Filmcamp 2010

I was so glad that I attended the very first filmcamp (@filmcampsg) Singapore! 31st January marked the first film camp at the National Library and boy it was nothing but insightful talks and lots of fun!

Filmcamp is an ad-hoc unconference where like minded people come together to share their ideas, stories, views and an exchange of views regarding the filmmaking industry. Participants were able to choose which sessions they would like to attend and learn from!

I overslept and missed the first session by Bill Grundfest! (@BillGrundfest) He is a Golden Globe Award winning writer and producer and very recognized in the United States. Well, I was so angry with myself for pressing that ‘snooze’ button too many times, so I had to follow the #filmcampsg tweets on my way there. Thank god for Gravity and data plan.

Singapore Polytechnic radio team were there too! They came with boxes of cameras and lightings.  They were there to teach about the basics of camera and video production.

Mr Loh gave the talk while the rest assisted him. And they were really good! I’ve heard good feedback from the participants and I’m so happy for them. Great job!

I then attended talks about films, visual effects and songwriting for films and acting. Each session was very insightful and I definitely know more about each aspect now.

For the songwriting session conducted by Desmond Moey, I really learnt a lot from that few minutes talk. He said something like ‘Don’t write music by inspiration, go by specification.’

Also, if you hear people talking ‘A’ and ‘B’ talk, it means that they are talking about the arrangement of music. Is it verse verse chorus? Or verse chorus chorus? and etc. Interesting yeah?

Also, some of my takeaways from that sessions were some useful tips. For songwriting excellence, remember these few factors.

• Universality – People all over the word should understand. It’s the music that matters. He gave an example of Slumdog Millionaire where the theme song is well received by people all over the world.
• Clarity – The song should be clear and understood
• Development of ideas
• Singability – Write for people who can sing within the vocal range.
• Viability in the market

Then theres the visual effects session held by Terrence Masson. A acclaimed visual effects artist who received rave reviews from people in the film and animation industry in the US and Japan.

He has over 20 years of production experience who has worked with some of my FAVOURITE directors – Steven Spielberg (My idol!) , James Cameron (director of Avatar) and George Lucas! AHHH! *jealous* His work includes Star Wars, Fantastic 4 and South park!

The live webcast was interesting and he was really nice to stay up late (it was like 2 plus am in the US) and share his views to us. I’m so grateful for that.  Oh! Did you know that the first 40 mins of the movie: Curious case of Benjamin Button were all synthetic? Cool yeah? I’m gonna rewatch the show again.

The acting session was so fun. Physically. We split into groups and played a game. LOL! I was always the one getting caught. But it was fun overall and it reminds me of my theatre days in school.

Lastly, I met some pretty nice and cool people! It’s great when you meet people in your field of expertise and exchange views on burning topics. Met some fun producers, directors and people who have so much passion in films!

By the way. I met Stella Kon in person! If you are wondering who is she, she is the writer for Emily on Emerald Hill! It was the FIRST monologue I went to went I was young.

Thank you Chris and team for organising this awesome filmcamp! I’ll definitely go for the next one.

Flora Yeo