Jeremy Teo | Just Simply Me

Touching – Beautifully Imperfect

Just came across this ‘Funeral Commercial’ on Facebook, and it left such a deep impression on me that I just had to blog about it. Yes, I teared a little while watching it. To evoke such emotions in 3 minutes pretty much highlights the power of the script. The message itself, “Beautifully Imperfect”, was beautiful. The directing and photography was excellent too, and to date is one of the most impressive advertisements I have ever came across. Not to mention it’s a local production.

The commercial probably ‘touched’ me more than it would others due what I been through last month. Through all that happened, I have very much learnt to treasure my family much more, and this commercial was a timely reminder of that.

Proud to be a New Media Student

If there’s one big takeaway from this three weeks of internship, it’s the amount of knowledge I have gained, especially with regards to new media. Within this short span of time, I have learnt so much more than I would have expected to, and it’s only going to get better. In fact, it’s ironic how I feel more like a new media student now than when at school.

Of course with ups, there’s downs. So the one disappointment which leaves me a little perturbed is my encounter with some people out there who still seem to undermine the power of new media. Being a new media student, I enjoy what I study, and take pride in what I personally think is the next big thing. In fact its THE big thing now already. And who better to prove my point than President Obama. From his elections campaign, to inauguration day, to a new website, and to the best and coolest of them all, the appointment of a new director of new media! Now how is that not making new media the next big thing?

Just watched Red Cliff 2, and it’s definitely the next best thing to Lord of the Rings. I am a huge fan of LOTR, and was kinda sad after the 3 part trilogy ended. But Red Cliff kinda allowed me to re-live some of those moments, as I drew parallels between the two. Both were based on good scripts written from elements of history and myths, both were well casted, both had amazing scenery and effects, and both had really good fighting scenes. When I saw how some of them sacrificed themselves jumping into oil barrels to blow up Chao Chao’s navy ships, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the scene in LOTR The Twin Towers, when the huge Uruk Hai jumped into the walls of Helms Deep to blow it up. Similarly, Zhou Yu’s jump from the ship held great resemblance to Aragon and Legolas jumping off the ghost ship in the Return of the Kings.

Having recently taken film classes, I was also better able to appreciate the technicalities of the film. Sure, much of the story was based on history, albeit some a little inaccurate, but you got to admire how the script was continuously pieced together, as each scene seemed to blend in seamlessly with the next. Definitely an intriguing film brimmed with intelligence and bravery, which makes a history-idiot like me want to read up more.

The Last Lap

One last lap to go before my essays and exams are done, and then it’s checking out procedures before heading back home. It’s been really fast, and it’s been a great experience, but I guess I shall leave the full recount of this exchange experience till next week, when I finally get all those school work out of my mind.

The last few days have been filled with flashbacks. I saw my orientation dorm roomate and his friend outside the canteen, the same two people who were chatting with me back in my orientation hostel about 3 months back. I recalled just how excited yet unsettled I was feeling back then. I had many plans then, some I fulfiled, some I neglected, and some which even went way beyond what I had expected. But whatever it is, the past few months will definitely be an experience unlike any other I may ever get.

Oh, and I don’t usually like to post pictures or videos on this blog space of mind, for fear that it might lag things up, but this is a must! The trailer for The Other End of The Gun, the film project we worked so hard for. A glimpse into why my exchange experience was definitely one unlike any other! Enjoy!

The Other End of the Gun

Filming is finally completed. What started out as a mediocre student film assignment had exploded into what I would call a semi-pro film project. It was a huge jump for me, someone with literally zero filming experience, and I would say I have gained much from this entire experience. I had to adapt fast, and not everything went smoothly, but it was definitely something no other exchange experience (to any other university or country) can match.

“The Other End of The Gun” is our film’s title. So basically the title reflects the story of our film; a female contract killer who is torn between her ‘bad’ lifestyle, and the ‘good’ lifestyle which she really hopes to have. So on the muzzle end of the gun, it’s her dark killing lifestyle, while on the other end of the gun, she’s actually hoping for a normal lifestyle with kids and a family.

Ironically, as the days of filming went by, the title portrayed a true reflection of the entire production and filming process. On the filming end, things worked out really well, Our friend who directed the film, seriously worked wonders. Weeks back when he spoke about having auditions with professional actors, I was thinking like ‘oh right can we even engage any actors to help us, not to mention professional ones’. And then he talked about having scenes with a smoky bar with singers and a killing scene taking place, I went like ‘how is that ever going to happen’. But guess what, those two things plus many other amazing things, did in fact happen. We roped in professional actors and actresses, a director of photography and camera assistant, set designers, make-up artist, extras and many others. I’ve seen most of the shots that I’ve transfered to the editing room, and they look really amazing.

However on the other end of the gun though, I would say things turned out really bad. I’ve honestly never worked in such disorganized circumstances, and never felt so frustrated over working with someone before. You see our friend was so focused on the filming end of the ‘gun’, so much so that he often overlooked the other end, which is the filming preparation and people management aspects. No doubt, what the audience sees is the final edited film itself, but a good film will never happen without all the background support. It’s like expecting Arts Camp to happen without the help of the often neglected logistics team.

To cut the story short, he was so engrossed in his actors and how the shots would turn out, so much so that he neglected issues of logistics, food, communication, budget, scheduling and most importantly, team morale. At one point in time he also kinda lost touch with his own sense of humanity, just so as to ensure he gets the shots he wants. This resulted in much unhappiness, and to be honest, the rest of the team simply got frustated having to clear up the negligent mess he made time and time again. Which brings up the same phrase we hear so often in arts club, ‘Can a project be considered successful even if it turns out really well, but the process was an unhappy one?’

All this may sound really crude, but that’s how bad things really got. And yes I may be someone who can be vocal at times, but this time I went to the extreme as I confronted him many times to highlight these issues. It’s one thing that we’re both cool with honesty, but it’s another that despite my honesty, I can’t seem to drill the fact into him that he has to do something about it, apart from just saying ‘no way did that really happen?’ or ‘no way did I really do that?’

Nonetheless, there’s always a positive to the negative. I’ve learnt alot from all this. This experience re-emphasised the importance of proper planning and management, of how important a leader needs to see the ‘whole picture’ of a project, and not be over-engrossed on one aspect, and I’ve again seen how good communication is the key to everything. I’ve also grown to appreciate films more, and all the hard work behind it.

I am also grateful for the new friends and contacts I’ve gained, and how these wonderful people from all over the world have provided me great insights into what the filming world is like. I now kinda know the entire film production process, the different kinds of filming equipments, and of course, the basic techniques of sound recording, which I was doing for most of the film. I’ve also seen how the world can be less practical than what I’ve often observed at home, and people are actually willing to help and do stuff, just simply because they’re professional, nice and want to help. No other agenda, full stop.

We were asked not too long ago if we were planning to go into the filming industry, and to be honest for me it’s quite a definite no. But whatever experiences gained over the past week or so will definitely aid me in one way or another, directly or indirectly.

It’s now time for a good rest. Tomorrow’s the day I’ve been waiting for. My gf is coming to HK! Great timing considering I really needed something to look forward to after that long ardous journey :)

Kungfu Panda

I really wonder how come its rated as only 3.5 stars. I absolutely loved the show. My gf and I have been waiting for this show for a while already, and so we finally got to watch it today. I laughed from the first minute to the last. Critics have said that it was good, just that the storyline was a little common and ordinary. But I felt it was better than ordinary and somewhat good, as it brought the story and characters out very well. Of course most parts were more or less predictable, but you can’t expect twist, turns and mysteries in light hearted animations can you.

I used to always credit disney and pixar for their wonderful animations, only to realise I generalised it a little and forgot about Dreamworks. They’re up there with the best too.

Horrible

Things are finally starting to look like last semester, and its nothing good. Last week was quite some hell, and this week is going to be worse, and I’m sure it will go on and on until the finals.

Went to watch Horton, and it was totally horrible. A total waste of money. I have high expectations of animation movies, as all I have seen previously very good. The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Ice Age, Monsters Inc, etc etc, but this one didn’t have a storyline, there was totally no link, the story idea was horrid, and the jokes were not funny at all. It didn’t help that they had to show the short preview of Wall-E, Kungfu Panda and Ice Age 3 before the movie, which just made Horton look read bad. I fell asleep inside the cinema, and guess what, so did my gf. It the end, we did something we never thought we would have done. And that is to stand up and walk out halfway through the movie. Yes, it was that bad.

Not sure its the after effects on sunburnt, or the rain yesterday, but am feeling a little queer today. Not the right time at all to fall sick.

Movie Critique

Just back from the cinemas, after watching The Mist. To be honest, it gave me the impression that it was a very ‘strong and solid’ show, but I was kind of disturbed by a few things. I’m not really going to be a spoiler by telling what the show is about. But I’m going to give all you people reading a head’s up, that the show is full of gore, and although I think I’ve seen worse, this was quite bad. But you know what, that wasn’t the thing that disturbed me most. It was the ending, it was just too cruel an ending. As much as I have been rather disturbed by it, I would genuinely recommend the movie, do check it out.

Oh another thought about the movie just came to me. Another reason why it is so good? This was the first time in a cinema whereby the audience had developed such a big attachment to the story line, whereby the reaction to the movie was so big so much so that they all clapped when something (which we were hoping would happen) happened. Interesting.

I noticed something at the cinema. Anyone noticed the kinds of movies that are being released lately? To name them, shows like I am Legend, Cloverfield and now The Mist. They all actually involve story lines and scripts which talk about either the end of the world, or some invasion of the world. Now I didn’t watch Cloverfield, but I’m guessing the story line just from the posters and preview. Hmm, kind of sad and freaky isn’t it.

Alvin and the Chipmunks

Catch the movie, its nice. Think the girls will really like it. The chipmunks, especially theodore is real cute. The singing and music is great too, and again its always after watching these movies that you wish you had the talent and ability to be a part of the production team of such movies. The graphics, drawings and motion are just so smooth and real, its just so amazing. As for me, and the people around my age group at least, the movie brings back memories of the old cartoon too, especially when Dave shouts “Alvinnnn!!!!”

Hmm, now even Doraemon has its own movie coming out, haha

Weee!!

So fast, going bangkok tomorrow already! Yeah, time for some shopping. You know I’m not one who really shops, but everytime when I go overseas, whether I need the thing or not, or whether it is really worth it or not, I have to buy something, just to make myself feel happy. I guess it more or less applies to everyone, and that is why the worldwide tourism industry is doing so well.

Went out again today, after finally checking out from RVR. Thanks to xy for accommodating all my ‘zor teng’ items in my room. Just feel its really stupid to ask us to move everything out, and then move it back. And I’m guessing the room will be left vacant anyway. Moving in and out is really a hassle, and eventhough the amount of things I have in my room is already minimal, it still took me a lot of time and effort to clear everything.

Went to watch golden compass. I seriously dunno whether to say its nice or not, coz there were scenes similar to narnia, harry potter, pirates of the carribean, and lord of the rings, into one movie. And the way it ended, was also like lord of the rings, whereby they made it obvious there was another mission ahead, and that there is gonna be a sequel to the movie. But I must say there is always something to look forward to in the movie, and that is seeing the different ‘demons’. Now don’t be mistaken, the demons are not bad things, but for the sake of not spoiling the movie for those who wanna watch it, I shall stop describing it further. Although I really don’t know if its a recommended movie or not, because there were parts where my gf and I kept asking each other what they were talking about :p

Oh, and I realised, there is gonna be an Alvin and the Chipmunks movie! I was right in saying not too long ago, that suddenly all those old cartoons and shows from my time (makes me sound real old) are coming back on the big movie screens! I used to watch Alvin and the Chipmunks cartoon everyday, with the playful Alvin, the witty Simon, and the cute little Theodore. Shall catch it when it comes out!

As for now, its off to bangkok. Till I come back, enjoy the holidays everyone!

Home

As expected, work rate at home is at a flat zero, yes totally zilch. I woke up late, then watched TV, and surfed the net, and watched more TV. The closest I came to my books was to touch my advertising textbook. Thats bad, and I am going to go back to school earlier tomorrow.

Just watched the show ‘Nanny McPhee’ on HBO, and it was really good. The ending of the show gave me the same feelings I felt at the end of Rat-a-too-ee. The concept was the same, whereby there was a very meaningful phrase used in the middle of the movie, which seemed to be of nothing when it was first mentioned. But the true meaning of the phrase only revealed itself right at the end of the movie.