It's been a long time since I've taken opportunity to reflect on my life's direction.  Although I had hoped to be back in the US by now, or at least globetrotting in some capacity, I remain land-locked. The momentum built up during last year's adventure is still there, however. Just trundling along amid other distractions.

The main distraction of the moment is the full time web-development job I seem to have fallen into. I'd normally be able to balance such a grown-up responsibility with everything else that's going on in my life, especially as the office is less than half an hour's commute away.  However, within a few weeks of my starting, I found my role upgraded to de-facto team leader - a challenge approached with the usual level of dumbfounded bewilderment.

Although it's a great opportunity to brush up on my PHP and Javascript skills, the additional responsibilities have been somewhat draining - hence the lack of blog updates and general life-living.  I'm learning enough to help spruce up my website and others when I get the time, so it's not all that bad.

The Seven Wonders in Seven Days excursion seems to be on hold for a moment, pending sufficient funds. Although I can't say I'm surprised, I hope we make it out at some point. There's been a lot of effort behind the scenes to pull things together, so I'm still along for the ride. (And it's nice to see fellow traveller Alissa popping up on Coronation Street recently!)

Closer to home, I'm still thrashing out CGI for 'On the Shoulders of Giants'.  Although I was a lot more productive prior to the whole gainful employment thing, I'm still churning out various scenes and monitor effects in my spare time.  In an ideal world I'll be doing this full time, but for now I do what I can when I can.  Now the film's coming together, I find myself rather impressed with how it's turning out, and look forward to putting together a genuine demo reel to flaunt my wares.

The movies I worked on overseas are also coming to fruition. 'The Breakup' has already premiered at the 2011 San Antonio Film Festival, where it received an encouraging reception.  At the end of the month; 'Amounting to Nothing' will be released to an eager local audience at the Josephine Theatre in San Antonio, hopefully to much mirth and merriment. I'm really happy for both film crews, and just wish I could be over there to share in the glory!

Sometimes you get the breaks. Sometimes you get broken. Life goes on, and there's plenty more opportunity ahead…

The first trailer for "On the Shoulders of Giants", the retro sci-fi film I'm working on, has been released - and I have to say it's pretty darn awesome! Spaceships, Robots, and a Theremin soundtrack: What more could my inner geek desire?

Although none of my effects made it to this cut, the trailer both looks and sounds great. We're all working hard to finish off the CGI effects sequences, and I have plenty of work to keep me occupied during the next few weeks. The movie is due to come out Autumn 2011, but we plan to finish the effects a few months before that - allowing for plenty of editing and tweaking to make them the best they can be.

As for my own future, stirrings are afoot that may take me overseas again - but things are too early to say just yet. I've always got to keep things interesting!

Place to B Productions are definitely making progress on the comedy movie Amounting to Nothing.

As well as the new trailer shown below, there's a new pledge page up on Indiegogo which we all hope can garner enough generosity to finish the film off in style. Shooting is nearly done, and production is well on the way to a Summer release.

If you're a fan of politically incorrect humour, this is sure to raise a titter!

Indiegogo Pledge Page

A wonderful bit of publicity for my good friend Sergio of The Darkness FX infamy. Although he only made it to the second round of Face Off; his time on the show has granted a life-long dream to appear in Fangoria magazine. As well as being featured in a recent issue, he's also been interviewed on the website regarding his time on the show:

"FACE OFF": Second Casualty

Proof positive that greater challenges are on the horizon.

This week sees the launch of Face Off, a new reality show on the SyFy channel in America. As I mentioned previously; Sergio Guerra, head honcho of The Darkness FX and my (informal) boss when I'm over in San Antonio, auditioned for the show. It was no surprise that he was picked to be one of the twelve contenders!

So, American viewers, catch the show on the SyFy channel at 10/9c this Wednesday 26th January, and cheer the big man on!

(For some reason, the blog decided to double post then delete this. Reposting.)

Place to B Productions has posted another clip from Amounting to Nothing onto the interwebs, along with a request for donations.  As with many artistic endeavours these days, there's very little money to go around, so production needs a few extra pennies in order to succeed.  (To be more accurate, a lot of them!)  From a purely selfish perspective, I'm kinda hoping it gets made, what with it being my debut acting performance and all.  So, once the Yuletide spend has been accounted for, I'll be putting a few pennies down myself.

Nevertheless, here's the clip, hosted on Kickstarter; a website that specialises in funding creative projects.

The guys over at Place To B Productions have released a teaser video over on YouTube, featuring an entire scene from their forthcoming comedy Amounting to Nothing. As mentioned previously, this is one of the films I've worked on, and the first I've had the pleasure of acting in. (Although I'm not in this scene.)

Although this scene is still a loose, rough cut, there are plenty of chuckles to be found. So enjoy!

It's been a busy few days for the Seven Wonders in Seven Days team. First, the mildly frustrating news that the expedition has been postponed by just over a week. For me, at least, it's not a problem as I seem to have a lot of free time on my hands right now. I just hope these few extra days will be enough to secure sponsorship and ensure everyone has a smooth journey.

In better news, I shall be joining fellow traveller Alissa Juvan on the radio this evening. We're going to be interviewed on Bradford Community Broadcasting Radio, so it's a great chance to spread the word and hopefully solicit more donations. Going back to Bradford is going to feel a little strange for me. I moved out about a year ago and didn't intend to look back. But life has a way of coming full circle at times and it'll be interesting to see how the town's turned out.

Speaking of donations, I am dutifully impressed with how much we have raised so far.  Since my inclusion in the team, we have seen donations treble. (No doubt due to the hard-working efforts of others!) The target is still a fair way away, so more donations are always appreciated!