Day 15 of my diary for Ciara

Hey babe!

Well today was an interesting day indeed! I awoke to call you, but of course you didn't answer as usual, so after trying again I resided in the fact that you probably won't pick up.
So I went back to sleep, but not long after, I was awoken suddenly by the ringing of my phone!
I quickly snatched it up, thinking that it was you calling, but alas it was not... It was my manager (sigh) asking me to cover a shift at work this afternoon.
Of course, I said yes, I need all the money I can get!

So because of that, my plans to meet up with some mates in Rosebud we're cancelled because by the time I went down there I'd have to turn around and come back home!

So I sat around, played some playstation and wrote some more! I then looked on the Hoyts cinema website and booked tickets for my dad and I to go and see the advanced screening of Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol on Wednesday night after my work Christmas party.

So I'm very excited to see that film!
I then headed down to work this arvo, my first shift on my own! It went pretty smoothly, apart from the computer crashing several times... Stupid thing.
Holly from work and her boyfriend came in to help me with closing up later tonight, which was good just to make sure I hadn't missed anything!

And then I headed home where I started my Mission Impossible marathon before seeing the new one on Wednesday!

That's about it really for me today!
How's Milan babe? What's it like there? How's your host family and Pietro? Hope you're having an amazing time over there girl!

I love you and miss you lots! I'll call at the normal time on your mobile, but let me know if I can call his home and I'll call there instead if that works better!

Well I'm off, beddy byes for Josh!

Love always,
from
Your Josh xxx

Day 11 of my diary for Ciara

Hey girl!

Well today started off very well indeed! I spoke to a special someone, namely you, on the phone for quite some time. Hearing your voice and all about your trip in Europe made me smile like you wouldn't believe. You have no idea how much I miss you Ciara, and small things like a phone call really help me stay sane :)

After I got off the phone with you, I went back to sleep for a while before eventually getting up and having eggs for breakfast!
My plans of meeting up with a mate today didn't happen, so I decided to do something.

I decided on a shopping trip! I bought Luke's 18th present, a nerf gun! (which I can tell you about on here because I highly doubt he reads this blog!) So I'll give that to him at his party tomorrow night!
I also did a bit of Christmas shopping, for the family.

I got your Christmas present too! I found something that I think you'll really like! Well I hope you will :p hahaha but that's a secret as to what it is until Santa comes to town! That'll keep you thinking! Hehehe

I also brought myself a few things. I got a BluRay movie for mum to give me for christmas (sad when I buy my own presents, isn't it? Hahaha)

I thought I'd indulge myself a bit, so I got myself a new t-shirt which you can see on my facebook page, and a BluRay movie pack for me to have now.
I started off the day with quite a bit of money, now I have next to none... Oh well that's what I work for!

When I got home, I watched the bonus features on my new movie pack, then had dinner later on and sat down to write more on my screenplay.

It's now past midnight, so I think it's time for me to retire to my bed for some well earned sleep! I will call you tomorrow at the same time as today, hopefully it works! :)

I love you Ciara. Until we speak again, stay safe and have an amazing time!

Love always,
from
Your Josh xxx

Day 5 of my diary for Ciara

Hey there good lookin! What's cookin?

Ok that sounded really seedy, not intended at all ;D

So today when I was getting ready in the morning to leave Nick's place, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I picked it up and saw it was you calling! Hearing your voice and what you had to say about Europe was amazing, it really made me smile to know you're having a great time over there!

After I got off the phone to you, with a grin from ear to ear, I jumped on the bus and headed home.
I helped mum out with some chores around the house during the day and watched a couple of DVDs. I didn't work tonight because I'm covering Kaine's shift tomorrow because he could only work tonight. So I went into work anyway and hired a movie called 'Hanna' and a PS3 game called 'Saints Row the Third.'

When I got home I heard my mobile ring and I picked it up and saw it was that familiar number that made me smile. Hearing your voice for a second time in the day really made me happy, you have no idea how much it means to me to just be able to chat with you, even for the briefest of times :) I miss you so so much Ciara! When I see you at the airport, be prepared, I may accidentally suffocate you from hugging you so tightly! :P

Anway, I spent the night home alone because the family went over to my uncle's house for dinner and I was just so tired I couldn't go. So I watched the DVD, played the game and had 2 chicken pies and veggies for dinner.
Wait what? Did I just choose to eat veggies?!?! What is the world coming to?????

So now I'm heading to bed for a well deserved rest, I'm absolutely knackered! I'll give you a call some time tomorrow, I'll wake up early in the morning so I can catch you before you go to sleep :)

Goodnight and have an amazing day girl. I'll talk to you very soon! Thank you again for calling, it really made me smile :) I love you Ciara <3

With love always
from,
Your Josh xxx

Schools out for Summer! Schools out forever!

Well I had my final year 12 VCE exam today. That means I'm officially not a high school kid anymore!

It hasn't sunk in yet, doubt it will.
Feels darn good though!

I also got an email from RMIT saying that I've been short listed for an interview for the Film & TV Production course on Monday!

Today has been a very good day indeed! Hence the amount of exclamation marks I've used in this post.

It's 12am so I should get some sleep now. Night all!


Josh

Quentin Tarantino's 'Five Keys to Telling An Engaging Story'

In my entry Inspiring Film Makers - Part 2 - Quentin Tarantino I mentioned an article about his 'Five Keys to Telling An Engaging Story', so here they are!

1. Make people care. Think about any Tarantino film. Even if you’ve never watched one, you’ve probably heard of some of his characters. Maybe you’ve heard of Hattori Hanzo from Kill Bill, or maybe you’ve heard of Mr. Pink and Mr. White from Reservoir Dogs. In all of his movies, Tarantino creates characters that make you care, even if that caring surfaces as you really hoping that character gets what’s coming to them. If people are indifferent about your film, they won’t stick around to hear more about it.


How are you making people care about your story? What can they hold on to and tell others about?


2. Interweave lots of stories together. Pulp Fiction is probably the best example of how Tarantino can take the stories of characters from all over the place, fully develop each story, and then majestically bring them all together to form the punchline of the whole story. The audience is always aware of each individual story, but it’s never entirely clear, till the end or the climax (which aren’t always the same in Tarantino films) how it will all pull together.

Is your film cohesive, put together, and clear? Are you wrapping all of your stories together or are there some loose ends? How can you tie them up?

3. Don’t give away the whole story all at once. Just as Tarantino keeps his audience on edge about how all of these individual tales will mesh together, he also waits awhile to reveal details about the story or his characters that end up revealing a great deal about the overall story. For example, we don’t find out till quite late in Pulp Fiction that the time line is completely off. That’s pretty important. We don’t find out till pretty late in Kill Bill what Uma Thurman’s story is. Also very important. This late reveal keeps the audience engaged because they can’t wait to see more of the backstory.

How can you leave some space for your audience to finish your story and make it their own? How can you wait for the big reveal?

4. Every idea is fresh, and every idea is yours. Tarantino excels at creating very different movies. Reservoir Dogs doesn’t really bear much resemblance at all to Inglorious Basterds, which in turn doesn’t really bear much resemblance to Pulp Fiction. However, you can always kind of tell when you’re watching a Tarantino film. His trademark violence, ultra dark humor, and method of storytelling are dead give-aways.

What makes your film YOUR film?

5. Know thy audience. Tarantino is kind of like a stinky cheese. Not everyone likes his work, and in fact some people find it revolting. The people who like Tarantino’s work have very specific reasons for liking it, and they would likely fight you if you called their allegiance stupid. So far, Tarantino has not tried to bring radically different people into his office. He hasn’t approached Disney, for example, nor has he ever tried to do a kid’s film. In fact, I can’t recall many kids even showing up in his movies. He knows his audience, he knows what they want, and he delivers it to them.

Do you know who you’re marketing to? Are you talking to your audience the way you talk or the way they talk? Who is your audience? If you can’t answer this question, the other 4 keys will not work for you. You can’t engage someone you don’t know on some level.

You can find the original article at http://www.margieclayman.com/the-five-keys-to-telling-an-engaging-story-from-quentin-tarantino

Josh

Inspiring Film Makers - Part 2 - Quentin Tarantino

The second writer/director who has really inspired me to make films is, of course, 

Quentin Tarantino.

I hear many young film makers say this, but they don't really give a reason as to why. It's almost as if they throw in his name to sound like they know what they're talking about, but in reality, they don't have a clue!

Tarantino has been a major influence on me, and I'll give you the reasons as to why.

The first film of his I saw was 'Reservoir Dogs'. This film is by far his best work, and ironically was his debut film as a director.

From then on, I was hooked! 

I purchased all of his films on Blu Ray and had a massive marathon from Reservoir Dogs all the way through to Inglorious Basterds at the cinema when it was first released!

The way Tarantino creates a story and works with his characters is like no other in the industry. Unlike Besson, Tarantino's stories are complex and often interweave lots of stories together. But he does this in a way that doesn't confuse the audience or detract from the overall story.

I read an article once by Tarantino about his 'Five Keys to Telling an Engaging Story' and I will post this in my next blog entry, but this really sums up how he creates his films.


Another reason why he inspires me so much is that he hasn't had any formal training at all. He didn't go to film school or university to study film, but instead he was a video store clerk and a major cinefile (like me!) who just wrote and wrote and wrote. He tried to get some of his earlier screenplays made, but none of the production companies wanted him to direct them, so his first few feature films such as 'From Dusk Til Dawn' were directed by others like Robert Rodriguez. 
But finally Tarantino got his break as a director with 'Reservoir Dogs', and he hasn't looked back since! 


It's this never give up attitude of his that really inspires me, and it shows all film makers out there that no matter what, if you love what you do, just do it!


For these reasons, Quentin Tarantino is one of my favourite and most inspiring film makers.






Josh.

Inspiring Film Makers - Part 1 - Luc Besson

The first and most important film maker that I think has inspired me is the French writer, director and producer, 

Luc Besson. 

He directed some absolutely awesome movies such as 'La Femme Nikita', 'The Professional', 'The Big Blue' and many more. His style is very simple, he doesn't try and cram in lots of plot lines etc, and his films can either be a slower pace, but build up towards the end (especially the films directed by him) or no holes barred action from the word "GO!"

But the film by Besson which has inspired me most is the film he wrote which was directed by another Frenchman, Pierre Morel (who happens to be one of my favourite directors), called 'Taken'. It stars Liam Neeson as Bryan Mills, a retired spy who has to rely on his old skills to save his daughter, who has been kidnapped by sex-slave traders on a holiday in France.

This film is utterly amazing, from the superb writing by Besson, to the fantastic direction from Pierre Morel, to the beautiful cinematography by Michel Abramowicz which blends Bourne-esque violence with a more elegant, fluid style of shooting, to Liam Neeson's brilliant performance as Bryan Mills.

I highly suggest that if you haven't seen this film, go and rent it from the video store now!


It is because of these reasons that Luc Besson is one of my favourite and most inspiring film makers.




Josh.

Inspirations in Film

People often think I'm inspired by the big budget film makers such as Michael Bay or Steven Spielberg to make films because I write big action screenplays.

But they are mistaken. 

I'm not a huge Michael Bay fan, and I honestly didn't care much for the Transformers trilogy.

But I have often pondered the question "Who or what has inspired me to want to become a film maker?"
So in a two part entry, so that I don't bore you with long winded posts, I will talk a bit about the film makers and the films that have really inspired me to want to make movies!



Josh.

Shameless Promotion

Hello to all of my avid readers,

This is a bit of shameless promotion, but I think you should all check out my YouTube page and watch my short film The Golden Rule.

The film was made for Year 12 VCE (final year high school)  Media class as my major assignment and I was given an A+ (31/35) for it.

Dan (played by Nick Jones) runs a successful drugs syndicate at his private school. He has decided to get out while the going is good, but what happens when his dealers don't agree with Dan's retirement plans?

Click on the link below!

http://www.youtube.com/theingloriousfiction

Cheers!

Josh.

The Obligatory Greeting

G'day I'm Josh and this is my new blog!

I've decided to create this blog in lieu of seeing my friend Sean's wordpress site and thinking, I should really do one, writing my thoughts to random strangers on the internet sounds like fun!

I thought about doing a vlog, but you have to be 'sah indie' or be talented at singing to get viewers these days.
I am neither of these, so hence no vlog. (Though I may do one once I've finished my final year high school exams at the end of this month.)

So what you can look forward to in this blog are:

• My general ramblings about life, the universe and everything
• Lots of film facts and trivia
• Links to my films on youtube
• The occasional film review when I can be bothered to do one

But for now, hello and good bye, probably will post another entry later today. I hope you enjoy my posts to come!

Josh.