Wednesday, August 29, 2007
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I finally got around to edit some of the footages i took with my HP. I think it came out pretty nice. Like Kang Sheng said - it's not how good the camera is but the skill of the person.
So i guess i'm skillful? hahahahaaha eh why are u walking out?
Here's the first day of the KL trip and the first stunt of the production - a fall from the seventh storey.
Btw, have you checked out some of my older posts? I recommend those from january 2005 to July 2006. Anything after that became a bore.
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Audi
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Filmmaking
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Jimmy Low
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My Life
Monday, August 27, 2007
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NOTICE: I've added in an archive list into the blog layout. I've come a long way..
I saw Sly on TV Mobile the afternoon before i left for KL. He was on some cooking show with Fiona Xie. I smsed him, "eh you're on tv again lol."
He didnt reply though but that wasnt the point. I remember the time in the beginning of this year when Ting lectured me on what a small boy I am... clinging on to Uncle Larry and Auntie Avi, Sly's parents day in day out.
I thought about it and truth be told it was painful... cos here was the woman I'd like to bring back home and the reason she didnt want to was because I "wasnt stable yet."
I guess it sort of became a launching pad to my journey to enlightenment.
Yesterday at Mediacorp, at the smoking area outside the theatre were Singapore Idol and Campus Superstar were held (and the corridor where Ting cried softly and caused a commotion), Uncle Jimmy was teaching Singwei and me another part of Kung fu. Kang Sheng and Henry were there watching Singwei and I challenging doing the snake-style push up.
Singwei is a head taller than me and broader. On set he gets all the "good job good job!" praises while i get all the spanking. I doon tthink i left a good impression on my work ethics with him since the first time he worked with me was in KL and I fell sick. So this time when it turned out that I can do the snake push up and he cant, he got furious.
So furious that i was dumbfounded and KS and Henry were laughing their asses off at his pissed-off ness.
I didnt know what to say in the face of his anger that I can do it and he cant. He told me to do it again and I did... and I did it as it should. He got more pissed. He went over and called Uncle Jimmy to see how i did it. And so i did it again. Uncle Jimmy took a look at me after i stood up and he pointed his thumb up at me.
"GOOD!"
Singwei went nuts and got on the floor to prove that he can do it. The snake style push up is freaking exhausting and difficult to do. He started to struggle. Uncle Jimmy kept coaching him and KS and Henry let their laughters go. I kept quiet and watched. I wanted to laugh...
Then finally, Singwei fell flat on the floor and stayed there. Uncle Jimmy yelled, "Get up la!"
Singwei threw his arms about.
"Dont want la!"
I LOL-ed.
Uncle Jimmy let us rest and started his talking again.
"You know why Audi can do? Because I train him. I use words to train him. He went home and do, I never see. But now when i ask to see, he can do. No problem."
It's probably a lousy metaphor or anology... but Ting's words from the beginning of the year kept ringing in my mind this morning.
I looked at myself and some of the things that are beginning to improve are:
- my waking up time (930am)
- I havent been smoking for a week.
- I havent been touching any video games lately.
- I'm always moving around Singapore, never idle.
- My health has been improving.
When Henry just came back from China, we were having lunch when he noticed something about me and commented, "How come your fingers have gotten so fat?"
It wasn't that my fingers got fat. They got thicker. Like a semi-erect penis.
Slowly, a man is growing.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
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I want to update also dunno how to update....
Work still hasnt ended for me yet. August 2007 seems to be a lucky month for me this year being that it's the 9th month of the English calender and I shot Wu Xie Ke Ji on August 9th, Singapore's National day and is also the month Uncle Jimmy had his breakthrough into the KL film industry and Kai Xiang's pictures of Uncle Jimmy's guns are already being distributed to key peoplein KL and coming soon is Leon's turn to shine as he's editing Uncle Jimmy's showreel along with the three hours of footage i took for this three-day trip.
Biscuit films, the Czech team consisting the director, DOP, Producer and paymaster, the wonderful team of KL stunt grip boys and Uncle Jimmy have requested an edited version of these three hours footage.
In the course of the three days we did big big stunts. The production value knocked Singwei and I off - it was the biggest we have ever seen. We had two crane vehicles (those big fuckers) under the stunt department's control, we jumped off the roof of a carpark that's about seven storeys high, two metres per storey, then we sent someone to climb over the railing of the 36th storey roof of a building and another person to jump off the 36th storey. The scary thing is that he doesnt fly down - he hangs in mid air and awaits for the wire pullers to slowly pull him back up.
We were filming at Menara TA, beside the KLCC Twin Towers. The 35mm camera was hanging over the bulding on a ten-metre jib arm.
On the last day we were over at a studio somewhere. It didnt look fancy. More like a warehouse the size of two street soccer courts. But they had huge 5Kw lights hanging off the walkways - about ten of them - lihghting this funky mock-up of helicopter propellors and had someone cling ontop of a blade while they spin him around. They had a wall of green screen put up as well and a 10 metre by 10 metre silk diffuser hanging from the walkway to diffuse the 5kW lights.
Finally we had the big stunt - crashing through glass. This was real tempered glass. The kind you find up in high-rise buldings. The atmosphere became so tense that the Czech people started to sweat in fear, the huff-puff director suddenly got so anxious and the KL stunt boys were lost because the only people available who knew how to set up the explosives was Uncle Jimmy and I.
It was here that we had the brush from the third world. I had this funny feeling in my chest like something is pulling me to tell Uncle Jimmy something. I wanted to but I didnt. I looked at the stuntman, Desmond, and the feeling got stronger. I didnt know what was happening. After the shot, Uncle Jimmy broke to me he felt something too. I voiced out i did too. I guess something was trying to tell us something - no matter how hard we tried... even with a screwdriver and a hammer, we simply could not break the tempered glass. The explosive went off perfectly the second time and unlike the first, the glass didnt break. Even Desmond's steel-sole shoe enforced with more metal could only scratch the surface of the glass despite being flung into it from 5 metres away, 4 metres in the air, from a rope. When the glass finally came down, blood was spilled, the stuntman was paralysed for a few moments, Uncle Jimmy had a big shard of glass sticking out from the back of his hand (he pulled it out and smiled) and paramedics started rushing..... Desmond was fine. A roar of applause filled the hangar. Fifty over people witnessed the final glass breaking.
In fact, this whole trip I felt like something was different. Uncle Jimmy knew that the "others" were around but no, they werent disturbing him. They were helping him. I saw quite a few actions they did to help Uncle Jimmy. Another example we had to swing Desmond off the edge of the bulding, about 50 metres out, at the full speed of a pendulum. Coordination was important because we had two teams of wire pullers at different levels of the carpark which means there's no way to communicate but shouting. We finally pulled it off during rehearsals.... then when the crew came to set up the camera, it rained. And thundered. To go or not to go?
If any of us wire pullers slipped, Desmond's life is at risk. Uncle Jimmy is a careful guy despite what he seems on the outside. The Czech producer was insisting on making Desmond fly faster. Uncle Jimmy had to think about safety and delivering what the client wants. Finally... Uncle Jimmy told us to get ready. We were going to make Desmond swing faster, higher, and pull in the rain, 150 metres up in the open air carpark roof.
We did... and did it again and again up to four times. Uncle Jimmy was shouting at the Czech guys... but for the life of Desmond. The Czech guys wanted more. So Desmond went swinging, screaming. All four times. The Czech guys were happy. Desmond got down, we stripped the wire set up from the crane arms hanging above us. We were all half-naked and shivering. At that point of time, the rain stopped.
In the hotel, Uncle Jimmy said, "This rain was from them. If it wasnt for this rain, I wouldnt be able to show them my power."
I can still remember, at 1am on the 24th of August, right after the glass stunt, the cheers and hugs that Uncle Jimmy got from the crew people on set before we left the set. It was big. People were about to tear. The standard and dedication Uncle Jimmy and the stunt boys showed to everyone was phenomenal. To bleed and risk lives for the sake of film... not even sure if it's ever gonna make it big... it's really not a concern. I've seen with my own eyes what professionalism is and how dangerous it can get. I used to think I have accomplished a fair bit in Singapore. Coming to KL, i realised that I am nothing. My friends laughed when i said I'm thinking of moving to KL's film industry. They said that's Malaysia. Village people. But I have never seen any Singaporean production team work at the standard of these "village people". I have never. My respects goes out to them.
I did something very wrong ont he first day i stepped into KL and granted I deserved what i got. Uncle Jimmy gave me advice on what to do next. I followed the advice and suddenly things started heading for the better. Within two days I recovered from fever and food poisoning. I remembered only taking one pill for fever, and one pill for vomiting. That is all. The rest of the time Uncle Jimmy was guiding me on how to heal myself and kept pushing me to do work. He told me what to eat. What to drink. And scolded me if i drank anything he advised me not to.
The impression i gave was horrible. I missed the oppurtunity to make friends with the wonderful stunt boys from KL. I acted like "a typical Malay" on set. I moved so slowly and blurly. I rarely even talked and sticked to Uncle Jimmy's side or went around with my camera. I didnt even pull any wires. It's one of the biggest regrets I've ever had. If i can see and learn so much just by sitting around, could you imagine if I had actually pushed myself to sit down with these people, speak whatever Cantonese i can gather, and then work with them?
Singwei left a lasting impression on all of them. Including Uncle Jimmy. And this is his first day under The Stunt Production. And i agree with them.
Singwei and I may have learned a lot... probably more than most of us in school have... but I deeply regret being complacent and tactless on this trip. I feel like i dont even deserve the 150 dollars that will be coming to me.
I should stop here... I think i'm starting to write down my thoughts. Tomorrow's another day and there's a small job in Mediacorp Studios. A simple wire stunt. Singwei, Kang Sheng, Henry and I would be there to set up the wire stunt. I'll probably update and that first. So many things going on in The Stunt Production now.
Uncle Jimmy once said to me in the hotel, "I'm very disappointed with you on this trip."
But this morning he and I were cleaning up his storeroom.... he gave me a few shirts and a few things that cant be found anywhere else. He allowed me to coordinate the setting up of his website, the showreel, this KL trip video, gathering boys for his upcoming jobs, paid for my lunch, allowed me to pack up the wire stuff for tomorrow and gave me more to see and do than before the KL trip. And as usual, sent me back to Ang Mo Kio in the evening.
"It's okay. I forgive you. You were sick. But you realised your mistake and you know what's happening. Next time you know what to do."
I dont even know whether you would understand the fortune of having this kind of teacher looking after you.
I just returned from KL a few hrs ago. Priceless experience. Best trip I've been to.
Did some email work today and updated myself on the news.
Then i found this website.
Click it and have a girl moan your IP address. Pretty hilarious. I only hope you dont have plenty of the number 8s in your address.
But they say the number 9 is a killer....
Monday, August 20, 2007
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Leaving for KL tomorrow till 23rd midnight. The Life Story drama serial I was on will be playing this week or something on Channel 5. I'll be editing my TVC in KL when Im free.
I once thought I've turned into something else over the past few months. With Henry's return I'm starting to realise I'm still the same... with bad habits returning. It's kinda sad to realise that. I've always thought,"Be nice.. be nice.. be nice..."
But then with the old guys around again I simply cannot show the character that I am in school. It's the same old, same old. The kinds of discussions we have in school over lunch among people like Kang Sheng, Don, Daryl and all would have been so out of place with the things flying about with my old friends. Sometimes I'd rather keep quiet and not say anything rather than behave like how i did last time.
Mentality's probably different.
Chandler was talking last weekend about how he started dating his girlfriend and how they knew each other since he was 15. He's now 30 something. He said something. I think it went, "You know those times where you're not close to your high-school buddies anymore? Then you wont call each other anymore but when you meet you're like 'Hi...' and go for a coffee or two. But after that you jsut go seperate ways because there's just too much of a difference over the years already?"
There are two ways I can go about this. I really want to head to the direction I'm going now with Jimmy Low and school and all. There are two ways - either bring my old friends (some) along with me or leave them altogether.
I only hope for the former.
I wonder, with my kind of thinking, when can I have a girlfriend of my own to entertain.
Posted by
Audi
Labels:
My Life
,
Sincere coffessions
Friday, August 17, 2007
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Posted by
Audi
Labels:
Filmmaking
,
Jimmy Low
,
My Life
Thursday, August 16, 2007
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Kwang Wei wrote a rather flattering post recently - clicky here!
Sometimes I fear that we start to think we're wiser than others our age. That would be a big mistake.
With the grace of god, it seems like my time with Uncle Jimmy has been paying off. He has been getting a lot of work from Singapore and now KL, after he opened up a new branch there.
More fun for me, really. This 21st to 23rd August I'll be in KL with Singwei doing a commercial with Biscuit Films. I'm still a bit hazy on the details but there'll be a crashing-through-glass stunt and helicopter stunt as well on that day. Some Czech guys will be there as well.
But more importantly, it seems like others around me have been blessed with paid work from Uncle Jimmy as well.
Kai Xiang has had the honour to enter the CISCO Armoury and photograph all 30 of Uncle Jimmy's weapons. He's intending to use this as a catalog of his weapons now that everyone in KL is asking what he has. Kai Xiang's working his ass off editing the photos now but rest assured a handsome reward is in place.
Next coming sunday, the 26th, Singwei, Kang Sheng, Henry and I would be going over to Mediacorp to help rig up a wire stunt for Vasantham Central. They have a variety show coming up and we gotta hoist some fella onto the stage.
I'm less concerned of the token of appreciation in store for us than the fact that Henry would be there with Uncle Jimmy and me. Henry returned from China last Monday and we're still trying to get the ball rolling like good old friends. I miss him.
As for The Stunt Production, I dont know.. it seems like I've turned into a secretary of sorts - sending emails to clients, scanning photos, securing stuntboys and fixing Uncle Jimmy's computer.
Sometimes we discuss on developments for the business and he does come up with pretty neat ideas. I only fear that once he gets his big break in KL, he'll have too many jobs to handle. Already he seems to be working his ass off everyday... and as usual I'm there to settle the paperwork.
The other day Leonard was, in a way, showing off his awards from Australia and some other fucked up country. It's plenty of awards on such a few numbers of films. He showed us Yen Ooi's showreel and it was pretty neat. After class the smokers went out to gather infront of school. Then i noticed that they all had something on their minds.
One went, "How sia.. I dont even have a showreel..."
The other went, "Knn he win so many awards but even so where is he now? Only a lecturer..."
Then another laid the 'duh' remark, "I believe this industry is not easy to survive in. I should find something else to do now."
Then, today, at Hendon Camp on the set of "In Hot Pursuit", Uncle Jimmy suddenly said, "Audi, right now, you already have a showreel, and by the time you finish NS and come out into the working world, you'll already have a job."
Currently, I think my life has been floating on a bed of roses. I can only hope the day the winds start blowing that I can still stay high and dry.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
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i dont know why...
.. but every 7th month I have the "shaking legs syndrome" and i cant stop it.
The day before 7th month I spent the day in Uncle Jimmy's Whampoa office and looked as he cleaned up the altars for the God of Health and God of Earth. Naturally, I was curious and he started telling me stories.
I've been in search for the one true religion these past few years. Up till now I only believe in one simple thing - That there is one ultimate God, and that our lives are governed by the integrity of our heart and its moral values. Nothing more.
I wonder what my relatives would say if they see me putting my hands together in respect whenever i pass a temple or a prayer offering along the road.
To me, it's simple respect. But others tend to see the other side of the coin.
Posted by
Audi
Labels:
Jimmy Low
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My Life
Friday, August 10, 2007
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Fantastic. Enjoyable. Fun.
Those were the words that were flying about after the end of the production.
Before I started this production I remembered what Kang Sheng said about "doing things like you used to do". I recalled the times i ran my own production, controlling 30 over people and telling them to run across the field with wooden dummy rifles. The story was in my head. The angles were in my head and I saw the film play in my mind.
I told myself i needed this kind of procedure back again. Too many times i go for productions doing well technically but lack of heart. I told Kang Sheng that of all the film i've made... i still like the Battle of the Field i did before i came into FSV. Rahman saw what I've done. What I could do save the pressure of protocols and doughnuts and "pleasing someone else." This film became my baby, so to say. I once promised myself that i will not leave FSV without at least a single action film with me at the driver's seat.
I was stuck with a nyeh-nyeh-nyeh DOP so I took up everything in this film from art direction to producing to gaffering to planning to camera shots. I went out to source for the two best Art Directors in my class, Michelle and Joanne, and asked around from good producers like Sammy boy on how to do producing.
I worked closely with Jimmy Low for the past four weeks. I planned the shots with him... the timing... the duration... the locations (we went to six locations) and followed his advice all the way to the very end.
After a bit of thinking I realised that this was going to be a nightmare if something went wrong. So i chose a location closer to home: school.
My dad sponsered the entire budget for the film - SGD$1,500. It's quite a bit... but I did so because the other person started whining about how poor she was. And doing so I had the last say in most everything. I didnt want another person's money in the production for fear that the usual barriers appear again. I wanted to show people that its good to be daring (though in a smart way) and it's better. We're in school.. you did a mistake, so what?
I had a wire stunt in place. Uncle Jimmy quoted me a thousand dollars. It's not much. He said he'll normally charge someone SGD5000 for a stunt like this. People can say he's over-charging. But I was there from the start till the end - I took the things from the storeroom. I loaded it into the van. I helped in fixing the wires up. Uncle Jimmy and I planned the fight. I tore the wires down. I packed it into the van and finally, packed it all back up into the storeroom. This is where I see why the price is set at that. I realised that the stunt is not the main thing - it's the preparation and planning.
I was quite unhappy with the initial part of the day. If Uncle Jimmy can set up his wires in three hours why cant my DOP set up four lights in half an hour?
Like i told our good friend Jason Goh... the moment someone says "Dolly" or "hand-held", everyone's balls start to shrink. But for what? All my cameraman life I've been shooting hand held on my XM2 and I've more often than not gotten some very nice shots. There are times i have to go through huge arguments with my DOP about this and it almost always ends up with a tear in her eye.
Michelle and Joanne's art direction was fantastic. Everything sort of came into place on the day. The shoes from Adidas came in. I initially chose a black and white shoe but then Wei Min came in and adviced me to take the green one. Green? so ugly? but he assured me it'll look good on film. I thought about it for a while and took it anyways.
I dont blame the low-turn out on set on anyone but myself. After AFP1 it still stuck on many people's minds. Trust is one thing. My frequent push-backs were another. It seemed as if the planning was atrocious. I agree it was on that part. But I'm glad that those who came had brains. They had the kind of viewpoint in productions that made me want them. I've heard of some who would show some kind of sour face when they get duties like "Gaffer" or "Wire puller". Everything they wanted was big big big. If one thing with the hours i spend with Uncle Jimmy is that it has made me realise small things carry a lot of weight. Nowadays i dont see the word "Carry" as something simple. Carrying is a technique, too.
I guess everyone had their fun that day. Uncle Jimmy was a big morale boost once it came to the action sequence. Before that I felt like throwing my fist at my DOP. I wondered why I was getting the cold shoulder from people. But come Uncle Jimmy everybody started waking up.
And did things faster.
I liked the wire stunt. We ran into a bit of an accident in the trial pulling - we pulled too fast and too long that the actor, for fear of himself, held on to the wire which the pulley then ate his hand up. It was a pretty big cut on his fingers. Kang Sheng ran for the first aid kit and plastered Chin's fingers. Looking back at it I thought it was funny. Funny because when i saw Chin's close up, his arms infront of the camera, the plasters and iodine-stained fingers gave some kind of character to him.
Kwang Wei had some ball-tightening fun on the wire.
To be honest when i saw it i tried to keep my laughter in because he looked like a duck hanging on the coffeeshop displays.
Then they did some funny funny thing.
What a lovely couple.
That's not the only couple I saw on set.
Well.. at least it's love that's happening and not someone crying on set...
The film's title is Wu Xie Ke Qi. I'm not sure what it means but Joanne, who came up with it, said it had something to do with being invincible. Exactly like the theme i had for the story - Nothing is impossible. I had a bit of problem with my DOP as well with the theme. I dont get what it is... but it's probably gotta do with intelligence... but she cannot understand that "Impossible is Nothing" is a pretty big theme with many possibilities.
I like this shot a lot. Probably because of the subtext behind it.
See? Subtext.
Uncle Jimmy had his cameo appearance in the film as well. He's like that. Everytime he goes for a shoot there will be some cameo appearance by him whether its his leg, or hands, or his entire behind. This time it was behind his neck.
I got one of my old friend Jason Goh to come on set with me. I liked it. Much better than the other one i brought in for AFP1. I dunno why but I can never work with women. Always ends up in a fight.
We started two hours late.. thanks to a slow cow.. and that cow was the one who planned the call time but came late still. But we managed to finish 22 shots with 72feet of film left of our 300 feet. Quite a feat, really. I'm not sure how it'll turn out since telecine is this Monday or Tuesday. I only hope that Uncle Jimmy has proven to people or showed to people that it is possible. But only with planning way before hand.
I noticed i get a bit blur on set after a while. I was shouting another person's name when i called someone. I asked where was this this this guy when I just spoke to him a few moments earlier and I was also wondering why must a director be a gaffer at the same time.
And I noticed I look damn old and tired too. Kai Xiang said I look "weathered"... like I've been in the sun for too long doing dirty work.
"You mean i look like a coolie?"
"Yeah... you do."
Thanks so much. lol.
I asked Kai Xiang how well did he think my production this time went.
He said,"Well... the number of my shots shows how well the production ran."
He took 91 pictures, compared to AFP1's 33 picture wonder. I'd say it went okay.
After the shoot... or rather.. after the cow ran off for another person's shoot leaving her things all messy and out in the open... the guys packed up the things.. cleaned the floor... etc etc. I'm thankful for that. I was afraid they would run off. Rahman thanked me for the fun he had. My villian actor (the guy in black), which was a last minute decision since the original stuntman disappeared, came to me and profusely said thanks to me. He shook my hands and said in a very lethargic and almost I-cant-thank-you-enuf manner,"Audi.. really... thanks for the shoot. I've learned so much today. I've really learned so many invaluable things today. I cant thank you enough for what you have shown me today."
I passed Uncle Jimmy his thousand dollars. Then he started taking out some of the fifty dollar notes and passed them to me.
"This fifty is for Kelvin... because he did the stunt. This fifty.. give it to Singwei. And this fifty... is for you."
This is my first allowance from Uncle Jimmy. And i have never ever felt the joy of earning money in this manner before. It was so sweet. Now I understand the meaning of "treasuring money". The thousands of dollars I've earned from DW Group selling matresses means nothing compared to the fifty dollars that was in my hand.
I learned quite a lot of things that day from Uncle jimmy. Things like giving and taking. Being kind to people. Keep to schedule. Planning... it's like everything goes around in a circle. Uncle Jimmy then gave SGD300 to Chin, the hero, for the stunt job. I calculated everything and it seems like Uncle Jimmy kept only SGD550 for himself. Guess for yourself about what i just realised.
That night Rahman and I stayed in school and rewarded ourselves by watching the National Day Fireworks from the 9th floor. Even though the fireworks were about only a finger big from where we were, it felt as if we were on the shoulders of giants. The distant booms felt like artillery fires... as if meant for us guys... a shadow of everyone else.
The next day I passed my sister the fifty dollars i earned. Finally, I returned her money.
Posted by
Audi
Labels:
Filmmaking
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Jimmy Low
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