Friday, September 28, 2001

[lomo: 20,000 leagues]

as expected, my 1st experiment with the supersampler is much of a failure, but that s the point of it. 19/24 can be developed, 12/19 is bright enuff to be seen, 4/12 i m ok with, 1/4 i kinda liked.
here s the wan i ll show 1st, titled: '20,000 leagues' + another version: '20,000 leagues (soaking wet remix)'

20000 leagues,click soaking wet remix, click
sometimes u jus ve to do what u believe, i think.
if there s some ppl who genuinely like ur werk, u succeed. if not, u do again, either change direction, or persist in what u believe. if u ve a choice to werk with who, chose.
but i really went thro those feelings b4, too. ll always be so, as long as i m doing wat i m doing now, i guess.

Wednesday, September 26, 2001

[citizen kane dvd]
aha, time to show off my new dvd acquirement again (must read: evil rei)! it s a 2-disc collection of 'citizen kane'!!! i ve been waiting for it to be out on dvd all this while! finally! features (tat i can remember) are 2 feature length commentaries, rare photo galleries and somemore i cant remember offhand now, plus a 2nd disc on the documentary, 'the battle over citizen kane', which used to be sold separately at almost the same price of this package.
'citizen kane' is the film that open me up to framing, cinematography and many other related stuffs, and understand more on it. i cant put in simple words how it finally make me 'piece everything together' and 'see the big picture' ... dont think i m making any sense.
ben, wonder u ve any chance to catch this 7 half mins stop-mo animation, 'robots, a docu-soap' by this guy john williams(not that john williams), or maybe u already saw it? we saw it at the British animation festival, think u ll like the character design, similiar styles to yours.

oso, been working on a character for a new short,
click here, then click on his IC size photo at the main page. what u think?
sorry blaue reiter, advertising on your blog! :P

Tuesday, September 25, 2001

blaue reiter, u can post the same post on both blogs, cos there ll be some other frens of mine not in your blog reading my blog. but of cos u might not want to let them noe that a quintessential part of your life is shared by 2 guys ... hahaha (not that i m any better). but i dun mind at all that u arent posting in my blog lah.
[ British Animation Festival retrospect ]

Attended the above screenings recently with Gatchaman and evil rei, and the first thing that struck me
after watching a few animation pieces by British students was that whilst we would rip off music, or in
nicer terms, borrow some copyrighted music from certain artists and soundtracks, the former always
do have their own original compositions for the music in their workpieces. In fact on several occasions
the talents that were involved in the production of the music actually seem to be more than the number
doing the animation. Not that that's anything to complain about, in fact, its gives the overall production
of the animation workpiece a unique sense of originality that raises it creative value. Now I wonder when
our work would have a chance to implement such a feature, because it really is quite neat.
Dear Nahs, I would have thought few other people on this island share my virtually non-existant social life,
who, other than dividing my time between movies ( a quintessential part of my life shared by evil rei, Gatchaman
with mutual and equal interest ) and working on my latest animation project, have nothing much else on except for
watching documentaries on Discovery Channel and speaking to my pet tortoises who, unfortunately, are quite
uncommunicative in general.

A blog of your own isn't really such a bad idea...although it would also mean that we would be spreading out
even thinner as far as posts are concerned because right now I'm always in a dilemma sometimes if I should
post on my own blog or Gatchaman's. Perhaps one day we should unify all our blog members into one big,
singular blog. A unification of blogs, so to speak.

Sunday, September 23, 2001

ARGH!!!! I'm going KRAZY!!! It's a Sunday and I am stuck at home, with nothing else to do but dividing my time between the computer and my PS2....

mabbe I should create my own blog? waddaya say? *sighs*

Friday, September 21, 2001

yesterday go British animation festival, blaue reiter 's shinjiku dreams kicked off TP's animations. after the whole show, i came out from toilet and this few gals (must ve been animation students, since they r with a bigger grp some carrying portfolios) going to the toilets were saying something like: ' oh i wan to see the ayumi wan again!!' obvious that they like it very much.
hey, blaue reiter, this is positive audience reaction live from the floor leh!

Tuesday, September 18, 2001

I almost demanded that my friends buy me that new tiny palm size camcorder for my bday. Methinks they almost burst into tears when I waved the leaflet infront of them with the staggering price tag of 2900. They have my deepest sympathy. And before everyone here starts spamming me about being a materialistic friend, I have to tell you I changed my mind about it. hahaha...even if I have 10 friends willing to chip in 100 bucks each, this latest piece of technology would still be an arms length away and locked behind a glass cabinet. SIGH!
and I wanted to have it for the exact same reasons as you guys: To capture various moments in my life, anytime, anyday. Compile my life's story from my meals to extended phone chats...packing a perennially messy room to animating my soft toys. Imagine, watching all of one's idiosyncrasies on the screen, from the purely mundane to amusing antics. sigh....tok so much oso no use....unless I make 30 new friends and each forks out 100 bucks...hahahaha...just kidding! I dun make friends just to bend them to my machination. =D

Monday, September 17, 2001

haha ... i wan to buy those cameras that took pics with funny effects after reading a news article abt it, ferget the name of that particular type of cameras. but alas, i didnt. they r selling in page 1 too, the las time i read but ferget to look out for them las time i was there.u ve absolutely no control over the end result of the photos taken, and tat s the fun of it. 1 type of it can even take a series of motion. heard they even make a movie with the camera. damn, but i jus cant remember its name.
[ instant memories ]

I'm not a narcissus. I really am not. Recently I just acquired my first Polaroid instant camera. Think Instant memories !
The sheer spontaneity and excitement of seeing the picture you took develop in mere seconds after you took it
convinced me it was a worthy buy, coupled with the residual plot lodged in my head in the recent movie [ memento ].
And why not start with a picture of myself ? Which reminds me. I'm not a narcissus okie ?




Saturday, September 15, 2001

3 days have passed since I first witnessed the protected shield of America's supposed invincibility utterly pierced and collaspsed like a lacerated lung. And New York has been gasping for air since. And so have I. No words can adequately describe this turmoil that threatened to wreck me, but what I felt must have been minuscule next to the witnesses of this senseless massacre at the very foot of the wtc, or worse, those who had lost members of their family in this calamity.
Thoughts have yet been sorted out in my head. Sometimes I watch the old footage of that fateful crash and a new pang of surprise shook me, as if I was watching it for the first time. I will leave the acrimonious debate of the egregiously slack national security to the experts, the analyst and the armchair critic. For now, I will offer my prayers soundlessly whenever I close my eyes. Whatever form of retaliation America chooses to administer, I hope it wouldn't cost more innocent lives than all these single-minded extremists already had. It doesn't matter whose knees eventually buckle first or who suffers a more ignominious defeat...for the consequences would be shared amongst us all.

Thursday, September 13, 2001

Terror is the name of the day as the whole world witnessed before their eyes the epitome of inhumanity.
I cannot help but see the story in the movie The Peacemaker materialize in real life - an enbittered individual
or group that sees the need to share with the world the anguish and hatred they bear inside them, bordering
on madness. But at the end of the day, it is still the innocent who will suffer the most. I watched with ambivalence
on a trainride home how callous people can be if they themselves do not feel the pain shared by those who have
lost their loved ones in this calamity. One person's tragedy seems little more than another's hot lunchtime topic.
Incidentally, my brother had left for Minneapolis taking a Northwest airline jet on the morning before the hijack, and
we had been unable to contact him when the news of hijacked planes only made the tension unbearable. It was until
early in the morning that finally he called home, his plane forced into an emergency landing in Vancouver as all airspace
in the states were announced impassable. My entire family heaved a sigh of relief, and for a short moment I thought
I could empathize with those whose loved ones hadn't been so lucky.

Tuesday, September 11, 2001

ya hor ... *kok head* ... it s french film fest ...
interested in the luc besson wan too ... i got time check out the link on others : )
French Film Festival

Gatchaman...i remember that was shown during the German Film Festival...am pretty sure Run Lola Run was a german show...

Anyway, I believe there's an action movie of sorts directed by Luc Besson at the French fest, think with sfx too.
I only browsed through the film descriptions briefly and that was the only director i knew...ha...but i should think
there are some other interesting shows going on. the link i provided goes to the movie synopsis page. Do take a look.

think i would be catching that luc besson show...if you guys are interested too.
Blaue Reiter, any interesting films for the french film fest? is this the wan u once told mi abt? the wan with a new film by director of run lola run?
[ Old Ben ]

Recently..i've been feeling a great disturbance in the force...and now it
has finally manifested itself...Old Ben is here ! For everyone's information Old
Ben is our ex lecturer in TP, renowned for grilling his students during critique
sessions. ( together with his wookee companion, Ronald, with his trademark
groan ). But Ben wields the lightsabre like no other. Be expecting many
interesting threads and insights from Old Ben.

By the way folks, there an upcoming French Film Festival from the 25th
of this month to the 9th. Check out :

http://www.alliancefrancaise.org.sg/events_FrenchFilmFesv.html

Should hope to catch a few shows if time permits.

Monday, September 10, 2001

aha! ben!!!
whasssssup!!! u still in Australia?
in case u dont oready know: [ gatchaman ] = waiming
Haha...well Nahs...welcome back ! We do miss your presence, and
there's nothing to do with rantings of any kind. We really need good,
decent postings once in a while, and you do that right. :)

Anyhoo, i've watched watched A.I the second time with Rei and I still
can't decide what I want to say about the movie, mainly because it
deals with quite many a complex and moral issue that either standing
up for or against any of them seems rather difficult or impossible.

Also, we met up with one of our ex-classmate today, Dajie, who used
to be from the video major class. Says she's up with Mediaworks doing
part time editing for the news segments happening at night. Earns a steady
sum we heard, well at least, enough for her to go on backbacking from Paris
to Spain and then Italy. Damn it. I really want to do some travelling myself.
Been making plans once my NS liablities are over, Shinjuku, here I come.

Sunday, September 09, 2001

=D

Have I really been making such a constant racket here, that my disappearance seems to cause such a drastic silence? hehehe. Yes, been quite busy recently.
And A.I. was indeed a treat. It was obvious what an impact it made on the audience when the credits started rolling, and the silence persisted for a moment or 2, before you heard the shuffling of feet. I am not about to get into all the details of what I love about this movie, and why it wrenches my heart so...coz I'll be writing till the wee hours. To summarize my thoughts, I was touched coz David led a tragic life without even being given the choice to be constructed. He was to embark on a journy of painful self discovery that he was never meant to. Yes you may say it made him stronger, but I'd say its cruel to make a child his age go through life's tribulations like this, Mecha or not. The years just showed in his eyes, innocently blue though they may seem, but the weariness will be forever imprinted in his soul (or system, in a mecha's case). But you get the idea.
And it touched me coz he was so brave. Never lacking in tenacity in seeking for his blue fairy. Intrepid when he jumped into the chopper and powered it up for the end of the world. And the bravest he was, when he faced with the fact that his mother could only be resurrected for a day, and yet he accepted it. Not only did he come to terms with the cruel fact, he enjoyed what little time he had with his most beloved. It was a love that truely prevailed the times and even apocalypse itself. And it was a love that we, proud and complacent as humans are, can probably never endure. And it definately taught us as a species, never ever to play god.
evil rei, i m going with co. animation team (kailin and those u see b4 wan) but if u can confirm u can go, can come along. cos booking tics early, scared wait u ppl cant confirm. tell mi abt it.

Saturday, September 08, 2001

i wan to watch again, evil rei, but i m down with gastric flu, food poisoning and fever. i hate getting sick.
i m so glad i still ve my mum and my family, they r really the wan who ll care abt mi. why i always take so so long to understand somthing so simple.

Thursday, September 06, 2001

Emotional Intelligence

"They hate us, these humans. Why ? Because when the end comes,
all that will be left, is us.They build us too fast, too smart, and too many.
We are paying the price of the mistake that they made. " Jude Law, AI.

Personally, I think the day when robots will inherit emotion reponsiveness
is well out of sight. Right now we can't even make them to look even remotely
like us physically, not to mention the infinitely more complex issue of human
emotions. I think a considerably intelligent walking teddy bear that responds
readily to us would already be quite a feat. But if one day that should come
to pass, I think it would just be what they said in the movie; the end has come
for us humans.

DVDs Hurray !! Now Nahs has arrived too. Looks like rei needs a
player badly before he gets to join the club. DVD is definitely in. Did
I mention I just recieved my Sleepy Hollow dvd ? *message directed
at rei* hmm...looks like I'll be staying up late yet again just to watch the
show...what to do...so many dvds to watch...muahahaha...
*message directed at rei*
Hey guys...guess wat?!

I just bought my PS2 !!!!!!! ehehhehee, I am going to invest a whole lot more on DVDs, it seems... =)
u ve got ur M16 and cartridges, evil rei, so u dun need mi to teach u lor ... rob a dvd player shop and then rob blue max ...

Tuesday, September 04, 2001

actaulli doesnt mean when i watch every single thing on the 2nd disc, the kiasu mentality is not in play in mi leh ... cos i m thinking: damn, i ve paid the extra bucks 4 it, must watch everything on it to make it worth every cent!
i jus got my space oddessy special dvd oso ... but besides the fancier packaging and some gimmictry stuff like a film framed nice nice on a picec of nice nice board, content wise so so ... cos i dun like the music much so the soundtrack cd oso not so worthy to mi. din even get the free poster cos of mail order.
nevertheless, it is still a nice looking box to atand among other dvds ... hahahaha ...

Monday, September 03, 2001

Hee...come to think about that...sometimes I wonder why I bother buying those
"collector's edition" dvds...because I seldom watch the extras...maybe its just
the kiasu singaporean at work again..."wha !! got extra ! must buy !!!" Suppose
it all boils down to how interested you are in that movie...if I like it...I would
probably be watching everything on that dvd.

Sunday, September 02, 2001

so blaue reiter finally made ur dvd buy worthwhile laio! got watch the 2nd discs! ahahahaha ...
Forrest Gump DVD

Haven't been posting as of late. Seem to have lost the steam for a while.
Anyhoo, I've just recieved my Forrest Gump DVD from Amazon and its
really quite a package ! The extra materials, that is. Wouldn't say anything
about the movie because I think everyone knows its an excellent show.
But the special effects making of was really something, especially when they
explain how all the compositing of the old footages was done, plus other neat
stuff like Tom Hanks playing Ping Pong and all. Quite a treat.