I repeat: the first, proper, watchable cut of 'Ciplak' is DONE. Finished. Completed. Viewable without having to ask, "what happened between that bit and that other bit?"
And boy was it a trip.
I actually finished the cut on the stroke of midnight and spent another half hour doing the end credits.
After that I clicked 'render', let the screensaver run and hit up equal doses of Dino Crisis, Silent Hill and Tony Hawk 3 (for those of you who aren't regulars, yes, I just got me a PS1).
Two hours later I discovered that the movie, finally rendered, would take up 17 gigabytes.
The rub? The partition of my hard drive I was saving it to only had 16 gigabytes. This left the movie partially incomplete, split into four chapters and a fifth chapter still not rendered. Bugger. I rejigged everything, noticed a few mistakes I skimped over before, fixed them and re-rendered (a long and tedious process).
Two hours later it was finally done and I could finally burn it to DVD... or so I thought. For some reason, Nero crashed everytime I tried to burn the movie. I tried changing settings, flipping bits around and, after another 3 hours (I think) I finally got it to start burning the movie. The only catch is it has to have a menu now, and the menu has to be devoid of any text or pictures, just thumbnails of the movie.
Not the most user friendly menu, now is it?
At some point I fell asleep at my desk and woke up to the sound of my phone. Then I went back to my parents' house to shower and change, went back to The Hive, realized I didn't have my keys, went back to my parents' house to pick the keys up, back to The Hive just as the DVD finished burning and ejected the disc out and from there it was a two hour traffic jam through Kuala Lumpur. I arrived at the office at 12.45pm, got straight into work, called up UPS the second things slowed down and now I am here, typing all this to you, hardly any sleep, tons of caffeine running through my body, a migraine waiting to happen and a mad rush of office work as well as trying to prepare my entry forms and what have you for the Seattle International Film Festival. The courier will be here at 5.00pm. Only problem is there's an office party at 4.30pm (which I am inclined to skip).
But it's done. It's watchable. All it needs now are tune-ups here and there, audio clean-up, some colour correction and grading as well as some private screening comments before I unleash it to the world.
That is, if anyone will screen the fucker. Saiful's trying to sort out a screening, possibly at the Alliance Francais. Either there or the HELP Auditorium. Considering that's where my last two short films premiered it would be nice to premiere my feature there too.
...
Bloody hell, I'm knackered. I want egg sandwiches.
Friday, January 27, 2006
Thursday, January 26, 2006
When Will It End?!
When I figure out an ending worth watching.
After a hearty meal of monterey chicken with beef n chicken fajita's on the side at Chilli's (an obvious sign that yesterday was payday) with my girlfriend, I went back to The Hive (I haven't referred to my makeshift post-production studio as 'The Hive' in quite a while) to cut the ending.
And it's beginning to look iffy.
See, whilst most of the scenes were a case of plonking in the footage in the order they appear on the script, the ending for Ciplak is... well... undecided.
Two and a half scenes were shot to lead to the final scene, which can either comprise of all of this footage, one of the scenes + half or just the half bit. All of them 'make sense', but whether they resonate or not is another matter. By simply changing the order in which these two and a half scenes come about makes the film end on a different note. Decisions, decisions...
On top of that, there's the length factor. Up until the penultimate scene(s) (the final final scene in the movie is a given) the movie is already 73 minutes. I originally intended the movie to be a minimum of 70 minutes, maximum 90 minutes (with a 113 page script, that was wishful thinking). The rub? Those two scenes I was talking about amount to about 10 to 15 minutes each.
Ma ke hai chow chibai pukimak lanchau tyu nya seng and other such things (Chinese New Year's coming up, might as well stay away from the 'f' word and practice what little Cantonese/Hokkien I know. Funny how it's all swear words).
I'll figure it out, but there's a slight sense of urgency about it all. If I get it done tonight, tomorrow I can 'slip' it into the mail room of my dad's company, ensuring fast courier service to the Seattle International Film Festival at the price of zero. One of the guys at the office, Tony (a different Tony from the Tony I always talk about) is also trying to help get my film to a festival in Manila.
Tonight I'll figure out that infected chibai of an ending, even if it kills me.
After a hearty meal of monterey chicken with beef n chicken fajita's on the side at Chilli's (an obvious sign that yesterday was payday) with my girlfriend, I went back to The Hive (I haven't referred to my makeshift post-production studio as 'The Hive' in quite a while) to cut the ending.
And it's beginning to look iffy.
See, whilst most of the scenes were a case of plonking in the footage in the order they appear on the script, the ending for Ciplak is... well... undecided.
Two and a half scenes were shot to lead to the final scene, which can either comprise of all of this footage, one of the scenes + half or just the half bit. All of them 'make sense', but whether they resonate or not is another matter. By simply changing the order in which these two and a half scenes come about makes the film end on a different note. Decisions, decisions...
On top of that, there's the length factor. Up until the penultimate scene(s) (the final final scene in the movie is a given) the movie is already 73 minutes. I originally intended the movie to be a minimum of 70 minutes, maximum 90 minutes (with a 113 page script, that was wishful thinking). The rub? Those two scenes I was talking about amount to about 10 to 15 minutes each.
Ma ke hai chow chibai pukimak lanchau tyu nya seng and other such things (Chinese New Year's coming up, might as well stay away from the 'f' word and practice what little Cantonese/Hokkien I know. Funny how it's all swear words).
I'll figure it out, but there's a slight sense of urgency about it all. If I get it done tonight, tomorrow I can 'slip' it into the mail room of my dad's company, ensuring fast courier service to the Seattle International Film Festival at the price of zero. One of the guys at the office, Tony (a different Tony from the Tony I always talk about) is also trying to help get my film to a festival in Manila.
Tonight I'll figure out that infected chibai of an ending, even if it kills me.
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
The Pensive Filmmaker Reflects on His Own Faults
Last night I shot the first half of Liang's music video for 'Show Me Whatcha Got', a catchy little r n' b ditty that's been heating up the charts here in Malaysia, which was an interesting and, dare I say, educational experience to say the least.
You see, as opposed to doing my usual guerrila-filmmaking tactics, this time I had a small crew of industry professionals (I define 'industry professional' as anyone who's been paid to do this by actual companies) and it asserted what I had thought for quite some time.
I'm not that good a director.
Let me explain this a bit more thoroughly (especially since the client may be reading this): as some of you may know, I multi-task like a motherfucker. The first play I did, 'Much Ado', involved me writing the script, casting the parts, directing the actors, organizing the schedule, designing the poster, marketing the play, sorting out the health & safety issues, basically everything except the lighting (which, to this day, I still don't know much about). For my first short film, 'Nicotine', I shot most of the footage (with Ahmad helping to shoot my scenes), acted in it, wrote it, directed and edited the fucker. For 'Ciplak' it's the same thing, plus marketing it.
Now, there must be some valid reason why I continously try to be the human equivalent of Windows XP (and as we all know, like Windows, I've been known to crash every once in a while), and it is this: I'm not that good at directing others to get them to do what I need them to do to create the vision I have in my mind. Not to say I'm bad at it, I just don't feel as comfortable about it. When I see a director of photography's negative reaction when I explain a shot it bugs me to no end, opens up too many questions in my head (and the D.O.P. we had is quite the opinionated person, although no offence to the dude 'cos he does do his job well).
I'm not sure whether it's because I don't explain everything thoroughly on my part or whether the people I work with can't see or dig what I'm trying to do, but it bugs me nonetheless.
However, here's the flip-side: whenever I've finished a project and people see what the final product looks like, 90% of the time their perceptions change, and I notice it. After they see what exactly it is they've been working on and notice that it's not as bad as they thought it would turn out to be, it's usually easier for me to work with them from then on.
But, with the exception of my co-director and producer Tony, the rest of the crew had never worked with me before (as a director. I've acted with this crew before and Tony in the director's chair, but this was different).
And, whilst I've got some decent footage and I know that I can cut a decent video, the strain of directing last night almost killed me. Why? Because I can't help but notice people's body language, and the general feeling from the crew (and possibly some of the cast) was that "this guy hasn't a clue what he's doing".
The thing is, as pompous as it may sound, I do know what I'm doing. It's trying to convince others that I find difficult. And I'm not that good at taking certain types of criticism.
(Certain types? Now what's he on about? I thought he couldn't take anytype of criticism?)
Allow me to explain further: that time when the feminist told me she hated 'Some Like It White'? I honestly couldn't give a fuck. Why? Because that type of criticism doesn't sting. If I offend someone with what I've done I don't really mind, it's your own damn opinion. But if the criticism is directed to my writing craft, plot structure, angles, technicalities, characterization, then it takes effect on me, but even then, constructive criticism doesn't sting that much.
But that look, that 'God, what an amateur' look, that stings.
Truth be told, I am not a professional filmmaker by any means (at least, not yet). Not by any classic definition, nor by my own. But I doknow how to squeeze blood out of a stone.
See, I've noticed one thing about how I work. Whether it's good or bad, I don't know, but it works. And to explain it would need a bit of backstory.
When I was younger and started getting into hip-hop, I began to notice how producers and DJ's took something old, a hook or a beat or what have you, and turned it into something new. And that idea of taking something that already exists and moulding it into something that suits what you're trying to achieve was a concept that stuck in my head for quite a while.
And it's a concept I apply to my music production and filmmaking. I'm not the type of guy that will re-shoot a scene 200 times until I've got it exactly how I want it to look, nor am I the type of guy that will force someone to redo their solo repeatedly until everything's perfect. I prefer to take what I've got and crafting it into something better than it was originally in post. Certain songs on the upcoming Y2k album would have been canned if I didn't try to flip it around and I'm doing the same with Ciplak, recrafting and remoulding the story by editing the footage in a way that best tells the story. And I'll do the same with this music video.
I just hope, one day down the line, I won't have to worry about the lookfrom the people I work with. To have to prove to your crew that you can do what you intend to do is too much of a chore when you've got a hundred other things on your mind.
(Oh, and Liang, if you're reading this, don't worry: your video will come out looking kick-ass, I assure you.)
You see, as opposed to doing my usual guerrila-filmmaking tactics, this time I had a small crew of industry professionals (I define 'industry professional' as anyone who's been paid to do this by actual companies) and it asserted what I had thought for quite some time.
I'm not that good a director.
Let me explain this a bit more thoroughly (especially since the client may be reading this): as some of you may know, I multi-task like a motherfucker. The first play I did, 'Much Ado', involved me writing the script, casting the parts, directing the actors, organizing the schedule, designing the poster, marketing the play, sorting out the health & safety issues, basically everything except the lighting (which, to this day, I still don't know much about). For my first short film, 'Nicotine', I shot most of the footage (with Ahmad helping to shoot my scenes), acted in it, wrote it, directed and edited the fucker. For 'Ciplak' it's the same thing, plus marketing it.
Now, there must be some valid reason why I continously try to be the human equivalent of Windows XP (and as we all know, like Windows, I've been known to crash every once in a while), and it is this: I'm not that good at directing others to get them to do what I need them to do to create the vision I have in my mind. Not to say I'm bad at it, I just don't feel as comfortable about it. When I see a director of photography's negative reaction when I explain a shot it bugs me to no end, opens up too many questions in my head (and the D.O.P. we had is quite the opinionated person, although no offence to the dude 'cos he does do his job well).
I'm not sure whether it's because I don't explain everything thoroughly on my part or whether the people I work with can't see or dig what I'm trying to do, but it bugs me nonetheless.
However, here's the flip-side: whenever I've finished a project and people see what the final product looks like, 90% of the time their perceptions change, and I notice it. After they see what exactly it is they've been working on and notice that it's not as bad as they thought it would turn out to be, it's usually easier for me to work with them from then on.
But, with the exception of my co-director and producer Tony, the rest of the crew had never worked with me before (as a director. I've acted with this crew before and Tony in the director's chair, but this was different).
And, whilst I've got some decent footage and I know that I can cut a decent video, the strain of directing last night almost killed me. Why? Because I can't help but notice people's body language, and the general feeling from the crew (and possibly some of the cast) was that "this guy hasn't a clue what he's doing".
The thing is, as pompous as it may sound, I do know what I'm doing. It's trying to convince others that I find difficult. And I'm not that good at taking certain types of criticism.
(Certain types? Now what's he on about? I thought he couldn't take anytype of criticism?)
Allow me to explain further: that time when the feminist told me she hated 'Some Like It White'? I honestly couldn't give a fuck. Why? Because that type of criticism doesn't sting. If I offend someone with what I've done I don't really mind, it's your own damn opinion. But if the criticism is directed to my writing craft, plot structure, angles, technicalities, characterization, then it takes effect on me, but even then, constructive criticism doesn't sting that much.
But that look, that 'God, what an amateur' look, that stings.
Truth be told, I am not a professional filmmaker by any means (at least, not yet). Not by any classic definition, nor by my own. But I doknow how to squeeze blood out of a stone.
See, I've noticed one thing about how I work. Whether it's good or bad, I don't know, but it works. And to explain it would need a bit of backstory.
When I was younger and started getting into hip-hop, I began to notice how producers and DJ's took something old, a hook or a beat or what have you, and turned it into something new. And that idea of taking something that already exists and moulding it into something that suits what you're trying to achieve was a concept that stuck in my head for quite a while.
And it's a concept I apply to my music production and filmmaking. I'm not the type of guy that will re-shoot a scene 200 times until I've got it exactly how I want it to look, nor am I the type of guy that will force someone to redo their solo repeatedly until everything's perfect. I prefer to take what I've got and crafting it into something better than it was originally in post. Certain songs on the upcoming Y2k album would have been canned if I didn't try to flip it around and I'm doing the same with Ciplak, recrafting and remoulding the story by editing the footage in a way that best tells the story. And I'll do the same with this music video.
I just hope, one day down the line, I won't have to worry about the lookfrom the people I work with. To have to prove to your crew that you can do what you intend to do is too much of a chore when you've got a hundred other things on your mind.
(Oh, and Liang, if you're reading this, don't worry: your video will come out looking kick-ass, I assure you.)
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Black Metal's Buggery
Latest updates: David, manager of Paul's Place, has been charged on four counts (which, if I'm not mistaken, includes running a business without a permit, having a signboard without a permit and selling alcohol to minors), a bunch of independent musicians have started up the Society of Independent and Amateur Musicians (S.I.A.M.) and the Fatwa are illegalizing black metal even further. I foresee witchhunts.
For example, I discovered last night that some of the labels in Malaysia have held back some of their upcoming releases (and some of these releases are by bands who've been around for five, six years) because of this whole black metal issue. Some of the CD's that were on shelves were apparently pulled down and had to be written off.
This entire black metal issue also means that the chances of getting a KDN sticker (a holographic sticker from the government to prove your product is both original and approved by the government) for our upcoming Y2k album are slim to none, which means pushing the release date even further.
Motherfuckers.
I guess now's a good time to concentrate on this movie lark, eh? Or perhaps a hip-hop career.
For example, I discovered last night that some of the labels in Malaysia have held back some of their upcoming releases (and some of these releases are by bands who've been around for five, six years) because of this whole black metal issue. Some of the CD's that were on shelves were apparently pulled down and had to be written off.
This entire black metal issue also means that the chances of getting a KDN sticker (a holographic sticker from the government to prove your product is both original and approved by the government) for our upcoming Y2k album are slim to none, which means pushing the release date even further.
Motherfuckers.
I guess now's a good time to concentrate on this movie lark, eh? Or perhaps a hip-hop career.
Getting There, One Click at a Time
So I spent the weekend re-shooting some scenes I thought could've been better, some new scenes that I absolutely needed so that the movie would make sense, a new gag that I absolutely love in all its anarchaity and some extra shots for the skateboard-car chase scene.
I also did the rest of the effects work. During one of the scenes the movie suddenly changes to a bootlegged off-line copy of the movie, so I added in a timecode, then burnt the scene to DVD, recorded the playback of the DVD onto a VCR, recorded the playback of the VCR onto my camera through a direct line-in, recorded the playback of the camera back onto the VCR (for another generation loss in quality), recorded the playback of VCR playing back the playback of the camera back into the camera and transferred it all onto the computer.
A lot of fuss for a one-minute shot, I know, but it makes me happy. At another point in the movie the footage turns to VCD mpeg quality for about ten minutes, although in my opinion the quality is a lot worse.
With all these re-shot and new scenes, I re-cut the movie again, this time also fixing any tiny mistakes along the way (and there were quite a number of them) and by last night 3am I cut the movie all the way to the beginning of the third act: 1 hour and 13 minutes so far, and it all makes sense in a linear form. The previous cuts all had huge chunks missing. Now I've got another 20 or 30 more minutes to add and the first proper, watchable cut of the movie will be done.
And, so far, I'm happy with it.
Everything's coming into place, the shots and scenes are making more sense, the sound's a bit better (with the simple addition of 2:1 compression... although, for some reason, I think I'm gonna have to tweak the sound of the UK footage a bit more, seems a bit muddy. A mackie mid or high boost should do the trick), everything's looking pretty cool. The new gag/Animal House homage I shot with Izuan (who's character name in the credits will probably be 'Emo Boy') is frickin' hillarious (and, dare I say it, extremely cathartic), the new scene to establish VCD's and Peter Brown's character work a treat and the action sequence has been helped considerably by the new shots (which were a lot more dangerous to shoot but absolutely necesarry).
However, I'm quite sure I would have actually finished editing by now if it wasn't for my new-old distraction: a Playstation.
(No, not a PS2, an old-school Playstation, the chunky one.)
Whilst we were doing the off-line copy effect at Tony's house I noticed, there in the corner, was a dusty old Playstation. I'd been tempted to buy a second hand one for ages (since the PS3 is coming out I might as well save up and wait for that as opposed to saving up and buying a PS2) and Tony doesn't play it anymore, so he passed it over. Next pay-cheque, I pay him.
And over the weekend I was reminded how fucking addictive video games can be.
I scourged my house for all my old PS1 games (I used to have one, then sold it during troubled times) and found all my favourites, including Tekken 3, Mortal Kombat Trilogy, GTA2 and my personal favourites: Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1 to 4 (already finished THPS2 with Chad Muska over the weekend and now I'm using Eric Koston). I also went out to buy some PS1 games since they're going for such dirt cheap prices: RM$10 for 3. I didn't realize the Spiderman 2 game was so addictive (not the movie one, the comic book one. And how do you defeat Shocker, for fucks sake?!).
But back to the plot: I should be done with a proper watchable cut of the movie within the next 2 or 3 days, then FedEx it to Seattle and hope for the best (as well as have a private cast and crew screening with pizza). Tonight, I've got an r n' b video to shoot in a warehouse. Will probably continue editing the movie after that (shoot ends at 11pm... aaargh...).
I also did the rest of the effects work. During one of the scenes the movie suddenly changes to a bootlegged off-line copy of the movie, so I added in a timecode, then burnt the scene to DVD, recorded the playback of the DVD onto a VCR, recorded the playback of the VCR onto my camera through a direct line-in, recorded the playback of the camera back onto the VCR (for another generation loss in quality), recorded the playback of VCR playing back the playback of the camera back into the camera and transferred it all onto the computer.
A lot of fuss for a one-minute shot, I know, but it makes me happy. At another point in the movie the footage turns to VCD mpeg quality for about ten minutes, although in my opinion the quality is a lot worse.
With all these re-shot and new scenes, I re-cut the movie again, this time also fixing any tiny mistakes along the way (and there were quite a number of them) and by last night 3am I cut the movie all the way to the beginning of the third act: 1 hour and 13 minutes so far, and it all makes sense in a linear form. The previous cuts all had huge chunks missing. Now I've got another 20 or 30 more minutes to add and the first proper, watchable cut of the movie will be done.
And, so far, I'm happy with it.
Everything's coming into place, the shots and scenes are making more sense, the sound's a bit better (with the simple addition of 2:1 compression... although, for some reason, I think I'm gonna have to tweak the sound of the UK footage a bit more, seems a bit muddy. A mackie mid or high boost should do the trick), everything's looking pretty cool. The new gag/Animal House homage I shot with Izuan (who's character name in the credits will probably be 'Emo Boy') is frickin' hillarious (and, dare I say it, extremely cathartic), the new scene to establish VCD's and Peter Brown's character work a treat and the action sequence has been helped considerably by the new shots (which were a lot more dangerous to shoot but absolutely necesarry).
However, I'm quite sure I would have actually finished editing by now if it wasn't for my new-old distraction: a Playstation.
(No, not a PS2, an old-school Playstation, the chunky one.)
Whilst we were doing the off-line copy effect at Tony's house I noticed, there in the corner, was a dusty old Playstation. I'd been tempted to buy a second hand one for ages (since the PS3 is coming out I might as well save up and wait for that as opposed to saving up and buying a PS2) and Tony doesn't play it anymore, so he passed it over. Next pay-cheque, I pay him.
And over the weekend I was reminded how fucking addictive video games can be.
I scourged my house for all my old PS1 games (I used to have one, then sold it during troubled times) and found all my favourites, including Tekken 3, Mortal Kombat Trilogy, GTA2 and my personal favourites: Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1 to 4 (already finished THPS2 with Chad Muska over the weekend and now I'm using Eric Koston). I also went out to buy some PS1 games since they're going for such dirt cheap prices: RM$10 for 3. I didn't realize the Spiderman 2 game was so addictive (not the movie one, the comic book one. And how do you defeat Shocker, for fucks sake?!).
But back to the plot: I should be done with a proper watchable cut of the movie within the next 2 or 3 days, then FedEx it to Seattle and hope for the best (as well as have a private cast and crew screening with pizza). Tonight, I've got an r n' b video to shoot in a warehouse. Will probably continue editing the movie after that (shoot ends at 11pm... aaargh...).
Friday, January 20, 2006
The 'Other' SIFF
I've thought about it, and figured 'fuck it, let's send this thing to the Seattle International Film Festival'.
My hesitation about sending Ciplak to Seattle was the fact that it is a pretty big festival, and whilst the good thing about that is the exposure Ciplak could get, it's also counter-weighed by the worry of whether or not Ciplak can even make it past the judges for it to be screened there.
One of their awards eases me a bit, which is the 'Independent Spirit' award. I mean, come on, how much more independent can Ciplak get? I always tell people the budget is RM$10,000 because I don't want the movie to seem too cheap but, to be fair, RM$8,000 of that money was on the camera. The rest of the money was spent on tapes, fuel, food, cigarettes and haircuts. In actuality, the budget's more like RM$1,300. Convert that to U.S. Dollars, that's about... USD$347. Shit. That's cheaper than 'El Mariachi'.
(Then again, he did shoot on film...)
Regardless, the submission deadline is 1st February. The only issue now is the costs involved: the entry fee alone is USD$97 (RM$363, about the same as half the catering budget). Then I need to Fed Ex it... sheesh. If any of you guys out there know anything about the Seattle International Film Festival, what kind of movies they 'prefer' to screen and whether or not I've got a fighting chance, let me know, please. I need knowledge.
On top of all this, I have another project lined-up, and it's a rush one (and, if you don't include the camera, has a bigger budget than Ciplak) for a music video for Liang's number one hit single "Show Me Watcha Got". Checked out one of the locations last night and been going through the pre-production with Pietra (who'll be co-directing and producing) but here's the thing: principal photography has to start on next Tuesday for the first location. NEXT TUESDAY! Tony's already freaking out a bit at the short time span. I'm strangely confident. Or mad. Yes, I'm mad. That's what it is.
Then there's some wedding job coming up too at the beginning of February. I'm gonna need more space on my desktop (which, incidentally, I have left on at home whilst I back-up 10GB of porn and other videos onto a portable hard drive. What? You thought I'd delete it? Puh-leeze...). Ciplak alone has probably taken up 75GB on footage alone, with another 2GB on soundtrack, title sequences and animation.
We're gonna need a bigger boat.
My hesitation about sending Ciplak to Seattle was the fact that it is a pretty big festival, and whilst the good thing about that is the exposure Ciplak could get, it's also counter-weighed by the worry of whether or not Ciplak can even make it past the judges for it to be screened there.
One of their awards eases me a bit, which is the 'Independent Spirit' award. I mean, come on, how much more independent can Ciplak get? I always tell people the budget is RM$10,000 because I don't want the movie to seem too cheap but, to be fair, RM$8,000 of that money was on the camera. The rest of the money was spent on tapes, fuel, food, cigarettes and haircuts. In actuality, the budget's more like RM$1,300. Convert that to U.S. Dollars, that's about... USD$347. Shit. That's cheaper than 'El Mariachi'.
(Then again, he did shoot on film...)
Regardless, the submission deadline is 1st February. The only issue now is the costs involved: the entry fee alone is USD$97 (RM$363, about the same as half the catering budget). Then I need to Fed Ex it... sheesh. If any of you guys out there know anything about the Seattle International Film Festival, what kind of movies they 'prefer' to screen and whether or not I've got a fighting chance, let me know, please. I need knowledge.
On top of all this, I have another project lined-up, and it's a rush one (and, if you don't include the camera, has a bigger budget than Ciplak) for a music video for Liang's number one hit single "Show Me Watcha Got". Checked out one of the locations last night and been going through the pre-production with Pietra (who'll be co-directing and producing) but here's the thing: principal photography has to start on next Tuesday for the first location. NEXT TUESDAY! Tony's already freaking out a bit at the short time span. I'm strangely confident. Or mad. Yes, I'm mad. That's what it is.
Then there's some wedding job coming up too at the beginning of February. I'm gonna need more space on my desktop (which, incidentally, I have left on at home whilst I back-up 10GB of porn and other videos onto a portable hard drive. What? You thought I'd delete it? Puh-leeze...). Ciplak alone has probably taken up 75GB on footage alone, with another 2GB on soundtrack, title sequences and animation.
We're gonna need a bigger boat.
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Getting Better
Been going through the cut I have so far, and it definitely looks like I need to shoot another five minutes of footage to bridge the second act with the third. I originally thought I could pull it off in post using voice-overs and animated footage, but no such luck. So this Saturday it's back to Voxel (Jordan's place) to shoot a final scene.
Since we're shooting some more footage I also finally get to shoot the cameo by Izuan of Auburn fame that I was hoping to stick in there. His scene is basically an homage to Animal House (I'll give you a clue: it involves the word, "sorry," delivered very nonchalantly).
Should be able to slip those bits in for the cast and crew screening on Sunday. I've already half a mind to cut out another seven minutes from the first two acts to speed things up. I don't like the idea of the movie slowing down at all in these first two acts. Speedy Gonzalez stylee.
On the physical/mental state front, I'm feeling a bit better. Went rehearsing last night with Triple 6 Poser (with Jay back and auditioning a new drummer) and it was a nice release, even though I was still tired as fuck, and by the time I got home I fell asleep soundly for a good eight/nine hours for once. However, I will admit the lethargy is still there, but it's not as bad as before. Might not need as much caffeine.
Tonight I'm gonna back up some of my files, edit a bit more and meet up with an R n' B dude (who shall remain nameless for now) who I'm doing a music video for (hopefully). I'm just wondering whether I can get the 'Usher'-slick feel to it. The dude wants to shoot before Chinese New Year, which doesn't give much time. We'll have to see what's possible.
And on that note, just wanted to say thanks to all you out there for your words of encouragement and such. Means a lot. Keep those comments coming, they act like chicken soup for the soul.
Since we're shooting some more footage I also finally get to shoot the cameo by Izuan of Auburn fame that I was hoping to stick in there. His scene is basically an homage to Animal House (I'll give you a clue: it involves the word, "sorry," delivered very nonchalantly).
Should be able to slip those bits in for the cast and crew screening on Sunday. I've already half a mind to cut out another seven minutes from the first two acts to speed things up. I don't like the idea of the movie slowing down at all in these first two acts. Speedy Gonzalez stylee.
On the physical/mental state front, I'm feeling a bit better. Went rehearsing last night with Triple 6 Poser (with Jay back and auditioning a new drummer) and it was a nice release, even though I was still tired as fuck, and by the time I got home I fell asleep soundly for a good eight/nine hours for once. However, I will admit the lethargy is still there, but it's not as bad as before. Might not need as much caffeine.
Tonight I'm gonna back up some of my files, edit a bit more and meet up with an R n' B dude (who shall remain nameless for now) who I'm doing a music video for (hopefully). I'm just wondering whether I can get the 'Usher'-slick feel to it. The dude wants to shoot before Chinese New Year, which doesn't give much time. We'll have to see what's possible.
And on that note, just wanted to say thanks to all you out there for your words of encouragement and such. Means a lot. Keep those comments coming, they act like chicken soup for the soul.
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
The Breakdown
Last night I broke down.
Couldn't help it. I was on the phone with my girlfriend when I just broke down and bawled my eyes out.
I know that I usually joke about the physical pain my body's going through, and the mental pain, and my extreme lethargy and lack of sleep, but joking about it and not taking it too seriously keeps me going.
But not last night. Last night I just wanted it all to go away. The movie, the music, the job, everything. It was one of those moments where I wished everyone would just fuck off and leave me be in a room full of pizza, DVD's and a PS2 on a comfy bed with a TV that works and a room temperature that doesn't cause me to either sweat or sneeze uncontrollably.
I wanted respite.
But the fact of the matter is I know I'm close. I'm so fucking close to getting there that it would make no sense whatsoever to give up now.
But I'm still not there. And by God it would be such a relief to just throw in the towel and say, "that's it! I've had it! Fuck it all!"
Jay asked me why I don't cut down a bit on some of the stuff I'm doing. But there's nothing to cut. The movie's almost done, the Y2k album's about to be launched, Triple 6 Poser have been waiting to record for ages, the studio's almost up, there are numerous video jobs lined up (music videos and weddings)...
What the fuck am I supposed to cut down on?
So, no. We keep on trekking. And there ain't no turning back,
I'll keep on trekking even if I get a heart attack,
With cigarettes in one hand and a keyboard on my left,
A runny nose, a cough and cold, my left ear going deaf,
With caffeine pumping through the veins and red dots in my eyes,
A milky, phleghmy aftertaste and aching, burning thighs,
With painful shoulders, heavy head and never getting rest,
A neck so stiff it can't turn left, a cyst upon my chest,
A chin that has not seen a shaving blade in quite a while,
As somehow all my muscles try to pull an almost-smile,
Through late nights sat in front of my unbalanced PC screen,
I'd rather fuck a goat than throw away my childhood dreams.
Adieu.
...wah. Aku berpantun, sial.
Couldn't help it. I was on the phone with my girlfriend when I just broke down and bawled my eyes out.
I know that I usually joke about the physical pain my body's going through, and the mental pain, and my extreme lethargy and lack of sleep, but joking about it and not taking it too seriously keeps me going.
But not last night. Last night I just wanted it all to go away. The movie, the music, the job, everything. It was one of those moments where I wished everyone would just fuck off and leave me be in a room full of pizza, DVD's and a PS2 on a comfy bed with a TV that works and a room temperature that doesn't cause me to either sweat or sneeze uncontrollably.
I wanted respite.
But the fact of the matter is I know I'm close. I'm so fucking close to getting there that it would make no sense whatsoever to give up now.
But I'm still not there. And by God it would be such a relief to just throw in the towel and say, "that's it! I've had it! Fuck it all!"
Jay asked me why I don't cut down a bit on some of the stuff I'm doing. But there's nothing to cut. The movie's almost done, the Y2k album's about to be launched, Triple 6 Poser have been waiting to record for ages, the studio's almost up, there are numerous video jobs lined up (music videos and weddings)...
What the fuck am I supposed to cut down on?
So, no. We keep on trekking. And there ain't no turning back,
I'll keep on trekking even if I get a heart attack,
With cigarettes in one hand and a keyboard on my left,
A runny nose, a cough and cold, my left ear going deaf,
With caffeine pumping through the veins and red dots in my eyes,
A milky, phleghmy aftertaste and aching, burning thighs,
With painful shoulders, heavy head and never getting rest,
A neck so stiff it can't turn left, a cyst upon my chest,
A chin that has not seen a shaving blade in quite a while,
As somehow all my muscles try to pull an almost-smile,
Through late nights sat in front of my unbalanced PC screen,
I'd rather fuck a goat than throw away my childhood dreams.
Adieu.
...wah. Aku berpantun, sial.
Monday, January 16, 2006
Festival Festivities
Registered to WithoutABox just now and I've been checking it out ever since. Very cool. And to think, previously I'd been searching via google for film festivals. This is so much easier.
So easy it is, it's come to my attention that most festivals in the States 'prefer' movies that are premieres. The tough bit is trying to pick which ones to send to, there's so frickin' many. I've got my heart set on the Seattle International Film Festival but (a) the entry fee is quite high and (b) perhaps I'm setting my hopes to high with it, too. I dunno about the festival, but the site is certainly a classy affair. Perhaps I should submit it to a smaller festival... or one closer to Hollywood (incredibly wishful thinking on my part).
See, my question is this: with so many film festivals going on in the States, how do studio execs and agents and distributors check them all out? There must be some that are more preferred than others. And it's US dollars for the entry fees. That's a lot of money in ringgit, so shotgunning the festival circles with spray pellets in the hope of hitting one isn't exactly the most affordable. Plus the fact that some festivals don't accept DVD as their final screening format (which is understandable) although I always thought DVD was clearer than digiBeta.
Edinburgh Film Festival's also on my hitlist... that is, if it's good enough for them. I really want to get it into some festival in the UK, just don't know which. Not quite sure about all this. Need outside assistance, helpful opinions from an experienced soul.
Any of you happen to be an experienced soul? And I don't mean that in a cherry-poppin' way.
Another of my worries is the fact that different festivals cater for different audiences. I need to find a festival of film geeks (wait for it...) with a sense of humour (see? Not so easy now, is?).
And, of course, I still have to finish my cut of the movie. As tiring as editing by myself is, I can't imagine giving someone else my footage and asking them to edit it. They'd probably tell me I'm mad.
Then again, Saiful's been calling me mad for ages.
The cyst is getting bigger and it hurts like buggery. I shall be having harsh words with the doctor soon.
So easy it is, it's come to my attention that most festivals in the States 'prefer' movies that are premieres. The tough bit is trying to pick which ones to send to, there's so frickin' many. I've got my heart set on the Seattle International Film Festival but (a) the entry fee is quite high and (b) perhaps I'm setting my hopes to high with it, too. I dunno about the festival, but the site is certainly a classy affair. Perhaps I should submit it to a smaller festival... or one closer to Hollywood (incredibly wishful thinking on my part).
See, my question is this: with so many film festivals going on in the States, how do studio execs and agents and distributors check them all out? There must be some that are more preferred than others. And it's US dollars for the entry fees. That's a lot of money in ringgit, so shotgunning the festival circles with spray pellets in the hope of hitting one isn't exactly the most affordable. Plus the fact that some festivals don't accept DVD as their final screening format (which is understandable) although I always thought DVD was clearer than digiBeta.
Edinburgh Film Festival's also on my hitlist... that is, if it's good enough for them. I really want to get it into some festival in the UK, just don't know which. Not quite sure about all this. Need outside assistance, helpful opinions from an experienced soul.
Any of you happen to be an experienced soul? And I don't mean that in a cherry-poppin' way.
Another of my worries is the fact that different festivals cater for different audiences. I need to find a festival of film geeks (wait for it...) with a sense of humour (see? Not so easy now, is?).
And, of course, I still have to finish my cut of the movie. As tiring as editing by myself is, I can't imagine giving someone else my footage and asking them to edit it. They'd probably tell me I'm mad.
Then again, Saiful's been calling me mad for ages.
The cyst is getting bigger and it hurts like buggery. I shall be having harsh words with the doctor soon.
KUL > SQ > KUL > MAD
Written on Sunday. Enjoy my pain.
The date is January 15th, 2006. The time, according to my beat-up Nokia phone, is 2:56pm. I am in Singapore, and I have not slept since 6:00am, January 14th, 2006.
Why? Because I have been editing.
What can I say right now? My head hurts, I am completely dehydrated, I think I've bruised or sprained my wrist (or damaged it in the long run) from using the mouse continously, my shoulders ache, my back hurts, my feet are killing me, the cyst on my chest is burning into my body, I smell like shit, my breath stinks, my pits reek, my eyes burn, my throat is sore, and I may have carpal tunnel syndrom.
So what else is new?
Here's what's happened (and what will happen, as I'll probably add to this) in a nutshell:
January 14th, 2006
12:30pm. Woke up in Damansara Heights. Had been editing in Taman Tun till 6 in the morning. Sleep was pleasant. I have decided that sleeping in Taman Tun is detrimental to my health. How else to explain the two days of illness I experienced on Monday?
2:00pm. Bought bus tickets to Singapore: RM$160. Why so much? I'm taking an Aeroline bus, one of those fancy double deckers. Why Aeroline? They have plugpoints on the bus. Worst case scenario, I can prepare the press pack there.
4:00pm. Naz SMS's me, telling me that he's sent the revised version of the DVD cover for Ciplak's submission to the Singapore International Film Festival. Too busy editing, so I tell him I'll check it out when I take a break.
7:00pm. Diana and Farah came over, followed by Tony, who was dropping off his two short films to send together with mine. We're sending everything under one big 'FYI Films' package. Showed Tony the cut of the first 53 minutes. He enjoyed it. So did Diana and Farah. However, since they were involved/know me, their opinion might be biased. My other worry is that later tonight I'll be showing some of the movie to my father. Grrreat...
8:00pm. Go to Starbucks for Grande Latte Enema. It's a Venti. It's fucking huge. THIS should keep me up. Then I called my father to ask him whether he can come over around eleven. He says he can, and that he's bringing my mother too. Double grrreat. Briefly blogged about this.
11:00pm. Showed some of the movie to my parents. Officially worst screening I've ever had of the rough cut. They didn't say anything bad about it... but they didn't say anything good either. Morale lowered considerably. Turned to my girlfriend for emotional support via telephone. One thing is certain. I'm sending something to the SIFF. I just don't know what.
January 15th, 2006
6:30am. Edited continously since screening it to my parents. Huge chunks of the movie are missing. And I mean huge. For some reason right nostril starts dripping water. Not snot, not blood, fucking water. Decided, considering the time, that I should bite the bullet and render the movie as a WMV file. If there are any little things to fix, I can do it on the laptop on the bus. As the files rendered and the clock ticked I packed my bag with the laptop, blank CD's and editing software.
7:15am. Roughcut rendered and burnt to disc. Rushed off to the Corus Hotel on Jalan Ampang to catch my bus at eight, stopping at my parents' house to pick up a t-shirt and the laptop plug.
7:55am. Get on bus. Not sure if the car's locked.
8:05am. Fell asleep for a minute on the bus but was thankfully awakened by the steward serving breakfast: weiners, scrambled eggs and a buttered bun. I put the weiners and eggs into the bun for my very own Aeroline Sausage McMuffin.
8:15am. Install Vegas Video 3.0 onto the laptop.
8:20am. Finally watch the roughcut. Third act is fucked. Carelessness, rushing and sleep deprivation have left a shitload of mistakes. Good thing I brought the laptop. For some reason the additional sound effects track has been nudged out of its timeline... by about five minutes earlier. So when the intense moment between my character and Peter Brown's takes place, for some reason there is the sound of a skateboard/car chase in the background. Fixable, but there's a huge hole in the plot now. Anyone watching it will notice that a good ten minutes are obviously missing from the movie.
8:50am. Start editing.
12:45pm Finish editing just as we arrive at immegration. Spend the rest of the trip through Singapore doing the end credits.
(Begun to notice that grammar structure and past/present tense is gradually getting fucked. But I shall not fix it for I am an elk.)
1:00pm. Arrive somewhere in Singapore. Have no Singaporean currency. Walk in the hot sun to some mall somewhere to look for a money changer. Try to call Goz. No answer. Try to SMS. No reply. Fuck.
1:40pm. End up at Burger King on Orchard Road. A girl named Grace sat at the other end of the long table reading a book offers her mobile phone to help me call Goz. Still no answer. Chit-chat with Grace for a bit. She just came back from England 2 months ago. Talk about the UK before she leaves to join her friends after their champagne brunch. It's rare to find people that will talk to random strangers just for some idle chit-chat in Asia. Not part of the culture. We talked about books and she recomended 'the Time Travellers Wife'. After a couple of cigarettes we parted ways.
2:10pm. Decide to wait at Coffee Bean and do my final render of the movie.
2:30pm. Goz finally calls back. He was asleep. The bastard.
3:20pm. 33% of the movie rendered so far. Still have to burn it, go to a cyber cafe to download and print the cover, print out the press pack and cover letter, then find a manila envelope big enough for it all and find the SIFF office before getting on my bus back to Kuala Lumpur at 6:00pm.
It has begun to rain. Shiite. I hope it doesn't get my laptop. And it's fucking heavy too. Isolated bursts and showers. Things look bright and dry outside of Orchard so maybe it'll go soon. Goz still isn't here and the Coffee Bean is packed. I'm not sure how much longer caffeine can keep me going.
3:36pm. Goz arrived. 42% rendered so far. When, Lord. When do I get to see the goddamn sailboat...
5.45pm.Hmmm. It's 98% rendered. I'm wondering right now if I should press 'cancel' i nthe hope that by doing so, I'll still have 98% of the movie.
...
Fuck it. Let's try it.
...
Cool. It worked. Now to burn.
6.00pm. Goddamit.
Ok. So I re-edited the roughcut I had so that the third half made more sense, right? Right. Then I spent the whole day in Singapore rendering the file, diving in the car with Goz to the bus stop as I rendered it, then we perched ourselves upon the sidewalk as I slipped in a CD-R to burn to VCD.
Except the laptop I have doesn't have Nero installed. It has Sonic Record DX.
And Sonic Record DX cannot convert files into VCD format like Nero. The files have to be converted first. Motherfucker.
Rushing like a madman, I tried burning the original WMV files that I used to edit (which were split into three chapters, the third being the one that needed the most work) to VCD, and guess what?
It can't do that either.
Motherfucker.
So, in the end, I burnt the original WMV file roughcuts I burnt from my PC at home to do the roughcut I edited on the bus as opposed to the roughcut edit I did on the bus that was, at the very least, more wholly coherent.
Which makes all the hard work I did for the last ten hours absolutely pointless. That's depressing. Incredibly depressing.
But it was an experience. I will say that.
Waste of money? Not too much. An experience? Sure. There are other festivals to aim for. And they all cost money.
It's weird. I thought I'd be crying and bawling my eyes out for not making it on time. But, for some reason, it makes me want to laugh my ass off. I'm smiling right now as I type this. Maybe it's the relief that I won't have to be all stressed over the Singapore International Film Festival anymore. Maybe it's because of the ludicrousness of this whole endeavour, all for one festival. Am I really gonna be this way over allfestivals? Doubt it. I really do think it's the vanishing of the stress of trying to make the SIFF. I really do.
Alternatively, it could be because I haven't slept in... oh, about 30 hours. Heh. Sleep's for pussies. Besides, I'm not going to sleep yet. I'm still on the bus in Singapore. If I fall asleep now I'll end up being rudely awakened at immigration. I'll sleep once I'm on Malaysian soil. Yeah... sleep the sleep of champions, then wake up fresh... for fucking work.
One day... one day I shall see the sailboat.
The date is January 15th, 2006. The time, according to my beat-up Nokia phone, is 2:56pm. I am in Singapore, and I have not slept since 6:00am, January 14th, 2006.
Why? Because I have been editing.
What can I say right now? My head hurts, I am completely dehydrated, I think I've bruised or sprained my wrist (or damaged it in the long run) from using the mouse continously, my shoulders ache, my back hurts, my feet are killing me, the cyst on my chest is burning into my body, I smell like shit, my breath stinks, my pits reek, my eyes burn, my throat is sore, and I may have carpal tunnel syndrom.
So what else is new?
Here's what's happened (and what will happen, as I'll probably add to this) in a nutshell:
January 14th, 2006
12:30pm. Woke up in Damansara Heights. Had been editing in Taman Tun till 6 in the morning. Sleep was pleasant. I have decided that sleeping in Taman Tun is detrimental to my health. How else to explain the two days of illness I experienced on Monday?
2:00pm. Bought bus tickets to Singapore: RM$160. Why so much? I'm taking an Aeroline bus, one of those fancy double deckers. Why Aeroline? They have plugpoints on the bus. Worst case scenario, I can prepare the press pack there.
4:00pm. Naz SMS's me, telling me that he's sent the revised version of the DVD cover for Ciplak's submission to the Singapore International Film Festival. Too busy editing, so I tell him I'll check it out when I take a break.
7:00pm. Diana and Farah came over, followed by Tony, who was dropping off his two short films to send together with mine. We're sending everything under one big 'FYI Films' package. Showed Tony the cut of the first 53 minutes. He enjoyed it. So did Diana and Farah. However, since they were involved/know me, their opinion might be biased. My other worry is that later tonight I'll be showing some of the movie to my father. Grrreat...
8:00pm. Go to Starbucks for Grande Latte Enema. It's a Venti. It's fucking huge. THIS should keep me up. Then I called my father to ask him whether he can come over around eleven. He says he can, and that he's bringing my mother too. Double grrreat. Briefly blogged about this.
11:00pm. Showed some of the movie to my parents. Officially worst screening I've ever had of the rough cut. They didn't say anything bad about it... but they didn't say anything good either. Morale lowered considerably. Turned to my girlfriend for emotional support via telephone. One thing is certain. I'm sending something to the SIFF. I just don't know what.
January 15th, 2006
6:30am. Edited continously since screening it to my parents. Huge chunks of the movie are missing. And I mean huge. For some reason right nostril starts dripping water. Not snot, not blood, fucking water. Decided, considering the time, that I should bite the bullet and render the movie as a WMV file. If there are any little things to fix, I can do it on the laptop on the bus. As the files rendered and the clock ticked I packed my bag with the laptop, blank CD's and editing software.
7:15am. Roughcut rendered and burnt to disc. Rushed off to the Corus Hotel on Jalan Ampang to catch my bus at eight, stopping at my parents' house to pick up a t-shirt and the laptop plug.
7:55am. Get on bus. Not sure if the car's locked.
8:05am. Fell asleep for a minute on the bus but was thankfully awakened by the steward serving breakfast: weiners, scrambled eggs and a buttered bun. I put the weiners and eggs into the bun for my very own Aeroline Sausage McMuffin.
8:15am. Install Vegas Video 3.0 onto the laptop.
8:20am. Finally watch the roughcut. Third act is fucked. Carelessness, rushing and sleep deprivation have left a shitload of mistakes. Good thing I brought the laptop. For some reason the additional sound effects track has been nudged out of its timeline... by about five minutes earlier. So when the intense moment between my character and Peter Brown's takes place, for some reason there is the sound of a skateboard/car chase in the background. Fixable, but there's a huge hole in the plot now. Anyone watching it will notice that a good ten minutes are obviously missing from the movie.
8:50am. Start editing.
12:45pm Finish editing just as we arrive at immegration. Spend the rest of the trip through Singapore doing the end credits.
(Begun to notice that grammar structure and past/present tense is gradually getting fucked. But I shall not fix it for I am an elk.)
1:00pm. Arrive somewhere in Singapore. Have no Singaporean currency. Walk in the hot sun to some mall somewhere to look for a money changer. Try to call Goz. No answer. Try to SMS. No reply. Fuck.
1:40pm. End up at Burger King on Orchard Road. A girl named Grace sat at the other end of the long table reading a book offers her mobile phone to help me call Goz. Still no answer. Chit-chat with Grace for a bit. She just came back from England 2 months ago. Talk about the UK before she leaves to join her friends after their champagne brunch. It's rare to find people that will talk to random strangers just for some idle chit-chat in Asia. Not part of the culture. We talked about books and she recomended 'the Time Travellers Wife'. After a couple of cigarettes we parted ways.
2:10pm. Decide to wait at Coffee Bean and do my final render of the movie.
2:30pm. Goz finally calls back. He was asleep. The bastard.
3:20pm. 33% of the movie rendered so far. Still have to burn it, go to a cyber cafe to download and print the cover, print out the press pack and cover letter, then find a manila envelope big enough for it all and find the SIFF office before getting on my bus back to Kuala Lumpur at 6:00pm.
It has begun to rain. Shiite. I hope it doesn't get my laptop. And it's fucking heavy too. Isolated bursts and showers. Things look bright and dry outside of Orchard so maybe it'll go soon. Goz still isn't here and the Coffee Bean is packed. I'm not sure how much longer caffeine can keep me going.
3:36pm. Goz arrived. 42% rendered so far. When, Lord. When do I get to see the goddamn sailboat...
5.45pm.Hmmm. It's 98% rendered. I'm wondering right now if I should press 'cancel' i nthe hope that by doing so, I'll still have 98% of the movie.
...
Fuck it. Let's try it.
...
Cool. It worked. Now to burn.
6.00pm. Goddamit.
Ok. So I re-edited the roughcut I had so that the third half made more sense, right? Right. Then I spent the whole day in Singapore rendering the file, diving in the car with Goz to the bus stop as I rendered it, then we perched ourselves upon the sidewalk as I slipped in a CD-R to burn to VCD.
Except the laptop I have doesn't have Nero installed. It has Sonic Record DX.
And Sonic Record DX cannot convert files into VCD format like Nero. The files have to be converted first. Motherfucker.
Rushing like a madman, I tried burning the original WMV files that I used to edit (which were split into three chapters, the third being the one that needed the most work) to VCD, and guess what?
It can't do that either.
Motherfucker.
So, in the end, I burnt the original WMV file roughcuts I burnt from my PC at home to do the roughcut I edited on the bus as opposed to the roughcut edit I did on the bus that was, at the very least, more wholly coherent.
Which makes all the hard work I did for the last ten hours absolutely pointless. That's depressing. Incredibly depressing.
But it was an experience. I will say that.
Waste of money? Not too much. An experience? Sure. There are other festivals to aim for. And they all cost money.
It's weird. I thought I'd be crying and bawling my eyes out for not making it on time. But, for some reason, it makes me want to laugh my ass off. I'm smiling right now as I type this. Maybe it's the relief that I won't have to be all stressed over the Singapore International Film Festival anymore. Maybe it's because of the ludicrousness of this whole endeavour, all for one festival. Am I really gonna be this way over allfestivals? Doubt it. I really do think it's the vanishing of the stress of trying to make the SIFF. I really do.
Alternatively, it could be because I haven't slept in... oh, about 30 hours. Heh. Sleep's for pussies. Besides, I'm not going to sleep yet. I'm still on the bus in Singapore. If I fall asleep now I'll end up being rudely awakened at immigration. I'll sleep once I'm on Malaysian soil. Yeah... sleep the sleep of champions, then wake up fresh... for fucking work.
One day... one day I shall see the sailboat.
Saturday, January 14, 2006
11th Hour
Last night I edited till 6 in the morning, with about 50+ minutes of the movie done. Then I checked on-line to see the possibilities of couriering the movie over. No such luck. They can pick it up on a Sunday, but they can't deliver it till Monday. Grrr.
Today is crunch time. I've decided to do an abridged version of the movie for submissions, and if it gets accepted, send them the proper one. Looking at it at the moment, if I put everything in it may even end up to be 110 minutes long. The abridged version should be about 70 or 80 minutes.
My father wants to watch it before I submit it which scares me somewhat. I associate showing my father the movie to baring my soul to him. What if he doesn't like what he sees?
However, my father assures me he just wants to make sure I don't diss the government in the movie. Dissing the government is not good for one's health in this country. He just doesn't want to get me (and the family) in trouble, 1984 style.
Then maybe, just maybe, I might have a private cast & crew screening before the actual premiere. Not sure yet. Will see soon.
All I know is that once this movie's over I'm taking a weekend off for once. Maybe go to somewhere exotic. Like Kajang.
Today is crunch time. I've decided to do an abridged version of the movie for submissions, and if it gets accepted, send them the proper one. Looking at it at the moment, if I put everything in it may even end up to be 110 minutes long. The abridged version should be about 70 or 80 minutes.
My father wants to watch it before I submit it which scares me somewhat. I associate showing my father the movie to baring my soul to him. What if he doesn't like what he sees?
However, my father assures me he just wants to make sure I don't diss the government in the movie. Dissing the government is not good for one's health in this country. He just doesn't want to get me (and the family) in trouble, 1984 style.
Then maybe, just maybe, I might have a private cast & crew screening before the actual premiere. Not sure yet. Will see soon.
All I know is that once this movie's over I'm taking a weekend off for once. Maybe go to somewhere exotic. Like Kajang.
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Motherfucker
Motherfucker.
So we finished shooting all the main footage needed on Sunday. Then, as a treat to my girlfriend who's followed me through this entire arduous task, we went to see King Kong (which burnt a hole in my wallet something chronic). Watching it a second time (and watching my girlfriend cry for poor Kong) I was further convinced that the main reason I didn't enjoy it first time 'round is because of the humans. Evil, bastard humans. Also realized something else: the movie's a tragedy about Kong, right? But the pain he goes through is so stylized at times it feels insulting. On the one hand, there's this tragic story of Kong being fucked with, but he's also being fucked with so beautifully, CGI pushed to the fore. Do we sit back and enjoy the carnage or cry at the brutality of it all? Strangely, I enjoyed it a bit more this time. Maybe it's prerequisite that you watch the movie with a girl so that you can watch them cry.
Anyway...
After Kong I decided to transfer footage, which has reached 60GB so far. I may have to delete my porn. The whole process took me till 9am and I still wasn't done. I passed out on my bed and woke up four hours later, a bevy of missed calls and a feeling throughout my body, stomach and brain that can only be described as intensely painful and supremely fucked up. If my girlfriend hadn't come over to take care of me I'd probably still be on that bed right now.
After a visit to the doctors at seven I finally started editing proper and discovered something quite annoying: a high pitched noise throughout one of the scenes. Fuckin' 'ell. I may have to do some foley work and ADR.
But I've edited 6 minutes. And I like them.
...
6 minutes only. I'm fucked.
Today won't have much editing till nightfall, as it is Hari Raya Haji/Qorban/Adha, whichever your preference. For non-Muslims, this is the day where we celebrate that moment (which is also in the bible) when that guy had that dream from God telling him to slaughter his son, so he says, "son, I've gotta kill ya, God said so," and the son said, "it's cool, I trust God" and he turned into a lamb at the last moment. Since then, on this day Muslims throughout the world slaughter a goat/cow/whatever and pass the meat out to everyone, especially the poor and needy. Last year the mosque in my area decided to be a bit of a showboat as some guy paid to ship three camels over. I didn't stick around to see how one goes about slaughtering a camel. Way too much blood to drain.
And now I've got to do up some kind of press pack for KLue. I was supposed to do this yesterday but I was in no state to do anything yesterday.
Scooby-doo.
So we finished shooting all the main footage needed on Sunday. Then, as a treat to my girlfriend who's followed me through this entire arduous task, we went to see King Kong (which burnt a hole in my wallet something chronic). Watching it a second time (and watching my girlfriend cry for poor Kong) I was further convinced that the main reason I didn't enjoy it first time 'round is because of the humans. Evil, bastard humans. Also realized something else: the movie's a tragedy about Kong, right? But the pain he goes through is so stylized at times it feels insulting. On the one hand, there's this tragic story of Kong being fucked with, but he's also being fucked with so beautifully, CGI pushed to the fore. Do we sit back and enjoy the carnage or cry at the brutality of it all? Strangely, I enjoyed it a bit more this time. Maybe it's prerequisite that you watch the movie with a girl so that you can watch them cry.
Anyway...
After Kong I decided to transfer footage, which has reached 60GB so far. I may have to delete my porn. The whole process took me till 9am and I still wasn't done. I passed out on my bed and woke up four hours later, a bevy of missed calls and a feeling throughout my body, stomach and brain that can only be described as intensely painful and supremely fucked up. If my girlfriend hadn't come over to take care of me I'd probably still be on that bed right now.
After a visit to the doctors at seven I finally started editing proper and discovered something quite annoying: a high pitched noise throughout one of the scenes. Fuckin' 'ell. I may have to do some foley work and ADR.
But I've edited 6 minutes. And I like them.
...
6 minutes only. I'm fucked.
Today won't have much editing till nightfall, as it is Hari Raya Haji/Qorban/Adha, whichever your preference. For non-Muslims, this is the day where we celebrate that moment (which is also in the bible) when that guy had that dream from God telling him to slaughter his son, so he says, "son, I've gotta kill ya, God said so," and the son said, "it's cool, I trust God" and he turned into a lamb at the last moment. Since then, on this day Muslims throughout the world slaughter a goat/cow/whatever and pass the meat out to everyone, especially the poor and needy. Last year the mosque in my area decided to be a bit of a showboat as some guy paid to ship three camels over. I didn't stick around to see how one goes about slaughtering a camel. Way too much blood to drain.
And now I've got to do up some kind of press pack for KLue. I was supposed to do this yesterday but I was in no state to do anything yesterday.
Scooby-doo.
Sunday, January 8, 2006
Almost Done
Phew. Yesterday we re-shot the opening scene in the character's bedroom, which involved plastering posters all over again, and this time in a bigger room. But this time we stuck the posters all anarchicly and unorderly, which should look better (this was after noticing Brodie's room in Mallrats).
We then tried to shoot the ending scene to find (a) the car we needed for the scene is no longer with us for the day and (b) it started to rain. Add to that the fact that I was completely ad-libbing the scene and this proved to be difficult. I then tried to improvise the scene even more by having it under some shade when voila, the rain stopped. We ran to the location (a bridge near my house) and shot the scene. I'll shoot the car separately and make them all join together with clever editing.
I hope.
Today we shoot the last scene needed for the movie, a few pick-up shots here and there and the car and I'm done. Done done done. Tonight I'll start transferring footage and tomorrow I'll start editing.
My only worry is that my dad wants to see the movie before I send it off. He fears controversy. I'm trying to placate him as much as I can but I don't think it's working. We'll see.
Fingers crossed, people.
We then tried to shoot the ending scene to find (a) the car we needed for the scene is no longer with us for the day and (b) it started to rain. Add to that the fact that I was completely ad-libbing the scene and this proved to be difficult. I then tried to improvise the scene even more by having it under some shade when voila, the rain stopped. We ran to the location (a bridge near my house) and shot the scene. I'll shoot the car separately and make them all join together with clever editing.
I hope.
Today we shoot the last scene needed for the movie, a few pick-up shots here and there and the car and I'm done. Done done done. Tonight I'll start transferring footage and tomorrow I'll start editing.
My only worry is that my dad wants to see the movie before I send it off. He fears controversy. I'm trying to placate him as much as I can but I don't think it's working. We'll see.
Fingers crossed, people.
Friday, January 6, 2006
The Week of Reckoning
So yeah.
I finally managed to sort out the whole leave thing. They'll take out three (or is two and a half) days off of my pay of my last month with the company, which ain't no biggie, leaving the upcoming week free for my to concentrate on one thing and one thing only:
My frickin' movie.
I'll be honest, though. I'm so fucking tired it's not even funny. I've been sleeping on the hard wooden floor of the new house my parents have moved to for the past four days and it's beginning to take its toll. I can't even think straight, and haven't even booked everybody's time for this weekend which will hopefully be the last ever time we shoot footage for this movie. I already predict my parents' nagging and the evil weather as well as other laws of Murphy to stand in my way, but I'm going to finish this movie by hook or by crook.
The good news is Adrian from KLue called up yesterday. We talked first of my proposed article about Paul's Place and the whole black metal issue and then he asked me about the movie, saying he wants to feature at least a little something about it in the next issue of KLue. This is good news, but it also means I need to finish up a press pack by Monday.
Joy.
I'm seriously considering taking tonight off, sleeping in Taman Tun and watching a movie to relax. I just got me a clear as crystal copy of 'Hustle & Flow' which I definitely intend to see. Otherwise, it'll be Alba ass in 'Into the Blue'. Either one will leave me a happy bunny.
Now, however, I'm sitting out the rain, then probably pop over home for a bit as I haven't seen my parents in a while (even though I stay with them) and either get me a copy of the keys for the house or tell them I'm sleeping in Taman Tun. I just want to clear my head before the upcoming onslaught.
Script-wise, things have changed quite considerably since that very first draft. Scenes have been rewritten, deleted and added as days go by and more and more footage is accumulated. I'm hoping and praying that the movie gets accepted into the Singapore International Film Festival because if not... well... at least there's the KL premiere.
If there's a premiere.
So much to do... so much to do.
I require oral pleasure.
I finally managed to sort out the whole leave thing. They'll take out three (or is two and a half) days off of my pay of my last month with the company, which ain't no biggie, leaving the upcoming week free for my to concentrate on one thing and one thing only:
My frickin' movie.
I'll be honest, though. I'm so fucking tired it's not even funny. I've been sleeping on the hard wooden floor of the new house my parents have moved to for the past four days and it's beginning to take its toll. I can't even think straight, and haven't even booked everybody's time for this weekend which will hopefully be the last ever time we shoot footage for this movie. I already predict my parents' nagging and the evil weather as well as other laws of Murphy to stand in my way, but I'm going to finish this movie by hook or by crook.
The good news is Adrian from KLue called up yesterday. We talked first of my proposed article about Paul's Place and the whole black metal issue and then he asked me about the movie, saying he wants to feature at least a little something about it in the next issue of KLue. This is good news, but it also means I need to finish up a press pack by Monday.
Joy.
I'm seriously considering taking tonight off, sleeping in Taman Tun and watching a movie to relax. I just got me a clear as crystal copy of 'Hustle & Flow' which I definitely intend to see. Otherwise, it'll be Alba ass in 'Into the Blue'. Either one will leave me a happy bunny.
Now, however, I'm sitting out the rain, then probably pop over home for a bit as I haven't seen my parents in a while (even though I stay with them) and either get me a copy of the keys for the house or tell them I'm sleeping in Taman Tun. I just want to clear my head before the upcoming onslaught.
Script-wise, things have changed quite considerably since that very first draft. Scenes have been rewritten, deleted and added as days go by and more and more footage is accumulated. I'm hoping and praying that the movie gets accepted into the Singapore International Film Festival because if not... well... at least there's the KL premiere.
If there's a premiere.
So much to do... so much to do.
I require oral pleasure.
Wednesday, January 4, 2006
Reflection
My team is all but dissapeared, today. I'm the only one in the office. The rest of them have gone out for product training on one of our new clients, leaving me with... well, not much to do. Then again, it's only midday and a host of job reqs could end up on my desk by 6pm.
Sigh... this sure has been an eventful start to 2006. And with all this time on my hands (albeit momentarily), I feel compelled to recap the events of the past few days, starting with:
The Bad: Black Metal Bollocks
The whole black metal issue at Paul's Place is one that's seriously bugging me. I've been following the newspapers as the story unfolds but it looks like the English papers are going to be talking less and less of it (although kudos to them for putting out pretty fair articles) whilst the Malay papers are jumping with joy at the thought that there are more of these black-shirted kids to write about and cause panic in the hearts of parents everywhere.
Like the Harian Metro, who today printed that the gig was not a black metal gig. Although it was on the front page, it was hidden from prominence by headlines about a local artist arrested for drugs and 'ghost candy'.
What the fuck is ghost candy?
Mastika will probably follow this up with their next issue, another tabloid magazine brimming with absolute stupidity.
And whilst the rest of the 'scene' are reacting to police mistreatment and poor reportage, my main worry (and Saiful's too) is a different one:
What's gonna happen to Paul's Place?
This is a venue that helped launch dozens of acts. The only venue in Malaysia that would not discriminate, regardless of genre. Being 'somebody' meant nothing to Paul. You play music? Come play it. That's it. The be all, end all. The man built the place out of his own pocket, for fucks sake. And once the dust settles, will Paul's Place still exist?
What I don't want is a rehash of the black metal incident years ago, leaving the music scene empty for months before someone dares pull off a gig and the whole black metal issue unresolved. And most of all, I don't want Paul's Place to dissapear.
So what does one do? What indeed. I haven't a fucking clue, myself. I've been trying to figure out the angles with Saiful and we're still stuck behind a brick wall.
On top of that, we now need to get our drummer (a different Paul) in Y2k to change his mask, just in case. It's a frickin' devil mask, for fucks sake. The Malay press will go right past the poppy music and go straight for the damn mask.
The Good: Creative Juices
Whilst the whole black metal thing is a serious downer, I do have a couple of things to be happy about. I've finally finished the final mix of the Y2k album, adding a few tweaks here and there from the last mix (a longer intro, a hidden track, a tweak of spacings so that the album flows a bit better). Saiful came to pick it up yesterday to send off to our mastering man. Fingers crossed, y'all.
I also went through the UK footage last night to discover Man Meth' managed to find someone who looks like a young Clive Owen to play Brit gangster Neil in the movie. Every time the dude smiled after a take he looked like a real pretty-boy pleasant chap, but once he has the frown this dude is supremely badass (unfortunately, I don't even know his name). And although there won't be any establishing shots of Big Ben (to explain that the scene is taking place in London for the benefit of idiots who have no other frame of reference) the scenes are unmistakably English. My leave for next week is confirmed, leaving me with the opportunity to edit at normal human hours (although I foresee myself editing 48 hours straight by next Friday).
It also looks like jobs are coming in for my soon-to-be-fulltime video production. On top of the usual weddings (I'll even do weddings. It's money in the bank, is it not?) one of Eddy's friends has approached me to do a music video for him (thanks for the hook-up, Ed!) and, for once, it's not a rock group. This'll be a fun new challenge: a slick, Usher-like R n' B music vid. I wonder how much ass I can get away with?
Add to that the recording studio nearing completion and bands waiting to record, 2006 should turn out to be a good, albeit challenging, year.
I just wish this Black Metal fiasco didn't start up again. I have a good mind to go over to Harian Metro and take a dump on the editors desk. After a bowl of sambal.
Sigh... this sure has been an eventful start to 2006. And with all this time on my hands (albeit momentarily), I feel compelled to recap the events of the past few days, starting with:
The Bad: Black Metal Bollocks
The whole black metal issue at Paul's Place is one that's seriously bugging me. I've been following the newspapers as the story unfolds but it looks like the English papers are going to be talking less and less of it (although kudos to them for putting out pretty fair articles) whilst the Malay papers are jumping with joy at the thought that there are more of these black-shirted kids to write about and cause panic in the hearts of parents everywhere.
Like the Harian Metro, who today printed that the gig was not a black metal gig. Although it was on the front page, it was hidden from prominence by headlines about a local artist arrested for drugs and 'ghost candy'.
What the fuck is ghost candy?
Mastika will probably follow this up with their next issue, another tabloid magazine brimming with absolute stupidity.
And whilst the rest of the 'scene' are reacting to police mistreatment and poor reportage, my main worry (and Saiful's too) is a different one:
What's gonna happen to Paul's Place?
This is a venue that helped launch dozens of acts. The only venue in Malaysia that would not discriminate, regardless of genre. Being 'somebody' meant nothing to Paul. You play music? Come play it. That's it. The be all, end all. The man built the place out of his own pocket, for fucks sake. And once the dust settles, will Paul's Place still exist?
What I don't want is a rehash of the black metal incident years ago, leaving the music scene empty for months before someone dares pull off a gig and the whole black metal issue unresolved. And most of all, I don't want Paul's Place to dissapear.
So what does one do? What indeed. I haven't a fucking clue, myself. I've been trying to figure out the angles with Saiful and we're still stuck behind a brick wall.
On top of that, we now need to get our drummer (a different Paul) in Y2k to change his mask, just in case. It's a frickin' devil mask, for fucks sake. The Malay press will go right past the poppy music and go straight for the damn mask.
The Good: Creative Juices
Whilst the whole black metal thing is a serious downer, I do have a couple of things to be happy about. I've finally finished the final mix of the Y2k album, adding a few tweaks here and there from the last mix (a longer intro, a hidden track, a tweak of spacings so that the album flows a bit better). Saiful came to pick it up yesterday to send off to our mastering man. Fingers crossed, y'all.
I also went through the UK footage last night to discover Man Meth' managed to find someone who looks like a young Clive Owen to play Brit gangster Neil in the movie. Every time the dude smiled after a take he looked like a real pretty-boy pleasant chap, but once he has the frown this dude is supremely badass (unfortunately, I don't even know his name). And although there won't be any establishing shots of Big Ben (to explain that the scene is taking place in London for the benefit of idiots who have no other frame of reference) the scenes are unmistakably English. My leave for next week is confirmed, leaving me with the opportunity to edit at normal human hours (although I foresee myself editing 48 hours straight by next Friday).
It also looks like jobs are coming in for my soon-to-be-fulltime video production. On top of the usual weddings (I'll even do weddings. It's money in the bank, is it not?) one of Eddy's friends has approached me to do a music video for him (thanks for the hook-up, Ed!) and, for once, it's not a rock group. This'll be a fun new challenge: a slick, Usher-like R n' B music vid. I wonder how much ass I can get away with?
Add to that the recording studio nearing completion and bands waiting to record, 2006 should turn out to be a good, albeit challenging, year.
I just wish this Black Metal fiasco didn't start up again. I have a good mind to go over to Harian Metro and take a dump on the editors desk. After a bowl of sambal.
Tuesday, January 3, 2006
The End Is Nigh...
The Scenario:
Today is the 3rd of January. The submission deadline for the Singapore International Film Festival is 15th January, which leaves me with 11 days (don't forget a day to send it) to finish a watchable copy of the movie.
The Good:
1. I have all the UK footage.
2. I have most of the footage I need to cut the movie.
3. Ariff just passed me a copy of this program called 'Swish' which beats the pants off Flash so I guess I can do the animation myself.
4. I've got leave for the whole of next week.
the Bad:
1. My parents just moved to the house next door because our current house is going to be renovated. Hence, no more bedroom. And I stillhave another scene to do in the bedroom. And the living room. And the front of the house.
2. I'm not even sure whether I can shoot my parents for the movie.
3. I still haven't got a white guy.
The Ugly:
1. I'm broke as sin. Seriously, seriously fucking broke beyond compare.
2. There's no guarantee that the movie will be accepted.
2006. Hooray.
Today is the 3rd of January. The submission deadline for the Singapore International Film Festival is 15th January, which leaves me with 11 days (don't forget a day to send it) to finish a watchable copy of the movie.
The Good:
1. I have all the UK footage.
2. I have most of the footage I need to cut the movie.
3. Ariff just passed me a copy of this program called 'Swish' which beats the pants off Flash so I guess I can do the animation myself.
4. I've got leave for the whole of next week.
the Bad:
1. My parents just moved to the house next door because our current house is going to be renovated. Hence, no more bedroom. And I stillhave another scene to do in the bedroom. And the living room. And the front of the house.
2. I'm not even sure whether I can shoot my parents for the movie.
3. I still haven't got a white guy.
The Ugly:
1. I'm broke as sin. Seriously, seriously fucking broke beyond compare.
2. There's no guarantee that the movie will be accepted.
2006. Hooray.
Black Metal Update
Couple of links to articles of local publications:
1. Ganti Pesta Langkawi: Konsert Lepas Geram Geng Black Metal - The Harian Metro talks out of its ass again.
2. Four held for suspected involvement in Black Metal culture released on bail - The Star. Looks like David and the organizers are finally out of jail.
3. Also, Ricecooker has been keeping tabs on it quite well, so check it out. Click here.
1. Ganti Pesta Langkawi: Konsert Lepas Geram Geng Black Metal - The Harian Metro talks out of its ass again.
2. Four held for suspected involvement in Black Metal culture released on bail - The Star. Looks like David and the organizers are finally out of jail.
3. Also, Ricecooker has been keeping tabs on it quite well, so check it out. Click here.
Monday, January 2, 2006
The Black Metal Bullshit Is Back
A couple of months ago I noticed a storm brewing. There I was at my mom's hometown in Batu Gajah during Raya (Eid) when I noticed a copy of local tabloid magazine 'Mastika', the type of tabloid that claims stories of girls who have sex with demons and such. This time, however, I noticed something that hit a lot closer to home. Inside the magazine was approximately 15 to 20 pages devoted to the whole 'black metal' fiasco.
To those not in the know, in mid-2001 Malaysian police and government officials went on a public witchhunt, looking for 'black metal' devotees. They claimed the kids 'wore black t-shirts and sacrificed goats to Satan' whilst playing 'black metal' music. It got so widespread that anyone (I repeat, anyone) wearing a black t-shirt was in danger of being arrested. Even other genres of music weren't safe. It was a bad time, but thankfully it all dissapeared.
Or so I thought.
Looking back, I should have realized from that incredibly stupid and highly ignorant article (which claimed that 'true black metallers eat pork') that the storm was brewing again and the media would once again latch upon us underground music types for a story.
Who'd have thought it would happen on New Years Eve.
On December 31st 2005, at approximately 10.30pm, local music venue 'Paul's Place' was raided by the Brickfield's police under the charges of hosting a black metal gig.
Together with the police were a TV3 camera crew hoping to uncover some evil, satanic black metal congregation. All attendees, band members and random people who were within 10 feet of the premises (and had absolutely nothing to do with the gig) were detained by the police. All equipment (both Paul's and the organizers) were confiscated.
Among those detained together with the attendees and random folk who just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time were the band members of Malaysian bands Cassandra, Second Combat, Devilica, Uphold, The Falling Grudge, M.U.Z.E, Net Restraint, Crestfallen, Singaporean band Force Vomit and Japanese band Crystal Lake.
NONE of these bands play anything remotely 'black metal'.
Also detained were David (Paul's partner who was taking care of the gig at the time), the organizers of the show and a lawyer from law firm Edwin Lim &
Suren Advocates and Solicitors.
(Arrest the lawyer. Very clever.)
Paul was (luckily) nowhere near his place as he was playing drums for my band, Triple 6 Poser, in Hartamas. Otherwise he would have probably been arrested too.
After the police were unable to prove any hint of black-metal-ness at the gig, they then tested everyone for drugs (considering most of these people can't even afford a beer what makes the cops think they can get a bag of PCP?) and released those that tested negative (which, if I'm not mistaken was almost everyone).
David, the organizers and the lawyer are still detained and will not be contactable till they stand trial on Tuesday under the charges of hosting an illegal gathering.
The facts:
1. The police had no warrant to enter Paul's Place and make any arrests/confiscate equipment.
2. An illegal gathering consists of more than 500 people. Although reports from sources differ, I'm almost 100% sure the total number of people there did not exceed 300+.
3. A congregation at a private premises can't exactly be called an illegal gathering, now can it? Otherwise open houses on Raya would be illegal.
4. Paul's Place is the only live music venue that is not prejudice to different genres of music and is not a bar. Every other venue in Malaysia has a liqour license, making it illegal for people under 21 to attend/play the gigs. Numerous bands have gotten their chops at Paul's Place (especially my bands. Triple 6 Poser was born and nurtured at Paul's Place). Paul's Place is the one and only place where live music is not connected with the consumption of hard liquor, giving younger musicians a chance to get their music out there and a younger audience the chance to enjoy the music.
5. According to Rafil, who went to the police station together with Ben from Ben's Bitches, one of the younger policeman said, whilst watching this entire fiasco unfold, "if I was off-duty today I'd probably be detained for going to a gig too".
A press conference was held today at Paul's Place. I'll be getting the details soon and posting as I find out more.
To those not in the know, in mid-2001 Malaysian police and government officials went on a public witchhunt, looking for 'black metal' devotees. They claimed the kids 'wore black t-shirts and sacrificed goats to Satan' whilst playing 'black metal' music. It got so widespread that anyone (I repeat, anyone) wearing a black t-shirt was in danger of being arrested. Even other genres of music weren't safe. It was a bad time, but thankfully it all dissapeared.
Or so I thought.
Looking back, I should have realized from that incredibly stupid and highly ignorant article (which claimed that 'true black metallers eat pork') that the storm was brewing again and the media would once again latch upon us underground music types for a story.
Who'd have thought it would happen on New Years Eve.
On December 31st 2005, at approximately 10.30pm, local music venue 'Paul's Place' was raided by the Brickfield's police under the charges of hosting a black metal gig.
Together with the police were a TV3 camera crew hoping to uncover some evil, satanic black metal congregation. All attendees, band members and random people who were within 10 feet of the premises (and had absolutely nothing to do with the gig) were detained by the police. All equipment (both Paul's and the organizers) were confiscated.
Among those detained together with the attendees and random folk who just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time were the band members of Malaysian bands Cassandra, Second Combat, Devilica, Uphold, The Falling Grudge, M.U.Z.E, Net Restraint, Crestfallen, Singaporean band Force Vomit and Japanese band Crystal Lake.
NONE of these bands play anything remotely 'black metal'.
Also detained were David (Paul's partner who was taking care of the gig at the time), the organizers of the show and a lawyer from law firm Edwin Lim &
Suren Advocates and Solicitors.
(Arrest the lawyer. Very clever.)
Paul was (luckily) nowhere near his place as he was playing drums for my band, Triple 6 Poser, in Hartamas. Otherwise he would have probably been arrested too.
After the police were unable to prove any hint of black-metal-ness at the gig, they then tested everyone for drugs (considering most of these people can't even afford a beer what makes the cops think they can get a bag of PCP?) and released those that tested negative (which, if I'm not mistaken was almost everyone).
David, the organizers and the lawyer are still detained and will not be contactable till they stand trial on Tuesday under the charges of hosting an illegal gathering.
The facts:
1. The police had no warrant to enter Paul's Place and make any arrests/confiscate equipment.
2. An illegal gathering consists of more than 500 people. Although reports from sources differ, I'm almost 100% sure the total number of people there did not exceed 300+.
3. A congregation at a private premises can't exactly be called an illegal gathering, now can it? Otherwise open houses on Raya would be illegal.
4. Paul's Place is the only live music venue that is not prejudice to different genres of music and is not a bar. Every other venue in Malaysia has a liqour license, making it illegal for people under 21 to attend/play the gigs. Numerous bands have gotten their chops at Paul's Place (especially my bands. Triple 6 Poser was born and nurtured at Paul's Place). Paul's Place is the one and only place where live music is not connected with the consumption of hard liquor, giving younger musicians a chance to get their music out there and a younger audience the chance to enjoy the music.
5. According to Rafil, who went to the police station together with Ben from Ben's Bitches, one of the younger policeman said, whilst watching this entire fiasco unfold, "if I was off-duty today I'd probably be detained for going to a gig too".
A press conference was held today at Paul's Place. I'll be getting the details soon and posting as I find out more.
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