So, my submission video is now online at the Best Job in the World official site. Please stop by and give me five stars. It's good karma, my friends!
The all-important link: http://www.islandreefjob.com/#/applicants/watch/3fR1tU_kRzg
Tuesday 24 February 2009
A few fellow hopefuls
Tens of thousands of people have applied for the Hamilton Island job, and I've seen only a fraction of them, but I thought I'd point out some of my favourites so far.
Anny is a friendly, sharp marketing expert from Vancouver, and has a great blog sharing her experiences and tips for fellow applicants.
Tom from Germany already runs his own travel video company, and has shot terrific footage from around the world, including on the Whitsundays.
Frooz is a gorgeous sweetie from NYC whose laid-back video shows off her bubbling personality much better than my breathless and unsmiling non-stop ramble. She has an Australian Cattle Dog who has never seen Oz, she keeps fish, and she has a degree in filmmaking from UCLA.
Hannah has a clever video where she advertises herself like a creature from the wild being described by a naturist - the "Hannimal", she calls herself. She has experience in conservation and web marketing.
James is a walking lesson in awesomeness. Check out his blog, a much more well-thought-out affair than this little Blogspot effort. He has HD videos on there, posters to market his candidacy, he's been all around the world, he's a fantastic photographer and video editor, and seems like a bloody nice guy. (Also thanks to him, btw, I've also found a ning group where applicants can advertise themselves past the confines of the 60-second video and network with each other!)
I'll keep looking for more good candidates, because there's some inspiring ones out there. People like this make the world a better place, folks.
Anny is a friendly, sharp marketing expert from Vancouver, and has a great blog sharing her experiences and tips for fellow applicants.
Tom from Germany already runs his own travel video company, and has shot terrific footage from around the world, including on the Whitsundays.
Frooz is a gorgeous sweetie from NYC whose laid-back video shows off her bubbling personality much better than my breathless and unsmiling non-stop ramble. She has an Australian Cattle Dog who has never seen Oz, she keeps fish, and she has a degree in filmmaking from UCLA.
Hannah has a clever video where she advertises herself like a creature from the wild being described by a naturist - the "Hannimal", she calls herself. She has experience in conservation and web marketing.
James is a walking lesson in awesomeness. Check out his blog, a much more well-thought-out affair than this little Blogspot effort. He has HD videos on there, posters to market his candidacy, he's been all around the world, he's a fantastic photographer and video editor, and seems like a bloody nice guy. (Also thanks to him, btw, I've also found a ning group where applicants can advertise themselves past the confines of the 60-second video and network with each other!)
I'll keep looking for more good candidates, because there's some inspiring ones out there. People like this make the world a better place, folks.
Blue Planet Aquarium Video
As promised, a video of our local aquarium. Sorry about the muffled sound, was having gadget troubles and had to speak too close to the microphone. Enjoy the fish!
Monday 23 February 2009
My video application!
Hello again!
Well, no need to upload the experience blog, as it's pretty much covered in the final video, and the aquarium vid is coming, but I'm having microphone troubles on the voice-over.
Took all weekend to upload the submission video onto islandreefjob.com, thanks to heavy traffic and the site accidentally shutting down at 11:59pm Queensland time on Saturday instead of 11:59pm UTC Sunday. The site was back up on Sunday and after trying since 11am, my 10MB file finally uploaded somewhere between 10-11pm.
Congratulations to all the Oscar winners, especially Danny Boyle and co for their awesome achievement with "Slumdog Millionaire" and Heath Ledger in an instantly classic performance, in a film that should have been on the list of Best Picture nominees.
I have to admit it was weird seeing an Oscar show presented by an Australian, Hugh Jackman, just after slipping in for the final deadline of this contest, with one of the major nominees, Anne Hathaway, born on the same day as me, Nov 12 1982, and the Best Picture winner being a great Hollywood-meets-Bollywood rise-from-the-slums epic with musical numbers, something I've dreamed of doing for years and am glad got made so well (although I still wanna do mine!).
It feels like a message that I can achieve something great with my life too, and one of the reasons I want the Hamilton Island job is that I want to be a filmmaker, I want a place to inspire me, I want to be spending my time on and making my money from movies. To be employed to explore and report back on that place is surely the most awesome job a young filmmaker could do, a jolt of artistic, scientific and adventurous inspiration and experience. The chance to get the freedom and time to study my craft in paradise.
I hope I have a shot. If I don't get this job, well, I've always got the dream to go there one day, I've got the rest of my dreams, I've got a great city to play in and I've got a lovely girlfriend. I might apply for a loan and start a production company, and study and work for my craft that way, although obviously this is a pretty scary time to be getting into starting a business.
Good luck to all the other applicants - I'm gonna post another blog on some of my favourites, and I'm sure I'll keep seeing more great ones. I will also post the official Tourism Queensland YouTube version of my video, so you can vote on it and give me five stars. So if anyone's out there, keep coming back!
Wednesday 18 February 2009
A Few Things I Know About the Reef
G'day, guys! Hope you're all doing okay and sticking with me on this short journey to the application deadline.
The job asks one of the things we show in selling ourselves to be some knowledge of the Great Barrief Reef and its islands, so here's a little vid about the things I know, from the basic textbook facts of the great natural phenomenon, to things you can do around the Whitsundays and the rest of Queensland.
Check ya later!
Monday 16 February 2009
The Final Countdown: 5 Days to Go!
Well, it's five days to go (four days, sorry, this video took a while to upload!) until applications close for the job. Here's my first video blog, in what will be a series of videos getting uploaded this week.
Tuesday 10 February 2009
Fortnight and Fires
Hello! Is there anyone out there?
I wouldn't expect anyone to be reading this yet, as there have been no updates since my introductory post. That doesn't mean that I've forgotten about the blog, or have abandoned my plans to apply for the Hamilton Island job.
What I've been up to the past fortnight, is, well... living my life. And videotaping it. And cutting together the video. Probably tomorrow, I'll be able to upload the footage of what I've been up to over the past few weeks - nothing transcendent, but you'll get an idea of who I am, what there is to do around these Merseyside parts, and how good I am at communicating through words and images, which is, after all, what a lot of Tourism Queensland's new post will be all about.
In the meantime, I just wanted to post a word about the bushfires across south-eastern Australia. As I'm sure anyone who sees this will have heard by now, over 350,000 hectares of land north of Melbourne, mainly across dried-out eucalyptus forests, have been ravaged by the blazes. Thousands have been made homeless, authorities expect more than 200 people to have been killed, and it is thought that even if natural causes started the fires, they were re-ignited by arsonists.
Comprehension fails at a time like this. It's disgusting, shocking, tragic. To think that human hands could cause a tragedy of this scale through what possibly started as callous whimsy is unbelievably sad. And I couldn't possibly continue with a project about the fun there is to be had in Australia, or how I want to go there and frolic on the beach, without stopping for a moment to consider the unfortunate folks caught up in the middle of this horror.
God bless them, and good luck to them.
I'm not sure of the best way to help from far away, but Red Cross organisations across the world are organising emergency appeals:
UK: http://www.redcross.org.uk
Ireland: http://www.redcross.ie
Australia: http://www.redcross.org.au
New Zealand: http://www.redcross.org.nz
USA: http://www.redcross.org
And so on and so on... links to all Red Cross organisations can be found through Google.
I wouldn't expect anyone to be reading this yet, as there have been no updates since my introductory post. That doesn't mean that I've forgotten about the blog, or have abandoned my plans to apply for the Hamilton Island job.
What I've been up to the past fortnight, is, well... living my life. And videotaping it. And cutting together the video. Probably tomorrow, I'll be able to upload the footage of what I've been up to over the past few weeks - nothing transcendent, but you'll get an idea of who I am, what there is to do around these Merseyside parts, and how good I am at communicating through words and images, which is, after all, what a lot of Tourism Queensland's new post will be all about.
In the meantime, I just wanted to post a word about the bushfires across south-eastern Australia. As I'm sure anyone who sees this will have heard by now, over 350,000 hectares of land north of Melbourne, mainly across dried-out eucalyptus forests, have been ravaged by the blazes. Thousands have been made homeless, authorities expect more than 200 people to have been killed, and it is thought that even if natural causes started the fires, they were re-ignited by arsonists.
Comprehension fails at a time like this. It's disgusting, shocking, tragic. To think that human hands could cause a tragedy of this scale through what possibly started as callous whimsy is unbelievably sad. And I couldn't possibly continue with a project about the fun there is to be had in Australia, or how I want to go there and frolic on the beach, without stopping for a moment to consider the unfortunate folks caught up in the middle of this horror.
God bless them, and good luck to them.
I'm not sure of the best way to help from far away, but Red Cross organisations across the world are organising emergency appeals:
UK: http://www.redcross.org.uk
Ireland: http://www.redcross.ie
Australia: http://www.redcross.org.au
New Zealand: http://www.redcross.org.nz
USA: http://www.redcross.org
And so on and so on... links to all Red Cross organisations can be found through Google.
Thursday 22 January 2009
Introduction
Listening to the radio a few days ago, I heard about an opportunity that Tourism Queensland is advertising as "The Best Job in the World". The organisation is offering one lucky person the post of Caretaker of the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef -- a new position, lasting for six months, that will involve living on and exploring a place called Hamilton Island. Whoever gets the job will be paid handsomely, get to enjoy the tropical paradise, and be required to report on his or her adventures by way of a blog, photo gallery and video diary.
My name is Ian Mantgani. I am 26 years old, I was born in Sligo, Ireland, and I have lived most of my life in Liverpool, England, where I am as I type this. We have a great city here, and we are on the coast... but of all that could be said to be inspiring about Britain, its grey, cold and rainy weather would not be on the list. The clarity, colour and sun of the Great Barrier Reef is over 8,000 miles away in distance, and a transcendent leap of imagination away in character.
I want this job. And that is what this blog will be about.
My life has been off the rails for the past decade; I went off-track at a stage of life that most people find crucial in testing their mettle, establishing their independence and getting on their defining paths. I have felt directionless and detached from my self, and I have felt the panic of trying to stop the bleeding of my strength and re-establish a plan for my life, and not being able to do it. These are strange feelings for someone who, as a kid, had an unreasonably strong sense of self and where I was going.
I'm not going to get into the drudgery of the details of my sob story right now, but I will cut to the chase and say that I need something to work towards. The narrative of my life is broken, and I need a vision to work at and a happening for a new narrative to pivot around. I was in Ireland last year visiting my grandmother, and out of the blue I got a text from my buddy Mike. It read, simply: "Get off your arse and do something with your life, like come to Australia for a year." And when I heard about this job, I remembered that message, and all thoughts of not having enough money, or a year in the wilderness disrupting my schedule, drifted away. The planets aligned, and I felt the hand of destiny. I want this. I need this. And I'm right for it.
The successful applicant will have certain tasks to perform: Feeding fish, cleaning the pool of the three-bedroom beach house that will serve as the caretaker's residence, collecting mail and flying with the local aerial postal service, and following a schedule of adventures around Hamilton Island. I'm a hard worker, and I can do those tasks. The successful applicant will also demonstrate a knowledge about the islands of the Great Barrier Reef, and will enjoy swimming, sailing, kayaking, snorkelling, diving, picnics, bushwalking, and... well, you get the idea.
Here's where I falter. I don't know much about Australian flora and fauna, and although I have been kayaking and love swimming (got a 5000 metre distance swimming badge when I was a kid, by the by...), I don't know anything about sailing, surfing or any of those kinds of high-demand watersports.
I have a fear that Tourism Queensland is going to appoint someone who fits the typical profile of a backpacker or a conservationist - a muscular surfer dude, a tanned adventurer, someone who already embodies the spirit of the land. Someone who deserves the job more, instead of being more right for it. But I hope they will have the courage and imagination to appoint someone who can embrace this type of adventure without already having lived it. I hope they will see my application and realise that I have the passion to learn, I have the courage to adventure, and I am competent at writing, speaking and communicating through photo and video, and if they appoint someone like me, for whom the islands will be a healing experience and an unprecedented adventure, they'll show the world that the land they're trying to advertise is an inspiration to everyone, not just an intimidatingly brilliant sector of beautiful people.
So that's why this blog is here. The application deadline is 30 days from now. The application comes in the form of a 60-second video explaining why the video-maker is right for the job. Over the next 30 days, I'm going to research the area, get in whatever aquatic adventures I can afford on my limited budget and find around Liverpool, and report back here will text, photos and video. This is my showcase to show I can do it.
And after that needlessly sombre introduction, let me just say thanks for stopping by, and I hope you'll stay with me through this journey. See you later... I'm going for a swim.
My name is Ian Mantgani. I am 26 years old, I was born in Sligo, Ireland, and I have lived most of my life in Liverpool, England, where I am as I type this. We have a great city here, and we are on the coast... but of all that could be said to be inspiring about Britain, its grey, cold and rainy weather would not be on the list. The clarity, colour and sun of the Great Barrier Reef is over 8,000 miles away in distance, and a transcendent leap of imagination away in character.
I want this job. And that is what this blog will be about.
My life has been off the rails for the past decade; I went off-track at a stage of life that most people find crucial in testing their mettle, establishing their independence and getting on their defining paths. I have felt directionless and detached from my self, and I have felt the panic of trying to stop the bleeding of my strength and re-establish a plan for my life, and not being able to do it. These are strange feelings for someone who, as a kid, had an unreasonably strong sense of self and where I was going.
I'm not going to get into the drudgery of the details of my sob story right now, but I will cut to the chase and say that I need something to work towards. The narrative of my life is broken, and I need a vision to work at and a happening for a new narrative to pivot around. I was in Ireland last year visiting my grandmother, and out of the blue I got a text from my buddy Mike. It read, simply: "Get off your arse and do something with your life, like come to Australia for a year." And when I heard about this job, I remembered that message, and all thoughts of not having enough money, or a year in the wilderness disrupting my schedule, drifted away. The planets aligned, and I felt the hand of destiny. I want this. I need this. And I'm right for it.
The successful applicant will have certain tasks to perform: Feeding fish, cleaning the pool of the three-bedroom beach house that will serve as the caretaker's residence, collecting mail and flying with the local aerial postal service, and following a schedule of adventures around Hamilton Island. I'm a hard worker, and I can do those tasks. The successful applicant will also demonstrate a knowledge about the islands of the Great Barrier Reef, and will enjoy swimming, sailing, kayaking, snorkelling, diving, picnics, bushwalking, and... well, you get the idea.
Here's where I falter. I don't know much about Australian flora and fauna, and although I have been kayaking and love swimming (got a 5000 metre distance swimming badge when I was a kid, by the by...), I don't know anything about sailing, surfing or any of those kinds of high-demand watersports.
I have a fear that Tourism Queensland is going to appoint someone who fits the typical profile of a backpacker or a conservationist - a muscular surfer dude, a tanned adventurer, someone who already embodies the spirit of the land. Someone who deserves the job more, instead of being more right for it. But I hope they will have the courage and imagination to appoint someone who can embrace this type of adventure without already having lived it. I hope they will see my application and realise that I have the passion to learn, I have the courage to adventure, and I am competent at writing, speaking and communicating through photo and video, and if they appoint someone like me, for whom the islands will be a healing experience and an unprecedented adventure, they'll show the world that the land they're trying to advertise is an inspiration to everyone, not just an intimidatingly brilliant sector of beautiful people.
So that's why this blog is here. The application deadline is 30 days from now. The application comes in the form of a 60-second video explaining why the video-maker is right for the job. Over the next 30 days, I'm going to research the area, get in whatever aquatic adventures I can afford on my limited budget and find around Liverpool, and report back here will text, photos and video. This is my showcase to show I can do it.
And after that needlessly sombre introduction, let me just say thanks for stopping by, and I hope you'll stay with me through this journey. See you later... I'm going for a swim.
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