New Toys

For the new tax year, I've invested in several new toys for my computer:

- latest version of the Macromedia Suite
- more RAM to boost my computer's performance to handle the most important item:
- Final Cut Pro Studio

Can't wait to really dive in and play with the last, as I've been using Express for the last year, and couldn't open my own last edits on Coffee done on FC Pro at the Film Group. But I have to install the RAM first, and clear some regular memory - the install alone takes 4 Gigs, and they advise that 40 Gigs is required if I were to install all loops, samples and tutorials! That's insane, frankly. "I remember the day when..." we had 32K for the whole computer!

I'm taking a Film Studies course this term - Howard Curle's "Poetric Realism in American film from 1950". We've seen two films so far - Panic in the Streets and Little Fugitive. During the latter I couldn't help thinking (per Jonathan's comment recently that most films are too long) that it could easily have been a tight short film rather than a feature. The opening 5 minutes alone, establishing part of the story, was covered in 5 seconds of dialogue right after.

It'll be interesting to hear what the rest of the class thinks - I definitely heard some restlessness - tough film for modern attention spans. I am definitely drawn to the idea of using non-professional-actors and Real Faces and Real Places in films, though.

Video blogging is exposing me to some beautiful images and funny/poignant stories from non-professional videographers. It will be fascinating to see what happens to the lines between amateur, professional and artist as the form evolves.

From the "You know you're in Manitoba when" category, here's a picture I took last week at Fort Whyte Nature Centre: