Process – LALALALA

4D (II) Project 3: Site-specific Storytelling – (Dis)connect Process

I can’t believe year 1 has come to an end! The past semester has been a great learning experience for me. I learnt so much in 4D and I have to say, it really is a journey of self-discovery.

This last project is a culmination of everything I’ve learnt in the past year. In the form of an installation, we were challenged to make use of a specific site in order to construct a narrative (hence the title of the project). We got together and discussed what topic we would like to expand on.

IDEATION ◊ RESEARCH ◊ PLANNING

We did a lot of sharing on drive, and the bulk of our planning was done there.

This resulted in our project proposal.

The week leading up to the installation date, we did not really do much real preparation. We weren’t confident that out proposal would be accepted, and we were already anticipating on changing our ideas. To be honest, I knew that our installation idea had potential and that maybe Ruyi would want us to change just a few aspects to have more of a storytelling aspect. This anticipation made us discuss more about the storyline and fortunately, our idea was accepted.

With less than a week to prepare, we planned on how we were going to go about doing things. This is where my love for planning comes up and I am just in love with the spreadsheet Hwee Ann came up with. I mean, without it I will just waste my time and go about doing things blindly, so I’m very appreciative of the spreadsheets.

Logistics

Timeline

◊ STORYBUILDING ◊

The narrative is an important aspect to this installation. What can/would happen on the dining table? As I have learnt from the first project, character building is extremely important in creating believable characters, and ultimately, a believable story. We wanted ours to almost become a stereotypical story, but we properly made sure that the family is real.

Hence, we started off with character profiling. (Due to some miscommunication, I forgot to share the updated file with my friends, but here is the combined version:)

Since we aren’t telling the story in the traditional sense of a narrative, we knew that planning was crucial to ensure flow. The way the narrative would unfold is through the phone/iPad screens of the family members (personal narratives) and through a background audio (combined narratives). This way, we are not only showing the story by itself, but also showing it through the eyes of each character. This we hope could shine light on the characters’ personalities and give a closer look into their lives.

Again, we did it in excel to properly sync everything.

Originally, I felt that the installation should play for longer, at least 5 mins. However, after discussion, I realised that my teammates had a point about having the audience’s attention kept in check. A shorter video would mean the audience wouldn’t get bored easily.

Along the way, Debbie came up with an excellent idea of having a projection on the table that would show viewers the activities each character is going through on their respective devices. This was what I had in mind initially, but dismissed because I’d have no idea how to do it. However, once Debbie said that she has done projection mapping before, I was so elated because it would be a really cool and interactive effect! This was also to facilitate easier viewing for audiences who are in the room but are not using the goggles.

Afterwards, we realised that we didn’t have enough time to properly sync all the apps appearing on the projection table. Moreover, the table’s size didn’t allow for our ideas, otherwise they would appear too small so we scrapped the idea and decided to just show the conversation unfolding in chat bubbles. This was also to identify the characters sitting in which position on the table.

◊ EXECUTION ◊

With all said, we split the work. I focused on creating the goggles, Debbie did the projection mapping on the table and Hwee Ann focused on recording the phones/iPads usage, and editing the videos together. Check their process posts out to find out more from their side!!

Hwee Ann
Debbie

They did a really really good job on their parts and although I was hoping to help them out more on the editing side, I faced more challenges on making the goggles than I anticipated. However, I really loved how each of us brought our own strengths and experiences to the table and this I feel is the main reason why we work well with each other and could accomplish this much work in just over a weekend! I am so proud of what we have gone through.

For the goggles, I started making them during one of our meetings. I planned and started making the stands for the devices while Debbie worked on the animation and Hwee researched on how to record phone screens.

For the goggles, I had a specific idea in mind how it would accommodate the audience’s viewing pleasure and comfort. We wanted the viewers to be completely blocked off from their surroundings when looking at each screen, so I thought that simple trapeziums weren’t enough. Hence I designed a googles-attached scope… thing.

And I’m quite happy with the results!

At first I think that Hwee Ann and Debbie expected for me to finish the goggles way faster (which I think so too), but thankfully, they understood when I faced some challenges and trusted me with the creation of the goggles. Thanks guys!

Another thing we did was sourcing the props for the installation. The ultimate musts were the table, chairs, dinnerware and goggles/stands. With the goggles done by me, and dinnerware provided by Debbie, we decided to source for tables and chairs in ADM so that it would be easier to set up.

Wonderful tables all around ADM, but this baby hidden underneath stacks of paper in the drawing room was the winner:

We found 3 chairs that were perfect with the table. And for the baby chair, thanks can 2.

Other chairs that didn’t make it through elimination. Better luck next time, folks!

Immediately, we tested projection by covering the table with white mahjong paper and tilting it to gauge the distance needed between the projector and the table.

Since we had a normal sized projector, we started thinking of ways to mount the projector on the ceiling. We were quite innovative and thought of using a mirror to reflect the projection downwards while the projector is horizontal. However, after some testing with Hwee Ann, we realised that the size would be a problem. After Facebook calling Debbie who was at home working on the After Effects for the projection, we decided to try and hang it up anyways.

For sounds, Debbie went to visit her friend Celeste, who has a family and is currently pregnant! She recorded their voices as the mother and father, and Debbie herself acted as the teenager. We also recorded all the ambience and background sounds in school. From chewing sounds, to footsteps, chair dragging, and cutleries clinking. Overall, I think that Hwee Ann really did a good job in combining the sounds recorded to create a realistic dining room sound.

With the sound recording done and the mixing of the main background audio, it was easier to edit the individual videos and projection based on it so that everything would be synced.

Needless to say, it was hard work to put up the projector. We tried to be ingenious by hanging the projector in a bag with raffia strings, but right when we managed to get the projector in, it DIED on us. And the bulk of our set up was just to get the projector up.

We changed strategies and with a newly loaned projector from Nevin, Mark, Brian and Nasya’s group (thanks guys omg), we tried using the mirror method, which worked because this projector’s projection was larger! Truly a blessing in disguise. Afterwards, the bulk of the work was reediting the table projection to fit the table and to edit the videos and sounds.

The projection had to be edited to fit the table set up. (And yay here are how the finished goggles look like)

After a long night during which I died for maybe an hour or so, we managed to pull through and while Hwee Ann and Debbie finished up the videos, I sourced for more things from the drawing room to set up our space. I felt that there was too much empty space since the table had to be under the projector, so I made use of existing furniture to create a living space.

Us transporting props from the drawing room to 2-19

Here’s a behind the scenes of the set up:

Check out our final product in my final post!

Here are the screen recordings for the devices:

Baby

Dad

Emily

Mom

Table Projection Mapping

◊ REFLECTION ◊

I feel very accomplished and am really happy that we pulled through this project.

On hindsight, we could have started earlier and went on with some parts of the project while waiting for the consultation with Ruyi, so that there were concrete things to comment on. We could have also improved more if we did this.

However, I also feel that we did a really good job despite the stress and pressure. We acted calmly, planned well, and overcame each hurdle step by step together. I also feel that we’ve conquered the installation and managed to address each aspect of an installation, from changing the audience’s perception of the space to taking note of how the audience interacts with our installation. I also feel that we have really put what we learnt this semester to good use. From crafting a believable story through character profiling, pursuing topics that relate to us so that we can tell authentic stories, to sound design and placing importance on the relationship between audience, artwork and artist.

I’m really thankful for this semester. I’ve learnt a lot about my weaknesses and what I have potentials to improve on. I’m also very inspired by my classmates’ works and I’m motivated to do better and better. Thanks to Ruyi and my classmates for a very fulfilling semester in 4D! I hope to use whatever I’ve learnt this sem for the future!

4D (II) Project 3: Site-specific Storytelling – Proposal

4D (II) Project 2: Sound and Image – Process

< For the final video, check this post!>

Ever since I found out about the existence of foley artists a couple of years back, I have always marvelled at the seemingly effortless sound experience films produce.

This project was my first actual attempt at recording my own foley for a video, and I have to admit that it really was not as easy as I imagined it would be.

When thinking of soundtracks, I immediately thought of the soundtrack used for the end credits of Grey’s Anatomy.

I think that it really is magical how the song fits the story, how the beeps are reminiscent of the beeping of machines in hospitals. Animations by Guldies were also the ones that opened my mind to how sound design is extremely important in any kind of film or video production:

Euphoria (I can’t seem to post the direct video here)

The sound design really gives the videos life, and this brought light to me about how foley is extremely important to create not only believable scenes, but also bring about mood and character.

In class, Ruyi taught us about diegetic and non-diegetic sounds, and how to use these to create an atmosphere.

Diegetic	Non-diegetic
a.k.a. actual sound	a.k.a. commentary sound
Characters’ voices	Narrator’s voice (Voiceover)
Sounds of objects in frame	Ambient sounds for dramatic effect
Music if it comes from objects in frame	Music to create mood
Both combined to create a dramatised but real experience to viewers

Here were some other websites where I learnt more about sound design and foley:

Storytelling with Sound on Vimeo
Storytelling with Sound Design on Musicbed
Sound as a way of telling stories on Gareth Stack

◊ IDEATION, RESEARCH ◊

For this project, I teamed up with Hwee Ann and Debbie. First thing we did was to list down ideas, which we did over Google docs. We researched about the different types of parallel storylines, and also possible story ideas, storylines and a script.

Some story ideas

We decided to work on Debbie’s idea surrounding an eating disorder and how it is hidden behind a façade of healthy lifestyle.

More brainstorming and initial script by Debbie

ANOREXIA

As for myself, since I have little exposure to eating disorders, I went to research more online, from its types, symptoms, to causes and treatment.

This website was quite helpful in giving a summarised explanation on anorexia.

So, out of the types, we chose to show how the character was not only cutting on calorie intake, but she was also doing everything she can to reduce and/or get rid of the calories already in her body.

CHARACTERS

A summary of Sarah, the girl with anorexia:
Obsessed with beauty ideals constantly fed to her through media such as magazines, television, and most significantly social media, Sarah starts starving herself, purging, and over-exercising in an effort to be like her idols. Her depression and eating habits are masked through the use of social media, which easily allows her to craft the persona of someone living a healthy lifestyle. This starts taking over her life, as priorities shift from academics to achieving an unrealistic figure.

A summary of Hui Xin, the roommate:
Hui Xin, in contrast to Sarah, is a happy-go-lucky girl who happens to be a foodie. She does not care about meeting beauty standards and instead focuses on truly living a healthy lifestyle with equal parts exercise and equal parts indulgence. She busies herself with school work and likes watching extreme eating videos in her free time. She maintains a close relationship with her roommate but fails to notice any at risk behaviour, not only because they spend little time together due to their own schedules, but also because she believes Sarah’s online persona.

FINAL STORYBOARD

We decided that we want to have 3 points of intersection in the timelines of our two characters.

We came up with a storyboard and list of scenes for filming. Meanwhile, we would also take note of what each scene shows/means, i.e. the subtext behind the action or shot.

Summary of our general storyline showing the parallels of the two characters

◊ FILMING ◊

Filming was fun. We did it over two days and also used a Zoom recorder to record as we film.

SETTING UP THE SPACE

Sarah’s desk is filled with cutouts of girls, “perfection”, a reminder of her idols and ideals. It is also covered in beauty products such as various lotions and a hairdryer. They take up 70% of the space, with the rest being several books and a handful of photographs.

Hui Xin’s desk (forgot to take a proper picture) is filled with more personal things, but most of all food. There are also articles on food pinned up.

SHOOTING

The way we approached shooting was to capture as many angles as possible, so that we would have shots at our disposal for editing. We also took note of lighting as to describe the time of each scene.

It was quite difficult to get the room night scenes right because the footage will get really grainy, too dark, or out of focus.

Turning off all the lights would be too dark, so we turned on one of the desk lights. However, the reflection on the bathroom door became too obvious, so in the end we covered it up with a towel.

Shooting went well. Only afterwards when reviewing the shots did we realise that many of our shots were too grainy, desaturated or out of focus. Also, since we used 2 cameras, some of the colours turned out very different. This is one learning point for future filming, to make sure that the settings on the cameras are optimal.

◊ EDITING ◊

I had my own vision of the overall film. I wanted to emphasise on the over-exercising part of Sarah’s eating disorder. I wanted to show her really pushing herself beyond her limits, but in a negative way. I also wanted to hint at how this is affecting her psychologically.

For the sound, I completely disregarded the use of any form of music, since we were encouraged to use other means of sound design other than music to create mood.

Inspired by the music video for “If I Get High” by Nothing But Thieves, I really wanted to include a dream sequence.

I thought that I could make use of it to establish Sarah’s state of mind and condition. In my version, I made use of the alarm tone to integrate the dream sequence into the real life. I included split second shots of “beauty ideals”, Sarah sitting in front of her desk filled with these “beauty ideals”, and shots of crunching chips. At first I included the sounds for all of these, but eventually decided to make it silent except for the alarm tone and a humming sound that increases in intensity.

In the end, I had to exclude some shots because my video was way exceeding the limits of the duration. During editing, I also realised that I was missing some shots I needed. Since it would be too troublesome to shoot again, I had to improvise and make do with the shots we already had.

In line with my idea of showing Sarah’s over-exercising, I sequenced the shots in such a way that it seems as if Sarah is exerting herself, especially in running. This is done through repeating shots and using various angles to show how Sarah runs again and again.

At the end, I alternated shots of Sarah’s evening run with Hui Xin’s being in the library, studying, and then walking back while snacking. This is to contrast their lifestyles and also to give the impression that Sarah runs for a really long period of time.

I cut from the call scene to a shot of Sarah biting into the apple straightaway to highlight her lying. In this scene too, I decided to not show Sarah purging at all, but instead use a focus shot on the thrown away, bitten apple, and shots of Hui Xin and her eating videos. These are some of the shots I decided to intersect with solely the puking sounds:

Each shot was aimed to juxtapose the puking sounds.

More on sounds, it was quite fun to record my own foley. From footsteps to biting, door opening, turning off the lights, panting, and many more, I used the Zoom mic in order to record the sounds as accurately as possible. I also recorded white noise by turning up the recording level on the mic and recording silence.

Since we already had a live recording of the sounds that correspond to the shots taken by the camera, I used them as reference to decide whether the sounds I built were accurate or not. I layered the recorded sounds and controlled the volume for the white noise and recordings of the surroundings in order to weave a believable scene.

At most seven audio layers were used in editing.

For the recording, I actually recorded everything in accordance with what they actually are. Then I adjusted the volumes so that they would be very subtle and not too out of place, and I added layers of white noise and ambience sounds to make it as close to the real recording sounds as possible.

When watching the final product again, I realised how the white noise was instead drowning out all the subtle foley sounds I recorded. There were also parts in which I felt I could adjust the volume better. Somehow, it did not come to my mind at all to include sounds of phone-tapping or phone ringing when Sarah received a call. I find it quite hilarious how I missed out such a simple thing.

After watching my friends’ videos, it came upon me how I was too focused on making it realistic that I forgot to utilise sound to develop the mood more. I could have used internal hushed voices to intensify the mirror scene, or some piano tones to accentuate some scenes. I realised that by ruling music out completely, I missed out on chances to use just certain pitches and tones to describe the mood or create pacing.

◊ REFLECTION ◊

I think that going through this project opened my eyes on so many levels.

MESSAGE/SUBTEXT

First of all, I feel that I’ve tried to fit in too much for a 5 min video. There were too many things going on that it becomes rather unclear what my main message is supposed to be. Also, I feel that a lot of the actions could have been more subtle.

Duane mentioned that perhaps we could have focused on the characters’ relationships with other people rather than the actions they go through by themselves, or too explicitly showcasing the “food” side of anorexia. This I find a really interesting comment as it is true that eating disorders go beyond the motions people go through, as they also affect the sufferers’ relationships with their surroundings.

HUI XIN

The three of us also agreed that we have not developed Hui Xin as a character sufficiently. After the submission, we talked about how we could have given Hui Xin more personality. Instead of simply liking food and superficially showing her eating and watching videos of eating, we could have made her a food blogger instead.

She could have been a passionate food writer who writes her own food blog or publishes articles on food in magazines. Then, instead of shots of her going through mundane everyday motion, we could have had shots of Hui Xin on one of her trips to a cafe or restaurant documenting the food, and writing about it afterwards. This we feel would give the character more depth and more chances of interacting with Sarah in a meaningful way.

SOUND

Most of all, I learnt that sound design really isn’t as simple as replicating sounds in real life. I think that for my video, I focused too much on replicating sounds of the real world that I’ve forgotten to create any distinguishing mood or feel, although this is exactly what I always reminded myself to do. I’ve sort of strayed from my original intentions. I feel that while I did a lot of research and learnt a lot from them, I did not succeed in applying what I learnt effectively.

I learnt quite a bit of new things when watching my friends’ videos. I also realised many things that I failed to notice when editing my video:

Usage of internal voices to describe mental state and thoughts
Symbolic sounds (waves, clock-ticking, heartbeat)
Sound dynamics
Subtle music to describe surroundings

OVERALL

Although I feel that I really could have done much better for this assignment, I am glad to have gone through this project because I will definitely try to learn from my mistakes and from what I realise that I can do better. I also had a great time working with Debbie and Hwee Ann whom I learnt a lot from. It has been an eye-opening experience and I hope to improve from here then on!

4D (II) Project 1: Alter Egos – Miss You

Albeit simple, this project was challenging for me as it pushed me to understand myself better, something that I have always been scared of. Irregardless, I’m glad that I’ve gone beyond my comfort zone to create something that is meaningful to me.

I’ve truly learnt a lot from this project, and while the profiling process was tedious, I realised that it helped me create realistic characters and made it easier for me to draft the story based on the characters. Without further ado, here is the final product, “Miss You”.

Big thanks to my roommate who acted with me! For everything that led to the final product, including initial thoughts, process and filming, head over to the process post! Also thanks to Ruyi for the feedback and comments, I’ve learnt a lot from this project.

4D (II) Project 1: Alter Egos – Miss You Process and Execution

How do I see the world? What am I looking for? How do I define myself?

Three very difficult questions.

◊ INITIAL THOUGHTS & PROFILING ◊

Many stories were written based on the author’s experiences. These stories feel more authentic and believable because they are based on actual thoughts and feelings on issues that matter to the author. Through this project, we are expected to develop characters that resonate to us and to use central issues in our lives in our story telling.

Easy at first glance, but extremely difficult when attempted. I have always perceived myself as an open book. But am I? There are things that I thought I would be comfortable to share with anyone, yet I still hesitate. Then again, I can talk about my problems to strangers and be fine with it (and half-regretting it later).

The point is. Am I ready to delve into issues that actually matter to me? Truth is, I’m scared. I’ve always been an escapist. Instead of tackling my problems head on, I conveniently run away. Even up till this point, I’m still hesitating.

Irregardless, here is me listing down characters that intrigue me or that I like.

◊ LITERATURE/FICTION ◊

The Little Prince – The Little Prince
I loved this book (now also an animated film) ever since I first read it for my literature class back in Secondary 1 in Indonesia. The book exposes the many facets of “adult” behaviour through the lens of a child-like narrator.
The Little Prince is naive, imaginative and pure in a world where adults strive for adult things. In his own little world he manages a routine that is important to him, and in his journey he meets adults who have their own superficial priorities.

Sakura Mikan – Alice Academy
Alice Academy is a manga written and illustrated by Higuchi Tachibana. I grew up reading and loving these types of stories where the characters are young and have a special power in school settings.
Mikan is the main protagonist. She is bubbly, optimistic, good-natured and determined, but clumsy and foolish at times. Despite her background growing up with her grandfather and no parents, she has a positive outlook and treasures her friends like family. She is courageous and would always stand up for her friends.

Mathilda Lando – Léon The Professional
I really like this film for its heartfelt showcase of humanity and love in unlikely characters, and of how unfair the world is. Also the band Alt-j made songs based on this film which I listened to before watching this. I was completely dumbfounded when I saw the scenes where the lyrics were taken from as I could instantly make the connection (OMG THIS IS WHERE THEY GOT IT FROM).
Mathilda is young, but she is forced to mature beyond her age as she attempts to avenge the death of her brother (and perhaps her family, although it was dysfunctional). She puts up a brave front and finds a father figure in Léon.

Hugo Cabret – Hugo
Hugo is a movie based on an American historical fiction novel written by Brian Selznick. Martin Scorcese’s take on Hugo is visually stunning and the world of Hugo Cabret is a mystical one for me.
Hugo Cabret is an orphan living in the walls of a Paris train station (love the idea of secret spaces). He is secretive and anonymous, and has a great goal to achieve: bringing his late dad’s automaton to life. While he is not exactly a role model, his actions are driven by circumstance and in searching for answers and a connection with his father, he is bold and unstoppable.

Sadie Kane – The Kane Chronicles
Like I said, I like stories with gifted children in fantasy settings that intertwine with the normal world. Peppered with Egyptian mythology and teen angst, this Rick Riordan series is one such story.
Sadie grew up apart from her father and twin brother after their mother’s death. I liked her being of mixed-ethnicity, that she has a twin, and that she has magical powers. I also related to her want of being closer to her father and brother but not very outwardly showing this.

◊ PUBLIC FIGURES ◊

Vincent Van Gogh
Vincent Van Gogh was a post-impressionist painter who remained unknown and poor until after his death. He struggled with mental illness and died at the young age of 37 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. I like how he could express himself through his art and how the circumstances he was in and the state of his fragile mind was reflected in his paintings. Similarly, I would like to be able to express myself through my art.

Nyle DiMarco
Nyle was the first deaf winner of both America’s Next Top Model and Dancing With the Stars, two popular American TV shows. Despite being born with a disability, he could still accomplish his goals and to top it all off, he is also very sweet and down to earth.

Anna Akana
Anna is a Youtube personality who not only makes video content, but also writes, produces, directs and acts in her own short films. She is also a comedian and performs stand-ups, while managing her own clothing line. I admire her for having the willpower and determination to overcome her obstacles (her sister Kristina committed suicide and she herself struggles with anxiety and panic attacks) and achieve the things she wants in life.

Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (Ahok)
Ahok is the current governor of Jakarta, the second with Chinese ancestry and also the second who is Christian. In a largely Muslim society, he has faced his own share of racism and groundless opposition from extremists. However, he is headstrong in his conviction and exercises his plans as promised, while also being personable. He is known to be forthright, harsh, and iron-willed, facing corruption and other issues head-on effectively, in comparison to previous corruption-laden administrations.

Bethany Hamilton
Bethany is a professional surfer who lost her left arm in a shark attack. Despite this, she was able to eventually return to professional surfing – and emerging victorious at that. Her love for surfing and the sea was greater than the obstacle she faced at the time, and along with her unfaltering faith, she managed to rise back up from despair.

◊ PEOPLE I KNOW ◊

Mom
My reason of being.

RK
Grew up with a disability and lack of understanding from people, especially his family.

VK/KA/AJ/CS
My constants, though we are all in different countries now and rarely stay in contact.

AY/NA/SG/RR
My circle of support who shaped me to become who I am in Singapore.

OA
School caretaker and operations manager (sorta) in his 60s (I guess) whom I’ve known since Primary 2. Lives in school with no wife or children. Cares for me like his own child, but since going to Singapore I’ve rarely seen him.

OK so things are going to get p e r s o n a l.

◊ CONCLUSION ◊

I find that I have an affinity for a variety of characters.

Some have otherworldly powers and abilities, which reflect my constant day-dreaming of having a power that nobody else knows about. (Mikan, Sadie, The Little Prince) On a deeper level, this also reflects how mediocre I feel in the world and compared to those around me.

I also find that I am fascinated by characters who are weighed down by less-than-fortunate circumstances, whether it being an accident, a disability, or an illness. (Van Gogh, Nyle, Bethany, RK) These are very brave people, I feel, that they are able to face the world like everyone else. From my close interaction with RK, I know that it is definitely not easy, and behind the smiles there might be way more tears – but they endure it nonetheless. I applaud these people – their courage inspires me and pushes me to always try to overcome my own obstacles.

Lastly, and maybe most personally, I also find that I am drawn to characters who have lost their father or lack a father figure, or figures who are dependable, strong and caring. (Mathilda, Hugo, Sadie, Ahok, OA) Thankfully, I still have my father around, but growing up, I resented him. I do realise that he is still my father nonetheless and have learnt to love him in recent years. However, I did not realise that I’ve grown apart from him. There is this huge feeling of disconnect, no matter how much I try to establish rapport (or maybe I don’t even try). It slightly bothers me how I’m not entirely comfortable with my own father, and that I might actually don’t really care anyways. I realise that I subconsciously look for a replacement figure and like figures who are dependable and strong.

Here are three profiled characters from each list.

(Disclaimer: Profiling of real life characters are based on my own observations and the internet, they are not reflective of how these people truly are)

I find it fascinating how true it is that we are attracted to, subconsciously or not, characters that resonate with us.

Writing this wasn’t easy because I had to deal with some very personal issues. I rewrote sentences many times and deleted paragraphs when I felt too exposed. I considered approaching another topic that I still cared about, but it didn’t feel.. right. This may be a very small attempt to address the issues that matter to me and bother me, but I hope that it opens up new possibilities and help me understand my own thoughts and feelings about the matter.

◊ EXECUTION ◊

Initially, I wanted to have a story set first and a general idea of what kind of look I wanted it to have, inspired by some films.

From all of the above scenes, I really love their common use of metaphors. While used and presented in different ways, they really brought out the mood and the meaning of the scene better. They also reveal parts of the protagonist in hints.

I kept in mind what we learnt in our first lesson about creating films where all the elements point back to its main message. (Dialogue, subtext, mise en scene, props/metaphors, etc). I had a few ideas on how I wanted the 1 min dialogue to be like.

However, I became stuck when wanting to finalise the script and the story idea. I felt like the characters were flat and not well defined. I paused and tried to research on how to write good dialogue.

I found these quite helpful.

http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2010/09/seven-keys-to-writing-good-dialogue.html

https://www.nyfa.edu/student-resources/write-dialogue-film/

I remembered the clip of the man and the nun Ruyi showed us on the first lesson. We can learn so much about the protagonist even though he barely says a word. This, I realise, is achieved through illumination by the sub-character’s dialogue and actions, and the protagonist’s reactions.

I am also reminded of this movie that I watched upon reading my senior’s post. It really is an impactful scene that not only describes the relationship between the two characters, but also reveals the protagonist’s flaws and acts as a turning point in the film. And again, the protagonist barely says a word!

From these two scenes, I realised that dialogue does not need to be complicated or fancy. As how interaction is in real life, we find out more about a person from natural conversation and questions. Action and reaction. I also decided to develop the dialogue by using the character profiles, instead of jumping straight to the story only.

So, I already had a theme in mind: Family relationships. I decided to develop two original characters based on the two detailed character profiles I made on Hugo and Anna, altering and adding in traits from other characters to fully deliver my theme.

The main thing that I wanted to show was that the protagonist misses her family. In this scene, I wanted to reveal how the protagonist was so occupied with her academics that she rarely contacts her family. However, she doesn’t express this outwardly. To highlight this, the other character had to be contrasting, i.e. has a close relationship with her family.

The next step is to decide how to show this. I wanted the sub-character’s dialogue to reveal the protagonist’s feelings. Yet, how do I make it such that it is not obvious?

I’m an international student myself, who has grown up away from my family. I felt that I haven’t been contacting my family as often as some of my previous roommates. This is where the idea came from: The two characters could be roommates, and through B’s phone call home and conversation with her family, La’s hidden longing for her family could be revealed through her reactions.

From here, I developed the script surrounding the idea of La listening to a phone conversation between B and her family. However, I felt that it wasn’t enough to show La’s longing.

In the end I decided to have a preceding dialogue which shows how La hasn’t been visiting home for a long time. This will hopefully intensify the scene.

SHOOTING & ART DIRECTION

I asked my roommate to act with me so that it would be more natural. Coincidentally, she was also my roommate when I was in secondary school.

At first I wanted to shoot on the bed area but in the end I chose to use our desk setting because I thought that using symmetry, similar to Wes Anderson films, could amplify the contrast between the two characters.

I rearranged items on our desks, taking away things that were too distracting (because of the colour), and adding things to illustrate each character’s personality.

The protagonist’s side is filled with projects, books, and her laptop. Monthly planners are pinned up, and no pictures are seen except for a poster of an ice cave. I also changed the desktop background to a dark colour because the previous lighter colour was too distracting.

The roommate’s side, on the other hand, is filled with pictures, soft toys and memorabilia. There is almost no sign of school-related things except for the neat organiser at the corner.

By doing this, I hope to highlight how disconnected the protagonist is from her family by providing a contrasting character right next to her.

I originally took 4 different angles.

However, while editing I found it difficult to piece up together, and it was becoming a little too distracting for such a short dialogue. I decided to take a step back, keep it simple and re-shot with just two angles. One from the back and another to show my facial reactions. As for the bathroom scenes, I kept it at one frontal shot, one mirror shot and one top-down shot for the ending.

EDITING & SOUND

Editing was basically me warming up to Premiere Pro again. Anything I couldn’t do I Googled and it was okay. I also borrowed the Zoom recorder from school and used it to record good audio.

I hunted for appropriate music and tracks. Since it was unproductive and I couldn’t really find anything that fits, I decided to try looking from the pool of music that I already knew. I wanted a piano sort of beat at the start and so started listening through Tom Rosenthal’s music. I eventually found “The Snow”, whose intro was exactly what I wanted to use. For the last part, I was listening to Dessert’s songs when I realised that the lyrics of “Back Around” were somehow fitting to my character.

I was born to tell a lie, I could never change your mind, even when I tell the truth, there is nothing I can do, nothing I can do

She isn’t honest with her feelings, so she “tells a lie”, and there is seemingly nothing she can do about her dilemma of focusing on her academics but also missing her family.

REFLECTION

Overall, I’m satisfied with what I’ve done for this project. I’ve learnt so many things, from how to make a good film/story, how to put forth a theme in a story, to how important it is to have characters who are real, because they make the story so much more engaging, relatable and believable. I tried my best in applying all of this in my work.

Another important thing that I took away from this project is my finding out the issues or topics that matter to me. I realise that while I am concerned or interested in relationships between father and children, or how disabled people can go about their daily lives, the general idea is that I am interested in human relationships. This was a Eureka moment for me. I realise that what I am essentially interested in is the dynamics of human interaction and how this affects every single individual.

Well, I’m glad good things came out of this project and hopefully this will carry on to future projects.

Thanks for reading!

Watch the final product in my final post!

P.S. After more than half a year of not going home, I will be enjoying my time with my family during recess week 🙂