I tried to audition my DVX+Letus35FE for the role of the Big Bad Boss for this movie but they said even though it looked like a gun, deep down it was still a camcorder.. Damn
OK thanks to Jeranimo pointing it out, comments have been enabled and you can now post anonymous sexual advances and sexually suggestive comments to me anytime.
Check out the new packaging on the new Windows Vista and Office. Now even though I use a Mac and I am eagerly anticipating the release of OSX Leopard, I can't help but look forward to Vista as the beta version did look pretty cool. And since I am not a fanboy that says Windows sucks (well XP did a bit) it'll probably be dualbooted on my Mac when I can get a 'copy' (get it, copy? hyuk hyuk - snort! sorry I am such a geek!)
Doesn't it just scream out 'undress me'?
Comes equipped with a personal secretary to type your memos! Unbelievable.... Thanks Bill...
Today I opened up my yahoo account and found this in my mail box: MR.KARIM IBRAHIM, DIRECTOR OF FINANCE AUDITING AND ACCOUNTING UNIT, INTERNATIONAL BANK OF AFRICA, OUAGADOUGOU-BURKINA FASO
DEAR FRIEND
FIRST, I MUST SOLICIT YOUR CONFIDENCE IN THIS TRANSACTION; THIS IS BY VIRTUE OF ITS NATURE AS BEING UTTERLY CONFIDENTIAL AND TOP SECRET.THOUGH I KNOW THAT A TRANSACTION OF THIS MAGNITUDE WILL MAKE ANY ONE APPREHENSIVE AND WORRIED, BUT I AM ASSURING YOU THAT ALL WILL BE WELL AT THE END OF THE DAY.
WE HAVE DECIDED TO CONTACT YOU DUE TO THE URGENCY OF THIS TRANSACTION,AS WE HAVE BEEN RELIABLY INFORMED OF YOUR DISCRETNESS AND ABILITY IN TRANSACTION OF THIS NATURE. LET ME START BY INTRODUCING MYSELF PROPERLY TO YOU.
I AM MR, KARIM IBRAHIM CREDIT OFFICER WITH THE BANK OF AFRICA OUAGADOUGOU BURKINA FASO. I CAME TO KNOW YOU IN MY PRIVATE SEARCH FOR A RELIABLE AND REPUTABLE PERSON TO HANDLE THIS CONFIDENTIAL TRANSACTION, WHICH INVOLVES THE TRANSFER OF HUGE SUM OF MONEY TO A FOREIGN ACCOUNT REQUIRING MAXIMUM CONFIDENCE.
THE PROPOSITION: A FOREIGNER AN AMERICAN ,LATE ENGR JOHN CREEK (SNR)CONTRACTOR WITH THE FEDERAL MINISTRY OF AVIATION BURKIN FASO,UNTIL HIS DEATH IN KENYA AIR BUS(A310-300) FLIGHT KQ430,BANKED WIH US AT BANK of AFRICAN OUAGADOUGOU BURKINA FASO AND HAD A CLOSING BALANCE AS AT THE END OF JANUARY,2000 WORTH USD20,000,000.00(TWENTY MILLION UNITED STATE DOLLAR), THE BANK NOW EXPECTS A NEXT OF KIN AS BENEFICIARY.VALUABLE EFFORTS ARE BEING MADE BY THE BANK OF AFRICAN HERE IN BURKINA FASO TO GET IN TOUCH WITH ANY OF THE CREEK'S FAMILY OR RELATIVES BUT TO NO SUCCESS.
IT IS BECAUSE OF THE PERCEIVED POSSIBILITY OF NOT BEING ABLE TO LOCATE ANY OF LATE ENGR.JOHN CREEK(SNR)'S NEXT OF KIN(HE HAD NO WIFE OR CHILDREN THAT IS KNOWN TO US).THE MANAGEMENT UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF OUR CHAIRMAN AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS,THAT ARANGE HAS BEEN MADE FOR THE FUND TO BE DECLEARED "UNCLAINMED" AND SUBSEQUENTLY BE DONATED TO THE TRUST FUND FOR ARMS AND AMMUNITION TO FURTHER ENHANCE THE COURSE OF WAR IN AFRICA AND THE WORLD IN GENERAL.
IN ORDER TO AVERT THIS NEGATIVE DEVELOPMENT, SOME OF MY TRUSTED COLLEAGUES AND I NOW SEEK YOUR PERMISSION TO HAVE YOU STAND AS NEXT OF KIN TO LATE ENGR. JOHN CREEK(SNR) SO THAT THE FUND USD 20MILLION WILL BE RELEASED AND PAID INTO YOUR ACCOUNT AS THE BENEFICIARY'S NEXT OF KIN. ALL DOCUMENTS AND PROVES TO ENABLE YOU GET THIS FUND WILL BE CAREFULLY WORKED OUT.
WE HAVE SECURE FROM THE PROBATE AN ORDER OF MADAMUS TO LOCATE ANY OF DECEASED BENEFICIARIES,AND MORE SO WE ARE ASSURING YOU THAT THIS BUSINESS IS 100% RISK FREE INVOLVEMENT.YOUR SHARE STAYS WHILE THE REST BE FOR MYSELF AND MY COLLEAGUES FOR INVESTMENT PURPOSE.
ACCORDING TO AGGREMENT WITHIN BOTH PARTIES AS SOON AS WE RECIEVE AN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF RECEIPT OF THIS MESSAGE IN ACCEPTANCE OF OUR MUTUAL BUSINESS PROPOSAL,WE WOULD FURNISH YOU WITH THE NECCESSARY MODALITIES AND DISBURSEMENT RATIO TO SUITE BOTH PARTIES WITHOUT ANY CONFLICT.
IF THIS PROPOSAL IS ACCEPTABLE BY YOU DO NOT MAKE UNDUE ADVANTAGE OF THE TRUST WE HAVE BESTOWED IN YOU AND YOUR COMPANY,THEN KINDLY GET TO ME IMMEDIATELY VIA MY TELEPHONE NUMBER PLEASE FURNISH ME WITH YOUR MOST CONFIDENTIAL TELEPHONE,FAX NUMBERS SO THAT I CAN USE THIS INFORMATION TO APPLY FOR THE RELEASE AND SUBSEQUENT TRANSFER OF THE FUND IN YOUR FAVOUR. THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR ANTICIPATED CORPORATION.
YOURS FAITHFULLY,
MR.KARIM IBRAHIM.
I promptly complied and attached the details of my bank account in JPEG form with my reply:
It's not that I don't want the $20 million but I just don't like people 'shouting' at me by capitalising the letters in their email!!!
And a hat trick by Rooney. ManU went off the blocks like a horny Stallion on steroids with its eyes set on a pair of twin Mares! The mare so happen to be Bolton today. And boy oh boy they sure got mounted and Rooneyed good!
Surfing through YouTube sure brings back alot of nostalgic memories about one's childhood. The cartoons of yesteryears that today's cartoons just can't match. Here's another all time favourite of mine, Thundercats! I even collected the Panini stickers so I could get the free toy! but unfortunately them people were li@rs. Instead of giving us the full 6 inch figurines when we completed the sticker book, they gave us keychain size ones. Lousy **$%#@@@!
Pilot Episode Exodus Part 1:
Pilot Episode Exodus Part 2:
Spoof of Thundercats: This one's funny, Lion-o the dirty bast@rd!
This guy did a heck of a job lipsyncing He-Man to 4 Non-Blonde's Song. Unfortunately he makes our hero He-Man so freaking gay.
This one is my all time favourite cartoon when I was in my single digit age. Voltron! Amazing dance moves.. Most people can't even do these moves in real life and this guy managed to capture it using claymation! Mental!
Suddenly my 1st Gen MacBook Pro 1.83Ghz and 2gig Ram is beginning to drive more like a Honda than a Ferrari. Damn. See the full specs for the core 2 duos here.
This was done by a guy who also has the Letus35 adapter. When I saw this video, 2 things came to mind: 1) Damn I want that adapter, and 2) I'm going to do a music video too! So here's a tribute to Cory for the inspiration.
Ok, this is going to be a little bit like baptism by fire. I have never done a music video, but want to learn how to. So here's what I managed to do over one day with the missus. It's hard work doing one. I did not do any pre-planning whatsoever, this whole project was done spontaneously and my main objective was so that I can learn the workflow, editing techniques, and also how to handle my camera to get the shots I want. Just from this short little video, I have learnt the following lessons:
1) Gotta find a way to steady the camera. Too shaky. I don't have a steadycam, so gotta use a tripod. 2) Editing is tough because you have to match the lip sync to the music. I need to find a way to make life easier like using the timecodes (newbie!) 3) Gotta plan the music video to make life easier. I went into this blind as a bat just to try. Gotta visualise the shots before I actually shoot (DUH!). I didn't like the framing on most of the shots but there were a few which I thought was half decent. 4) Shooting a Music video is not a one person job. You need at least one or two more person to help you start/stop the music that the singer is lipsyncing to. 5) It is HARD work. I don't know the professional industry standard, but for me as an amateur fooling around making music videos as a hobby, I reckon a decent looking video will probably take a few days to plan, 2-3 days to shoot and another 2-3 days to edit.
I've been fooling around with the missus (WAYHAY).... making a music video! We went to a friend's place for Raya and had the afternoon free so I tried my hand at making a music video. First impression of the trial session: damn it's hard! I was sweating like a pig and did not have any idea on how to make a shot work! This is like a trial and error session to see what works. Even after having watched countless music videos on Channel V and MTV.. it didn't help! so far I've done mostly doco style stuff so this is new to me. I am in the proces of capturing the tape now and will try to edit a coherent music video out of the footage. We shall see if it good enough to be postable! Wish me luck!
I saw a different version of this advert on Astro just a minute ago. I thought it looked exceptionally cool. Enjoy these adverts.. one of the things that make you go MMMM MMMMM MMMMMMMM!!!
Hello my name is Borat. I am from Kazakhstan. I am now in the US and A to promote my film. It has many sexy lady, I show you in movie. Make the click here to see my movie trailer. If you American woman, very good, so we have sexy intercourse! I make you wife, give you TV, and you plough field, but if you cheat me, I CRUSH you! but first let's mouth party with vazhin! No homo ok?
Below also my interview about England and my home country to meet my wives!
1) youparkingidiot.blogspot.com has officially been taken offline for the time being. The web author cited sexual harrassment from the YPIs he was reporting online about (I know this for a fact as I was the one sexually harassing him).
2) I've also been checking out blogs by our local Bruneian community. I am mighty impressed by the amount of effort they have put into their blogs.
3) I was checking out the BBC news site as per usual, and I came across some really cool picture that won the Shell WildLife Photography Competition. The first one below is a picture of a walrus. Initially I thought it was a squid but it was a walrus! The other picture which caught my eye is the 2nd one, the one with the crab climbing a coconut tree. That picture I thought was pretty amazing: framing, colour, and just the whole picture was pretty brilliant. That one also won an award in a different category. Go to this site to check out the other photos.
4) I've dug out some of my Canon FD lens which I can use with my Letus35FE. My brother kindly gave me his stash of old lenses and now I have 3 additional lens to play with: a 20mm Nikon F3.2 (courtesy of my dad in law), a 35mm Canon F3.2, and a Canon 135mm F2.2 (courtesy of my bro). I tested the 135mm F2.2 out and the light level was pretty good, and so was the bokeh. I will definitely be field testing out the 20mm and the 135mm when I can. I may most likely test them out this coming Sunday at the Mall Gadong, so people if you see someone with a big honking camcorder that looks like an assassin's gun, that's me!
5) I am currently checking out a chinese music video to see how they shoot it so I can get some ideas. I have started to love music videos now as I find it a good way to get ideas on how to shoot. Alot of the shot they have done though requires cranes and dollies and I have neither. I don't even have a steadycam (see pic), only a monopod. That unfortunately will have to do for now. Wondering though if anyone in Brunei has one which they are willing to sell for peanuts? That would be good cos I still have a stash of peanuts from last Chinese New Year which we haven't been able to finish.
Well that's it for today. My daugther is cranky now and wants to watch her little hippo and dog video from youtube
A quick look at how I got here Back in April of this year I decided to get myself a MacBook Pro. My initial intention for the Mac was normal everyday use, and Spotlight to search within my thousands of articles that I need for my work (PC can't do it as well as Mac)Little did I know it will send me off on a journey (mostly a spending journey!). My wife decided to ask me to make a short little music video for her sister's birthday and so I did. I found the experience extremely rewarding at the time so I started to explore the possibility of getting a camcorder. I did a little bit of research and with a little money saved up, I decided, what the heck, I got a new job that pays me better so I bought the Panasonic DVX.... and proceeded to have a little tiff with the missus (ooops! - she's ok with it now cos she's happy with the videos of our family I've made).
A friend of mine (Thanks Zrano) was flying to Singapore and so managed to get him to get one for me (can't get a DVX around my neck of the woods). First video I shot was on the same day I got it, at a beach near my house called Jerudong Beach. Edited it, and posted it on YouTube and got some positive comments from friends and family. That experience and seeing the output from the DVX and editing on Final Cut Pro (Thanks Moe for showing me how to) being well received got the adrenaline going and I was definitely hooked. So the weeks went by and I made more videos: DVX102B Low Light Shots, then Jerudong Park Advert, and a friend's son's 'One-Month' birthday dinner (here), and only just recently during our Australian Holiday . All of my videomaking experience turned out as rewarding as ever, perhaps even more than the previous ones.
But there was an itch I wanted to scratch. Watching all the cool Letus35mm videos on DVXUser.com and videos by Cory in particular made me REALLY want the Letus35. So I worked a second job, after making enough dough, finally paypaled the money over to Quyen and 5 days later, on the 17th October 2006, I became a very proud owner of a Letus35 Flipped Enhanced!
First Thoughts on the Letus35FE When I picked it up at FedEx Office, I was suprised at how light the box was. Packed in a little brown box, it was no heavier than, say the pair of shoes I was wearing. I signed off all the forms, then proceeded to open the box up ever sooo gently (sorry guys I did not bring my DVX to film the opening ceremony ala Engadget style). When I opened it up and held the Letus35 in my hand, I felt a buzz (no it was not the vibrating mechanism). I quickly packed it all up and proceeded to speed home to try it out.
ZOOOOOOOOOM...!!!
Once at home, I proceeded with haste to gather all the essential items together: DVX: Checked; Letus35: Checked; Nikon F1.4D lens: Checked; Batteries for the vibrating mechanism: Checked! Attaching the adapter to my DVX was not difficult but wasn't easy either cos it was difficult to hold onto it all together while worrying it won't fall and smash into little pieces so decided to do all this while staying as near to the floor as possible and on a soft carpet!
The Joining Ceremony First thing I did was remove my DVX lens hood. Once that was off, I tried to screw one end of the Letus into the 72mm thread. It wasn't easy at first, but eventually I figured it would be easier to take my Nikon Lens Skylight, screw it onto the Letus35 first, then screw the Nikon filter + Letus35 onto the DVX. This was easier because I think the thread on the Nikon is probably machined more cleanly and fitted more snugly onto the DVX than the Letus thread. Tell you what, there was definitely alot of screwing around trying to attach the two sides together (that was simply the Learning curve: subsequent screwing was much faster and less painful - sorry sexual puns not intended). Once that was attached, the next thing to attach was the Nikon lens. Initially, try as I might, the damn lens wouldn't go in, until I figured to take the adapter ring out and flip it. Now this is a neat piece of design by Quyen and co. One side of the ring is the Canon FD mount and the other side is the Nikon AI mount. So simply flip and screw it into the other end, secure using the screw. Place the Nikon lens on the ring, press and twist and WAALAA, a nice snug fit and ready to go! Put the batteries (2AA) into the battery holder (this one slides open, I tried to pry it open, almost broke the damn thing.. remember SLIDE).
I tried shooting during the 5pm sun and it was good. At F1.4 with the late afternoon sun, I was getting Zebra lines set at 80%, which means my 1.4 was giving me plenty of light and VERY shallow DOF.. Beautiful! At this point, I was almost drooling but was careful not to drool onto the DVX! I have to zoom in at around Z92 to make sure there was no vignetting and set the autofocus on (it now keeps hovering around 68-72). Switched the EVF to on to assist focusing and I was ready to go.
Off I went to shoot my two dogs (not literally so please don't call the SPCA). One of my dogs, Powder was scared shitless and kept barking at the contraption, while Yuki, my other dog just stood there, all feminine and regal literally! Now the DVX without the Letus35 was a little heavy if you hold it free hand after a while. With the Letus35, the camera was now a little too heavy to hold free hand, and became front heavy (I decided to buy a monopod for the timebeing to help in that department which I have done today - see what I mean my journey jas pretty much been one of spending! this is an EXPENSIVE hobby, and I'm not even making any money out of my DVX at all)Picture quality was GOOOOD, soft but good! Loved the shallow DOF (sorry I haven't got any screen grabs just yet!). Later that night I tried the adapter out with only a 60w bulb and I could get a decent image at +9 gain (VERY grainy but still visible at that light level). This weekend I will be going out to shoot something so I can edit a short video and post on YouTube (or is it GooTube now?). When that's done I will post the link and you guys can have a look at it. In the meantime, check out the pictures of what I can now officially declare as an extension of my manhood!
Quyen Service - 1st Rate Ok I am not getting a free Letus35 at all for saying this but Quyen is one dude who knows the meaning of customer service and most people who have bought the adapter from Quyen can attest to this too. One of the reasons why I chose the Letus35 was because everyone on DVXuser was saying how good Quyen was at responding to emails, which he is. Now since I am so far far away from the US, I couldn't afford to get from someone who would drop me like a hot potato once he's received my money and I am glad to say, Quyen has not done that. Since ordering the item, he has been aswering all my emails very promptly with useful info (though his emails are usually short, so maybe he's not that chatty or just VERY busy cos my boss' email is similar - extremely short cos he's so damn busy). Anyways, Thanks Quyen. I hope you don't stop answering my emails :)
Pictures Galore
Ok Here are the pics of my manhood.
DVX+Letus35 and the Nikon/Canon Lens adapter with my Nikon F1.4D
Size comparison to a 750ml bottle of Champagne
How many eggs can you count?
front of the Letus35, with the GG and Battery holder attached. Remember SLIDE the damn thing.
I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of my 35mm adapter so I can actually go out there and film Brunei's Raya celebrations with as shallow a depth of field as my F1.4 Nikon can muster.. and then I can post it on my YouTube page.
Shallow DOF - the icing on any Deliciously shot and edited video... MMMMMMMMMM Yummy..
It's 1030pm on a Saturday night, I should be in bed but I thought I'd post something before I do. I'll retire to bed after this with my recently purchased graphic novel called Flight from Image Comics. I used to read alot of comics from Spiderman to GhostRider, XMen, to Spawn, but that was a long time ago. Being in Singapore and seeing ALL the comics stacked up in shelves in KukiAkuanikaya in Ngee Ann Plaza, it was all too tempting to pass up. From Sin City to Batman to some novels I have not even heard of, I decided I'd just randomly pick one up. Flight had an interesting cover and thought hmm, why not (In this case I OBVIOUSLY broke the adage 'Never judge a book by its cover' but when push comes to shove and you have to get only one book, the one with the fancy cover usually wins). I found out later though, the one I picked up was Volume 3! Arrghhh.. Nevermind, they're standalone stories and not related in any way to Vol 1 and 2 (I think). Check it out. It's gotten some good reviews and the first few stories I have read have been pleasantly entertaining - childlike and magical if I were to describe how the stories are told.
On the football front, ManUtd has done well today after a frustrating 1st half. Unfortunately I did not put Solskjaer and Saha in my line up in Yahoo's Fantasy Football and Ronaldo did not play, so many a points lost. Damn..but it was a very good game, and as long as they keep winning, I'm a happy bunny (not the fluffy kind but the hard core, Duracell powered, hormone driven kind - one can only imagine how THAT bunny would look like).. Oh wait I found a picture that kinda resembles the type of Bunny I'd like to be.
I manage to test out my Rode NTG2 today.. NTG.. hmm I'm a little suspicious it might stand for Not Too Good but I REALLY hope not. In any case, so far the mic works pretty well, a little sensitive, but it fits nicely into my DVX and makes my DVX so much more masculine. I guess strapping a Phallic shaped rod helps in that department (WAYHAY!)... Here's a picture to share with you my Phallusised DVX: All 12 inches of hunky manhood on my DVX. Psychologically compensates for my own inadequacy! (Oh come of it guys, who the hell feels adequate when compared to that!)
I'm getting sleepy now... I'm going to sign off ..
In Psychology, when someone has repressed some of their thoughts, desires, or emotions for a long time, that person sometimes need to release that tension created from the repressed emotion. They call it Catharsis. I haven't been to Singapore since 2003 and since Wednesday I have been on a shopping spree (by MY standard this is a spree, by alot of others my purchases is probably only a warm up session). The following are the stuff I have bought (Note: 2 of these things I haven't actually bought, can you guess which one?)
Rode NTG2 - something to add spice to my vid's audio quality.
Firewire 80Gig HD Drive.. finally.. a portable p0rn container
50mm F1.4! (yes 1.4) for my upcoming 35mm Adapter. Expect good things to come from this little bugger, fingers crossed.
YouTube has just been bought by Google for US$1.65 Billion.. YES BILLION dollars..(click here) I always wonder why Bruneians are still freaking raving and ranting about government jobs when a technology driven economy can make millionaires out of us all... Time to shape up you Youngling Bruneians.. stop sitting on your @r$e complaining no one has given you a job or your student allowances and do something with your life.. and while you're at it, take that silver spoon culture of entitlement and shove it right up your.... alot of Bruneians have become spoilt little brats like the ones you see in the Gadong Mall who are fat, yell and scream at their maids, and their parents do nothing about it..(all the while I'm posting this, I'm thinking in my head what's youtube and google got to do with spoilt little Bruneian brats? - don't know really... that's why they call it ranting)
Disclaimer: not all Bruneians are fat, spoilt and yell at their maids or have a culture of entitlement shoved up their hiney. There are still pockets of hardworking Bruneians whom I'd like to salute and would like to be considered to be in their esteem company.
OK, I've decided to take the plunge and finally get the 35mm adapter I have been craving for so long. I keep seeing the videos shot with the Letus35 and keep drooling at how amazing the quality is on those videos. And I keep delaying getting it. But no more... no more delaying. This week I shall be buying a decent mic for my DVX and splash out to get the adapter. When it is in my hands and I get it all attached to my DVX and working properly, you'll see some amazing videos come your way!! Until then, enjoy my daily (almost) rants on other mundane stuff
Went to the Mall in Gadong, and guess what? They have just released the International Edition of Final Fantasy XII. Back in 2001, I decided to get a Playstation 2. Along with it I bought Final Fantasy X. And you know what? Final Fantasy X has to be THE best game I have ever played to date (ICO, Shadow of the Colossus, and Metal Gear Solid 2 ranks up there but can't beat FFX). I clocked a total of well over 200 hours of my life into that game - the first time through was 40 hours, and the second time through was 140 hours trying to collect all the special weapons and kill all the dark aeons, which to date after 4 years I have yet to finish! Let's see if this latest serving of the Final Fantasy series will give me the same 200 hours of fantasmagorical RPGing and Chocobo hunting/riding.
A New Manager, A New Captain, but its simply more of the same. For England fans (me being one of them), it's just more torture, discontent and disappointment. What an abyssmal performance by the England team. We watch them week in and week out in the Premiership playing beautiful exciting football. But the moment they put on their National jerseys, they turn into third rate football players who don't play as a team and only hope for an individual moment of genius to make things happen. Too bad the supply of geniuses in the current team is in short supply - Rooney's out of form and Ronaldo is, well, ermm.. Ronaldo is Portuguese. Incidentally Ronaldo scored two of Portugal's goals last night. Granted it was against Azerbaijan, but Macedonia would probably fall within the same category as them. The only consolation I have is Ronaldo is kicking @rse this year and that's good for ManUtd. Ronaldo - the evil genius that thwarted Eriksson's England. Thank god he's in ManUtd otherwise he'd be Public Enemy #1.
Phew! This week for some reason has really flown by and before I knew it's already Friday. The thing is it's probably because of how busy I have been at work.. the new project that was assigned by big boss is alot of work (fun though I must admit but alot of work nonetheless).
I have been thinking of making a short doco (apart from my music vid) for a while now and my 'subject' or shall I say participant(s) are very keen after seeing my Australia travel video on youtube. My sis in law and her work colleagues are travelling to Taiwan this coming December for her wedding reception. They're flying from Australia and they haven't been to Taiwan or anywhere remotely similar culturally before. I mentioned to my missus a few months back that if I could get leave from my work, I'd be tagging along back to Taiwan with everyone so I can shoot a doco with them, tentatively titled 'An Aussie in Taiwan' or perhaps 'An Aussie Family in Taiwan'. I think it'll be EXTREMELY fun to see their first time experiences with Taiwanese scooters and traffic, the night markets and the 'smelly tofus', Taiwanese Betel Nut Girls (you readers WILL look forward to that cos they are so skimpily dressed they can fit right in to FHM magazine) and , yes *gasp* squat toilets... not that I plan to film them inside the toilets.
I have a script in my head already on how to shoot it, I just gotta see how it pans out when December comes!
It's not easy being a part time videographer/hobbyist. My full-time job boss has just passed me a project to complete in 6-8 weeks. A biggish project no less (something I'll enjoy though). Anyways, it means the supposedly middle of October deadline I have set to complete a Wedding DVD which I mentioned in my earlier post looks daunting..... but unfortunately I'll have to give priority to my full time job (it IS my career and if I don't do well, my performance appraisal won't look so good, and neither will my bonus!). After Ramadan, my jobs business scale will skyrocket through the roof until middle of December when we break for Xmas.. as my full-time boss has intimated to, ' We're going to be so busy that we won't have time to scratch our own b@ll$'. probably not literally.
Probably and HOPEFULLY never get to the point of the T-Shirt's captions, but if any of you readers have, I feel REALLY sorry for you
If my job gets busier or remains this way, my videography will remain a hobby and only that cos pressures from another boss (clients) isn't what I'd like to have.. as I have THE BIG boss to report to too.. the missus!
This is the kind of video I'd like to do one of these days when I get the adapter myself. Notice the shallow depth of field and how amazingly good looking the video is because of it.. He's also color corrected it with a filter to make it more film like. What I'd like to do is a music video for couples so they can show during their reception a video of them singing to their favourite song (like an MTV video) .. anyway check out the video (broadband required)
I'd like to share my view on the art of videography in Brunei from my perspective of experiencing it so far since I've picked it up in May of this year. If you've had a look at the stuff I've shot and edited, let me let you know that video shoots and ESPECIALLY video editing is ALOT of work.. not HARD work but ALOT of work.. especially when you're a perfectionist and you want EVERY single detail in your video to be exactly how you want it (trust me its like chasing after Vision 54 in golf - birdie every hole, theorectically achievable but practically impossible)
First and foremost, you need to shoot your material, and that depends what type of shoot you're doing. I've so far done mostly scenic doco style ones (but did do one pre-planned one, i.e. the candle lit shots). During the shoot you have to think about the shots you want, e.g. rack focusing to give the shot more ooooomph, and cut aways to fill in the story of your shoot. The shoot is only half the work, in fact maybe only 40% of it, cos the editing is when your shots come alive.
The edit can take a hell of a long time, depending on the look you want. You'll need to do color corrections (notice how my videos are all a little bleached or off colour?). then all the shots have to be cut into a timeline with your choice of music to fit the mood.. To cut the story short, what does this add up to? Hell of alot of work.. and I mean ALOT. On a 60 minute wedding video for example, you're looking at maybe 40 hours of work - yep it's almost a full time job. Not easy if you have another full time job. And did I mention its hell of alot of work? ....
And the market for videography in Brunei? ranges from bad to poor.. how much do you think your creativity is worth PLUS 40 hours of work? don't just think about 40 hours of work put into the video.. think about the opportunity cost I have to bear to take 40 hours of my time away from my own personal life AND that of my family.. convert that into a financial figure and 9/10 individuals will say... 'You're f*cking crazy for charging that much.. ' no one's going to pay you.. and truth be told no one has and probably no one will but unfortunately time is money and anything less is a cop out. It'll practically be selling my family time away for peanuts... and as the saying goes 'You pay peanuts, you get monkeys' Now I'm not going to toot my own horn and say my videos are AMAZING.. they're not cos I know of other people's work that ARE amazing and I am continuously learning from them.. but having said that, videography in Brunei isn't up there in terms of global standards (just see RTB and their soaps .. CRINGE!) So far I've seen in Brunei, videographers who:
1) don't clean their lens when they shoot so all the shots have a dirty smudge 2) use lousy tapes that causes drop outs so they lose good shots and during doco style weddings, you DO NOT want that. 3)shots out of focus and looks all soft 4) shots not properly white balanced so shots look a funky purple 5) final video output is not deinterlaced making your wedding video looked like a video quilt, ugly as hell and basically ruins your wedding vids 6)charging extra for VCD and DVD format when infact they're just the same part of the compression process - it's ripping people off who are not aware of the differences (or similarities) 7)cheesy transitions in videos that belongs in the 80s - if that's the look you're going for, great, otherwise.. stay clear
In any case videography AND editing in Brunei has a long way to go.. I watch Astro adverts in awe as they're usually so well done (check out the Celcom ads with the story line).. incidentally my uni housemate is now a director with his own production house in Malaysia and he does alot of the Astro ads and he's the one who started me off on video editing. At the end of the day, like anything in Business, everything is driven by consumers. As long as consumers are only willing to pay peanuts for their videos, they'll get what they pay for. The Arts is highly underappreciated in Brunei, ask any photographers on how much they earn per shoot and they'll say its lousy money compared to their regional counterparts. So until consumers actually say 'Look, I'd like my wedding videos to look professionally shot and edited and am willing to pay you good money for the quality', nothing will change. I'm not holding my breath either cos Bruneian consumers, from my experience, are lousy at paying good money for services..
My 2 cents worth on this topic... (see what I mean)
It's less than one year since the launch of Xbox360 and guess what? Pirated games are now officially available for $15 a pop.. fully printed on nice glossy metallic discs and green dvd case.
I am not making any value judgment on it at all.. cos I'd be a hypocrite to espouse a value I don't really practice....
Not getting any game consoles though.. saving for some video equipment for my video shoots..
Management of YPI
.... but not a gun.. so no go.....
Yeah guys, act like it bothers you.. seriously..
Suddenly my 1st Gen MacBook Pro 1.83Ghz and 2gig Ram is beginning to drive more like a Honda than a Ferrari. Damn. See the full specs for the core 2 duos here.
Hello my friends
I have started to love music videos now as I find it a good way to get ideas on how to shoot. Alot of the shot they have done though requires cranes and dollies and I have neither. I don't even have a steadycam (see pic), only a monopod. That unfortunately will have to do for now. Wondering though if anyone in Brunei has one which they are willing to sell for peanuts? That would be good cos I still have a stash of peanuts from last Chinese New Year which we haven't been able to finish.
Back in April of this year I decided to get myself a MacBook Pro. My initial intention for the Mac was normal everyday use, and Spotlight to search within my thousands of articles that I need for my work (PC can't do it as well as Mac)Little did I know it will send me off on a journey (mostly a spending journey!). My wife decided to ask me to make a short little music video for her sister's birthday and so I did. I found the experience extremely rewarding at the time so I started to explore the possibility of getting a camcorder. I did a little bit of research and with a little money saved up, I decided, what the heck, I got a new job that pays me better so I bought the Panasonic DVX.... and proceeded to have a little tiff with the missus (ooops! - she's ok with it now cos she's happy with the videos of our family I've made).
When I picked it up at FedEx Office, I was suprised at how light the box was. Packed in a little brown box, it was no heavier than, say the pair of shoes I was wearing. I signed off all the forms, then proceeded to open the box up ever sooo gently (sorry guys I did not bring my DVX to film the opening ceremony ala Engadget style). When I opened it up and held the Letus35 in my hand, I felt a buzz (no it was not the vibrating mechanism). I quickly packed it all up and proceeded to speed home to try it out.
Once that was attached, the next thing to attach was the Nikon lens. Initially, try as I might, the damn lens wouldn't go in, until I figured to take the adapter ring out and flip it. Now this is a neat piece of design by Quyen and co. One side of the ring is the Canon FD mount and the other side is the Nikon AI mount. So simply flip and screw it into the other end, secure using the screw. Place the Nikon lens on the ring, press and twist and WAALAA, a nice snug fit and ready to go! Put the batteries (2AA) into the battery holder (this one slides open, I tried to pry it open, almost broke the damn thing.. remember SLIDE).
DVX+Letus35 and the Nikon/Canon Lens adapter with my Nikon F1.4D
Size comparison to a 750ml bottle of Champagne
How many eggs can you count?
front of the Letus35, with the GG and Battery holder attached. Remember SLIDE the damn thing.
Autobot, TRANSFORM!!!
purchased graphic novel called Flight from Image Comics. I used to read alot of comics from Spiderman to GhostRider, XMen, to Spawn, but that was a long time ago. Being in Singapore and seeing ALL the comics stacked up in shelves in KukiAkuanikaya in Ngee Ann Plaza, it was all too tempting to pass up. From Sin City to Batman to some novels I have not even heard of, I decided I'd just randomly pick one up. Flight had an interesting cover and thought hmm, why not (In this case I OBVIOUSLY broke the adage 'Never judge a book by its cover' but when push comes to shove and you have to get only one book, the one with the fancy cover usually wins). I found out later though, the one I picked up was Volume 3! Arrghhh.. Nevermind, they're standalone stories and not related in any way to Vol 1 and 2 (I think). Check it out. It's gotten some good reviews and the first few stories I have read have been pleasantly entertaining - childlike and magical if I were to describe how the stories are told.
Unfortunately I did not put Solskjaer and Saha in my line up in Yahoo's Fantasy Football and Ronaldo did not play, so many a points lost. Damn..but it was a very good game, and as long as they keep winning, I'm a happy bunny (not the fluffy kind but the hard core, Duracell powered, hormone driven kind - one can only imagine how THAT bunny would look like).. Oh wait I found a picture that kinda resembles the type of Bunny I'd like to be.
All 12 inches of hunky manhood on my DVX. Psychologically compensates for my own inadequacy! (Oh come of it guys, who the hell feels adequate when compared to that!)
YouTube has just been bought by Google for US$1.65 Billion.. YES BILLION dollars..(click here) I always wonder why Bruneians are still freaking raving and ranting about government jobs when a technology driven economy can make millionaires out of us all... Time to shape up you Youngling Bruneians.. stop sitting on your @r$e complaining no one has given you a job or your student allowances and do something with your life.. and while you're at it, take that silver spoon culture of entitlement and shove it right up your.... alot of Bruneians have become spoilt little brats like the ones you see in the Gadong Mall who are fat, yell and scream at their maids, and their parents do nothing about it..(all the while I'm posting this, I'm thinking in my head what's youtube and google got to do with spoilt little Bruneian brats? - don't know really... that's why they call it ranting)
OK, I've decided to take the plunge and finally get the 35mm adapter I have been craving for so long. I keep seeing the videos shot with the Letus35 and keep drooling at how amazing the quality is on those videos. And I keep delaying getting it. But no more... no more delaying. This week I shall be buying a decent mic for my DVX and splash out to get the adapter. When it is in my hands and I get it all attached to my DVX and working properly, you'll see some amazing videos come your way!! Until then, enjoy my daily (almost) rants on other mundane stuff
I clocked a total of well over 200 hours of my life into that game - the first time through was 40 hours, and the second time through was 140 hours trying to collect all the special weapons and kill all the dark aeons, which to date after 4 years I have yet to finish! Let's see if this latest serving of the Final Fantasy series will give me the same 200 hours of fantasmagorical RPGing and Chocobo hunting/riding.
A New Manager, A New Captain, but its simply more of the same. For England fans (me being one of them), it's just more torture, discontent and disappointment. What an abyssmal performance by the England team. We watch them week in and week out in the Premiership playing beautiful exciting football. But the moment they put on their National jerseys, they turn into third rate football players who don't play as a team and only hope for an individual moment of genius to make things happen. Too bad the supply of geniuses in the current team is in short supply - Rooney's out of form and Ronaldo is, well, ermm.. Ronaldo is Portuguese. Incidentally Ronaldo scored two of Portugal's goals last night. Granted it was against Azerbaijan, but Macedonia would probably fall within the same category as them. The only consolation I have is Ronaldo is kicking @rse this year and that's good for ManUtd.
Ronaldo - the evil genius that thwarted Eriksson's England. Thank god he's in ManUtd otherwise he'd be Public Enemy #1.
My sis in law and her work colleagues are travelling to Taiwan this coming December for her wedding reception. They're flying from Australia and they haven't been to Taiwan or anywhere remotely similar culturally before. I mentioned to my missus a few months back that if I could get leave from my work, I'd be tagging along back to Taiwan with everyone so I can shoot a doco with them, tentatively titled 'An Aussie in Taiwan' or perhaps 'An Aussie Family in Taiwan'. I think it'll be EXTREMELY fun to see their first time experiences with Taiwanese scooters and traffic, the night markets and the 'smelly tofus', Taiwanese Betel Nut Girls (you readers WILL look forward to that cos they are so skimpily dressed they can fit right in to FHM magazine) 
and , yes *gasp* squat toilets... not that I plan to film them inside the toilets.
Probably and HOPEFULLY never get to the point of the T-Shirt's captions, but if any of you readers have, I feel REALLY sorry for you
