Story from the lovely “People Watch”!

All right.I think it’s a pretty difficult task to create a story about 2 persons who have never seen each other in their lives before.And the difference in characters definitely makes it even more difficult to create a lovely story about how they are going to meet and how they are going to be in a conflict.This just came to my mind and I just wrote about it!I don’t know whether it’s cliche or not.But I’ve tried my best!I think it’s a pretty good example to show people in conflict.Oh,one of which is from Aloy’s video and the other is from Fat’s video.So there!

“Wow, that guy is hot.” Candy thinks to herself.

“Bloody hell, why is Jenny taking such a long time to reach. She promised to be punctual and yet I’m still the one waiting for her as usual. What a nice best friend of mine.” Candy continues thinking to herself.

“Not bad! There’s hot guys around in Dhoby Ghaut.”

Meanwhile, Jenny is looking around for Candy in Ngee Ann Poly Canteen One. While waiting, she takes out a book to read so as not to get bored. Jenny has been waiting for Candy for half an hour. She looks around, distracted by the movements all around in Canteen One, thinking that one of those people walking close to her might be Candy.

“That’s it! I am punctual for the first time in my life and yet she is late. What is she trying to do? Payback time?” Jenny thinks to herself while looking down at the book. Well, she is not actually reading the book. She is definitely distracted by Candy’s punctuality.

Candy continues peeping at the guys walking past her in Dhoby Ghaut.

“Too fat. Not my type.”

After another 10 minutes, Candy decides to call Jenny up.

“Hello BEST FRIEND. Where are you right now? I have been waiting for you in Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station for ages. I thought someone said that she will not be late this time round.” Candy says to Jenny on the phone.

“WHAT! I thought you said that we are going to meet in school. And there you are, happily waiting for me in Dhoby Ghaut. Is this some kind of miscommunication?” Jenny says.

“Umm. I think you are the one who got it wrong. We are supposed to meet in Dhoby Ghaut. Well, it’s okay then. Let’s meet at the city area instead.” Candy says impatiently.

“Alright. See you.” Jenny says. She didn’t know what else to say since everything that she does isn’t right. She is always late. This time round, she is punctual but she gets the location wrong. She has apologised many times before. But she knows that this does not help in improving their friendship.

They finally meet up 30 minutes later, but with nothing to talk about.They just roam the streets silently.

 

the fourth.

Let me talk about this movie by Roystan Tan that I watched with Jeri on the train.It’s called 15.It’s about this group of ahbengs in Singapore not believing in love,but instead friendship.Well,they might appear rough on the outside(the tattoos,smoking),but actually they are quite emotional.If we don’t disturb them,they won’t disturb us.Haha.I’m not saying I’m against people who smoke.I do have this temptation to smoke.But I fought peer influence.And I don’t wanna die from asthma attacks.Haha!For people who smoke,I think it’s better to cut down.I have this friend who is only 17 but he’s suffering from emphysema.Life’s too short,so we should not make it shorter.Haha.Back to the movie.Well,I’ve only watched the first half of the movie.It’s funny because of their facial expressions and the Hokkien songs that they sing.And it’s gross because they watch pornography and get tattoos and piercings live.It’s also gross because of this scene where this ahbeng cuts himself using the penknife.It looks so real.But I think it’s real.Roystan Tan is so sadistic!Oh,I almost forgot.I watched the uncut version of 15,not the cut version.I heard from my friend that the cut version is only 15 min.Whereas!The uncut version is 1 1/2 hours.Shiok!Well,this guy committed suicide in the first part.Quite sad.I think he committed suicide because he think he’s a failure in this world and his mother doesn’t want him to be home.What a way to end a conflict like this.Imagine,his relationship with his mum will only be better if he passed his mathematics.If he doesn’t,his mum wouldn’t acknowledge him.If it’s me,I will prove my mother wrong and do better instead to make her feel proud of me.There is this scene whereby 3 guys prayed to some unknown God that they believe She existed.Yes,it’s a She.They prayed to pass Mathematics in school.It’s funny.I think that when it comes to things like that,we should believe in God but also study hard to get good grades.It’s no point believing in God only at this crucial moment.I think it’s a movie that is worth watching.I don’t like to watch these kind of gore but this is a movie that teaches us many lessons in life.It clearly shows how a person change as he or she reaches the teens period.However,the change in a person could be caused by his or her own family members.For example,in this certain scene,this guy is reprimanded by his dad for not going to school.The sentences that came out from his dad’s mouth were full of vulgarities.We can thus presume that this bad influence affected the guy deeply as he starts to follow his dad’s footsteps by cursing unnecessarily.

Besides 15,I’ve watched this Iraq video that our COM ISSUES lecturer played in class.It’s super touching and disappointing.Saddam Hussein sucks!I forgot his son’s name but he sucks big time too.”Like father,like son.”Well,I just can’t stand rulers who torture their own people.You don’t have to chop off a person’s hand for stealing.I think those people are innocent and yet they are dying for nothing.My mum believes that Saddam Hussein and his son will be dogs in their next lives.Haha!But I think otherwise.Because dogs are cute and they are Man’s best friends!I’d rather they be cockroaches in their next lives.Pests!Well,I was pretty grossed out when it comes to scenes where innocent people were killed viciously.I pity the family members left behind.God bless Iraq.In this video,the attitude towards the Americans changed gradually.Well,their attitudes towards the Americans changed only when they helped the Iraqis out by building schools for children and to fight for democracy.The Iraqis could not accept democracy in the beginning,when Saddam was still ruling them.However,after they were free from the vicious ruling,they started to believe in democracy.My opinion is,I don’t think that they will get what they want in the near future.Well,simply because some of them still do not support democracy.And we can say that their government is still pretty corrupted.Let’s say they could get democracy.I think another riot might occur amongst the citizens.You know,some still support Saddam.Potential terrorists.

How can we call these people Islamic terrorists when they weren’t following the Islamic laws?I guess it’s all due to stereotyping.

We did this character test during IAC.I’m a E something something something.Can’t remember.I’m suffering from STM nowadays.Sorry.But,according to Mr Tan,I can be a prime minister in future!Haha,how great can that be.But,honestly,I’d rather not be a prime minister.Haha,I don’t want to lead a boring life.Life’s about having fun.I don’t want to dash my dreams on traveling around the world.Not in 80 days though.But,again,I think it will be pretty nice to be the first female prime minister.Haha!

And yes!Aristotle.I’ve heard about him in the past but I didn’t really find out who he was until the last storytelling lesson.I think there are some many criteria that we have to take note of when we want to write something tragic.It’s so confusing!Oh,and about the video “Terminal Bar”.Haha,I have to admit that I don’t really understand what it was trying to tell us.I think it’s telling us about all the tragedies that the people who visited the bar faced.But,once again,I’m not too sure because I don’t like the voice of the narrator.I couldn’t make out what he was trying to say.Sorry!

 

the third

Hello everybody.This will not be a summary of what we learnt in Storytelling lessons because I did not attend lessons last week!Well,I guess it’s the lack of sleep due to the podcast.But I’ve done it already,so I’m pretty relieved now even though tomorrow’s the presentation.Hope I do receive good comments.Even if it’s not good,it’s okay.Because it’s pretty much the first time I’m doing a podcast all by myself.Haha.I realised how hard it is to produce a podcast.All the voice recordings and stuff.I spent almost 2 hours recording my damn voice.I know my voice ain’t nice,but please bear with it.

Alright.It has been a pretty disappointing week for me.I found out that my good friend’s parents are getting a divorce.Well,common at this age.It’s not the first time I heard my friends talking about their parents getting a divorce.Just that sometimes I really don’t get what those adults out there are thinking.And I think it’s better that we don’t.SO COMPLICATING.No wonder adults always say,”Don’t butt in when adults are talking.You’re just a kid.”Well,it’s supposed to be a Chinese phrase.But it’s just an English version of it.Guess it’s the same way.I think for some teens,it just gets a bit more demoralising for them in lives.

I have friends whose parents got divorced way before they enter primary schools.And for most of them,they feel that their lives are different from us.Like,in a way,they feel that their lives are incomplete.But they do get something in common as compared to us.Well,comparison sounds a bit too mean.The ‘common’ thing is naggings from parents.Haha!Naggings are like creating a huge lump of earwax in our ears.Probably,to adults,naggings are what shape our characters?For the less fortunate,divorced families face some financial problems and the mother tends to get a little too sensitive when it comes to the money problem.That’s one thing that one of my best friends is  experiencing.In a way,I feel pretty helpless when they confide me in this kinda things.I don’t experience that and it’s pretty hard for me to console them.All I can do is to say things to make them feel happier.Some of them just joked,”Ha!I don’t have a dad since young.”

Another thing that my good friend currently faces is the choice to ‘follow’ either one of the parents.You know,custody.She told me about the treatment from both her parents now.It’s a bit too good a treatment. I mean it’s a bit too late to do this kinda things.Look at us.We are 17.We know what the hell they are up to.Parents are silly.If they can’t stand living together under one roof,don’t even try to make an eternity vow.

There was this time when I experienced something close to this.My parents argued crazily and they discussed about getting a divorce.The argument between was so intense that my retarded brother got scared and locked himself in his room and cried.Well,as the eldest sibling in the family,I tried to butt in,but to no avail.I had the most terrible nights,uncertain of what to do,wetting my pillow at the same time.My parents didn’t talk for quite a long period of time.But eventually my dad gave in.They didn’t get a divorce.Nonsensical parents.So,now!Whenever they argue,I know that they will be okay.That’s why I don’t bother so much now.I will just tell them to shut up whenever they are going to start another argument.My point is,I think some parents should just be more concerned of their children’s well being instead of being obsessed in divorces.

All right.Can’t stand it men!It’s such a demoralising post.So I shall end here.No more demoralising posts!

 

Reflections for Storytelling Tutorial 2

Never did I expect that the production of a movie could be quite a chore, even with the right knowledge of movie productions and technical skills. It was only through Storytelling Tutorial 2 that I know that a conflict is essential in screenplay. Call me ignorant, whatever. You know, we do learn new things every day. If we don’t, we won’t be doing what we are doing now. If I don’t learn new things every day, I might be taking over Mr Ryan to teach storytelling now. JUST KIDDING. All right, my point is that it is definitely wonderful to learn new things while being in this process of hectic life I should call it.

At first, I was stumbled upon this sentence in the notes that Mr Ryan ran through with us. “Conflict is the central feature of a screenplay.” I was thinking, “What? Does it mean that every movie that we watch must include a fighting scene? That’s so Jacky Chan!” Okay, I know I’m confusing myself. Haha. SO! Conflict means change in this case. I think I’m a bit deprived of movies I guess. If not, probably, I will notice that every screenplay has a conflict in it.

So, we watched two short films. I admit I can’t really remember the directors of these 2 short films. But, let me try without referring to my fellow classmates’ wordpress. I think one of them is called Sun Yang? Not sure. But I’m quite certain that one of them is Sun-something. All right, but that’s not the point I guess. I really like the 2 short films that were shown to us, especially “The Call Home”. I think that it’s very realistic. It’s something that we do not normally see with our naked eyes. Our perceptions on Banglahs were so wrong. I have to confess that I always think that Banglahs are smelly and pervertic. Okay, come on. Is that only my perception? I think everyone thinks so too. I should say that I think this bunch of people is definitely committed to things that they do. They are responsible for their family. At least they take the effort to work so hard in Singapore to send money over to their families without getting them worried. Do you think that they really want to come all the way to Singapore to work? From that short film, we can say that they are pretty reluctant to work in Singapore. Well, I just think that we should respect them more. Where will all the buildings be without them? I think we could call this foreign talent? Just my personal opinion. No offence. We should make friends with them! This Banglah thing just reminds me of Socpsyc.

I’ve watched the other short film before when I was in secondary school. Well, I have not much comment for that. I just think that it’s so true that parents love to force their children to do things that they do not like to do, especially in Singapore eh, Mr Ryan? HAHA.

You know, I’m doing my podcast right now and I’m so pissed off. Oh, and did you guys watch the cancer charity show? There’s Roystan Tan. Haha. I think he looks nicer in photos than on televisions. Maybe that’s why he’s a director! Probably, ten years down the road, we will all be Roystan Tans! Sorry, the short films just reminded me of Roystan Tan. Not a big fan of him actually.

I’m liking storytelling!

 

Notes for Tutorial 2

The role of conflict
- conflict is the central feature of the screenplay
• man against man
• man against environment
• man against self
- it’s variations of sex, age, religion and culture which provide variety to the conflict

Conflict=Change
- change is common to everyone
- change is universal
- bodies change eg. hulk, spiderman
- seasons change eg. the day after tomorrow
- lives change eg. batman
- relationships change eg. genres: romantic comedy, war shows
- feelings change eg. brokeback mountain
- locations change eg. james bond
- technologies change eg. transformers, terminator

- as universal as change may be, people often resist it for fear of the unknown (eg. fear of death)
- people must learn to cope with change if they want to survive
- the action in drama depends on conflict
(you cannot create a drama if you don’t create a conflict./ plot cannot be constructed without conflict)

Conflict
- definition
- oppositions of persons or forces
(internal conflict: not visual/not shown)-often use voice-over
- it is the interaction of opposing ideas, interests, or wills, and creates the plot
- as your characters attempt to reach their goals, they come into conflict with each other (both parties must be of the same size/strength, more anticipation)
- the end of the story nears when the protagonist and antagonise approach their goals and the conflict rises to generate maximum suspense and excitement

 

Continued from openers

Sarah clinches her fists while taking 3 huge steps to bravely enter the room of doom. She has never passed her examinations ever since the day that she got involved with the most suspicious guy, Mark, in her high school. Sarah is not exactly a girl with bizarre character, but she thinks that it will be nice being able to unravel the thoughts behind this suspicious good-looking guy who never fails to let anyone know the reasons behind all his actions. What baffles Sarah the most is Mark’s acceptance of this relationship.

Sarah is intelligent. She is known for being the hardest target to outwit in any aspects. Well, she is not exactly famous purely due to this reason. Sarah is gorgeous. She has the most beautiful eyes that every girl will die for. Along with her well-maintained figure and long brown silky hair, she is the most perfect girl in her high school. However, there is only one person that can ever outwit her. Mark. Mark is not as intelligent as Sarah. However, his actions just cause Sarah to be distracted from her studies. Mark is always getting into troubles. Instead of burying her head into all the mathematic formulas and science definitions, Sarah unfortunately is always willing to get him out of his troubles even though Mark didn’t ask her to. As long as their relationship lasts, Sarah will not be able to maintain her straight As in the report card.

There she is, dragging her feet into the principal’s office. She has received a warning letter telling her about her poor attendance and results in school. The principal never fails to give up hope on Sarah. She thinks that Sarah’s intelligence will definitely benefit the school. As Sarah is in principal office dealing with her schoolwork with the principal, Mark is planning something else in his mind. Sarah has lost her straight As. Now, she has to lose something else. Another greatest asset of hers.

 

Storytelling Tutorial 1-Reflections

Alright,firstly,I have to admit that I am a total noob in using wordpress or any other blogger sites.But,somehow,I will explore all the functions of wordpress when I feel like it.Haha.And,dearest classmates,if I start annoying you with questions about what assignments or what not that we have to do,forgive me alright.It’s not that I don’t listen to class.I’m just quite forgetful sometimes.Thanks.

Right.Starting off with my impression of storytelling.I knew that we are going to take this module called “Storytelling” way before I went for the JPSAE interview.Haha.You know,always find out what you are going to do before you make a choice.So,I thought that Storytelling will be something like morning digests that I had to do when I was in secondary school.What is morning digests?It is something like oral.In my secondary school,every Secondary 4 students must pair up with each other in the class and come up with an interesting speech to present right in front of the whole school after morning assembly everyday.Well,the school’s purpose was to build up confidence when speaking in public.It definitely works because it helps a lot for the English O level Oral examination.I swear when I saw the word “Storytelling”,I thought we have to come up with a different topic every week and present it to everyone in the class.However,I come to realise in semester 1 that “Storytelling” is nothing like an oral speech because that has somewhat nothing to do with the course that we all are taking right now.In the first tutorial,I then learn that “Storytelling” is actually somewhat similar to scriptwriting.Like,in films,there must be a story in order to attract the audience.

Enough of my definition of “Storytelling”.Back to class.So,we all played the introduction games.I shan’t elaborate since most of the classmates have already blogged about it.But,I must emphasise that these games definitely work because it helps to break some kind of ice between each and every one of us.At least we don’t feel too weird or shy mixing around with our present classmates.Thanks Mr Ryan.Haha.

So,in lesson last week,we were taught about the proper writing format for storytelling.I think it was pretty difficult for a start because we all have to start writing as a third person.And of course,not forgetting that we must start to adopt the usage of proper tense for storytelling.It was nothing like composition because we can’t use past tense or written voice.I just don’t feel used to it yet.But it’s okay because I will grow to love present tense.OH!I’m glad that we do not have to do anymore citations and referencing for this module.That’s something that we should feel happy about.I thought about posting the story that we wrote in class last week here.But,I think I shouldn’t do that because my story is as nonsensical as Nonsensical Nat.

I thought it will be a different experience to post our assignments in blogs.But,frankly speaking,I won’t like the idea if everyone starts writing about the same thing.And I definitely won’t like it if someone just compile the ideas together to create their own post.I’m not saying that there will be someone who will do this in T1B2 alright!I’m just saying out my thoughts.Haha.I know there’s a lot of writings for this modules.But,well,no harm since I like writing and there’s no citations!