Week 3, Day home :'(

Well thats it, I have to go home, and so I shall. I said goodbye to my Belgium beer collection

and the crane. Picked up my stuff. and left.

Then I walked the 10 minute walk to the station in just under 40 minutes with my suitcases falling over every 3rd paving slab when it got caught in the gap (joy) I think I looked a little strange, people kept looking at me from their cars, HELLO give me a lift!

andyway, I got on the train and off I went (I didnt pay again HA!) and I was clearly looking out the wrong window last time I went into Brussels Nord station because to my right were lots of buildings which I saw yesterday, but to my left were about 80 windows in a row full of women in their underware! beckoning people in with their naughty naked bodies.

Then I got to the airport spent 15 minutes walking up and down looking to see if I could hide my 'handluggage' suitcase anywhere, but alas I couldnt, so I ust braved what I knew was to come. Now seeming as I was 10kg over on the way out, I was now coming back with more clothes 5 champagne sized bottles of beer and loads of chocolate that seemed to weigh more than gold. So if my 'handluggage' was to big I was probebly going to have to pay like £1,000 excess or something stupid. But he let me take my handluggage as hand luggage and my suitcase was still 10KG over but he didnt charge me. and my hand luggage was 20Kg so I had almost 3 times as much as I should have, all for free.

Then I got to the gate.

sometime later i was still at the gate...

and then finally when im sure 3 days had gone by,the plane for my 20 minute flight to amsterdam arrived.

and then I was in Amsterdam, and then after a few more days I was in bristol, and after that I was on a train that broke down twice. and then, then I was at home, eating chilli and drinking wine! WOO.



Fin

Week 3, Brussels day!

Well the excitment today! I'm going to Brussels to meet Matthias, and look its snowing!

and heres the back of a belgium street...in the snow

and then it stopped snowing, and then it started raining, and then it was sunny! yay!

heres a gate house of Mechelen or something, I was it on the was to the station

and at this point I realised that my damn camera battery was damn flat!

then I got on the train, but there was no ticket place, or man on the train, wierd. and then I was on the train and I had to get off at Brussels Midi, so I was waiting and then Brussles midi came up on the screen, so I though that the next stop after this one Brussels Zuig, must be Brussels Midi. Then all of a sudden The logo on the screen changed and it was all in french. and the announcments were all just in french, and Brussels midi wasnt on the screen and woosh, there was Brussels I could see it going straight past me as I was whipped out into the country side :|

Then I got off somewhere in the middle of nowhere and waited for a train back (still with no ticket) I got back on another train, off at Brussels Midi and found Matthias at the info desk a mear 15 minutes late, although I was supposed to be there an hour early if all had gone to plan. but nevermind. I found him and off we went into the exciting world of Brussles!

First we went through the christmas market (busy busy) and through to some shops, and then another shop, and then he took me to the town square...

there the town hall

each of these buildings belonged to a different guild, and they all have their different mascots on the buildings. Very pretty square.






There's me and Mattias in a giant christmas decoration.





there we are again, at a bigger christmas decoration.



here's mattius.



after all this site seeing we decided to go see some site eating. mmm Brussels waffle. with cream and banana.



WOOO! yummy

heres me writing a postcard :p

THE PEEING BOY!

and me with all the peeing boy tourists!

and then we went to some comic shops and some other shops and some animationy type shops.
and then... beer

and matthias drawing



and the peeing girl!

Then we went for a LUSH meal in a Art nouveau restaurant type place and it was good! I had a meaty beef stew with fries and a Kwack beer.

and here I am with my kwack. and it didnt 'kwack' me when I finnished it either :D

then our final stop of the night was at this old bar, something to do with a cave. Anyway, it was cool! full of real brusselsy people and there was a keyboard player for karioke! WOOOO. I think I laughed a little to loud at someone who was singing really badly at one point. but it was ALLLLL good. I had muchas fun, and we drank beer and talked (about what I have faint memories) and then drank somemore.

and then it was back on the train back to Mechelen, and I didnt pay again :D YAAAY!

Week 3, Day 6

What a great way to start the last day, drunkenly waking up at 10 and stubleing into the studio at 10 to 11. Bad tom. BAD TOM.

Well thats it then, my last day at work! :'( But I did get to sign a contract! and I did get paid for my rights to the work I did on the movie AND I GET A CREDIT! suh-weet! Bring on Easter 2007 I'll be wooping and chearing that credit... right at the end... when everyones gone :D

so what did I do? today? Well I did some more scenes, 67 in total now for the 3 weeks. WOO! It's been fun and tedious and then more fun. Or as Hilere said... A cheap way of working out timings befor the scene is given to the animator when it will be more expensive to get them to re time the scene :D. Well as long as they love me and remember me, I don't mind.

We went out for lunch today, to Pizza Hut! However I made the mistake of trying to proove my theory that Dutch is just English spelt wrong, by ordering a pizza, I even manged to get it without anchovies. However, I was soon a little less than happy when my pizza was brought to the table and I had infact ordered an Anchovie and caper pizza, but without anchovies. So infact what I had, was a pizza completely covered in capers. Now whoever the hell ate a caper, called in a caper and decided that it was actually edible and a form of food, I have absolutloy no idea, but I would like to meet him.
But on the plus side I did get a tanker of beer with my pizza so that was nice. Then I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to get rid of the vile taste of Capers that was repeating on me. BLEUG! Frederic gave me some last minute tips on the joy that is Maya, and tried again to convince me to take up fencing, and I have to say, it DOES sound fun! :D

and then, then WE HAD A PARTY. and I love partys, especailly ones with alcohole and especially especially ones with alcohol and cake! and this one had champers, cake, and crisps! YAAAAY! that was fun fun fun, there was music, and booze and GOOD TIMES. :D thank you Secret Realm :D... and then, then everbody left :'( and that was it, my last day at Secret Realm Productions.

heres the last time I saw my desk :'(




oooh and I had to take a picture of this staircase befor I left. its booooootiful.

and then on my way home I though, Ill just go check out this 'Christmas Market' so I did, and there were stalls with christmasy stuff, and stalls with food, and STALLS WITH BOOZE.



I had a look around and what did I find? A JAGERMEISTER STALL, love upon love and joy upon joy, a stall with jagermeister, and a jagermeister machine, and a jagermesiter man!



I was talking to the jagermesiter man, and he let me come inside and take a picture of the machine! A.M.A.Z.I.N.G! and It was only 10E a bottle! a big bottle! its like £25 a big bottle in UK, but I am so far over my allowed baggage weight I thought I best not buy any...

and heres some horses... oh no thats people...

Heres some horses... AMAZING

and then I went home, got the final beer that I hadnt tried to add to my collection, only to find I already had tasted it. doh!

and as I sat on the sofa watching 'The Princess Bride' again on my Lappytop, I though, well this is fun, but I'm going to go back to the market and try some of that jeneve. SO I DID, and I drank some jeneve, and then I tried some Gluwine and then I tried some more, and then the market closed booooo, I said goodbye to my new friends, and then on my way home, I spotted a bar, and thought, well it would be rude not to see it really. So I went in and tried a couple of beers, stood by myself at the bar :D. and then I thought well I might aswell go home. then on my way out, what did I spot? Why there was ANOTHER bar there, and another and another. Well I couldnt really not go and see just one more. So I went into this wierd looking one, and all the locals stared at me, and I ordered myself a Golden Carolus Triple.
Now obviously I wasnt thinking straight, who really orders themselfs a 9% beer at the end of the night. Well anyway... by the end of that bottle I was sleeply slummped at the end of the bar completely fascinated by the rocker bar man and his dad, who was also sporting long hair, but he had a full santa beard aswell. Then after I decided I couldnt actually sit up anymore, or ask for another beer due to my drunken numb mouth, I thought I best go home. and I did, but not befor stopping off in a builders porta loo on the way home.

Week 3, Day 4

SOMEBODY BRING ME COFFEE!

Well I got everything done for the Production Bible, but I am sleepy. So I shall drink more coffee, and play with after effects some more!

After work I stayed in the Studio with Jimmy, and we had a few beers and played wolfenstein, and then we went to some bars, woo! I seem to remember it being quite fun. I think I drank a few beers maybe and I am not quite sure what we talked about, but I remember it being fun. Oh and he told me about the most amazing drinking game ever! In pubs and bars in Belgium they have these massive blocks of wood, and you can actually buy nails and get the hammer and play the game! they actually give out nails and a hammer to people in bars. Somehow I don't think that would be allowed in the UK! :D

Week 3, Day 2

Well It's uber work time now, for me, not Secret Realm. No time to talk really.

What did I do, I After Effects some scenes up, and drank some coffee, and now, I'm going home to do some work likes.

Week 3, Day 2 - Red Carpets and Christmas Trees

So I finnished the animatic last night, and Hilere told me last week that he wanted to see some of the work for my film, so he could offer some advice. I thinked he liked it. He didnt stop laughting for a good while, which worried my slightly but then he said, 'That's absurd, I love it'
So I think he liked it. Then I got some good advice about 'classical cinematic approaches' framing and editing type stuff. But he said that It didnt really matter, as with this film we can do what ever we want.
Then I realised that we hadn't actually been taught any of this stuff, which is most odd.
Anyhoo, Below is the excitiment of the Christmas Tree hunt!



see? maybe they are public lavatories for dogs?











just lying on the floor! cast away? What life is this for a christmas tree?







.

so many Christmas trees!