Asia TV Forum 2019 - What I Have Learnt

I have learned the following from the 20th Asia TV Forum & Market 2019 held at Marina Bay Sands Expo from 3rd to 6th December 2019:

1. Streaming
The video streaming market in the year 2019 is worth USD25 billion and is projected to double by the year 2023.  Free-to-air TV will fade away to streaming video-on-demand and subscribed (paid) video-on-demand (SVOD).  The SVOD space is getting very crowded with Amazon, Apple & Disney, joining Netflix and HBO in the global market, among the many incumbents. I think the year 2020 will be a blood bath for SVOD players.

2. Community based TV
These networks create special interest group communities through social network and crowdsourced ideas, putting these ideas to a vote in the community. The selected ideas/content are then developed using resources, crowdfunded from the community. Eg. The Chinese LGBT community.

3. Alliances
Strategic Alliances that create online entertainment that is pertinent to specific end customers with special needs. For instance, creating videos appropriate for airline or bus rides, like ensuring that the content family friendly, tab bite-sized duration and easily downloaded/viewed from the mobile phone. That means planning visuals for the very small screen.

4. Format
The viewership of long form videos (more than 20mins) are overtaken by short form videos in the year 2018.

Further, micro-form videos like Tik Tok, Haokan, KuaiShou,...etc are gaining traction very rapidly and may overtake short form videos.  Micro-form videos started in the 3rd and 4th tier cities in China, initially catering to young people 15-30 years old. It has now spread to big cities and a cross-section of demographic.

Sponsors like shorter or micro videos because they are easier to plant brand advertising in them and monetise.

5. Product placements
Brands have invaded the short form space. For true story telling unfettered by advertising, short films will have to be funded from sources independent from commercialism. Eg. 15 Shorts and Storeys, in Singapore.

6. Making content travel
a. This can happen by leveraging on countries with similar language and cultural background.
b. Using actors that are known in the countries you are selling to.
c. Remaking of content with actors local to the target market.

7. Good Content 
Good content will live longer in the Internet ecosystem of Over-The-Top (OTT) web streaming platforms, as it gets relaunched and re-licensed many times in many platforms.



Other posts...

ATF 2018 - What I Have Learned

The Future of Cinema and TV

Ask Me Anything in Viddsee

Viddsee.com, an Asian short film curator site, has invited me to their "Ask Me Anything" page.

Click here.

#acting #act #future #futureoftv #futureoffilm #michaelchua #viddsee #questions #films #film #filmmaking #shortfilm #curated


UPDATE (31st August 2017):

It was an overwhelming response - 39 questions!  My favourite question is question 13:

"Can you tell us what been the funniest moment on any of your sets so far? :D"

And my answer is:

Okay, I am mentioning this because this is funny and that you have asked for it. 

In one intimate scene, I was to surprise my screen wife by lifting her up suddenly to  the bed, rolling over and kissing her on her lips, then 'cut'. We rehearsed that and all was well and agreed.

However during the take, the director (a lady) didn't say 'cut' at the point we had rehearsed to. With no 'cut', we had to continue and improvise with our act. That was not a problem between the actress and me, as we were very professional about it, but next to director was a young chap prompting "Cut! Cut! Cut!" next to the director's ear. It was very annoying, but the director ignored him and called 'cut' only at a point she deemed appropriate.

The director prolonged the take because she likes the delivery and didn't want to break the flow too early.

As for the young chap, we learned that he had the hots for the actress and was jealous.

The lesson learned was that there should be only a minimal crew on set during such takes. Young jealous chaps not allowed in.

Here are the list of 39 questions:
Click here to read the answers.

1. I really enjoyed your acting. Can you share some of the challenges of being a local actor?

2. If you are asked to perform for no fee, and you are willing to do so. How does that affect the final film production?

3.If the part asks that you kiss a person (male or female) that you are not attracted to and the kiss must look most passionate. How is this achieved?

4. Thank you for the previous answer, I am also curious to know how you cope with rejection. Is it a natural response or a skill you have developed?

5. Have you ever had strong disagreement with the director on set, and if so, how did you deal with it?

6. What tips could you give to aspiring actors to guide them along their career path?

7. When reviewing a new script, what do you look for and what would you avoid?

8. Which local and international actors do you admire and why?

9. What do you hope to see more in Singapore development of movies? Budgets, scripts or supportive audience

10. What advice do you have for people who have ambitions to become actors/actresses? How do you compare Singapore film industry vs film industries in other countries?

11. What is one advice you have for actors in Singapore?

12. How does the Director help out with uncomfortable parts, if the actors /actresses feel uptight, like sex scenes, etc

13. Can you tell us what been the funniest moment on any of your sets so far? :D

14.What innate talents does one need to have, to make it in acting?

15. Why do some actors /actresses get stereotyped into certain roles?

16. How does a director help the actors portray their characters convincingly?

17. As a Freelance Actor, do think/feel that it is possible to rely solely on Acting(silver-screen only) to earn a living in Singapore?

18. I thought the a couple of the short video clips I saw were quite good, story-wise, acting-wise, not those over-exaggerated acting the I observed in local mandarin movies. Just wondering why we hardly hear or know about them. What are the problems the local English language movies faced?"

19. How far do you think the Internet will disrupt the traditional theatrical distribution of films?

20. What's your advise for those who wants to get into acting?

21. What's your biggest achievement thus far?

22. You left an exciting career in the Cyber Security space to follow your heart and passion in the creative and performing arts industry. Do you have any regrets? What inspired you to make the transition and was it a tough journey ?

23. How has acting changed/enriched you as a person?

24. ...as we all know, 'the Gift' was amazing. How did you prepare for your inspiring role in this film?

25. What's your worst filming experience?

26. Is there any other roles / characters you would hope to attempt in the near future?

27. If you could have it your way, what would be your dream role and movie?

28. What are your artistic inspirations, Michael? And what considerations do you have when taking on a project? What has been your best film experience so far? Would care to elaborate more on that experience? Would you also care to tell more about what is your opinion on the growth of the local art scene?

29.  I will like to know what are some do's and dont's of directing, specifically from the perspective of actors? How can directors work with actors better to create a great piece of work?

30. I have seen that films are made in an order that is not the same way as the final storyline is edited. How do you, the actor, keep track of the emotion and intensity of the scene when they are being created in such a different way to the final sequence?

31. What got you into acting?

32. ...you are very good in crying in your role, how do you make yourself cry?

33. Beside being actor and director have you think of writing , you are good in writing as I have read some of your blog?

34. Good to see your passion for acting. Could you elaborate what drives you the most?

35. Of all the roles that you have played in the past, which is your favourite?

36. When was your first role as an actor?

37. Also would be interesting to know what is the most extreme change to your appearance - in terms of hair, body weight, face changes etc etc, that you have done to prepare for a role?

38. Have there been a time when you had a really bad day but had to act or perform that night. How did you get through it?

39. I'm interested in how you feel about playing against type.

I'm specifically thinking about when you have to assume a character you would not like in real life - how do you approach that, and do you 'enter into' that person's psychology, or distance yourself emotionally?

Film Making Collaboratives (Singapore)

With the advent of digital cameras, smart phones, social networks and the Internet, film making collaboratives are flourishing.

I know of six of them in Singapore. I may have missed out some, but these are the ones I have attended their events of, or read about. The description of them below are mostly summarised from their online pages.

Running a collaborative needs leadership, funds and tenacity, This is especially hard considering that most of the people in the collaboratives are hobbyists with full-time paying job during the weekdays. That is why only two of the six are still active.

UPDATE 27 APR 2018: ALL THE GROUPS MENTIONED HERE HAVE SINCE EITHER BEEN SHUTDOWN OR ARE INACTIVE.

They are all slightly different from one another, so take your pick.

1. Lens Rebel, Founded in 2012

We believe that there is still an audience for intelligent and alternative cinematography that veers of the beaten track championed by mainstream media.

Lens Rebels were originally founded by Dagomir Kaszlikowski and Karol Jalochowski under the name Gutter Twins. After a short stint with Suhas Bhat, a screen writer and producer, Lens Rebels are now an alliance between Jerry Koedding and Dagomir Kaszlikowski.

Lens Rebels has produced several short films and a feature-length film, called "Kopi-O".

UPDATE 27 APR 2018:  THIS GROUP IS NOW INACTIVE.

Kopi-O Mood Trailer III from dag the dogg on Vimeo.

2. Reel Frenz, founded 19 Nov 2012, 546 members, 139 past meetups

https://www.meetup.com/ReelFrenz/
http://www.reelfrenz.com

"A group with a passion”. It is the place where actors, directors, scriptwriters, lights, camera, sound, music writers / directors and arts students can call home. A place to discuss, pitch ideas and come together for film and video projects. See your ideas turn into reality. You can be a pro, an amateur, someone with creative passion or a movie goer with ideas. If you have an actor, singer, scriptwriter, producer, director, cinematographer, musician, animator, editor, makeup artist, special effects creator, special skills, critic or film industry specialist hidden somewhere in you, do come and join us.

Reel Frenz has produced 15 short films and a feature film, called "Certified Dead".

UPDATE 27 APR 2018:  THIS GROUP IS NOW INACTIVE.

3. Red Dot Film Makers, 28 May 2015, 343 members, 16 past meetups

https://www.meetup.com/RedDotFilm/

This is a group for anybody seriously interested in producing quality films. It's all about creating a team of filmmakers who want to develop, work, experiment and to find new ways to tell stories / move the audience. 

Task is simple and clear: Create emotional high end footage / scenes and impressive results that both crew and cast will want to include in their showreels.

UPDATE 27 APR 2018:  THIS GROUP IS NOW INACTIVE.

4. Cast and Crew 4SG, founded 3 Feb 2015, 318 members, 23 past meetups

https://www.meetup.com/Cast-Crew-4SG-Films/

All Singapore residents are welcome - with or without film experience.

If you are crew - lights, sound, camera, editing - and have equipment, that will be cool. If you don't have any equipment - that's okay too.

We also welcome actors, make up artists, costumers, scriptwriters, designers - anyone who has the passion to contribute behind and in front of the camera.

After three short films, this group seems to have stopped meeting since early 2016.

UPDATE 15 FEB 2017: THIS GROUP HAS SHUTDOWN ON JAN 2017.

5. Singapore Film Makers Group 25 Feb 2012, 340 members, 22 past meetups

https://www.meetup.com/Singapore-Filmmakers-Group/

This group is for people who have some knowledge/training in filmmaking and would love to make short films regularly with like minded people!

This group seems to have stopped producing films.

6. Singapore Film Making Lovers, found 18 June 2016, 74 members, 1 past meetup

Meetup and network with filmmaker lovers,who are local in singapore or expats travel/locate in singapore. Brainstorm, pitch ideas to make videos/film on youtube/others social media platform.

This group is very new. As indicated in their meetup page, they have only two meetups so far.

https://www.meetup.com/Singapore-Film-Lovers-Meetup/


UPDATE 15 FEB 2017: THIS GROUP HAS SHUTDOWN.

For more articles about how technology is influencing the future of the arts, click here.

The Future of Cinema and TV

Note: Just sharing what I have learned in media forums like SGIFF, ATF and All-That-Matters; and from what I have read and experienced. Hope you find this article useful.

The Internet.

The future is in the Internet. That is the mother of all motherhood statements! We all know that, but how is that going to happen? The Internet has changed most businesses, from banking to how crops are picked. Likewise, it has a major influence in the film industry from content creation, casting, production, marketing to distribution. The current revolution concentrates at the distribution end, which until very recently, has been dominated by those with the financial capabilities. Big production studios make films and own theatres, leaving very little room for upstarts and independents. However, the change has begun and more of it is in the horizon.

There are now successful film distribution models via the Internet, like Netflix. In 2015, Netflix video traffic forms an impressive 37% of all Internet traffic during peak hours in the US. It is a subscription video-on-demand service and now also produces tele-movies like "House of Cards" and "Marco Polo"; with some of them, like "Marco Polo", shot at Pinewood Studios Malaysia with some of the cast from Singapore and Malaysia. Netflix is offering its services to Singapore in 2016, which I think will cause a major shake up in the local market.

There are now other giants in the bandwagon, like Google/Yahoo!, Amazon, Ali Baba and Vimeo. All of them, except Vimeo, produces content. Vimeo offers a very attractive option for film makers to screen movies and keep 90% of the takings.

Meanwhile home theatres and TV sets are getting more and more advance and affordable.

Apart from that, going on the Internet allows lots of data to be collected and analysed, to determine exactly when to show what type of content in which countries.  "Content is King" has shifted to "Content in Context is King", and now finally rests with data analytics as, "Content in Context in Immaculate Timing, is King".

However, despite the strength of big data analytics, the conception of the nature and type of content to produce is still based on human judgment and inspiration, virtually plugged out from thin air. After that, these concepts are verified and optimised by analytics.

For more about "Data Analytics and How We Think", click here.

Youtube Stars
Youtube stars that garner millions of subscribers and hits per day are great influencers in their spheres of interests. They are wooed by TV stations to appear in their programmes and to act in feature films. Ironically, the lure of new media stars to old media broadcast and screening still has its seductive aura at the time of writing. In five years time when on-line markets dwarf traditional broadcast ratings or box-offices, then these Youtube stars will finally sober up to the reality that they are already sitting on an enviable golden throne.

Some mainstream TV actors are now contractually required to maintain a presence in social media and answer to fan mails directly. TV drama plots are also rapidly tweaked and synchronised closer to real time events.

These days, youth below 21 years old rarely watches TV. If they do, they watch it via the Internet and prefer content that is closer to reality. Traditional TV ads talking down to them will not work, as they buy through peer recommendations in real life or via the web. Prevailing trends point to a risk among TV stations to continue to produce content that are no longer relevant, oblivious to the harsh reality that there will be lesser and lesser people watching TV.




Online trends are forming to solve problems and satisfy hobby group interest every few months. "Play-It" has emerged as a form of expression for gamers. "UnBox" a new trend barely imaginable just 18 months ago is now all a rage for new product launches.

There is also a trend towards short form videos, as their average duration has shortened to a mere 3.8 minutes, as of September 2015,  from 5.1 minutes two years ago. The Vine 6-Second video competition hosted by Tribeca, now brings shortness to a challenging new threshold.

Traditional film studios and TV stations are slower to leverage on the Internet, as they are burdened by their 'brick-and-mortar' legacy systems. Much akin to how 'brick-and-mortar' bookshops struggled against Amazon online bookstore during the go-go dotcom days. However, they are doing something about it and have now adopted "OTT " (Over-The-Top) broadcasts over the Internet.

Traditional TV

During the early days of TV in the 1960s, there was only one business model. Then, businesses pay to advertise on TV, the station gets the money and used it to create or acquire content to be broadcast. Fast forward to 2015, we now have at least 49 TV business models and growing. It grew from free-to-air, to paid cable, premium cable, subscription video-on-demand, pay-per-view, branded-TV,...etc.

Inevitably content are now influenced not only by the business models that they are to be sold in, but also the display screen - whether it is going to be on a theatre projected screen, a large 90 inch HD TV, a 10 inch tablet or a 4 inch mobile phone. Cinematography and screen play styles will have to adapt accordingly.

For instance, content creators may like to consider more facial closeups and shorter episodes, as more and more people are viewing videos on devices and smart phones during their daily commute on public transport. Actors will have to deliver subtle and precise actions and emotions (as they are now more often on extreme closeups) within tight time frames, such that they are editable into short episodes.

China

There are examples of successful TV stations making the transition to the Internet, among them the Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporation (JSBC), which grew its revenue from an already high GBP 90 million in 2004 to a staggering GBP 1.5 billion in 2014. The latter achieved partly by going OTT. The revenue of this one station is more than the entire Singapore media market. Much of JSBC viewers are still domestic and JSBC is now looking at creating content that can travel internationally. I had the good fortune of meeting the president of JSBC and suggested to her that she may like to look at making international content in Singapore, since it is a natural multi-system system. Such content can be shaped to be international, but yet retaining the Chinese language and look-and-feel. In other words, it is akin to a cuisine retaining its unique flavours as a Fusion food, instead of slipping into the blandness of International food.

And indeed everyone wants to enter the Chinese market, as it is huge and growing at a breathtaking pace. However, the Chinese Government limits the number of imported movies down to thirty-four movies a year and so co-production is almost inevitable to enter the market. From Hollywood's direction, we can already see more Eastern content weaved into their movies.

India

The other gigantic market India is relatively open, but to date, foreign films barely make 10% of their market. This may be due to the natives' preference for stories that are culturally close to their heart. In India, there are Hindi films and Tamil films, but there are also films produced in regional languages having a captive audience as small as 5 million people.

The Indian film market is so attractive that Western born Indians, and even some Caucasians, have flocked to Bollywood to boost their career. Most of them cannot speak the language and have to rely on dubbing. I was told that non-resident female Indians have the advantage of being more daring when performing intimate scenes or skin flicks, compared to the more conservative natives.

Bollywood has gone international while retaining their character of over the top exaggerated acting, slapstick comedy and energetic dancing - the so-called 'masala films', that make lots of money. Many of these films have snippets of shots in foreign locations with stunning views to add to the fantasy that mesmerises the working class audience in India.

However, there is a growing group of directors that have started making more realistic films catering to the more sophisticated and intellectual crowd. However at the moment, this is still a niche.

South East Asia 
(Data from Wikipedia, click here.)
South East Asia has 11 sovereign states and 2 dependent territories (of Australia and India). It has a population of about 618 million people and an average per capita income of only USD3,538. Each South East Asian nation has its distinct native languages and cultures, some of which has more than one major language.  The largest country Indonesia, has 252 million people, occupies 1.9 million square kilometres of land and a per-capita income of US$4,323. The smallest one is Singapore. It has 5.6 million people, occupies 724 square kilometres and a per-capita income of US$52,049. Though the smallest nation in terms of population is Brunei with 453,000 people.

Most of the nations are governed by a constitutional government elected through the ballot box by the people, with the exception of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos that are one-party governments and Brunei, which is still an absolute monarchy. Myanmar has just had its first fair general elections. Some of the countries were also at war with each other up till the 1970s. This is less than two generations ago and war stories are still within the lifetime of the older generations. Some nations are independent only since the 1970s, with  East Timor's independence happening as recent as March 2011.

South East Asia is geographically, politically, economically, culturally and linguistically diverse. Religious practices ranges from the mainstream of Islam, Taoism, Buddhism and Christianity, to native folk religions and animism.

It is difficult to produce content that is native to any one country and acceptable by the other South East Asian audiences. South East Asian co-production is therefore difficult from the point of view of content, bar those genres depicting fantasy cross-border crime thrillers, just like the Cleopatra Wong movies in the 1970s.

Singapore and Malaysia have some successful co-productions in the Mandarin language. Some Jack Neo productions, like the "I Not Stupid" series sold well in Malaysia, Singapore, China and Taiwan.

In the year 2008, a Singapore TV series called "The Little Nyonya" (dubbed in Bahasa Indonesia), managed to cross over to Indonesia. It is a popular series about the early Chinese settlers in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, and the culture and fusion cuisines that had resulted. It was also broadcast in China.

There are also Malaysian Malay language productions that have crossed over to Indonesia, and vice versa.

For more about movies and language use,  go to section 5a of the blog post "200 gigs 200 lessons", click here.

However, successful co-productions or productions with native content, that gain popularity outside their native lands are few and far between.

The economic and infrastructure development of some countries are also lacking. Some are also not well developed with sufficient Internet connectivity. Indonesia for instance, do not have Internet bandwidth high enough to sustain video-on-demand outside their big cities. Budgets to purchase programmes in South East Asia are also much lower. For instance, it was mentioned in one of the forums that a 40 minute animation programme may fetch US$250k in Western developed countries, but only about US$500 in South East Asia.

So, the South East Asian market is a tough one and tougher yet to be considered as one market. Though ironically, it ought to be fertile ground to create interesting and unique content, precisely because of its diversity. The producers that crack the above challenges will set the trailblazer.



Singapore
Singapore is naturally a crossroad of East and West, not only in commerce but in the natural environment. The tiny land size of 724 square kilometers has a diversity that is not sufficiently leveraged in films and TV. In nature, Singapore has more species of plants and trees than the entire North America. Its tiny territorial waters is home to 200 over species of corals, about half that of Australia's Great Barrier Reef, which is at least 2,000 times the size of Singapore. Also, its short coastline is home to 40 out of the 60 known species of mangrove in the world. So diversity is natural to Singapore. There is even a nature documentary made about it:




Further, Singapore has imported 8,000 plus species of foreign hardwood trees of which 5,000 plus species have survived the local humidity to support the City in the Garden. What the government has done for trees and plants, it has also replicated it in commerce, resulting in Singapore hosting 40.8 percent of Asia Pacific headquarters among 319 global Fortune 500 companies.  The labour policy is also open to foreign talent to supplement its local skilled workforce.

The result is an interesting mosaic of cultures and languages that Singaporeans are now second nature to. The average Singaporean speaks two languages, and can code switch between the two effortlessly. Among themselves, they speak a unique mix called Singlish.  Singapore is in a constant flux of adjustments to fit into the international arena. Just getting into a taxi in the city, requires the reflex to choose the right language to to speak to the driver. Therefore, adaptability is a norm in Singapore.

Going International

Hollywood movies are the biggest successes in the international market. Now 60% of their revenue comes from outside the United States. Less European movies have gone international. I suspect that it is because they are not in the English language and that they exhibit a different script structure that is less catchy, less tensed, less hurried and less formulaic. In short, more art, less science and and less commercialised. 

Generally, I find non-Hollywood movies to be less cookie-cutter like and less predictable, and therefore more inspiring. So there is place for movies outside Hollywood, we just have to find our niche.

Asia International

There are a few common questions discussed in film forums. Namely:

1. Can Asians produce content that can be sold internationally?

There are successful Asian movies, such as the series of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan movies. Jackie Chan has also moved into Hollywood and acted successfully in English, albeit usually being the only Asian in the main cast. Also, Jackie Chan's movies could well be popular in whichever language  as audiences buy tickets to watch him fight.

SHANGHAI KNIGHTS TRAILER:

K-Pop is also successful internationally, though Korean dramas successes are more limited to East Asia. Both adopt luxury, styles and beats that the West can relate to, and retain the use of the Korean language.

2. Will the West buy movies with an Asian cast, speaking in accent neutral and intelligible English?

Some Asian distributors and producers have told me that English language movies with an Asian cast may work in Asia, but will not be accepted by the Americans and Europeans. The Western audiences are said to be more used to seeing Caucasians speaking English, than Asians speaking English. Or is it? If it is, then it doesn't make sense as there are millions of Asians, in Europe, America, Australia and other parts of the world that speaks English as their first language.  I suspect it has to do with the lack of fluency in the language and acting style (or standards), than mere ethnicity.

Asian actors in London and Australia, find it difficult to get enough gigs as an Asian. It is hard to convince the casting director to accept them as actors that happen to be Asian, rather than an Asian actor. To add insult to injury, Hollywood had on several occasions, literally taped up Caucasian eyes to look slit-eyed, in order to cast them as a Chinese.

Somehow there is such an insatiable appetite to cast Caucasians that even those of Southern European origins are less preferred to white Anglo-Saxons, in Western English speaking countries. So where does it put Asians actors in international movies? So far, they are stereotyped as scientists, nerds and kungfu fighters.

Wong Fu Productions, a video production company with a cast and crew of largely ethnic East Asians, are tremendously popular with 2.4 million subscribers online and have recently distributed their feature film (in American English) via Vimeo. Once again, the Internet enables niche players to gather numbers and be profitable. However, I heard that most of their viewers are Asians. For a sneak peek of the film, click here.

WONG FU TRAILER:

In the late 1970s to early 1980s, there was the Cleopatra Wong movie series that sold very well in the international market. They cast English speaking Asian actors and were able to have their films sold not only in Western countries, but also the former Eastern European countries, Africa states and the Middle East.

So now we are talking. We do have English language films with Asian cast that sold internationally. This has been done.

CLEOPATRA WONG TRAILER:

If that worked in the 1970s to 1980s, then it ought to work better today with the popularity of social networks and cities getting more racially diverse. Diversity is more interesting than mono-culture. Imagine how boring Facebook would  be if it is only about one-country or one-culture/race. Producers and distributors ought to recognise this opportunity quickly.

More recently in 2013, the seven-minute English short film called "Gift", which I acted in with a Singaporean cast and crew, garnered more than 20 million hits online, and is still growing as we speak. This proves that an engaging script with a strong message and actors that can connect with the audience emotionally, will travel. For more about "Gift", click here.

GIFT:

Formats

Format counts too. Format is a growing market in the TV space. It gains momentum with the popularity of reality shows. Besides the successful talent shows like X-Factor, Voice and Britain Got Talent, there are cooking shows, dare devil shows, education shows, parenting shows...etc. Think of a unique idea that can sell to large audiences, have it prototype and sell it to a large network like ITV and you have it made. Leave the legal aspects and IP protection nightmares to them, they have an army of lawyers to deal with that. Even that, I heard  that it is often very difficult to protect a format. However, more often, the copycat succumbs to a lack of know-how to deliver the show to its desired results. So it is not just an idea, but the know-how to nail it down to a fine art.


EXAMPLE OF FORMAT:

SUMMARY

In summary, the Internet has changed the way TV shows and movies are made and it is now changing the way they are distributed. This will cause major upheavals and upset some market players among the incumbents, while creating new opportunities for newer and nimbler players. Some traditional TV companies have made the transition quickly and have succeeded in increasing their bottom line handsomely.  Those that succeed have mastered the art of applying technology to keep up with new trends, behaviour and content development.

There is a quest among all producers to create content that can travel internationally.

The Chinese market is the most attractive at the time of writing with many parties interested in co-production. This in part to by-pass the official limit of 34 foreign movies allowed into the country per year, with that limit to be re-negotiated in 2017.

Conversely, the Chinese are also interested in extending their products to the international market and with international content. So we may well see the genesis of Asian content with international appeal in the coming years.

Reel Frenz - First Film

Below is a message by Marrie Lee, the founder of Reel Frenz.

It is an inspiring tale about how a group of people from different walks of life, mostly untrained in film making coming together to make films. Most in the group do not know each other prior to Reel Frenz.

To read all the  Reel Frenz articles in this blog, click here.

 
-----------
Dear Reelfrenz,

I would like to extend a personal invitation to each and every member in Reel Frenz to come for this meet up. Why?

I know all of you joined the group with one common intention in mind,  that is to be part of a film, whether in a minor or major role.  I know all of you wanted to make films but frankly don’t know where to start.  That’s the truth or you won’t be in this group, you will be out there making films already by yourself.

I, too, was like you.  When I first formed the group, I know I wanted  to make a film but frankly I don’t know where to start. In the first 2 meetings I called, a lot of people came and we talked and we talked but nothing was done. We were just happy talking.  I told myself, there must be something more than just meeting up and talk. We will never make a film this way.

And a film needs a script and at that time, we didn’t have one.  So I proceeded to attempt to write one, my very first script.  I don’t even know how to use a scriptwriting software so I used Microsoft Word.  I didn’t have a story. My mind was blank. I was running out of time as the next meeting date was fast approaching.  I wanted to write a story that involved more people because many of them came to the meetings. If the whole project only required 2 or 3 actors then the other members will lose interest. Think fast Marrie.

And then it hit me, the story that is.  And I wrote a script that had a cast of 22, a very ambitious feat.  And in the next meet I was able to present my story. And most seem to like my story. Maybe there was no other to compare then. :) 

Still I didn’t know where to move on from there.  But I know that I had to find my cast and my crew to make it happen. In that meeting I found many of them.  I had a DOP whom I was confident in as I had witnessed his work before.  Also, I met this quiet and unassuming shy guy who asked me softly “Who is doing your editing? Can I be involved in the editing team?  I had this dynamic full time actor who volunteered  to be acting coach.  And lastly, I asked around who would like to direct this film. A fresh faced, cheerful young lady stepped up and said she would like to do it.  I have never met her but somehow I trusted her. I said I would be the  co-director so I can learn from this just out of school, young enough to be my daughter stranger .

And so, with my sister and 2 long time friends, I found my key team.  And  we set out to plan auditions for the roles and drafted out positions for the other key players.

We had members who volunteered for roles whom they have no idea how to fulfill.  But it was a learning process for everyone.  We called for an audition and the big joke was that 18 came to audition for the 22 roles. So we casted all of them and even had to look for more people.

Over the course of more than a month, there was a lot of preparation for the first shooting day, fine tuning to the script, rehearsals, costumes, locations.  We had a lot of trials and tribulations.  Along the way, we weeded out some negative influences, some people who joined us with different expectations. At the same time, our team got stronger, with the addition of other team players, like one spunky lady who took on anything we dished at her. Nothing could stop her, YouTube was her best friend and teacher, whether it is in creating of hairstyles or doing a full bridal make up. 

Locations were a headache, some of the people were really nice, allowing us to shoot for free, others like the Zoo and Scape wanted a rental of $4K and $8K respectively.  Crazy, we are a non funded passion group.  So for some of the locations we could not have, we learn to use chromakey or green screen filming. We were so lucky to have a member and her husband who allowed us to invade her house for 2 weekend days, from 9am to 11pm.

We needed places to rehearse our lines and dance.  Earlier practice in places like Esplanade were not conducive and private. So, we moved to the comfort of function rooms of 2 condos that 2 of our members graciously helped us to book.

There are so many more encouraging experiences. I could go on and on and on.

At last, I had found my dream team, a dream team made up of so many different nationalities with so much color and ideas to give  Everyone was so enthusiastic.  Never had I expected to achieve what we have done over these 5 months. And by the time we wrapped on June 16th, this team had become one big family.

I am writing this down to let you, the newcomer,  know that it had not been a bed of roses but it is definitely do-able and rewarding.  I say with great satisfaction that we have done it.  We were amateurs in making films and we may take a bit more time to get there but nothing is impossible.

So if you want to do a film, you can be a part of our upcoming project or you can form another project within this group and tap on the resources and the many talents that you will find here.

You may have a script that you want to make a reality, do share it and form your team.   Usually I would say the storyteller would make the best director as you would have envisioned  the whole scene in your mind as you write it.  So if you have the confidence, then opt to direct your story. But not everyone knows how to direct, you can invite someone else to direct and be the co director instead, like what I have done and learn along the way.

There are many brilliant technical people within Reel Frenz, I have read many of the profiles.  We can film more than one film concurrently if more of  technical people will come forth -   directors, cameramen, sound, lighting, editing, special effects.

And for those who do not have experience or skills but want  to learn, please volunteer to help too. It won’t happen for you if you are not in the event itself.  No one is too insignificant or useless. Every bit of help is needed and you may be surprised to find how fast you learn along the way.

Please come to this meet. You will be glad you did.

Cheers,

Marrie Lee

-------------------

...and a short clip I took to replay to the actors so they know where they can improve themselves on.

Trailer of Reel Frenz's first short film.
For more details, click here.

Locations

I have posted the following photos to help location directors seek out-of-the-beaten-track places in  Singapore; so that they can shoot somewhere different and save the other lovely, but over used spots like Pulau Ubin, Lorong Buangkok, Arab Street and Chinatown for some other time.

If you are not a locations director, then just sit back and enjoy the pictures - dwell into the history and charms of the locations, by clicking on the links. 

12 Mount Sophia Road 

This building constructed in 1892 by the Crane brothers, and bought by the Methodist Church in 1932, became part of Methodist Girls' School. It was affectionately called the "Tower House". In 1998, the building was acquired by the government is now leased by a Mr Bettin who used it as a pre-school called "The House on the Hill". For more about this lovely house 'on the hill', click here.

Hong Lim Police Station  

This old world colonial style police station still sits by Hong Lim Park and operates as one. It goes almost unnoticed amid the hustle and bustle of the city and could well be used as a backdrop of some romantic stories set in the 1960s.

Aloha Changi Chalet K 

I like this one as it exudes the colours of autumn. It is also snapshot in a virtual time capsule, as it is very unlike elsewhere in Singapore. For more details about the bookings, click here.

National University of Singapore (NUS) Bukit Timah Campus 

The Bukit Timah Campus was the site of Singapore's first tertiary educational institution, Raffles College. It is now occupied by the National University of Singapore Faculty of Law, the Bukit Timah Campus and has been home to generations of students for more than 80 years. For more details, click here.

Aston Mansion, Lorong 42 Geylang 

This modest lorong in Geylang is surprising and regal looking entrance to this mansion. With the yellow car in front, it even looks a bit like New York! :)

Sian Keng Tong Temple, Changi Road, next to Lorong 107 

This is one of the few Heng Hua dialect (a southern Chinese dialect in the province of Fujian) temple in Singapore. Very ornate. For more information about the temple, click here.

Yan Kit Village Chinese Temple, Mariam Way, Off  North Upper Changi Road

This temple worships Matsu, the Goddess that fishermen pray before they go to sea. Which means that where it is now used to be very near the seashore. For more information about this temple, click here.

Kushu Island Chinese Temple 

Kusu Island is one of the Southern Islands in Singapore, located about 5.6 kilometres to the south of the main island of Singapore, off the Straits of Singapore. The name means "Tortoise Island" or "Turtle Island" in Chinese; the island is also known as Peak Island or Pulau Tembakul in Malay. From two tiny outcrops on a reef, the island was enlarged and transformed into an island holiday resort of 85,000 square metres. Story passed down by both Malays and Chinese in Singapore says a magical tortoise turned itself into an island to save two shipwrecked sailors - a Malay and a Chinese.

This location has the advantage of housing a Chinese temple and a Malay Kramat (shrine) all in convenient reach,. Being an offshore island also means that sound quality is clean.

For more about Kusu Island, click here.

Kushu Island Chinese Temple 

Kushu Island Malay Kramat  

http://www.streetdirectory.com/asia_travel/travel/travel_id_47475/travel_site_1/

Somewhere along Race Course Road, Little India 

This almost look like in India isn't it? This is a backdrop in one of the feature film, "Back Alley Bulls", by Naicoman (US) Inc, which I acted in last year.

9718 Upper Changi Road North (Opp the Prison) 

Old coffeeshop charm like this is is fast disappearing. Where life is still unhurried in this corner of Singapore.

9718 Upper Changi Road North (Opp the Prison)

9718 Upper Changi Road North (Opp the Prison)

Sim Choon Huat Temple at Moonstone Road 

Former Aerated Water Co, 1177 Serangoon Road, 328231

Former Aerated Water Co, 1177 Serangoon Road, 328231

In 1929, three businessmen Yap Shing Min, Cheng Sze Boo and Tan Kah Woo established the National Aerated Water Company at Hamilton Road, off Lavender Street. It was 1954 when the company moved its premises to the new $500,000 factory near Moonstone Road, off Serangoon Road.

For more details, click here.

The backyard of National Aerated Water.

Former Aerated Water Co, 1177 Serangoon Road, 328231

National Aerated Water, view by the river.

Whampoa River where the National Aerated Water is along.

A quaint house opposite block 2 of Haig Walk.

This very odd zinc house sits in between two condominium properties. It is a village house in the unlikeliest of places.

Same quaint house

Along Balestier Road 

For other posts in this blog that are useful to the production team, click here.