September crept up on us. Sadly saying farewell to summer with a distinct weather shift. But on the work front September has been hot, hot, hot! I worked on a Mexican KFC commercial at Red Creek Productions. Another reminder about how I should really learn to speak Spanish. Especially, when I am handed talent contracts written entirely in Spanish.
But onto more exciting tales. I then headed off to Washington DC for my first film festival! For those of you who don't know, my short film 'Cookies' was accepted into the Washington DC Shirts Festival. I had an absolutely amazing few days. I arrived and picked up my All Access Pass, gift bag and program. I saw some really amazing films from all over the world. Some favorites included a film about an extremely musically gifted Autistic man and the struggle for his brother to help him find a job and integrate into society; a cartoon from Bangladesh exploring a world where chickens now eat humans; a documentary about the most basic form of advertising with homeless and their cardboard signs begging for money and a comedy about a poor man who suffers from a bout of IBS on a first date. So much diversity in the films in terms of content and country of origin.
The festival was amazing and the filmmakers were treated very well. The venues were beautiful and there were parties to attend every night as well as an awards brunch. Sadly, no awards for me but I got to do a question and answer session and I was interviewed for New York Women In Film and Television. I also experienced my first Tornado warning, my screening was scheduled for 5pm and at about 4pm there were Tornado warnings on TV and on my phone - my phone started whaling dramatically warning me of impending danger in my local area. Never the less I braved the weather and jumped in a cab. The cab ride was terrifying, I have never seen the sky turn a mix of green and brown like it did. Wind swirled ferociously and I had to trudge through torrents of water to get out of the cab to the venue. What a memory. But I had an absolute blast. I don't think you can beat the buzz you get from a tornado induced adrenalin rush followed by an audience of people laughing or reacting in some way to a film you have made. I can't wait to recreate that moment again and again in my life...at least the film part.
I met some amazing people from all over the world and I got to do a bit of sight seeing including the National Mall, for some reason I felt like doing a Rocky and decided to run up the Lincoln Memorial steps (which left me feeling like a winner and a loser simultaneously), I admired the Statue of Abe Lincoln (you know, the vampire slayer), I saw the White House (which was pretty white, I guess) and perused a few museums and galleries. All in all, a highlight of my year that is for sure.
Back in NYC I worked on a job at Creature Pictures, working for Apple in the big Apple. It was a really interesting production. It was part of a series of educational videos demonstrating how innovative teachers have been using iPads to improve their classes. We visited one of the top schools in NYC and several special education schools (and I was even asked to be an extra at one stage...not sure what that says about me). But jokes aside, this job made me think about how lucky I am and opened my eyes to some truly inspirational people. It was refreshing to work on a slightly more wholesome project.
I indulged with a couple of concerts this month too. I saw Bon Iver at Radio City, stupendous artist in one of the most amazing music venues in the world. I also saw Gotye (my reward for producing a friends film earlier in the year). He was amazing too, musically and artistically. The visual projections that accompanied his songs were fantastic. However, I can't help but feel that one song (that I'm pretty sure was the only song people where there to see) is a a song that he wishes "he used to know". I had a fantastic night out, truly a uniquely talented artist.
I also had a great reality check when B&T Magazine in Australia contacted me to do a "Where are they now?" interview as a follow up to their article from three years ago where they rounded up 10 young people from across the marketing comms sector to canvass their opinions on their respective industries. I was just an Optus Graduate back then and I cannot believe how much my life has changed in this time. I am so glad I took the risk on this journey, which has only just begun. I am loving every step of this adventure and I have NO regrets. Hopefully, I can look back in three years time and have an even greater repertoire of memories to share.
That wraps up September. October update will follow soon. It certainly delivered it's fair share of entertainment with East River cruising, Guinness and Bank of America commercials, Halloween and Hurricanes!
But onto more exciting tales. I then headed off to Washington DC for my first film festival! For those of you who don't know, my short film 'Cookies' was accepted into the Washington DC Shirts Festival. I had an absolutely amazing few days. I arrived and picked up my All Access Pass, gift bag and program. I saw some really amazing films from all over the world. Some favorites included a film about an extremely musically gifted Autistic man and the struggle for his brother to help him find a job and integrate into society; a cartoon from Bangladesh exploring a world where chickens now eat humans; a documentary about the most basic form of advertising with homeless and their cardboard signs begging for money and a comedy about a poor man who suffers from a bout of IBS on a first date. So much diversity in the films in terms of content and country of origin.
The festival was amazing and the filmmakers were treated very well. The venues were beautiful and there were parties to attend every night as well as an awards brunch. Sadly, no awards for me but I got to do a question and answer session and I was interviewed for New York Women In Film and Television. I also experienced my first Tornado warning, my screening was scheduled for 5pm and at about 4pm there were Tornado warnings on TV and on my phone - my phone started whaling dramatically warning me of impending danger in my local area. Never the less I braved the weather and jumped in a cab. The cab ride was terrifying, I have never seen the sky turn a mix of green and brown like it did. Wind swirled ferociously and I had to trudge through torrents of water to get out of the cab to the venue. What a memory. But I had an absolute blast. I don't think you can beat the buzz you get from a tornado induced adrenalin rush followed by an audience of people laughing or reacting in some way to a film you have made. I can't wait to recreate that moment again and again in my life...at least the film part.
I met some amazing people from all over the world and I got to do a bit of sight seeing including the National Mall, for some reason I felt like doing a Rocky and decided to run up the Lincoln Memorial steps (which left me feeling like a winner and a loser simultaneously), I admired the Statue of Abe Lincoln (you know, the vampire slayer), I saw the White House (which was pretty white, I guess) and perused a few museums and galleries. All in all, a highlight of my year that is for sure.
Back in NYC I worked on a job at Creature Pictures, working for Apple in the big Apple. It was a really interesting production. It was part of a series of educational videos demonstrating how innovative teachers have been using iPads to improve their classes. We visited one of the top schools in NYC and several special education schools (and I was even asked to be an extra at one stage...not sure what that says about me). But jokes aside, this job made me think about how lucky I am and opened my eyes to some truly inspirational people. It was refreshing to work on a slightly more wholesome project.
I indulged with a couple of concerts this month too. I saw Bon Iver at Radio City, stupendous artist in one of the most amazing music venues in the world. I also saw Gotye (my reward for producing a friends film earlier in the year). He was amazing too, musically and artistically. The visual projections that accompanied his songs were fantastic. However, I can't help but feel that one song (that I'm pretty sure was the only song people where there to see) is a a song that he wishes "he used to know". I had a fantastic night out, truly a uniquely talented artist.
I also had a great reality check when B&T Magazine in Australia contacted me to do a "Where are they now?" interview as a follow up to their article from three years ago where they rounded up 10 young people from across the marketing comms sector to canvass their opinions on their respective industries. I was just an Optus Graduate back then and I cannot believe how much my life has changed in this time. I am so glad I took the risk on this journey, which has only just begun. I am loving every step of this adventure and I have NO regrets. Hopefully, I can look back in three years time and have an even greater repertoire of memories to share.
That wraps up September. October update will follow soon. It certainly delivered it's fair share of entertainment with East River cruising, Guinness and Bank of America commercials, Halloween and Hurricanes!
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