Update 109-01 Update 109-01 Sick 29th November 2006 7:31 PM
Hey guys? Guess what? WE WON CANON FILM FESTIVAL 2006!!!!
Seriously?
Haha no. We didn't. We got absolutely... NOTHING. Zip. Zero. Nada.
Sighs.
This seems to be a disturbing trend. In EVERY film festival that I participate in, every damn competition that I join, I always get beat my 'philosophical' abstract and experimental arthouse films!! Ugh! Why do independent commercial films have to be oxymoronic? Can't people recognize the creativity and innovation involved in making an epic action film without the aid of studios or proper talents? Grr. Its really infuriating how people with a hand phone camera or handycam can just waltz around their house filming completely random, useless objects like cups, tables, chairs, or the family dog, dub an apparently 'deep', random voiceover that gives off the slightest hints of intellectual provocation, and win countless competitions along the festival circuit geared towards the promotion of such crap.
There is ZERO filmmaking talent involved, a crap storyline (If ANY in the first place), and a totally retarded underlying messages that range from 'you must slash your wrist, angsty kid', to 'this cup is symbolic of my life at work' . I've seen films which just depicted some random fat guy getting up from bed and turning on his PlayStation Two (With random voiceover) score at dozens of festivals worldwide. I don't get it. Ever since this loss at the hands of the forces of darkness (Again), I have vowed to put destroying artsy films one of my top priorities after my lifelong 'Obliterate Singapore' ambition. Unfortunately, the probability of me succeeding is about as high as the probability of me destroying Singapore... Which is... Pretty damn high in my opinion!
No, not really. Gosh I'm feeling damn sarcastic today.
Oh before I forget, please go watch Ivan's Jack the RIPPER Beansprout. I've been paid 40% of the profits to say watch it I've heard its really good and stuff so please set aside a night for some laughter.
Seriously though – I would've probably snuck in bought tickets if I was back there right now. I've always been a moderate fan of W!ld Rice since I watched Return of the Tai Tai (Don't ask why) So please go watch, you won't be disappointed! I heard you can get discount from Ivan so please go buy your tickets now!!
/End Public Service Announcement
Since several of you have expressed interest in my personal life (Or lack thereof) and my happenings in America, I shall oblige. Basically, I've been EXTREMELY sick over the past 5 days. I swear its the Prata. Long story short, I down with the WORST gastric flu I've had in my life – Of all things, over Thanksgiving. Yeah, that's right. I didn't get to eat any turkey. All I've been having for the past week or so has been soup, porridge, and soup again. This has to be one of the best Thanksgivings ever... Anyway, I'm better now (Hopefully) so I'm back with a vengeance to my old cynical and sarcastic self. No, in case you're wondering, gastric flu does NOT affect one's mental state (At least I don't think so...).
It's been four friggin' months but I'm still homesick. WTF is up with that. Seriously. You're supposed to get over missing the Motherland in like a week or two. I have no idea why at all! It's incredibly furstrating that I think about Singapore EVERY DAMN DAY. It's as if I can't get over it. It's always at the back of my mind. Even when I see things happening around me, my mind will go 'Hey what if I did that in Singapore...' (This is before I slap myself). So yeah. For the sake of my sanity, I wish to consciously erase my past life, but I really can't. You buffoons have been a part of my life for far too long haha. This is crazy. As much as I try, I cannot forget Singapore and my friends left behind – Which strikes me as rather weird cuz when one escapes from hell, one does not ever look back.
Update 108-01 Update 108-01 Rumors 28th November 2006 9:02 AM
I have broken my oath of silence to rebuke and rebuttal the untrue, malicious, and vicious rumors circulating around that I have been spotted in Bangkok, Thailand. Photos of me in Thailand have been distributed by the evil Loh Sher Sern. (Not that you should ask him for pics *Ahem*) In it, I am supposedly playing softball, a sport I gave up in middle school in America, so it can't be true. I'm here to state once and for all that I've NOT been exiled to Thailand. For those of you who have mistaken me for that hot, georgeous and handsome young chap in the photo (I can't blame you guys now, can I?), please don't miss me so badly ^_^
No, in case you're wondering, he's/she's is NOT a tranie >.<
- posted by BLT @ 9:02 AM(0) comments
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Update 107-01 Update 107-01 Pursuasion 22nd November 2006 9:17 PM
Yes! I just brainwashed and indoctrinated convinced an American to come to my house to eat prata and satay with teh for Thanksgiving dinner tonight.
Woots.
Oh kudos to Dale Tan Pang Han for doing up our DOWNLOADS SITE. You can now download Countdown and its corresponding trailer and behind the scenes clips. Thanks man.
- posted by BLT @ 9:27 PM(0) comments
Monday, November 20, 2006
Update 106-01 Update 106-01 Canon 21st November 2006 9:05 AM
Hey everyone, please go down to this place called the 'DXO Bar' at the Esplanade on the 24th of November at 6 PM our latest film awards ceremony. Please dress fancy (Preferably in black & white triad outfit) and act aristocratic nice. Nevermind.
On that note, I've said it before and I'll say it again for the last time haha: Please VOTE FOR BLINDED. If you wanna come out of that bar slightly drunk richer, you know what to do.
But seriously though, please go down to the event. Its nice to relive and revive that film spirit once in a while, aye? I promise you wont be disappointed.
Update 105-01 Update 105-01 Rendezvous 18th November 2006 12:32 PM
I underwent a rather curious incident last night. See, America has this humongous gray/black market of used, second-hand professional camera equipment. I was rather frustrated about not being able to get a cheap 3CCD camera (If there even is such a thing) in Singapore so I've been surfing Ebay fanatically ever since I got here. The only thing that even comes close to this in Singapore is Sim Lim Square - Albeit they don't even sell used goods.
Anyway, I saw a posting on Craigslist (Something like classifieds) for a Professional 3CCD Camcorder, the Canon XL1s (The earlier version of David's XL2) at only a fraction of the price of the newer model.
I decided to give it a shot and rang the guy up. After trying to entice the chap to come down to my area, we instead settled to meet in the downtown Los Angeles ghettos... Which obviously isn't exactly the safest place to meet. Initially, he suggested some random dinghy restaurant (Think Pulp Fiction styled diners) - Which got me really suspicious. With much coaxing, I finally got him to rendezvous at a mall nearby.
Prior to this, I had conceived the notion in my warped mind that the seller was probably this clichéd long-haired, buff White guy with biker tattoos (It was his voice, I swear.). Earlier that day, I had also read about people getting shot or robbed while trying to buy the latest Sony fad product, the PlayStation 3.
Being the paranoid bugger that I am, I had a Glock stuffed in the back of my pants 'gangsta' style and a switch blade in my left pocket. Being the well-meaning but over-protective folk they are, my parents decided to head there an hour in advance to scout the location. I am not kidding when I say that it resembled some undercover narcotics drug bust:We even brought walkie talkie radios along with earpieces; a la Secret Service. We choose a central atrium and they positioned themselves at the exit and entrance to the place reading newspapers (Can you get any more cliché than that?)
We waited. I sat at the table reading a book.
Finally, he appears, wearing a a skull cap, looking like Borat Cohen from Da Ali G Show -
And we are both shocked. Speechless.
He had assumed that I too was some big, bad-ass White guy but as it turned out, both of us were Asians.. And horribly wrong about our preconceptions. Anyway, to cut the long story short (The rest of it wasn't quite dramatic) we had a cool chat. Per typical Asian-culture, I even bargained the camera down to US$900 - Which is a pretty decent buy considering the newer models retail for about US$3,500.
Anyhow, I'm pretty happy with my purchase overall. Although its far from the top of the line, the camera looks relatively new and I think *Fingers crossed* I got a pretty good bang-for-buck deal.
Hehehe. Now I can finally do what camera nerds techies call 'Depth of Field'.
Admittedly, it was a rather intriguing.. Rather exhilarating and tense experience which I prefer not to repeat again... But I think we'll be back to the ghettos again sometime soon.
Why?
Well, let's just say we spotted a Laksa (YES LAKSA!) eating place next door...
- posted by BLT @ 8:32 PM(0) comments
I come home from school today and observe a little orange notice sticking out of my door.
Its from the US Customs and asks a certain 'Mr. Tan' go down to the local postal office.
When I get there, I am handed my package, a brown Singpost cardboard box. Inside it containing:
Heh. Talk about blatent eh. I was scared shitless; thinking perhaps they would charge me with illegal firearms smuggling or something because of the Glock. I had wanted to bring it over with my main shipment but couldn't because of that terrorist liquid attack in August.
I had wanted it ever so badly not only because was it was a parting gift from Jeff but also because it was my FIRST EVER GUN going back to the Titus Andronicus days! (Rather, this might be the second after the first Glock 17 got confiscated by cops... That's another story. Who cares?) Anyway, I was beginning to regret asking for it to be shipped over to me....
Thankfully, this slip of paper engineered by my cunning and intuitive wit that I asked Ben to put inside the box saved me:
Phew.
Surprisingly, the reason why it was briefly confiscated was not the presense of a Glock 17, but rather the presence of 3 test tubes of Singapore soil inside. Apparently, bringing foreign soil into the United States is illegal. Luckily, I managed to convince the fat, uniformed white guy that had a permanent 'WTF' look etched across his face (No, he was not eating a donut) that the test tubes were sealed and would remain that way.
Anyhow, my heartfelt gratitude and thanks to Ben Soh for footing the $60 bill, Sher Sern for 40 packets of instant teh, and Ali for the school magazine. Thanks guys for making me more friggin emo than ever getting this package to me. I really appreciate the gesture. Really means alot (:
Mmmm. If you think about it, the contents of the box are rather symbolic; everything from my old life: Guns, Teh, ACS(I)... And Singapore soil. Heh. How I miss them all!!!!!!!!!!! Okay shit this is getting emo. Alright I'll quit doing that. Althoguh I haven't read the school mag fully yet (Although I will over the next few days with alcohol and a knife nearby), I did notice that I am completely absent from the entire book. I guess it must be part of the Admins plans to erase any references to my embarrasing existence I guess I didnt take part in much stuff this year. Even Centerstage isn't mentioned - The only picture I have is that of a side profile of myself cleaning an M4a1 Carbine.
How appropriate.
Anyway, I'll quit complaining... At least for the next 40 days of instant teh.
Countdown trailer is up. I had fun showing this shit to my English class who were blown away (Literally) by the guns and gore of the film but... Most of all, by the 'high caliber of English' in Singapore.
- posted by BLT @ 9:50 AM(0) comments
Monday, November 06, 2006
Update 102-01 Update 102-01 More post-Countdown stuff 6th November 2006 11:02 PM
Hey everyone just finished a trailer. Available HERE & HERE.
I spent the past 8 hours or so (Nonstop) doing this. I have no idea why it took so long considering it isn't terribly complicated. I guess I had trouble trying to figure out what footage to include and what not to include. Was toying between either keeping it concise and breaktaking or introducing alot of visuals but a longer timeliine. I choose the former in the end. Hope it works. Please feel free to comment and add your remarks as always.
Now that Countdown is more or less done, I have an admission to make. I'm sure ya'll recall me venting and ranting over MSN about how screwed up my computer became after editing so intensively for so long. I believe that I had said that because my computer kept crashing and that the future of Countdown was placed in serious jeopardy as a result of that. In the end, I did finish the movie. How? Well, let's just say that I've been 'borrowing' computers from a certain big-business, established corporate conglomerate store that happens to sell computers.
I conceed its a rather devious thing to do but I did what I had to do to get this project done =S
It involves me basically buying a brand new top of the line dual-core, 4 GB RAM computer from this retailer. After using it for about 2 weeks for editing, I can return it to the shop and get back a FULL refused with no questions asked whatsoever. None at all. Then, I buy that same computer (Or even a better one), use it for 2 weeks, then return it again. You get the cycle. I haven't lost a single cent doing this FOUR TIMES over a MONTH. It isn't perfect because I've often had to redo one or two scenes to accomodate new computer changes... But ultimately I did manage to get the film done. Admittedly, it's rather... Sneaky... But I comfort and justify myself that I wasn't a complete jackass.
How so? Well, for one, because they don't check or ask any questions when I return the computer box, I could've jacked a couple of internal parts like the processor or the harddrive and return a shelled-out CPU to them.
Hell, because I paid cash, I could've just taken the CPU and replaced it with a few pounds of pebbles or iron bars in the box and they would've been none the wiser.
Yes, BLT does have morals - Albeit questionable and warped ones.
But hey, some's better than none.
To make myself appear less evil and lessen the impact of the previous admission, I've decided to release: Random Countdown Facts, Admitted Mistakes & Trivia, IMDB Style
1. The first 'bomb-setting' sequence of the film, some of Elsa's hand shots were actually BLT's hands. 2. All the sequences of the lead cop walking around and shooting Ethan in the flashback was actually Bloke - Kiat's dialogue was all shot later. 3. Kiat's "Waste Them" is actually Bloke's voice; Bloke has such a hard time saying the line that he developed a lisp 'Wathe Them!' 4. Phua Kai Lun dies 4 times. 5. Bryan Loke, former lead actor, makes a cameo as a sniper on the roof in a split screen. 6. Ethan Koh dies twice; once as a brother and another as a random cop. 7. Yi Yang dies the same way as he does in The Vault. 8. The warehouse shootout sequence was filmed over 2 days - Most of which was during daytime. 9. SWAT team members were continually cycled throughout the film. 10. Reuben was sitting around looking after the bags when he was picked to play a SWAT officer. 11. Dickson and Daniel have cameos as normal policemen who die in the warehouse raid. 12. The smoke from Jeff's Glock and the tape are actually from Edward's pipe. 13. The car ignition, lisence plate, and bullet shell dropping shots were all filmed seperately 2 weeks after the main shoot. 14. Ben soh, David Liew, and Edward have cameos as cameramen in the film. 15. Jeff, Elsa, Dickson, & Daniel are the only characters to survive the film; everyone else dies. 16. Body Count: 70 17. Malcolm Ong, the Director of Photography, appears in the 'behind the scenes' video wielding a hand phone camera. 18. The film is promoted as being the last ten minutes of 3 peoples' lives. However, its half an hour long. Guess its justified because its 10 min x 3 characters haha.
- posted by BLT @ 10:58 PM(0) comments
Saturday, November 04, 2006
Update 101-01 Update 101-01 Post-Countdown 4th November 2006 8:11 AM
Countdown is finally over. I cant quite get over that fact somehow. I had hated Countdown so damn much when it was in post-production - To the extent that even my MSN Nick proclaimed 'I HATE EDITING'. Now that its done and over however, I feel a certain sense of emptiness about my life. I guess it had provided some sort of distraction when I was settling in down here - Qf purpose and meaning to life. Its been an integral part of my life for so long that now that its gone, I sorta crave it back. Heh. What a love-hate relationship.
Now I know what having a girlfriend is like hahaha.
Anyway please vote for BLINDED, currently in the Finals of the Canon Film Festival, HERE. The website is pretty screwed up and I think you can vote more than once under a different name! Unethical but rather humorous at the same time.
I've wanted to get into Canon for such a long time that its sadly ironic that when I finally get it after 3 years of endless hardwork, determination, and labor, I can't even go. Sighs. Its so irritatingly ambivalent and paradoxical.
After a year, I think we've come quite a long way haha. Check out an exerp from the very first post on this site on 31st Oct 2005.
The body armor guy calls me and says he's willing to sell 9 vests at $600+ (originally $800). I'm supposing I'll agree because Kevlar vests are somewhat of a rarity. We shall be traveling to Beach Road and Salvation Army tomorrow to hook up with 'Andy', our Army supplier contact; maybe we'll even make a side trip to Sim Lim Square to check out camera supplies.
Haha I remember some time 2 years ago I said I was gonna get a SWAT team and everyone laughed their asses off at me for 15 minutes. Heh. How things have changed!
Despite editing being over and hence granting me new found freedom, I haven't studied for all my exams this week; but I suppose I did okay in the end *Fingers crossed*. During one of my Sociology exams, I forgot to bring the OTAS sheet so I thought I was screwed and would lose all my points. Thankfully, the TA (Teacher's Assistant)very kindly let me go out of the examination hall to the bookstore to buy the damned sheet. I was genuinely astonished by such kindess. I'm pretty sure you never see this kind of thing in Singapore. "No OTAS sheet arh? Fail lor!"
Sociology rocks. For our assignment this week, we are ordered to go do something that 'violates the norm' - AKA do something stupid. According to the professor, previous years did things like walk around in a ski mask in downtown LA during broad daylight, sing in an elevator, and ask your parents when was the last time they made love. (Think crazy MTV 'Whatever Things')
On a rather ominous note, the haze as followed me here. Some jackass decided to burn up the forest and so now everything is a lil' cloudy. Thankfully, its not even remotely health-hazardous - Its just a bit irritating and somewhat depressing.
