Editing

I'm an editor. I do a lot of editing for work. I just came out of editing for months on end, in a row. I mean, there were no weekends, no going home to rest. I'd been editing in a little room without a window. It had just enough space for a desk laden with monitors and drives and a keyboard, then my wooden kneeling-stool fits comfortably underneath. I didn't have a chair because they said it wasn't cost effective, but that's alright. Editing is its own reward, and the kneeling-stool improves my posture. There's enough space, if I push the stool out, to sleep under the desk. If I keep the door closed and the computer on overnight, I keep warm. It's alright though, I'm an editor. We do this sort of thing.

Did I also mention I'm an artist? Yeah, being an editor is the same thing as being an artist. I was being an artist just the other day, in my little room, bathed in the glow of my screen. I was cutting footage and it struck me, "Wow! I am such an artist!" I flashed back to when I first started being an editor, er, an artist...an artistic editor. I felt pretty cramped, pretty yucky being in there all day, but after a few days, I remembered that artists have to struggle for their arts. I totally struggled. My knees are now giant big tree knots. I can't really straighten my legs all the way out. How much of being an artist is that!?

Heaps I reckon.

I finished up editing though. I came out into the light today, blinking tears out of my eyes because the sun was too bright and I wasn't used to it. I noticed the world looked kind of square and pixelly, which is good, because that means I see differently to other people. That makes you an artist too, did you know that? I also thought as I walked home, "Gee, I sure wish I could cut this bit out and jump cut to being home. That'd be neat." As soon as I thought that, I laughed knowingly and gave myself a little high-five, because I realised that now I think differently to everyone else, and that means I'm an artist too. When I got home and greeted my girlfriend for the first time in months, she gave me a really big hug. She was super happy to see me. I was happy too, so happy I didn't even complain when my feeble ribs fractured just a little bit as she squeezed me. We had dinner and went to bed, but I felt like something was wrong. I tossed and turned for a bit but then it hit me: I'm an artist now, but my girlfriend isn't! I got out of bed immediately and signed my girlfriend up for some editing jobs online. There weren't many though, so I also filled out writing applications too. Writers are artists as well, even if they're not as good but, so it's alright if she's one of them.

It might be sad if I have to break up with her because she isn't an artist, but that's what you have to do if you want to be an artist. I am an artist already, so I have to do it. You don't have to be artist, but you won't be as good as me and other people who are artists too. I was told that's not rude, it's just the way it is, so I'm allowed saying it.

Boy, I can't wait to start editing again...does being an artist wear off over time?

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Polanski Can Suck It

RT @droob: Way to be a dick, film industry http://bit.ly/8te6u

What the hell? He raped a kid! He gave up his freedom when he broke the law. So what, just because Polanski goes on to make great films, he should be granted immunity? What the fuck does cultural significance have to do with a rape case? And since when was a film festival a sacrosanct holy land where the law doesn't matter? By their logic, footballers should be allowed to break laws if they win a superbowl a few times, and should never be arrested on their way to a game.

I'm sorry, but Polanski got to avoid facing the justice system for decades. To bitch now is a slap in Lady Luck's face. Now he gets his day in court, and if found innocent, then there you go. If guilty, he committed a crime! And if Scorsese, Lynch, Woody and the gang don't like it, they can pay for his lawyers and appeals - but don't stand in the way of your country's justice system, you arrogant fucks.

Jeez. I mean, who the hell said these filmmaking pricks were in charge of extradition law and court procedure?

Oh, and to top it all off, Polanski’d already pleaded guilty but fled before sentencing, while appeals are still open to him anyway. He's a freakin' fugitive by the very definition of the word.

R 18+ Ratings for Video Games

In Australia, the R 18+ rating for video games doesn't exist. If a game if deemed too violent, sexual or otherwise for the MA 15+ rating, it is given an RC (Refused Classification), which means it is banned from import. Anyone raided and caught selling the game will be fined. Most often, what happens is the developer edits and/or removes the offensive parts of the game and resubmits it to the Office of Film and Literature. If it's now clean enough, it gets the highest allowed rating of MA and ends up on our shelves.

Games that have been RC include most recently, Dark Sector, Manhunt, Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure, Reservoir Dogs, BMX XXX, Blitz: The League, and Postal 2.
These games most often were banned for violence considered too real, too connected to sex or shown in too positive a light (usually incorporating incentives for violence), however, you'll notice Mark Ecko's Getting Up can shut down because of its portrayal of graffiti. A fuller list of RC titles and their subsequent outcomes can be found here.

There's been a lot of outcry from gamers and industry folks who really, really want the R rating for games so as to stop the absolute banning of games. Similarly, there are those on the other side of the fence who are rather happy it's not around, as it removes unwanted threats. Instead of bitching about it in the dark, I decided to go right to the source - I emailed the OFLC and asked, simply and quickly, Dear members of the classification board, I was hoping you could please answer this simple question for me: Why do you not provide an R rating for video games in Australia? I'm eager to understand why, thanks very much, Simon J. Green.

To my surprise, I received a hard copy letter, mailed to me in the post, from the Attorney-General's Department, Territories and Information Law Division. The letter is a fascinating insight into the minds of those people who make the laws of our country, the very heart of the matter. I invite you all to read it and discuss what you think. (Names and contact details have been blanked for privacy)

Link to Page 1
Link to Page 2
or download in a .zip

For a big fat discussion and history on this topic, I suggest you read the excellent Cnet article Censory Overload: Games censorship in Australia.

Writers Cracking It

There's been two posts online in as many days from established writers fed up with the practices of those around them. I like it. I think the profession of writing is considered a little too loosely by a lot of people. It's something you have to study, practice and understand, just like any other profession. Just because you can write an email doesn't mean you're a writer...yet.

I Will Not Read Your Fucking Script by A History of Violence screenwriter Josh Olson.

On The Asking Of Favors From Established Writers by John Scalzi

A bit of grumpiness from people who I think deserve to let it out a bit. Enjoy!

Let's Tear Apart Fine Art!

God I hate the language fine art uses to describe itself.

During the festival, clusters of Kurono clones wearing pale blue dresses, black wigs and glasses will intercept iconic sites throughout Melbourne, climaxing in an imploding mass of dance, abstraction, poise and presence. - from a press release for a FRINGE event

What does that MEAN??
Clusters. Fine. Not too terrible a choice. Obviously it could easily be replaced by groups, but I won't chastise them for trying to be a little more creative with their synonyms. Clusters seems to try and legitimise the whole thing by using a term most commonly used in science and mathematics. Sometimes I get the feeling the perverted language they use does this a lot, that maybe they're trying their damnedest to convince themselves they aren't useless members of society. Same can be said of the word clones, used instead of impersonators or costumes or some other more appropriate word.

Intercept. Intercept iconic sites? Surely they mean gather or congregate at? How exactly does one intercept an unmoving site? Intercept means to move into the path of something, to cut it off from its intended destination. Maybe Federation Square is going to be transforming into a tan-tile-o-bot and go for Government House, and these Kurono clones will intercept and engage it in a vicious cock fight to take it down? Or, maybe someone's trying to inject more excitement into the proceedings than there actually will be...

Climaxing. People in cos-play congregating around Flinders Street Station results in the sexual, frenzied or very highest point of the event? Usually it results in a great deal of business people weaving around rather dispirited looking emos and goths sitting on the steps. Usually it's just annoying. Will the dancers be writhing around on the ticket machines perhaps?

Imploding. Mass. Why didn't they just use exploding? Imploding means completely the wrong thing here. It's so clearly an attempt to sound smarter, more pretentious. That's the root essence of this stupid fine arts language. It's as if they wrote the sentence in normal English, then flicked open a thesaurus and grabbed the third suggestion for each adjective or verb. You can't have an imploding mass of dance, abstraction, poise and presence. How does that work? Implode means to burst inwards. Will all the dance moves be focussed predominantly on thrusting towards the centre of a circle? If mass implodes, it sucks itself in. A mass of dance? That's an odd collective noun. Unless they mean it religiously, in which case, I see a Japanese bishop holding a communion that blows up and makes the church fall in on itself. An imploding mass of poise? Poise is equilibrium or dignified balance. For it to implode negates the meaning altogether. Presence? An imploding mass of presence - presence is such a passive noun, I can't wrap my head around how it would implode. Seriously people. Think before you type. Keep it simple. Say what you mean, not what you think makes you sound more intelligent. You just come off foolish.

Hire someone who knows how to use words, and you stick to choreography and having anime characters blow you backstage.

*note: any mistakes I made were on purpose and for sardonic irony, of course!

Hey Melbourne Comic Shops, What's The Deal?

So I've been toying with the idea of getting into comics, as in getting myself subscribed to a couple of books instead of buying the trade paperback collections every now and then. I wasn't sure how much they costs each and what's out there, heck, I wasn't even sure how it works exactly. To remedy this, I figured my best course of action would be to find one of the websites of a Melbourne comic book shop and see what the dealio might be.

I couldn't find a single one. Not one of the handful of Melbourne comic shops seemed to have a site. Please, if I'm wrong or missed them, link me in the comments ASAP.

I found it incredibly amazing and rather stupid that these stores, in the 2000s, don't have sites. What the hell? I mean, they've got it tough as it is. Comic shops don't do very well down in Oz - I mean, they could be doing a lot better, y'know? But they sure as hell aren't helping themselves by not catching up with the rest of the world, both business and personal worlds, and getting freakin' websites! Even a free blog or a freewebs page - sheeit, even a google or yahoo page.

Here's the thing guys - you delightful comic store owners out there - I was all like, "Awesome, I'm gonna give you guys money 'cause I wanna subscribe to books in your store, thus willingly linking myself to you guys as a customer for months, maybe even years!" and I couldn't even find you guys, couldn't even find a way to contact you, except via phone. I wanted to connect with you guys, but I couldn't. If I wasn't so damn dogged, you might've lost yourselves a customer.

Instead, I'm going to offer some help. My biznads, Green Rabbit, does killer websites. We even set up online stores and cool ways for customers to interface. It would be fun setting up some websites for these guys, so I'm a-gonna contact them and try to get them online.

Awesome!

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I Should Date The Internet

It's upsetting how accurately the Internet knows me, offering products such as this through my Facebook:


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