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Thursday, December 18, 2008
Film Treatment
This short fiction film has very few dialogues between a young couple in the middle of a relationship crisis, while the rest work with the visuals, sound design, and musical score. The look exudes some coldness and superficiality, and yet, the characters become emotional from inside them. They are boxed up by the technology and lifestyle that try to cover up their deeper emotions through the gadgets and entertainment devices they utilize.
The film’s treatment would mainly center on a more character-driven aspect of storytelling
Knowing that the film requires a techie physicality from the movements of the characters, it is of key importance that the actors be able to exude such requirements while being emotional from inside – where the major external window into their deeper emotions would be their eyes, and in support to this would be the sound design and musical score utilized very distinctively and in line with the film’s very concept about technology and gadgets. The shots would generally be a combination of shots and moving shots that are always linear. In the same way, the mise-en-scené is filled with straight lines, no much curves and waves. The colors are in the neutral – whites, silvers, blacks, grays. The most colorful would be the presence of some shades of blue.
There is a tinge of quirkiness in some elements of the film – reflecting the techno, geeky, droll, and zany aspects that technology can bring to young adults. These are shown in the somehow exaggerated and considerably outlandish opening scene of the guy making his girlfriend’s face seem like a computer screen and her hand like the computer’s mouse, and the robotic movements of the characters by the last part of the film.
Most of the shots are very intimate. A bulk of the film is composed of tight shots. Some wide shots would show the straight lines and promote a futuristic and/or techie appeal. And by the film’s end, the shots and movements would look robotic. Things would seem like machines functioning. The robotic shots and movements of the people are mostly tight and intimate, and as a whole, rendering a factory function scene through them: the typing on keyboard, texting, calling, and taking photos.
The film’s treatment would mainly center on a more character-driven aspect of storytelling
Knowing that the film requires a techie physicality from the movements of the characters, it is of key importance that the actors be able to exude such requirements while being emotional from inside – where the major external window into their deeper emotions would be their eyes, and in support to this would be the sound design and musical score utilized very distinctively and in line with the film’s very concept about technology and gadgets. The shots would generally be a combination of shots and moving shots that are always linear. In the same way, the mise-en-scené is filled with straight lines, no much curves and waves. The colors are in the neutral – whites, silvers, blacks, grays. The most colorful would be the presence of some shades of blue.
There is a tinge of quirkiness in some elements of the film – reflecting the techno, geeky, droll, and zany aspects that technology can bring to young adults. These are shown in the somehow exaggerated and considerably outlandish opening scene of the guy making his girlfriend’s face seem like a computer screen and her hand like the computer’s mouse, and the robotic movements of the characters by the last part of the film.
Most of the shots are very intimate. A bulk of the film is composed of tight shots. Some wide shots would show the straight lines and promote a futuristic and/or techie appeal. And by the film’s end, the shots and movements would look robotic. Things would seem like machines functioning. The robotic shots and movements of the people are mostly tight and intimate, and as a whole, rendering a factory function scene through them: the typing on keyboard, texting, calling, and taking photos.
Statement
This 5-minute fiction film is about how technology is starting to shape people to become too dependent on it that relationships and lifestyles are altered, and later on, possibly destroyed. At one point by now, our interactions to other people are becoming as robotic as the machines we use.
After the first three months that I, a filmmaker from a developing country as the Philippines, lived in Seoul, I have walked going to places, I have ridden the subway, the bus, the taxi. I have met various people along the way. And with the technology now, one common thing noticeable is how much technology has affected people’s lifestyle. Most listen to music or watch TV from their mobile phones more than talking to their companion in the subway or bus. People walk with earphones plugged on their ears without much caution on the important sounds they might need like the beeping of an unanticipated fast-speeding motorcycle about to bump them on the road. Or perhaps, an iPod addict from the sidewalk not hearing an old special friend riding the bus and calling his attention (and they have not seen each other for the last 10 years). Indeed, relationships and the ways of life have been greatly changed by technology.
For a foreigner artist from the Manila las me, how much do I lose every time I go to Korean tourist spots when I rather shoot with my SLR and video cameras rather than enjoying the very presence, the very feel of being in wonderful places through my own eyes? How much do I miss on the experience?
How much time do people spend online nowadays? How much time do people allot for personal meetings? In this fast-paced era filled with much technological innovation, it’s great to have many choices to keep in touch including the internet, mobile phone, telephone, and the considerably obsolete snail mail (though it still works on specific occasions). Greeting cards before, e-cards now. No need to go out to shop, just watch TV, dial the number, or surf the internet, key in the credit card number, and finish it with a click. In cars, the directions are provided by a piece of GPS-capable LCD screen. Lots of things are scan-friendly, touch-and-go, plug-and-play. Sensors and codes are used in lights, locks, and other security and convenient devices. There are so much things to do, there is too much work to finish. And it seems like there’s too little time. When could be the last moment a person yielded to the cliché of stopping for a bit and smelling the flowers?
Things are so easy, so convenient. Entertainment is mostly boxed up in gadgets. And in Korea, MP3 players and handyphones are now TV and small movie screens as well. One time, I was at the subway trying to observe people around, my imaginative mind actually saw a bunch of robots listening to their masters which turn out to be their mobile phones. People even miss out on the stations they should get off to because they are too preoccupied by what they’re watching. And by this time, I made this concept for the film. The story won’t say that technology is bad, it just wants to convey how technology should be in harmony with the way people should live their lives as human beings who feel, love, and appreciate the world more than just the convenience of technological breakthroughs. Human relationships are vital. Computers and gadgets should not rule the person. Rather, they should be utilized to make human lives better and more meaningful.
Quality time with a loved one should not be fully controlled by text messaging, voice calls, and video chats. Personal interaction should never be ignored.
There are moments that we should pause for a bit and realize how far we are digging into technology that we are starting to ignore too much about our relationships and what it means by quality time. Perhaps, we can keep both instead of falling too much on only 1 aspect and closing ourselves to it.
After the first three months that I, a filmmaker from a developing country as the Philippines, lived in Seoul, I have walked going to places, I have ridden the subway, the bus, the taxi. I have met various people along the way. And with the technology now, one common thing noticeable is how much technology has affected people’s lifestyle. Most listen to music or watch TV from their mobile phones more than talking to their companion in the subway or bus. People walk with earphones plugged on their ears without much caution on the important sounds they might need like the beeping of an unanticipated fast-speeding motorcycle about to bump them on the road. Or perhaps, an iPod addict from the sidewalk not hearing an old special friend riding the bus and calling his attention (and they have not seen each other for the last 10 years). Indeed, relationships and the ways of life have been greatly changed by technology.
For a foreigner artist from the Manila las me, how much do I lose every time I go to Korean tourist spots when I rather shoot with my SLR and video cameras rather than enjoying the very presence, the very feel of being in wonderful places through my own eyes? How much do I miss on the experience?
How much time do people spend online nowadays? How much time do people allot for personal meetings? In this fast-paced era filled with much technological innovation, it’s great to have many choices to keep in touch including the internet, mobile phone, telephone, and the considerably obsolete snail mail (though it still works on specific occasions). Greeting cards before, e-cards now. No need to go out to shop, just watch TV, dial the number, or surf the internet, key in the credit card number, and finish it with a click. In cars, the directions are provided by a piece of GPS-capable LCD screen. Lots of things are scan-friendly, touch-and-go, plug-and-play. Sensors and codes are used in lights, locks, and other security and convenient devices. There are so much things to do, there is too much work to finish. And it seems like there’s too little time. When could be the last moment a person yielded to the cliché of stopping for a bit and smelling the flowers?
Things are so easy, so convenient. Entertainment is mostly boxed up in gadgets. And in Korea, MP3 players and handyphones are now TV and small movie screens as well. One time, I was at the subway trying to observe people around, my imaginative mind actually saw a bunch of robots listening to their masters which turn out to be their mobile phones. People even miss out on the stations they should get off to because they are too preoccupied by what they’re watching. And by this time, I made this concept for the film. The story won’t say that technology is bad, it just wants to convey how technology should be in harmony with the way people should live their lives as human beings who feel, love, and appreciate the world more than just the convenience of technological breakthroughs. Human relationships are vital. Computers and gadgets should not rule the person. Rather, they should be utilized to make human lives better and more meaningful.
Quality time with a loved one should not be fully controlled by text messaging, voice calls, and video chats. Personal interaction should never be ignored.
There are moments that we should pause for a bit and realize how far we are digging into technology that we are starting to ignore too much about our relationships and what it means by quality time. Perhaps, we can keep both instead of falling too much on only 1 aspect and closing ourselves to it.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Technophilia Shoot
A short film we shot in Seoul, Korea
Director: Rianne Hill Soriano; Director of Photography: Jano Mohammed; Production Designer: Rianne Hill Soriano; Art Director: Stephen Kochenash
Field Sound Recordist: Junghun Choi; Boom person: Katsudo Minei; Camera crew: Filmmakers from KAFA (Korean Academy of Film Arts); Production coordinators: Yoo-Sun Chung and Kiley Kyungmin Moon
Main Cast: Jin and Saekyung Lee
Supporting Cast: Ipod girls-Kiley Kyungmin Moon, Yumi Maenaka, and Katie Shasteen; PSP guy-Gino de Guia; Laptop girl-Kiyono Kakinuma; Mobile phone guy-Stephen Kochenash; Mp3 girl-Amy Bopp; Laptop guys-Tim Lee and Edvan Muslimy; Camera guy-Junghun Choi; internet guy-Katsudo Minei
Acknowledgments: Korean Film Council (KOFIC), KAFA (Korean Academy of Film Arts), Korea University (KU), and Rianne's friends in Korea
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Monday, December 08, 2008
Pera-perahang Lata BTS #3 - Production Experience
BTS (Behind-the-scene) video (3 out of 4) for "Pera-perahang Lata" (Penny from the Tin Can) in partial fulfillment for my grant from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).
Videography by Dustin Uy
Music by Philip Arvin Jarilla
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Pera-perahang Lata BTS #2 - Behind-the-scene Work
BTS (Behind-the-scene) video (2 out of 4) for "Pera-perahang Lata" (Penny from the Tin Can) in partial fulfillment for my grant from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).
Videography by Dustin Uy
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Pera-perahang Lata BTS #1 - Film Concept and Vision
BTS (Behind-the-scene) video (1 out of 4) for "Pera-perahang Lata" (Penny from the Tin Can) in partial fulfillment for my grant from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).
Videography by Dustin Uy
Monday, November 17, 2008
PPL offline copy here in Korea
I've been staying here in Seoul for 4 months now. And the final mix of the sound was already emailed to me. Now, I'm about to start manually fixing the EDL for my online editing when I get back to Manila. So far, I released a DVD copy of the film's offline and it was seen by a couple of people from various walks of life already... Some are film professionals, some are from the Cultural Partnership Initative Program (where I met lots of awesome Filipino delegates), some are OFWs, some people from the Philippine Embassy in Seoul, some are friends from Korea, Europe, and other parts of Asia. So far, I'm blessed enough to hear good feedbacks... and I owe it to everyone who worked and helped in this production. In fact, my Philippine mobile phone bill raised so much because of communicating with some of them coz I just couldn't help but share my wonderful stories about our film from this side of the world. I'll save the specific stories and notes when I meet you guys personally. I'll be back in Manila on Dec. 29, 2008.
The BTS video (divided into 4 parts: Concept and Vision of the Film, Production Experience, Behind-the-scene Work, and On-Cam Work) is already finished. I'm just waiting for the sound mix from the Philippines, then I can upload the 4 videos online already, hopefully within the month.
I'm planning to start editing the "Sa Pagdating" (reedit for the final music released by the musical scorer) and "Kaibigan" music videos within the month. I just need more time to sit on them.
The BTS video (divided into 4 parts: Concept and Vision of the Film, Production Experience, Behind-the-scene Work, and On-Cam Work) is already finished. I'm just waiting for the sound mix from the Philippines, then I can upload the 4 videos online already, hopefully within the month.
I'm planning to start editing the "Sa Pagdating" (reedit for the final music released by the musical scorer) and "Kaibigan" music videos within the month. I just need more time to sit on them.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Friday, August 22, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
I got ranked in youtube for 3 weeks...??
I'm not sure how this goes, whether in random or there's a sort of an algorithm as how search engines like google does it... but it's interesting to see something like this out of the many youtube accounts... hehe!
people can get really quite vain at times =p - i saw in google (using both pc and mac, safari, IE, and firefox), with my name ("rianne") as keyword, my website is consistently within the 4th to 6th on the top page (and 1st and 2nd as the highest ranks garnered with googling images) weeee!! well, i guess it also has something to do with the fact that my name is not as famous as the likes of maria, anna, mark, carlo, etc. =p
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Hang Gang (Han River) Summer Festival 2008, Seoul, Korea
Finally, im gettin back to some sport!
this was so much fun!
(what was i doing in water sports when i couldn't swim??)
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
PIFAN Guests Seoul City Day Tour
Gyeongbokgung Palaces and Museum, Seoul Tower, a Korean ginseng company (pix not allowed), Namdaemun (no pix), Insadong (I bought my new - authentic, yes real sword here weeee!!!!!!), an amethyst shop (no pix).
I have hundreds of photos so I'm just uploading whatever I could in random.
PIFAN 2008 (My Photos)
My photos of PIFAN. Yeah, when it's my camera, most likely, I wouldn't be in the photos... almost always. I have hundreds actually, but maybe uploading some would do.
Good thing the chief photographer emailed me photos which includes me. It's on another album... very nice of him. Hehe!
PIFAN 2008 (Official Photos)
Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival 2008 - Official photos.
Thanks so much to Mr. Changho Kim of Puchon Photos for emailing me these photos. Great memories from PIFAN :D
He's the chief photographer for PIFAN this year and CEO of internet news media www.puchonphoto.com.
Location: Seoul, Korea
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