Such was the Inspiration! II

"...As artists, you have to create the emotional mood to the audience."
"...As artists, you have to use the different techniques to convey the visual image you want to give."

The word 'artist' struck me. That was the declaration of prof Lind. I am now in an environment surrounded by transfer students majoring in film, people who don't really know about filming but has interest in film. These are people who are from all walks of life: the investment banker, actor, personal therapist and others from the screenwriting class. We are all but connected by an enthusiasm for film. This was the passion.

I would use to admire art from far. Now, I'm living with art, amongst artists, breathing and heaving the same air of creativity. Now, it is the very chance I admire art from closeness. To reside at Greenwich village and to be in art school is also to admire artistes from closeness.

There can never be a satiation point from sharing the passion for art.

"I chose to study film because I feel that film is a very powerful medium to convey my messages to people" Such was the statement from my roommate.

In the film department of NYU, people I know of are all working and making film. One of my professor is a script supervisor, the other is a cinematographer. Two of the equipment department staff are having their films screened in a few days.

It is this very environment which fuels art...

Excerpts from "Respect for Acting" -Uta Hagen

'As an artist, the only thing you have to offer is the revelation of your soul.'

'...the desire to communicate one's own experience and sensations; to make one's self heard and seen.'

'...talent is not enough.'

'It is necessary to have a point of view about the world which surrounds you, the society in which you live; a point of view as to how your art can reflect your judgement.'

'Every (filmmake) must demand total discipline of her or himself if she or he really means to (make movies).'

'...we must accept that is a communal adventure. We cannot make a movie alone. We must recognise that we need each other's strengths and professional comradeship. We serve the film by serving each other. We must realise our individual responsibility of the film and remember the collective nature of our chosen art form. In film, it is all for one and one for all!'

Such was the Inspiration!

I feel great about being a Art student. I am able to channel all my abstact thoughts into a medium. I am encouraged to think freely, hence I am encouraged to think the way I really think most of the times. I am certainly a highly idealistic person who thrive on creative imagination.

Such was the form of survey handed out by prof Lind on filmmaking goals. I was able to answer them immediately. I realised instantly I was doing something that is so intuitive. I had never felt more ready to answer questions and explain myself.

This was the second survey handed out by the professor. She had done fantastically. She had constantly motivated the class and geled us together. She had flashed pictures to us and asked us to reflect on the scene and to convey to us the message she wants us to know at the end. She had exclaimed 'You are the monkeys!' right after the filming of 2001: Space Odyssey.

The following is my assignment for the weekend:
1. Visit the Metropolitan Museum
2. Take the subway and describe 3 characters that you observe
3. To find my dark alleyways within the blanket area we're allowed to film without permit where I'll shoot my first film

FLIM School: Day Three part II

The evening was my first screenwriting class.

The professor was this hilarious old man.

"I was preparing to have a great summer and all I was to know that Olga of Greece is not coming to our class after all" He went about his amusing account of how he got to know this exiled princess of Greece and Denmark had enrolled in the class but had pulled out eventually.

Lesson (excerpts):
'In a good screenplay somebody wants something badly.'

'...The beginning screenwriter usually rushes to dialogue to solve the problem. What we end up with is a bunch of characters who speak openly and honestly about their feelings. The ONLY drama in the theater will simply be the audience stampeding for the exits.'

'...screenwriting is a craft based on logic. It consists of the rigorous application of several basic questions: What does my main character want? What hinders him'her from getting it? What happens if he'she does not get it?' -David Mamet

Screening: Cadaverous by Michael Fiore
The first was shown without sound. That's when the 'old man' description of the professor comes in. He comments at every action that the character is going to make or has made. Imagine watching a movie with a person like this! Godamnit! Haha....but forgiveable...he's trying to teach us about the film...and he has probably watching it a dozen times with a dozen group of students!

The second was with sound. It didnt really make a difference. The script was well-written such that it was highly cinematic and visual. Little dialougue was necessary!

Then was the introduction of each student in the form of writing the reason 'how we ended up in the class' in a cinematic manner the professor had instructed us at the beginning of the class.

There were only 12 of us: An IT professional who could not stand his boss and decided to quit, a personal therapist who is also a lawyer and had written his own scripts including one which was to imitate 'Indiana Jones' called 'Ohio Jackson', a theater company owner, a former investment banker who now hates everything coporate, a producer who works for a company associated with MediaCorp, a magazine intern, a man with very few skills...just to name a few. And surely...there was almost the princess of Greece and Denmark. The intro session was so intermittantly disrupted by the proffessor lamenting about the princess's withdrawal from the class!

Really interesting manners in which it was presented. Highly entertaining. It ended in an applause as the owner of a theater company who's also an actor presented his highly dramatic account complete with his concoction of sound effects. And it was half an hour past the allotted teaching time then...such was the enthusiasm!

FLIM School: Day Three part I

Exciting, exciting.

Got to learn the technique and kind of shots - zoom, dolly, boom etc; use of lenses - wide-angled lens, normal lens, telephoto lens...

The most interesting was continuity. First, we were introduced a cool hand sign with the 2nd and last finger pointed out. The left finger will be camera left and right finger will be camera right. So, the idea is to be consistent. If the character appears on the left, he will be depicted on the left in the next scene.

"Rock on!" prof Lind exclaimed as she pointed to us the sign.

"Continuity is a basic element on the film. Some major films neglected one slightest detail. And people went flooding the internet forums going 'oh my god can you believe it?! Superman had a scene with the watch on!' "

Errr....you get the idea....I was trying to mimic what prof Lind said...she did much better than that...

Screening: Delicatessen, Strangers on a train by Hitchcock, Godfather (Baptism and murder scene), Magnolia

GreatgreatGreat films were screened.

An example of parallel action was shown from Delicatessen. It's a scene about a closely knit community of people living in a block. Man and women having sex, woman beating a rug, girl practising on the cello, man painting the ceiling, boy pumping a tyre etc. The sounds converge to a rhythm, ending with a blast...orgasm...tyre explodes, cello string breaks, tyre blows, man falls over ladder. These parallel scenes all occuring in the black, connected by shooting from one ventilation hole to another and the sounds.

The next parallel action example came from Godfather. It was the 'Baptism and murder' scene. Starts with the solemn and holy ritual, the baptism of an infant to the Godfather. Then paralleled to the ritual of preparing the gun...the preparation of a grisly chain of murders that was to come. The playing of the grim church music connects the scenes together. Then, a third parallel was the presentation of the victims who were ignorant of what was to come. Then the baptism culminates. The wiping of the baby, the wiping of the sweat of the henchman. The killing spree starts and the priest declares to denounce Satan. The 'Yes' by the Godfather that was to be followed by the gunshots of his henchmen.

Awesome.

The next parallel example was a scene from Magnolia. A really touching moment that was to present the emotion of people from different situitons facing the same emotional level. All connected by a really lovely song. Really beautiful...

This is the art of film. It conveys an emotional mood in a visual manner. It does not need to show dialougue. It is able to bring the audience together on the same emotional mood. Imagine a film making the audience feeling happy, sad, touched, surprised...Such is the beauty...such is the art!

The second half of the day...was the test shoot! We finally got to work on our baby...the precious ARRIFLEX 16S. Got to play with the adjustment of exposure, loading a REAL film which can be wasted at the slightest mistake, rack-focusing etcetc

FILM School: Day Two

9am again...everyone took turns to introduce themselves...which was in a form of survery handed out by p. Lindbergh the day before.

"My family descended from pirate..." went one.

"My family descended from pirates too!"

"Really...which family did you descend from? My family had a license..."

Wow...mouth agape...

"My greatgreatgreatgreatgreat uncle was Jesse James..."

Mouth even wider...Jesse James was this post civil war and legendary cowboy with many films made about him.

Lots of other interesting introductions...

Second Screening: by Martin Scorcese
"How did the director establish the location?" went the prof.

"By using close-up of toilet bowl, towel rack, toilet roll"

"What does the environment tell you?"

"Clean-cut, white, everything is right."

"Nice-looking, vanilla skin man shaving himself in a clean-cut toilet...set up a presumption about a nice healthy looking environment...then the twist comes..."

"The man cuts himself with the shaver. Blood flows and he started cutting himself all over the face...bloody, bloody..."

"The film was shot in 1967, during the Vietnam War. It was a bad year, white healthy young man were going awry and all..."

"Real beautiful film, nicely done."

So much for the class discussion. It was fantastic. Everyone took turns to make a comment. The class was teeming with interest and zeal. Top-quality stuff...makes me feel really good to be in the course for the start and it was certainly to continue.

During the break, some of my coursemates started chatting about Scorcese. About how his films always have mirrors, his style, him being an NYU alumni...

there is lots to know about film for me...and it's just going to get more interesting

FILM School: Day One

Jetlagged, Slightly homesick.

Woke up at 7:30.

You’ve got that right…school is 9am-6pm Monday to Friday for ‘Beginning Film Production’ and up to 9pm on Wednesday for ‘Writing for the Screen’.

I walked into my assigned classroom. Many friendly-looking people, couple of pretty looking Asian girls and one who sat beside me…this has to be the right class.

“Sorry if I slaughtered your name. But please acknowledge if your name is called.”

And the lecturer went, as he had started out, slaughtered all the Asian names…I was only waiting for my turn…but it was not to be…

“Sorry if I killed off your name…” Another professor came in and started doing the row call all over again. They have an interesting of starting off attendance-taking.

Still, my name was not to be slaughtered…or killed off…

Turned out that I’m in another class…damn! My real class had no pretty Asian girls and for the first time, I wished my name had been slaughtered.

My professor in prof. Lindbergh. Young, energetic, really cool teacher, script supervisor in profession. She gave a great introduction, bouncing away in zeal. She was all the reason film school would be worth it. Lovely, lovely.

First screening: 2001: A Space Odyssey by Stanley Kubrick
Primal apes jumping around, screeching, fighting for food, ended up with the ape discovering a stick of bone. Ape finds weapon, finds triumph against the pig-looking animal that was to be food. Well, that was only part of it…and you have to read the book…I was told…

“You are the monkeys,” declared prof Lingbergh.

“All of you started out not knowing much the course. You are going to discover for yourself and pick up the bones. You will fight it out and find success.” She goes passionately.

The rest of the day: technical lesson. The professor is a small, likeable professor who could not do away with his Russian accent after 20 years at NYU.

“ Zee video camaa-ra can be variable speedt or constant speedt. Zee variable speedt camaa-ra will have a tachometer. The rEE-O-staRt control the camaa-ra speedd”

My failed attempt to convey his likeable way of speaking…

The Destination: Tisch School of the ARts

"Bye! It was a great dinner," I bidded my farewell to Watson and Jiawei after their housewarming party in their newly rented home.

Watson was my roommate for my first year at the London School of Economics. He had moved out to his new home with Jiawei, Cheehow and another of Cheehow's friend even before both of us are leaving London for the summer. I had left his place still wondering when Cheehow is coming back home...

Oh wait...I didnt think Cheehow and his friend was not staying at their new home...but anyway...that was not all that I was thinking about!

So, I left with the rest of the Roseberians (My hall is called Rosebery Hall). All my friends, fabulous peeps whom I've met this year, have either gone home, or are going home. Watson, Jiawei and the rest of the Roseberians will be flying home tomorrow. I was not. It will be long before I say 'goodbye' to them again. But the goodbye was fulfilling. It was a goodbye to to my 2 good friends who would be going back home where I have all my good friends and my family.

In less than 5hours after, I found myself flying to New York. My destination: Tisch School of the Arts at NYU...film school for 6 weeks...

Some Shots of NYC...but pity I took them in a hurry...NYC is beautiful btw...I just have to say it

And Guess what...on the second day that I arrive...there was a gaypride parade...highly explicit for those viewers who are not open enough for this...be warned!!

My address - Fifth Avenue. The parade was just along fifth avenue, right through the very artery of downtown Manhatten. It went on for hours and hours...you're be surprised the manpower they had! Well...at least I enjoyed the hot lesbian dancing...

Blogger!

I am a BLOGGER now!!! Welcome me to the club! Call me a blogger if you see me on the streets. It sounds awful but you know what...you're a blogger yourself too! Everyone is a blogger now... I didnt want to become one...but now I just have to be......

The Reason is, just like how i do not want to live by regrets by choosing to study in London, I cannot afford to regret not writing about what I'm doing now at FILM School. I had missed the chance to write about the amazing stuff in my first year in London, but I will have the second year, and the third.

And the 3 years it is...ladies & gentlemen...