And here it is my last post of this semester... It is hard to believe that this semester is about to end in just 2 weeks. All classes will end soon and the holiday will come, and I'm going to be a 3rd-year student. Seems like yesterday when I first entered my first Directing 1's class. And now my second Directing 1's class is about to end.
In Directing 1, I personally think that this year's class is far more fun than last year. The learning process went much better and I think that this year is also more interactive. I believe that Charles and Willy experience the same thing as I do. Also, this year's projects are, in my opinion, more applicable for filmmaking. Maybe last year's "scene copying" project works as well, if I may say. But all these treatment, blogs and stuff really does work for me, at least.
To be honest, I can say that so far this is my toughest semester during my time in film school, but this is also the semester in which I learned the most, be it academically or non-academically. I made A LOT of mistakes this semester, and many of them are fatal mistakes. I did not win the pitch (which I can say that it is because of my own mistake), I made another bad film (which is the result of mistakes that I made), in the production workshop I won most of the "worst" awards and so on and so forth. On the other hand, I took part in 2 of my seniors' projects and I became an Assistant Producer for Lisa and Angkasa's film, where from these projects I learned a lot more. I may say that I am not a fabulous Assistant Producer because still I made mistakes, and some mistakes gave not-so-good impacts towards the others. But, seeing from the positive sides, I really am grateful to have gone through this semester. I learned not just about filmmaking, but also about social skills and management, which I am still lack of it sometimes.
I am not happy with what I have done this semester, but I am happy to have the chance to undergo all these things, because now I know that those things that I did were mistakes and I know what to do next time. I guess learning from mistakes is the best thing to do. So I know exactly how to fix it because I know that it was a mistake. Of course I am not satisfied with my achievements this semester (because I achieved nothing). I sometimes think that I am even worse than my classmates, but I hope that this can be a push for me to be better next time, in the next projects.
To everyone that must gone through hard times because of me this semester, I truly am apologise for my mistakes. And to everyone who have taught me a lot of things this semester, I thank you all truly from my heart.
I really am excited to learn more in the next upcoming semesters. Thanks to this semester that I have learned more about myself as well.
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Tukang Sayur
Lately I have been very interested with the existence of tukang sayur (mobile vegetable vendors). Since my film project goes around the life of tukang sayur and tukang tambal ban (people who fix wheels of vehicles, mostly cars, bikes motorcycles), I get to see tukang sayur in my neighbourhood and found that many of them are women (although there are men as well). They carry their carts or use bikes. One who usually sells right in front of my house even uses motorcycle. Her name is Minah.
Minah's motorcycle is placed with a huge blue wooden box that has compartments to place all of her merchandises. If she arrives in front of my house, she will scream "sayuuur" so that all the maids know that she is coming. On her arrival, her motorcycle will always be full of fresh vegetables, fruits, meat, chicken and fish. You name it, from coconuts, broccolis to skinned chicken claws and heads are there. She speaks Javanese to the Javanese maids and to the ones who are not originally from Central Java, she will speak Indonesian. Minah herself comes from Solo, Central Java. My maid said that her house is located not far from the Solo Balapan Train Station.
Everyday, Minah will go to Pasar Minggu to buy her merchandises. She starts shopping at 12 AM. She will arrive in my neighbourhood at around 8 to 9.30, a bit unpredictable, but never too far from that timing. She counts the price that each and every single maid would have to pay without using the calculator and sometimes even while talking to the other maids. Later on, when the maid has to pay, sometimes she forgets the price, and if the maid does not remember the price as well, she counts again, and with the same result.
I bet that her mathematical skill in counting all those prices is far better than me, who until now still needs calculator (or if it does not exist whenever I need it, my own freaking fingers) even for just simple mathematical problems like addition and subtraction.
I am interested in how Minah lives her life as a tukang sayur. I would like to know what are her activities besides selling vegetables, how does she buy all those merchandises in the market (or maybe she needs to compete with other tukang sayur) and how much does she earn a day. I talked to another tukang sayur who also sells in my neighbourhood (she usually sells near my complex's small garden) and she can spend up to Rp 600.000, - a day for all the merchandises that she bought to be sold. On the internet, I found out that a tukang sayur can earn up to Rp 1.000.000, - a day and can get the profit for up to Rp 250,000, -.
During the holidays, I would love to make a documentary about Minah and other tukang sayur, especially women. I bet their lives can be interesting to be filmed. Remembering Directing 1 class' instruction to never make a film about ourselves, I think making a film about those "marginalised yet important" people will make myself learn even more and it will be interesting.
Minah's motorcycle is placed with a huge blue wooden box that has compartments to place all of her merchandises. If she arrives in front of my house, she will scream "sayuuur" so that all the maids know that she is coming. On her arrival, her motorcycle will always be full of fresh vegetables, fruits, meat, chicken and fish. You name it, from coconuts, broccolis to skinned chicken claws and heads are there. She speaks Javanese to the Javanese maids and to the ones who are not originally from Central Java, she will speak Indonesian. Minah herself comes from Solo, Central Java. My maid said that her house is located not far from the Solo Balapan Train Station.
Everyday, Minah will go to Pasar Minggu to buy her merchandises. She starts shopping at 12 AM. She will arrive in my neighbourhood at around 8 to 9.30, a bit unpredictable, but never too far from that timing. She counts the price that each and every single maid would have to pay without using the calculator and sometimes even while talking to the other maids. Later on, when the maid has to pay, sometimes she forgets the price, and if the maid does not remember the price as well, she counts again, and with the same result.
I bet that her mathematical skill in counting all those prices is far better than me, who until now still needs calculator (or if it does not exist whenever I need it, my own freaking fingers) even for just simple mathematical problems like addition and subtraction.
I am interested in how Minah lives her life as a tukang sayur. I would like to know what are her activities besides selling vegetables, how does she buy all those merchandises in the market (or maybe she needs to compete with other tukang sayur) and how much does she earn a day. I talked to another tukang sayur who also sells in my neighbourhood (she usually sells near my complex's small garden) and she can spend up to Rp 600.000, - a day for all the merchandises that she bought to be sold. On the internet, I found out that a tukang sayur can earn up to Rp 1.000.000, - a day and can get the profit for up to Rp 250,000, -.
During the holidays, I would love to make a documentary about Minah and other tukang sayur, especially women. I bet their lives can be interesting to be filmed. Remembering Directing 1 class' instruction to never make a film about ourselves, I think making a film about those "marginalised yet important" people will make myself learn even more and it will be interesting.
Friday, June 14, 2013
Udaan
I love to collect Indian movies. I started to love collecting Indian movies when my brother lived in Singapore for 9 months back then when he was finishing his college. His roommates were apparently Indians straight from Bombay if I am not mistaken, so he got the chance to watch Indian films and eat Indian food cooked by real Indians. He brought me one Indian movie titled "Taare Zameen Par", directed by Aamir Khan. It was a really beautiful film and since that (oh, and before that, I watched "3 Idiots", of course), I have the urge to find and watch more Indian movies.
Yesterday, I watched this Hindi-Indian film titled "Udaan", or "Flight" in English. Just like most Indian films, the screen time is long, but minus the Bollywood songs and dances throughout the film. The director is Vikramaditya Motwane and this film was selected in the 2010 Cannes Film Festival to compete in the Un Certain Regard category.
This is the story of Rohan, a 17-year old boy who got dropped out from his school, Bishop Cotton School, in Shimla. He returned to Jamshedpur, Jharkhand (and based on my limited knowledge about Indian geography, Jharkhand is located in the eastern part of India, far from the center of India, and is known as "the land of forests"), his hometown, to live with his father who have never met him for the past 8 years. Rohan's mother already passed away and his father is not a person with a good attitude. Rohan did not know that he actually had a 6-year old brother named Arjun, the son of his father and his second wife in which the marriage did not work out. Rohan wished to be an author and study arts and literature, but his hard father insisted on him to become an engineer, and worse, with his father's attitude, it is impossible for Rohan to get what he has always wanted.
Through this film, I can see that Rohan is a troubled boy who happens to become troublesome. The filmmaker tries to criticise many social aspects with a very smooth way. I bet there will people who can relate themselves with this film, although their conditions might not be entirely the same. The obstacles are built step-by-step, with ups and downs within the family itself, making us sympathise even more with Rohan. His character is so loveable that I want him to win this conquer.
I do not think that telling the end of the story and the whole story itself will be fun to do, but I do think that the need to tell people that this film succeeds in pointing out the social aspects within the smallest part of society which is family. This family is dysfunctional and yet Rohan does not stop with his condition. It is also the story of hope, in a very weird way. Also, only few women are portrayed in this film. Perhaps this is a man's film that is meant to be watched by everyone, including women.
I do recommend people to watch this film. You might not see the famous, handsome Indian actors, but you will see another reality out there, a hard reality that is being brought through film.
Yesterday, I watched this Hindi-Indian film titled "Udaan", or "Flight" in English. Just like most Indian films, the screen time is long, but minus the Bollywood songs and dances throughout the film. The director is Vikramaditya Motwane and this film was selected in the 2010 Cannes Film Festival to compete in the Un Certain Regard category.
This is the story of Rohan, a 17-year old boy who got dropped out from his school, Bishop Cotton School, in Shimla. He returned to Jamshedpur, Jharkhand (and based on my limited knowledge about Indian geography, Jharkhand is located in the eastern part of India, far from the center of India, and is known as "the land of forests"), his hometown, to live with his father who have never met him for the past 8 years. Rohan's mother already passed away and his father is not a person with a good attitude. Rohan did not know that he actually had a 6-year old brother named Arjun, the son of his father and his second wife in which the marriage did not work out. Rohan wished to be an author and study arts and literature, but his hard father insisted on him to become an engineer, and worse, with his father's attitude, it is impossible for Rohan to get what he has always wanted.
Through this film, I can see that Rohan is a troubled boy who happens to become troublesome. The filmmaker tries to criticise many social aspects with a very smooth way. I bet there will people who can relate themselves with this film, although their conditions might not be entirely the same. The obstacles are built step-by-step, with ups and downs within the family itself, making us sympathise even more with Rohan. His character is so loveable that I want him to win this conquer.
I do not think that telling the end of the story and the whole story itself will be fun to do, but I do think that the need to tell people that this film succeeds in pointing out the social aspects within the smallest part of society which is family. This family is dysfunctional and yet Rohan does not stop with his condition. It is also the story of hope, in a very weird way. Also, only few women are portrayed in this film. Perhaps this is a man's film that is meant to be watched by everyone, including women.
I do recommend people to watch this film. You might not see the famous, handsome Indian actors, but you will see another reality out there, a hard reality that is being brought through film.
The Second Failure
Yes, I am pretty sure that everyone in the film school knows already about my bad film.
Last year I made such a bad film even I do not want to see it again. It was a compilation of bad works from most departments, especially script. Oh, remembering that makes me want to laugh on myself. How could I produce and direct such kind of film last year?
This year, I returned and... made another bad film. I guess for some, it was even worse. Not from the picture-wise, but it is more to the directing wise. To be honest, this year's rough cut was even harder and rougher for me than last year. It gave such a big impact that I thought that directing might not be my expertise.
I realize that there are many aspects from my film that needed to be improved. Believability is the first thing. Then, story. Then, the direction. And so on and so forth, I bet there will be a lot of things that I am going to list here if I need to recheck on my film. What makes it harder for me is because I can pretty much say that this is my second (well, I actually think that this is my first) film and yet I made another fatal mistake.
On set, I had so much fun. I got to work with my Focus friends who are willing to help me sincerely without any complaints (at all, yes, at all), I have actors who are close to me, I have a still photographer who captured moments during my shoot, I have a senior who is also willing to help me sincerely as my DOP (who then came up with beautiful pictures that amazed the lecturers, thanks Mike). But turned out that the result was not as fun as the making itself, yes of course. I missed and messed up at a lot of spots. I realised that my story became way too offensive that it made me feel worse than last year.
I started to be ashamed of myself, but I want to give myself another chance. Next year, I am thinking of pitching myself as a producer. I realise that I am a pretty weak director, but I believe that I can pretty much manage things. I am an assistant producer this year and I have learned from both producer and director on how do they work. I spend more time with my producer helping to manage things, count the budget, know the expenses and so on. I guess I can use the knowledge that I have learned this year for next year's production.
Remembering what everyone told me that school is the time to make mistakes and learn, at least that can make me feel a bit better. I have another chance, this Sunday to be exact, to reshoot my film. I want to give myself a chance. I do not want to expect too much, but I want to be better. That is all I can say.
Failures. Everyone has failures and mistakes. The least I can be grateful of is that I did not make the same mistake like last year, and I hope that I can minimise my mistakes and make a better film next Sunday.
Last year I made such a bad film even I do not want to see it again. It was a compilation of bad works from most departments, especially script. Oh, remembering that makes me want to laugh on myself. How could I produce and direct such kind of film last year?
This year, I returned and... made another bad film. I guess for some, it was even worse. Not from the picture-wise, but it is more to the directing wise. To be honest, this year's rough cut was even harder and rougher for me than last year. It gave such a big impact that I thought that directing might not be my expertise.
I realize that there are many aspects from my film that needed to be improved. Believability is the first thing. Then, story. Then, the direction. And so on and so forth, I bet there will be a lot of things that I am going to list here if I need to recheck on my film. What makes it harder for me is because I can pretty much say that this is my second (well, I actually think that this is my first) film and yet I made another fatal mistake.
On set, I had so much fun. I got to work with my Focus friends who are willing to help me sincerely without any complaints (at all, yes, at all), I have actors who are close to me, I have a still photographer who captured moments during my shoot, I have a senior who is also willing to help me sincerely as my DOP (who then came up with beautiful pictures that amazed the lecturers, thanks Mike). But turned out that the result was not as fun as the making itself, yes of course. I missed and messed up at a lot of spots. I realised that my story became way too offensive that it made me feel worse than last year.
I started to be ashamed of myself, but I want to give myself another chance. Next year, I am thinking of pitching myself as a producer. I realise that I am a pretty weak director, but I believe that I can pretty much manage things. I am an assistant producer this year and I have learned from both producer and director on how do they work. I spend more time with my producer helping to manage things, count the budget, know the expenses and so on. I guess I can use the knowledge that I have learned this year for next year's production.
Remembering what everyone told me that school is the time to make mistakes and learn, at least that can make me feel a bit better. I have another chance, this Sunday to be exact, to reshoot my film. I want to give myself a chance. I do not want to expect too much, but I want to be better. That is all I can say.
Failures. Everyone has failures and mistakes. The least I can be grateful of is that I did not make the same mistake like last year, and I hope that I can minimise my mistakes and make a better film next Sunday.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)