to get paid for something I really enjoy doing and to be involved with such great people. I just wish I could have stayed for longer. I'm hoping that there is a fair bit of work left that they could use an extra pair of hands for so I might get another call up in a few weeks. Here's hoping!

Saw this picture on the Guardian website and thought it would do nicely to brighten up my blog.

Download Festival 2009

I just realised I haven't got photos of my Download Festival Dog Head Sculpt on my blog. So here are some. I created it for the festival in 2o09. It was great fun to do as it was my first sculpt from foam working from a specific image. But blimey did my hands hurt afterward. I created it by getting the basic shape and then sanding the detail. It was covered it in fibre glass then latex mixed with paint to get the initial colour.

Apparently it got sold on ebay for a bit of cash. And i didn't see any of it! Unfair.

Set Decoration Course with Simon Wakefield

I have just completed a course with Simon Wakefield at Film Design International at Pinewood Studios. To be honest I didn't think I'd enjoy it as much as I did but I loved the whole process. We broke down the script, marked on drawings the props we needed for the sets and went around different prop houses to choose the props and get a quote on how much they cost to hire. I learnt a lot and even though I think I would miss the design and make aspect of other roles in the art department I could definitely see myself set decorating for a few films!

Harry Potter, Leavesden Studios Tour

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/mar/04/harry-potter-studio-tour

I need to work on this! It would be amazing to create some of the sets for the tour. It looks awesome cool.

Stephen Spielberg's Warhorse

While I was working on Horrid Henry I met some of the crew working on Warhorse and got a tour around one of the sets on their final day of shooting. How lucky! It was a beautiful set and I would love to have been involved in the creation of it. I can't wait to see the film next year when it comes out, it already looks like an Oscar winner. And I've got tickets to see the theatre production later on this year, which is something I've always wanted to see so I'm sure it'l get me all hyped up!

(the picture above came from the empire website at the following link http://www.empireonline.com/gallery/image.asp?id=49474&caption=&gallery=3109)

Horrid Henry

From October - December 2010 I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity by Richard Bullock to help as an Art Department Assistant on Horrid Henry. I'd sent him some links of my work at university and it was enough for him to give me a chance to work in the art department.

Horrid Henry was a great project to work on as a lot of the props had to be created due to most of the scenes being set in schools. I helped by making classroom props and helped dress some of the sets. I had a great time and can't wait to see something I was involved with at the cinema.

Coldplay's "Christmas Lights"

In November 2010 I helped on the day of Coldplay's Christmas Light's shoot. It was a very very long and cold day, 19 hours in total, 8am until 4am the next day. I don't think I have ever been so cold in my life. Painting some of the scenery with numb fingers proved to be very difficult. The set was beautifully designed by Misty Buckley and built on the Southbank near the National Theatre. I arrived when the stage looked a bit like the photo above and straight away I felt at home due to the theatrical aspect of the set. It was the exactly to my taste, with the lanterns and layered details. I just loved it. I helped by painting a few details and working on the curtains at the sides of the stage. We dressed the set and then spent most of the time waiting backstage until our big moment - pulling back a piece of scenery on cue..

It was a great day and even though I was so freezing and had about 4 hours sleep that night it was definitely an experience I wouldn't have missed.

I've put a link to Pulse Film's website below where you can see the video in full

http://www.pulsefilms.co.uk/#/view/2836

(the pictures in this Coldplay blog were not taken by me. I found them on the internet.. just to clarify!)

BBC's Toast

So I haven't updated my blog for a while but here we go. Every time I sit at my computer to update I feel like I'm back at school trying to start an essay. Hmm.

Right lets rewind back to the summer of 2010 when I worked in the art department of BBC's production of Toast. The sun was shining and England were still in the World Cup.

I spent the majority of my with the BBC running back and forth from the printers, art shops, shoot locations and sweet shops to find items to dress the set. Hours were spent searching around Birmingham City Centre finding props, collecting materials and of course dipping in and out of the odd pub to check on the football! Any props that we didn't have we had to create ourselves so we spent some time making sherbet fountains, grocery labels with 50's pricing's, and measuring carpets to see if there was enough to fit in the set. It was a great experience and was exciting to get my first credit on TV and imdb.com!

http://uk.imdb.com/name/nm4178687/#ArtDepartment

Curriculum Vitae

Personal Profile

I am a graduate from Birmingham City University, where I studied BA (Hons) Theatre, Performance and Event Design. Through this course I discovered a love for model making, technical drawing and concept design for film. I am ambitious, very conscientious, and eager to learn. Currently I am working and training as a Dental Nurse, which has taught me to balance my many jobs at work, training at home and gaining more experience in the film/TV industry in my spare time

Before university I travelled the world, which helped me become independent and confident in my own decisions.

I go to as many live music events as possible and spend a lot of time developing my photography skills using 35mm and digital SLR cameras.

Skills

I am very competent on computers (Mac OS X and Windows) and have used software such as:

Photoshop CS4, Illustrator CS4, Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Flash Professional CS4, Sketch Up, Pro-Desktop and AutoCAD

In the past I have produced high quality work using the following methods:

Model Making, Poly Sculpting, Filming using a professional HD camera, Technical Drawing, as well as using a CAD machine for laser cutting and engraving.

I have a full clean driving licence.

I have recently completed a course in Set Decorating with Simon Wakefield at Film Design International, Pinewood Studios.

Job History & Experience

Mike Proud Dental Surgery

October 2010 – present

Dental Nurse

-

Pulse Films

Coldplay - “Christmas Lights” Music Video

November 2010

Art Department Assistant

-

Vertigo Films

Horrid Henry

October - December 2010

Art Department Assistant

-

Festival Republic

Latitude Music Festival

June 2010

Sculptor

-

Ruby Films

BBC's Toast

June 2010

Art Department Assistant

-

Live Nation

Download Festival

April – June 09

Sculptor

-

7 inch Cinema

Flatpack Festival

March 2009

Designer & Maker

-

Royal and Derngate Theatre

The Vikings and Darwin

December 08 – January 09

Production Design Assistant

-

Royal and Derngate Theatre

Wizard of Oz

October – December 2008

Paintshop & PropShop

-

Merlin Entertainment

Sealife Centre, Birmingham

June – July 2008

Scenic Painter

Awards

Sir Barry Vincent Jackson Award

Consistently High Standard of Work

Airman Concept Images. Saltee Islands and the Glider

This is my concept work for Airman. I built a 1:2 scale glider with a 10ft wingspan using traditional techniques such as laminating to create the wooden form and sugar starch to maintain rigidity in the material.

Flatpack Festival by 7 Inch Cinema.

On a low budget, using AutoCad to cut Foam we transformed this temporary cinema room into an interesting mix of shadows and shapes. My design was inspired by the use of cogs in early cinema camera equipment, and the strong bold circular theme clear in Flatpacks imagery.

Horror of the Heights Concept

Concept drawings and creature model for Horror of the Heights.

I created this model using Sculpey, and fibre optics for the flashes of light down its body.

I used a spray gun to paint it and placed a background on it using Photoshop.

Production models for my concept of Aberystwyth Mon Amour. This was accompanied by technical plans, storyboards and animations to support the scene.

Vikings and Darwin Scale Model, Royal and Derngate Theatre, Northampton

I acted as Production Design Assistant to help make this working model and create technical drawings for the production.

Wizard of Oz, Royal and Derngate Theatre in Northampton.

I worked here for 8 weeks and helped on a number of props for the production of the Wizard of Oz.

Saltee Island Concept

This is the animation that I created to show how I imagined the shot in Airman when Conor flies down to the castle window when he returns to Great Saltee.