Sundsvall update


All's well in the town of Sundsvall. Courses have come and gone : Comparative Media Systems and the harder-than-
it-sounds Graphic Design. I learned the very basics of Adobe's InDesign and Photoshop. Both horrible software applications. Don't get me wrong : they're a marvellous work of art ... in the right hands! I tremble by witnessing the full power of these programs. I'm in awe of persons - such as co-exchange student Keith Kornson - capable of taming these digital beasts.

What did we have to make? A magazine spread in InDesign, a photo collage in Photoshop and - as a final assignment - a brochure promoting the town of Sundsvall.

Last Monday, we started with the third course "Narrative Forms". The gist? Make your own movie! Something that's right up my alley. But first, we have to pitch our story. If chosen, the preproduction starts. If rejected, I'll have to join a team and help develop someone else's movie. Sounds fair enough.

Yesterday, we discussed the noble art of "foley". Foley artists create the sounds we hear on screen, from a tiny squeaky chair to a roaring monster. The lecture ended with homework : "capture sounds from various sources and edit them into a 1 minute-clip from The Nightmare Before Christmas". As it is, one of my favourite movies. As it went, a lot of fun! It's quite rewarding to hear a cigarette lighter substitute for a spark of electricity.


P.S. I live in a part of town called Nacksta. Wouldn't it be funny if Belgian punk heroes The Kids made a song called There Will Be No Nacksta?



Julian, 13 April 2008