First week

At the end of the first week |(admittedly lasting only three days) I am dizzy and hopeful and raring to go. But first some facts. There are 19 people in our crew (Crew 14, that’s us). Mostly blokes, and 4 women. We are a mix of age groups from 18 to 43, from various parts of New Zealand, a couple of Yanks and other assorted foreigners.

Our day will be from 8.45 till 16.30 with a one hour break for lunch. First day was devoted to admin, handing out locker keys and pc passwords and filling forms. We learnt about unit and 1st AD duties, which involve keeping the kitchen clean and completing the attendance roster. We were also handed call sheets, a weekly page that shows all events, locations and other information for the coming week. That way everyone knows where they have to be when. And we were reminded of the importance of being punctual, since that is the first rule of all film work: be on time or this is your last job. Just like a real film set ;-)

 On day 2 we were introduced to first concepts of digital media, line resolution and video formats. Factoid of the day: did you know that cats can distinguish 130 frames per second to the human ability of 24 frames per second? Not surprising that my cat stared uncomprehending at the screen, all she sees are series of still frames.

 Highlight of the week for me was a trip to the film archive. First we got to watch old newsreel on the big screen and touch actual 2 inch video tape and then got to spend the rest of the afternoon with the DVD viewing library. Rows and rows of footage right there for the watching (see above photo)! 

Lastly we were introduced to the cute little Panasonic camcorders we get to use for our projects, watched Some Like it Hot as an introduction to the Friday screenings, where we will all present our own chosen feature one day, and met some people from the NZ film industry. A good first week.

About to Start

Only one more week till film school starts. I am spending my time cleaning out the Mac to make space for all the new footage that will inevitably be coming my way. Otherwise I am trying to keep my head as clear as possible, see what happens.

The End

The day has finally come when we leave Dubai.

Moving to New Zealand is turning out to be a drawn-out process. We moved out of the flat in Capricorn Tower three weeks ago, with the help of Crowne - again, and after a serious clear-out. It will take two months for our belongings to arrive in Wellington after a journey by container ship via Singapore, so we decided to pack up early. I hated leaving our amazing flat and still miss the view down Sheik Zayed Rd every day. We spent our remaining time - until Stuart finished working at DIFX - living at Donna's house in Jumeirah, which also helped enormously with the editing of the documentary. Donna looked after us magnificiently, and we have never eaten so well.

The hardest part was saying goodbye to the friends we've made. Even after the leaving-do Claire and Carla arranged for us on the Dhow at Mina Seyahi we still had a host of lunches and dinners organised. It was so good to see everyone again for one more time, and I realised how many fabulous people we got to know during our time here, a whole Dubai family.

This is the last entry in this particular blog. My intention in writing it was to show what our life was like here in Dubai, to dispel some of the myths about expat life in the Middle East and to keep in touch with our friends in Europe (and elsewhere). Still, if you are interested in our adventures Down Under, Stuart is taking over and has already started his blog. Much more technologically advanced, it features an RSS feed so that you can make use of your news reader to keep up to date with us. Go there now!

Goodbye!