Give it Time in Yobi Film

This year I was awarded the 2nd place prize in Season 2 of the Yobi Filmmaking Contest with my short, The Geology Student. Season 3 began shortly after with a brand new set of rules, and a lengthier structure to get more filmmakers involved. Largely I hadn't been paying attention though because I didn't have a new short I wanted to campaign for.

In July the Gizmo Tree was voted into the preliminary semi-final round without my promotion or involvement, and now for the second time this year another one of my shorts, Give it Time has been voted into the contest without my help. It's taken an email both times to bring me back to the site to even check it out.

My stance hasn't changed since this happened the first time. I'm incredibly honored and flattered that people are checking out my projects and voting, but if I'm going to participate in Yobi Film again I'm going to wait until I have something new to share. I'm very proud of my previous work but many have already played a role in a contest, competition or film festival. I don't want to back-track at this point when I feel I can produce new work at an even higher standard (I just need the time to do it).

You can view my Yobi profile here. At the time of this post it hasn't been updated since I was participating in the Season 2 finals.

It's an interesting position to be in as the short could potentially be voted through without my control meaning that I wouldn't be able to compete with another film. I'm not really putting too much faith in that though, and mainly wanted to thank those who have been to Yobi Film to view my work and vote without me even knowing.

I plan on returning to Yobi, hopefully to compete in Season 3 with something new. Right now that's all up in the air. You can view Give it Time below.

Yobi Film Again?

After finishing in 2nd place of the Yobi Filmmaking Competition this year with my short, The Geology Student I have had it in the back of my mind that I wanted to create a brand new short to try again. To my surprise however, I noticed in my junk email folder yesterday that Yobi had sent me a message stating that on Sunday night I was actually voted as a Top 3 weekly winner with The Gizmo Tree.

This comes as a big surprise not only because I had made the semi-finals with The Gizmo Tree in season 1 of Yobi Film, but because this time around I hadn't even made any mention or done any campaigning for votes. This season (#3) of the film competition has seen a change in the rules to try to get even more films into the mix - and potentially even more films into the finals and going for the top prize.

I haven't decided what my approach is going to be yet. With the new rules I can still lose this round and then submit something new again in the next one. As much as I'm proud of my past work I think I'll feel more charged if I come up with something completely new - a more polished narrative short of some kind.

I sometimes feel like I'm not creating new videos anymore and then I remember that I am - it's just for other people now. I don't want that to be an excuse to not still keep the personal projects going though. So I'm inadvertently a weekly winner again, but I'd still like to get something new in the running. You can see the original promo I made for the Gizmo Tree below, when I made the Yobi Film Semi-Finals back in early 2009.

Yobi Film Results

The results are in - I just wanted to let everyone know that I finished 2nd place in the Yobi Film Contest. While not the top prize, I'm still really happy about the outcome and had my expectations far exceeded.

It's been a long process that many of you have seen play out on my blog, but even 2nd place feels amazing. In this case, I felt the first place winner really did deserve it so I really am satisfied to have made it as far as I did. The show of support was incredible and I owe that all to you guys. Your votes helped me outlast 38 other filmmakers, which is no small feat.

With the next season of Yobi starting up I think I'll take this summer to come up with a brand new, more ambitious short to try my luck at the top spot for a third time. First season I finished 6th, Second season in 2nd place, maybe 3rd times the charm?

Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you one more time for making the experience as memorable as it was. I'm actually very optimistic for everything going ahead in the next few months - including new film ideas.

With over 170,000 video views on the Geology Student alone it's tough to feel bad. Thanks for everything!

Please Vote For Me

Only 24 hours remain before the end of the Yobi Film Competition!

With over 2 months of promotion, more than 10 voting rounds survived, and 38 other filmmakers eliminated, I'm in the Top 2! It's an incredible accomplishment that I'm extremely humbled by, but it's not over until it's over.

Please use your email address to help me win by voting here.

Your last minute votes can make all the difference! This is for the finals, for the win!

Thanks for all your help throughout this entire experience everyone! Win or lose I have nothing but gratitude for all the support I've received from you all. Results will be announced Friday.

Concluding Yobi Film

To skip ahead and cast a final vote click here.

After months of voting, the seemingly endless weeks of promotion, and the incredible support from so many friends and strangers, it's come down to these last few days. In an international online film contest that started with a Top 40, I'm now one of only two filmmakers remaining. I've made it as far as I can without actually winning, and there's still a couple days to tip the scale in my favor.

I'll keep it simple, your vote could literally make all the difference in a competition that has been an incredibly tight race. All you need is an email address to vote. The contest officially wraps on Wednesday, May 26. Results are then revealed on Friday.

Your support and vote for my Yobi Film profile could result in a trip for me to check out the Toronto International Film Festival this year as well as a cash reward that would not only go towards supporting my future film projects, but would also help me repay the remaining portion of two of my student loans from film school. It's no exaggeration when I say that this reward could be life changing.

If you've found yourself visiting my blog over the almost 3 years that it's been around, I think you can probably appreciate just how passionate and committed I am to what I do. I don't take any of these opportunities for granted, and really do feel that I wouldn't have achieved half of the things I have without the support, motivation, and compassion of so many who have just wanted to see me do well or give me a moment of their time. I can't thank you enough, whether this is your first time or hundredth time visiting, it's means a lot.

Please help me complete my run in the Yobi Film contest by casting this final vote for me to win here. It only takes a moment and could honestly make all the difference. Thank you!

Top 2 of Yobi Film!

To skip ahead and vote click here.

To say the least I'm absolutely amazed that this has happened. I never realistically thought that a little film school short that I made several years ago would be in the running for such an incredible prize - a trip for 2 to see the Toronto International Film Festival, a cash bonus, and the title of Filmmaker of the Year from the Yobi Filmmaking Contest.

To recap, all this began with 40 filmmakers. Over the last few months it's gone from Top 32, 24, 16, and 8 filmmakers, at which point it changed into a one by one elimination until we reached the Top 2. I'm now one of those 2 filmmakers left.

To help me win all you need to do is use your email address to cast a vote here. It's that simple.

My focus over the last few years has been wrapped up in independent web-based content - random shorts, edits, or parodies. It's a style that's suited me well. It's a style that also doesn't take itself too seriously which I think has helped me a lot - it's certainly a huge contrast to the other work that's been uploaded. Some may call it a fluke, but I'd like to think that a lot of other people enjoy a cheap laugh from time to time too.

My competitor (and other half of the Top 2) has shown some excellent work; cinematic, polished, and inspired. To be honest I think I'm the underdog in comparison. However, I'd love to win, and I'd at least like to go out with a bang knowing that I did all I could even if I lose. You can help me do that by voting, spreading the word, sharing my link, etc. If anything, let this blog serve as proof of just how passionate I am about what I do for a living.

I want to thank everyone who has shown their support, who votes and continues to vote, who has given me words of encouragement, and so on. So many of you have made this so much more than I thought it ever would be, and for that I can't thank you enough!

It all comes down to this final round - please help me with your vote one last time here. Thank you guys so much for making this such an awesome experience!

Politics of Popularity

Whether I'm to be eliminated this week in the Yobi Filmmaking Competition or I'm to make the final two of the entire season, things have taken an interesting turn this round. After receiving a handful of negative comments both personally and on my profile, then realizing that the audio was out of sync in the highlight video recap for the round, I naturally began thinking that a few people were out to get me - and by that I mean just really wanted me to lose.

This has always been the issue with 'popular vote' contests as far as I've seen. People get their feelings hurt because the contest is really about who can best promote their work. I've experienced this time and time again where I've been sidelined - in fact, I felt this way in Yobi Film last year with my short the Gizmo Tree. I haven't discussed it much, but my choice behind pushing my short The Geology Student to the finals this year was as much about submitting something different as it was anything else.
The Geology Student was first made for a film class as a character study, and more than anything it's a parody of itself. It's campy, it's amateur, it's completely out of context - it's why I enjoy it so much. A bad educational film has never required less facts or purpose; love it or hate it the short isn't trying to sway or convince you of anything and in this contest in particular, I think it's the projects strength.

If this was the only film I'd ever made I'd better understand the frustration from those who I've played a role in eliminating, but this is merely 1 out of 100 other projects I've done. It's as much an experiment and test for myself to see how this short will do in competition - and so far, it's done amazingly well.
I understand completely why some throw their hands up in disgust (no one likes to lose) but like I said previously, this is about who can best promote their work. Individually, just like I'm doing now, we can all make cases for why we deserve the win, but it's actually nice to take comfort in the fact that winning here is pretty clearly defined - most votes wins. If you lose, you can sum it up to the fact you didn't get enough people to vote for you. Even if I lose this round, no one can say that I didn't make an effort to advertise - obviously. That is after all the point of the contest.

In addition to all this, from a creative standpoint the finals are technically about judging each filmmaker's entire Yobi profile. A platform that I've taken full advantage of by uploading over 10 shorts (massing over half a million views and counting). Anyone truly upset about The Geology Student advancing need only click my 'Other Entries' to see a range of other styles and edits that I've done. And hey, you've somehow found yourself on my blog, it's even easier to see what I'm talking about here - look around!

It's such a sensitive situation when you're competing with people that you can't even see. I at least put my face at the top of my blog so you have an idea who's writing. In any case, if this is the end of my finals experience this season I have no regrets. But, until I'm officially eliminated don't expect me to give up without a fight. Top 3 doesn't just happen by accident and I certainly won't apologize for it. In fact, let me instead say thank you to all of you who have supported and who continue to support me. This entire competition (win or lose) is just another great experience that you've helped me have.

I can't express my appreciation enough.

See my Yobi Profile here.

Top 3 of Yobi Film Finals!

To skip ahead and vote click here.

First of all, thank you to everyone who voted (and who will hopefully cast a vote again)! I can't tell you how happy I am to find myself with so much support in this film competition! It really is amazing!

The voting for the Yobi Film Competition has been going for two months now, and after making the Top 40 - here I am after all those weeks and rounds - 1 of 3 filmmakers in the running for Filmmaker of the Year!

I know I've been promoting my short The Geology Student throughout the contest, but as a finalist you're actually voting for my entire Yobi Film profile. This includes numerous short films that I've uploaded and my promotion within Yobi itself. This really is a huge deal for me - potentially opening a lot of new doors and helping me make a lot of contacts.

By taking a couple minutes and voting with your email address (no understatement here) you could absolutely change my life. If I were to win I'd get a trip to the Toronto International Film Festival and a chunk of cash that I could put towards bigger and better projects. Not too mention all of the promotion and exposure I'd continue to receive.

There are now only two voting rounds left before a winner is declared. It's so close that I'm really going to try and pull out all the stops.

Please help me spread the word, use your email address, post my link on facebook, tell your roommate, send an email, tell a coworker, etc. Any little bit can help and if any of you ever need a vote I'm there, haha.

Check out my profile and vote here.

Top 4! Yobi Film Finals Continue!

To skip ahead and vote click here.

It's very exciting to think that I now have a 1 in 4 shot at winning Filmmaker of the Year from the Yobi Filmmaking Competition! To make the finals felt huge, but to come this close to the top feels both exhilarating and nerve-wracking. Still, thank you all so much for your votes and helping me advance! This could really be a life changing opportunity just based on how many people are continuing to view my profile.

To help my streak continue, use your email address to cast a vote for me here.

Use your email addresses, help me spread the word, any and everything is appreciated and could help tip the scale in my favor. Thank you guys for all your efforts in helping me make the most of this incredible platform! Another wholehearted, thanks!

In the Yobi Film Top 5! Please Vote

To skip ahead and vote click here.

Things are really coming down to the wire now. When I first started campaigning for votes over a month ago, there were 40 filmmakers in the running for Yobi Film's 'filmmaker of the year' and now there's 5 - and I'm one of them! This is a huge honour, and just to have made it this far feels like a huge achievement.

Please help me continue my run for the win by using your email address to cast a vote for me here. It's quick and easy and could make a huge impact in attracting a lot of attention for my video work.

Also, the winner receives a trip for 2 to see the Toronto International Film Fest, which would just be another dream realized.

Thank you guys for all your help in getting me this far. In a tight competition like this your individual votes can really be the deciding factor. I really appreciate all your efforts! Use your email addresses to vote, spread the word, send an email, forward my promo video, tweet me - anything you can do to help is very much appreciated. Thanks again!

Yobi Film Top 6! Please Vote

To skip ahead and vote click here.

And then there were 6.

As these weekly voting rounds continue I don't have much to add, with the exception of another thank you. Your votes are keeping me in this and for that I'm very grateful - so again, thank you!

Please remember to click over and cast another vote for me this week to help me win tickets to see the Toronto International Film Festival (not to mention all of the continued exposure for my profile and work by remaining in the finals).

Once again, you can help by checking out my contest promo video - forwarding it, adding it facebook, etc. Every little bit helps and if any of you ever need a vote in the future . . .

Thanks!

Geology Student Promo Video

Here once again is the promo video I made for my short, The Geology Student, after making the Yobi Film Finals last week. If you have yet to vote, but would like to support my project, all you need is an email address to vote here. Thanks for checking it out!

Top 7! Yobi Film Finals Vote Continues!

To skip ahead and vote click here.

I'm very happy to report that my run in the Yobi Filmmaking Contest is continuing as I was voted through to the Top 7!

With this being the finals round, each week only a single film/filmmaker is eliminated now. It's great to still be in it, but the suspense also increases week by week. In any case, thank you all for your continued support and effort.

Please check out my short and cast another weekly vote to help my friend Jeanette and I win tickets to the Toronto International Film Festival. Click here to see my contest profile and vote.

Thanks everyone!

I've Made the Yobi Film Finals!

To skip ahead and vote for me in the finals click here.

When I uploaded my short, The Geology Student, to Yobi Film last year I was thinking that it would provide an alternative in the contest to all the overly-dramatic or stereotypically emotional work I'd be up against. It's not that I have anything against these kinds of films, I just knew that I wanted to stand out - a campy comedy short about Geology seemed irreverent enough.

Here we are months and months later and after becoming a weekly winner, advancing through the 4 semi-final rounds, climbing from Top 40 to Top 16 (all thanks to your votes!) I can now say that I'm officially a finalist in Season 2 of the Yobi.tv Filmmaking Competition - that's Top 8!

What happens now, which I didn't realize until yesterday, is that each week only a single film will be eliminated until there is a single winner - meaning 8 rounds. The votes are also reset every week so your support is crucial. Everyone can vote just one time for the entire week on a single film/filmmaker - I'm really hoping you'll consider me.

I'm hoping I can stick around for at least a few weeks to earn one of the top spots, but advancing this far is certainly something I don't take lightly. No matter how things pan out, I want to send my continued thanks for all your help and votes! Click here to vote using your email address.

Also, below is a promo video I've created to help promote my project and the contest. If you'd like to help me gain some weekly votes send them to the YouTube link here. Thanks again!

Yobi Film Top 16! My Movie Needs Your Vote!

Click here to skip ahead and vote.

This is now the final round of the Yobi Film semi-finals, the Top 16! Thanks to your votes my short, The Geology Student, has continued to advance in this international film competition. I couldn't be happier, and now I'm just one week away from potentially making the FINALS.

Please follow this link to watch my campy film school short and cast a vote. It's as easy as using your email address and only takes a minute! You only need to vote once for the entire weekly round.

It's starting to get a bit tense after making it this far. Even if I wasn't to win (a trip to the Toronto International Film Fest) just making the finals would be a great consolation prize. You can bet I'm going to be trying to pull out all the stops to search for the support. In a contest that's relatively small (with only 16 films remaining) the winner can essentially be decided by just a couple votes.

When I took part in season 1 of Yobi Film last year, this was the week that I was eliminated. I'd really like to try and one up myself by making the finals this time around. If you've got a moment, please click over and enter your email address to support my short.

Thank you all for your votes and support in helping me make it this far!

Made the Top 24! Please Vote!

To skip ahead and vote click here.

The Yobi.tv Film Contest is rolling along and thanks to your support and votes I've made it into round 3 of 4, advancing from the Top 40 to Top 32, and now into the Top 24! Things are getting more serious as this week's votes will determine whether or not I make the finals next week for the final round.

Please take a moment to click on over to my Yobi page to use your email address to cast a vote for my short film. You only need to cast a single vote for the week (the votes reset every week). In a small competition like this your individual vote could make all the difference.

What do I stand to win? A bit of cash, but much more exciting, a trip to this years Toronto International film fest - one of those things that every filmmaker dreams of seeing. This is something that my buddy Jeanette (the actual Geology student in the short) and I would take full advantage of.

Anyway, I'll leave it at that. Please consider taking a moment to check out my campy film school short and casting a vote HERE. Just by visiting and voting you're helping my work gain popularity (even if I don't win). Views for my video have jumped from 27,000 to over 50,000 in just the last couple weeks since voting began.

Thanks for all your help and support folks! It means the world!

Please Vote - Yobi Film Top 32!

Click here to skip ahead and vote.

I want to thank all of you for your help so far, because of your votes I've advanced from the Top 40 to the Top 32 of the Yobi.tv Filmmaking Contest! The votes have now reset and I need your votes once again to help me make it into the next round.

All you need is an email address to register your vote, and it only takes a minute to do. For someone in my position, your support couldn't mean more in further helping me to establish myself as an editor and filmmaker. Every little bit helps.

Thank you guys for all your time and effort!

Go here to watch my short The Geology Student and vote.

Please Vote For My Movie

To skip ahead and VOTE click here.

With the number of times I've submitted, uploaded, and promoted my projects you'd think I'd be comfortable with the film contest/festival process - at least on the independent/DIY level. In truth, I think I've just learned how to reason with myself to appreciate that the challenge has the potential to be a great reward in and of itself.

So here we go again with me asking you to vote for one of my short films.

Last year I uploaded my film school short, The Geology Student to Season 2 of Yobi.tv and in Week 3 of the contest I was voted into the semi-finals. With 40 weeks having gone by there's now 40 weekly winners, including myself, and voting has just begun for the week.

There are 4 rounds of the contest and each week 8 people are eliminated. All you need to do is click this link (or the giant banner above) and use your email address to vote for my short. You only need to cast one for each week.

They've actually simplified the process from last year, improving the page layout to keep you in the right place while trying to vote, so it's easier than ever.

The winner this year, besides getting a portion of the prize money collected, will get a trip and 2 tickets to the Toronto International Film Festival, which would be sweet. It's a pretty amazing prize!

That's about it, I'll keep things simple myself. If you have a couple minutes to spare it's easy to click over to watch my short and vote for me. There's no thumbs up or rating system, a vote cast is simply a vote to win.

Thanks for all of your help and support folks! As always, it means a lot.

Visit my profile page to vote here.

The Smalls: Filmmaking Site

It's my pleasure to introduce a site that I've taken quite a liking to in the last few weeks, The Smalls. With original narrative short films uploaded from a variety of users, relevant filmmaking content and tips, and links to other film opportunities, this is a site that I've found very easy to explore and use as a resource for my own independent filmmaking.

As someone who has tried to make the most of what the internet has provided for independent filmmakers, more recently I've been scoping out sites that (unlike YouTube) are focused entirely on narrative/creatively produced content. Finding a forum or forums to showcase your work is paramount to getting your name and work out there, and I've found myself shifting attention to smaller venues that potentially offer more targeted views. While many of these sites aren't the biggest or most popular, the people who use and view them are exactly the kind of people that you'd want giving you feedback on your films. For that, sites like The Smalls can be a valuable creative gauge to hold your work up against and challenge you to push yourself further.

I have yet to upload anything here because I've been too busy exploring others work (and just haven't got around to it yet), but I can see myself using sites like this as motivation to create a more ambitious and refined short film in the near future. I've been saying it for a while now that I'd like to see myself put energy into single project for a longer period of time to produce something on a more professional and somewhat larger scale than what I've done so far.

The Smalls is a site that was forwarded to me by a good friend so I can't take credit for the find, but you can expect me to be highlighting sites like this more regularily in the coming months. I hope to use this site to highlight my own projects very soon, and in the meantime I'll continue enjoying what others are up to - check it out for yourself!

Editing Luke in 2009

With the same checklist of ambitions weighing on my mind from years previous, the end of 2009 naturally leaves me critical about what I've done to advance myself over these last twelve months. It has been another great year, although not without its share of sacrifices to shed more of that film school debt and to prepare for a departure to a bigger city. 

That said, I have to have an optimistic outlook for 2010 - for the new decade entirely - because the change on the calendar represents a clear mark between the high school, university, young adult prep of the 00's and the young adult life, full independence, and creative career pursuit and fulfilment I'm expecting to experience in the '10s or teens (whatever we call this new decade).

As the clock rolls over find yourself another excuse to create something, share something, and inspire someone - if the new year reminds us of anything, it's that our time is what we make of it. Here are a few of the things that made my 2009 memorable:

January 2009 - Energized with the start of 2009 I began working on a portfolio preview to summarize some of my experiences. This clip was revised several times throughout the year, but the goal of showcasing my potential remained the focus.



January 14, 2009 - After finding the footage from one of my old film school projects I created a new short, Quirks (or: the Blurbs Behind a Lost Film School Project) as a stereotypical look/flashback regarding the creation of a student movie.

January 30, 2009 - Weeks of work with Stream Media resulted in one of the most ambitious editing projects that I'd cut for them - a four part series of promotional videos for the University of British Columbia, created using a range of impressive footage from a variety of contributors.

February 2009 - In an effort to complete the portfolio aspect of my blog, February saw a number of my older projects uploaded, receive official posts, and worked into my evolving videography layout - this trend continued throughout the year and subsequently inspired more creative ways to share my work with new video sites, links with similar projects, and the development of a new portfolio site by the end of 2009.

March 31, 2009 - On a return trip to Regina for my 25th birthday (also the city where I went to University) I took the opportunity to revisit a bunch of the locations that I had shot previous projects and reflect on what my departure from film school nearly a year earlier meant.

April 12, 2009 - Upon winning the weekly vote and entry into the Yobi.tv Filmmaking contest back in December 2008, my short The Gizmo Tree entered the semi-finals for the first voting round of the competition. By mid-May I had made it from the Top 30 to the Top 10, but was eliminated just shy of the Final 5. While the loss was disappointing, my involvement in the contest resulted in thousands of additional views to my blog and a surge of over 60,000 video views for the projects I had uploaded. Here is one of the posts and the promotional videos I shared during the run - click here.

May 6, 2009 - Using footage I had shot in 2008 I cut together a new experimental short titled, I Was Dead.

May 26, 2009 - My new short along with the promotion on my blog put me in touch with The Reel Skinny (a podcast and movie blog). Featuring up and coming independent filmmakers, I was interviewed by Patrick for his Off Screen podcast series - click here.

May 31, 2009 - Editing Luke celebrated 2 years and new promotional edits followed!

June 5, 2009 - In a surprise sequel to my 2008 short, Siblings, my sister and I had fun creating an impromptu followup - watch Siblings 2 (best to see part 1 first to get the punchline of part 2).



June 9, 2009 - I started a brand new job for a major website retailer as a copywriter and photographer. My editing work with Stream Media continued on a contract basis.

June 21, 2009 - After the conclusion of season 1 of the Yobi Film contest, I entered my short The Geology Student for season 2 and was voted into the semi-finals once again as a weekly winner - click here.

August 2, 2009 - My video views surpassed 250,000 - a quarter million!

August 24, 2009 - My friend Dave and I left on an incredible road trip to Indio, California from Alberta. In a single week we found ourselves walking around Salt Lake City, watching Beatles Love in Vegas, eating at the end of the Newport Pier by the Pacific, sitting by the pool in Indio, up a mountain in Palm Springs, and exploring the stretches of desert out around the Salton Sea. The project, due to how much footage was shot and my indecisiveness in editing it, has yet to be completed - but I assure you it will be.  I also put together a photo book of the experience. 



October 11, 2009 - I cut together a simple Editor Profile to highlight a few of my projects.

November 2009 - With increased pressure from 2 jobs, additional freelance work, and a new interest in refining my online presence, several new columns were created to make coming up with ideas easier. Intended to increase readership and encourage involvement, I've continued to search out others who are interested in contributing content to find interest on Editing Luke. This was also when the idea to establish a specific portfolio site came about, with Editing Luke becoming the blog element of that new venture.

December 12, 2009 - My brand new holiday short, We Two Kings debuted and attracted a lot of positive feedback (online views from Yobi.tv alone surpassed 70,000).

December 15, 2009 - Editing Luke is revamped and streamlined with a fresh new design and a simplified layout to make the content easier to access. With the new portfolio site nearing completion and elements of that design ready to be integrated into this blog, this month has really marked the start of an entirely new approach to how I'll promote my work online - click here.

2009 Overview
My total blog views grew from 29000 in January to over 68000 by December.
My total video views grew from 118000 in January to over 330000 by December.
Traffic both to my blog and for my videos in 2009 was greater than that of 2007 and 2008 combined.

This year has really allowed for some major changes in the near future. With the launch of not only a new site, but a new online hub for all my work, and a move later in 2010 thanks to the money I've been able to save, it feels like big things are on the horizon. That 'student transition' I've mentioned so many times since this blog was established is finally fading and I can see the fresh start and next step up on the horizon.

Put simply, 2010 is going to be exciting!

Here is one of my blog promos I made earlier this year - although it should now read 'over 400 blog posts' and over '300000 video views'. Things are sure changing fast.