Making a Quiver and Shooting a Recurve

    Its too bad the warm 60-degree weather this week is over, but in those two days I was able to practice with my awesome recurve bow that i got last Christmas. It's way more handy than my first stickbow, which has an 8-to-12-pound draw weight. My recurve has 25-30 pounds on it, and the weird thing is, it has a black handle with green limbs just like my first one. What are the odds, huh? Cool.

 

    This stuff is what i am using to make a new quiver. the wide piece is the quiver itself. The long one is the "belt," or at least it will be when i hem it and add two of the metal rings to one end. The drawstring is to put at the top of the quiver so i can keep it shut when i need it tight around the arrows poking out. If i make it like that, i can avoid arrow rattle. And in case you're wondering, the drawstring came from my backpack, where it is useless (until i took it off and added it here, at least). I picked this camouflage fabric 'cause if i was in the woods it would blend in, and its strong enough to hold my arrows.

 

    See that arrow on the far right? I got two of them with my bow, but I lost one of them. At least I have the rest of them The green ones came in packs of three, and i got them since they're especially long enough for the bow's draw length. The orange ones i got after i got my first bow. I call them the Fire Arrows.

    Here's a look at the full lengths of all of my arrows.

    See this one? This is my first and only orange arrow before getting the other Fire Arrows. This particular arrow is called Smaug, named after the dragon from THE HOBBIT. It's my favorite arrow despite the fact that it only has two feathers (the other one ripped clean off).

    This is the leather shooting glove i got in the mail the other day. It works fine, and hopefully won't be too small for my hand very soon.
    My goal is to work myself up with my strength and my aim enough so that in a some years when I get stronger and my recurve is considered too easy, I'll be strong enough to use a longbow! I've no idea when that will be, but I refuse to give up on it. IT WILL HAPPEN! I WILL USE A LONGBOW AND PERFECT MY AIM IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO! :)

In other blog news, I have completed the drawing of dwarves Fili and Kili. As soon as I can wrench myself off of Facebook I'm going to draw the next two: Dwalin and Balin. After that, THEN it gets even trickier (I love it!).

Filming, Drawing and Reading

    Ok, i got some stuff goin' on. First, i asked one my friends if she wanted to play the part in my film and she said sure. Seems natural 'cause she likes the woods. Hopefully we'll be able to film within the next couple of weeks and it'll be nice enough outside to do so.
    Yesterday morning i started rereading THE HOBBIT, picturing it the way the movie looks while i read it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTSoD4BBCJc&feature=channel_video_title i love this trailer and the production blogs. I even drew some pictres from the film, of Bilbo Baggins and Thorin Oakenshield.

    What do ya think? like 'em? I worked my hardest (about three days) on the one of Thorin since he's my favorite dwarf, and i did the one of Bilbo during English class, finishing it at home since i don't carry my better markers with me at school (i needed the right shades for Bilbo's hair and garb). My goal is to draw all the thirteen dwarves from THE HOBBIT. As you can see, I've already done Thorin, so that leaves:

1. Dwalin
2. Balin
3. Kili
4. Fili
5. Dori
6. Nori
7. Ori
8. Oin
9. Gloin
10. Bifur
11. Bofur
12. Bombur

I swear as soon as i have them all drawn, i will post them to one of my blogs. I have no idea how long its gonna take, though, but i will definitely get stuff figured out, like when i'll have a chance to do any of it and find pictures to draw from. There are soe details i can't reall do from memory so i have to do it that way.
    In terms of the book, i finished chapter 1 through a school day and i'm going read chapter 2 tonight or tomorrow. Its one of my favorite parts in the book, 'cause it involves three huge trolls who try to cook the thirteen dwarves, but they're arguing over how they want to, and the wizard Gandalf hides and mimicks their voices to keep them arguing ALL NIGHT! Eventually the sun comes up and... POOF! Turns them all to stone! :)

My Next Movie

    Ok, how does this sound as cool? i have a new tripod, know how to edit and work a camera, getting a cool editing software for my birthday and i have an awesome idea for my next short film, one of the ones i plan to enter for the judges for the Film Festival to look at.
    It's based on my book, DARASTRIX ARCANISS Book I: The Apprentice. it doesn't have a big cast since i will be using quite a few scanned drawing and downloaded volcano videos. i think for most of the actual on-camera shots, i will have them in slow-motion and there will be music through the whole thing, and text. For a few scenes there are voice-overs with pictures, which me and my buddy Nick recorded today.
    Only two people appear on camera as people, actually. Tajarin, a boy who lives alone in his father's cottage in the woods (I'll do him) and Gwyna, daughter of the King of a kingdom called Munton, who has always hated the fact that she must rule someday, and is Tajarin's only friend. Now there is one thing i still need to know in advance. WHO'S GONNA PLAY GWYNA?! I'm sure i can get someone near my age to play Gwyna but i'm not saying i'm sure who yet. i can probably ask a couple of the girls in my drama class, i dont know. I'll have to see. Luckily i have school tomorrow so i can try then.
    I need to know all this in advance so i can get everything ready before March. See, on my birthday March 10, that's the day it starts to get nicer outside and the snow has already melted. It will be the perfect month to film since the rest of the stuff i need on-camera is outside and i can't have snow in view. On the 10th i'll be filming a "RANGERS" movie with my cousin so shooting for Darastrix Arcaniss would need to wait a few more days, but i can get it done, shot in the fields and forests for less than a day, or afternoon. Looks like i got some major work to do.
    Even though I'm a bit bummed to not be taking Video production class anymore, i'm quite relieved 'cause this way i can go at my own pace and have more freedom of what i want to film. Now, I go by my rules, my time, and what i want to shoot without any deadlines until April (that's when i need to fill out some form for the Film Fest). Now that i know more about making films, i see it as an active and hopefully lifelong hobby, filming and editing, hopefully sometimes with some of my friends. I can't wait to see what else i can accomplish with this, what extents i can go to, and maybe in a few decades, work on a real movie.

Last Day of Drama and Theatre

Today was my last day of drama and theatre class, which is a serious bummer for all of the small, but fun to be with, class. We all gave heartfelt speeches in class, and lots and lots of hugs.
Even though its just the end of one class together, it feels like the last day of school or something. I remember I got the same feeling when the last harry potter movie came out, bummed that it was over but glad it happened.
Words cannot describe how close me and my drama classmates have all grown as students, as actors, and most importantly, as friends. I don't know if i'll ever have a group of friends who i'll be closer to and want to come visit more after i graduate. But now that i think of it, who the hell does? I know that i'm really going to miss the entire class, and i am forever grateful for all the good times we've had together, including HISTORICAL INACCURACY, and all the funny improv games we've done over the months.
:')

Postproduction on "Historical Inaccuracy"

Normally i would be talking on my video blog on my YouTube channel, but i don't feel like talking to my camera right now, and i want to type about some of the stuff that's been going on, some of which i have talked about in my past video blogs.
Taking Video Production class was probably the best choice I made starting senior year. I get to make films with the help of tips from the teacher, and ideas that I get from watching the movies and video blogs that Peter Jackson (favorite director, the best in my opinion) has made.
Since i got a head start on my second video assignment, i finished the editing on it shortly after everyone else started. i am now editing and extended version of the open assignment, which can be about almost anything. It is a short film based on a skit i did with one of my friends in drama class near the beginning of the year. We called the skit HISTORICAL INACCURACY. Now it has become a huge part of the first semester this year. We even filmed it together (i run the camera and play my role again, he has to be in it too, to replay his role), having an awesome and hilarious time playing two 16-year-old idiots. A lot of times when we finished shooting a certain scene, we would go back behind the camera laughing, saying "we're so stupid" :)
For the last few days at school (sadly for only one class period a day) i have been editing the movie, planning to make this the extended edition that i can post on Facebook, my channel, and show to my friends. After this version of it is done, i plan to show it in drama class since most of the cast members are in the same drama class as me. Plus, am going to make a copy and cut it down to eight minutes because that's how long the open assignment can be. This way all the footage will already be in order and edited the way i want it. the open assignment will just be shorter.
i have until the end of January, so i have time. But i still hurry because i want to get it done soon so i can edit a film i want to make with my sister over winter break.

Senior Year

First two days of Senior year have been good. Some people can't wait to get out of high school. Some like me can't wait to go back because we go back and see our friends, and go back to the place that molded some of us into what we are today.
Some of us are in no hurry to graduate 'cause we're used to what goes on in High School. Taking classes, seeing the students and teachers and going through a routine of going to different ends of the building every forty-five minutes, and learning new things in classes like the electives we choose. i can't say I'm not one of those people because i like it as well. Take me for example. I hadn't learned what to really appreciate about it until i was at my worst 'i-hate-school' phase that made me want to quit and lasted for nearly two years (freshman year not as bad). I'm not proud at all of being like that at the time, but in a way I'm glad it happened because it opened my eyes.
This year things are going to change, be better like last year (maybe better than that). I plan on making senior year my best, and i bet a lot of you want to as well, am i right? OJR WILDCATS RULE!

So far

OMG i went to Susquehanna with my dad today and helped unpack stuff for my sister Kaitlin who is starting her third year of college! :) It's good to see she's not complaining so far even though its only been a day. This time no crappy roommates are involved, living in an apartment.
I'm almost done reading the sixth RANGER'S APPRENTICE book already! I have got to keep working on these books so i can finish them before the eleventh one comes out. It's gonna be gooooooood.
Is anyone besides me ready to start school? Most of my friends will be seniors like me, and some of my friends just were seniors and are starting college. I'm proud of us, and of them, really. I actually can't wait to go back. 16-year-old me would probably lose his mind hearing that, but not 17-year-old me. I'm ready to start again and get back to seeing my friends, and take things like video production and acting. As soon as the school year starts, especially for us seniors maybe, things are going to change.