AFP 2 – Post Production

1.What is your role / contribution to the film in each phase?
Editor.

2.What have you learnt in each phase?

Like every other editing stages, I learnt how important it is to organize your stuff. Not only does helps you to manage your edit, but it also helps to save time to search for the rushes and stuff if you organize it into folders and bins. Another thing I’ve learnt is that always back up your work and save it like every 5 minutes. There was once when someone trip over my hard disk and clever me forgot to set the autosave to 5 minutes..so obviously, all the edits I did for that day were gone. Good thing I was only syncing the clips and haven’t really start my edit yet!

Next, I also learnt that editing doesn’t work like magic all the time. Not all mistakes we did during production can be corrected in post. For instance, if the talent doesn’t perform to expectation, editing doesn’t really help him/her to look better. But since we were desperate during that time and since that talent is the only one who could make it for the shooting, we have to just stick to it since deleting the scene will affect the storyline.

I also realize the importance of sound design. I thought Lost Soles was a boring film but after adding music composed by Phua (which I thought is awesome…especially the opening music) and adding ambience or street noises to some scenes, it actually make the film look better and more engaging. So…despite the sound person being one of the ‘troublesome’ crew during the shoot (like for example, the acting was okay, but the dialogue is inaudible/ ambience not clean/ need to stop packing the set for a while because need to record ambience), they are nonetheless very important. And…try to make more time for sound design instead of merely focusing on the visual edit.

All in all, it’s been a great time working on Lost Soles, though it could have been better…

AFP2 (Production)

1.What is your role / contribution to the film in each phase?

For the production phase, I play the role of script supervisor/clapper girl/translator. I can multitask cause I’m a woman!
2.What have you learnt in each phase?

For the production stage, I played a very vital role as a translator since the story is in Malay and my director is a Chinese. It was quite a refreshing experience for most of my group members who are non-Malay speaking as this is the first time we are doing a film in a language which they may not be able to understand. So it kind of like teaches us to be more open-minded and embrace something new. What’s important is that we do the research before the shoot and familiarise ourselves with the script, and hopefully the filming will be smooth-sailing. Who knows…we’re doing a French/Japanese film next?

I also learnt to be more patient. We needed to work with a maid for one of the scenes and it was hard to communicate with her as she doesn’t understand and speak in English well. Thankfully, I could speak a little Bahasa Indonesia, which is similar to Malay but different in ascent. I had to teach her the lines and reducing them eventually to make things easier for her. We practiced through the lines thoroughly and even though it was hard for her to say out the lines in proper English, we eventually decide to keep it natural – it’s okay if she couldn’t speak in proper English, as long as it is still understandable and that she portray the correct emotions.

I also learnt that it is better to plan for an overrun schedule. Even though we still did overrun for the first day, it was due to technical faults and there were more dolly shots which needs a lot of time to set up. We were very thankful to have very understanding casts who were willing to stay with us till the end of the shoot at 12.30am when actually, the shoot was scheduled to end at 10pm! Things were better for the second day of shoot. Casts arrived on time, we had more crew and even ended earlier than scheduled.

So…now that the production has ended, all we hope for is that there the footage turns okay. Can’t wait to edit it!

AFP2 (Pre-production)

1.What is your role / contribution to the film in each phase?

For the pre-production phase, I’m the writer. Basically, each member of my group comes up with one idea, then we vote for the best one. So eventually, I’m responsible for developing that idea into a story.
2.What have you learnt in each phase?

For the second AFP project, I learnt that…never go on a holiday during the short term break unless there is free wi-fi! Lol. It was hard for me to communicate with my team members when I was in Malaysia during the break, so I couldn’t get feedback for the script and to work on subsequent drafts. Furthermore, my director was in California, and my only way of communicating with him is via the internet. Then, luckily for me, I found out there is wi-fi in the lobby. Despite having to walk all the way there from my room to use the internet, I had to do so. Then…just when I thought I could finally communicate with my members, my director could not get internet because an animal had bitten the internet cable! =.=  So…eventually, some of the paperwork got delayed.

The more major thing I’ve learnt is that we should always send email at least a week in advance for permission to shoot in a school! I sent an email to a school to ask permission if we can shoot in the school field about 2 weeks before the shoot. Days went by and the day of our shoot draws near, yet, there is no reply. I decided to call them up…only to be told to send the email again with the word ‘urgent’ in the subject. Okay fine, so I sent the email again. And three days later, I finally received a reply from them – REJECTED. Although it was heartbreaking, on a positive note, there is still time for us to find another location. So Zoe and Winnie helped me to email other schools. The same thing occurs; unreplied emails or rejection. We then decided to book the Kismis field. Well, at least, better than no location. But then, fortunately, ‘miracle happened’. Woodlands secondary school granted us permission to shoot in their field. Thank god!

Besides that, I also learnt that having contacts is very important in this industry. We had a hard time trying to find a suitable actress to play the role of the mother in our story. It was quite hard to find a Malay woman in her 40s who fit the bill. We couldn’t get anyone from AADB and we can’t get a professional actress due to her tight schedule and our budget constraint. Due to this, we changed our story to a Chinese one since it is easier to find a Chinese woman. But then, we felt that the story would work better if it is in Malay. So…thankfully, we had an efficient casting director, Afiq, who finally managed to find someone who really really really fit the bill!

So after all the drama during the pre-production stage; uncontactable writer and director, rejections and casting problems, we could only hope for the production stage to be a more smooth-sailing one.

AFP #1 Post-Production Journal

My role for this project is the Assistant Director. For the Post-production stage, I gave comments on the rough cut on which part to be improved, to be taken away and so on. I also went on to shoot the b-rolls of the traffic light and the bus arriving at the bus stop with Winnie and Josephine, cause the DP couldn’t make it. We shot it with a Canon 5D Mark II for we realize that the b-rolls are after all a need after viewing the rough cut.

During the Post-Production stage, I’ve learnt not to underestimate the importance of B-rolls. They make a great difference in telling your story or in ensuring continuity. Initially, after finding out that the film which contain our b-rolls were ‘spoilt’, we didn’t go on to re-shoot our b-rolls as we thought that they were not important. But after viewing the rough cut, we feel that the story and the edit is too quick and doesn’t allow the audience to absorb what is actually happening in the story. Hence, we decided to re-shoot it, but since we didn’t get to shoot it on film, we used a Canon 5D Mark II, which quality is similar to film’s.

I also learnt that we should not edit on our laptops and do it on the FCP stations itself. We faced problems in reconnecting our media to the file on the station as our editor did it on our laptops. Not only does this may pose further problems, but it also waste a lot of effort and time as well. Also, before beginning our edit, be sure to check or set our project settings as these will affect the quality of the output. Incorrect output is like…throwing our efforts down the drain. What’s the use of shooting it nicely if the final product looks…wrong?

All in all, I have to say that this project teaches me to be a lot more patient…or has been testing my patience. Nah..I’ll go with the former. From the problems we faced during the pre-production (we couldn’t get the bus on weekends and we are only given limited time to shoot it), the production stage (we have limited time to shoot and…we still overrun!) to the post-production stage (my editor didn’t set the project settings and edited on his laptop), I think I’ve persevered enough and glad all these are over. Hope that we’ll do so much better and things will go more smoothly for AFP 2.

AFP Reflection for Production

Somehow…the rain during the morning of the first day of shoot tells me that things are not going to run as smoothly as we greatly want. There is no way we are going to use lights for the shoot as we’re shooting at a bustop and in a bus..and there are no powerpoints! To make matters worst…cast arrived an hour late. The crew is ready in their positions..but without the talents, how are we supposed to shoot? Hence…we were behind time for the schedule. As the assistant director, I begin to feel the pressure. There is not a single time to waste for we have to end the shoot by 4.30pm no matter what.

However…thank goodness…we’ve chosen the right and experienced cast. Not much rehearsal time is needed…and the same goes for the roll time. Things are begin to fall into place. The team cooperates and with extra hands from the other group from cycle 2, things are able to progress faster. We manage to get back on schedule, and somehow, we have to thank the overcast sky for not making things troublesome with the changing sun directions. The extras are also cooperative with the directions given by Zoe and me, hence we did not face much trouble. No fights broke out in this shoot (phew). To add on, this shoot make me realize the importance of proper paper work. With proper planning, things will go the right way. I mean…as the popular saying goes, ‘if you fail to plan, you plan to fail’. Of course, I can’t emphasize more about the importance of discipline, be it in the crew, cast or extras and also the importance of teamwork. Now…time to be nervous for the post-production phase. Hope things will turn out smoother for the post-production phase.

AFP Pre-production Journal

I hold the role of an Assistant Director in AFP 1′s film entitled “Help”. For the pre-production process, I’ve did the call-sheet, cast list and prepare the cast deal memo. I double as an assistant casting director as well, where I help to scout for potential talents and decide who are the more suitable ones to be featured in the film. Pre-production process has been really tough so far. When we’ve finally find the perfect or more suitable cast, some problems such as the difficulty of getting the bus for the shoot during the initially planned day cropped up. We had to shoot on a new day, which is Wednesday instead of Saturday. Unfortunately, some of our cast couldn’t make it on the new day, hence we had to scout for another one. Yet again, we face some problems such as cast who had to back out when they find out they have something on during the shooting day. Hence, we have to keep casting for new people. We also have a tight schedule to follow as we only have the bus till late afternoon. I have to say that this is the toughest and most challenging pre-production process I’ve ever been since I enrol into film, sound and video. I really need to learn to be patient, though it is really hard to do so as problems come one after another. I learn that sometimes, I need to be more courageous and firm so that people will cooperate and also to ensure that things will fall into place during the shoot and run as planned. I also learn that I need to manage my time well, and as an assistant director, I have to ensure that ample time is given for the camera to change place and for the shots to be taken, even though our schedule is very very tight. According to the weather forecast, it’s gonna be a rainy day on the day of shoot. May God have mercy on us as we really need the sun during the shoot as there’s no way we can use lights. Whatever it is, I’ll put in my best effort and hopes that we can work as a team. We’re all in this together!!!

ATTACK OF THE LIZARD!

As usual, I came home feeling exhausted after school. After taking a shower, I walked into my room to put my clothes on. I reached my hand to the cupboard’s knob, but as soon as I opened it, I noticed something peculiar. A brown, slimy object was at the right part of the cupboard, scurrying towards the pile of clothes at the base of the cupboard. Of course, it was a lizard! I slammed the cupboard door and ran out of my room. Don’t worry…I had my bathrobe on (haha). I had no choice but to wake my snoring father up, begging him to kill the lizard cause he’s the only one in the house with me (my mom’s working and my siblings were at school). So…my father, in a zombie-state, grabbed a can of insecticide spray from the shelf in the kitchen and trudged into my room. Obviously, I was like ?????. It’s a lizard, not an insect! But I chose to keep quiet. I climbed onto the sofa in the hall in case the lizard came out of my room and dart towards me (Yes, I am very paranoid). So…from the hall, I could see my father opening my cupboard and he jolted backwards (either because he’s shocked by the lizard or the messy state of my cupboard…heh). He then released the spray of the insecticide, and the lizard jumped out! Of course, I screamed, even though I was like 5 meters away from it. My father continued to spray on the lizard. The lizard sort of began to ‘stagger’…trust me, it was seriously really disgusting to see a lizard dying. When it then stood motionless, with his BARE HANDS, my father grabbed it and chucked it off my bedroom window. I was praying that no one happen to walk under my flat.

So…after the lizard saga, there was an empowering insecticide smell in my room, hence I decided not to step in. Instead, I wore my mom’s butterfly dress. Yeah…laugh all you want. -.-

I HATE LIZARDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Madhan, I’m sure you’re nodding your head with gusto)

Ha…ha…haaaa..CHOO!

I’m not sure why I wasn’t in a mood today. Perhaps I’ve caught the Monday blues or so. Or maybe because I haven’t get enough sleep these few days. I have loads of assignments plus quizzes to study for, though I feel a little bit fortunate that there’s no exams for this semester. My eyebags and dark circles are beginning to form. Oh shucks. I’m going to be ‘animorphed’ into a panda very soon! *screams*

So…earlier today, I woke up relentlessly to go to school. Throughout the day, I haven’t been smiling(told ya…I’ve got the Monday blues). Everything felt bad. But the worst thing that happen to me takes place in bus 184, on my way home. I was sitting in front of an old man. I think he’s having a flu cause when he drew his breath in, there’s a wheezing sound. Or maybe he has asthma or something…I don’t know. I was gazing at the scenery outside the window of the bus, trying to relax myself, when suddenly a ‘roar’ startled me out of my wits. The old man had just sneezed. It was extremely loud that I think the lightning will sound like a pin-drop. Plus…imagine how my ears hurt as I was sitting directly in front of him. My eardrums were like begging for mercy! However, that is not all. I felt drops of water splashed onto my nape, and a whiff of funny smell entered my nose. My face muscles contorted in utmost disdain. Obviously, the old man did not cover his mouth when he sneezed. My blood temperature was really rising at that moment. I felt like turning behind and let my voice rise into loud and angry words, giving him a piece of my mind. I just can’t believe he just got millions of germs on me! it’s just terribly, totally, ‘effingly’ disgusting.

I rocketed all the way home. The first thing I did when I reached home is to bolt to the toilet, scrubbing my whole body hard trying to get all those germs away. I was cursing under my breath, intimidated by everything that happened today. 2nd June is really a ‘suay’.

Good and bad news

Today, I’m going to touch on the updates that is linked to the media. The good news is that a new American Idol is born! David Cook clinches the American Idol title for season 7 while the young David Archuleta emerged as the runner up. This is the first season in which I do not side any of the finalist. I believe that both of them has their own strength and weakness. Nonetheless, based on the performances during the finals, I feel that Archuleta outshines Cook, probably because of the wrong song choices Cook made, as mentioned by one of the judges, Simon Cowell. However, if we judge based on their progress throughout the season, I agree that David Cook should take the crown. Moreover, in my opinion, Archuleta is still young, hence there are still a lot of opportunities for him to be successful as a singer.

Robert Knox(right) with his mother, Sally and younger brother, Jamie.

Now, allow me to touch on the bad news. I am sure that you guys have heard the news in which the “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood prince actor, Robert Knox, was stabbed to death after an attempt to save his brother from a knife attack in Kent, SouthEast England.”(Rediff, May 26, 2008 18:03 IST). In case you haven’t heard, he was believed to have been stabbed multiple times by an armed man who threatened his 17-year-old brother, Jamie during a brawl. An dispute over the alleged theft of a mobile phone is known to have triggered the argument. Three of Knox’s friends were also injured, but not life-threatening. A 21 year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder.

As a Harry Potter fan, I was indeed startled and depressed by this tragic news. Not only Knox is young(he is only 18 years old), but he just started to embark his career as an actor. The power of a knife–in a split second, all his dreams were completely shattered. Knox’s family has lost a beloved member. From this tragedy, I feel that the country should impose a heavier penalty to people who carry weapons around with no valid reasons. I mean, why would you need to carry a gun to the supermarket or something. By doing so, I believe that it can prevent such mishaps from happening again.

To end this post, I would like to offer my condolences to Knox’s family. May he rest in peace.

Honk!

I stood in front of the Guardian store at Choa Chu Kang MRT station, bathing in perspiration as I wait for my sister to arrive. The sweltering sun was beating ferociously on my face. We had planned to go to Chinese Garden to do my photography assignment-shooting photos that involved man-made and nature-and I guessed Chinese Garden is the perfect place to be. My eyes were then attracted to a tall, tanned teenager who was crossing the junction in front of the store. No, it’s not because he’s attractive or tall or whatsoever. But the green man was already blinking, and yet he was taking his own sweet time, as though strolling in the park. In addition, his ears were plugged with earphones. Out of the blue, a loud honk from a silver Honda Jazz, which was about to make a right turn, started to fill the atmosphere, and almost everyone passing by had their eyes glued to the road. Nonetheless, the boy did not seem to have any reaction, for his speed remained at snail’s pace. It’s either because the music from his iPod or mp3 was being played loudly or he chose to ignore. My heart went pit-a-pat. I was feeling nervous for him, and at the same time, incensed. If I were the driver, I would get out of my car, pluck the earphones out, pinch his ears and drag him to the end of the road. Just imagine if the light has turned red, the lights for the cars turned green, and an incoming, speeding car did not notice that there’s a teenager who is still taking his own sweet time to cross the road. This would create an accident, which could have been avoided.

Drawing from this experience, I hope that readers out there, especially the teenagers, will use your gadgets at the right time. You don’t need to listen to music while crossing the road, do you? Just plug those earphones out for a while so that you can be more attentive to your surroundings. And please, don’t turn the music up too loudly that someone who is two miles away can hear what you are listening to! Your eardrums are pleading for your mercy.

Well…that’s all for today. ToOdles!