time management is not a strong point

Well, it’s getting in to the last leg of the journey. The final push before the degree show and finally things are starting to make a bit more sense. I have a fair amount of work to show as an installation type dealio with different pieces working off of each other, and a fair amount of stuff not being shown, as secondary work, so although there’s the inevitable, I could have done so much more or better thing going on, I’m starting to enjoy it again and feel like it hasn’t all been a massive waste of time.

There’s no way that the last four years could ever be counted as a waste of time. I’ve learned more about life, people and art than I ever could have imagined. When I was in first year I remember this guy coming up to me and asking why I was here (ie art school) to which I gave the proverbial answer including something about a passion for art. He cut me off with a ‘no you’re not!’ and proceeded to explain that I was here to learn about life and to ‘think and live outside the box’ (nb- I hate that phrase) and he was right. In the grand scheme of things, I’m still a pretty normal person, and I still have a long way to go, but I definitely see the world differently and with a far more open mind now than I did back then. I expect a lot more out of life and in turn am generally amazed at how much it has to offer.

It’s got me thinking about wastes of time. I recently was roped into acting in a film, which took up more time than I would have liked. I had been really ill and in an attempt to ignore said fact, agreed to do some production stills in the morning. By the time I got there I was wiped, so when their actor pulled out at the last minute and they asked me to do a test reading, I didn’t really have the energy to say no. (I know it sounds stupid, but had I been a little less dead I probably would have thought rationally about it and been more reluctant.) I’m not an actor by any stretch of the imagination. By the last day of filming I realised something. I had learned more about the production elements of film and how a director should work than I ever would have otherwise. As well as acting I had stepped in for the odd bit of sound recording, camera operating and a second opinion, when asked for, on lighting. I’ve vaguely worked with film periodically over the past few years but never felt all that confident with it as a medium. Now however, having seen and been around the whole process from initial idea and script to end editing, and having had the chance to experience the filming part from the other side of the camera, I’d feel far more confident, and be more than happy to give it a proper go in the future (something that I think might be of great benefit, and I’m keeping in mind for an up and coming trip to New York.)

What I had first thought might have been a rather spectacular waste of time, turned into a very beneficial experience.