Beggarman Joe

New year, new job?

2011-01-18T12:47:00.000-08:00

Well it's been about 4 months since my last "diary" entry. My girls are growing up fast...but...how is the new job?

In a word...busy! It's been pretty full on since day one. I'm knee deep in an Intranet re-design which is proven to be a bit of a poison chalice. The job is going well. They're a great team to work in. A few political issues which are tiring and have made everything a bit complicated but, that's life. Not sure I can stick around to long though but this is definitely where I need to be for a while.

I've felt out of my depth a bit from time to time but I'm slowly getting my head around it. The toughest thing is that my last animation seems a life time ago now and my next, well like it's never going to start. It's driving me mad to be honest. I'm hoping things will settle down and I can start doing something soon.

...and forward it is

2010-09-24T03:12:00.000-07:00

While I still lament the loss of my animation ambition, a bit of luck has befallen me. I have to be honest, throughout my career the right job has always turned up when I needed it. Even the horrible ones. I once work at a private members sports club in the late 90s. I hated it but it was the right job for me at the time. It forced me to grow up a bit. SAGE Publications came along when I was only 22/23 and gave me 8 years to grow into a professional. I had a lot of fun on the way. I started my degree because I was unhappy with the management at SAGE and wanted a distraction but when it all became too much, LexisNexis came along. Three years later, while LexisNexis are looking to decimate publishing operations with wholesale redundancies, a new job has come along.

It’s a bit scary, New Media and Web Development Officer and I’ll need to work really hard to get my coding skills up to scratch but, just when I needed a new direction, just when I needed to get out of publishing for good, the right job has arrived. I start in October and I’m genuinely looking forward to it.

I felt for some time that I needed to start specialising and stop playing. You can’t be a flash designer, animator, 3d artist, multimedia developer etc. etc. and be any good at any of it. This job should help me focus a bit more on one aspect, mostly web programming, and hopefully give me a bit of direction for the next 10 years. Wish me luck!

Time to move forward...

2010-08-12T03:11:00.001-07:00

I think, as someone who is passionate about animation, it is difficult to imagine a life without it. When I see projects outside the mainstream break through like The Illusionist, my drive to create is revitalised. The first 20 mins or so of Wall-E or the opening to UP reminded me why animation is so important and why I get so frustrated that it's not taken seriously. It is often thought of as a medium for children and it shouldn’t be. As an adult in my thirties I can say that the only film to make me cry was Grave of Fireflies.

Much like a teenaged lad with a football, much of my passion was driven by the thought that one day I may get discovered.

I found it difficult to get started in animation. The will was there but, academically there was no support and personally, no one in my family was even the remotest bit interested. We couldn’t afford much so any ideas based around getting a film camera were completely out of the question. For most of our life we had to borrow a camera to take family snaps. We eventually had a small instamatic camera at some point but it was so expensive to buy and develop the film that using it for animation was never going to happen.

I studied art at A-Level but by the time I’d finished the whole process had knocked any passion or desire to proceed with a career in the industry completely out of me. When it came to picking our degree options there was only one university at the time offering a degree in animation but you needed to submit a VHS as part of your application. I had no chance.

It was at that point, at the tender age of eighteen that I really turned my back on any dreams of animation. I spent a year at university studying Applied Computing but quit the following year. Much later though, technology caught up and producing work at home became viable. Once the technology caught up, it wasn’t long before the pricing came down and eventually, now in my mid to late twenties, I started experimenting with some applications like a learning edition TrueSpace 3 (I think it was version three!).

Four years ago I was in a bit of a rut with my career. The job was good and I loved the company but I had a boss whose mission it was to make everyone around her miserable. She succeeded. I didn’t want to leave but my job was going nowhere so I took the opportunity with this enforced break to start a part-time degree in Digital Media. It seemed the best option covering many aspects of multimedia and some animation (mainly 3D).

It was then I actually started producing some animations and, like a teenage boy, for four years harboured the dream of working in animation at the end of the degree.

Well here I am. I now have two children under two to look after and a flooded job market which has reduced significantly and well, I love being at home with my family.

And that’s the real problem for me. I have a friend who works for a major studio. He knows a few people at a couple of studios in Soho but I’d be looking at contract work, no holiday, no sick leave and potentially 9am-6pm or 7pm days, regularly expected to work late or weekends if they’re at the end of a project. I can’t do it. I’d never see my family.

So what are my options? Well I could pursue a career in multimedia, maybe do the odd bit of animating there. Problem is that the market moves on so quickly that I’d be facing a constant battle to get on top of all the emerging technologies. I’ve spent four years studying and still feel like I’m a year behind.

I need to know ActionScript 2, ActionScript 3, Flex, Air, Jquery, PHP, MySQL, XML, HTML (4 and 5), CSS, iPad/iPhone App. development, Android app development etc. etc. I need to be an expert in Illustration, Flash, Photoshop, InDesign, AfterEffects, Premier Pro, Final Cut, 3D Max, Maya, Macs and PCs. I’d need to stay on top of the latest e marketing techniques, the emerging social media platforms, predict trends, get down with the kids. I’ve never understood the media’s obsession with the under 25s as most of them are skint. Maybe it’s because they’re more likely to be talked into buying something they don’t need. As you get older you get a bit wiser to that sort of thing.

I won’t have the time to animate anything.

I know they’re a lot of ether lucky or inexperienced people who will say “don’t worry man, follow your dreams” but life isn’t about following dreams, it’s about compromise. It is all about comprise. I’m not willing to sacrifice my time with my family for a potential career in animation. I am willing to sacrifice my animation for a job and a family.

I currently work for one of the largest publishing companies in the world. The company posted over six hundred million GBP in profit last year yet still they’re cutting through publishing operations like their very survival depended on it. I need to act quickly. With any luck I can find a decent admin/multimedia job that I can enjoy and still find time to animate in the odd evening. I suspect that I will find a job that will be very demanding and that I may have to put the dreams of animation aside for a while.

Personally, without being to melancholy, this makes me very sad. The thought of quitting, even for a short while , just while I get my career back on track is horrible and makes me feel a little bit sick to my stomach but needs must. I personally cannot go by and not be involved as a father and as a husband. I know my wife and family would support me if I did choose to give it a shot but it’s my decision and I can’t do it. I can’t be a part-time partner/father.

I’m hoping that I can start blogging about some animations soon but, for now...

...time to move forward.

This just in...

2010-07-18T14:51:00.000-07:00

Well the four years studying is over and the results are in...I officially have a BA in Digital Media and a First Class Hons at that!!!

A step to far?

2010-07-06T04:06:00.000-07:00

In England over the weekend a man called Raoul Moat is reportedly on the run for being suspected of shooting his former girlfriend, her partner and a policeman. Police are currently looking for Raoul.

I have a lot of respect for the many police men and women as well as for the civilians who will be putting their life on the line to catch this man. The problem I have is that a newspaper in the UK called The Guardian has decide to run a live feed of the man hunt. This isn't the first time the Guardian have done this. In early June taxi driver Derrick Bird went on a 12 person killing "spree". The police chase was reported minute by minute on the Guardians Blog.

This version makes the most of the medium by including an interactive Google map, an audio interview with Ken Wakinshaw from Rothbury Family Butchers and numerous links including one to the Northumbria police statement on their website

I can't help thinking though that this man is on the run and is clearly dangerous. The police and legal services will need to build a case and prosecute if he is caught alive. It has got to be easier for any lawyer representing Mr Moat to cite this blog and the rest of the media's obsessive coverage as biasing any jury. Does this sort of coverage help?

I don't think it does. I'm all for sharing information. I'm truly a believer that we have a duty to be educated and informed, to keep our minds sharp and to always ask why or how but is this a step to far? I can't see what benefit this offers anyone and I worry that the media's obsessive coverage of individuals like Moat and Bird only encourages those on the fringes of sanity to go out in a blaze of glory. Many psychologists agree. Here's the BBC's coverage of Cho Seung-hui in 2007 and their response to criticism. Any thoughts?

Time for a bit of self congratulation

2010-07-02T03:32:00.000-07:00

Wow, well after 4 years of studying part-time, working full-time, having kids, changing jobs, etc. etc. my degree is finally over and the results are in...

Mainly A's including one for my final project which has made all the effort worth while. Go team me! Finished with 17 A's, 4 B's and 3 C's out of 24 modules;

Year 1: 4 A's, 2 C's and 2 B's
Year 2: 6 A's, 1 B and 1 C
Year 3: 7 A's and 1 B

Does anyone know what that means, 2.1??? It's got to be a 2.1 hasn't it? Blimey it I get a 2.2 with those results I'll be gutted!

Big News!!!

2010-06-15T13:53:00.001-07:00

Well, it's been a few weeks. College is over and a video I was doing for a singer/song writer has fallen through so I'm taking a step back and having a think about things, whether animation or multimedia is for me. In the mean-time, please join me in welcoming my second daughter Millie! Mum and baby are doing very, very well!

Not long to go....

2010-04-20T07:58:00.000-07:00

...My second child is due in a matter of weeks (June 7th) and my part-time degree is finally, finally coming to a close. On the whole a thoroughly unrewarding and frustrating affair but I have to say that the process has opened my eyes a lot. For that reason, I am thankful that I did it. My final project is looking a bit rough around the edges but to be honest, I'm to tired to care!!!

Let me know what you think.

Telescreen Towers

Election Fever 2010...

2010-04-08T15:02:00.001-07:00

...honestly, fuck it. During my life time and at various general, local and European elections I've voted Tory, I've voted Labour and I've voted Lib. Dem. Every vote I cast seemed to make less and less difference to my life. I have a decent job in central London, working for one of the worlds largest publishers and I can't afford to by a house. I can't even afford to send my daughter to nursery. They're all greedy bastards and nothing they do will have a positive effect on my life. For the first time in my life I'm considering not voting...

Future of Cinema...what is the future of cinema?

2010-03-16T10:10:00.000-07:00

I'm struggling to come to terms with a brief set by my instructor at university which I want to vent. I can't seem to pin down what is expected of us and what is meant by "the future of cinema" within the context of the module (Future Cinema & Television) and more importantly, within the context of the brief.

Is it Distribution?

Undoubtably cinema will always deliver a "story", a linear narrative. The traditional film narrative, the 3-act structure, is going nowhere. You just need to compare the box office figures from the simple narratives of the Hollywood's "blockbuster" to those of more challenging cinema to see that. So is the future of cinema simply distribution? We will still get the same content but in different ways. YouTube has set-up it's "Channels" service which has made includes entire series and entire movies freely available. I personally have watched live broadcasts online (i.e. a football match via FIVE's website), additional music and sporting content via BBC's "red button" service and bought a Pay Per View film on Sky's Box Office service. iTunes sell films for you iPod/iPhone and the rest are desperately looking to catch-up. 3 have had mobile TV streaming in some form for some time.

Is it Interactivity?

Is cinema becoming more interactive, more "game" like. Will viewers be able to choose the path of the hero or where the story goes. I personally don't think people go to the cinema to choose where the story goes, they go to listen. Sitting around listening to stories is something humans have done throughout their history and the cinema is an extension of this. I don't think people want to interact too much with their cinema. The internet is a different matter, however this does turn the whole experience into a game and arguably the plots of the modern PS3 and Xbox game are more interesting, more immersive and more innovative than any future cinema. The more people interacting with the same movie at the same time in a cinema will de-personalise the whole experience and inevitable turn people off. Some years ago the BBC aired an episode of "Casualty" with two endings. The viewers had to phone in and vote for which ending the wanted to see but the entire experience was a bit flat was wasn't received well by the critics or the public.

Is it Art?

I stumbled on plenty of examples of Future Cinema within the art world but most ended up ether displaying multiple feeds onscreen at the same time, much like a transition segment of the TV show "24", something revolving around using non-traditional techniques like just text or something random like using RSS to display live search feeds or blog entries. There was an interactive 3d animation where the user watched the "story" via a number of security cameras, flicking between them as they wished. The characters wondered around but never spoke, communicating with each other exclusively through the web which the viewer could read. Most of this is very similar to the avant-garde cinema of the sixties though and hardly represents the future of cinema. Future of art maybe but not representative of the future of cinema.

Is it 3D?

If you search for the future of cinema at the moment then most of the discussion has focused on 3D. Movies will be filmed using special 3D camera and viewers will be able to purchase their own 3D television set before the end of the year. There's already at least one laptop on the market already geared for 3D. Most within the industry are focusing on 3D so is this the future? The same content with an extra dimension added.

The brief is quite open to interpretation but it emphasises "programmable or interactive video" and stresses the importance of "commenting within the script" which suggests substantial programming. The problem I have, as you have read, who can really say what the future of cinema is? Personally I can see the industry focusing on two things 3D and distribution methods, getting more content available to purchase in various forms. However, can I assume from the brief that we are to concentrate on creating an interactive video for online distribution? I mean, if I decide the future of cinema is distribution, I'm not going to pass by making a film and loading it onto YouTube am I? 3D looks the way forward to me but I think that's way beyond the capabilities of my university. Something avant-garde? Well this is the future of cinema not the future of art.

The problem I have is that I overheard a conversation the lecturer had with a fellow student last week in which he criticised his idea for being to "game like". To me interactivity makes cinema more game like, it's unavoidable is it not?

This blog stuff is hard than it looks...

2010-03-03T08:11:00.000-08:00

I keep forgetting to update blog, must try harder....

...well, not much to update I'm afraid! I'm working on my final project for Uni now (not the unicorn from dungeons and dragons, I mean University 'cause I is all posh like). I'm working on an repeating animation called Rooms. It's a working title. It's meant to be a comment on the voyeurism and individualism in modern society or something.

Basically I'll have 5-6 repeating animations. Across a day and you'll scroll up and down them as you wish, watching which bits you like. Well, we'll see how it goes!

Where does it go?

2010-02-09T07:17:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's been a month since my last post! Nothing much is happening. I've finally found some time to work on a video for Kris Buckle (http://www.krisbuckle.com/). I kind of offered to do this gratis because I thought it was a good opportunity and I like his music but the problem with working for free is motivation!

Anyway I finally found some time only to have it eaten up by work stuff.

Christ Keane are on the radio, anyone else think they're boring??? Just me?

I've been looking for a new job the last couple of weeks. I keep getting calls from agencies about jobs which is a bit of a boost to confidence but they all seem to be contract positions. No good to me I'm afraid. Anyway, back to college this week and final project time, crapping myself to be honest. Hopefully I can scrap through the last few months.

Oh, for some reason I've become almost completely addicted to chocolate over the last couple of weeks. Not sure how it happened and I'm not sure I care! Mmmmmmmmm....

Show Reel

2010-01-11T03:05:00.000-08:00

I've had to put a portfolio together for a college project but it's about time I sorted all this stuff out anyway. I've put together the first draft of my animation show reel. Any feedback would be appreciated...

YouTube - Animation Show Reel

Happy New Year!

2010-01-04T02:59:00.000-08:00

Happy new year one and all and I trust you all had a great seasonal holiday. Well...back to work......

...I'm writing this like I actually expect some one to read this! I feel like Shirley Valentine, "Hello Rock"...

Well as I said at the start, this is more a record for me than a deluded narcissistic attempt to interact with the world so where was I? Ah yes, I finally finished titivating my website and messing around with it. It's split into three sections, animation, illustration and multimedia. Hopefully this will improve my chances of finding a new job in 2010! Let me know what you thing rock…

http://www.beggarmanjoe.co.uk

Merry Christmas or Seasons Greetings, delete where appropriate.

2009-12-14T02:25:00.000-08:00

I recently finished a short animation. I say recently finished it was actually completed about a year ago but I've only just recently added the audio. It's about the Christmas Party season in the UK and our drinking culture.

The inspiration comes from a run of about 5 or 6 Christmas parties where I ended up a little worse for wear. I have to add, never quite like this!

Total Recall

Pinch, punch....

2009-12-02T04:22:00.000-08:00

Can't believe it's December already! I'm hoping to get back to some animation this week. Hopefully I will have something to show soon!

What is going on?!?

2009-11-23T08:19:00.001-08:00

Wow...feeling the pressure a bit at the moment. I have two assignments due in for Uni. (London Met. in case you're wondering), an interactive game thingy to do for work along with a load of video conversion and I'm behind on a video for a singer! What to do?

London Met. is a complete hole in case you're wondering or considering it. Go some where else!

Went to see Gomez on Friday at the Troxy, what a band! Rodrigo y Gabriella tonight! Not sure it's a good idea though with all this work to do!

Cough, cough, sniff, sniff...may...not be able...to make it into...cough...work this week...cough...cough...sniff....I feel a bloke cold coming on which we all know is the worse cold in the world.

New Beggarman Joe Website

2009-11-13T03:38:00.000-08:00

Morning...

...I'm looking at re-designing my website this week. I won't put a link up to my current one because it's truly hideous. Here's my first idea (largely inspired by Miki Mottes fantastic site! http://www.mikimottes.com/).

Let me know what you think!

Hello World Program

2009-11-12T02:51:00.000-08:00

10 Print "Hello World!"
20 Goto 10

Run

Hello World
Hello World
Hello World
Hello World
Hello World

Hello W...OK, joke over.

I am Beggarman Joe, a jack of all trades looking to master in animation, multimedia and illustrator. I seem to be slowly getting my portfolio off the ground so I thought I'd blog about it. More as a record of how it all began or where it all went wrong, depending on where I go from here!

I have a couple of projects on the go and I'll be putting up some links and some details over the next couple of weeks.