AuDS

AuDS. What is it? Why is it here? How is this related to CTS? Stay tuned.

No, it's not who, as some of you might have guessed.

Back in action

After months of hiatus, we are coming back. Summer break's over, some might say. :) Our first production meeting this time around will be this Saturday and we will be discussing on at least 3 productions plus more if our brains work that day.

Suit up, it's time to roll.

Midnight Lily, Shown

Midnight Lily was shown during MMU's Next Top Ambassador event as Arina's talent on Thursday. Lukewarm response, partly due to lack of audience (big hall, small crowd) and quite possibly because the short film sucks. :P

The event was delayed for over an hour for god knows what reason. It wasn't as fantastic as I had hoped; it was just so-so.

We did get some screams when Lily wanted to slit her wrist, though. I say that's a good sign. :)

For those who want to see this short, well, you'll have to get it from me somehow. It won't be available on Youtube due to copyright issues (which is why our video diary isn't on as well).

Midnight Lily Status, updated

Update: Midnight Lily is now completed. I await the approval of m'lady Arina the executive producer and Jarod the producer. If they approve, then it's a go; no more revisions and checks.

Midnight Lily is now in post-production. There were PLENTY of hiccups during shoots, most of which is due to bad lighting/exposure. From our shoots on Saturday/Sunday, here's what I've found out:

1. Do not use film lighting techniques for DV. It's bloody dark. Use tv lighting techniques.
2. Do not listen to other directors if you are directing. Your ideas may conflict. Badly.
3. Never use a cheap mic. It has no noticeable advantage over the camera mic.
4. Take extra good care of your talents. Make sure nothing bad happens to them.
5. Get someone else to handle the camera. You can't/musn't direct and look at the visuals at the same time.

Anyhoo, thank you to everyone who participate. Now I need to go finish the short.

THE Production

We will be shooting what appears to be our most well-planned production ever. The story has been revised so many times, the script rewritten just as many times and the director has had many sleepless nights.

We will be shooting our production titled "Midnight Lily". It is a very, very, dark story about a girl who wants to commit suicide. Although the final product will only be around 5 minutes, the feel of the story will leave the audience satisfied. Hopefully.

I have been working closely with the main actress regarding her role in this film, and I really hope she can pull this one off. I believe that she is a good actress, but I'm worried that she might get carried away with the role, and end up being the character herself. Not good.

There is a reason why I'm worried about this; I was pulled into the story myself. When I first wrote the script, it was just plain writing, with no emotional attachments. However, after consulting with others, I began to delve deeper into the story, the scenes and especially the characters. Notably, the protagonist. I began to understand her depression, her reasons for doing what she did and I got into a state of depression. That harrowing experience is something I couldn't have imagined and yet, I experienced it.

For the past week or so, I have been working very closely with an experienced filmmaker from the UK, Ike Ong, who has been giving me an overwhelming amount of tips on scriptwriting and directing. Also, I have been getting some help from an old friend of mine, the one and only Midnite Lily (yes, the irony) who happens to be an excellent source of information regarding scriptwriting (little did I know). Thank you, both of you.

The script will go thru a final revision on Thursday where I'll be meeting Ike again. There won't be time to rewrite anything major after that.

For the production crew, there will be a final pre-production meeting Friday night. We will be discussing about the locations, props, time and cast to the tee.

Wish us luck!

Production Update, Part Deux

Saturday: Pre-production + playing around.

Sort-of shooting in front of green screen at, once again, Cyberjaya. Even in the same room we used on Thursday. No problem, we set up our stuff and we were ready. However, it was only a training exercise to get the lighting right for the green screen.

As I posted earlier, lighting is key. The shoot this time around is better in the sense that it's more controlled and we know what to light up with only 2 light source. Still, it's bad in post production.

Later that night, we had a discussion with Arina. She needed help in making a video for the MMU Next Top Ambassador competition which she joined. Plenty of ideas were thrown around and we ended up with 4.

The format is kinda like a promo-commercial, with all 4 segments lined up one after another. The first segment is a spoof of Rocky; the part where he was running up the stairs. The second segment is about the life of a girl who feels miserable and kills herself. I don't know how to explain this further as I didn't write the script. The third segment is a dance audition where Arina is auditioning using a disco song. The final segment is a promo of what Arina doesn't do.

Sunday: Production.

We met up at around 1pm, but pre-production continues. The script for segment 2 wasn't ready and no one except for Nicholas knows what it's all about. The shoot went on until 1am when Arina was totally exhausted.

Segment 1; completed. Shots were near-perfect. Post production was quick and fast; the desired effect achieved.

Segment 2; in progress. More than half the shots were under-exposed or over-exposed, no thanks to the wonderful LCD monitor. I did bring my tv along, but the cable wasn't there, so we had to play it by ear. Or eye, in this case.

Since Nicholas is the director for this segment, I don't know what kind of effect is he trying to achieve. Judging from what's been done so far in post, it is the typical short film style with lots of long establishing shots. I'm still waiting for a proper explanation of how it's supposed to be.

Segment 3; scrapped. The dance audition was scrapped for 2 reasons; one, Arina really can't dance and two, we took too much time shooting segment 2. Arina got tired so we had to cancel it. I was really disappointed in this, but I got over it when I redid segment 4. Sort of.

Segment 4; completed. The promo was supposed to be like this; first showing negative things that an ambassador would do e.g. smoking, and then a "Not Arina" stamp will appear on screen. I scrapped this and went for a different angle. We showed all the negative things first, and then pull a 180. I just hope the audience and judges are smart enough to understand this type of humor.

There is a clash of ideas when shooting this project. He wants the story to be set up proper, with ample time to explain things, while I wanted it to go straight to the point. It is NEVER a good idea to have more than one director, even for different segments. Sorry Nick, nothing personal, but we just can't work together creatively. Next time I'll just be the roadie for your production. :P

Production update

What a week it has been, and it's not over! Apart from helping Si Ying with her green screen project on March 24th, we had our own production on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. We were supposed to have one on Friday too, but fortunately it was cancelled to make way for the Saturday & Sunday shoots.

We shot our very first official green screen production on Thursday, shooting Nicholas' story about a young lady who gets pulled into a game. We had the pleasure of having Arina as our actress this time and she was great. Working with her was easy and she pulled off every shot well.

So what's the catch? LIGHTING! We didn't have ANY experience with lighting, let alone lighting up a green screen! It was a mess. A bloody, bloody, mess. Figuratively. Spills everywhere, prominent shadows and under-exposure made post-production a living nightmare. Well, not really, but it could've been better.

The moral of the story is, make sure you have ample lighting for a green screen. At least 1 to light up the screen, 2 for the person/object to film and another to add depth to the person/object. I forgot what's the proper term for it, but it's the light you cast behind the person/object.

I'll continue with Saturday and Sunday's shooting stories tomorrow. I'm too tired and the person I'm talking to on MSN isn't online anymore. lol

We won!

If you haven't heard already, our short film, "Detained", won 2 awards at the 1st Annual MUMOS Film Festival. The awards ceremony was held on Sunday, March 18th at the MMU Malacca Main Hall. We won the awards for Best Director and snagged the second runner-up for Best Film (Open Category). Congratulations to all those involved in this production.

For those who have yet to see this short and don't mind spending 17 minutes of your life you'll never get back, here they are, in 2 parts on youtube. Enjoy!

Part 1:


Part 2:

The Youtube Channel!

Here's a little update. For those who are still unfamiliar with our own channel on youtube, here's a link:

http://www.youtube.com/dex8472

Feel free to see all the videos there, and more videos to come!

unDetained

Finally, after weeks of turmoil, sweat, drama and hard work, "Detained", our latest short film, is now complete. What a work that was; it pushed my computer to the limits (even a C2D can't handle it) and it pushed ME to the limits.

The editing style was a mixed bag; a little of this, a little of that, but overall I think it's a good concept. We also had to improvise the editing style mainly because the actual duration was too long; and no, there won't be a director's cut for this one. :P

Music scoring was done in a night; and hopefully, it works. I haven't attempted music scoring at this scale before; with different kinds of moods to work with (you don't put a happy song during a funeral, ffs). I also had the opportunity to rearrange Si Ying's demo of "You're My Spring", which she composed, which (the demo) was also used for the credit roll. Thanks babe, you're my spring!

For everyone involved, I would like to convey my deepest gratitude and I apologize for any misunderstanding or ill treatment that I may have inflicted on you. Also a special thanks to Audrey for putting up with our crappy production team. We promise we'll improve ourselves! Really!

I look forward to working with everyone again in the near future. BTW, the film will be posted on youtube if I can get the director's account. :)

AFP Videos On Youtube!

All our videos we sent in to the Anugerah Filem Pendek 2006 have been released on youtube. Here they are, in production order:


CTS0601 - Lovemate Recordable Doll
(Advertisement)
Director: Dex Masrey
Cinematography: Wong Si Ying
Editor: Dex Masrey
Music: Dex Masrey
Producer: Agnes Tan
Executive Producer: Jarod Fong
Cast: Tony Teh, Agnes Tan, Johan Arif


CTS0602 - Kuala Lumpur Movie Trailer
(Experimental)
Director: Dex Masrey
Cinematography: Wong Si Ying, Dex Masrey
Editor: Dex Masrey
Music: Dex Masrey
Producer: Jarod Fong
Executive Producer: Agnes Tan
Cast: Audrey Tong, Tony Teh


CTS0604 - Rokok Membunuh
(Public Service Announcement)
Director: Tony Teh
Cinematography: Dex Masrey, Firdaus
Editor: Dex Masrey
Music: Dex Masrey
Producer: Dex Masrey
Executive Producer: Jarod Fong
Cast: MMU Students (Jarod, gimme their names), Juman Lim


CTS0607 - Abang Leman Dalam Anugerah Filem Pendek
(Short Comedy)
Director: Agnes Tan
Assistant Director: Jarod Fong
Cinematography: Firdaus
Editor: Dex Masrey
Music: Dex Masrey
Producer: Jarod Fong
Executive Producer: Agnes Tan
Cast: Dex Masrey, Jarod Fong, Firdaus, Agnes Tan

Enjoy!

Girlfriend: Alright. (Twice)

Those were the most difficult dialogue for Audrey.

Today we had 2 shooting sessions; one in the morning, and one in the evening. The one in the morning was fairly easy and fast, 1 scene, 3 angles in less than 10 minutes since Audrey is such a great actress (yeah baby). Audrey, you're a pro. *respect*

The one in the evening was a little painful. First of all, we didn't have players for the basketball scene, but fortunately some locals turned up to play, so we asked them to play for us, and they did. A big round of applause to you guys! Hopefully Jarod took your names down so we can credit you in the film. :)

Secondly, our brilliant superstar-cum-set designer (who also brought along his missus, "Happy") just couldn't get his lines right. I don't blame him, much, since his lines were quite long anyway, but still, he managed to make Tony laugh. Is it his face? Is it his character? Only "Confessions" will tell. ;)

Then there's me who got a rather disappointing news about the ADR job I'm supposed to start last November. Yeap, the same one that was postponed to mid December, then Dec 20th, then Dec 28th and finally January 5th. When the January 5th date is finally confirmed, I was told that I'm gonna have to wait to get my money. What the hell? I was promised 5 days advanced pay! Where am I gonna get money to pay for gas and tolls? Gosh! (snaps head to the right like Napoleon Dynamite. Hey, it rhymes!)

That really brought down my mood and concentration; then came Audrey, all happy and cheerful. You made my day. However, as much as it helped, I was disappointed that the lighting wasn't powerful enough. Very disappointed indeed. Had I known it was that bad, I'd shoot under daylight and ran a filter in post.

In short:
Best Performance: Audrey
Best Blunder: Juman
Best Basketball Player: Jarod
Quietest Person: Firdaus
Most Screwed-up Brain: Dex

Over the next few days, I will be checking the tapes. Here's hoping everything's fine and no reshoots are needed. *crosses fingers*