So it's Christmas Eve today and I should be running around getting everything ready for tomorrow, but as always, it is getting dark and my present are still not wrapped! But anyhow I'm just taking this moment to wish you all a very merry christmas. I had hoped to do a video blog for you all just to make it a little more personal for you but I foolishly left the equipment I need to do it at my home in Northampton so I'm saving all the exciting details for a video blog which I will instead do for you in the new year. Once again I hope you all have a fantastic Christmas and I hope that Santa brings you everything that you want, except for you naughty people! You are getting coal!
Merry Christmas everyone. See you in 2011!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Friday, 24 December 2010
Wednesday, 8 December 2010
No Rest For The Wicked
Well! Haven't I been the busy bee of late! One thing after another and all of that jazz! Where to begin!?
Well I guess I will begin with my trip to London that was far too short for my liking I must say! I popped down to London to visit my good friend and fellow actor, Adam Alexander in his professional stage debut. The show was held at the White Bear Theatre and was essentially two plays in one, Miss in her Teens and A Will and No Will both of which are 18th Century Farces and were produced by Mr Hart's Theatre Company. The show was fantastic with the venue really adding that personal and intimate feel that made the experience all that more amusing and enjoyable. The performances were strong across the whole cast and the character acting was superb!
I was lucky enough after the performance to be introduced to the cast and indeed Mr Hart himself and I'd like to take the opportunity to thank them all for being so hospitable and supportive of an actor in training.
But I have been complaining about my business and you may be wondering what I have been up to. Well, as of a couple of weeks ago my theatre company which we are setting up as part of our course was "semi-officially" set up (I say semi-officially because we have not yet actually officially formed, in a sense it is a mock formation as part of our course but we have to behave and function just as an actual company would. Besides, we have every intention of forming the company proper once our course is finished). Anyhow, with some of the paper-work done I am now Chairman of Tap The Table Theatre and have busily been trying to run the company as efficiently as possible. I have quickly come to realise just why business men are perceived to have very little in the way of personal life! But I am enjoying it all the same and have been worried on many occasions that I am turning into a workaholic!
So not only are we trying to run a company right now but we are also intensely planning for the company's first two projects, one of which is now in full swing! That first project is, I believe, going to be incredibly rewarding as it is a piece of Reminiscence Theatre in which we will be working with elderly residents of a Residential Home in Northampton. The idea being, for those who know very little of Reminiscence Theatre, is that we go in, talk to the residents and gather as much information as we can about their lives and try to focus on a particular time period. We will then take their stories and memories and try as much as we can to create a piece of theatre to perform to them in the hopes that it will help the residents recall their memories even more vividly than they had before. Our plan is also to make the production as interactive for them as possible, even if only limited to verbal interaction.
The project also has the potential to be all the more rewarding due to the fact that the majority of residents at our venue suffer from various levels of dementia and so any point at which we can help the participants recall their memories will be all the more poignant and helpful for them. Already we have visited the residency twice and have met some fantastic people with incredibly moving stories to tell and we look forward to working very closely with them and indeed seeing their reaction to our work.
And of course on top of that project we are also planning for our negotiated project which will take place in the early summer term in 2011. That project is still very much in it's planning stages and I can't at this stage reveal any more than I have already but we are very excited to see how it turns out.
I wish I could tell you all more about what's going on...all I can say is that it is all very exciting, unpredictable and hectic but I'm loving every second. Christmas is only around the corner and I have actively been listening to some christmas music and coming to terms with this being my last Christmas at University, a very saddening thought. But I shall keep you all as up to date as I can at the moment.
My main form of communication with you at the moment is my Twitter, as I can luckily update that on the go and in a matter of mere seconds, so if you do not yet follow me on there then you can find me @Wayne_Ingram and hopefully you will get some idea as to what is going on right now.
Sorry I couldn't chat for longer! Busy busy busy!!!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Well I guess I will begin with my trip to London that was far too short for my liking I must say! I popped down to London to visit my good friend and fellow actor, Adam Alexander in his professional stage debut. The show was held at the White Bear Theatre and was essentially two plays in one, Miss in her Teens and A Will and No Will both of which are 18th Century Farces and were produced by Mr Hart's Theatre Company. The show was fantastic with the venue really adding that personal and intimate feel that made the experience all that more amusing and enjoyable. The performances were strong across the whole cast and the character acting was superb!
I was lucky enough after the performance to be introduced to the cast and indeed Mr Hart himself and I'd like to take the opportunity to thank them all for being so hospitable and supportive of an actor in training.
But I have been complaining about my business and you may be wondering what I have been up to. Well, as of a couple of weeks ago my theatre company which we are setting up as part of our course was "semi-officially" set up (I say semi-officially because we have not yet actually officially formed, in a sense it is a mock formation as part of our course but we have to behave and function just as an actual company would. Besides, we have every intention of forming the company proper once our course is finished). Anyhow, with some of the paper-work done I am now Chairman of Tap The Table Theatre and have busily been trying to run the company as efficiently as possible. I have quickly come to realise just why business men are perceived to have very little in the way of personal life! But I am enjoying it all the same and have been worried on many occasions that I am turning into a workaholic!
So not only are we trying to run a company right now but we are also intensely planning for the company's first two projects, one of which is now in full swing! That first project is, I believe, going to be incredibly rewarding as it is a piece of Reminiscence Theatre in which we will be working with elderly residents of a Residential Home in Northampton. The idea being, for those who know very little of Reminiscence Theatre, is that we go in, talk to the residents and gather as much information as we can about their lives and try to focus on a particular time period. We will then take their stories and memories and try as much as we can to create a piece of theatre to perform to them in the hopes that it will help the residents recall their memories even more vividly than they had before. Our plan is also to make the production as interactive for them as possible, even if only limited to verbal interaction.
The project also has the potential to be all the more rewarding due to the fact that the majority of residents at our venue suffer from various levels of dementia and so any point at which we can help the participants recall their memories will be all the more poignant and helpful for them. Already we have visited the residency twice and have met some fantastic people with incredibly moving stories to tell and we look forward to working very closely with them and indeed seeing their reaction to our work.
And of course on top of that project we are also planning for our negotiated project which will take place in the early summer term in 2011. That project is still very much in it's planning stages and I can't at this stage reveal any more than I have already but we are very excited to see how it turns out.
I wish I could tell you all more about what's going on...all I can say is that it is all very exciting, unpredictable and hectic but I'm loving every second. Christmas is only around the corner and I have actively been listening to some christmas music and coming to terms with this being my last Christmas at University, a very saddening thought. But I shall keep you all as up to date as I can at the moment.
My main form of communication with you at the moment is my Twitter, as I can luckily update that on the go and in a matter of mere seconds, so if you do not yet follow me on there then you can find me @Wayne_Ingram and hopefully you will get some idea as to what is going on right now.
Sorry I couldn't chat for longer! Busy busy busy!!!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Thursday, 11 November 2010
"Done, Done, Onto the next one"
It has been a while since my last post, for which I must apologise. I had very much managed to get myself into a routine of blogging on a regular basis but with a variety of events going on I managed to fall behind. Now however begins the catch up.
So first of all I have the show Ever Blurry Line to talk about. It was held a couple of weeks ago (31st October to be exact) on campus and seemed to go rather well. As I believe I mentioned in my last post, my main role within the piece was to take the interviews which had been carried out by different members of the cast, and use the responses to create various scenes using a wide variety of characters of our own creation. The trick was however, despite using characters that we had created, it was also important for us to try and keep the actual text itself as close to the original source as we possibly could.
Ultimately we had three main scenes:
1) A scene in which we created a character that suited exactly what was being said in the text. We would then take that character and then try to recite the material as honestly as we were able.
2) The Creature Comforts Scene: In this scene we took recordings of the interviews and edited them together to make one continual track which switched between the different interviews. We would then use the sounds of the subject's voices to inspire a physicality for that character which we would show on stage when becoming that character. The scene would take place with the interviews playing into the audience with ourselves taking turns to adopt the physicality we created for whichever character was speaking, whilst moving our lips in sync with what was being said at the time (hence creature comforts).
3) Larger Than Life: This scene was the climactic scene of our three. With this scene, rather than use the material to inspire the characters, we created the characters first and then selected whichever interview suited that character the most. When we created the characters we intentionally when for larger than life and stereotypical characters. The characters we used for this scene were: A farmer from Somerset, a cowboy, an American cheerleader, a sultry woman (think Joanna Lumley in Ab Fab!), Igor and finally a circus clown. All of the recitals of the interviews within this scene were hammed up to the max in an attempt to, to quote the show itself "glorify and promote drinking". The only exception to this rule was ironically the clown. We deliberately chose to use emotional and moving material for the clown in order to juxtapose the fact that clowns look silly and are generally linked with comedy with the fact that what was being said was serious, powerful and also, most importantly, someone's genuine and real life experiences in order to have some form of strong impact with the audience. From the feedback I have had so far, it was indeed a success and if I'm honest, to me this was the most important scene for me to get right as I had collected the interview myself from someone I personally know. They also came to see the show and were thankful for the scene in that it helped them to face some of their own demons which for me is something I find very important when it comes to theatre and indeed art in general. Another audience member expressed how it had effected them too, being able to focus on and be emotionally affected by the story being told by me (the clown) before suddenly being brought back to a sense of pure entertainment the moment that the clown returned to his objective of being entertaining. All in all I am very pleased and indeed proud of how my scenes came out, but naturally there is always room for improvement.
So all in all the show was a success with feedback being predominantly positive but as one project ends another begins (or at least during your training). The next four or five weeks will be full of intensive workshops on creating different types of applied theatre. For example; this week we have been working on creating performances for children of around the age of 5. Also to compliment this we have had lessons on creating workshops for that same target audience. Next week we will be moving on to Reminiscence Theatre. This is all for the module entitled 'Acting in Small Scale Theatre' and will culminate in creating a short, small-scale production to be toured in the Northampton area. At this stage I can tell you no more about what to expect but certainly keep your eyes open for any more details as they will come in the not too distant future.
In other news, for those of you who do not visit my website (www.wayne-ingram.co.uk) on a regular basis or follow me on Twitter (@Wayne_Ingram), a small viral advert that I starred in was entered into a competition held by Global Graphic in order to advertise their latest computer software call gDoc Fusion. It is with great pleasure that I inform you that the advert did indeed win and can be viewed here.
And finally this weekend I will be taking a trip to London to see my good friend Adam Alexander in his first professional show and I am sure he will be fantastic. No doubt however I will be sharing the experience with you all next week. I hope this has brought you all up to speed with things and hopefully I shall speak to you before too long. Ciao for now!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
So first of all I have the show Ever Blurry Line to talk about. It was held a couple of weeks ago (31st October to be exact) on campus and seemed to go rather well. As I believe I mentioned in my last post, my main role within the piece was to take the interviews which had been carried out by different members of the cast, and use the responses to create various scenes using a wide variety of characters of our own creation. The trick was however, despite using characters that we had created, it was also important for us to try and keep the actual text itself as close to the original source as we possibly could.
Ultimately we had three main scenes:
1) A scene in which we created a character that suited exactly what was being said in the text. We would then take that character and then try to recite the material as honestly as we were able.
2) The Creature Comforts Scene: In this scene we took recordings of the interviews and edited them together to make one continual track which switched between the different interviews. We would then use the sounds of the subject's voices to inspire a physicality for that character which we would show on stage when becoming that character. The scene would take place with the interviews playing into the audience with ourselves taking turns to adopt the physicality we created for whichever character was speaking, whilst moving our lips in sync with what was being said at the time (hence creature comforts).
3) Larger Than Life: This scene was the climactic scene of our three. With this scene, rather than use the material to inspire the characters, we created the characters first and then selected whichever interview suited that character the most. When we created the characters we intentionally when for larger than life and stereotypical characters. The characters we used for this scene were: A farmer from Somerset, a cowboy, an American cheerleader, a sultry woman (think Joanna Lumley in Ab Fab!), Igor and finally a circus clown. All of the recitals of the interviews within this scene were hammed up to the max in an attempt to, to quote the show itself "glorify and promote drinking". The only exception to this rule was ironically the clown. We deliberately chose to use emotional and moving material for the clown in order to juxtapose the fact that clowns look silly and are generally linked with comedy with the fact that what was being said was serious, powerful and also, most importantly, someone's genuine and real life experiences in order to have some form of strong impact with the audience. From the feedback I have had so far, it was indeed a success and if I'm honest, to me this was the most important scene for me to get right as I had collected the interview myself from someone I personally know. They also came to see the show and were thankful for the scene in that it helped them to face some of their own demons which for me is something I find very important when it comes to theatre and indeed art in general. Another audience member expressed how it had effected them too, being able to focus on and be emotionally affected by the story being told by me (the clown) before suddenly being brought back to a sense of pure entertainment the moment that the clown returned to his objective of being entertaining. All in all I am very pleased and indeed proud of how my scenes came out, but naturally there is always room for improvement.
So all in all the show was a success with feedback being predominantly positive but as one project ends another begins (or at least during your training). The next four or five weeks will be full of intensive workshops on creating different types of applied theatre. For example; this week we have been working on creating performances for children of around the age of 5. Also to compliment this we have had lessons on creating workshops for that same target audience. Next week we will be moving on to Reminiscence Theatre. This is all for the module entitled 'Acting in Small Scale Theatre' and will culminate in creating a short, small-scale production to be toured in the Northampton area. At this stage I can tell you no more about what to expect but certainly keep your eyes open for any more details as they will come in the not too distant future.
In other news, for those of you who do not visit my website (www.wayne-ingram.co.uk) on a regular basis or follow me on Twitter (@Wayne_Ingram), a small viral advert that I starred in was entered into a competition held by Global Graphic in order to advertise their latest computer software call gDoc Fusion. It is with great pleasure that I inform you that the advert did indeed win and can be viewed here.
And finally this weekend I will be taking a trip to London to see my good friend Adam Alexander in his first professional show and I am sure he will be fantastic. No doubt however I will be sharing the experience with you all next week. I hope this has brought you all up to speed with things and hopefully I shall speak to you before too long. Ciao for now!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Saturday, 16 October 2010
Week 2 of Rehearsals
So, the second week of rehearsals is over for our first project of the year and suddenly it's beginning to take shape. The cast has been broken off into little sections and assigned tasks to devise various different scenes by Jemma and I have to say, I am pleased with what I have been assigned to do.
When we were interviewed before being cast in the pieces, I explained to Jemma that I felt I was strongest when presented with a character and text to work with although also stressed that I was not adverse to attempting new things. I was very surprised then when she cast me in her piece which had been essentially plugged to us as being more physical theatre based.
This week however it has become pretty clear why. Throughout the rehearsal process, the cast has been gathering various bits of research from the general public for use in the Verbatim Theatre aspect of the piece, all of which myself and Charlotte Brind have been left in charge of.
We will be using all of the research as a basis to create different characters and then use the research to create various scenes to present what it is we have discovered. I can't tell you much more than that but if it intrigues you enough then feel free to come along on the 31st October to the University of Northampton's Avenue Campus to see the show. (The time is yet to be confirmed but will be posted on my website as soon as it has been).
As well as all of that there have been other pieces of devising going on, heavily influenced by dance (with a bit of New Zealand-esque intimidation thrown in here and there). We are half way through the rehearsal process now which also adds some level of "woah-factor" to the whole thing but at least I now see where it is going.
Hopefully, the next instalment of this "Rehearsal Journal" will be posted around the same time next week so keep your eyes peeled!
When we were interviewed before being cast in the pieces, I explained to Jemma that I felt I was strongest when presented with a character and text to work with although also stressed that I was not adverse to attempting new things. I was very surprised then when she cast me in her piece which had been essentially plugged to us as being more physical theatre based.
This week however it has become pretty clear why. Throughout the rehearsal process, the cast has been gathering various bits of research from the general public for use in the Verbatim Theatre aspect of the piece, all of which myself and Charlotte Brind have been left in charge of.
We will be using all of the research as a basis to create different characters and then use the research to create various scenes to present what it is we have discovered. I can't tell you much more than that but if it intrigues you enough then feel free to come along on the 31st October to the University of Northampton's Avenue Campus to see the show. (The time is yet to be confirmed but will be posted on my website as soon as it has been).
As well as all of that there have been other pieces of devising going on, heavily influenced by dance (with a bit of New Zealand-esque intimidation thrown in here and there). We are half way through the rehearsal process now which also adds some level of "woah-factor" to the whole thing but at least I now see where it is going.
Hopefully, the next instalment of this "Rehearsal Journal" will be posted around the same time next week so keep your eyes peeled!
Location:Birmingham,United Kingdom
Docked and Loaded
Today, I have returned to Birmingham for the weekend to visit the family and en route home decided it was time to make a purchase that I had been waiting a small while to make.
I ventured, for the first time into the Apple Store in the Birmingham City Centre. Yes, despite me being the proud owner of an iPhone and iPad, I had yet to visit one. Anyhow, I entered the building and it was heaving almost to the point of being chaotic, which for some reason I had not quite expected. Members of staff donning their blue t-shirts were weaving in and out of customers, wielding new iPod Nanos and the like. Before long I suddenly felt myself morphing into some form of Apple Fan-boy, which made me feel incredibly uneasy. I will openly admit that I like what it is that Apple do, however I like to believe that all my opinions on their decisions and methods are not irrational and yet there I was eyeing up the iMacs as well as the new Nano (which the novelty driven side of my brain thinks would be a rather swish wrist watch).
But what I had entered the store for was neither of these things. I wanted the keyboard dock for my iPad and so, I purchased it. Right now I am sitting at the dining room table (aka 'Wayne's Office' when I'm visiting the parents) typing this blog post upon it, and I have to say I very much like it. It is somewhat smaller than I had initially expected but in a very good way. It doesn't seem to intrude on the sleekness of the iPad in the slightest, in fact I would go so far as to say that in some ways it very much adds another level of class to the device, making it seem very much like a very swish desktop computer.
It is quite clear to me that in some ways, the iPad + Keyboard Dock combination could very much be the test for the next logical step in Apple's master plan, the touch screen iMac, and I have to say, despite my scepticism of going between touching the keyboard and the screen, it works surprisingly well and is almost effortless.
The only thing now that will make the iPad a perfect working tool for me will be the inclusion of multi-tasking and printing, all of which are on their way in the next iOS update (4.2) due next month (I just wish they'd hurry up about it, I'm like a child waiting for his new toy)!
All in all, if you are considering getting the keyboard dock for your iPad, I very much recommend.
I ventured, for the first time into the Apple Store in the Birmingham City Centre. Yes, despite me being the proud owner of an iPhone and iPad, I had yet to visit one. Anyhow, I entered the building and it was heaving almost to the point of being chaotic, which for some reason I had not quite expected. Members of staff donning their blue t-shirts were weaving in and out of customers, wielding new iPod Nanos and the like. Before long I suddenly felt myself morphing into some form of Apple Fan-boy, which made me feel incredibly uneasy. I will openly admit that I like what it is that Apple do, however I like to believe that all my opinions on their decisions and methods are not irrational and yet there I was eyeing up the iMacs as well as the new Nano (which the novelty driven side of my brain thinks would be a rather swish wrist watch).
But what I had entered the store for was neither of these things. I wanted the keyboard dock for my iPad and so, I purchased it. Right now I am sitting at the dining room table (aka 'Wayne's Office' when I'm visiting the parents) typing this blog post upon it, and I have to say I very much like it. It is somewhat smaller than I had initially expected but in a very good way. It doesn't seem to intrude on the sleekness of the iPad in the slightest, in fact I would go so far as to say that in some ways it very much adds another level of class to the device, making it seem very much like a very swish desktop computer.
It is quite clear to me that in some ways, the iPad + Keyboard Dock combination could very much be the test for the next logical step in Apple's master plan, the touch screen iMac, and I have to say, despite my scepticism of going between touching the keyboard and the screen, it works surprisingly well and is almost effortless.
The only thing now that will make the iPad a perfect working tool for me will be the inclusion of multi-tasking and printing, all of which are on their way in the next iOS update (4.2) due next month (I just wish they'd hurry up about it, I'm like a child waiting for his new toy)!
All in all, if you are considering getting the keyboard dock for your iPad, I very much recommend.
Location:Birmingham,United Kingdom
Wednesday, 6 October 2010
Success is not the result of spontaneous combustion. You must first set yourself on fire.
Rehearsals have begun for our latest project, the first of many shows that we will be putting on in our final year of training. At the present moment it is in very early stages of rehearsal, having completed only day two today, but already it has the potential to be very interesting.
The production is going to be a purely devised piece looking at the psychological and social aspects of binge drinking in the UK and is being artistically directed by Jemma McDonnell of The Paper Birds Theatre Company. Naturally due to the way the piece is going to be created we do not know exactly what shape the show will take by the end, although there are several ideas floating around as we speak. My intention is to post some sort of rehearsal journal on my website every week just to summarise the direction in which things have gone so keep an eye open for that.
Also before Christmas we will be producing and performing some small-scale applied theatre shows within the Northampton area more details of which I will share with you all as news comes to me. Also the second half of this term will also see the commencement of our Industry Preparation module in which effectively we are educated specifically on the business side of acting which I strongly believe is knowledge that can help to make or break an actors career quite drastically.
I'm going to hold off telling you any of the information for after Christmas for now as things at the present moment are also a bit sketchy for us too so for now the focus will be on this term.
I've noticed also that my latest couple of posts have been a little wishy-washy of late and not entirely thought provoking which is unfortunate as I like to help people really reflect on things around them and the way that things influence the various relationships within our live. Hopefully though before long I will find my feet again and get some more juicy stuff on here. However, for now, it is getting late and I have an earlier start than I am yet used to tomorrow so for now, I bid you goodnight.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
The production is going to be a purely devised piece looking at the psychological and social aspects of binge drinking in the UK and is being artistically directed by Jemma McDonnell of The Paper Birds Theatre Company. Naturally due to the way the piece is going to be created we do not know exactly what shape the show will take by the end, although there are several ideas floating around as we speak. My intention is to post some sort of rehearsal journal on my website every week just to summarise the direction in which things have gone so keep an eye open for that.
Also before Christmas we will be producing and performing some small-scale applied theatre shows within the Northampton area more details of which I will share with you all as news comes to me. Also the second half of this term will also see the commencement of our Industry Preparation module in which effectively we are educated specifically on the business side of acting which I strongly believe is knowledge that can help to make or break an actors career quite drastically.
I'm going to hold off telling you any of the information for after Christmas for now as things at the present moment are also a bit sketchy for us too so for now the focus will be on this term.
I've noticed also that my latest couple of posts have been a little wishy-washy of late and not entirely thought provoking which is unfortunate as I like to help people really reflect on things around them and the way that things influence the various relationships within our live. Hopefully though before long I will find my feet again and get some more juicy stuff on here. However, for now, it is getting late and I have an earlier start than I am yet used to tomorrow so for now, I bid you goodnight.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Northampton,United Kingdom
Friday, 24 September 2010
Once More Unto the Breach Dear Friends, Once More!
So, a lot has happened since my last post and if I'm honest, I'm going to forget most of it by the time I finish typing this out. First of all, I am back in Northampton getting ready for my third and final year of my training, which is of course both very exciting and very daunting. I've had the good fortune of knowing exactly what it is I wanted to do with my life since I was 11 years of age and it's something that I'd always dream of but never really expected it to come around so quickly. And here I am, after a decade of chasing my dreams, approaching the final straight. And then of course I actually have to secure a role which is a whole new mission in of itself.
I have begun my breaking down of Guy Debord's Society of the Spectacle and should not be surprised to realise that it is taking a lot longer than I had initially anticipated. The truth of the matter is, I am struggling to understand exactly what it is that he is saying. I was hoping that my A Level in Philosophy & Ethics would have prevented such an issue but it would seem that I may be out of practice, or that he is indeed far more advanced than I had ever been prepped for. Luckily, I am able to get the general gist which in itself is very helpful but ultimately not ideal.
Today we had our first meeting since our return to Northampton, discussing some of the projects we will be engaged in this final year and I have to say that it really brought a few things home to me. We've also very much been thrown into the deep end being informed that we have auditions on Tuesday and Wednesday with two new directors which means that the pressure is on. Luckily, I like to think that I work quite well under pressure and so I am not panicking too much.
I will hopefully blog again some time within the next week just to keep any of you regulars up to speed on exactly what will be going on, when and where etc. For now though, I have to go and hunt for some audition pieces and devise one too whilst I am at it. Ciao for now!
I have begun my breaking down of Guy Debord's Society of the Spectacle and should not be surprised to realise that it is taking a lot longer than I had initially anticipated. The truth of the matter is, I am struggling to understand exactly what it is that he is saying. I was hoping that my A Level in Philosophy & Ethics would have prevented such an issue but it would seem that I may be out of practice, or that he is indeed far more advanced than I had ever been prepped for. Luckily, I am able to get the general gist which in itself is very helpful but ultimately not ideal.
Today we had our first meeting since our return to Northampton, discussing some of the projects we will be engaged in this final year and I have to say that it really brought a few things home to me. We've also very much been thrown into the deep end being informed that we have auditions on Tuesday and Wednesday with two new directors which means that the pressure is on. Luckily, I like to think that I work quite well under pressure and so I am not panicking too much.
I will hopefully blog again some time within the next week just to keep any of you regulars up to speed on exactly what will be going on, when and where etc. For now though, I have to go and hunt for some audition pieces and devise one too whilst I am at it. Ciao for now!
Location:Northampton,United Kingdom
Saturday, 28 August 2010
"Hey! I'm getting The Stones here!"
So, it's been a while since my last entry. Unfortunately this was not out of laziness, it would just appear that the last few weeks have been rather uneventful and so I have had little that I think has been worthy of blogging. As such, this could potentially be a very short blog (but I guess we'll see won't we).
The title of my blog today comes from an interview with Mark Hamill that I was listening to a week or so ago. For those of you who may not know, I am a massive Star Wars geek and this month saw the long awaited Star Wars Convention known as Celebration V arrive at the Orange County in the United States. Sometimes I forget just how talented Mark Hamill actually is (most people only really knows him playing Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars Trilogy). It is easy to forget sometimes some of the fantastic voice work that he has done, perhaps his most well known being The Joker in the Batman: Animated Series of the 90's which he has reprised for other Batman related media also. For those interested in listening to the interview, either for love/intrigue of Mark Hamill or for Star Wars, you can find the interview here:
ForceCast.net
Also coming up on the 1st September is the next Apple Conference. Speculation is going on as to what exactly might be making an appearance there such as the next generation if iPod Touch as well as a new version of iTunes to keep people happy. There is also speculation as to Apple's new version of the Apple TV which I have never been much of a fan of as I fail to see it's point but we shall see if they do anything exciting with it if it is indeed revealed on Wednesday. But if I'm honest, the only reason I am excited for the conference is the possibility of the release of iOS 4 for the iPad
Now, iOS 4 was released a couple of months ago now along with the iPhone 4 but us iPad owners were told to be patient as we were told to wait until Autumn before our shiny tablets would be getting a makeover. For me it makes logical sense therefore that the iPad may very well be getting some shiny new features that are exclusive to the iPad. Here's hoping!
And finally, a few weeks ago my research book for my 'big project' of 2011 arrived in the post which excited me somewhat. However, my excitement was quickly reduced however when I realised that despite my A Level in Philosophy & Ethics, I did not have the smallest clue as to what Mr Guy Debord was trying to tell me. But I will just have to be persistent and hope I can decode his writing. So yes, to give you the first little clue as to what our piece will be about, the book I am reading is Society of the Spectacle by Guy Debord.
Until next time!
The title of my blog today comes from an interview with Mark Hamill that I was listening to a week or so ago. For those of you who may not know, I am a massive Star Wars geek and this month saw the long awaited Star Wars Convention known as Celebration V arrive at the Orange County in the United States. Sometimes I forget just how talented Mark Hamill actually is (most people only really knows him playing Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars Trilogy). It is easy to forget sometimes some of the fantastic voice work that he has done, perhaps his most well known being The Joker in the Batman: Animated Series of the 90's which he has reprised for other Batman related media also. For those interested in listening to the interview, either for love/intrigue of Mark Hamill or for Star Wars, you can find the interview here:
ForceCast.net
Also coming up on the 1st September is the next Apple Conference. Speculation is going on as to what exactly might be making an appearance there such as the next generation if iPod Touch as well as a new version of iTunes to keep people happy. There is also speculation as to Apple's new version of the Apple TV which I have never been much of a fan of as I fail to see it's point but we shall see if they do anything exciting with it if it is indeed revealed on Wednesday. But if I'm honest, the only reason I am excited for the conference is the possibility of the release of iOS 4 for the iPad
Now, iOS 4 was released a couple of months ago now along with the iPhone 4 but us iPad owners were told to be patient as we were told to wait until Autumn before our shiny tablets would be getting a makeover. For me it makes logical sense therefore that the iPad may very well be getting some shiny new features that are exclusive to the iPad. Here's hoping!
And finally, a few weeks ago my research book for my 'big project' of 2011 arrived in the post which excited me somewhat. However, my excitement was quickly reduced however when I realised that despite my A Level in Philosophy & Ethics, I did not have the smallest clue as to what Mr Guy Debord was trying to tell me. But I will just have to be persistent and hope I can decode his writing. So yes, to give you the first little clue as to what our piece will be about, the book I am reading is Society of the Spectacle by Guy Debord.
Until next time!
Sunday, 1 August 2010
Shhh...I am trying to stay in character!
So, yesterday was a day of two great milestones for me. First of all, I saw Toy Story 3 at last and was very impressed with it. I had been told before hand that I reminded one of my friends of Mr Pricklypants and I will agree that at times I suppose people could see the similarities!
The second milestone was what was most exciting to me. It was a day out 6 years in the making to visit my friend Laura in Stoke on Trent for the day! Very exciting times! And there will no doubt be another visit either from her or from me again before too long. Let's not wait another 6 years at least!
Also, the new version of my website is now completed! After several weeks of working on it bit by bit it is now live and functional, courtesy of my friend David. Although the gallery is not yet loaded up but shall be before long once I have chosen the photos to go in it.
For those who saw the old version of my website, I have chosen to take a more personal approach to the website (although I doubt I'll ever lose the moniker of 'Wayne Ingram: Serious Actor" from my peers, it's been around far too long now. But anyhow, the website is more designed as a central hub for my creative and online activities. Most of the features are still the same however, it is mainly the content itself which has altered as well as the way that it is presented. And of course on the homepage is my new Twitter feed as I recently decided to give in to the Twitter-frenzy after vowing not to. So if you fancy following my on Twitter then you can go to my website and follow me from there.
The web address is still the same:
www.wayne-ingram.co.uk
Thanks once again guys! Until next time!
The second milestone was what was most exciting to me. It was a day out 6 years in the making to visit my friend Laura in Stoke on Trent for the day! Very exciting times! And there will no doubt be another visit either from her or from me again before too long. Let's not wait another 6 years at least!
Also, the new version of my website is now completed! After several weeks of working on it bit by bit it is now live and functional, courtesy of my friend David. Although the gallery is not yet loaded up but shall be before long once I have chosen the photos to go in it.
For those who saw the old version of my website, I have chosen to take a more personal approach to the website (although I doubt I'll ever lose the moniker of 'Wayne Ingram: Serious Actor" from my peers, it's been around far too long now. But anyhow, the website is more designed as a central hub for my creative and online activities. Most of the features are still the same however, it is mainly the content itself which has altered as well as the way that it is presented. And of course on the homepage is my new Twitter feed as I recently decided to give in to the Twitter-frenzy after vowing not to. So if you fancy following my on Twitter then you can go to my website and follow me from there.
The web address is still the same:
www.wayne-ingram.co.uk
Thanks once again guys! Until next time!
Monday, 19 July 2010
A Rare Point of Enlightenment
I find myself to be a little old fashioned for a young man of 21, to the point I will frequently tell people that I feel I am old before my time yet I would not consider myself a "Victorian" man.
I use the word man only because I have gotten to an age now where I can no longer justify the term "boy". I have come to the point also in which I have entered what I believe to be a rare point of enlightenment which I accredit in part to my both luckily and yet unfortunately long summer break from university.
In certain social situations in my life I have always been relatively reserved, not so much in my nature by any means but certainly in my actions. I have never been what many would consider a "rebel". While this has done me well so far in my life it has certainly not given me many legendary stories within my life and in some ways I sometimes feel that my youth was wasted.
But now I am looking to my future that my time should be devoted purely to what it is I love. Many of these are obvious; friends, family and my chosen career and main vehicle of my creativity that is my acting. But there are also those which are less obvious to some. Perhaps one of these less obvious passions is my love for deep, rich stories.
There was a time when I would read at least a chapter of my current book once, every night before I went to sleep, a practice that progressively disappeared as my love for watching a film a night began to take over and which itself has since been taken over by my "night person" nature of being most productive only after ten at night.
But now I have realised just how much I am missing, looking to engage myself once again into a story not of this world. It should be noted that I have no interest (at least in terms of fictional novels) in reading about modern day characters with mundane lives interrupted by some bizarre event that pulls them out of their comfort zone, or worse still a recycled version of the same love story format that has saturated the creative world or indeed more specifically the romance genre.
Those who know me well enough will know that I am interest in the magical and unearthly, the stories that could be easily mistaken for legends of old. My love for these stories is almost childlike and I am aware that it is certainly not shared by all although by the same token their are indeed many that will share my enthusiasm.
My enlightenment has come not only with my desire to explore the fantastical worlds but also with the intention of getting lost in the life long desire of the literary creation of my own fantasy realm.
I use the word man only because I have gotten to an age now where I can no longer justify the term "boy". I have come to the point also in which I have entered what I believe to be a rare point of enlightenment which I accredit in part to my both luckily and yet unfortunately long summer break from university.
In certain social situations in my life I have always been relatively reserved, not so much in my nature by any means but certainly in my actions. I have never been what many would consider a "rebel". While this has done me well so far in my life it has certainly not given me many legendary stories within my life and in some ways I sometimes feel that my youth was wasted.
But now I am looking to my future that my time should be devoted purely to what it is I love. Many of these are obvious; friends, family and my chosen career and main vehicle of my creativity that is my acting. But there are also those which are less obvious to some. Perhaps one of these less obvious passions is my love for deep, rich stories.
There was a time when I would read at least a chapter of my current book once, every night before I went to sleep, a practice that progressively disappeared as my love for watching a film a night began to take over and which itself has since been taken over by my "night person" nature of being most productive only after ten at night.
But now I have realised just how much I am missing, looking to engage myself once again into a story not of this world. It should be noted that I have no interest (at least in terms of fictional novels) in reading about modern day characters with mundane lives interrupted by some bizarre event that pulls them out of their comfort zone, or worse still a recycled version of the same love story format that has saturated the creative world or indeed more specifically the romance genre.
Those who know me well enough will know that I am interest in the magical and unearthly, the stories that could be easily mistaken for legends of old. My love for these stories is almost childlike and I am aware that it is certainly not shared by all although by the same token their are indeed many that will share my enthusiasm.
My enlightenment has come not only with my desire to explore the fantastical worlds but also with the intention of getting lost in the life long desire of the literary creation of my own fantasy realm.
Thursday, 15 July 2010
Is Geek the New Cool?
One thing that I have noticed in the last couple of years is that progressively being a geek has become much more socially acceptable. At first I wondered whether or not it was because I had begun my adventure into university life, where there is a considerably smaller popularity contest but then I began to notice it when I returned home too. And then I thought, well, I'm older now, people don't care about how they are perceived quite as much when they are older. I then noticed that it was inherent in my younger sister and the circle of friends we share. But hey, maybe I'm being overly optimistic.
Yes, I am a geek. A self confessed geek. But you know what, I am proud. I am a creative mind and being a geek allows me to express that to the full whilst using what ever talent flows through my blood. That is of course not to say that those who are not geeks cannot possibly be creative. Quite the contrary, it is just that geekiness compliments my style. Anyways I am rambling.
Now, I have been a geek since as long as I can remember, and yes, I was bullied at school. Not so much in primary school, because quite frankly everyone was a geek at that age, but as soon as you enter senior school you are expected to be "cool". It's quite dog eat dog. If you are not cool you will be bullied for your nonconformist ways. Eventually I began to suppress my inner geek and tried being what I was not, and never will be...cool. Oh, how hellish those days were. But before this blog gets depressing...there is a silver lining. I woke up one morning and realised my destiny! I will forever be a geek. Ultimately if people were not willing to accept me for it then that was up to them! And I have been a fully confessed geek ever since. So anyways that was my story just so you had some perspective.
These days though, everyone wants to be a geek and these days being a geek is almost cool. This is even reflected in the media these days. In the last five years there has been the arrival of successful sit-coms such as "The Big Bang Theory" and "Beauty and the Geek" (which is depicted in the picture above). And this is just one example of many that suggests that the geek movement is on the rise.
There have been many theories as to why geek is the new cool. My friend believes it is linked to the success of the various film franchises, the example he gave was Lord of the Rings. Which yes, I can see his point but I'm not sure that it's the main reason. I have my own theory (which I'll get onto later).
I've since done a bit of digging around to see if I could find an answer and have found a few interesting, if not slightly quirky articles.
This first article explains why being a geek has become an attractive quality:
http://ezinearticles.com/?Why-Being-a-Geek-Makes-You-Attractive&id=4071002
and this next article, though focuses on a similar vein to the one above makes some very interesting points about the rise in geeky popularity.
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/22219377
But I am wondering why this has happened. Perhaps as suggested by the above articles it is because of the degree that technology has now become a part of the every day life, geeks have become the new handy men of our electronic revolution. Unfortunately my theory is a little bit more cynical (sorry guys).
You see, I have noted over the years that the majority of people strive to be different to everyone else. Everyone wants a quality that makes them stand out from the crowd, particularly young people whilst they adapt to find their place in the world. I am also guilty of this and many people who know me, know my distaste for people who like things only because every body else does. I can't quite tell you why. Most likely because of the point above. Being a fan of something with a small cult following gives you a quirky quality in some respects and gives you that feeling of individual identity. This of course is how fads begin, with people attempting to go against the social norms.
Ironically however, this has the opposite desired effect, because once those quirks are considered different enough to everyone else, some people will try to emulate it to stand out from the crowd too without fear of being rejected. (Human behaviour is an odd thing). Before long, what was considered different and quirky is considered fashionable and dare I say, "cool".
With this in mind, I present you with the process which has gotten us to the geek fad (or at least acceptance).
1) Late 90s and early 00s saw the era of the Chav though I can't really explain to you how it came about but it was a brutal and very tribalistic way of looking at things. If you were not physically tough or "hard" then you were an outcast and bullied. The only other way to redeem yourself was to be a rebel.
2) After a short while, the chav movement began to get negative attention and so people sort to distance themselves from it. During the chav era, the mortal enemies of the chavs were the rockers, and so naturally what better way to distance yourself from the chav culture than to join the ranks of the other side. Slowly the rocker trend warped into the emo trend. This also included aspects of the chav culture, with a focus being on being cool, and rebellious.
3) As well as this there has been the society of the jocks which to some degree was the polar opposite of the emos. The focus was on being masculine (for the guys) and constantly looking good and being into Indy Rock and old school punk, now that rock had become the mainstream. However once again the hierarchy was based upon how "cool" you were.
Now I believe that the geek culture has come from people attempting to find a new way of being different. If everyone is cool, then surely the most fashionable and quirky thing to do now is to be deliberately uncool. The irony of course being that that would indeed make you cool. Confusing right...but I'm sure if you've followed me this far you can handle it. Before long everyone has started accepting geeks and in some ways embracing their inner geek a lot more just to stand out and find that sense of individuality.
In all honesty though, I am not sure how positive I find it. I was always a geek and will remain a geek. I had my arena and everyone who is not a geek has theirs. But hey, I guess that backs up my point. I like the fact that I was a geek first! It means is did not jump on the bandwagon. But then if everyone is on the wagon then...how do you tell who was here first, because of course everyone else will want to claim the wagon for themselves. But it was mine and my fellow pure geek's wagon. Oh well. I guess I can wait for it to pass by.
I am aware that not everyone has turned geek...and that also I have made very sweeping statements about stereotypes. And I would like to state now...everything I have said in this blog is not aimed at every individual in society. Some people may have become emo's or geeks etc for very different reasons. Just consider this me thinking out loud.
Wow, this was a long post. Some will agree with me some will not. I just felt it was an interesting observation I wanted to share with people. I could be completely out but hey, that opinions for you!
Until next time
Friday, 2 July 2010
The Field Test
This week, I made a return to Northampton to move my belongings from one room in my student accommodation to a considerably bigger room within the same building. Huzzah!
Before I left, I made an executive decision to leave my laptop behind and take only my iPad with me on my four day adventure. I have had my iPad for almost a month now and have not really had the opportunity to really test it out other than just for chilled out web-browsing and computing.
Unfortunately, when I first got back to northampton the Internet in my house seemed to be having a fit, and as I hadn't forked out an extra £100 on a 3G iPad, I had no Internet connection on the device so practically gave up on the field test idea.
The following day, I was treated to a trip down to London to see Phantom of the Opera! We arrived, had lunch at Little Frankie's in Trafalgar Square and then proceeded to travel in the tube to visit my friends who had just moved into their new flat in London. Certainly cannot wait for my move down to London now.
Anyhow, after leaving them after several hours of joyous conversation, mainly consisting of "talking shop" as is customary with us we hopped back onto the tube, using my shiny new oyster card and proceeded to the West End, and more specifically, Her Majesty's Theatre. After having an hour and a half to kill, in blistering sunlight I might add, we entered the theatre. It was the first time I had been to Her Majesty's Theatre and was surprised as to how old the whole building looked on the inside compared to some of the other theatres I have been to. Don't get me wrong though, this is a good thing particularly because I like the antique feel that some theatres can have, plus the fact that it really added to the show itself.
Throughout the piece, I couldn't make my mind up what I though about the actor playing the Phantom however during the climax of the show he really showed his talent, completely transforming the way he moved and spoke. I shall not say any more than that for those who have not seen the show/film as to not ruin anything for them. But the current show on in the West End I would recommend to everyone. Definitely a job well done.
Anyhow, after the fantastic show, a trip back to Northampton to discover that my Internet was working, meaning of course that my field test was to be a little shorter than I had first intended. Never the less, I continued and found to be honest that the iPad fulfilled my needs quite well. I did not feel that I required my laptop at all during my short stay in Northampton. Of course I had not need to transfer files to and from my iPad which is a task which will always ensure that your iPad can never replace your normal computer, but then it is not designed to. Consider the iPad more of a "PC Express".
I spent the rest of my stay in Northampton moving stuff from my old room to my new big room, and rearranging it to suit my needs. I am one of those people that when I am working I need plenty of space. I would love to be able to afford a huuuuuuge desk whereby I can spread all my work out and move from area to area but unfortunately that is not likely to happen any time soon. My room is now split into two sections. As you enter, directly in front of you is my desk and all of my work stuff, almost like my own little office and then in the other half of the room is my living space; bed, wardrobe, shower and kitchen sink and cupboards. The room may very well be rearranged again after a short while of me living in there full time but for now I am loving it. But for now I have returned back to Sutton Coldfield to enjoy the rest of my summer holiday and to start getting some solid research going.
Until next time!
Before I left, I made an executive decision to leave my laptop behind and take only my iPad with me on my four day adventure. I have had my iPad for almost a month now and have not really had the opportunity to really test it out other than just for chilled out web-browsing and computing.
Unfortunately, when I first got back to northampton the Internet in my house seemed to be having a fit, and as I hadn't forked out an extra £100 on a 3G iPad, I had no Internet connection on the device so practically gave up on the field test idea.
The following day, I was treated to a trip down to London to see Phantom of the Opera! We arrived, had lunch at Little Frankie's in Trafalgar Square and then proceeded to travel in the tube to visit my friends who had just moved into their new flat in London. Certainly cannot wait for my move down to London now.
Anyhow, after leaving them after several hours of joyous conversation, mainly consisting of "talking shop" as is customary with us we hopped back onto the tube, using my shiny new oyster card and proceeded to the West End, and more specifically, Her Majesty's Theatre. After having an hour and a half to kill, in blistering sunlight I might add, we entered the theatre. It was the first time I had been to Her Majesty's Theatre and was surprised as to how old the whole building looked on the inside compared to some of the other theatres I have been to. Don't get me wrong though, this is a good thing particularly because I like the antique feel that some theatres can have, plus the fact that it really added to the show itself.
Throughout the piece, I couldn't make my mind up what I though about the actor playing the Phantom however during the climax of the show he really showed his talent, completely transforming the way he moved and spoke. I shall not say any more than that for those who have not seen the show/film as to not ruin anything for them. But the current show on in the West End I would recommend to everyone. Definitely a job well done.
Anyhow, after the fantastic show, a trip back to Northampton to discover that my Internet was working, meaning of course that my field test was to be a little shorter than I had first intended. Never the less, I continued and found to be honest that the iPad fulfilled my needs quite well. I did not feel that I required my laptop at all during my short stay in Northampton. Of course I had not need to transfer files to and from my iPad which is a task which will always ensure that your iPad can never replace your normal computer, but then it is not designed to. Consider the iPad more of a "PC Express".
I spent the rest of my stay in Northampton moving stuff from my old room to my new big room, and rearranging it to suit my needs. I am one of those people that when I am working I need plenty of space. I would love to be able to afford a huuuuuuge desk whereby I can spread all my work out and move from area to area but unfortunately that is not likely to happen any time soon. My room is now split into two sections. As you enter, directly in front of you is my desk and all of my work stuff, almost like my own little office and then in the other half of the room is my living space; bed, wardrobe, shower and kitchen sink and cupboards. The room may very well be rearranged again after a short while of me living in there full time but for now I am loving it. But for now I have returned back to Sutton Coldfield to enjoy the rest of my summer holiday and to start getting some solid research going.
Until next time!
Monday, 7 June 2010
First Impressions
So, after much anticipation my iPad finally arrived and I got go play with it on my 21st Birthday which was yesterday. I have since had a whole day to experiment with it and have decided to post my first impressions of it as promised. I would also like to note that I will be typing this entire blog entry upon the device.
The first thing I noted about the iPad was that it was somewhat a little bit smaller than I expected, however I think that works in it's favour as I feel if it was even sightly bigger, it could potentially make typing on the device a little harder.
With that being said, many reviews have slated the iPad's on screen keyboard as suitable only for short passages and note taking however I do not feel that this is the case. I have found that the transition from a normal keyboard to the onscreen keyboard used in the landscape mode of the device is almost non-existent and I can type at roughly the same speed as on a physical keyboard already. I do however avoid typing in the portrait mode as the keyboard is a little more awkward to type on, though not impossible.
One of the biggest criticisms of the iPad is that it is merely just a big iPod touch to which I say "well yes, but in most ways that's the entire point." one of the devices best features is in fact it's screen. I tested out BBC iplayer yesterday using this weeks episode of doctor who and I was blown away by how crisp the picture quality was. I would go so far as to say that it was as close to HD as you could get without actually having an HD screen. Also with the added screen real-estate on this device there is so much more that it can do that would have been impossible or at least incredibly irritating in the small touch screen of the iPhone or iPod touch.
One of the biggest selling points for me however is the portability of the iPad. As I have mentioned before, carrying around my laptop can after a while cause great discomfort in regards to my shoulders. The iPad however ways considerably less and is considerably smaller in size also. I have been saying to people since I started playing with the iPad yesterday that the iPad will become my new laptop in respect to having a mobile computer whilst my laptop will become my desktop computer.
Since I've been using my iPad, my laptop, which was possibly my last biggest spend before my iPad has been sitting, getting dusty and unfortunately very little attention except for when I have had to access something which I have not yet put on my iPad or when I have had to sync my iPad with it.
I do however only have the entry model iPad so am limited to 16GB of storage which is of course where my laptops main new use will be. Most of my personal data and media will be stored on that as well as my external hard drive, meaning that my iPad will remain a slave to it, and my iPad will have all the files transferred to it that I may need for my desired time frame (kind of like packing your bag for school the night before). So although my iPad will have over taken laptop as my primary computer, it will be more of an extension of it than a separate entity. I guess the iPad is (as far as my uses for it are concerned) Apple's response to the net book.
I do not yet know if the iPad is worthy of the often used adjective of "magical" but I would certainly accept the word "revolutionary" and "friggin' AWESOME!!!!"
The first thing I noted about the iPad was that it was somewhat a little bit smaller than I expected, however I think that works in it's favour as I feel if it was even sightly bigger, it could potentially make typing on the device a little harder.
With that being said, many reviews have slated the iPad's on screen keyboard as suitable only for short passages and note taking however I do not feel that this is the case. I have found that the transition from a normal keyboard to the onscreen keyboard used in the landscape mode of the device is almost non-existent and I can type at roughly the same speed as on a physical keyboard already. I do however avoid typing in the portrait mode as the keyboard is a little more awkward to type on, though not impossible.
One of the biggest criticisms of the iPad is that it is merely just a big iPod touch to which I say "well yes, but in most ways that's the entire point." one of the devices best features is in fact it's screen. I tested out BBC iplayer yesterday using this weeks episode of doctor who and I was blown away by how crisp the picture quality was. I would go so far as to say that it was as close to HD as you could get without actually having an HD screen. Also with the added screen real-estate on this device there is so much more that it can do that would have been impossible or at least incredibly irritating in the small touch screen of the iPhone or iPod touch.
One of the biggest selling points for me however is the portability of the iPad. As I have mentioned before, carrying around my laptop can after a while cause great discomfort in regards to my shoulders. The iPad however ways considerably less and is considerably smaller in size also. I have been saying to people since I started playing with the iPad yesterday that the iPad will become my new laptop in respect to having a mobile computer whilst my laptop will become my desktop computer.
Since I've been using my iPad, my laptop, which was possibly my last biggest spend before my iPad has been sitting, getting dusty and unfortunately very little attention except for when I have had to access something which I have not yet put on my iPad or when I have had to sync my iPad with it.
I do however only have the entry model iPad so am limited to 16GB of storage which is of course where my laptops main new use will be. Most of my personal data and media will be stored on that as well as my external hard drive, meaning that my iPad will remain a slave to it, and my iPad will have all the files transferred to it that I may need for my desired time frame (kind of like packing your bag for school the night before). So although my iPad will have over taken laptop as my primary computer, it will be more of an extension of it than a separate entity. I guess the iPad is (as far as my uses for it are concerned) Apple's response to the net book.
I do not yet know if the iPad is worthy of the often used adjective of "magical" but I would certainly accept the word "revolutionary" and "friggin' AWESOME!!!!"
Thursday, 8 April 2010
Perfect Timing
So last week I voiced my opinion on the iPad which I am eagerly awaiting and pointed out the 3 major bugbears that the media has with it. Well, in the last hour or so Steve Jobs has eliminated one of those issues with the iPhone OS 4.0 Keynote. From autumn onwards both the iPhone and the iPad will be one step closer to being that computer that some people expect it to be. That's right, iPhone OS 4.0 will introduce the feature that most people have been waiting for...MULTI-TASKING!
As well as several other features announced by Steve Jobs today this is the one which I think shall grab the most media attention and it now leaves us with only two major "issues" (which as I stated before I really don't care too much about myself) and they are, no camera and no flash. But let's face it, flash isn't coming and the camera will get here eventually.
Good times!
As well as several other features announced by Steve Jobs today this is the one which I think shall grab the most media attention and it now leaves us with only two major "issues" (which as I stated before I really don't care too much about myself) and they are, no camera and no flash. But let's face it, flash isn't coming and the camera will get here eventually.
Good times!
Friday, 2 April 2010
So...I guess it's about time I voiced my opinion
Since January 28th the internet has been rife with news, rumours, complaints and praise to what has been dubbed "a magical and revolutionary device." That's right, I am about to join the thousand of people who have been talking about the iPad. Unfortunately, my girlfriend, my family andmy friends have been having to hear non-stop about it from me so I thought maybe, if I mention it on here for all the world to see, it might just shut me up a little bit.
I'm not going to lie to you, I want one and intend to get one as soon as is physically and financially possible for me to do so. I keep getting asked the frequent question "do you need one?" and my answer is a simple one, "No but I want one," and I feel that it is the answer that will be echoed around the country and perhaps the world. Unfortunately, residing in the UK is going to really test my patience having to wait for the ever vague release date of "Late April" but I am hoping and expecting for details of the UK release and pricing to be revealed to the world either tomorrow on the US release or within a week from that.
So what do I think of it then?
Well it's not going to take a genius to understand that I love the idea of it (although I have not had the pleasure of using one yet) bu there is no point in me telling you "I love it...I love it...I love it," without backing up my opinion.
For those who don't know, I am currently a student and am typing this away on my laptop computer which I used to carry with me to every single lesson/lecture that I had to attend. This of course was great and convenient when I was living in halls on campus, where my lessons would be at most a minute's walk away, but then this year after I moved out of halls into a student house, my walks became considerably longer. My previous hop-skip and jump across the road with a laptop bag over my shoulder has since turned into a 15-20 minute trek from the town centre and it has been since then that I have discovered a major flaw in laptop computers. They are supposed to be portable and convenient which it is but it's not very good at it. I mean yes I can move it around my house with no problem and yes I can take it out and about with me to and from university but by the end of the day with that bag slung over my shoulder, they ache like hell! Naturally after a while, those achey shoulders became the curse of my day and now my laptop computer most of the time remains at home. So that would be point number one...the iPad is light and alot more portable and will literally be able to be taken with you everywhere what with it's A4 paper size.
But what about a netbook? Well, I'm not going to back myself up properly with this...I'm just going to say now, they do not appeal to me. For no real reason at all, that's just the bare truth of it. And for those who the iPad just does not appeal to for no real reason I say, fair enough. Anyhow, back to the iPad.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="485" caption="The future of computers?"]
[/caption]
There have been some major criticisms of the iPad. Some deem it to be nothing more than a massive iPod touch. I'm not going to lie to you, that is exactly what I thought when I first saw it and frequently told people who were aware of it that I just quite frankly did not get it. Then I looked into it and saw some massive things in it's future. You see that for me is where the appeal is...my girlfriend keeps telling me, "it doesn't do anything thatyour iPhone can't do!" and yes, she is right. Sort of.
I didn't have an iPhone at the beginning, in fact back then I didn't even appreciate Apple. I never liked Mac and I certainly didn't appreciate the overpriced mp3 players that they were selling (and to most degrees I still don't like the standard ipods). In the beginning however I have reason to believe there was no such thing as the app store. The iphone could browse the web, check your emails, keep your calendar and make phone call and send/recieve texts. I believe that was about it. But let's not beat around the bush here, with the introduction of new software for it, the iphone revolutionized the mobile phone industry. Since, many companies have tried to create touch screen "smart-phones" but they all pale in comparison to the iphone which has been one step ahead of the game from the off. I think this shall be the same for the iPad.
And yes, I am aware that tablet computers are not new by any means and that they have been marketed in the past and flopped. But Apple have made some decisions that no one else did. From what I have seen with touch-screen tablet computers of the past is that they have merely taken a standard PC operating system and chucked it onto the tablet. However such systems were not designed for touch in mind. The iphone OS however has been tried and tested for several year on the iphone and to great success. It was designed for touch screen interaction and so it is only fitting that software designed for that purpose in mind be used for that purpose. The old tablets as far as I am concerned were trying to put a square peg into a round hole.
Also, this may partly be because of my age when some of the previous tablets came out, but I'm not sure much of the world were really aware of tablet computers. They certainly weren't marketed in a way that a non-techy would have heard about it. This is where Apple are beginning to suceed where others have failed. Apple in the last decade have begun to make themselves aware to people who don'y understand computer software. Apple is not about what something can do, but more about how easy and simple it is to do it. (And I am not saying this as a fan-boy just to put it out there now. Until to years ago I was completely anti-apple.) So by marketing themselves in such a way, they have managed to grab the attention of the biggest market possible. The every day consumer, a market microsoft have tried and failed to tap into. Once they had done that, the pieces were set to make their move and turn a very niche and unsuccessful market into one that suddenly, every person may one day want to be a part of.
And the reaction of the computer industry proves it. Since January 28th (the iPad unveiling) several of the largest computer corporations have announced that they too will be releasing a tablet style computer. Coincidence? I think not. Will the iPad blow them out of the water? Who knows but if the iPhone is anything to go by then probably. At least for the next 5 or 6 years.
There are three main issues that people are also having with the iPad, claiming that it is lacking certain features.
LACKING #1: The Ever Essential Camera!
Since the birth of the camera phone in the early Noughties, most electronical devices worth their weight have had some form of camera on it. The iPad however does not! (SHOCK HORROR!). I just don't get why it is such a big deal to be honest. I don't need a camera on it, I don't want one on it. I have about 3 or 4 digital cameras across different devices and I have no need for another one. I can email myself the photos I need, download them from the internet or upload them straight onto the iPad using the camera connection kit that is an optional purchase, all of which (or at least some of which) will be a perfectly viable option to most people who will be in a position to want/purchase an iPad. Besides, do you really want to take a photo with a device that's bigger than your head? I don't think so.
LACKING #2: No Multi-Tasking
Okay, I can kind of see the issue here but is it really that big of a deal? Most people's complaints are along the lines of not being able to listen to music whilst doing other things. This is only partially true. The ipod app that is built in will allow you to do that, it is only the third party apps such as Spotify which will not allow you to do that. Also, the iphone OS is half-way there. Most apps remember where you were when you return to the home and once they are opened again return you to the last page you were on. Although I must admit this is not always the case. But also think about the advantages to not having multi-tasking. My main issue with my laptop is how sluggish it can get with the many many programs that run in the background consuming CPU as well as the CPU hogging programs I may have opened myself. Quickly I find myself sighing waiting for something simple to load. This should not be happening on the iPad with one program at a time. Also, one issue I have had when using my laptop at uni is how long I have to wait for my laptop to boot up (even from standby). Let's face it, the lecturer is not going to waste everyone's time waiting for me to load my computer up. With the ipad, push a button and slide a slider and I'll be ready to go, rather than waiting for it to load these multiple and once again CPU hogging background programs. Besides, if Apple feels it really is important for users to get multi-tasking, I see a software update on the horizon so is it really an issue with the actual device or just the software that could be changed?
LACKING #3: No Flash
Most of what I said about multi-tasking can be said here. Flash hogs CPU and if Apple feels that it is completely necessary then a software update will arrive but with HTML5 on the horizon and Apple pushing for it to become utilised by most corporate websites I don't think it will be an issue for too long.
So really, if the iPad doesn't appeal to you then fair enough, but if you intend to tear it apart with criticisms then really think about it carefully. Would it really be an improvement to have a camera, flash and multi-tasking? Maybe...but I don't think it would be a significant enough difference to make or break the product. My advice, think about the product's future and potential rather than what it does now. Some people may disagree with my and that's fair enough, everyone can have their own opinion but I feel that this truely will set the stage for the future of computing and I will be getting one and when I do, I'll let you know if it was worth the wait or not.
I'm not going to lie to you, I want one and intend to get one as soon as is physically and financially possible for me to do so. I keep getting asked the frequent question "do you need one?" and my answer is a simple one, "No but I want one," and I feel that it is the answer that will be echoed around the country and perhaps the world. Unfortunately, residing in the UK is going to really test my patience having to wait for the ever vague release date of "Late April" but I am hoping and expecting for details of the UK release and pricing to be revealed to the world either tomorrow on the US release or within a week from that.
So what do I think of it then?
Well it's not going to take a genius to understand that I love the idea of it (although I have not had the pleasure of using one yet) bu there is no point in me telling you "I love it...I love it...I love it," without backing up my opinion.
For those who don't know, I am currently a student and am typing this away on my laptop computer which I used to carry with me to every single lesson/lecture that I had to attend. This of course was great and convenient when I was living in halls on campus, where my lessons would be at most a minute's walk away, but then this year after I moved out of halls into a student house, my walks became considerably longer. My previous hop-skip and jump across the road with a laptop bag over my shoulder has since turned into a 15-20 minute trek from the town centre and it has been since then that I have discovered a major flaw in laptop computers. They are supposed to be portable and convenient which it is but it's not very good at it. I mean yes I can move it around my house with no problem and yes I can take it out and about with me to and from university but by the end of the day with that bag slung over my shoulder, they ache like hell! Naturally after a while, those achey shoulders became the curse of my day and now my laptop computer most of the time remains at home. So that would be point number one...the iPad is light and alot more portable and will literally be able to be taken with you everywhere what with it's A4 paper size.
But what about a netbook? Well, I'm not going to back myself up properly with this...I'm just going to say now, they do not appeal to me. For no real reason at all, that's just the bare truth of it. And for those who the iPad just does not appeal to for no real reason I say, fair enough. Anyhow, back to the iPad.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="485" caption="The future of computers?"]
[/caption]There have been some major criticisms of the iPad. Some deem it to be nothing more than a massive iPod touch. I'm not going to lie to you, that is exactly what I thought when I first saw it and frequently told people who were aware of it that I just quite frankly did not get it. Then I looked into it and saw some massive things in it's future. You see that for me is where the appeal is...my girlfriend keeps telling me, "it doesn't do anything thatyour iPhone can't do!" and yes, she is right. Sort of.
I didn't have an iPhone at the beginning, in fact back then I didn't even appreciate Apple. I never liked Mac and I certainly didn't appreciate the overpriced mp3 players that they were selling (and to most degrees I still don't like the standard ipods). In the beginning however I have reason to believe there was no such thing as the app store. The iphone could browse the web, check your emails, keep your calendar and make phone call and send/recieve texts. I believe that was about it. But let's not beat around the bush here, with the introduction of new software for it, the iphone revolutionized the mobile phone industry. Since, many companies have tried to create touch screen "smart-phones" but they all pale in comparison to the iphone which has been one step ahead of the game from the off. I think this shall be the same for the iPad.
And yes, I am aware that tablet computers are not new by any means and that they have been marketed in the past and flopped. But Apple have made some decisions that no one else did. From what I have seen with touch-screen tablet computers of the past is that they have merely taken a standard PC operating system and chucked it onto the tablet. However such systems were not designed for touch in mind. The iphone OS however has been tried and tested for several year on the iphone and to great success. It was designed for touch screen interaction and so it is only fitting that software designed for that purpose in mind be used for that purpose. The old tablets as far as I am concerned were trying to put a square peg into a round hole.
Also, this may partly be because of my age when some of the previous tablets came out, but I'm not sure much of the world were really aware of tablet computers. They certainly weren't marketed in a way that a non-techy would have heard about it. This is where Apple are beginning to suceed where others have failed. Apple in the last decade have begun to make themselves aware to people who don'y understand computer software. Apple is not about what something can do, but more about how easy and simple it is to do it. (And I am not saying this as a fan-boy just to put it out there now. Until to years ago I was completely anti-apple.) So by marketing themselves in such a way, they have managed to grab the attention of the biggest market possible. The every day consumer, a market microsoft have tried and failed to tap into. Once they had done that, the pieces were set to make their move and turn a very niche and unsuccessful market into one that suddenly, every person may one day want to be a part of.
And the reaction of the computer industry proves it. Since January 28th (the iPad unveiling) several of the largest computer corporations have announced that they too will be releasing a tablet style computer. Coincidence? I think not. Will the iPad blow them out of the water? Who knows but if the iPhone is anything to go by then probably. At least for the next 5 or 6 years.
There are three main issues that people are also having with the iPad, claiming that it is lacking certain features.
LACKING #1: The Ever Essential Camera!
Since the birth of the camera phone in the early Noughties, most electronical devices worth their weight have had some form of camera on it. The iPad however does not! (SHOCK HORROR!). I just don't get why it is such a big deal to be honest. I don't need a camera on it, I don't want one on it. I have about 3 or 4 digital cameras across different devices and I have no need for another one. I can email myself the photos I need, download them from the internet or upload them straight onto the iPad using the camera connection kit that is an optional purchase, all of which (or at least some of which) will be a perfectly viable option to most people who will be in a position to want/purchase an iPad. Besides, do you really want to take a photo with a device that's bigger than your head? I don't think so.
LACKING #2: No Multi-Tasking
Okay, I can kind of see the issue here but is it really that big of a deal? Most people's complaints are along the lines of not being able to listen to music whilst doing other things. This is only partially true. The ipod app that is built in will allow you to do that, it is only the third party apps such as Spotify which will not allow you to do that. Also, the iphone OS is half-way there. Most apps remember where you were when you return to the home and once they are opened again return you to the last page you were on. Although I must admit this is not always the case. But also think about the advantages to not having multi-tasking. My main issue with my laptop is how sluggish it can get with the many many programs that run in the background consuming CPU as well as the CPU hogging programs I may have opened myself. Quickly I find myself sighing waiting for something simple to load. This should not be happening on the iPad with one program at a time. Also, one issue I have had when using my laptop at uni is how long I have to wait for my laptop to boot up (even from standby). Let's face it, the lecturer is not going to waste everyone's time waiting for me to load my computer up. With the ipad, push a button and slide a slider and I'll be ready to go, rather than waiting for it to load these multiple and once again CPU hogging background programs. Besides, if Apple feels it really is important for users to get multi-tasking, I see a software update on the horizon so is it really an issue with the actual device or just the software that could be changed?
LACKING #3: No Flash
Most of what I said about multi-tasking can be said here. Flash hogs CPU and if Apple feels that it is completely necessary then a software update will arrive but with HTML5 on the horizon and Apple pushing for it to become utilised by most corporate websites I don't think it will be an issue for too long.
So really, if the iPad doesn't appeal to you then fair enough, but if you intend to tear it apart with criticisms then really think about it carefully. Would it really be an improvement to have a camera, flash and multi-tasking? Maybe...but I don't think it would be a significant enough difference to make or break the product. My advice, think about the product's future and potential rather than what it does now. Some people may disagree with my and that's fair enough, everyone can have their own opinion but I feel that this truely will set the stage for the future of computing and I will be getting one and when I do, I'll let you know if it was worth the wait or not.
Sunday, 28 February 2010
So, Why the new blog?
Well, I already posess a blog on my website in relation to my acting, but I do feel limited as to what I can talk about on there as I feel, and probably wrongly so, that I can not talk as freely about such a wide variety of subjects on there. Also, to those who know me well enough will have noticed that I have an odd knack for well... ranting and whilst having a blog already it may not be the best to do such ranting upon. Therefore I have decided, after watching a very interesting set of documentaries produced by the BBC that blogging more frequently about my general musings may be the next step forward for me.
I hope also during this process of self development that I also manage to provide some form of mental stimulation for those who stumble upon my blog even if merely to peoples amusement. I would however like to think that agree or disagree (as many of you will) I will at least provide some food for thought. See you on the other side.
I hope also during this process of self development that I also manage to provide some form of mental stimulation for those who stumble upon my blog even if merely to peoples amusement. I would however like to think that agree or disagree (as many of you will) I will at least provide some food for thought. See you on the other side.
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