The State of Local Films

There is a very important article that ought to be shared with future Singaporean filmmakers.

It appeared in U Weekly magazine on July 1, 2006, issue 29, about local movies.

In gist, the article laments the lack of distribution deals for local films. Out of the 4 recently-produced films highlighted (Unarmed Combat, Singapore Dreaming, The Art of Flirting & Smell of Rain), only Singapore Dreaming garners a distribution deal with local cinema chain Golden Village.

Although most have some form of screening at local and overseas film festivals, the results are still pretty depressing - none has overseas distribution.

To sum it up, the state of local films is rather unpromising. Or is it?

It doesn't have to be this way. This is how Eng Tiong and I see it:

Think of the End in Mind
When Eng Tiong and I set out to make our movie, we constantly remind ourselves we have to see it like a product (yes, just like any other manufacturers out there). And like any other product, it is meant to be bought - by someone who WANTS it. (That is really tough because I see it as our baby (with a hell of a long pregnancy period!) and naturally, has strong emotional attachments to it.)

So from the very beginning, we've thought of distribution but have no idea what is truly means, how the system works. So we asked. We spoke to Juan Foo, Kenneth Tan, SFC and attended film producing & financing seminars. (Now we're still in post-production, so haven't gone full-scale into the distribution stage yet. Will definitely share more insights about distribution once we get our first-hand experience.)

So the moral of the story is - think with the end in mind. It's seriously no point making a film and putting it on a shelf at home. Especially for a feature-length movie, that is alot of time, money and effort gone down the drain.

(I have to point out that I'm referring to people who's trying to make a living making movies. Not as a part-time, freelance kind of thingie. And you're not someone like Royston Tan.)

Film Festivals - What is it Really For?
Some might say, "Oh, I thought about distribution. I'm going to put my film through the film festival circuit!"

Yes, that is a good start, but what exactly is a film festival for? Why don't you get paid for screening your film there?

According to Dov Siemens (I'm saving you a couple of hundreds of dollars here), film festivals are for distributors to pick up potential films for distribution. In other words, a film festival is YOUR chance to show your work to potential distributors. So even if your film gets shown at prestigious Cannes and you come home empty-handed without a distributor, you're still back at square one (maybe square 1.5 cos' afterall you can tell other potential distributors that you're selected for screening at Cannes.)

Accessibility
Another important ingredient - is your film accessible to your audience? What I mean by accessibility in terms of:

1. Storyline
Is it too difficult for your target audience to understand? Too abstract? Too cliched? You know what I mean.

2. Known Actors / Director
I think most people prefer known actors. Also easier for first-timers like us to quickly establish how serious we are about making this movie.

3. Publicity
I think this goes without saying why it's important. The only question is how to get as much of it with a limited budget.

Well, for a start, with item 1 & especially item 2 in place, item 3 seems to follow... get my drift?

All it Takes is a Miracle?
Eng Tiong and I have had many, many discussions and debates about all these issues - right from the beginning, way before we make this movie, and even till now. There is probably no 1 way and no right way to make it in this industry. Someone may just made it the "El Mariachi" way, another may make it the "Jack Neo" way.

How we see it is that we may not be as lucky, so we'd better not wait for a miracle. We have to make decisions based on our survival because our livelihood (read: money) depends on it. If we want to make another film, we'd better make sure we earn some money with this one.

Okay, I'm making it sound like I'm not enjoying making this movie. I do. It's just a question of making our movies accessible, and without having to sell our souls. We don't know how our movie will perform at the end of the day. With what we have and what we know (and without selling our souls), we're trying our best.

I guess only time will tell...

Wrap Party

Instead of the usual wrap party, we decided to hold a film screening of a local film. That's pretty much in line with our vision of creating a local film industry, and the best way to support our fellow filmmakers is by watching their films.

On Tuesday, June 13, we had a screening of "Love Story" for our main cast, crew and their loved ones at Golden Village Marina. "Love Story" is directed by Kelvin Tong.

We also put together a teaser & a trailer for "Exposed!"

The feeling of seeing just that few precious frames of our work on the big screen is beyond exhilarating. And as the scriptwriter, it's truly amazing to see words on A4-sized papers taking on flesh and being blown to size on the silver screen. Wow... The morning before the wrap party, when Eng Tiong and I were down at Marina testing the footage, we were on a high the whole day after seeing the trailers. Talk about addiction...

A really sweet gesture on Golden Village's part is that they co-hosted the event with us. Mr. Kenneth Tan, the managing director of Golden Village, also attended the screening and gave an inspiring speech.

To our cast, crew & everyone involved in this production - couldn't have done it without you. Thank you!

Now we are in the final lap of production - the post-production stage. It's still going to be hectic, putting the movie together. There's also more worries when it comes to marketing, distributing and selling the film. Steep, steep learning curve...


3 of our crew members before the screening.

L - R : Melvin (location sound recordist), Khairil (lighting intern), Zul (camera intern)







Eng Tiong (director) fishing for more namecards; crew members and their guests mingled in the background.







One of our main cast, Uncle Steven, with his wife, already enjoying the popcorn!







Our lead actors Yvonne (left) & Bernard (right).









Just before the screening, Kenneth Tan, Golden Village's MD, talks about the beginning of an awareness of Singaporean films in the global market, & his support for local filmmakers. So budding ones take note!

On the Radio

Eng Tiong went on-air at Capital FM95.8 on June 4, 2006 to talk about the making of our movie.

It is a 1-hour radio talk show. In hanyu pinyin, the programme is called Cheng2 Shi4 San1 Ren2 Zu3, hosted by Qiu Shenyang & Xu Huiming.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

The whole reason for choosing to shoot in April is primarily because we thought that it rains the least. Of course, 2 other practical reasons are that:

1. We'll give ourselves ample time to prepare for production - roughly half a year.

2. April is also Qing Ming time (a Chinese tradition of paying respects to our ancestors, & commonly about visiting graveyards & columbariums), so we wouldn't have to reject potential wedding customers who need are wedding videography services. Nobody should seriously hold their weddings in April. It's considered extremely bad luck.

Another month that is definitely bad for weddings is August, which the Lunar 7th month usually falls on. Tradition states that it is the month of the hungry ghosts, where the Gates of Hell are flung wide open for ghosts to freely roam our world.

So we don't usually have wedding projects in August. And also, for the past 3 years, August is WEVA Expo time, something that we look forward to as well. (I think we're pretty down-to-earth about where our daily income is going to come from, even after making this movie. Afterall, we're still struggling filmmakers...)

So we merrily went about setting April as THE month.

Damn, how I wished that I've checked with NEA first.

According to their website, April & December are the wettest month in Singapore.

In late March, it was pouring cats & dogs every afternoon. I was crossing my fingers that the weather will let up come April.

On our 1st day of shoot, the weather was superb in the morning. Our commencement-cum-prayer ceremony went great.

Filming our 1st scene went great too.

And then the sky turns dark real quickly. By 3pm, there's thunder (bad for sound recording) & lightning. And the rain came. Heavy downpour, to be exact.

Since then, it has been a constant guessing game with the weather. The first week was rather predictable, raining in the afternoon around 3pm. But it has been rather cunning since the 2nd week - sometimes the whole day, sometimes not at all, sometimes early in the morning, blah, blah, blah.

I have been the Weatherwoman on set. I monitor NEA's website religiously. Not that I can change the bad weather. At least we could plan as much ahead as possible and manoeuvre around it.

Check out the NEA's weather website:
http://app.nea.gov.sg/cms/htdocs/mss5.asp

Rain, rain, go away, come again another... month, please?

Commencement-cum-Prayer Ceremony

Our commencement-cum-prayer ceremony at the start of principal photography.

Seen here with the main cast are:

From left - Louis, Eng Tiong (dir.),

Jen Nee (prod.), Bernard,

Uncle Liang Tian, Yvonne,

Uncle Steven, our MC & Boss of 933 Roast Duck & Auntie Lily.

Filming in Progress
The weather was splendid when we shot the first two scenes.

After lunch, the sky grew dark & the rain came around 2 pm.

Press Release - New Breed of Filmmakers offer a Breath of Fresh Air

For Immediate Release

Singapore, 3 April 2006 - Pilgrim Pictures is pleased to announce that Teo Eng Tiong and Lim Jen Nee’s Mandarin-language debut feature film, “Exposed!” will be commencing production on April 4, 2006.

“Exposed!” is a 90-minute drama about a TV reporter, Renee Donovan, who has to return to an old neighbourhood she ran away from 10 years ago to cover an assignment.

There, an old neighbour, Old Teo, recognizes her. At every turn, he threatens to reveal her secrets. As Renee struggles to cover her real identity to complete the assignment, she is forced to confront her past and the shameful secrets which surface as a result.

The story is conceived by both Teo Eng Tiong and Lim Jen Nee. Lim wrote the screenplay and is the producer. The film will be directed by Teo.

Both Lim and Teo are graduates of Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s School of Film and Media Studies programme. Indeed most of the crew are graduates from either the Film, Sound and Video Diploma or the Advanced Diploma in Film Production programmes. Says Lim, 29, “I think this is probably the biggest team of Ngee Ann Polytechnic film graduates working together on a movie production. 99% of us graduated there. That’s great because it means we all share the same vision and passion, and will give the Singapore audience a breath of fresh air in film narrative storytelling.

Everyone comes out of film school hoping to make feature films,” says Lim, “for us, this is finally coming true.”

“Exposed!” will be shot over 20 days in April on High Definition video.

The film features a strong cast of popular and veteran actors such as Mediacorp artiste Yvonne Lim, Bernard Tan, Liang Tian and Steven Woon. The lead actress is played by Yvonne Lim.

“We’re really glad to have such a stellar cast on this project,” says director Teo, 33,” without a good script, we wouldn’t have been able to do that.”

Indeed, the story is unique, taking place mostly in 1 location and over a period of 12 hours. It brings the cult independent horror hit, Saw, to mind.

Lim laughs, “Our story is the way it is mostly because of our limited budget. So we have to crank up our creative juices overtime to conceptualise a story that takes place in 1 locale and in 1 day, be as interesting as possible - and yet isn’t a horror film. If it becomes a runaway hit like Saw, that’s definitely great!”

The filmmakers drew their inspirations from their personal life experiences living in HDB flats. Indeed, the location is a block of HDB flats that director Teo grew up in. The block is now up for SERS, a public housing redevelopment scheme to re-locate residents of old housing estates to new ones in the vicinity.

Says Teo, “This is an interesting block of flats. It has quite a colourful group of inhabitants. And it holds many memories for me – fond and otherwise! So I hope to capture the essence of this place and its people, before they’re gone forever.”

Principal photography for “Exposed!” begins April 4, 2006.

To learn more about the production, contact:
Lim Jen Nee at 9792 7223

http://www.pilgrimpictures.com.sg


Picture: Mediacorp Artiste Yvonne Lim (right) as Renee Donovan, a TV current affairs producer while Bernard Tan (left), plays her cameraman, Damien Pang, in a local movie titled “Exposed!”

Don't Quit

I'm stealing a little bit of time to write in here.

Things have been really hectic nowadays. Alot of organisation to do.

I'm glad that almost everything is progressing quite smoothly, thanks to Marie, my dear production manager, who's really good!

And the issue with that particular authority has been resolved. It takes a lot of re-planning.

I still have enough sleep at night, but it probably isn't too peaceful because I constantly dream about this project (sometimes they're nightmares, so I hope it wouldn' t be a case of deja vu!)

I've came across a beautiful poem that completely expresses what we're going through, thanks to Sister Majorie, Principal of Maris Stella Kindergarten, who showed us the book while we're working on their fund-raising video.

Here it goes:

DON'T QUIT

When things go wrong

as they sometimes will;

when the road you are trudging

seems all uphill;

when funds are low and debts are high

and you want to smile

but you have to sigh;

when care is pressing you down a bit,

rest, if you must,

but don't you quit.

Life is strange

with its twist and turns,

as every one of us sometimes learns

and many a failure turns about

when they might have won,

had they stuck it out.

Don't give up

though the pace seems slow.

You may succeed with another blow.

Success is failure turned inside out

the silver tint of the cloud of doubt,

and you never can tell

how close you are;

it may be near when it seems so far.

So stick to the fight

when you're hardest hit.

It's when things seem worst

you must not quit.

Taken from pg. 25, Treasury of Prayer, 1992

Less than half a month to go till principal photography... we've truly come this far, so much closer to the middle point.

We're not going to quit.

Going NUTS

Since we made up our minds to go all the way, we have been actively putting things together.

Although there are bumps and all, we're still chugging along fine. Managing as best as we could.

And then, came a shock that could possibly halt the production - the filming location.

We have been rejected by a certain authority to use our intended location. If you have been reading this blog and been on this journey with us, you would have known how important the location is. The whole story is based on this location. Without it, the movie won't work.

I could have accepted the authority's reasons but something that that personnel said really riled me:

"In the first place, you should have find out from us whether you could have the permission to film in this place before you write the script!"

In the first place, we are not writing a story that takes place in a high-security area like the airport or the Jurong Island. It is a place where Eng Tiong grew up. In fact, his parents still stay there. Eng Tiong and I are now staying just opposite this location.

It is a story about a place we know best. Do I need permission to write a screenplay about a place that we knew best?

Secondly, the place is up for re-development. People staying there are already moving away. So when we wrote the script a year ago, we knew there will be vacant places for us to film in.

Oh geez, or maybe I should have consulted with that particular authority before we even attempted to come up with that story!

That reminds me of Mr. Sim Wong Hoo, Creative Technolgy founder's NUTS article in his book "Chaotic Thoughts from the Old Millenium".

NUTS stands for "No U-Turn Syndrome". In Singapore, as long as you don't see the U-Turn sign, you can't make a u-turn.

What he's meaning to say is that, in Singapore, we proceed to do something only when the authorities tell us we could. For everything else, assume that the answer would be a "no" if there isn't an explicit "yes".

So reminders for all Singaporean scriptwriters/ producers out there - before you write your screenplay.... no... before you even think up a story concept, please, call up the relevant authorities and ask about the feasibility of making it happen, even if it's as simple as and as common a setting as your own housing estate.

From Mr. Sim's book, about NUTS:

"To meet the challenge of the new world, to meet the challenge of rising to a knowledge-based economy, we have to innovate like mad. How can we innovate when we need to obey rules to innovate? Innovate means to create things out of nothing, it means moving into uncharted territories where there are no rules.

How can you innovate when you have to get approval of somebody who looks at a rule-book first?"

And we wonder why the local feature filmmaking industry isn't taking off...

Chinese New Year 2006 Greetings

May the Year of the (under)Dog be our year...

GONG XI FA CAI !

1% Talent, 99% Hard Work

The whole of last year saw us going through a lot of self-doubt. It's easy to say, "Oh, we're shooting in April" when you know that April is aeons away when you said it in November 2005.

Tick tock tick tock... it's now 2006.

We've talked to so many people last year and need to talk to even more this year. But we had not ink any deals with anyone - cast, crew or investor by December 2005.

We sat down doing some serious thinking - we haven't an investor, we have no distribution deal. We have some money. Some actors we approached have shown interested to come onboard, some don't. We may have a chance at getting a crew, because at the least, they have the same passion for filmmaking.

But nothing concrete.

And everyone dissuaded us from using our own money to make the film. They think it's suicide.

We wonder whether we should push on with the project...

I remembered that at one point, Eng Tiong is so dejected and frustrated (which he is seldom so because he is usually the more optimistic of us two) when he can't find a feasible post-production solution for Dollhouse, with time running short because of film festival submission deadlines, that he questioned why we're doing this, wanting to make films.

I answered in a really small voice, "because we want to fulfil our dream?"

That sounded really weak. What is a dream anyway but an imaginary bubble in my head? I know I couldn't even convince myself.

By then I, too, wasn't sure whether it's a dream or a nightmare.

He said, "It's all for ego, isn't it? Because we want people to pay money to come watch the film and like it, so that we will feel good about ourselves."

I remained silent throughout the journey home that night. I realised that I don't know the answer either.

Is filmmaking really my dream? Or is it nothing but an ego trip?

A few days later, 7 January 2006, a Saturday, I was reading the newspapers. I don't usually read the Saturday Recruit Section but I did that day. Don't know why.

I scrutinized each and every job ad - engineering, finance, business, HR, sales... and more engineering. There isn't a job out there for my skills and capabilities.

A huge wave of disappointment washes over - there isn't a job out there for me.

But just as suddenly, I had a revelation. It hits me why I want to make "Exposed!"

It's not ego.

It's just simply to feel useful in this world, that I have a reason to be here. That I have something to offer the world.

I may not be able to cook to be a chef or to invent something useful to help mankind. But I can provide a story for their entertainment. That may not seem like much but at least, it is something.

Eng Tiong asks, "Aren't you being over-confident to think that we have a talent in filmmaking?"

I said, "Even Einstein said that being a genius is 1% talent and 99% hard work. 99% is something we can deal with. And I have the intention to make filmmaking my capability."

So there. The first instinct to make a film isn't about making money, it isn't about fame. It's definitely not ego.

It's about being useful in this world with my chosen capability.

So yes, we decided to go ahead with making "Exposed!" We'll put in our own money. And I can tell you, it's totally hard-earned.

Every single cent of it.

It's not going to be enough and we've told everyone involved so. We're going to find the money or go earn some more to make sure everyone onboard gets paid.

We're definitely glad and appreciative of all the advices we've had from everyone. Ultimately, we have to listen to our own. And somehow I feel I haven't heard it for a long while.

It's good to hear it now.

Major Detour

Since the last time I wrote in here, it's been a really hectic & tiring month. We have been preparing to shoot our short film 'Dollhouse' in early December.

And we've just finished shooting 'Dollhouse' on Sunday. Yay!

So how is this in relation to 'Exposed!'? A lot!

• Shooting 10 screen pages a day, complete with perfect lighting & involving multiple scenes, is pretty much impossible.
  
• We'd better get people to take care of art direction, wardrobe, props &... food! We can't possibly be able to handle everything ourselves and expect perfect results. But we'll have to worry about costs.
  
• Think of the post-production solution waaaay in advance. Especially shooting on HDV... 720p or 1080i at 30, 25 or 24 frames, etc. Currently not all editing systems support all these different formats. Yes, it sucks! Also, whether you're going to put the stuff back onto 16 or 35mm film... the list goes on.
  
• Time... have lots of it as much as possible for the pre-production process. This probably ties in with having enough people to work on the project. We didn't have the luxury of having assistants helping out during the pre-production period. What happens is, at 2 am in the morning on the last day of our shoot, we are still preparing props. Exhausted is just a mild word to describe our state of mind.
  
• Storyboard is extremely helpful. It communicates so visually, as a film should be, what the story looks like. It helps to come out with the imagery so that everyone, especially the camera & lighting people, will have a very clear idea of what the director is looking for. Afterall, most people watch movies, not read the scripts!

A little update about "Exposed!" before I end this entry:

We're thinking of casting a wider net (across Asia) in search of an actress for our main lead. We also thought that we probably have to extend the filming days to 15-20 days. So all these add up to more cost.... and we wonder when this film will get made!

Taking Shape

We've been meeting so many people! This week alone, we've practically at least a meeting each day from Monday through Sunday.

We've met up with another veteran actor whom we wanted for the role of Renee's father, Ah Seng. A big confidence booster is that he agrees to be in the movie straight away. Of course we have to work out the details but this is just as good to hear because that means that we can "attach" him to our project. When we meet with potential investors, we can tell them that this particular actor is willing to play this role.

We're getting excited. We see the whole movie starting to form as we meet more and more people. From the story's first inception in our heads, to putting it down on 99 pages and now putting real people together to play it out...

We always joked that this movie is like our baby. It's an inexplicable joy to see our baby taking shape, like how an expectant couple sees the foetus in the womb under the ultra-scan.

It's truly beyond words. I can't imagine how we'll feel when the whole movie finally gets made and projected on the big screen. Like a parent seeing her child getting married.... That will be THE day of all days that I've always longed for. I'll probably break down in tears...

Sometimes, a "Mistake" Can Be a Good Thing

I'm pretty down this week so I'm going to talk about the movie Jaws to perk me up, at least for a little while.

We happened to watch E! True Hollywood Story about Jaws the other day. Just for the record, I wasn't even born yet when Jaws came out in 1975. (It's a different story for Eng Tiong, but this is my entry, isn't it?)

I only remembered watching Jaws 3-D in the cinema when I was young. That film came out in 1983. I caught Jaws on TV. Can't exactly remember when though.

Anyway, that's not the point. The point is that E! THS on Jaws tells of how painful the whole production process was. One of the headaches is that the mechanical shark malfunctioned most of the time. With the shark as the star of the movie, that is indeed a HUGE headache.

But they found the most clever way of getting around the problem. Instead of showing the physical shark all the time to show that it's a big, scary, menacing beast, they decide to show how it is so. They infer the nasty characteristics with end results - what is left of a woman; what is left of a boat, etc. They "replaced" the physical presence of the malfunctioning mechanical shark with bright, yellow barrels. And guess what? It worked! That scared the shit out of us!

Wow.

And I wasn't even born yet.

If I remembered correctly, Steven Spielberg had a similar treatment with Jurassic Park. In the opening sequence, we see workers moving a huge metal cage. Wooo.... mysterious. What's inside? The next thing we know, a worker got caught in the cage and we can only hear his wretched screaming. Whoa... something really nasty is in that cage. So nasty to make a grown man scream like that and killed him. What is in that damn cage?

So, right at the beginning of the movie, you're hooked. And that's the power of a good movie.

Steven Spielberg is probably one of the best screen storytellers. We've a lot to learn from his movies!

But, like what Eng Tiong always said - sometimes, great works are "mistakes." I have to agree.

Not that "mistakes" are wrong or bad, they are just the end products of a gruelling battle, of overcoming obstacles after obstacles to finally reach the destination. Like Jaws, the problem became some sort of a blessing. Maybe it doesn't happen all the time. But it's great to know that - sometimes a "mistake" can be a good thing.

:)

The Ball is Rolling - Finally!

We've accomplished quite a lot this last week - we've finished the business plan and most importantly, met up with even more wonderful people.

The Business Plan
Eng Tiong and I always wondered how the hell do we do the damn business plan. Even after attending this and that course about film financing, we're pretty much left more confused than ever.

A moviemaking business plan is slightly different from a traditional business plan people do to start a business. I've a thick book on entreprenuership that has a sampled business plan but I can't exactly use that verbatim.

So Eng Tiong trawl the internet and found some! And they are for sale! Unbelievable! It really takes a lot of guesswork out of the equation. Of course, the plan is based on the independent American film market. So we have to change that to reflect the local scene.

I basically do some research, reading up on the Media Development Authority's policies, schemes, press releases, etc, etc, etc. I've even compiled a database of local films made since 1991. ("Medium Rare" started the next wave of moviemaking in Singapore since the Shaw and Cathay Keris moviemaking days in the 1970s.) Most of the information are gathered from MDA's website but it isn't updated so we've added in the latest figures/ productions that we've found from other sources.

Meeting People
We've met up with really wonderful people, including a very popular actress who used to act alot for TV. The feeling we get is - the ball is finally rolling!

Meeting Actor for Old Teo's Role
We've met up with a really experienced actor for the role of Old Teo. And it's all thanks to the earlier meeting we had with the popular actress (sorry about the mysteriousness but I can't risk getting sued). And that meeting with the popular actress is all thanks to a really wonderful artiste management company that we got acquainted with.

Old Teo is one of the 2 lead roles. Like our main character Renee's role, we already have someone in mind for Old Teo even before we pen the script. And that someone is this actor that we are meeting. It's great that we've got to see him face-to-face, telling him about the story and our convictions for making this movie.

We will hopefully hear from him in a week or so.

The next step is to find the rest of the supporting cast and the key production people. That's part of packaging. Once completed, we'll go out and find investors. The budget is now set slightly higher because we're taking into consideration the cost of transferring the final cut to film. (Cos' most cinemas still show movies the tradtional way.) But all in all, we're relatively comfortable with the new figures because we're confident that our movie will be great and therefore, it'll be picked up for distribution and you'll get to watch it in the cinemas (and DVDs, cable TV, etc, etc, etc)!

A Detour

Eng Tiong has finished translating the dialogue in the script to Mandarin. (Oh, I didn't tell you? The story is mostly in Mandarin, unless otherwise stated.)

I can't write Chinese for a living. I wrote the script in English with Movie Magic Screenwriter. There's no Chinese input. So I have to output the script as a text file so that Eng Tiong can input the Chinese dialogue next to the English ones in Word. It does alter the screenplay format a little bit. The margins seem not quite right but other than that, we're happy with those 99 pages.

This past week sees us doing less of "Exposed!" but for a good reason.

We're busy working on developing new projects for the upcoming SuperPitch and Animation SuperPitch, and the Singapore Film Commission Project Development Scheme. All the submission dates are due either this week or next week.

We may get something out of it or we may get nothing. No problem. At least we try. We'll keep trying till we get it someday.

Also, in the pipeline is a short film. The working title is "Dollhouse." I'll probably set up a separate blog for it sometime in the future. So I won't reveal much here. The only thing I'll say is that this story has been languishing in my ideas book since April and we thought we'll do it now as some sort of a prep for making "Exposed!" We haven't done a drama for some time now and this short film is like a refresher course. It's also a good time to try out and explore the technical aspects. Afterall, we haven't put HDV cameras to the test yet.

I'm looking forward to doing it! If anyone out there is interested to join in as crew, just email us! We don't mind if you don't have any production experience whatsoever as long as you are willing to learn. We are all still learning. So attitude is the key!

Guerilla-Style

We spoke to Juan Foo of Ground Glass Images who had made films such as Return to Pontianak and most recently, Perth. He's also our senior in Ngee Ann Polytechnic. So it was great catching up with him.

It's even better that he didn't paint a rose-tinted picture of the independent filmmaking scene in Singapore. He's been there and done that.

We definitely get the idea that it's a long and tough road which may not lead to any light at the end of the tunnel. So we must be very sure what we want to achieve out of this.

One thing for sure - we want to make at least 1 damn movie so that we can decently call ourselves filmmakers and die in peace. That is truly and sincerely our most basic wish.

4 movies, 10 movies a year? We hope so but that will probably take a very long time.

It's been a really trying period for Eng Tiong and I. There are so much frustrations. It's been a rollercoaster ride through the emotional realm and a zig-zagging decision-making process. I'm sure there will be more to come.

One thing we now know for sure... there is no hard and fast rules to go about making a movie. If we want to get it made the way we want to, just do it. We don't have to play by the system. The biggest consequence is that it may not get screened and earn the kind of money and prestige that others do.

What the hack! Stick with our basic wish of dying in peace with a movie in our name. Whatever comes after that is pure bonus.

So we may not want to seek more funding. We're going to do it guerilla-style - the way we know it. Let's get rid of all the rubbish about pre-sales, agreements, ya-da, ya-da that clog up our creative channels.

Let's just get the movie made!

Learn how to Write a Business Plan... (Yes! Even for Making Movies!)

We've just been through a steep learning curve last week. We attended a seminar on "The Business of Film Financing and Exploitation" by Ted Perkins.

The most valuable is knowing how to write a business plan - for movie-making. For all those filmmaker-wannabes out there, yes, you've heard right. We have to learn how to write a business plan. Unless, of course, you're really rich or have ready money to make your movie straight away. For the rest of us, we'd better get going with the business plan. That's the first step in sourcing for money.

But like any other business plans for other fields, I feel that having a business plan is really a good start whether I'm sourcing for funding or not. A plan makes my idea clearer and helps me develop a strategy. It will also spell out the kinds of risk involved for the investors. So everyone chips in with eyes wide open. That's very important.

I'll be working on the budget, the package and the business plan. I find that they go together hand in hand.

So for anyone (including Kee) who's interested to partner up or something, please be patient. Drop me an email if you're seriously interested. It's a huge learning process and the last thing we want is to get everybody into trouble - financially or legally - and doom the project forever.

We have more movies in the pipeline, remember?

Good, Cheap, Fast

Over the past few days, I've been working on the budget. In fact, I'm still working on it.

How tough can it be to punch in the numbers? Well, pretty much easy, really, unless you come out with such a high figure that you know it's impossible to start the production anytime soon.

Speaking about starting the production, Eng Tiong and I have made a decision. We are not going to rush this production.

The initial plan is to finish the shoot this year so that we could enter this film for the Singapore International Film Festival. But the deadline, for at least some sort of a rough cut, is mid-January.

That pretty much means that we have to shoot by November. With such a timeline, that means that getting investors and/ or sponsors will have to be all ready by end October. In turn, that means that we have to get the package up by, erm... yesterday? Or was it last week?

If we're to rush out a rough cut for "Exposed!" by December, it'll probably mean that we can't secure enough sponsors or investors. So that means the numbers I've punched in are less likely to be reduced and therefore we'll need to strike lottery and 4-D at the same time to make the film.

So we decided to forego the SIFF 2006. We're going to postpone the shoot to 2006 so that we can have more time to find investors, partners and sponsors.

It didn't feel good that our 2005 New Year resolution is going to be delayed a year. I was looking so much forward to making our first movie, to finally making our dreams come true. But we have to be realistic with our timeline.

There's a saying:

"Good, cheap, fast". Choose only 2.

The most important thing is to get it made cheap but great! Even if it takes a little longer, it'll be worth the wait.

Packaging

"Package" - film term for whatever you put together into a production entity to make it attractive to potential investors, financiers, etc...

We are now packaging Exposed!

The screenplay's completed. Just freshly out of the oven, really. It's the 5th draft. I know, I said in a previous post that we've got to get the production off the page asap but a story is not set in stone. It shouldn't. If there's room of improvement, we'll go for it. This version will be the one that's locked in for production. Of course, I'll be expecting some changes along the way.

So the screenplay is element number #1 in the package. Just let me repeat the 1-liner:

[Amended as of 24 September 2005 -
"A reporter becomes the subject of scrutiny when an assignment takes her back to the neighbourhood she ran away from 10 years ago."

This new 1-liner has just been thought of this morning. Sort of like an "Eureka!" moment for Eng Tiong and I. We know the importance of getting the 1-liner right.

Till we find a better logline, this is it!]

"In a neighbourhood she ran away from 10 years ago, a TV reporter has to keep her own skeletons in the closet while unearthing a most shocking story. "

Element number #2 - the producer
Jen Nee (yours truly) will be the producer. The credit is important because we want to own major rights to the movie. It's also a great opportunity to learn the ropes. If not now, when?

Element number #3 - the director
Eng Tiong will be the director. Similarly, we've to put to use what we learn in school and all those years of slogging out in the wedding videography industry thinking on our feet. The time to perform is now.

(As a side note, we may switch roles for the next movie. Yes, we've more story ideas in the pipelines. That's why it's important that this project is not going to be our first and the last!)

Element number #4 - main cast
Female Lead for Renee Donovan, TV reporter
We've long had our female lead in mind. When we first seriously sit down to draft out the treatment early this year, the first actress we've thought of is her. In a way, the story is written with her very much in mind.

We've contacted her and just sent her the script this morning. We're definitely keeping our fingers crossed.

Male Lead for Old Teo, old neighbour
There's also 1 particular actor we have in mind for some time now. We've yet to approach him.

Male Lead for Damien, cameraman
Finding a suitable actor for Damien is harder. Originally, Damien's character is very much in the shadows but sometime in the 2nd or 3rd draft, we flesh him up and he got "promoted" to a leading role.

We're still searching for Damien. If anyone's interested, give us a call! (Damien needs to be lean-built and about 36 years old.)

Element number #5 - budget
I've just completed breaking down the script and a preliminary shooting schedule. We're giving ourselves 10 shooting days at an average of filming 9 to 10 screen pages a day. It's quite a lot to accomplish in 10 days but remember - we only have 1 location. Most of the scenes take place in the same block of flats or a couple of metres away.

I'll be working on the budget today. We will be pumping in our own money. It's probably not going to be enough but let's see what's the shortfall. That's what packaging is mostly about anyway - finding more money.

To be perfectly honest, a lot of things are not working in our favour. Nobody's heard of Lim Jen Nee or Teo Eng Tiong. We're wedding videographers. We've never garnered any prestigious awards in short films like the others do. We've not much money. The story genre's a drama, not the hottest favourite of Asian horror.

But what the heck. We have to start somewhere. And nobody's going to tell us what we can't do. At this point in time, nobody believe in us. But we do. We're not going to give up.

We'll create our own destiny.

Film is Business?

Like everything else, the money (or rather, the lack of it) gets in the way.

About 10 years ago, as a film student, I always thought that film is art. That's why we study film theory and everything else about filmmaking.

I remembered a lecturer used to tell us that film is business. I didn't believe him. How could it be? Explain to me Battleship Potemkin and The Birth of a Nation or Citizen Kane and tell me that it's business.

Fast forward to January this year - Eng Tiong and I attended Dov Siemen's 2-Day Film School. He's from Hollywood and taught people like Quentin Tarantino. So he's invited by MDA to be here in Singapore to conduct his famous seminar. Eng Tiong and I've been out of school for some time so we thought we should attend the seminar to revive that student spirit and passion we have for filmmaking.

At the seminar, Dov Siemen, too said that film is business. Now much older (and hopefully, wiser), I totally agree.

As a student, there's this romanticised idea of what an independent filmmaker is. It's not much of a difference from a struggling artist who believes and sticks to his ideas and ideals at all cost. It's about personal expression. I didn't think money mattered.

Until I grow up and realised that there're bills to pay. Oops. Welcome to the real world.

Not that I don't believe in film as art anymore. I do. But that comes after I've gotten my 3 square meals a day, pay for the roof over my head, transportation expenses, business overheads... Then let's talk about pure film art.

I think we can balance art with commerce. It need not be one or the other. In fact, it's important that both work hand in hand. We can make a great movie that lots of people love to watch and that ensures our survival so that we can make another one. And the cycle continues.

Ultimately, I realised it's about telling an engaging story.

After the Dov Siemen's seminar, we decided that we're going to make our movie. It has always been our dream to go into filmmaking. What stopped us before is money, money, money.

We still lack it but let's work with what we have.

So instead of film, we're going to shoot on high definition. Just make sure we light properly!

In terms of the story, Exposed! will be a great movie for us to start with because:
1. The story takes place in 1 location.
2. The story happens within 12 daylight hours - i.e. no night scenes

So that would save us quite a bundle!

The story is great! It's definitely engaging. I can't reveal much of the plot here but as the screenwriter, it's definitely a work of love, passion and damn hard work!

Flashback: About Us

We've been running Pilgrim Pictures, our video production house, for nearly 4 years now. The stuff we've been doing are mostly wedding videos and a couple of corporate jobs. In fact, our very first job is a wedding video.

I have a love-hate relationship with producing wedding videos. Eng Tiong has no qualms about it. He actually enjoyed them tremendously.

We came from Ngee Ann Polytechnic's School of Film & Media Studies. Specifically, the Film, Sound and Video programme. We were amongst the top graduates. And that explains my grudge in doing wedding videos - ego, pride, snobbery.

In the world of video production, wedding videos (in most people's minds anyway), are the most lowly. I thought we were meant for "bigger" things.

The change in mindset came. Rather gradually, I might add.

Doing wedding videos is one of the most challenging productions. If you think about it, many things can go wrong - getting lost enroute to the bride's place, running out of tape, dirty tape head, waiting for the condensation in the camera to go away, lost of the sound signal in the middle of a speech or sermon, failing to capture that most important "pronounced husband & wife" kiss, etc, etc, etc... Even with the best preparations and intentions, shit happens. We just have to deal with it there and then. There's no retakes. Everything is "live".

I still get jitters doing wedding videos. It's stressful. Especially for someone like me who needs everything to be perfect, screwing up, even just a little, is very hard to stomach.

In contrast, Eng Tiong thrives in such situations. He thinks very well on his feet. He always tells me to relax, "It's a wedding, for goodness' sake!"

Before, I always have difficulties telling people, especially professionals in the industry, that we do wedding videos. I hate to see that look on their faces - like it's a loser's job.

But today, I'll gladly tell people that we are wedding videographers because I bet a lot of them can't take such working conditions and do a really fantastic job out of it.

We know what it takes to do a wedding video and do it well. We've won 3 international awards for the wedding stuff that we do at the Wedding & Event Videographers' Assocation (WEVA) Creative Excellence Awards - in the United States. We've received lots of compliments from our wedding customers and many have become our friends.

Like what Eng Tiong always say - "Even for the most "lowly" production like a wedding video, we put our hearts and minds into it and do it really well. Just imagine how it would be when we put our hearts and minds into making our movies..."