JB Log 1

Yesterday I got a suprising request from a friend to update my blog. I don't have any friends, & most of them don't read my blog (when bloggers say that, it's a small hint of request for readers to leave comments. I'm sincere however, but that goes to show that I'm just talking to myself now. Tragic....). But anyway, I wanted to write about my videography expeditions in JB anyway. In fact, Joseph & I have been messing around with the idea of starting a personal vlog on our life here. We still can't agree on a name, so don't know if that will ever become reality.

So anyway, Joseph & I landed a videography job in JB. Yes, our namecards do say "VIDEOGRAPHER". Our task is to produce videos on the happenings in the Iskandar Development Region, South Johor. Basically, we're vloggers lah. Paid ones. The website that bears our mark is www.iskandar.com.my. That would give you an idea on what we do here.

It's been about 3 weeks now, & everything is starting to fall into place. Not very nicely, but we'll play the cards we're dealt with (Joseph's quote) & produce the best videos for our company. The first thing that was provided for us is an apartment in Danga View Apartments. It's a very nice 3-room apartment, but Joseph is everyday awaken to the sound of Muslim prayers. It has microwave, washing machine...

But just as we were about to get comfortable with 2 of us OWNING the whole apartment, our boss asks us to move in with 4 other people. Worst part is that we have to share 1 room!! How crappy is that?! From a big apartment to sharing a room? We're going to sleep, eat, & do work in that small rectangle!! GOSH!! How sucky is that?

There's a lifeline though. The original plan was to provide us with an apartment cum office in Danga Walk (office lots). And that can only be realised if we manage to get more people to work together with us. So, if you do anybody who lives in JB, loves to be on & off camera, has a great personality & enjoys working in a team, let me know at joashchan@gmail.com.

I'm actually blogging in the car, parked outside Festive Street Mall, using their free WIFI (ya, we still don't have internet connection - sad right?). And we're hungry, so I think I'll just leave the rest for another time. Come back soon.

Joash The Freelance Videographer (Updated)

Cassie & I have been very honoured to have been chosen to create a series of videologs highlighting the development of the state of Johor. We've been here since Friday & we have been on the roll ever since we arrived. And so far my job as a videographer has been a wild & amazing journey. The luxury of being on a cruise, the rush of sitting on a speedboat, the coolness of attending a press conference & rubbing shoulders with the likes of RTM & Berita Harian, the delicious free food... Our organisers have been great in providing us an awesome experience of JB and its development. Cassie has been great not only in front of the camera, but in planning & managing our work here. It's our first time working together & so far everything has been good.


In spite of all the good stuff, I must say that it has also been a bittersweet experience for me. Being away from my family & May to be on my first field job has not been easy. I miss them terribly. There were some 'firsts moments' in my life here that I didn't get to share or experience with them, especially May, & that really breaks my heart. I wish I can bring my loved ones, pack them in a luggage bag & take them wherever I go.


Tomorrow will be our final day of shooting (for the initial phase of the project). And if everything goes well I can be back home (KL) before midnight. I'll write more extensively on my fieldtrip in JB, but here are some nice pictures for you...

Taking a break at Festive Street Mall, Danga Bay.

The cruise

Cassie Lee

Amazing meal at Anna's kitchen

Sunset by the Bay...

Documentary - Johor Flood

From left: Flood victim(we never got her name), Jason, Samuel

After 2 weeks of uploading with Google Video Uploader, I can finally show the world my little documentary on the recent Johor floodings. Footage were taken in Batu Pahat, Johor, on January 26, 2007. This is way overdue, of course. But recently the government has been talking about measures taken in preparation for yet another possible series of floods, and the problem with that is that after an entire year, we still don't have (or have not heard of) a long term solution in PREVENTING such disasters from happening again.

There are still problems with embeded google videos, so here's the link to my little documentary. I hope that in this time, it will serve as a reminder to all Malaysians.

2nd Prize

On the way to Menara Star this morning, I keep trying to imagine myself letting out a shout of victory, but I just couldn't. Neither could I imagine myself out of the top 3 placings. For the past 2 weeks I've been getting mix reviews from friends, mostly positive ones. Even so, one can't help but to think about the mistakes we made - we should have done more research & planning before the contest; we shouldn't have wasted almost 2 hours in Rawang; I should have used Adobe Premier Pro for sound mixing; boy we should have had time for Penang food...



It was really nerve-wrecking to wait for the results with May & Freddi. The MC was counting down from 10th place & we kept saying "don't call our name, please don't call our name". Good thing we were told beforehand that we were in the top 5, haha!! But in the end, we were beaten by a worthy opponent, & the results were fair. It's a bittersweet feeling, though, knowing that there was a 50% chance we would get first prize and RM2000 more.



Well, all in all, I'm grateful for the outcome of my first attempt in a video competition and my first taste of fame. Knowing that I could have done so much better with the video, I have confidence moving forward.

A big THANKS to all those who voted for us.

Vote For Freddi & Co.

In case you don't already know, I've entered a competition with my excolleague, Freddi, and May. Well, initially it was just about trying our luck. Amazingly enough, we were chosen as one of the ten finalists, and wow, we need votes to win it. So go to this website and vote for us, Freddi & Co. Thanks guys.

To view our first submission, click here.

My Picture on The Star

It's not much, but it's ok. Click here to find out why.

YATTA!!

We've made it as one of the 10 finalists of the Star Drive For Food competition.

Freddi, May and myself attended the briefing last Saturday, and we had the chance to meet our rivals. The organisers also showed the videos of the 10 finalists (except ours, don't know why) and boy oh boy, the competition is going to be extremely tough. Maybe that's why I'm not as excited as my friends are for me. Doing a travelogue has always been my desire, and I really felt I could impress The Star with the 2nd phase of the competition. But it didn't turn out the way I expected it to be.

The task is this: showcase the nice places to visit & food to eat along the route from KL to Penang, and do it all in a 3-minute video. 3 MINUTES?!! That is going to be tough. Another tough part would be that we don't know when we are to submit our final video. Organisers are keeping it a surprise. But they are asking that we bring laptops to edit our videos in Penang, so I'm guessing that we'll have to get it done by the following day.

1 thing I like about the competition is that we have about 8 - 10 hours to travel from KL and Penang, thus having much time to explore the countrysides. So friends, if you know of a really nice place with beautiful scenes & tasty food along the KL-Penang route, please let me know. And when I meet tasty food, I don't mean FAMOUS FOOD. I mean TASTY FOOD. REALLY REALLY GOOD FOOD. It would be nice if you used to live there before or something... Email me at joashchan@gmail.com or leave a comment here.

I thank you so much for your help. Wish us luck.

Oh, by the way, our team is called Freddi & Co., named after my ex-colleague.

Star Drive For Food Contest

This is the joint effort of me & my ex-colleague, Freddi. Wish us luck...

Flight of the Conchords

I discovered Flight Of The Conchords after watching this performance on the David Letterman show. To fully appreciate their efforts, you have to listen closely to their lyrics. Trust me, this one is worth your time. They now have their own tv show with HBO, but I strongly recommend that you watch their live performances.

Day 6 Part 3 Bloopers

I don't know who has been waiting for this one, but I'm really glad that I was finally able to finish day 6 bloopers & upload it with Google Video Uploader, which really rocks (will talk about that later).

This particular blooper isn't all that funny. It was a long day, so no one was really in the mood to laugh at mistakes. Probably what you'll see more in this content is to understand a bit on how we made the movie. Many things were spontaneous, and really fun, of course.

It seems that there's still something wrong with the google embeded videos, so you'll just have to go to this video link here. Cheers.

I MISSED IT!! NO!!!

ARGHHHH!! I just can't believe it. How could I have missed this?!

"The goal is to post a video every day of the week. If you want an extra challenge, pick a theme, limit yourself, or make a different style"

- Videobloggingweek2007.

I blame it on my lousy, virus-infected, 7-year-old laptop. Make no mistake, I intend to do it. When I get a new laptop or when my house gets that internet connection, whichever comes first. It might be late, but I'll do it anyway. It'll be called joashvideobloggingweek2007. How's that?

Camera Trouble

Lately I've been having difficulty uploading my video recordings onto my PC. I don't really know what's wrong. It could be the firewire, the capture card, or even the video camera itself...

Saturday night I decided that it was probably right to reformat the PC, considering that I still have that Trojan virus in there (I don't know how to get rid of it!!). A family were our guests that night & stayed in my house, so my PC has been in the living room ever since. It's quite a nice arrangement actually. Now while working late, I can also enjoy watching footbal on Astro...

Reformatting was completed, but still I couldn't upload my videos. I was ready to depart with my video camera for about a month, should it require repairs. It's quite sad, but already I have a lot of raw clips that are left undone. So perhaps it was reminder to stop recording anything until I've managed to clear everything that I've committed to do (currently I have 2 documentaries to complete).

So the next step was to find that darn warranty card... Took me 2 days. May was so convinced that I was keeping it, while I find it highly unlikely that she would let me keep something so important. I mean, she even keeps my KFC voucher... but she was right this time. I found it in a drawer of a table that was once mine, now used by my dad. I was overjoyed.

In the midst of trying to upload the videos, I discovered 2 things (i'm such an idiot!!). 1, is that I can directly recording video into my PC. Ok I knew such technology exist, but I never tried doing it myself. Anyway, this opens up a lot of opportunities for me!! Now I don't have to waste tape while recording stuff in my room. And I believe I'll also be able to record PICTIONARY sessions!! YES!!

Another discovery was that I didn't have to use firewire to upload my videos - a mindset which was passed down to me by the dude who taught it all to me. I was just trying out the USB and it actually works!! I suspect the video quality might be lesser, but it'll do for now lah.

Now the other thing is to get that new laptop, so that I can upload my videos online... That's a whole different situation.