2020 - No Regrets?

To many, the year 2020 passed quite painfully amid a pandemic, lockdowns, faltering businesses and a reduced income. Yet, were there things that you felt that you should have done?

Do you have any regrets? 

Are you a man with no regrets? 

Watch this video I acted in for a friend and very creative film maker Mr SK Ting...

The man who has no regrets will always regret that he should think that he has no regrets. 

Live not with your regrets but learn to live within your regrets. 

Search not for regrets to cease but understand that each regret will make you a better man. 

The better man is not the man with no regrets but the man who can understand the power of each regret in his life.

- the Wandering Wonder 流浪奇人.

Keeping Hokkien, Teochew and Cantonese

 

I have just finished a voice-over gig in Mandarin (普通话), Cantonese (粤语 / 广东话), Teochew (潮语 /潮州话) and Hokkien (Minnan, 闽南语)  to dub over a government video that is in English. 

Note: Cantonese , Teochew  and Hokkien are Chinese regional languages, but are erroneously translated into and referred to by Westerners as 'dialects'. There are commonalities among the languages, but they are not variants of Mandarin, the national common language in China. The written characters however were standardised 2,000 years ago in China by the 1st Emperor of Han China Shih Huang Di (18 February 259 BC – 10 September 210 BC).

Southern Chinese languages are hardly spoken in Singapore nowadays following the Speak Mandarin Campaign in 1978. Instead, a confusing cocktail of Mandarin and English, spiced with Chinese regional languages and Malay is spoken in a single dialogue.

Therefore VO gigs in Chinese regional languages are messy, as we often have to sort out what is authentic and what is commonly spoken, but borrowed from Malay. 

Here are some examples: 

'Clever' in localised Cantonese is 'panlai', which is borrowed from the Malay word 'pandai'.

'To marry' in localised Hokkien is 'kowyin', which is borrowed from the Malay word 'kahwin'.

'Toilet' in localised Teochew is 'lianglang', which is borrowed from the Malay word 'jamban'. 

'Lianglang' is almost always used and understood by all local Teochew speakers, as opposed to 'cesou' (厕所), so we use that in recording, since it is a public service announcement video where colloquialism is tolerated, rather than an academic video where accuracy is prime.

However, for other instances, it is important to stick to the original as far as possible.

Unfortunately for regional language VO gigs, scripts are often translated by young people who have a superficial understanding of the languages and do not speak the language in their day-to-day life. As such, they rely on online translators, which can yield hilariously wrong results, as Aritifical Intelligence (AI) in its current state still cannot pick up context and nuances properly.

As a result, my previous Hokkien VO took 11 grueling hours and I needed two days after that to recuperate and rest my vocal chords.

Thankfully, we did this one in 1 hr 45 mins, wrapping 15 mins early. Bravo!!!

ONLINE RESOURCES:

The following may help you to improve your knowledge of the regional languages, but for professional media translations, do consult a human language specialist.

Among the Chinese regional languages, only Cantonese has an online translator, though without audio output.

CANTONESE TRANSLATION RESOURCES ONLINE:

https://www.stars21.com/translator/english/cantonese/

https://tradukka.com/translate/yue

"Dreaming" is translated into "發夢" which is correct as opposed to "做梦" in Mandarin.

Curiously, the Cantonese 'discover dreams' (發夢), while Mandarin speakers 'make dreams'  (做梦). Wonder why.

I also found a Cantonese online dictionary, but it is more complicated and less helpful when tested with the entry of "dreaming", as it gives a clutter of related texts. See http://www.cantonese.org

HOKKIEN TRANSLATION RESOURCES ONLINE:

There are also no online Hokkien translators online, but I found a useful dictionary instead, which yields satisfactory results. (http://niawdeleon.com/hokkien-dictionary/). The following is the result of translating the word 'dreaming':

There is also an online Penang Hokkien dictionary, but it could not translate the test input 'dreaming'.

TEOCHEW TRANSLATION RESOURCES ONLINE:

There are no online translators or dictionary online, but there is a mobile Teochew dictionary app WhatTCSay, that has audio outputs.

It could not translate my test input "dreaming".

But it does understand what is "dream".

I suspected that it did not understand verbs in continuous tense, but I was wrong, as it translated "eat" and "eating" correctly.

Now let's enjoy some songs:

Cantonese:

The older ones will love this song from Cantopop star Sam Hui. You know who you are. :) It is about life's journey and destinies.

Hokkien:

This song encourages unceasing hardwork. It is so popular that it is even sung in corporate team building activities in Singapore.

Teochew:

This one is about a Teochew emigrant reminiscing about his hometown.

Sadly as the older generations die, so will the languages and the cultures, as there will be less and less in the younger generation that will have the proficiency in these Chinese regional languages. 

See Can Singaporeans speak Cantonese?

Mandarin:

Lastly, this one is from Mandopop superstar JJ Lin, a proud Singapore son and one among the new Mandarin speaking generation.

I love working with Chinese regional languages as they remind me of my childhood and the multilingual environment in Singapore during the old days. I learned them before the age of six and therefore do not need preliminary translation from another language when spoken.

As a Teochew, it is easy for me to learn Hokkien, as they are from the same Min family of languages. I learned Cantonese (Yue language) from my neighbour which spoke the language though they are Hakkas.

I was gradually coming to grips with Hakka and Hainanese before, but lost them completely when I went to live overseas for many years. Now even my feeble abilities in French and German are probably better than my Hakka and Hainanese.

There are also the more obscure languages like Hockchiew and Heng Hua, which are Min languages, but are less intelligible to me. I suspect that some young Singaporeans today would not even know these languages exist, let alone understand or speak them.

I will post the dubbed videos later when they are released.

Also read: 

Hearing Voices.

Hokkien Voice-Over.

Maid In Singapore Follow-up

 

We have been making various videos following "Maid In Singapore" release as a novel. 

Extra hard to shoot it during the pandemic!!

 

Behind-The-Scenes...

Media Interviews:

Radio FM 973

 

There will be more events coming up...

Have a Merry Christmas!    

Maid In Singapore - Ready to Ship!!!

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2. PayNow to 97214637.

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Enquiries: MaidInSingaporebook@gmail.com 

Maid In Singapore

I wrote this novel "Maid In Singapore" in six months from conception to ready-for-print. Quite fast, thanks to the pandemic Lockdown. As acting gigs ground to a halt, I found myself having this luxury of time in hand for creative work. 

We are now working  on the distribution of the book and you will soon find them in online and physical bookstores.

"Maid In Singapore" is a story of an impoverished Filipina who escapes from a sleazy entertainment circuit to become a maid and subsequently working herself into an online celebrity influencer secretly until her life was disrupted unexpectedly.

This novel is inspired by the maids that I have met in Singapore, what they have told me, the stories I have picked up from employers and maid agencies, the sleazy bars that I have wandered into and the rapid rise of online influencers.

As of the year 2019, there were about 250,000 maids in Singapore with one in five households employing a maid; this is up from the year 1990 when there were 50,000 maids and one in thirteen households employing a maid in Singapore. These maids help with general household chores, cooking, elderly care, infant care or caring for disabled members of the employer's family. 

Having a live-in maid is no longer a luxury in Singapore. Some people would even perceive it as a necessity, as married couples both hold jobs and will need help in the housework and childcare.

While there are some articles about maids in the press, they are mostly superficial and cursory accounts of their life. In the extreme, they are ugly cases of maid abuses. There are few accounts about what these maids' inner thoughts and aspirations are.

Life as a maid is never easy. They work long hours each day away from home, living in somebody else's house. With poverty lurking back home, the need to make money to pull their family out of poverty, spurs them to push on. However, amid the hardship, there are also the funny bits while overcoming the loneliness and their yearning to fall in love. 

It is probably too painful to write a social-realistic documentary about maids in Singapore and hence this fictional romantic comedy so that we can all laugh about it.

It is a sub-culture in Singapore that most people would not stop and look amid the hasty urban life and architecturally glamorous cityscape.

We are planning to make a movie out of the novel and are already speaking to some parties about it. Currently, we are shooting the trailer (see photos below).

We are also organising a series of activities surrounding the novel. Watch this space!

Join our Facebook Group "Maid In Singapore", click

Cepat Jalan

Cepat Jalan (quick march) is a prequel of Hentak Kaki (marching on the spot). A full-length feature film script has been written and here is the concept trailer:

You get the gist of the story... the good old Warrant Officer Lee Teck Hong before his knee injury. 

In Cepat Jalan, the old school disciplinarian Encik Lee finds himself out of sync with an army that is transforming into a gentler and kinder doctrine. That runs him into many challenges with the Establishment. More on those challenges when we make the film proper.

The trailer originally had the happy-go-lucky Staff Sergeant Raj, but Muru (the actor) could not be cast because he was recuperating after a surgery.

*****

Here is the motley crew for the trailer at SP Jain Business School campus at Hyderabad Road at Hort Park, Singapore. Thank you for allowing us to use your premises. It is one of the few places in Singapore that retains the old British barrack feel.

Quite a lot of effort was put into the old SAF uniforms to give it the nostalgic 1980s feel. For that, we are thankful to find them from Mr Alvin Lee, a collector of army stuff .

Photo taken by Jo Ann Chen, aka the sexy Lance Corporal Sophie. :)

For other army films in this blog, click here.

Facebook Live Screening of Bloodline Blues

Facebook Live Screening of Bloodline Blues (23 min action film in English).
Date: 1st July 2020
Time: 8pm, Singapore Time (GMT + 8)

Executive Producers: Elliot Chan, David Murphy, Michael Chua
Written and directed: Michael Chua

Lead cast: Owen Belliveau & Gillian Tan



 "Nobility has its obligations..."



REGISTER VIA THE LINK BELOW AS I CAN ONLY ANNOUNCE THE FB LIVE LINK ON 1ST JULY 2020.

To register, click here.

Afterlife

"Afterlife" is a sci-fi short film produced and directed by Sydney based Singaporean Perry Lam. It is part of Storeys, a series of original short films about Singapore, supported by Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and supervised by a talent company, CreativesAtWork.

The protagonist is played by Kris Mavericko. I played a supporting role of Eric, the repairman. Ok, no more spoilers, let us watch the film now:

Many of us probably have someone departed that we love and miss very much. Therefore,  it is plausible that in the future, we might use holograms to remind us of them. This will take off when  prices for the device become affordable to most people, like the smart phone. Even better, may be holographic projection capabilities will be built into future generations of mobile phone models.

Here are some behind-the-scenes photos:

With the holographic Mirage (Agnes Goh). Thank you Popular Book Store for letting us use their premises.

Just mucking around with the green screen when everyone else was busy.

From left to right: Kris, Agnes Goh and Perry Lam, the writer, producer and director.

This scene was cut. I was repairing a device wearing a magnifying glass with a spot light. 

The Chinese Folk Religion Altar was Kris' suggestion, and so it was added.

Running the lines and movements before the takes.

The corridor holding area.

Renita Kapoor (back facing camera) plays the role of Kurt's mum.

Majid the Legend

"Majid The Legend" is a 14 minute short film produced by Studiomonki, as part of 15 Shorts (films) sponsored by National Art Council Singapore.

The story is about the early meetings between Majid Arif and Choo Seng Quee, the latter whom eventually become his coach during the 1960s. The film is shot over three days in Pulau Ubin. 

I played the role of Uncle Choo,  the tough coach who eventually brought the Malaysia Cup back to Singapore in 1978.

I met Uncle Choo soon after the Cup was won at his sports shop in Plaza Singapura. I remember him to be a tall man with a booming voice. We were curious teens who had heard of his sports shop and wanted to steal a glimpse of him. He noticed us and ushered us to come into his shop.

That meeting was the only reference I had of his behaviour, as I could not find any publicly available videos of him. I remember that he spoke in immaculate English, so I asked for some of the dialogue that sounded too colloquial, to be corrected. 

Now watch the film:

BEHIND THE SCENES:

On the way to Pulau Ubin

The only kampong left in Singapore, populated by farmers, fishermen and shopkeepers.

With Rizhwan, who plays the role of Majid Arif. 

If you are interested in other posts of shoots in Pulau Ubin, click here.

At the premiere of Majid The Legend at Capitol Theatre Singapore.