The summer project hand-in/presentation has come and gone, and in keeping with the laid back/lazy nature of this blog, three days after the fact is naturally the best time to talk about it.
In case you weren't sure, I was in group K, and our project was 'Peach' - a Benriks Diary style organisation intent on getting younger people (within the demographic of 16-24 as set by the brief) to get up off their arse and do something with their lives.
Our three-minute-wonder (3MW) went down well - we've recieved several comments saying that it was the best out of all eighteen groups, with some even saying we should have won. Of course, I would have loved to have won (spoilers: WE DIDN'T WIN), I don't know how victorious I would have felt. Having seen the 3MW in action, I can say that the director has taken a hug amount of liberties with the script that Louka (the other scriptwriter in group K) and I gave him. Sure, there are bits of our work in there, but I found myself having to listen out for my own soundbites.
I know I shouldn't get too worked up about this - after all, if the industry horror stories I've been hearing are true, then once you've handed your script to those responsible for shooting it then it's out of your hands. Normally, however, the script is handed in with the prospect of recieving money for it, making it feel less soul-destroying when you see your work bastardised (I remember Jan Weddup once saying to me that his two favourite words in the English language were 'Cheque Enclosed'). But because there's no money involved, I don't feel like I personally have achieved anything with the 3MW. Is it worrying that I'm worrying about money? I'm a student, you can't blame me I suppose.
The mobile phone video was a lot more satisfying for me, even though I didn't like the script I'd written - it was cheesy, ham fisted, and truth be told a little underdeveloped. But it still satisfied me more than our 3MW simply because it had a different director who stuck to it like a limpet. I saw it for the first time the day before the presentations and I remember thinking something along the lines of 'Jesus, that's MY work jumping off the page at me'. It's a great feeling, but I understand that it's one I shouldn't get too attached to if I'm to make it in the industry in the future.
The presentation itself was brilliant, and I have to hand it to Ryan, Thom and Louise - they were all superb. I remember Thom telling me how much he was dreading it, but when he was up there he was flawless - I was sitting at the back of the and I could hear him clearly, he sounded confident, he made the audience laugh. I don't know why he got so worked up over it really. All three of them did a great job up there.
What have I gained from the experience of the Summer Project? I'm not quite sure. Perhaps the knowledge that, while authorship is okay and it's fine to be proud of a piece of work, I shouldn't expect other people to be as proud of it as I am.
More additions to the AWESOME list.
- The idea that I'm going to be sitting at home playing XBox (or getting my hair cut) next week.
- Ben 'Yahtzee' Croshaw's 'Trilby' series of adventure games.
- The knowledge that the hat I wore for most of my college time did not, as I had previously thought, fall into a toilet at a party and is in fact completely clean.
- Marvel 1602
- Grindhouse (Planet Terror is more AWESOME than Death Proof though)
- BBQ Chicken
- Blockbuster Salty Popcorn