Life in Pixels

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  • Thoughts on “TARGET”

    Over the past two months I’ve been busy, amongst other things, with producing a short film for an English assignment, along with two very good friends.

    It’s been a roller-coaster ride, as we typed away at a script that we hoped would convey an engaging story, and fought with film-editing applications to ensure that our finished product did justice to the concept we were working on for so long. You see, the main idea we had when starting work on Target was to create the most exciting, engaging film that included techniques not-bef0re used in this assignment.

    The idea for the film came from news reports in the months just before the 2010 World Cup was to be held in South Africa. There was a great sense of panic when it was suddenly reported that there were apparent terror threats on the new stadiums that had been build for the event. Thankfully, nothing did happen, but my team and I decided to take our own fictional spin on the reports, and asked the fundamental question that spurred Target‘s writing: what would you do, if you knew there was a bomb placed in the new stadium – if you were the only person to know, and could be the only person to stop such an attack? Of course, some of this does sound a little absurd, and rightfully so – after all, this is a fictional tale, and we made express use of our prose licence in exerting the most amount of freedom in writing the film.

    Redemption

    The “terrorist” angle took on a new face when a member of the team, Bryan, was to go to London for a short holiday. We seized this opportunity to write-in a new character, the “mastermind” of the whole plot that Target is centred on. So it was to be that a man with twisted logic was born out of the words woven on our digital page, who thought that the only way of getting back at the country that supposedly “betrayed” him pre-1994 was to seek redemption in the form of terrorism. He poisoned the minds of men who in their own right felt betrayed to an extent, and one such man was given the task that fits in the narrative arc of the film – the character aptly (and very imaginatively) titled – I’m sure you’d agree with me – “The Terrorist”.

    Filmmaking

    For many years now, I’ve been fascinated with the art of filmmaking; of movie magic. I’ve tried my hand at writing numerous screenplays, and as such, when we were given the task of this film assignment, I took up the opportunity with great relish to work on what would become the screenplay of Target.

    But Target stretches far from just a story that we wanted to tell; it was a great process of two months’ hard work, painstakingly agonising over the most minute of details, to ensure that the visual media we were working in did justice to the words written in the script.

    And it would never have been possible without the amazing talent of the actors involved. They brought those words to life, and gave them an added twist of their own, adding that perfect mix of drama and engaging an atmosphere that’s hard to achieve with a static script.

    I found it fascinating to note that, after paging through my trusty Moleskine notebook, a single paragraph written in the section where we planned the film, summed up the entire plot. So it was that Target had been “almost” fully-conceptualised before its full writing process began. Still, however, that final scene that incorporates some ambitious visual effects had always been a component that I wanted to include no matter what the storyline would end up being. I had originally written it into the finalé of another screenplay, Kiss of Death, a 1930s “shoot-’em-up” gangster film that was supposed to be our Grade 11 Film Project – until we received the theme – and after pitching it to the directing/production team, we unanimously decided that if it could be done right, that was an awesome way to kick into the credits sequence.

    Throughout the filming phase we were inspired by the great directors of our age: Quintin Tarrentino, Christopher Nolan, Martin Scorsese and, of course, Steven Spielberg. Their use of camera, movement through time and space, and distribution of colour gave us guidance in working on the production of Target.

    Whilst Target is a very amateur project, the three of us – Bryan, Imtyaz and myself – are incredibly proud of what we’ve worked on. It was a long process, but a greatly enjoyable one and a time through which we all learnt a great deal about the art of movie magic. Target does have its flaws, but at the end of the day, to the three of us, what we’ve learnt far outweighs those setbacks.

    And in case you’re wondering, the story I hinted at in a previous post (“[PREVIEW] New Short Story”) is indeed based on the film. It is altered slightly, and was written parallel to the writing phase of Target. It should be releasing on the blog sometime soon.

  • So Long, and Thanks for All the CAD

    I was on Work Experience this past week, and thoroughly enjoyed my time spent at both an engineering and an architectural firm.

    What struck me as very interesting was the immense inroads computing has made in the design-related aspects of these fields. There was a LOT of drafting going on in AutoCAD, and in the case of the architects, ArchiCAD. I was able to witness, first-hand, the “modern” architect’s studio that comprises not of drawing boards, T-squares and copious amounts of pencils, but of stylish Apple iMacs and a new generation of keen designers clicking and typing away at amazing designs.

    This has inspired me and got me thinking about the next wave of innovation; with the rise of computer-aided design, designers can see and understand before even laying bricks, the impact that their buildings may have on the environment. In an age where going green has become the next cultural phenomenon – the next big thing – CAD systems will allow the innovators of the built environment – a field that so greatly influences the way we as a society live, think and work – to design consciously, constantly being aware of the impact their designs are making.

    At the same time, being able to see in glorious 3D the look of a design before construction is even fathomed is a really cool way, in my opinion, of Design 2.0 – the modern way of thinking and innovating.

    Now if only I can get my hands on ArchiCAD… oh well.

  • [Preview] New Short Story

    Here’s a short preview of a short story I’ve been working on for some time now. I’m almost finished with it (got the last scene to write in). It’s been a great experience working with fiction again; I’ve been bombarded with a load of school work, and a lot of critical essays. Now I’m not complaining – I love writing, full stop. Just having to sit down and weave words into something – I do get a kick out of it. But writing fiction is a lot different; it’s difficult, yet absorbingly fun at the same time.

    Interestingly, the majority of this story was written in my Moleskine notebook; it was a new expereince for me to write the bulk of the text of a story the traditional way – putting pen to actual paper.

    So, without further ado, here’s a short excerpt from the new story. When the entire text is complete, I will be posting it in its entirety on Life in Pixels.

    Also, due to other reasons influencing/being influenced by the story, I can’t as-yet release the title of this new short story… sorry!

    Here we go:

    It was going to be a good day. The best day of his life. Redemption. The very thought tasted sweet in his mouth, and for second – almost unnoticed – what could’ve passed for a sliver of a smile crossed his hardened face.

    But effortlessly he pushed such thoughts away from his mind. There was work to be done. A quick glance at the luminescent-green digital clock fixed into the wall next to his workbench glowed 2:59 am. Despite the early hour, he was wide awake, his mind sharper than ever.

    Only four hours to go. Redemption never tasted sweeter.

  • A Decision of Absurd Proportions

    South Africa will be flying at full velocity into the Stone Age as the very people meant to be upholding the foundations of democracy are denying a fundamental institution of a free society: a free press, devoid of rules restricting what it can report in favour of a single-sided opinion.

    It’s a ridiculous notion – one that has been made by an ignorant government that can’t seem to fathom the absurd proportions of it.

    This goes against the very integrity of democracy. Socrates, titan of philosophy and instigator of modern thought, aptly expressed this when he once said, “no society is good, whatever its intentions, whatever its utopian and liberationist claims, if the men and women who live in it are not free to speak their minds.”

    The government’s reasoning towards enacting the Protection of Information Bill is that the media is not effectively regulated, and as such, reporting can sometimes be questionable. They have made themselves appear to be the victims of scathing attack by the press.

    But this Big Brother-esque idea extends far from the mere proposition that our journalists are running rampant, having a field day reporting fallacies. Controlling the media controls the people of a country. Thus, effectively, we would be introducing a whole generation of “programmed” leaders that will be fulfilling a single-sided agenda. It will be propaganda on the biggest scale this country has experienced since the dark days of Apartheid.

    This sounds disturbingly like the ideas proposed in George Orwell’s 1984, and if applied to our country in particular, this restriction of free information will have devastating ramifications. The vast majority of South Africa’s population is uneducated, and playing on this philosophy means that the government can easily sway opinions in their favour.

    Yet, before we even go as far as criticising the integrity of this decision, we should examine the sheer foolishness of it. Our government appears incapable of understanding the times that we live in. Sure, back in the Apartheid era it would’ve been (and incidentally, it was) easy to muzzle the media. But the capacity of the modern media and advancement of communication technology negates the possibility that a system of this size can be contained. Modern media – blogs, Twitter and social networks – are constantly allowing citizens the opportunity to learn about events long before they are published in the traditional press. How does our government plan to leash the leviathan creature that is Media 2.0?

    At the end of the day, though, we as free citizens, must understand that the State and the media need each other to co-exist in an equilibrium that ensures the safety, integrity and intellectual wealth of a nation. A functioning, symbiotic relationship such as this ensures that the principles of our sacred Constitution are respected, and that the idea of a democratic society – where the men and women are free to speak their minds – is maintained.

  • AutoCAD Finally Comes to the Mac!

    Just mere hours ago, Autodesk, the makers of legendary graphics software that has been responsible for making possible projects like Hollywood blockbusters Avatar and The Lord of the Rings to the design of your house – seriously – possible, have finally announced the upcoming release of their world-class and industry-leading CAD software, AutoCAD, for the Mac platform.

    Now, AutoCAD was previously on the Apple platform – 15 years ago, until it was decided to cut the product and focus entirely on the Windows market. But since Apple’s marketshare has begun to rise, and Mac sales begin to surge once again, one of the leading design suites finally returns to the realm of designers; since its birth, Macs have been renowned for their design-orientated architecture, making it the ideal environment for creative types to work in.

    But as Mac OS X gains popularity in the business field, and as AutoCAD supports the artistic-orientated and technical finesse tools designed to develop awe-inspiring concepts, from a wide range of disciplines that span Civil Engineering to Architecture, the move by Autodesk to get a Mac version of one of their flagship products is greatly justified.

    I, for one, am really excited about this. It finally puts the Mac back into the serious sector of the workplace, and allows countless engineers and architects to harness the power of the Mac – from the portable powerhouse of the MacBook and MacBook Pro, to the Titan of computing, that brute of a computer known as the Mac Pro (8 cores and still counting!) the future of innovative design is certainly looking bright.

    AutoCAD for Mac even harnesses native Mac OS X features like the Preview tool to quickly browse designs without even launching the actual program.

    “The release of AutoCAD for Mac marks the return of professional design and engineering software to the Mac platform and an important convergence of power and design,” – Amar Hanspal, senior vice president of Autodesk Platform Solutions and Emerging Business

    What’s more: a free iOS app for Apple’s iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, that will accompany the Mac version, called AutoCAD WS, will let users view, edit and share AutoCAD files. Phill Schiller, Apple’s Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, said in a statement:

    “The AutoCAD WS app is a bold new idea, a mobile version of industry-leading design software for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch…”

    Watch the awesome video below from Autodesk introducing the new product.