filming is lokoing very good

yay!!!! most of ryan's filmings has been done and i tell you the photos you saw for the rehersal was NOTHING as compared to the final screen shots. you've got to watch to believe me. things are ahead of schedule. it came as a surprise. we are redoing certain scenes now, cos we have the time to. we are also now focusing on the piano playing and song. 

thing is the actress is not contatcing me and i need to choose another actor for the role of peter. this will be resolved soon. hopefully i can esolve this matter soon.

ryan screen shots

rehersal film stills

Treatment-like stuff about DM

Damien’s monologue is structured according to what we call the ‘Labyrinth concept’.

A labyrinth is a maze-like cavern he dwells in, away from the world, apart from reality. Where he makes his own logic and rules. In other words, it is a fantasy world he created for himself and Serene. However, the maze within this labyrinth concept also serves as a metaphor for the actual difficulties and barriers he has to confront and overcome in order to reach and connect with Serene in reality. The stalking scenes from Damien’s point of view are purposely filmed in the dark and are obstructed by pillars and structures to portray the idea of a maze and the existence of barriers in their ‘relationship’. They come in between him and Serene and he conceal himself comfortably in his comfort zone so that he can appreciate her from afar.

Later in the film the labyrinth was ruined by an intrusion of Peter, Serene’s new boyfriend. Light breaks through the labyrinth and suddenly the world he was accustomed to no longer is. He needed to step out of the comfort zone of his labyrinth to make progress with Serene, as the labyrinth he had built had already been intruded and ruined by the 3rd party, upon his discovery of Serene’s boyfriend while stalking her. In other words, he needs to come out of his shell in order to sustain his fantasy and dreams. This departure from the labyrinth is portrayed in the film by a brightening of scenes, where locations are less walled up. He wanders to places in the open, unrelentingly retaining his initial sensibilities but unknowingly makes him more vulnerable to the reality of things.

Damien Monologue is entirely filmed using a video camera, because the film is based on a Vlog (video blog) concept, where Damien interacts and controls the camera all by himself. He chooses to film what he wants to show, which portrays an exclusive narrow perspective of reality. This extends to his stalking scenes where a 1st person point of view is being adopted. The raw shooting technique that will be adopted creates a ‘live’ effect which helps to draw the audience into the experience, making them feel like they are going through the same pursuit as Damien. This creates a certain tenacity and tension that engages audiences, the same classic concept that is used in films like Blair witch project and Cloverfield, but in a love story context that is unique.

At the last scene there is a switch to the normal 3rd person perspective. This is because it would have reached a point where Damien’s monologue is dead and no longer relevant. There is no more perspective when Damien finally loses the video camera. Thematically it simply shows that the narrow cropping of ‘vlogging’ on the video camera is unable to contain what reality is and the audience sees the end the film with a holistic point of view.

Ryan plays the piano.

how?

Rehearsal

Here are some rehearsal shots taken of Ryan as Damien. 

A glimpse of how the final look will be like.

Damien’s Monologue in point form

(At all points of this film unless otherwise mentioned, Damien records his every move and thought with his hand-held videocam, like a private vlog/monologue/close-friend.)

• ·         Damien introduces himself and tells all he is in love with a girl from his poly, 2 years his senior.

  ·         Problem is the audience realises his love for her is not mutual and she does not even know he exists.

  ·         Damien also reveals his plan on approaching her and even singing a song to woo her on Valentines day.

  ·         Damien begins to express himself obsessively about Serene to his new vidcam.

  ·         Sometimes he talks to the bolster treating it like Serene, practicing for the real day in which he thinks he would finally meet her.

  ·         Damien proves to the camera his obsession. He unveils a secret stash of her photos to admire in his room and follows her movements under her block and other places where she frequents. She never notices.

  ·         One day, he realises Serene has got a special someone in her life.

  ·         He wages ‘war’ with her new boyfriend, thinking he is competition. He plans on outdoing him by approaching her and singing his song he wrote for her.

  ·         He tried to approach her on 2 occasions but never plucked up enough courage to even get near her.

  ·         On some accounts of his stalking, her boyfriend, Peter, catches glimpses of Daimen filming them but Damien always manages to run away before getting caught.

  ·         Damien gets very angry with himself, but gives himself another chance before valentines day.

  ·         He fails to approach her once more.

  ·         Late at night, on the first hour of valentines, almost dream like, he creeps outside Serene’s house to present himself to her.

  ·         He stops at the window of her bedroom and tries to touch her but he still couldn’t. She was too beautiful sleeping.

  ·         He lays down a stalk of rose beside her pillow and hums her song, like a lullaby.

  ·         Her hand phone rings and Damien was startled. She stirs and he withdraws. He runs as fast as he could and finally breaks down at a corner somewhere.

  ·         Suddenly he hears a shout. It was peter who also wanted to give her a surprise visit that very night.

  ·         Peter had caught sight of Damien and recognised him as the weird stalking videocam guy.

  ·         Peter beats Damien up there and snatches away the videocam and camera goes blank.

  (From this scene on, Damien is not filming. The film is now done in 3^rd person. Dolly shots/smooth movements now.)

  ·         Audience realises the entire clip they have watched is being watched by Peter on her laptop in her home the next morning.

  ·         Peter is shocked by his revelation that such a person exists.

  ·         Serene comes into the scene and asks what he was watching. Peter acts blur and changes the subject, not wanting Serene to know about Damien’s video about her.

  ·         Serene indifferently walks away into her room and never even got to know that he even existed.

  ·         Before scene closes for credits, Serene goes back into her room to choose her dress for her valentines date with Peter. She notices the rose on her bed. Curious but happy, she smells it and puts it into her handbag and leaves the room.

  ·         Credits…

  ·         *Special after credits add-on: An empty bedroom where Serene had left it as is shown once more. Suddenly Damien rises from outside the window, head bleeding from peter’s battery. Looking straight into the vidcam and then at the rose where it had been. He then just walks away mysteriously…

  ·         The End

rhekki 3- multistorey carpark

beside the no. 15 sign. that's where Serene's car finally parks itself and view where Damien would take a video from. It will not be so dark one la. we tried videoing. this photo is from the videocamera we used btw. 

here where you see kaywee strutting about randomly, it is where Serene's car would ride up the slope to park at the no. 15 sign in photo ABOVE. Damien will be crouching at the corner in the picture BELOW.

here is where damien crouches and talks to the camera. he will peep through the metal grilles below the yellow sign and watch Serene from afar...

this entire stretch is Damien's space to walk along to film Serene walking from the carpark area above.

this is where Damien would hide and run for cover when peter sees him. 

here's another space he could hide and feel that it is same to monologue again.

we have tried videoing ourselves as actors and it was fun and very productive yup.

storyboards

when we were doing the storyboarding with a wacom on the computer, these drawings were produced and i felt were really funny. 

though the storyboard is one of the many things i can't put on this blog, cos of it's privacy of the final plot of damien's monologue, i shall only put this one scene which is supposed to show damien playing the piano for an object that is supposed to be serene. 

both show the same scene:

this one is drawn by me (melvin)

...and this one is drawn by kaywee

this really cracks me up! :-D

what the hell is this picture supposed to mean?!?!?

rhekki 2-serene's void-deck

this is block 310, an 8 minute walk from chinese garden...

this will be the lifts she will come out from. Damien will hide behind the wall that is beside the green dustbin bottom left.

this is how the view is like when damien crouches low. serene will be walking slowly into the lift landing. damien will shoot her every move above the green bin and through the mouth of the bin as well.

a set of chairs if i walk 10 steps front. a possible place damien can reside before serene appears or after.

Our videocam we are using

Hi all. for your information, this is the specifics and facts about the amazing camcorder Damien will be using for the entire film. if you think it is just some cheapo piece of metal, think again. introducing to you the Sony HDR-SR10. (price: US$900. go convert to SD yourself.)

HDR-SR10

Damien's Videocam

Here are some facts to consider...

The HDR-SR10 Handycam® camcorder delivers everything you need to shoot stunning Full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution video and 4 megapixel still images. With Hybrid recording technology, you can record to either an internal 40GB hard disk drive or removable Memory Stick Duo™ or Memory Stick PRO Duo™ media. A professional-quality Carl Zeiss® Vario-Sonnar® T* lens and ClearVid™ CMOS sensor (with Exmor™ technology) and BIONZ™ image processor let you capture every detail in video and still images. Additionally, Face Detection technology helps everyone put their best face forward, while the Super SteadyShot® optical image stabilization system helps ensure images remain sharp and true.

Note: Most camcorders will not fit in ACC-FH50A case when the large (NP-FH100) battery is attached to camcorder.

1920x1080 Recording
Record stunning, incredibly detailed video footage in the clarity of 1920 x 1080 Full HD resolution.

Face Detection for Video Footage and Digital Still Photos
Made possible by the BIONZ™ image processing engine, Face Detection technology recognizes up to 8 faces anywhere in the frame and automatically controls focus, exposure, and color to help capture smiling faces brightly and clearly. Face Detection also helps make skin tones look natural without affecting other colors in the image.

2.3 Megapixel ClearVid™ CMOS Sensor (with Exmor™ Technology) and BIONZ™ Image Processor
Sony’s newly designed CMOS image sensor with delivers bright, vivid, and spectacularly detailed 2.3 megapixel (effective) video footage, as well as 4 megapixel still images -- all with prolonged battery life. Exmor™ technology captures images with high resolution and high sensitivity. In addition, the advanced Sony BIONZ™ image processor improves camera response time and screens out noise so the signal from each pixel is as pure as possible.

BIONZ™ Image Processor
The advanced Sony BIONZ™ Image Processor uses hardware-based Large Scale Integrated (LSI) circuitry that improves camera response time, screens out noise before RAW data conversion, handles Dynamic Range Optimization processing, and prolongs battery life.

Exmor™ Imaging Sensor
Exmor™ technology captures video and still photo images with high resolution, high sensitivity, and exceptional detail. Advanced on-sensor A/D conversion yields rich tonal reproduction with high signal-to-noise ratio.

Dual Record
While recording video in High Definition you have the ability to capture still images directly to Memory Stick Duo™ media (sold separately).

15X Optical / 180X Digital Zoom
The optical zoom helps to bring the action close up from far away. In addition, Digital Zoom Interpolation means that extreme digital zooming is clearer, with less distortion than previous types of digital zoom.

2.7" Wide1 (16:9) Hybrid Touch Panel Clear Photo LCD Plus™ Display (211K Pixels)
The 2.7" Wide1 (16:9) LCD screen provides exceptional viewing clarity with improved resolution (211K pixels). The display rotates up to 270 degrees for multiple viewing angles, as well as provides sharp, detailed images for monitoring or playback. The widescreen format makes shooting in 16:9 mode and composing shots even easier.

Built-in zoom microphone with 5.1ch recording
Featuring Dolby® Ditigal 5.1 Creator, the built-in zoom microphone focuses audio recording on your subjects in sync with the camera’s zoom lens, helping memories ring true with clear dialogue and crisp, discrete sounds.

Dolby® Digital 5.1ch Recording
Record in Dolby Digital 5.1ch surround sound with the camcorder’s built-in microphone. Recording in 5.1 channel surround sound allows you to experience your home movies with active sounds coming from all directions, so you can enjoy your personal home movies the way you experienced them while recording.

Dynamic Range Optimizer
Powered by the exclusive Sony’s BIONZ™ high-speed processing engine, D-Range Optimization preserves image data in bright highlights, such as suppressing “whiteout” in skies. When shooting in backlit settings, D-Range Optimization reveals more detail in shadows, preventing “blackout.” As a result, the captured image appears as natural as the original scene.

Tele Macro Function
Images shot in the Tele Macro Mode help your subject stand out by properly focusing the subject while leaving the background unfocussed. The Tele Macro Mode is useful for shooting close-up shots, especially when you need to prevent the camcorder from casting a shadow on the subject.

Switchable HD/SD Format Recording
Record and play back both High Definition (HD)4 and Standard Definition (SD) video.

Professional Quality Carl Zeiss® Vario-Sonnar® T Lens
Carl Zeiss® Vario-Sonnar® T lenses use highly advanced optics to deliver vivid image brilliance, true-to-life color saturation, and perfect renditions of subtle tones. The additional T coating further reduces unwanted glare and flare for increased contrast and color.

Active Interface Shoe
Sony’s proprietary hot shoe makes it easy to use Intelligent Accessories, such as external lights and microphones, by providing power and on/off capability directly from the camcorder.

USB 2.0 Interface6
The USB 2.0 interface6 provides an easy way to connect your camcorder to a PC for fast transfer of video and still images for editing.

Stamina® Battery Power Management System
When using the Sony InfoLITHIUM® Battery, the Stamina® Battery Power Management System helps the camcorder prolong battery life for extra long continuous recording times from a single charge.

Battery Information
At the touch of a button, battery information is displayed on the LCD screen when charging and when the camcorder is turned off. When using the LCD screen or viewfinder, the display will show how much the battery is charged -- in 10% increments -- and the recordable time left.

Song

Ok the final edit for the song, together with tune and stuff is done. here is the official lyrics for it. Very nice and beautifully written, thanks to the talent of Timothy Wan. Enjoy humming the song to yourself. Although you might not know the tune, STILL... "it's the greatest and best song in the world!" -Damien.

Serene by Timothy Wan

Serene, your face and your lips and your eyes,
They fill my mind all day and every time.
Dreams, they’re just another part of my life,
Where I, can be right there next to your side.

You were the one, the face in my mind, every night,
A breath of fresh air, you made everything turn out right.
Serene, I need to tell you just how I feel,
No one else would ever make me feel the way I do.

(Chorus)
I picture you, next to me, happy as ever can be.
Though I know in my heart, we are like worlds set apart.
Serene, you are my all, I want to make the story of ‘us’,
Give me a hint, show me a sign, that you could be mine.

otot!

today is another meeting. it's between Ryan Chow (damien) and the producers.

the script has been discussed once more and a final edit is being consolidated right now. the latest the completed script should be done would be by this friday. Ryan had undergone a rehearsal and has shown promise beyond expectations. However there is still the need for rehearsals for certain emotions he is not as good at. We realised the filming for ryan can be done OTOT because he is most free and has the most scenes to clear. Hopefully by november, we only have to film the scenes left which would require Serene and Peter. 

honestly i feel that the film is a very unique one and the characters and plot devlopment is very captivating in many areas. i do hope people have the trust in us that we do know our stuff and that this film can and will be a success. thanks be to all who has lent a hand so far.