Today is the last day of my Monash undergraduate life (God willing). Well, I do have exams starting next week, but classes are over. Well, maybe in a few week's time I'll tell stories of my studies here, but today I have other stuff to blog about.
Apart from being my last day of classes, today also marked the day that I leave the Multimedia Lab (a.k.a. Cheesy Studios).
The multimedia lab is basically a small place with the most advanced technology in Monash (media wise), where films are produced, web sites are browsed, assignments are done and downloads are allowed.
I know I sound like an absolute nerd, but this lab which was set up about a year and a half ago has been my office, my rest-house, my study, my diner, and my merajuk-box. Must say thanks to my lecturer who trusted me enough with the keys to this room. I know there were times when it was not well taken care of (most of the time actually), but still I appreciate it.
This is the sound recording section of the lab. Sze Ning posted up the "Cheesy" sign early this year to you know, make our mark lah. We've never fully utilized the sound recording equipment till a few months back, when Natalie conducted interviews with the equipment. About a month back, the score for Fikri's film,
Goldfish, was recorded mostly in this studio.
This is the recording room where for most of the time since its creation has been used for gossip and private conversation (since it has two doors and is 98% soundproof). The floodlights in the picture are recent aqquisitions, and was dumped there for storage, since there's space. (Space is a very scarce thing in the M-Lab) I wish I had the chance to use it, but never mind.
This is our notice board, which we update very... slowly. We have events dated to 2003, and we stuck it there (more like Dr.Yeoh stuck it there) because it probably looks nice. The one thing you can see here that all the tenants of the M-Lab are proud of is the photocopied news story that says "D.I.Y. Documentaries", because it's about Malina and Shazana's documentary,
Arranged Marriages, that got screened at some event at HELP University College. At the far end you can see posters of recent Cheesy Studios releases
Captivation and
Goldfish.
These are the computers where videos are edited. One of the unspoken understandings about the media lab is that the first PC (far end) , which is nearest to the door, is my PC. The last PC, (nearest) is Fikri's PC, and the middle one is er... everyone else's. But that's in the case of video editing only. Of course these days it's not so elitist as more and more people have picked up editing, which is a really good thing.
Now I must tell the story of this mirror. I remember when the room was still half of what it is now, when the sound room wasn't set up yet, when the DV player was non-existent, when the cabinets weren't installed, and only the three computers were there, I stood in the room with Dr.Yeoh, discussing equipment. He asked me what's needed in the room. I looked around and after giving it a few serious thoughts, I said, "A mirror".
He said, "Half a million dollars budget and you just want a mirror?!"
"Yeah you know, you work here for long hours, and when you wanna go out you wanna make sure you look neat, fresh, presentable, all that..."
Anyway, we dropped the subject and one fine day we found this mirror in this room. I think Dr.Yeoh got it. Or more like nicked it from somewhere. Half the stuff in the room was nicked by him by some other department that has exile furniture, like keyboard holders, comfy chairs, coffee bean table... So the mirror is a nice surprise.
The people who inhabited the room gave me a lot of pleasure. The laughter, the gossip, the nonsense. It is a place with a very specific discourse. It is today, the room that marks the corridor the communication's students yard. I will miss it.
*
Other than the people, Cheesy Studios has also been the most important place of my time Monash, because it played host to Superratty Films, my unofficial film production company. The range of equipment and availability provided me with the the long desired opportunity to do what I've always wanted to do: FILMS!
This is a good time for me to reflect on the films that I've made. Some good, some bad, some pure fun, some not fun. But all purely film :) No I'm not bragging. It's really the last day, so might as well take a proper look back.
July 2005 : My very first short film..
A spinoff project of our Authorship and Writing class in which we studied Alfred Hitchcock's
Psycho. Kerry-Ann made her mark in the pantheon of great student performances with her stunning body width, her slut-look, and the unconventional portrayal of a hairy legged superstar.
September 2004: When work comes second.
I went to Penang in August 04 to shoot a documentary for some NGO. I ended up channeling my energy into filming a sequel to
Psycho. My attempted deviation from Hitchcock's style bombed quite interestingly. And Zul, it's also your fault.
October 2004: First "real" work
So here it is, the documentary that me, Zul, and Sze Ning worked on. At the time it was completed, it was probably the most properly made film that I've come up with. It wasn't a flop, certainly. But for a great number of reasons, this documentary is the work that I'm least proud of to this very day.
*
May 2005: Light-speed production dicsovered
I've spent most of February, March and April working on
The Door, my first supposedly serious (in the production sense) feature short film. While that was a drag, I shot this
Madness in one day and edited it in one day just to kill tension. This was days before the scheduled release for The Door. It was great great fun, with Kerry-Ann helping out and all. Of all the videos I've done, this is one of my favorite.
May 2005: The Door is Opened.
It was fun, the screening. But as a film, I wanted to kill myself over the final product. In short, I feel this is probably the biggest flop in my 1.5 years. Let me make a disclaimer at this juncture to say that even if I feel that my shows suck, it doesn't mean I'm not proud of them. I mean, even the best of my stuff wouldn't even match up to Tarantino or anything. At least I tried, and had good fun doing them all :) Oh another reason why this show didn't meet expectations was because it was released the same time as
Star Wars 3. So obviously I didn't get the spotlight.
July 2005: The Saga is Complete
We had a study trip in Bangkok, and I made it a must to film Psycho 3. So I did. Haha. If there's one really really really stupid show I've made (stupid in the traditional sense, which is... stupid), it's this show. The only thing is, I can justify it by saying it's meant to be... stupid. Had fun with the tomato juice though.
July 2005: Single Men in Comms Gets the Spotlight
The second part of my M-Lab series, where short films are made in the studio itself. These videos are good fun because it's my way of remembering the people, the place. It's fiction, but the characters are intrinsically... us :) And that triggers memories.
August 2005: Covert Ops
Fikri and Sarah were chatting in the sound room and I romanticized it. It's one of the more popular videos among friends, as it is sweet and touching and romantic. 98% of the film was shot without them knowing it.
September 2005: Box Office Busted
There's no such thing as a box-office here lah. Just saying if there's such a thing as commercial success or anything of the sort,
TaKau is easily the top show I've made. It's masculine, it's violent, it's brainless, it's about fighting, and it even raised talk about sequels without me fueling the rumors. (Unlike my Psycho series...) Sadly, I don't think I'll have the time chance to.
October 2005: Competitive Filmmaking
This is the first time I've made a film with the intention to submit it for competitions and screenings outside Monash. This is the culmination of 1.5 years of practice in amateur filmmaking. This is all of TMY in one. It has my lame humor, it has my romantic edge, it has my new superstar (I forgot to mention that after The Door,
Kerry-Ann lost the crowd's interest :)) Sze Mun, it's got an original score, and it has a hairy headed character, like most of my other films. But too bad it's not Fikri.
Notice that my franchise actresses all have one or two things in c0mmon... the width.
*
Haihz... I'm tempted to say I am retiring from making shows, that it was good fun. Superratty Films is lazy to find another home, and will sell it's franchise to the hard-disk storage cabinet.
*
Cheesy Studios, I owe you one, big time.
*
One announcement before I end this really long post.
This is a casting call for Lov, which will tentatively begin shooting in November/December 2005.
Anyone who is interested can email me at superratty@gmail.com. I need a male actor quite urgently. I have too many females at my disposal already.
*
ding.
