Each year, Rockstar Memoirs publishes hundreds of yearbooks for schools around Australia. The Yearbook of the Year Awards recognise excellence in the yearbook creation process, final design and print standard. Only the very best schools are able to tell the story of their schooling year to such a highly engaging standard.

This year’s winners won a prize pack including a Panasonic Lumix S1 Camera, which features 12.1 megapixels, 4x optical zoom, optical image stabiliser and long-lasting lithium rechargeable batteries. We can’t wait to see the photos taken with these little beauties in this year’s yearbooks!

Congratulations to all the winning schools!

• Beaudesert State High School Yearbook, edited by Taya Lindner
• Biloela State High School Yearbook Narina, edited by Jenelle Wood
• Carwatha College Yearbook, edited by Tanya Morey
• Catherine McAuley Westmead, Yearbook edited by Jacqui Hamilton
• Deception Bay State High School Yearbook, edited by Alex Gramotnev & Chantelle Eastwood
• Goroke P-12 College Yearbook, edited by Kylie Charlton
• Green Point Christian College Yearbook, edited by Stephanie McCarthy
• Greensborough Secondary College Yearbook, edited by Glenn Jenner
• Hoppers Crossing Secondary College Yearbook, edited by Natasha Forder
• Lilydale High School Yearbook Salamander, edited by Adam Sherwin
• Marian College Yearbook, edited by Natalie Micallef & Vito Milana
• Melrose High School Yearbook, edited by Jenni Evans, Beth Morris and Heath Cooper
• Mount St Benedict Yearbook, edited by Mary-Jane Trujilo
• North Lakes State College Yearbook, edited by Greta Creed
• North Rockhampton State High School Yearbook, edited by Tracie Salqvist
• Northside Christian College Yearbook, edited by Renee Wolfik
• Our Lady of Lebanon College Yearbook, edited by Harry Stephens
• Penrith Christian School Yearbook PhoCuS, edited by Sharon Tuft & Sherilyn Freeburn
• Penrith High School Yearbook The Towers, edited by Nathan Wilcox & Team
• PLC Armidale Yearbook Ad Astra, edited by Jenny Robinson
• Randwick Girls High School Yearbook Jirra ,edited by Mary Wren & Team
• Reservoir District Secondary College Magazine, edited by Melanie Gaylard
• Richard Johnson Anglican School Yearbook Footprints, edited by Rob Cohen
• Rockhampton Girls Grammar Yearbook, edited by James Lye
• San Clemente High School Yearbook, edited by Rosemary MacCallister
• Sebastopol College Yearbook Threshold, edited by Andrea Quayle
• St Catherine’s Catholic College Singleton Yearbook, edited by Lisa Peel, Renee Burns, Karen Earnshaw & Terry Holstein
• St Clare’s College Yearbook, edited by Natalie Dickie

Stay tuned for details about the 2011 Yearbook of the Year Awards! And don’t forget to order your Starter Pack to get started on this year’s yearbook project!

Our team at Rockstar have an eclectic taste in music – with die-hard fans of everything from Lady Gaga, to David Bowie, to Michael Buble, to Mozart. Me I’m a die-hard fan of an indie-pop garage-rock band, The Go! Team.

And finally after a long and painful 4 year wait, they’ve released a new album Rolling Blackouts!

And it’s the best thing ever!

Attempted description of The Go! Team…

The Go! Team are like nothing you’ve heard before. Their music can be described as an addictive up-beat sugar-hit melody trip of dandy, that beamingly awakens the fun-loving kid inside everyone! And that kid still is inside everyone.

The Go Team! is pop without the lame. Pop-rock without the “same old” vibe. It’s not for everyone, but everyone gets it. It’s flutes, trumpets, chants, hip-hop and cute-as-hell vocals that make so much sense! There are cherries there too. Yes. cherries.

The Album…

Rolling Blackouts is The Go! Team’s third gear. And while you don’t have to have heard their first 2 albums, you have to know that gear 3 is so much more smoother, faster, and slicker than the first 2.

Individually, almost every track has an original soul of it’s own, and when heard together back-to-back on the album, every track in their entirety and order makes so much sense. Unlike albums 1 and 2, nothing feels out of place, lost or boring. When the energy gets too much, in slows down. Not to a crawl, but a melodic peace that soothes your sense for your next joy-powered overload.

If I had to make a complaint about Rolling Blackouts, it would be the vocals. After all, with a lead vocalist called Ninja – you have to hear them right? Yes and no.

I’ve heard the album quite a few times now, and sometimes I wonder what the hell I’m tripping out to. Am I zinging along to a chant about doing big poos? Does it really matter? Not really… It just would have been nice to have a vocal anthem track on there like “Doing it Right“. But that’s not to say there are no athems.

If I had to pick a favourite, I’d say Tracks 2 (Secretary Song), 3 (Apollo Throwdown), 4 (Ready to Go Steady), 5 (Bust out Brigade), 6 (Buy Nothing Day), 8 (Voice Yr Choice), 9 (Yosemite Theme), 1o (Running Range), and 13 (Back Like 8 Track) are all tied as the favourite.

haha. seriously – they’re all that good! If I had to pick an absolute absolute, it would have to be 10 (Running Range), and 13 (Back Like 8 Track). Again – I can’t split them.

A few months ago, The Go! Team released track 1 on the net (T.O.R.N.A.D.O.). It’s probably the least representative track on there, so don’t pay too much attention when you first get started.

By now, you would have worked out that I’m pretty fanatical about this album. It’s the first time I’ve ever written an album review. On my business website. That creates yearbooks. Yeah.

So go buy it kids.

Finally, the bestest bestest thing about the album are the trumpets on the last track. If there was a theme for “winner!”, as in “WINNER!!! – I told you so!“, and “WINNER = the good guy wins the heart of the pretty girl“, – it’s that track. It’s triumph at it’s best. It’s The Go! Team saying “we’ve been away for 4 years, and now we’re back”. And it was certainly worth the wait.

To all the classes of 2010, the Rockstar team wish you all the best for the future! It’s bright and sparkling, we promise!

Bomaderry HS

Blacktown Girls HS

Bossley Park

Barrenjoey High School

Canley Vale High School

Carlingford High School

East Hills Girls Technology HS

Goulburn High School

Elizabeth Macarthur Girls High School

Henry Kendall High School

Lake Illawarra HS

Lismore HS

Liverpool Girls HS

Today the office is rather empty with only Christine, Emily, Ellie, Nathan, Chris and I present… I would’ve loved it if more of the team were here so that I can say my goodbyes to a few more people but I guess if there were more people here I’d be bawling my eyes out when I’m leaving. I practically spent the day on InDesign, helping out the lovely Christine (Indo Pride BTW ) My past week at Rockstar has definitely been one that I will treasure for a very long time, I know that not many people has had the amazing opportunity to work at a place that they then grow to love so much for work experience so I’m definitely very grateful for such a lovely week at Rockstar. I don’t think that my past week at Rockstar would be as amazing as it was if it wasn’t for the people here and I have them to thank for one of the best weeks of my life.

To Nathan… Thank you soooo much for everything. Thank you for opening your company’s doors for me to do my work experience in and thank you for arranging my work experience in the first place You’re such a great boss whose leadership skills is such a treasure for both you and your employees, I hope that they realise how lucky they are to have a boss like you. After my many lunchtime discussions with the team at Rockstar team I can tell that they really appreciate and love to have you as a boss. I’m so sorry for any mistakes from the past week and thank you for the help in hand when I was Ironing .  Good luck for any future endeavours and hopefully I will see you sometimes in the near future

To Amelia… It’s such a shame that I didn’t get to know you any better but thank you so much for everything that you have done for me. Thank you for arranging my work experience here at Rockstar, for guiding me along the way and for taking me under your wings even in the busiest of times. You’re such a lovely person and I wish you the best of luck for anything you want to conquer in the future

To everyone else here at Rockstar thank you for such a mindblowing week. Each and everyone of you are such unique and talented individuals and I know that you all will go far in the future. Thank you for letting me into your office and putting up with my many questions.

To Emily, Lewis, Chris, Sabina, Ellie, Annalise, Dane, Michael S, Jeremy (sorry if I forgot anyone )… Thank you so much for letting me tag along during your lunch breaks and making sure that I find my way back to the office every single lunchtime I’m going to miss you all and your fun and fearless personalities.

To Michael S and Jeremy… Thank you for letting me help out with the video set, it was soo much fun! You both are so hilarious, most of the time I tried not to laugh because if I did I woudn’t be able to stop.

To Dane… Thank you for teaching me the tips, tricks and basically the art of Final Cut Express, I can’t say that I’m a pro yet but at least I can say that I’m not such a dummy at it .

To everyone else at Rockstar… Thank you for your warm hospitality and I’m going to miss you all very much xx

So I guess that is all from me. Lots of love, hugs and kisses…. this is Nisa, signing out.

I’ve just realised that over the past week that I have spent at Rockstar Memoirs, it  has been highly focused around videoclips and today was no diffrent. When I say it was no diffrent, I don’t mean that I got to master more skills in the art of Final Cut Express but I did get involved in a videoclip shoot. Jeremy, Michael S and I got to spend the whole day shooting  video snippets  (I think it’s for the Rockstar website?) where the staff of Rockstar Memoirs got to dress up in a ‘high school stereotype’ and answer a bunch of questions in the way that their character would. It was quite amusing to see a few of the Rockstar crew get into character because beleive it or not, alot of these graphic designers/creative consultants make amazing actresses/actors.  I got the opportunity to hold the ‘boom mike’ (I know, cool name eh? ) while Jeremy shot each take. You never really appreciate the art of being a director of photography for a video when you’ve never been on a set before but now that I have it actually seems like a tough job because sometimes there are interruptions in the background noises and etc that you just can’t avoid. Today was definitely the best day that I’ve had at Rockstar so far. It was really good to get active after sitting down infront of a laptop for the past two days (even though I missed editing videos today ). Jeremy and Michael S… If you’re reading this I have to say that it’s been such a pleasure working with the both of you, you both make me laugh so much with all your jokes and quick wit!

To top off what was already such a lovely day… The Rockstar crew gave Amelia and Emily a very sweet birthday surprise filled with lots of laughs and the all important banana and chocolate cake. So to Amelia and Emily, Happy Birthday! I hope all your dreams come true and always remember to reach for the moon but even if you fail, you’re still a star in the sky .

Remember when I mentioned that when I came in to the office this morning there were a few unfamiliar faces? Well one of them was Michael S but later on he came up to me and asked me to brainstorm ideas for a design of a ‘Trellum’ catalogue for university students. It was quite challenging to come up with a way to attract a university audience for this catalogue but once again, it must be done. I must say though, to be asked to pitch in a few ideas for a  product that will be put on the market was both an honour and a little daunting, I got a little bit nervous here and there..

I suppose that is all for this rainy Wednesday at the Rockstar studio. Au Revoir for now and I shall see you later

When I opened the glass doors to the Rockstar office, I was greeted by some familiar faces and some unfamiliar faces. As I scanned the room I couldn’t find Amelia anywhere but that was fine because today I practically dove into the world of video editing. When I walked into the other Rockstar studio Dane had already set up the MacBooks for us to start editing the yearbook videos on using Final Cut Express. I’m sure Anita has ellaborated on what the videos are about but basically Rockstar Memoirs makes a short little videoclip about the yearbooks they have recently made and Anita was lucky enough as to write scripts for the video but I was lucky enough as to edit them which was actually pretty interesting and fun. To be quite honest with all of you I have NEVER used Final Cut Express before today, I mean I have previously made videoclips however they were much simpler and I used Windows Movie Maker which is by far much user friendly for begginers but nevertheless Dane helped me out alot which was much needed and much appriciated. Dane if you’re reading this, thank you so much for putting up with me and the many questions I had today It’s thanks to you that I now know the basic tricks of Final Cut Express and just FYI, you’re awesome. I never knew that video editing could be so time consuming and complicated at times (especially when you’re running out of free disk space!) but at the end of the day the hours of slaving away in front of the computer was definitely worth it.

Did I ever mention that time goes by so quickly here at the Rockstar office? Because if I haven’t, now I am. I started editing videos as soon as I walked through the doors of the Rockstar office (aprrox 9.45am) and before I knew it, it was lunch already! The lovely Rockstar crew took me out for lunch today which maybe to them was an everyday thing but to me it was something new, after all i’ve never had a job before therefore i’ve never gone out for lunch with a whole group of co-workers. If any of the Rockstar crew are reading this… thank you for taking me out for lunch, I would’ve had no idea where to go if I didn’t have you guys and although I was quite at lunch today, I really did enjoy it I was just feeling a little under the weather as all.

When lunch was all done and our stomachs are satisfied it was back to the office and back to work. Dane and I kept working on the videoclips, I think it took a little longer than expected because we would stumble on so many problems and glitches along the way starting with having to render every single video to trying to find space to save files in the very jam-packed hard drive of the MacBook. While I was editing videos Nathan decided to turn on some music in the studio with my iPod and played Hannah Montanna (haha, shame), I think it was harder to convince him that I don’t like Hannah Montanna rather than actually editing videos on a complicated program like Final Cut and incase you’re wondering why I even have Hannah Montanna in my iPod in the first place, I was eleven, self explainatory? haha. Oh and today I got to go out and navigate through the streets of North Sydney for a post office (well, I didn’t exactly roam around… I had a map ) where I had to mail a CD, it was fun to run a few errands outside the office while getting some fresh air  after sitting infront of a laptop screen for alot of the day and before I knew it, it was already 5 which meant it’s home time for me.

I can’t believe it’s already Tuesday! Which means that in only 3 days my time here at Rockstar will come to an end and I don’t want it to end. I never thought that there were any jobs out there where you can meet so many amazingly talented people who share the same passion as you do until I walked into Rockstar, it gives me chills (the good kind ). They say that when you love a job you literally wake up every morning excited for what you are about to do up till the point where you practically fly out the door to do it, well thats how I wake up every morning for the past two days. So that is all for now, Adios Amigos.

Below is a summary of my very first day here in the Rockstar office (PS I think they call the place Rockstar because everyone are such Rockstars at what they do! and yes, that is a good thing )

_____

As soon as I woke up this morning, I looked out my window to find a cold and rather murky morning (definitely not something to expect when it’s only a matter of days away till its summer) and although for most people a cloudy day like today symbolises a bad day for me a dark, rainy day symbolises a good day, I know it’s crazy but no, i’m not joking. It was 9.30 when I set foot in front of a building with a huge ’247′ street number on it, I could’ve walked straight in but instead I stood outside the Rockstar building looking down on my black dress. I kept questioning whether the dress made me look too formal or far too casual, I practically spent an hour yesterday night going through my whole wardrobe to find the perfect thing to wear and I told myself that I shouldn’t spend another hour questioning my decision in front of the Rockstar office just because I was nervous  so I took a deep breath, walked into the building and up the stairs to the Rockstar office. When I opened the glass doors to the office, I introduced myself to a room of unfamiliar faces then Amelia, one of the Creative Consultants here at Rockstar came up to me with a smile on her face, she introduced herself  and the rest of the team. I instantly felt so much better and I laughed a little to myself, “What  was I so nervous about? everyone is so nice and welcoming”.

Rockstar is my second work experience place, last week I did my work experience at a vet and although it was interesting, I didn’t feel like I belong as much I did when I first set foot on the Rockstar office. I’ve wanted to be a graphic or interior designer as far back as I could remember, art has always been apart of my life and ever since I was a part of my schools yearbook committee (yes, we were and still are Rockstar’s client) I have been so excited for today, the day I get to do my work experience here.

Amelia gave me my Program and this trusty Mac laptop that I’m typing away on before letting me browse the internet through all the Rockstar websites and setting me up with my very own Rockstar password (ahh, feeling like a Rockstar ). I pretty much lost track of time just going through… wait this deserves a drum role please… *drum role* Adobe Photoshop CS4 and Adobe InDesign *people cheering in the background*  and when I looked at the time, it was already lunchtime . WOW!  Chris and Sabina was so lovely as to take me out for lunch (If you’re reading this, THANK YOU! ). Then it was back to work, well… back to FUN! I got to go through the Rockstar library which was very inspirational, I would’ve spent my whole day there if I could but unfortunately there are not enough hours in a day. Next I went onto the yearbook ideas website and commenced blogging about tips on making a yearbook and right now… well I’m blogging to to you Oh actually, before my blogging streak Nathan came up to me and gave me some very wise and much needed words of wisdom about the work and the team.

Surprisingly this isn’t all that I’ve done today but it’s almost 5 which means I have to go home  because my bus comes once every 45 minutes and it’s bucketing with rain outside but anyways it has been such an amazing day here at the Rockstar office and I can’t wait for more! Ciao and see you all tomorrow.

I don’t want to goooooo xD

Quiet day at the studio so far, so I’m going to be on task and get this blog entry up! Amelia’s asked me to do some editing for the yearbook videos just now though. I have to use Final Cut Pro- which I’ve heard loads about, but never actually got the chance to try. The most ‘professional’ one I’ve been able to use was Adobe Premiere (Elements…) …it can’t be that different, right?

———–

Final Cut is a little more confusing than I first thought haha- couldn’t get the files to import initially because the format wasn’t recognised etc. Still a bit of a noob when it comes to Macs too, so I had to spend some time sifting through the help files for Final Cut, and get some help from the others. Just waiting for the hundred or so clips we’ve recorded over the past couple of days to finish importing. I think I’ll pop out to grab some lunch in the mean time.

————–

Bah, my last couple of minutes here now!

Coming to Rockstar was something that I was anticipating for practically the entire year- in fact, I was so keen that I started organising it at the end of last year. Back then, my Year 9 English class had just placed the finishing touches to our school’s yearbook, and the idea of work experience was brought up with Nisa, a close friend of mine- which then triggered our ‘early moves’. She’s coming next week, by the way. You’ll love her, she’s brilliant!

Fast forward to today, I’m still surprised at how fast the entire experience passed. Sure, I arrived home feeling rather exhausted each day, but all the work and fun in the studio completely made up for it. Working away with this beautiful MacBook (sad face, I have to leave it behind) in the air conditioned studio, with good music and great people who all share a passion for designing is more than I could ask for in a dream workplace. Anyone would love working here. I would love working here.

I am forever grateful to everyone here. Thank you so much for making these five (albeit short), days as lively as possible. Thank you to Amelia, for all your help in organising my work experience here, for teaching me the ropes, for your kind and helpful guidance throughout my time here, even though you were very busy. Lunch on Monday was a pleasure, and I loved your presentations with the yearbook videos

Thanks must also go to Nathan- your positive, yet firm attitude is definitely a great asset to yourself and the company! I really appreciate all that you have done for me- for the organisation of my placement, for your welcoming and uplifting words. As with everyone else, your schedule was obviously packed, but I admire your ability to keep track of everything and complete tasks to a very optimum level and still offer your infectious personality. As I mentioned before, you are a great leader!

And of course, thank you to everyone else here at the studio- all of you are such diligent workers xD With great personalities too. To everyone I worked with: it was a great pleasure, and a hell lot of fun. I wish all of you at Rockstar the best in your careers; all of you are so talented! And for those of you still in university: good luck as well

So, Banzai! (Banzai! Banzai!…) Rockstar, you are going really strong, and I hope this continues for many years to come~

How do I end this post now? Bye?

Bye :] Maybe I’ll see you guys again some time!

———

Today, is unique, because I’m actually starting my blog entry in the premises of Rockstar Memoirs!  Finally found some time and managed to set up my temp. account on Blogstar Memoirs, which is a little late…

Problem is, it’s still 10.15- I got in about half an hour ago, so I haven’t really started anything too serious. I expect I’ll be doing some yearbook filming any moment now though. I hope I don’t stuff it haha…

———-

I finally managed to (in an act of ‘bravery’) film a couple of pieces for the yearbook videos. Actually, it wasn’t so bad- for the most part I was able to film them in one take, aside from one particular book that took me three attempts. After a couple of tries, it’s easier to be comfortable in front of the camera- but I didn’t look over the footage, so I probably look silly. xD

The night before I had a random burst of inspiration for a yearbook theme, so I worked on creating another mood board for a couple of hours (leaving my minimalism one….untouched). I really love the prop designs for the Harry Potter movies, especially with the various retro/ vintage styled leaflets and posters they use as props. So that sparked the idea for this mood board, once again granted with my terrible naming skills.

So this is the ‘Vintage Harry Potter Prop-Styled Thingy’, promoting flat, pastel colours in a retro/vintage style. Cross-posting it to my (lonely) Deviantart account- having problems uploading it here anyway, so if you want to see it, visit it here. Ignore the (very embarrassing) username, it was created a loong time ago, and I can’t explain it either.

Aside from working on the mood board, I can say today was pretty quiet. Ran a couple of errands to the post office as well, which was a good opportunity to stretch my legs. Time passes really quickly here at Rockstar- I’m having so much fun. Dreading tomorrow though; it’s my last day D: