Ibiza made me do it...

Sorry for the lack of posts I have been so so so busy with work (more to come on that later) I haven't even had time to write my blog :( So here I am back tracking a couple of months to let you know what I've been up to..

Starting with my most favourite hobby... going on holiday!!! 
(dont think that counts as a hobby but I try to do it as much as possible so to me its a hobby hehe) 


I don't know whether you have heard of a beautiful and tranquil little island just off of Spain... named Ibiza??? 

Beautiful YES Tranquil NO 

It is, for sure, one of my favourite places in the world!! And I know you maybe sitting there thinking how much has a girl of 21 seen of the world but honestly I have seen quite a lot.. more than most people I'd say, let alone 21 year olds.. 

I went with my 2 best friends Sam and Meg.. and we partied HARD because IBIZA MADE ME (US) DO IT!! And met some of our good friends along the way... 

Unfortunately I had my iphone and purse stolen so I have a serious lack of pictures.. BOO 

But this island is wildly insane and if you like to party YOU HAVE TO GOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! 

First night went off with a bang, Cream Ibiza's 18th birthday party at Amnesia. Calvin Harris and Laidback Luke (one of my favourite DJs ever)

2nd night - workers bar in the middle of know where... why is it that the nights that aren't planned are always the best??

3rd night - Zoo Project (would not recommend, total novelty event) Cream @ Privilege Radio 1 weekend.. That place is HUGEEE (literally) DJs Sebastian Ingrosso, Alesso, Benny Benassi, Annie Mac, Pete Tong... AMAZING NIGHT 

4th night - Bora Bora, had the best day partying at Jet Apartments, downing Sambuca and thinking its a great idea to have a swim in the sea whilst intoxicated, however had my phone and purse stolen so watch out!!! 

5th night - DC10 

6th night - Cafe Mambo sunset 

Home :( 

Ibiza Flu and Blues 

Premiere Week

Last week I had the absolute pleasure of attending a number of premiere’s.

On Saturday the 14^th I trained and tubed it to Charing Cross Station to get to the ICA (Institute of Contemporary Arts) to attend The Rushes Soho Shorts Festival 2012.

Back in November 2011, I was asked by Ian Barnes (the Oscar nominated director of short film, Wish 143) to run for a new short he was going to film, called Match Head. Obviously, I jumped at the chance and was excited to see the script come alive after I read it. Meg, a 10 year old arsonist who burns down her care home, is sent to counselling to try and cure her of her fire starting ways. However, she is introduced to George, a ‘reformed’ arsonist with bad burns. And lets just say, instead rehabilitating one another, their relationship ignites.

It was a brilliant few days of filming, and I particularly enjoyed being entrusted as location scout for an outdoor scene, which turned out to be particularly hilarious with Ian chasing his daughter, and actress Eve Barnes around a field dressed as a police officer.

The screening on Saturday was the first time I had seen the finished product and honestly, it was fantastic! The opening scene of Eve Barnes attempting to light a match gripped the audience from the off set, and the suspense kept building as you didn’t know what this little girl would do next. Match Head, for sure, got the best reaction from the audience and most laughs, with Eve Barnes and Zahra Browne nailing the brilliantly written script by Jason Sutton.

And subsequently it got into the top three of the short film category, which was a huge achievement by Ian and everyone else involved as there were over 1200 entries into The Rushes Soho Shorts Festival this year.

So do keep an eye out for Match Head because I’m sure it going to be entered into a few more festivals this year. And fingers crossed it will end up on top like it deserves!

And just a quick mention to some of the other short’s I watched that Saturday evening that I really enjoyed.

PVT. Craine – An intense opening sees a soldier under fire in the Iraq war. He finds his sergeant badly injured and it is implied that something crosses the soldiers mind. It then cuts to a magician’s stage, where he had obviously been hypnotised, and we see his friend in the audience, who had been the sergeant in the hypnosis. Both looking confused and slightly traumatised the ‘soldier’ tries to play it down by asking whether he was dancing. A brilliant short with a strong beginning, dark middle and very funny ending. 

Painkiller – Robbery gone wrong. Armed shoplifter, meets dopey cashier, meets suicidal customer. A dark comedy, like the two already mentioned, which had me laughing out loud. The casting was brilliant.

Taking Life – A business women returns home to find her cleaner smoking in her London flat. The situation turns nasty when the cleaner spits in the business women’s face, when she confronts her over a bottle of champagne in her bag. An intense short which left me wanting more.

Also, well done to the winner of the Short Film Category. Long Distance Information.

Now onto the second Premiere of the week (ohh.. look at me!!) Something from nothing: The Art of Rap.

After getting to know Paul Toogood (producer) and Andy Baybutt (co-director) really well in the edit, I was invited to the Premiere at Hammersmith Apollo. And Jees was I excited! I had seen snippets of the docu-film through-out the months of hard work and it left me desperate to see the final product, so much so, towards the end of their time at The Farm whenever I saw them I would ask, “When’s it out in the cinema?” I’m sure they got sick of me asking and that’s probably why I got an invite to the Premiere (hehe!) However, I am privileged to say that Paul and Andy are now friends of mine and are truly an inspiration to documentary makers everywhere.

Director, Ice-T takes the audience on a journey through the history of rap music. From the street, to world domination and the people that made it happen. Ice-T interviews many huge stars on how they came to where they are now and what influenced them and pushed them to rap. Stars such as Eminem, Chuck D, KRS-One, Common, Nas, Grandmaster Caz, Dr. Dre, Kanye West and many, many more spoke and rapped about their experiences from the bottom to the top. With some grippingly awesome shots of New York and LA thrown in too.

I can’t sit here and pretend I am a die hard hip hop and rap fan, but I sure am interested and appreciate the art of rap, and definitely enjoy listening to hip hop tracks, which my IPod is full of, by the way. So, if you are a hip hop fan, this is one film you CAN NOT miss out on! And even if you’re not, it is an inspirational documentary film that will educate you, not just in ‘The Art of Rap’ but, in drive and determination which I believe will relate to any human being that watches this film.


Love Holly xx

P.s just to make you jealous there was an after party where the likes of Melle Mel, Raekwon, Chuck D and the man himself, Ice-T performed J Here's some blurry pics off the crappy camera on my Iphone.

 Melle Mel (AKA Minny milk to me and my friend Libby) is an absolute G 

 Raekwon under our very own Wu Tang Clan sign 

Libby and myself repping Wu Tang 

Ice-T

 My kebab at the end of the night... I'm sure you were dying to see that!! (classy bird me)

Crazy Week at E4 and iluvlive

God I really have had a crazy week. 

A client from work 'heard through the grape vine' that I want to be a presenter. He called me into his suite (sounding dodgy already) and asked for my email address. He then sent me a short but sweet email ... 'Send me your showreel x' 

Excited but nervous (because I have a self made showreel and he's an established producer/director) I really didn't know what he'd think of it or me... 

But it turns out it was good. He asked me to come along to shoot a pilot for a new programme for E4... YES F**KING E4 I nearly wet myself. 

So Tuesday comes and I'm off to Old Street, London. To a place called The Yard. 

WOW it was trendy. 

It was a huge white warehouse with industrial sized lamps which housed all next seasons new designer clothing. MY DREAM COME TRUE. I did have a look around and wonder whether I could sneak a pair of incredible religion union jack shorts into my bag, however I soon noticed there were camera's everywhere... I was being watched.. poop. From what i understood The Yard is where 'fashion buyers' go and look/buy next seasons clothes for their shops and boutiques. What a cool job that would be... personally I don't think its as cool as the job I want though. 

So the shoot was long, like any shoot but such a brilliant experience. Working with such a big professional crew and getting direction from people who have been in the industry for years and worked with the likes of Alan Carr, Justin Lee Collins and Alexa Chung. I am a lucky girl. 

I chatted with Abi Titmuss on camera, who, by the way, is absolutely lovely. I must admit I judged before I met, due to the reason she is famous, but she was really down to earth and bought her adorable dog with her too. (A fellow dog lover)

And then Frankie Cocozza swans in. I was expecting him to be a bit of a lad, bit of a geezer, bit of a diva but no he was really friendly too. 

So filming with E4 went swimmingly and I was so grateful for the experience. Because you never know, it could lead to a lucky break..

Heres some pics... 

So this is not all that happened last week.. oh no... 

I was making tea at work and my friend calls me and says 'what are you doing tonight?' me being the classy bird I am replies 'going to nandos, why?' He said I need you to present for us. Get your arse down to Old street.' (so Old Street is apparently where it's at for the presenters btw) 

So off I go to Old Street again, this time panicking as I don't have a clue what I'm going to be doing. And yes I get thrown right into the deep end!! 

I get to XOYO for iluvlive.co.uk 8th Birthday party. They have a live gig going on down stairs in a couple of hours and a photography exhibition upstairs of all the stars that have performed at iluvlive over the last 8 years and become hugely successful since, with the likes of Tinie Tempah, Jessie J, Wretch 32, Ms Dynamite all making it onto the wall of fame.

Straight away I'm sat in front of the camera to check lighting and levels etc and then were on. LIVE ON GOOGLE HANGOUTS. Myself interviewing the organiser of iluvlive (a very important lady) and grime artists Scorcher and Ghetts. 

And do you know what it went soooo well. I just went with the flow and had fun with it, asking questions I wanted to know the answers to and I hopefully what their fans want to know to, questions about what influences them and their music, who they aspired to be when they were young and whats coming up for them in the future. 

Scorcher and Ghetts were really nice guys and made me feel like I was at home on the sofa with them. 

That night has given me such a boost in confidence, I feel like I can interview anyone now, no matter how unprepared I am, I just need to be my chatty, inquisitive self! Bring it on Brad Pitt.

INSPIRATION and Red Lips

Girls that I LOVE.


and how I'm stealing their looks.


Rita Ora - LOTS of jewellery and the standard red lippy. I watched an interview with her saying her look is very much inspired by Gwen Stefani, which kind of makes sense... see below hehe.

And they both love a beanie, as do I. :)

Rihanna - Well I think I speak for many of us when I say shes the woman we all aspire to be.

She blessed with looking incredible with whatever colour hair she wants, but red was a sure winner for me.

Lana Del Rey - God I have played her album to death!! But still love it.

She seemed to cause quite a stir when she broke into the music scene but I have been a huge fan from the beginning after watching 'Video Games' on YouTube about a year ago now. I think many people tried to over analyse her, rather than just taking her for what she is, a bit different! Which is definitely something to celebrate. Her some what haunting music, her mixed style and her classically beautiful but enhanced look left many people questioning how 'real' she was!!

I say... F**K THE HATERS. But she said she'd say nothing to them...

Fair play.

NO ONE CAN BE YOU BUT YOU



RED LIPS

So for a while I've been ranting on about getting my first lipstick (very much like my first bra but for your face) when you get one you feel like a woman. All the girls above wear red lipstick and I want to as well.

So I went down to Boots with a face wipe handy so I could try on a million different colours and decide which ones I liked. After half an hour (probably an hour) of reapplying I left Boots with NOTHING. I just thought I looked like a fish in every colour and with the wage I'm on every penny counts :(

The day after when I returned from work in London my mum AKA mother goose, had bought me a Kate Moss lipstick :) bless her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A red/orange colour just like my hair and so now I have to wear it, don't I, or that would be plain rude! And I have got more confident each time.

So the moto of the story... isn't YOLO (sorry I couldn't resist, but I am a firm believer in YOLO don't get me wrong)..................

IS that its a great thing to be inspired by other people's looks and style, just make them your own and be confident with it!!!!!

Because no one can be you but you :)

Love Holly xx

oh yeah and ps I can't get enough of the peace/campaign for nuclear disarmament sign!

Earrings, necklaces, leggins, tops... I want it on my forehead.

Wardrobe Raider

So I'm sure we all look back at pictures of our parents and think... 'did you really like your hair like that??' Or... 'clearly you still couldn't see when you put those glasses on??' And... 'what the hell was that t-shirt??'

However, looking back at some of those photos now, I think 'wow those over sized ray bans are pretty cool, do you still have them?' When 2 years ago I was ridiculing my parents about how awful they looked.

So, yes, i eat my words and decide to have a look in my parents wardrobes for some hidden treasures.

And here is exhibit #1

A Chicago Bears jumper.

They are an American football team. They have won 9 NFL championships (NFL standing for national football league, which you probably guessed) and 1 Superbowl... thanks Wikipedia!!

So I'm going to keep raiding their wardrobes now...

Bye, Love Holly xx

PS. I want to go to a Superbowl just to say I've been to one! And then I can wear this jumper and look like part of the gang. And they sound like fun... flight to Chicago please!!!???

Fan of Chris O'dowd? I AM

If you are too, get to know Chris a little better!!! He's soooo interesting, funny and has a million stories to tell! I could sit there and listen/stare at him all day. haha

Click the link below to see how the HELL we ended up doing an impression of 'milking a cow' 


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nE9wxfbm7nY


Love Holly xx

Latest Showreel featuring Hollywood Star and Heart Throb

Latest Showreel - check it out!!!!! hope you enjoy. 


this film does contain a hollywood star and hunk so please have a glass of water at hand...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxKHGahgoyg

Vintage Buy

Had to post a photo of this little playsuit I found at Beyond Retro on Great Marlborough Street. £24 ... bargain!!! (I need some jewelry though hehe)

Me

So how many people have sat here, like me and thought ‘how the HELL I am going to start this blog?’

I want to make it interesting and I want people to read it and think ‘yeah she’s cool’

I’m over thinking this already aren’t I??

So let’s start at the beginning. Why am I writing a blog?

I know what I want to do and I know what I want to be and I’m trying hard to make it happen. So I guess it would be nice to note some stuff down every now and then, things that I like and things that inspire me, things that I don’t like, maybe, if I’m in a negative mood which occasionally happens, (probably more than occasionally actually!) But also to show you what I’m up to.

So here goes, it’s the year 2012, which everyone seems to be ranting and raving about and I believe starting a blog was one of my new year’s resolutions, along with many other things…

Im 21 now. A bit of a mile stone (is that what they say?.. mile stone)… adulthood? Career? Not being an adult at all…

So yeah I think it’s a good time to start a blog.

So a little bit about me. My name is Holly Dwight and something that I think defines me, was travelling around the world for a year in 2010. I went on my own when I was 19 (2 years ago now, which has honestly flown by) but I remember every minute, and think about that year every day, so here’s a tiny overview.

Why did I go on my own? Non of my friends seemed that interested. And I wasn’t scared to go on my own either, I saw it as an adventure. I wanted to get away from my home town I guess and have a break from day to day life. Me and my boyfriend went tits up so that gave me a push in the right direction… away. So that was it, I was off… first stop Thailand. It was just so different to England, the culture, the people, the climate… I could sit here and type for hours about it. The temples were out of this world and really humbling, no shoes, women covered up, silence. Then outside the temples walls was this crazy city, Bangkok, you can’t not mention the smell…. Jeez… but little tut tut’s bombing around, mopeds, monkeys.. a crazy city.

Then there were the islands. Literally paradise! Apart from the full moon party which can also only be described as CRAZY. Buckets of god knows what, blaring music, neon paint and skipping ropes on fire... (yes that is me below)

So then onto Australia. Travelling the East Coast was incredible. Im glad I got to see the Great Barrier Reef while I could (as they say it will disappear in the next 25 years, I think that’s what they say anyway) I met some lovely people, lived in Miami beach and Surfers Paradise where I worked in a diner. Had such a fun time but the novelty wore off after 3 months so I was persuaded to do a ski season just outside of Melbourne, Mount Hotham (‘time of my life’ as me and Tamara would say. I met her when I worked in the Billy’s, the diner, and we never looked back, inseparable on our travels from that point onwards… ahhh) 

Well I couldn’t ski or snowboard but I thought snowboarding looked and sounded better so I bought the gear and then had to rope some lucky boys into teaching me. (When I say lucky boys I mean poor boys.) It took me about 2 weeks of falling on them and my arse (which I padded with jogging bottoms) for me to master it. 5 very drunken, very cold months went by in which I made some of the bestest friends and literally had ‘the time of my life’ (que cringe) I then travelled around in a caravan for a while, Melbourne to Brisbane and back, stopping in one of my favourite places Byron Bay, had a near Wolf Creek experience, was then dropped off in Sydney for a week and then back on a plane off to NZ.

New Zealand. North Island, like Wales, green, hilly and over populated with sheep. I wasn’t all that impressed. But the South Island. WOW! The mountains and lakes were beautiful, it really was like being in a film. You never think you’ll actually see something that beautiful with your own eyes but you will if you go to New Zealand. The kiwi bus AKA the big green f**k truck definitely did NOT live up to expectations if you were a heterosexual female, as there were 45 girls and about 5 boys… and the one fit bloke… yes he was travelling with his equally fit girlfriend. Boo!!!

Fiji. No hotels. Just locals. Tamara and I went to stay with a family. They cooked us three beautiful and fresh meals a day. Fruit and fish. We snorkelled, went to the local school, read, drank what tasted like muddy water also known as Kava and hung out with the locals, who sang a lot and were so happy and ate/drank lots of coconuts. Again it was very different to England but in a really good way. The people there would go out of their way to help you, just because they were so kind.

Last stop California. So I had to leave Tamara who was heading back to Australia before going home to Devon. (That was like losing a limb!!) But meeting me at LAX was my dad and brother. And at this point I shall take a breath to say how much I missed my family and friends that year. I did have the most amazing time but I didn’t ever feel quite at home while I was away. Home is where your family and friends are so no matter where you are in the world and no matter how refreshing it is, it will never be home and there was always that pull inside me to get back there.

So there’s me at LAX airport (not as fancy as I thought it was going to be) waiting for my dad and brother. A 3 hour wait though it felt more like 10. Mum is petrified of flying so she said she wasn’t coming but there was that tiny bit of hope that I tried to suppress, that she would be there. And she was. I cried. A LOT. We all hugged for ages and people starred, wondering what all the tears were about. After a year of travelling the world with only myself to rely on I was safe and sound and back with my family, to the absolute joy and relief of my dad.

I didn’t have many preconceptions of LA but it was what you would imagine and more. California girls, beaches, volley ball, roller skates, gyms. I loved it. Although, there were lots of homeless people I couldn’t help but think it must be the best place to be homeless right??

The Grand Canyon was, by far, the best thing I have ever seen in my life. Vegas was all I imagined it to be, very bright. San Francisco. It takes a bit of looking round but once you find the good parts with lanes full of coffee shops and boutiques you realise it is a really magical city.. (definitely do the Alcatraz tour if you go there.) 


MUG SHOT

So that’s my ‘tiny’ travel diary done. Although I do feel the need to tell you that I wanted to be as ‘extreme’ as possible while I travelling because it seemed like the right thing to do. So I did a sky dive, bungy jump, white water rafting, black water rafting and a canyon swing. Which made me feel like superwomen!! Yay!!

So I got home, content with my time off/away and set about pursuing my dream! The thing that I’ve known I’ve wanted to do since I was 14 years old. Be a presenter!!

How do I do that?? Well I still don’t know as I’m not there yet but I think, and I bloody hope I’m heading in the right direction. And this is also how this blog has come about.

So to tell you what I’m up to at the moment… I spent months doing work experience in London at the BBC and Company Pictures, un-paid. So I worked my arse of as a waitress back home to fund my travel into London every day. While I was at Company (who produce programmes such as Skins, Shameless and Wild at Heart) I went to have a look around where they edit their rushes after filming on set. The Farm Group. That is where I met, my now boss, Mark. He liked me and asked if I wanted a job, I said yes please.

So I am now a fully fledged runner AKA professional tea maker, toast cooker, lunch fetcher, tape collector and general dogs body.

But… I love my job, I’m passionate about TV production and I’m meeting directors, producers and creative people that inspire me every day, so this cant be a bad thing.

I love working in London. Grey but colourful. Old but urban. And certainly never boring!!

I hope that soon someone will see the potential in me to be a presenter on your TV screens.

Please follow my interests, inspiration and journey into the unknown world of presenting…