Being a resident assistant is a great job at the same time as it’s a lot of responsibility. It means that we have access to every room in halls for a few hours a week although in reality we’re only allowed to go from one room to another. We have to go around making sure that everyone is ok. We check that all kitchens are in a good state and that people are not unhappy.
Fresher’s week is over and lessons start this week. It means being serious a little more of the time than over the past week. I’ve been patrolling the flats already, going from room to room and seeing lots of people, lots of new faces. This is an easy and a hard job. It’s easy because it involves little more than walking and chatting with people. It’s hard because occasionally you’re patrolling until the sun rises.
I’m back in England, at uni, in a new room, for another year.
Yesterday I made a phone call after writing an e-mail to see about getting cheaper accomodation through one method and it went well. I’m going to be back in London tomorrow, once I’ve finished packing all my stuff into a suitcase. It’s the usual good and bad. It’s good because although I’m leaving my skills are still in demand so there’s a chance I’ll be in demand when I get back.
The FIBA 2006 is over and yesterday was the day where I recuperated by sitting in the sun in the morning and editing a short video clip in the afternoon. Both were nice occupations to unwind from the past three weeks. it’s been fun and all that remains from this work is a highlights tape filled with cheerleaders. Next time I hope to be at the event in person rather than on the sidelines.
As I arrived home today, after a slightly more relaxed day I found that two tapes had arrived in the post. It’s the ones from the final fling. I still need to go through them and find usable footage. I’m going to be editing that over the next two or three days, depending on what the work load is for the other documentary. I’m feeling inspired, thinking of the logistics of the first weeks back at uni.
It’s the fourth day of the FIBA championship so it’s the fourth day where I wake before 0400 european time. I wouldn’t mind staying in bed a bit longer. I’m starting to understand the game better and I’ve seen that certain teams are far more entertaining to watch than others. On friday it’s a day of rest. My dissertation research is currently stagnating as I’m so exhausted by the time I get home.
Theorizing Documentary (Afi Film Reader) A New History of Documentary Film Television and the Public Interest: Vulnerable Values in Western European Broadcasting Documentary in the Digital Age A few of the books I need to get through over the next few days.
When mentioning smokescreen I always have the impression that it’s there to hide something but that’s the name of the student tv channel at uni. We’ve already been working on a number of things. We’ve been finding volunteers, preparing the logo and such. Last night I was working on the content management system which would be used to get the website online. For the moment it’s devoid of content but that should change within the next few days and weeks.
Over the next two weeks, I am working in part of what will become part of the new media landscape. I receive footage via satellite and edit short summaries to become video clips on the official site of the organisation. At the moment it’s not visible to the normal public but it is an interesting activity. As part of my dissertation, I have to understand where the documentary has come from and where it’s going.