There are screenwriting assignments, photography (which we have to put still photos together to tell a story), queer cinema presentation (which I haven’t started) and most importantly, the solo autobiography. Well, at least, it is, to me.

It had been a roller coaster ride for the past two weeks. I’ve since finalised my scripts, and moved on to the storyboarding and casting process. The latter’s the toughest among the two. Meeting new people, was something which I’ve never done for a long time. And it’s meeting new people who will be casted in the film. 

I did a rehearsal with them. Due to my inexperienced in directing people, the rehearsal took its toll on me. By the end of the  4 hours, I  was like a broken man. But, it was an enriching process, to see how they interact and improvise within the situation. I hope it will turn out well on the actual shoot itself.

The next thing I’ll get settled is the art and props, especially the clothes for the kids. Chinatown’s the top of the list of places to get those clothes. I’m setting aside $200 for this short small scale production. $50 for art, $50++ for food and the rest for extra miscellaneous. It’d be good if there are remainders, a bonus if there are returns, but the latter sound quite far-fetched.

Matthew agreed to help, so I’ll put him under Prod Assistant. I feel a little bad for putting him out, since he has got guard duty the night before. I appreciate his effort. I’ll buy him dinner on the 26th.

This week will be spent on meeting casts, small rehearsing and GETTING the PROPS ready. And finalise the timing and send out the details latest by Thursday.

Just two weeks into the term and I caught a cold. But that did not stop me from making a trip down to the BBQ at East Coast with the film people. It started quite late, and needless to say, I left the place later than I expected. It was, enriching to get to know the people from other levels.  L2 students were very forthcoming in making small talks with all the L1 students. I met and spoke to a few L2 students. As the cold drained out my energy, I kept the conversations short.

The good thing about having public holidays on Sunday is a mandatory Off the next day. As 10 Aug is Lasalle’s founder’s day, and it clashes with the mandatory off for National day, it was postponed to 11 Aug. Which goes to say that that tuesday’s off as well. It was great. I got to see the doctor and took a rest before going out to snap photos for the assignments. My photos were atrocious. (maybe I’ll just upload one or two here).

Whole day for Screenwriting on wednesday. It was a heavy and very in-depth lessons on the 101s of Screenwriting. Two lecturers, 20 plus students, 8 hours of lecture, and an hour break for lunch. So practically, it was just talking, watching short films, writing and more writing. We were introduced to film pitch, plot structure, characters studies etc. Group assignment was coming up with a story + film pitch. My group did a comedy. Week 5 is the dreaded film pitch for the next semester’s short film. It’s what I call the ‘make or break’ pitch.

A new lesson on thursday was Grid Exercise conducted by two part-time lecturers. Marijke and Jasmine. I remember the latter from Kelvin Tong’s ‘Eating Air’. It’s basically an exercise which involves the rotation of film production roles per week. So it’s one week director, one week another crew member. Just directing, camera, sound and acting. But it’s a lesson to bond with other people and see how others work. =D

Film seminar today on as per normal. London Film School’s showreel was the highlights. They were excellent though. I enjoyed a couple of films by the graduates, especially ‘Red Boy’, a 30min chinese film. I think the filmmaker was on exchanged program with LFS. I wonder if there are exchange programs for my course.

Just when I thought I could progressed further with my solo project, the lesson was on ONLY for A Class, which means B class’s turn is next week. I had completed the first draft and the treatment of the short film, and I thought of seeking their opinions today. Never mind, it’s alright. I think I’ll just work on it. Refine the scripts and start sketching the storyboards.

2 days of weekend, and I’m still thinking how should I go about using the time. I wanted to watch ‘UP’ but I should just stay home and treat my cold.

Probably drop by the library to carry on with the film theory. Get the necessary notepad for individual lesson. Re-read what I’ve written. Start looking for casts.

And I think I need to get a Mac soon.

To show my appreciation and well-wishes.

First day started off with a screening of ‘HERE’ by Ho Tzu Nyen. Like film screenings in film festivals, there was a Q&A session with him. ‘HERE’ was, in my opinion, an experimental piece of work by him. There’s no cause and effect kind of narrative, it’s mainly visuals and fragmented narration. The amazing thing is that he managed to tell the MOST of the story within one location : an abandoned hospital. It brings back some nostalgic feeling, you know, the kind of old school hospital without air-con etc. A little like the one where I was born.

After that, it was hectic as hell. Theory lesson with Mardhiah. For the second time, we’ve got to introduce ourselves with what we did at orientation. So out came those familiar names and films from my mouth. From the outline she gave us, her lessons looked interesting, especially when I have some fondness for all things theory. And so for her major essay, I’ll probably do Chinese 5th/6th gen directors, if not, Japanese. The former has got more things to write, and it’d be interesting to read about Cultural Revolution and Tiananmen Square. I hope I don’t get too politically involved while writing. =D. The last lesson of the day ended with Storyboarding. I thought it was going to be pure DRAWING lessons. However, it was different. It was more of sharing personal experiences, reading comic strips, all in an effort to channel our inner emotions to tell a story.

And for the rest of the week, it was technical lessons on camera, sounds and photography. Screenwriting was cancelled cos the lecturer’s on MC. I was looking forward to it. I can only get to see them next wednesday. Oh well. Maybe I can consult them on my ‘unfeasible reunion’. Haha.

I finally got the chance to watch Junfeng’s Tanjong Rhu. I waited for a year to watch it. First it was army that I couldn’t watch, followed by sold-out tickets. Tanjong Rhu was shown together with plenty of LASALLE produced diploma and thesis film, as part of the Film seminar. So I got to watch thesis films produced by those from my batch.  I enjoyed the cinematography in Tanjong Rhu. It was subtle, especially in terms of shadows and highlights, knowing how to bring out the moment.

The last lesson of the week was the solo/autobiography. It should be the most important (not that others are not important) assignment of the semester. We have 8 minutes to tell a story about ourselves and we have to ACT in it. That’s the biggest challenge. I’ve gotten some ideas on my journal, but they aren’t concrete yet. Unpolished as of now. I feel that it will be very slow and boring. Maybe that’s my forte.

Long weekend ahead. And I’m down with a cold. How timely for national day.

Here’s what I’m going to do.

- Write essay

-Write solo project

-Take photos

-Go BBQ on monday.

The feeling of going back school is as good as booking in RELUCTANTLY. I supposed two years away from school did some damage.

I seriously hope film’s school will be fun. At least I will be enjoying it. =D

Wake up 7am. Go School. Stay till evening. Go back home. Study. Sleep. Repeat 5 times/week X 3 years.

Lot No.8 is play written by KaZe Koh, about a daughter and her dying father. I quote a sentence from their catalogue ‘ A dialogue between a father and a daughter on ageing and failings.’. The premise of the story was the primary reason why I want to catch the play. I’m quite in favour of stories that deals with death, relationships in a family, memory etc, things like that.

Performance

The performance had three actors: daughter, father and a muse. I did not realise that Joanna Dong was the muse until midway into the play. The dialogue between the daughter and the muse were both lyrical and poetic. It was soothing to listen to them talking. However, the dialogue became a little colloquial when it comes to father and daughter. Unlike ‘InterView’, Lot No. 8 has simple actions taking place in a home and a hospital, which could connect with me.

The performance space was covered with a blue cloth with the ramp and stairway separated (both Lot No. 8 and Interview share some similarity in Set Design). There wasn’t much props in use, other than the fish bowl and a bag full of accessories painted in red. I had an urge to ask the writer or director why were the accessories in red, but the writer left early.

Because we took the seat next to the sound designer, Darren Ng, I could more or less catch a quick glance on how he worked. He has an unconventional way to playing the guitar, in order to achieve the desired sound. While ‘InterView’ has an experimental and harsher sound, Lot No. 8, in contrast, was calm and peaceful.

It was an eye-opener to watch the two performances, being influenced by the director’s and writer’s works.

I chanced upon the play series ‘Blanc Space’ by Drama Box while reading the daily papers one day. After reading it, I decided to catch one of the plays titled ‘Lot No.8′, a story about a daughter and her dying father. I phoned my friend to ask if she’d like to watch, she agreed and so the deal is on.

Days passed and finally it was 31 July 2009, the day of the play. I was rather hyped up and excited for the performance because it’s my first time watching a play performed in mandarin, and my second play after Asian Boys : Happy Endings, back in 2007. I thought watching a play would help to open up opportunities working in the film/theatre circle, and it might influence me in terms of writing and crafting a film.

The bad news came when my friend told me that she bought tickets for ‘InterView’ instead of ‘Lot No.8′ by mistake. Since that’s the case, rather than not going, we proceeded to catch the performance.

Performance

The play is about three people asking and answering questions through interview and meetings. Three characters. Teacher, Interviewer and Lawyer.  I supposed the writer crafted her characters whose professions share the same characteristic of questioning people, hence the teacher, interview and lawyer.

Throughout the play, there were plenty of short dialogues, which deals with themes such as past memories and love. The dialogues were pretty short and harsh, with the characters speaking loudly and cutting out one another.

I enjoyed the sound design of the play, created by Darren Ng (whose scores film for Junfeng and Victric). He uses soundscape to bridge the gap between time and space, so you are transported to a different time and location within the play. The sound was quite erratic and experimental, probably due to the nature of the play. So there were some parts where the sound was exceptionally loud to accentuate the emotions and actions.

The actions took place within two wooden steps and a ramp. The three casts were talking, making love and running around within that small compound. I commend the effort of the director to be able to bring out the story within such a small space (something I doubt I can achieve).

After the performance, like all small screenings of films, there was a Q&A sessions with the casts, writer and director. Questions came pouring in and answered promptly and elaborately. Sometimes, I wished I could just raise my hand and ask the cast, but it seemed that I always leave it to the end on a one on one basis.

I took the opportunity to speak to the sound designer. As I’ve worked on a set which he did the sound, I supposed it wasn’t that shameless to try to PR my way to get to know him. I went up and spoke up, introduced myself as a film student, shared a little about his experimental work of music wonders, took his namecard and ended the conversation with the prospect of working with him in the near future

Unlike other schools, LASALLE orientation was just a one-day affair. Go on a campus tour (which I didn’t go), attend a talk by the president (which I didn’t go as well) and a faculty briefing (i went for it).

Within the media arts faculty, Film course had the most student intake (two classes), which in my opinion, is quite surprising. Because not many people would really pursue film and most of the students would opt for popular courses like design, especially graphic design.

So dean briefed the whole media arts cohort, followed by a more detailed brief by lecturers from individual courses. We had an in-depth understanding of what we are to expect for the next 2-3 years in the film school, followed by a short introduction of ourselves, which we had to say why we are here, what we hope to achieve and who we like (in terms of film).

One by one, each of us spoke up. Familiar names like ‘Michael Bay, Michel Gondry, Wes Anderson, Quentin Taratino, Coen Brothers etc, filled the room.  Then it was my turn. Still couldn’t shake off the fear of speaking in front of people, I stuttered for the first part. After bout half a minute, it became less tense and I was all ready to talk. I find myself very different (in a bad way) from the rest of them. One thing, was my influences in film. For those who know me well, I enjoy indulging in those long emo shots and moments where you contemplate or ponder about your future, or whatever that is going to happen.  I hope I can find a team who is willing to share the same kind of influences in filmmaking.

Timetable for my class, well actually, for both classes is equally hectic. Five days study week, with lessons starting from nine in the morning till six in the evening (if nothing goes wrong). There are film seminars, post-production, screenwriting, photography, film production etc. I’ve not gotten to know anybody well enough, but I believed they have a real good potential of scoring a good film pitch.

I supposed for the first semester, I’d probably observe and explore different aspects of film-making, especially art direction and post. Something which I’d never tried before. At the end of the semester, all of us has to pitch an idea, which only four stories will be chosen out of the two classes. For now, I will just continue to write and work hard for the next half year to come. =D

I woke up in a daze early yesterday morning and, before fetching my mom to work, took a glance at TODAY’s (15 July 09) front page. A article caught my eye. It was not the Top story of the day, instead, it has got something to do with the local arts scene.

http://www.todayonline.com/Plus/Movies/EDC090715-0000101/Festival-shake-up

It concerns the Singapore Int’l Film Fest (SIFF). Some of the festival directors quitted. And the future of it is still unknown. Not sure if they will be film fest next year.

I looked forward to SIFF every year. Since 2004 (when I first attended), every year of the SIFF never fail the excite me. The different genres of films, the like-minded film buffs, the film-makers and the Q&A sessions with the casts and crews has influenced and inspired me. It has nurtured me in the way I look at films. It is also a place and time where I get to indulge in films, get to meet film-makers, and of course, to be able to let something from every screening.

I believed, like many others, no one would want SIFF to end. For there are many films out there to watch, at SIFF.