My "Day" Job #1

This post will hopefully give you guys a bit of insight to what I do on a daily basis with regards to my university life as a third year. I've mentioned previously I study Film Production at the University of Portsmouth.

I've mainly been a Producer across the majority of my units at university, this means I basically have to organise everything to ensure the project is finished. I assist the director and help bring their vision to life through the logistic side of things, sorting locations, budget, actors, props etc.

It's not an easy role, I do find it rather stressful, but I also can't imagine not being a Producer. When a project finishes and you see the end product you'll get a sense of relief and hopefully you'll be happy that all the hard work has paid off!

If you follow my social media you might have seen me talk about and try to promote my upcoming film; "Burgundy". I'm the Producer (if you hadn't guessed already) so I've been trying to get a bit of a buzz for our film, and also help get some funding as well. It's quite a task to make a good professional film with no budget, we are using professional actors so that costs A LOT. We've tried seeing what we can cut from our film to make it less expensive, but that would make the quality of the film suffer.

As this is our last film at university, we want it to be the best possible film we can make. We are planning to submit the film into film festivals across the UK, Europe and US. This will give Burgundy good exposure and would be an amazing experience to go and see our films on the big screen, and mingle with other professionals.

I live and breathe this film every day, I don't get a day off from trying to organise our shoot days and clearing up any issues. It's really exhausting, but I'm hoping all the work will pay off and that this will be the best film I've made yet! When you have creative projects they kind of feel like your children, that's how I feel with my blog as well. You have to water and feed it everyday to see it grow, and that's the same with filmmaking, you have to work on it more or less everyday.

Here's a little summary of what our film is about: "Sophie is an overworked crime scene investigator who becomes obsessed with the murder of a local young girl. After being forced to take an evening away from work, her boyfriend Peter creates a romantic meal and set the scene for relaxing evening. But everyone has secrets; love, lust and murder.

Two people, one room, an obsessed detective and a murder weapon, who said romance is dead."

I have been planning to write a little blog series about what it's like being a filmmaker and especially being a film student at university. This can give you some insight to a topic you might not know the ins and outs of, but might help current or potential students as well!

Now, I do have a little proposition for you guys. As I've mentioned I'm trying to get money to be able to complete our film. Our lowest reward on Indiegogo is £1 it would help so much if you are able to donate. It's just £1 and you'll get your name credited in our film which will be shown around the world! But, if you also tweet me that you've donated, I will give you a shout out across my Instagram and Twitter social media as a huge thank you for helping us!

We have many other rewards when you donate as well, it'd be great if you could take a look! There's more information about our film and a cheeky video as well. If you can't donate but would like to help our project, if you could share our crowdfunding page, or even this blog post would be a huge help!

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/burgundy-a-short-film/x/15738780#/

I hope you've liked my little introduction so far, if you have any questions you can leave a comment or tweet me @SaffronWatson_ and I'll get back to you, or I'll answer them in my next post!

Now it would be silly if I didn't leave the links to Burgundy's social media (I'd be a bad producer if I didn't).

Burgundy Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/burgundyfilm/
Burgundy Twitter - https://twitter.com/BurgundyFilm
Burgundy Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/burgundyfilm/

If you'd like to keep up to date on the film's progress and see some snazzy behind the scenes, please give our pages a 'like' or 'follow' it'd be much appreciated by the whole team! We have some exciting news coming up so keep checking our pages for when we reveal!

Saffron x

February Playlist

I thought I'd whip up a little post of the songs I'm loving at the moment.

Jax Jones - You Don't Know Me ft RAYE

I just love this song at the moment, yes it is quite POP-y but I have a love for dance songs, what can I say I love to have a little boogie!

Rag'n'Bone Man - Human

I know this is very popular in mainstream right now, but I love it! I relate to the lyrics, as I have made certain decisions and mistakes, and I am only human.

Lady GaGa - Joanne

It's taken me awhile to warm to Lady GaGa's new album, but I love how stripped back it is from her old stuff (of which I still love), it's great to see a different side to an artist. I find this song on her album can be quite haunting, and I love songs that actually make you feel.

Noah Cyrus - Make Me (Cry) ft Labrinth

My word is Noah talented! When I came across this recently I now can't stop singing or listening to it! She seems so effortless when she sings, even when she sings this live it's still such a beautiful song.

Helen Anderson's Cover of Youth Lagoon - 17

I love love love Helen Anderson, and when she came out with this cover/look book I loved how it was different to any other YouTuber's look book. She put her own twist on it and it just works beautifully! I've tried to listen to the original Youth Lagoon track and I have to say I prefer Helens!

Caravan Palace - Comics

I had the pleasure of seeing these guys live at Bestival 2016, I hadn't heard of them before and was blown away by their stage presence and musical talent! This is one of their songs which I find quite prominent, and I love the music video as well.

Aurora - I Went Too Far / Running With the Wolves

I got to see Aurora at Bestival as well, and this is right up my street! I love her haunting vocals, and often catch myself singing the lyrics in the shower...

Box of Light - Falling / Waste Of Time

As previously mentioned I love Helen and her band Box of Light, these are my fave two songs of theirs. I also love how down to earth their music videos are, check them out if you can!

Poppy - Lowlife

Some of you may know a bit about Poppy from her YouTube channels, and all of the conspiracy theories surrounding her. But, this girl can actually sing! Her songs are really catchy and cleverly portrayed in her music videos. A little fact, if you play the song in reverse it says different lyrics about satan and gets very weird just warning you...

I know my music taste is a bit of a mish mash, but I love a lot of different genres. I recommend giving the songs I've mentioned a try! My top favourites are Noah Cyrus - Make Me (Cry), Rag'n'Bone Man - Human, and Helen Anderson's cover of Youth Lagoon - 17.

What songs are you loving at the moment? What would you put in your February playlist?

Let me know in the comments! x

A Wonder In The Woods

Myself and my boyfriend have visited the Forest of Bere a lot recently, and this time we came prepared. Connor had just bought himself a Canon 5D mark iii and was just about to sell his mark ii so I got to have a play on both.

If you haven't been to the Forest of Bere, I thoroughly recommend it! Especially if you live down the South it's just up the road. There's lots for families with children as well, I speak from experience that the play area is amazing!

Here are some of my favourite pictures from our exploration down the West Walk.

I absolutely loved getting back to my photographer roots, this will be a new goal to go out and photograph more! It's so satisfying when you take the perfect photo, and if it requires little editing is a bonus too.

Thank you to my lovely boyfriend for taking these photos of me, I love them and it's not often I'm this happy with photos of myself!

What photo's have you taken recently? Or have you been on any lush walks of your own?

Let me know! x

What I'm wearing:

Hat - New Look

Scarf - New Look

Coat - TU at Sainsburys

Rings - H Samuel and Pandora

Boots - Ugg

The Liebster Award

Golly! Another blog award in the same week! Thank you Leigh for my nomination, you can find her blog here.

The rules for accepting the Liebster Award are as follows;

• Thank the person who has nominated you for the award and post their link in this post
• Display the award on your blog
• Write a 150-300-word post about one of your favourite blogs that is not your own
• Post 10 random facts about yourself
• Nominate 5-11 blogs that you feel deserve this award and provide links to them in your post
• Answer 10 questions that your nominator has asked you
• Ask your nominees 10 questions
• Let your nominees know that you have nominated them for the Liebster Award

My favourite blogger at the moment is 
Rhianna from http://www.robowecop.com/ I love her blog photography it always looks amazing, and she always has quality content too. I enjoy reading her posts because when I read her blog you can hear her personality in her writing.

Ten Facts About Me –

I live in Portsmouth, Hampshire (or at least around the general area).
I have a scar on my forehead similar to Harry Potter.
I can jiggle my eyeballs, this entails crossing my eyes and somehow making them jiggle.
Lion King is my all time favourite film since I was a baby.
I live between three houses (no I'm not rich, it's just the story of my life).
I'm about 5ft2in, yup a shorty.
I'm a chocoholic.
I absolutely love pugs and french bull terriers (cue love heart eyes).
I only use Apple products, not just because they are Apple but I need a MacBook for editing etc.
My favourite colour is blue.

Ten Question's I was asked:
If you could tell your younger self something, what would it be?
To not stress out too much about education, try to relax a bit more and make the most of the time you have with your friends, and for gods sake save your money!

What was your favourite blogging moment?
I haven't been in the serious blogging game for long, but it made me really happy when I hit 1,000 all time views on my blog considering I've only been 'back' a few months.

What is your favourite animal?
Hmm, favourite ever animal...I might have to say lions, because I just find them so majestic.

Best book you have read?
Ooh another tricky one, the only one that comes to mind is I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes. it's got nearly 900 pages so it was an achievement to read! I really enjoyed it as it is a crime fiction thriller, and I'm quite into that at the moment with books like Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train. I honestly recommend it, you just need to look past the page count as the story for me was gripping.

What is the one thing you wish you could do if money was no issue?
Travel, I'd want to go to all of the places I want to and travel in complete luxury! First class on trains and planes, and only the best hotels! Gosh that would be amazing, and now my wanderlust kicks in.

What is your favourite season?
I quite like Winter, I like to wrap up a bit and get snuggly in bed as I can't sleep very well when I'm too hot. But, I don't like it when it rains, although we've had some stunning fog this season and I love that!

Favourite food?
Mash. Mash with anything!

List 3 things you like about yourself
I like my eyes, how caring I am, and how I'm a little bit crazy.

What hobbies do you have?
My blog is one, reading, and watching Netflix/films count for me as I love intelligent films/series.

What is your ideal date?
Anything, as long as we are both comfortable and happy I don't mind I'm easily amused and grateful for anything!

I nominate the following:

Cody from https://codyeward.wordpress.com/

Zara from https://itsallzara.blogspot.co.uk/

Naomi from http://tripswithatot.com/

Hayley from http://yearofyou.co.uk/

Bec from https://blvsh.com/

Bex from https://lotsoflovebex.com/

Theo from https://curlprince.com/

My Questions:

What's one thing you can't live without?
What's your favourite app?
If you could live as an animal what would you be?
Would you rather dream or not dream?
What's your favourite memory?
What's your favourite TV series?
Who's your favourite actor? (can be male or female)
What's your favourite drink?
If you could live without a sense which one would you pick?
What's your go to scent?

(Sorry some of those questions are a bit odd, I run out of interesting questions quickly)

Thank you again Leigh, I look forward to seeing the answers from the nominees! Don't forget to tweet me when you publish yours!

Saff x

Mystery Blogger Award

Hello, I got nominated by the lovely Cody from https://codyeward.wordpress.com/. This was created by Okoto Enigma in order to  spread positivity amongst lesser known blogs, and this is my first blogger award nomination! So thank you Cody! 

The Rules

1. Put the award Logo/image in your post.

2. List all the rules.

3. Thank whoever nominated you and leave a link to their blog.

4. Mention the creator of the award and provide a link to their blog.

5. Tell your readers 3 things about yourself.

6. Nominate 10-20 people.

7. Notify each one of your nominees by commenting on their blog.

8. Ask nominees any 5 questions of your choice; with a weird or funny question (specify)

9. Share the link to your best/favourite post of yours.

Tell your readers 3 things about yourself:

1. I'm left handed
2. I've worked on a feature film set
3. I'm a self confessed Netflix binger

1. Do you  have a bucket list? if so what’s on it?
   Yes I do, I made it when I was 17 as I wanted to make sure I went out lived my life, did everything I wanted to do before I settle down as a proper adult. I'm not sure where it is, but it was things like sky diving (again) and get it photographed/videoed as that's something I can keep and look at how courageous I was.
2. What’s the one thing in your life that people get wrong about you?
   I think people assume I'm really strong, and I try to portray that, but in reality I'm actually quite sensitive and not as strong as I look sometimes, and even I've learnt that.
3. What’s your go to essential in your wardrobe?
   Ooh this is a hard one! I think in terms of a night out I always have to wear my leather jacket, it's like my armour and always looks good!
4. What did you want to be when you where 10?
   I had quite a lot of dream jobs at that age, but it was probably to have a big three floor house to look after abandoned animals, because I loved all animals and wanted to take care of them. However, I then realised I couldn't watch any of them in pain, so I gave up on that dream!
5. FUN QUESTION: If you could live inside a Movie which would it be?  and why?
   Ooh I'm not sure a lot of my favourite films aren't very good worlds to live in! I think I'd have to live in Harry Potter, I've always wanted to be a witch and have powers!

Thank you so much to Cody for nominating me, you can read her post here.

My Questions Are:

1. What's your greatest achievement? (Blogging or non blogging related)
2. If you were a biscuit what kind of biscuit would you be and why? (I always find this question fascinating)
3. What's one of your 'goals' for this year?
4. What's your favourite city? and why?
5. What would be your ideal job?

I nominate:

Leigh from imsophialeigh.wordpress.com

Bex from https://lotsoflovebex.com/ 

Theo from https://curlprince.com/

Xandra from https://xandraroseblog.wordpress.com/

Francesca from http://bellamomento.blogspot.co.uk/ 

Tweet me when your posts are up!

My favourite post is Just Breathe because I wrote this post it motivated me to get back into the blogging world, because blogging was an escape.

Good Luck! x

Blogging Then | Blogging Now

As I've only recently just got back into blogging (and I'm here to stay this time) I thought I'd do a little post comparing when I first started blogging to blogging now.

My first ever blog post was published on Wednesday 9th June 2010, nearly seven years ago. Golly gosh. Looking back on my old blog is very hard, because I can read how young and naive I was, it's like a really in depth time hop. I would write a post about what happened that day, just silly things really, but I just wanted to write.

I would just post some images from a photography lesson, just because. Even just the theme of my old blog makes me want to barf a little bit, what was I thinking?

Whereas now, I pre-plan all of my posts, I do occasionally just type them out and click publish. But I want more quality to my posts, more thought added than just a few pictures not really explaining anything. I used to post quite personal posts in the sense that I'd post my inner thoughts, and in retrospect I'd rather not let the world know what I was thinking at a certain time! 

I don't mind posting personal subjects that I know might help and educate other people, as I've done this on my current blog and I'm proud of it.

Back then I wasn't aware of a blogging community, I'm not even sure they existed to be fair! I only had two dedicated readers (my cousins) and the only other blogger I was aware of was Fleur De Force. Now there's a whole world full of bloggers and vloggers and it feels a bit cramped, but there's always new people to meet.

I think blogging is a lot harder now, because there's such an expectation of what bloggers should and shouldn't write, and that everyone aims to be as successful as other bloggers. It's hard not to want that success, as we all want someone else's life that's better than our own. I'd rather have my own success, to have built something and put in the hard work myself.

Whether my blog will be successful or not the future will decide, but for now I'm really enjoying what I'm doing. I've already spoken to a lot of amazing bloggers through Twitter chats, and I've become so inspired and humbled by the community.

I'm going to keep up regularly posting, as each time I hit publish I get a rush of happiness!

Let me know your experience with blogging, whether you're new to the blogging world or you've been around from the start!

Mini Coconut Lane Haul

Coconut Lane has been on my "watch" list for a while now (basically just a mental list of places/websites I like to check out and have a mooch around). When payday approached I knew I wanted to treat myself to a few things, as their whole range is really affordable.

I got these two notebooks: Black Marble Notebook and Blog Notebook I love the variety of products referencing today's culture, and of course all of the blogging merchandise!

I am one of these people that when they get a pretty notebook, I feel like I can't tarnish it by writing in it in case I mess it up. But, I think I'll write down my blogging ideas in the "BLOG INSTA COFFEE REPEAT" notebook, plus they both look amazing for flat lays.

Here's the Girl Boss Coaster I've been obsessed with the whole idea of a 'girl boss', it's something that inspires me to be successful to deem myself as a girl boss one day. I picked this coaster as I knew I needed to have it on my desk to motivate me through university work!

Lastly, when I saw this Infinity Bracelet I had to have it, I am obsessed with the infinity symbol, ever since I watched Revenge on E4 I've become infatuated. I even have a ring that I wear every day with the symbol. It also reminds me of one I bought when I was on holiday in Turkey over a year ago, it comes in three different colours: Black, Tan and Blue.

I was so impressed with the delivery time, I ordered these items on Tuesday with standard delivery and they arrived through my letterbox Thursday morning. Plus they came in a really cute pink envelope!

If you want to buy some Coconut Lane products feel free to use this discount code: saffron20 you'll get 20% off your total and the code doesn't expire, you're welcome!

I definitely might have to browse some more of Coconut Lane's products...