Okay, so I've asked and asked but noone has any old skateboards so I decided to go ahead and try to make a tracking dolly without them: to be honest Im not sure yet how the 'track' part is going to work out (I'm thinking of doing an L shaped wooden track about 3m long). So far I've made the 'dolly' and added a couple of fixtures to retain the tripod and I'm really pleased with the result - it runs on small fixed castors which are a little noisy/vibey on hard surfaces but work great on carpet. When the track part is sorted it shouldn't matter what surface it's on as the wheels will run along a guided track, if all else fails I'll swap the castors out for something smoother. Total cost was around £11 and took about an hour to assemble - there are loads of video tutorials on You Tube (Indy Mogul is best) if you want to make one. See you Monday!   

Entries for the photography competition are coming in and I have to say I'm pretty impressed with the standard so far. To this end, I think I owe a thank you to Rhianna, Liam, James, Jess and Georgia for shooting the tutorial video - I did the editing and take full responsibility for the music! There's a lot going on this week in terms of the curriculum: Yr10 are in their final weeks of editing the sweded films, Yr12 start final pre-production for television adverts and the photography group are getting their final portfolio shots together for printing. Im still busy revisitng Blender and have started working in the 2.5 now that most of the bugs have been fixed - it's something I've been delaying for ages because I knew the transition wouldn't be easy! I think this week I'll also collate the online poll for video tutorials and start making the next one with Yr13. I have still yet to make a tracking dolly for filming but have been having problems getting hold of some cheap (ie FREE) skateboard wheels - I need 8 if anyone has any  

I just can't get over how inspiring it was having Stuart Wood visit last Thursday - his portfolio was incredible and his attitude towards how he got to where he is today is no less impressive; "I'm just and ordinary guy with an extra ordinary job" he said when I asked how he felt about working with celebs day in day out. He gave an interesting presentation and Im sure I speak for everyone who attended when I say that I could have happily stayed for much longer talking to Stuart about his work/career. He will be returning to Swanwick Hall to give media students a practical masterclass in portrait photography sometime during the summer term.

This week Yr12 are starting the pre production phase for their television adverts and have a whole range of products to work with, from Colemans mustard to Spam! They will casting for ads in the next week or so, so if you fancy being a star then look out for casting audition posters. Yr11 have started filming for their video production unit, while Yr10 are mostly in the editing phase - there are some fantastic films that should be posted on the KS4 pages before Easter.

I'm busy revisiting Blender (Start menu, Swanwick Hall School, media, Blender) in preparation for an AQA event in the summer - I've been asked to deliver workshops in 3D animation and have devised a workshop looking at Blender basics and creating an opener for a film - I'll post something soon so you can see what it looks like.

Well, thats all for now. Have a great week! 

This week yr12 students start their advertising for television unit and I have to say a big well done to everyone who completed their music video; feedback has been coming in via the website (from lecturers and teachers in other schools) so I'll be passing on those comments in lessons. I will be making a TV ad around school but would like some suggestions about what you think I should advertise.

Website has been updated with new content and the big news this week is the workshop with professional photographer Stuart Wood on Thursday 17th March in the vocational room. There has been a lot of interest already so please see Mr Crosby if you are certain that you will be attending.

In yr10 we have just two weeks to finish filming the sweded films, and just another two weeks after that for editing and creating a final cut (this is a rendered Mpeg). Look out for students around school filming everything from Harry Potter to The Incredibles!