WORLD CINEMA

Name: Chung Wai Kiat

Id: 2015050254

Couse: Film and TV Production

I would like to choose 90’s HONG KONG film director as my topic of my final assignment. The reason of me to choose this topic is because I want to do research about it and I watch Hong Kong‘s film grown up so I am so interested on this topic and I believe that Hong Kong film influences me to the film industry. I will go watch two Hong Kong director’s movies and compare their work. I may not choose all movie to watch but I would prefer those won award, famous and have high box office‘s movie.  The director that I choose is Wong Kar Wai and John Woo .In this proposal, you can compare both of the director’s style and who is better.

Wong Kar Wai

-born in 17 July 1958, Shanghai, China. He moved to Hong Kong when he is 5 years old.

- I have seen few movie of wong kar wai, such as Days of Being Wild, Chungking Express, In The Mood of Love, Happy Together and The Grandmaster.

- In my opinion, Wong always change his style to deliver the story to the audience like there are more movement in the Chungking Express but there are less movement in  In the Mood of Love but there is few things that you often can see in his movie.

- The theme for most of his movies is romance or the love, betrayal and lonely of people in his movie. His movie mostly state that the lack of communication between people nowadays and the fear of people reject or rejected by someone else. If you can notice, you will found out that his movie is always more concentrate on the two character only (the lover) because almost three quarter of the entire movie is about the two characters.

-Secondly, in his movie he always show the two character cross path to each other in the same scene but different time to show that the fate can just pass by(In the Mood of Love). Besides, the editing part of his movies, he likes to straight cut to another scene suddenly without any tip but he never shows the time had already pass by so audience sometimes will hard to notice it. He always use the character’s monologue to tell the audience what had happened or the time had passed by. The character is also always do the same thing, repeat the same dialogue many times

-Then, his movie‘s editing part like to confused the audience, he will put some scene that nothing relate to his movie or the continuous scene but he managed to done it well because he will using the dialog or the classical music to relate or combine all these scene together and so he also been called as the music video director. The music that he had choose is very suitable for the movie and let the audience feel like been to that period.

-For the camera part, he likes to use handheld camera to shooting especially in the Chungking Express, Days of Being Wild and Happy Together but the camera is more silent in the movie In the Mood of Love. The filming angle of his movie is always special than the other director and the give me the most deep impression is he reverse the camera to shoot the Hong Kong street in the movie Happy Together.

-The composition of his scene is always rich because he will using the background or foreground to create rich composition. His movie scene look atheistic, the reason is because he obtaining a diploma in graphic design from the Hong Kong Polytechnic School in 1980.

- The storyline of most of his movie has no storyline because he do not focusing on the story like the other director but he more focusing on what the character thinks and how the story goes on if he stands on the angle of the character, what do the character see and what will the character do . The character of most of his movie is lonely and decadent. So, Wong is using a character to tell a story instead using a story to tell a character. Wong also does not state the story clear is because he want to show things can be seen in different way not only from one angle. Most of his character is very lonely and eager to love.

-Slow motion is also an one of the icon in his movie but the more significant is he like to decrease the frame rate and tell the actor do the action slower than the normal and make the 24 frame per second (fps), 3 frame per unit but cut out the next 2 frame, that’s can show that the actor is moving normal but the surrounding look very blur and Can highlight the main body, strengthen the sense of movement to create the lonely and strong movement feeling.

-Furthermore, in his movie time or date is also become a significant in his movie because he always use it for most of his movie. Example, in In the Mood of Love and Days of Being Wild is show the clock. Besides, in the other movie like Chungking Express and Ashes of Time, the character’s monologue must include the date or the time.

- The last one is that every of his movie must have the classic monologue. Example,in the Days of Being Wild, Leslie Chung had said :

“I heard someone say this world there is no foot of a bird, it can only have been Fly Fly, fly get tired, they sleep inside in the wind, the bird life can only come down to earth again, and there it is again the time of death.”

Influences

Martin Scorsese- Taxi Driver

Wong Kar Wai is influenced by Martin Scorsese very well, there are few evidence

-In the beginning of the movie, Taxi Driver, Martin uses the gazzling image to show the colorful street or the fast-paced world in the movie same as Wong use in the Chungking Express but he managed to improved it with his own style because he add the technique I had state above.

- Next, Wong shoot the scene of street in the movie, Happy Together is also same as Martin. Martin putting the camera in the car and pass by.

- There is also a scene in the movie that Travis driving in the tunnel and the tunnel is used by Wong Kar Wai in the last scene of the movie, The Fallen of Angle.

- I also noticed that the colour of the background they used is also the same, is blur and more focussing on the character and is very colourful.

- Besides, both of them also like to use time and date in the movie. Example, Travis monologue itself state that May 10^th he is writing his diary and he had working for a long time.

- The character of both of their movie is also doing the same things everyday repeatly, Travis is cleaning the taxi every time he return the taxi.

- Slow motion is also used by him, the last scene that Travis killed people and sit there waiting for the police, he was using slow motion tracking shot.

John Woo

-        Born in 22 September 1948, Guangzhou, China.

-        The movie that had seen is A Better Tomorrow, Hard Boiled, Red Cliff 1&2.

   After watch these few movies, there is a few similarity in his movie:

In his movie, you sure can find out there are the bird flying, mostly is pigeon. Example, in the movie Red Cliff, the Shun Shang Xiang is using the pigeon to communicate with Zhu Ge-liang and Zhou Yu. In the movie, Hard Boiled, he also shows some close up of the bird in the beginning (restaurant that the bird lover gather). So, the bird is becoming one of his symbolic icon in his movie.

The second that can be notice is most of his movie is action movie, he made the comedy movie also in his early career but he face the problem by the mid of 1980s until 1986 he finally meet a chance to direct a movie that change his life, A Better Tomorrow and most of his movie is full of violence and combination of man’s romantic. So, he called Aesthetics of Violence Godfather by the audience. His movie is not just about action but he also focus on the relationship and loyalty between the man.

The character of his movie most of them is belong to justice and the good rewarded, evil with evil. In his movie, he prefer more heroism in the character because he lived in the surrounding that not well when he is a kid.

Besides, slow motion is also one of his symbolic icon in his movie. He likes to use slow motion in his action scene. In my opinion, he likes to use a long shot first then slow motion close up then different angle long shot of the another subject then back to the long shot of the main character for the editing part but all of them is continuous or link to the frame of the after .John influenced by Sam Peckinpah. Example, in the movie name The Wild Bunch, the action scene is also using slow motion when shoot by someone.

The Comparison between Wong Kar-Wai and John Woo

  Wong Kar Wai and John Woo are two different style of director, one is more silence and the other is more action. One of them is often making love story and another is action movie, but both of them is telling a story about the relationship between people. Both of them have their own strong point and weak point. If want to choose the most director that I admire, I prefer Wong Kar Wai .

  In my opinion, Wong is better than John because of few point. Firstly, the storytelling skill of him is better than John, this is because Wong is using the angle of camera, the colour used and the music to tell the story instead of just using the normal storyline to tell the story like John did but the most important is he is telling the story by the character’s inner world. This is where he is better because he look deeper or focus on the character. The angle of he using is more exquisite than John because he will using more time to produce a movie but there is some part that I don’t like that much. Example, in Chungking Express, there is two storyline but I think the first storyline is unnecessary because he does not really tell the story well or I cannot understand. So, he should concentrate on the second storyline and elaborate it.

   The storyline of both director is also very different. Wong’s story is simpler but meaningful and more realistic to our real life because most of them is improvise suddenly by him from his father experience because his father was working in the night club. In the other side, john’s story is more common, is just how a hero defeat the bad guys. This is where he lose to Wong because he do not connotation enough. The storyline of him always contain some humor inside because he made comedy before this and this is also one of the reason his movie is more popular compare to Wong’s. Wong is not that good in this and he should improve this because some scene of him is not easily understand by audience and easily feel bored. Example, in the movie Ashes of Time, in the beginning of the movie the two character is moving very fast and I can’t even see what is he doing then suddenly explode although I understand as a fighting scene but he should take it more exquisite like his latest movie, The Grandmaster.

  However, Wong’s editing skill is obviously weaker than John Woo because his footage is always cannot link to each other but the opponent, John had managed to edit well than Wong because before John Woo become director, he had learn the editing skill from the senior of his company when he is working as movie slate. Example, in his movie Hard Boiled, there is a scene that make me have deep impression. Tequilla is aiming the bullet that he put in the hole of a paip he made to open the door, he is aiming then take a deep breath then shoot. In this scene, John first take a frontier medium shot of Tequilla then cut to the bullet scene, pull out zoom shot then back to the medium shot then show the close up of his nervous hand then suddenly he increase the beat of the edit, he fast cut to his medium shot from different angle and the pull out zoom long shot of him and the bullet fastly then finally show the explosion. The scene really did make me feel the nervous and how cool is Chow Yun Fatt (Tequilla) is but that does not mean that Wong cannot managed to link the movie because he very smart by using the music to link like I had state above.

  There is also a scene of the movie Hard Boiled that I like the most, the scene that Chow Yun Fatt and Tony Leung is fighting with the bad guys in the hospital. In this scene, John had use long take and handheld camera to shoot that scene. The scene is 2 minutes and 42 seconds long. That scene makes me feel like I am in the fighting scene. However, Wong’s camera work is better than John. Most of John’s camera is normal but Wong’s is more special like I had state above. The image of his movie is very beautiful. John’s explosion or action scene is better than Wong’s. The scene of most of his movie is very grand so the audience is more enjoy the movie than Wong’s movie and this causes the box office of John is higher because it is more excited and entertain compare to Wong’s movie. Besides, the slow motion scene John is also very good in it but Wong’s is not bad also. In Wong’s latest movie, The Grandmaster, the slow motion is used in the action scene and you can see that Wong’s take the slow motion more exquisite than John’s and he improvise it with his own style, undercranked shot  or decrease the fps. The style of them is totally different, one is more atheistic and the other is more commercial.

  The character in Wong’s movie is more lonely and negative but for John’s character is more positive or a hero that save the weak. The character in John’s movie is mostly concentrate on the loyalty and friendship or brotherhood between men. John is more fantasy because he knows there are not many hero in the world but everyone want to become a hero. The character that he made is also good because he create a hero that not just saving the beauty or having any superhero power like the usual story before. Wong is more concentrate on the relationship between a couple and how their inner world is. The reason Wong is better is because the character is more real in the life that can touch my heart and sometimes I may have some resonate with the character.

Conclusion

 As conclusion, although both of the director have their own strength and weakness but I like Wong Kar Wai’s movie more than John Woo because John’s movie is not realistic enough. Example, in the movie, A Better Tomorrow 1 and 2, the main character Chow Yun Fatt is not dying or won’t die so easily although he already shot by someone. The people he shoot is absolutely die but the bad guys hard to kill them. Besides, the bullet they using is many look like infinity and the explosion scene is so over. The more important is that John is more concentrate on the action scene than the story. The whole movie, Hard Boiled is almost half of the movie is just action. So, that is the reason why I choose Wong Kar Wai as my favourite director. Thank you.

final

REPORT

Problems faced

In Film and TV Production 2, our group chose to do a music video (MV) as our assignment and this was the first time attempting to make one. It was really something new and rather challenging for us as previously we had only done short films because the visuals in short films and music videos are quite different. For example, it is essential to have an establishing shot in short films whereas it is not necessary in music videos. All of us took charge of our own positions and helped each other when needed.

The first problem that we faced was shortage of equipment. We did not have the required LED light to light up our subject to create the preferred mood . Thus, the results of our first camera test was that the background and subject were either underexposed or flatly lit. To resolve this problem, we used other light sources such as sunlight, phone flashlight, table lamp and reflectors such as white paper and styrofoam board to add light and create a specific mood in a shot.

Secondly, we had a limited number of camera batteries and on certain occasions, we had to take a break during the shoot to charge our batteries. However, we use that break time to edit the recently shot footages.

Thirdly, due to our group being in two different batches, we had slight differences in our weekly schedules. So, planning for our shooting schedule was a bit of an issue. We had to juggle between meetings with different groups for different subject assignments.

Next, location was one of our major problems in shooting this music video. We had a scene where the setting was a roller skating rink. The location we had in mind had been shut down and upon searching for other roller skating rinks on the Internet, we found out that they too were either shut down or unreachable by public transport. In the end, we decided to alter that scene so that it would be less time and money consuming.

60% of our shots were outdoor shots and weather was definitely a problem. We wanted beautiful backgrounds for our outdoor shots so we went to a few places like the KLCC park, Petaling Street and so on but sometimes the weather was not on our side. During the daytime, it would sometimes be too sunny so we would have to wait for the clouds to block the sun so that the light is not too harsh on the subject. Towards the evening, it would rain and we had to wait for the rain to stop.

For a lot of the shots in the music video, the D.O.P. wanted to try many different angles for each scene. At one particular shoot in the KLCC park, the D.O.P. and the actor had to climb a tree to get various angles and the outcomes were good. Although it was dangerous for them and at one point the security guard warned and told them to get down from the tree, it was worth it. Other than that, since we were shooting at public areas, we had to constantly make sure that we were not blocking anyone’s way. Also, for some of the shots, we needed a crowd of people to walk pass the stationery actor but most of the time there were only a few people. So, we had to wait till it was lunch hour.

As we journeyed from one place to another, we took impromptu shots at places where the D.O.P. felt would best suit  the mood of our music video. Thus, we had to constantly be alert and quick on our feet. For example, as we were walking towards the KLCC train station, we noticed an overexposed stairway that led to the outside where it was sunny and that shot gave the impression that the character in the music video was going to heaven. Thus we spent about 10 minutes at that spot taking a few shots.

          As a conclusion, there were many problems faced throughout the whole process of making this music video because different crew members have different opinions, so disagreement and mixed reactions have occurred in our discussions. However, we always compromised and found a solution. Overall, we really enjoyed ourselves during the shoot as we got to venture out to different areas other than our college area and also meet new people along the way.

STORY DEVELOPMENT

MEANING OF LYRICS

     This song represents the attempts by a girl to maintain a child-like innocence in her life by dreaming.

     The first verse tells of a young girl who had high expectations (When she was a girl/She expected the world); these expectations could be the product of constant attention to fairy tales – expecting the world to be fair and just, where all girls can be princesses, marry their Prince Charming and live happily ever after – or simply being subject to an optimistic upbringing where the philosophy ‘the world is your oyster’ underpinned every lecture by parent and teacher alike. However, evidently the bar was raised too high and the expectations not reached (But it flew away from her reach) suggesting maybe a life not lived – plans not made, dreams not followed, opportunities missed, feelings not acted upon. At this the girl withdraws into her mind, acting out the life she would have led if Fate allowed her in her dreams (So she ran away in her sleep/And dreamed of para-para-paradise…/Every time she closed her eyes). The line ‘The bullets catch in her teeth’ indicates that in her dreamed-up paradise nothing can hurt her, nothing can go wrong.

     The second verse details how, as the girl grows up and matures, she faces difficulties and complications (Life goes on, gets so heavy) and some hardships she faces are enough to break her spirit (The wheel breaks the butterfly). In this line, it’s assumed that the butterfly is symbolic of the girl – a beautiful and innocent creature – and the ‘wheel’ can be regarded as the ‘Wheel of Fortune’. This was an Elizabethan Era worldview where each individual would pass around a circle from good fortune to bad fortune to good fortune and around again and so on – much like ‘what goes around, comes around’. Therefore it’s said that the ‘wheel of fortune’ has turned and the girl has met with misfortune and has had extreme physical or emotional difficulty in moving past it (Every tear a waterfall). But she perseveres and finds comfort and distraction in her dreams (In the night, the stormy night/She closed her eyes…/Away she’d fly/And dream of para-para-paradise).

     In the final verse, the girl is depicted ‘lying under stormy skies’ which could be a metaphor for her life’s struggles or if taken literally, could act as a piece of pathetic fallacy. Her response to the storm – ‘I know the sun is set to rise.’ – reinforces her sense of optimism in life, allowing herself to believe that though her battle is great at the moment, the wheel will turn full circle, the sun will rise and she’ll reach a level of peace in her life – her paradise.

     The last lines of the song – ‘This could be para-para-paradise’ – could reflect a changed mindset in the girl; for a while she had been languishing over her misfortune and finding solace in her dreams at night however, the words ‘This could be’ suggest uncertainty – that she’s toying with the notion that changing a part of her life, altering some aspect of her existence will produce a positive outcome and maybe turn her unfortunate life into her paradise.

     However a very opposite view point can be suggested. Yes as everybody has mentioned, this song is about a little girl trying to maintain her childlike innocense. In its process, she faces a lot of difficulties and such. However, the diction to focus here is that ‘she [runs] away to her sleep’ when she has confronted those hardships. Furthermore the speaker analyzes her paradise and ideals only in her dreams and in her sleep. Thus, this utopia and paradise isn’t of the real world. The important factor is shown on the bridge. Yes, the girl is lying under the stormy sky, the reality where it is depressing. Furthermore, the fact that the sun must rise shows that she has to wake up from her dreams and from her sleep. This shows how she has to shake off her dreams and ideals to face the reality and the difficulties that the stormy sky, the world, will throw at her.

quote ‘I know the sun must set to rise’

I know there’s something beautiful awaiting for me, somewhere out there, this very hour, minute, second. Even if it takes a day, I know it will rise.

LYRICS & SONG STRUCTURE

soft intro: 20 x 4 beats

electro intro: 16 x 4 beats 

When she was just a girl

She expected the world

But it flew away from her reach so

She ran away in her sleep

And dreamed of

Para-para-paradise, Para-para-paradise, Para-para-paradise

Every time she closed her eyes 

Instrumental: 8 x 4 beats

When she was just a girl

She expected the world

But it flew away from her reach

And the bullets catch in her teeth

Life goes on, it gets so heavy

The wheel breaks the butterfly

Every tear a waterfall

In the night the stormy night she'll close her eyes

In the night the stormy night away she'd fly

And dreams of

Para-para-paradise

Para-para-paradise

Para-para-paradise

Oh oh oh oh oh oh-oh-oh

She'd dream of

Para-para-paradise

Para-para-paradise

Para-para-paradise

Oh oh oh oh oh oh-oh-oh-oh

Instrumental: 8 x 4 beats

Lalalalalalalalalalala 

(4 x 4 beats)

And so lying underneath those stormy skies

She'd say, "oh, ohohohoh I know the sun must set to rise"

This could be

Para-para-paradise

Para-para-paradise

Para-para-paradise

Oh oh oh oh oh oh-oh-oh

This could be

Para-para-paradise

Para-para-paradise

Para-para-paradise

Oh oh oh oh oh oh-oh-oh

This could be

Para-para-paradise

Para-para-paradise

Para-para-paradise

Oh oh oh oh oh oh-oh-oh

1ST DRAFT

The music video is based on a teenage girl diagnosed with cancer. She is somewhat depressed by the things that happen to her and her family since she had been diagnosed with cancer. Her middle income parents are always arguing about her medical bills and she feels like she is a burden to them. Her classmates keep away from her because they fear that she might “spread” the cancer to them. Even her parents’ friends are always showing pity towards her parents for having an ill daughter. She feels that she is embarrassing her family. To cope with all this issues, she often sits in her bedroom and calms herself down, closes her eyes and escapes to her paradise, which is her imaginary world or “happy place” where there is no sadness and hate and everything goes right for her.

The opening shot will be an introduction of the teenage girl without the music. These will be shots of her bedroom fully equipped with medical machines by her bedside for her weekly treatments. There are old pictures of her and her two other siblings and parents on the shelf, smiling happily without knowing that one of them would get cancer. And then we see her, 15 year old Felicia, sitting on her bed and staring blankly at the floor, listening to her parents argue downstairs about her outstanding medical bills.  

The intro of the song starts and there are intercutting shots of her parents arguing loudly downstairs and Felicia staring blankly and silently at the floor in her room. She could be daydreaming of the days before she was diagnosed with cancer, when she and her family would enjoy going on weekend trips and her friends would have sleepovers. And then she would be reminded of when her friends wouldn't allow her to sit with them in the canteen.

When the first verse starts, she would stop herself from daydreaming and go about her day, preparing herself for breakfast. She goes to her bathroom mirror and brushes her teeth and washes her face. Then she inspects her pale face closely in the mirror to see the negative results of her chemotherapy sessions. She brushes her fingers through her hair and a whole bunch of it clings to her fingers. She is horrified and is about to cry. She closes her eyes to calm herself down and takes deep breaths.

She gathers herself and gets dressed. Da da da da da.

During the chorus, she enters her paradise. The people in her paradise wear happy and colourful masks. When she arrives, she is given her personal mask and joins the citizen of her paradise in happiness. In her paradise, she witnesses beautiful things such as a father helping his daughter get up after falling on the ground and bending down to dust the dirt off her dress. She also witnesses a boy bringing flowers to his girlfriend and a group of friends having a laugh together. She basically sees everything that won’t happen to her because she has cancer.

At the bridge of the chorus, the people in her paradise start to act weird. She then realises that she has to wake up from her dream. She mouths the phrase ‘i know the sun must set to rise’, meaning that she has to face reality and find happiness in it, no matter what the situation. 

At the last choruses, she gets up and puts a smile on her face as she reunites with her friends etc.

QUOTE: The rainbow only comes after the thunderstorm.

2ND DRAFT

The music video is generally about the disease that all human beings have suffered from at some point in their life or are still suffering from it: procrastination. It is the avoidance of doing tasks which needs to be completed and instead doing things that are more pleasurable to us. In our music video, we follow a small group of college students who go about their usual routine of going to college and coming home. At college, they receive assignments as per usual and take these seriously at the beginning. As the day goes by and students are back at home, they are exposed to many other distractions. In other words, they are no more in their “work” state of mind. Thus, the students tend to do activities that they find more fun to do. These activities are students’ version of “paradise”. However, at the back of the students’ minds, there is a nagging feeling that they must complete their assignments.  

The opening shot (no music) will be of Celine’s index and middle finger standing upright like a man. We track Celine’s “finger-ninja” as she plays with it, mimicking a ninja jumping around here and there. The music fades in as her “finger-ninja” walks across Celine’s desk, revealing Celine’s sad face as her head rests on the desk. She sits upright and looks around her desk troubled and sad. The scene cuts to Celine asking her mother a question downstairs in the kitchen. We hear muffled shouts of her mother directed towards Celine with an angry expression on her face. Her mother shakes her head and points to Celine’s room, telling her to go. The scene cuts back to Celine in her bedroom sitting at her desk, her face still looking troubled. 

Celine slams her room door. She goes to bed angry because her mother didn't let her skip college. She wakes up, brushes her teeth/washes her face and puts on her shoes at the front door, still angry.

At the start of the lyrics, she is in the car, singing along to the music she is listening to. There will be a shot taken from inside the car focusing out at the Point College signboard through the car window and a shot of her hand turning the ignition off showing that she has arrived at college. She walks through the college doors then through her classroom door. She sets her bag down at her seat as the lecturer starts his/her lesson. From the back we see her dozing off . She closes her eyes to take a nap. 

During the instrumental part, we show shots of her other classmates creatively sleeping while their lecturer continues to teach. 

At the start of the second verse, Celine is startled when the lecturer wakes her up. The lecturer walks to the front of the class and writes their assignment for the week on the whiteboard. Celine and her classmates make a face. Back at home in her room, she tosses her bag to the ground and takes a shower, then has a snack. After this, she takes her assignments out and place them on the desk as she sits. She contemplates on which one to do first. There are flashes of shots of her in a bored pose, staring at her books, close her book, then looking over at her laptop.

At the chorus, she enters her paradise by logging onto Facebook and chatting with her friends.. eating potato chips and watching tv.. 

Before the bridge (lalalalala), we show Celine’s calendar. Each date is being ticked to show that time goes by.

At the bridge, she realizes that she has to complete her assignment before it is too late.

At the third last chorus, she does her assignment with full focus in the night and the scene cuts to her handing in her assignment at class the next day with a smile on her face. She and her classmates exaggeratedly celebrate after completing that assignment (throw confetti, jumping around in class) and the lecturer shakes his/her head and rolls his/her eyes. 

At the end of the song, the lecturer ends up giving them another assignment and his/her students just stare blankly at him/her.

Quote: “Homework first, then go play” or “Don’t procrastinate lah.”

3RD DRAFT

     The music video is about procrastination. It is the avoidance of doing tasks which needs to be completed and instead doing things that are more pleasurable to us. In our music video, we follow Celine, who goes about her usual routine of going to college and coming home. At college, she receives assignments as per usual and take these seriously at the beginning. As the day goes by and Celine is back at home, she is exposed to many other distractions. Thus, she does other activities that she finds more fun to do. These activities are students’ version of “paradise”. However, at the back of the her mind, there is a nagging feeling that she must complete her assignments before time runs out.  

     The opening shot (no music) will be of Celine’s index and middle finger standing upright like a man. We track Celine’s “finger-ninja” as she plays with it, mimicking a ninja jumping around here and there. 

     The music fades in as her “finger-ninja” walks across Celine’s desk, revealing Celine’s sad face as her head rests on the desk. She sits upright and looks around her desk troubled and sad. The scene cuts to Celine asking her mother a question downstairs in the kitchen. Her mother has an angry expression on her face. She scolds Celine and shakes her head then points towards Celine’s room, telling her to go. We cannot hear their conversation, only see their expressions.

     At the electro intro, Celine slams her room door. She goes to bed angry because her mother didn't let her skip college. She wakes up, still angry, brushes her teeth/washes her face and puts on her pyjama top. She didn’t realise it for a moment, then she takes it off and puts on a tshirt. At the front door, she puts on her shoes and sighs.

     At the start of the lyrics, she is in the car with her mother, singing along to the music on the radio. A shot is taken from inside the car focusing out at the Point College signboard through the car window. She turns the radio off (MUSIC CUT) and gets out of the car, then waves goodbye to her mother. (MUSIC CONT.) She walks through the college doors, followed by her classroom door. She greets her friends as she sets her bag down at her seat. The lecturer starts his/her lesson. From the back we see her dozing off. She closes her eyes to take a nap. 

     During the instrumental part, we show shots of her other classmates creatively sleeping while their lecturer continues to teach. 

     (MUSIC CUT) Celine is startled when the lecturer wakes her up. The lecturer walks to the front of the class and writes their assignment for the week on the whiteboard. Celine and her classmates make a face. 

     (MUSIC CONT.) At the second verse, she leaves her classroom and goes down to the lobby to wait for her mother. It is raining heavily. She looks at her watch then exhales frustratedly. Halfway setting her bag on the floor, the scene cuts to her bag being set on the floor in her room. She takes a shower, then has a snack. After this, she takes her assignments out and place them on the desk as she sits. She contemplates on which one to do first. There are flashes of shots of her in a bored pose, staring at her books, close her book, then looking over at her laptop.

     At the chorus, she enters her paradise by logging onto Facebook and chatting with her friends. She asks her friends if they want to hang out. The scene cuts to her meeting up with her friends at the mall. They go for a karaoke session singing the chorus of this song. Second part of the chorus, they are eating at a restaurant or shopping in the mall.

     At the instrumental part, we show shots of her doing activities like watch dramas and cartoons on TV, play badminton and playing outside with her dog (running close up) intercut between a dolly in shot of her homework on her desk.

     Before the bridge (lalalalala), we show Celine’s calendar. Each date is being ticked to show that the week is going by.

     At the bridge, just after entering her house, she is at the kitchen about to make Maggi mee for herself when she realizes that it is Sunday and she has homework due for the next day. She runs up the stairs and enters her room.

     At the second last chorus, she does her assignments one at a time with full focus in the night. There is a shot of her putting a completed assignment aside, then going on to the next one.

     At the last chorus, she rejoices and smiles indicating she has done all her assignments. The scene cuts to her happily getting into bed and pulling the sheets over her head to enjoy her worry-free sleep.

Quote: “Stop procrastinating lah”

FIRST NARRATIVE STORYBOARD (PARADISE)

SCENE 1 – Violin intro

LOCATION HOUSE – CELINE’S BEDROOM (INTERIOR/DAY)

ACTOR CELINE

Shot 1 Close-up, finger-ninja walks into frame from camera right. Track finger-ninja.

Shot 2 Close-up, Celine’s face resting on desk comes into frame with finger-ninja in foreground. Focus on Celine’s face. 

SCENE 2 – Violin intro

LOCATION HOUSE - KITCHEN (INTERIOR/NIGHT)

ACTOR CELINE, MOTHER

Shot 1 Celine’s mother’s back blocks camera view then moves left to reveal Celine, medium shot, talking to Mother. 

Shot 2 Medium shot OTS, Mother scolding Celine.

Shot 3 MCU shot, Mother saying “NO!” and points to staircase, angry expression on her face.

Shot 4 Medium two shot profile of Celine and Mother. Celine angrily turns and stomps off.

SCENE 3 – Electro intro

LOCATION HOUSE – CELINE’S BEDROOM (INTERIOR/NIGHT)

ACTOR CELINE

Shot 1 Close-up shot, Celine turns the door knob then camera tilt up to Celine screaming at her mother downstairs, then slams her bedroom door. Shot from outside her bedroom door. 

Shot 2 Bedroom door closes to reveal medium shot of Celine slamming the door. 

Shot 3 Camera track (medium shot) Celine from the back walking to her bed and banging things on the way. ^action-cuts

Shot 4 Medium shot, pan from her blanket to her angry face then she turns over to the other side. 

Shot 5 Medium shot (mirror), Celine walks into bathroom, brushes her teeth angrily then bends down to the sink.

Shot 6 Medium shot of Celine coming up from the sink, washing her face then looking at her angry face in the mirror.

Shot 6 Pan from left to medium shot, Celine gets frustrated that she has put her shirt on the wrong way. 

LOCATION HOUSE – FRONT DOOR (EXTERIOR/DAY)

Shot 7 Low angle, Celine opens the front door and sits to tie her shoelace, gets up and walks off frame over camera.

SCENE 4 – Verse 1

LOCATION OTW TO POINT COLLEGE (INTERIOR/DAY)

ACTOR CELINE

Shot 1 Medium shot, Celine shoes walk into frame. Track Celine shoes.

Shot 2  Pan from left, medium shot, Celine shoes walking on pavement (off centre).

Shot 3 Long shot, Celine walking on the pavement. Traffic in foreground

Shot 4 MCU frontal shot, Celine enjoying her music on her earphones.

SCENE 5 – Verse 1

LOCATION COLLEGE LIFT

ACTOR CELINE

Shot 1 Tilt down to close up shot, Celine’s finger presses floor number 2: POINT COLLEGE. 

SCENE 6 – Verse 1

LOCATION COLLEGE MAIN ENTRANCE (INTERIOR/DAY)

ACTOR CELINE

Shot 1 Pan, long/medium long shot, Celine walks towards camera, entering college glass doors. Celine blocks camera vision to blackout.

Shot 2 Static long/medium shot. From blackout, Celine walks away from camera and opens class door.

SCENE 7 – Verse 1

LOCATION COLLEGE – CLASSROOM (INTERIOR/DAY)

ACTOR CELINE, LECTURER, CLASSMATES

Shot 1 Pan, medium frontal tracking shot, classmate #1 walks towards class door then goes off frame. Celine opens class door and walks towards her seat, making eye contact with her friends and saying hi.

Shot 2 MCU shot, Celine walks into frame from camera left and sits down at her seat. She looks straight up at her lecturer in front.

Shot 3 Medium long shot, lecturer is teaching in front of a whiteboard.

Shot 4 MCU shot, dolly in. Celine closes her eyes to sleep.

Shot 5 MCU, pan from left to right. Her classmates sleeping in different positions. 

Shot 6 MCU two shot (one in foreground, one in background), focus change from front to back, of her other classmates, also sleeping.

Shot 7 (MUSIC CUT)

Long take:

- Medium shot, Celine is awaken by the lecturer (half body, no face). Lecturer walks from right to left behind Celine. Track lecturer.

- Medium shot (from back), lecturer knocks on table to wake other classmates. Classmate #2 (profile shot) walks into frame from camera left, asking lecturer permission to go to the toilet. 

- Medium long frontal shot, lecturer allows classmate #2 to go. Classmate #2 walks off frame. Lecturer walks to front of class. 

- Medium profile shot, lecturer writing their assignment & due date on the board. 

- Over the shoulder wide shot, students react to their new assignment.

Shot 8 Medium shot, Celine’s reaction to new assignment.

Shot 9 MCU, pan from Celine’s classmate picking up her bag from under table, to Celine saying bye to classmate and checking phone. Then Celine get up to leave class.

SCENE 8

LOCATION COLLEGE LOBBY (EXTERIOR/DAY)

ACTOR CELINE

Shot 1 Long shot, Celine walks into frame, away from camera to lobby pick-up area.

Shot 2 Pan from left to right, Celine walks into frame from camera right, and stops. Medium profile shot of Celine taking bag off shoulders, tilt down to Celine dropping bag to floor. Halfway drop, cut to..

SCENE 9

LOCATION HOUSE – CELINE’S BEDROOM (INTERIOR/DAY)

ACTOR CELINE

Shot 1 Medium shot (match to previous frame), Celine’s bag lands on the floor in her room.

Shot 2 Medium shot, Celine walks into frame and goes into the bathroom with a towel in her hand. She closes bathroom door.

Shot 3 Medium shot (match to previous frame), Celine opens bathroom door with towel wrapped around head and a new set of clothes on. Celine walks off frame.

Shot 4 Panning medium long shot, Celine takes her books out of her bag and puts them on the table. She sits down at her table.

Shot 5 Medium frontal shot, Celine opens her books and looks at her assignment, then plays with her phone.

Shot 6 OTS close up shot of phone, Celine Whatsapp messages her friends and asks if they want to hangout. They agree.

Shot 7 MCU shot, dolly out, Celine smiles at her phone. She puts it down and gets up from her seat. 

chat with friends on whatsapp, “homework start doing alrdy ah?”. replies, “next week only hand in ma!” ask to hangout, replies “YES” just before chorus. Celine smiles and gets up. 

SCENE 10 – Chorus 1

LOCATION SHOPPING MALL – KARAOKE (INTERIOR/DAY)

ACTOR CELINE, FRIENDS

Shot 1 Medium long shot, dolly out, Celine’s friends greet Celine in front of the karaoke place. Celine walks into frame. Camera tilt up, they walk into karaoke place. 

Shot 2 Medium shot, Celine’s friend picks a song on the screen.

Shot 3 Medium long shot, Celine and her friends sing along to the song.

SCENE 11 – Chorus 2

LOCATION ROLLER SKATING RINK (INTERIOR/DAY)

ACTOR CELINE, FRIENDS

Shot 1 Close up shot, Celine ties her roller skating shoelace.

Shot 2 Tracking long shot, Celine and her friends roller skating.

Shot 3 POV shot, Celine’s friend falls down and laughs. Celine gives a hand to her friend. Cut to..

SCENE 12 – Instrumental

LOCATION HOUSE – HALL (INTEROR/DAY)

ACTOR CELINE, FRIENDS

Shot 1 POV shot (match to previous frame), Celine receives a bag of chips from a friend.

Shot 2 Medium shot, pan from left to right, Celine and her friends watching TV.

Shot 3 Medium shot, Celine’s friends are walking off camera from couch, Celine turns off the TV using remote.

SCENE 13 – (LALALA) bridge 

LOCATION BADMINTON HALL (INTERIOR/DAY)

ACTOR CELINE, FRIENDS

Shot 1 Wide shot (from empire’s seat), Celine and her friends playing badminton.

Shot 2 Medium long shot (through the net), Celine accidentally hits friend #2 with racquet. Celine laughs.

**INTERCUT: Dolly in, Celine’s desk with her books.

Shot 3 Medium long, low angle shot, friend #1 and friend #3 drops to the floor laughing.

SERIOUS version?? Close ups of shuttlecock, cut to dog toy

Shot 4 Panning medium long shot, Celine runs away from friend chasing her with racquet, towards camera (MCU). Cut to..

SCENE 14 – (LALALA) bridge

LOCATION HOUSE – GARDEN (EXTERIOR/DAY)

ACTOR CELINE, DOG

Shot 1 Tracking medium shot, Celine running away from her dog, smiling.

Shot 2 Tracking medium long shot, Celine’s dog chasing after her.

Shot 3 Medium long shot, Celine petting her dog. Then, she throws dog toy. ?

**INTERCUT: Dolly in, Celine’s desk with her books, close up to assignment and due date.    

SCENE 15 -  bridge

LOCATION HOUSE – KITCHEN (INTERIOR/NIGHT)

ACTOR CELINE

Shot 1 Medium shot, Celine walks into frame and reaches for fridge door.

Shot 2 MCU profile shot, Celine opens fridge door and bends to take a drink for herself. Camera tracksCeline as she stands up to face the calendar on the freezer door. She realizes something.

Shot 3  Over the shoulder, the calendar Celine is looking at. Celine runs off camera left.

Shot 4 Close up shot, Celine leaves her drink on the counter. Hands go off camera.

SCENE 16 – second last chorus

LOCATION HOUSE – HALL/STAIRS (INTERIOR/NIGHT)

ACTOR CELINE   **Celine’s sister and brother kacau her otw up ?

Shot 1 Medium long frontal tracking shot, Celine turns and runs out of kitchen towards stairs. 

SCENE 17 – last chorus

LOCATION HOUSE – BEDROOM (INTERIOR/NIGHT)

ACTOR CELINE

Shot 1 MCU frontal shot, Celine opens her door and looks towards her books on the table. She walks towards camera off frame.

Shot 2 Panning medium shot, Celine walks into frame and sits at her table. She grabs a pen and starts doing her work.

Shot 3 Panning medium shot (posterior), Celine is bent over at her table. She puts a book aside indicating that she has done that work.

Shot 4 MCU shot, Celine sits back in her chair and throws her pen on the table with a relieved smile on her face.

Shot 5 Medium shot, high angle, Celine lies down on her bed, still smiling. She pulls the blanket over her head and sleeps.

SECOND NARRATIVE STORYBOARD (THE SCIENTIST)

SCENE INTRO

LOCATION BACK ALLEY (EXTERIOR/DAY)

Shot 1 Medium close up (MCU) dolly out shot, Beverley’s hand slides across a wall with graffiti on it.

LOCATION BADMINTON HALL (INTERIOR/DAY)

Shot 2 Medium shot, Beverley’s friends enjoying themselves.

Shot 3 Medium shot, Beverley and another friend laugh.

LOCATION ARCADE GAME CENTRE (INTERIOR/NIGHT)

Shot 4 Close up shot, Beverley and Winnie’s fingers pressing buttons and controlling the joystick.

LOCATION BACK ALLEY (EXTERIOR/DAY)

Shot 5 Close up dolly out shot, Beverley’s sad face is revealed as she continues to walk.

LOCATION HOUSE – BEDROOM (INTERIOR/DAY)

Shot 6 Low angle medium long shot, Beverley walks into her room. 

Shot 7 Low angle MCU tilt up shot, Beverley looks angrily out the door and closes it.

Shot 8 MCU shot, Beverley is thinking. She gets up to exit her room. 

LOCATION HOUSE – KITCHEN (INTERIOR/DAY)

Shot 9 Medium long tilt up shot, Beverley enters the kitchen to talk to her mother at the sink.

SCENE VERSE 1

LOCATION PARKING LOT – (EXTERIOR/DAY)

Shot 1 MCU shot, Beverley is thinking back.

LOCATION HOUSE – KITCHEN (INTERIOR/DAY)

Shot 2 MCU shot, Beverley’s mother is scolding her.

Shot 3 MCU shot, Beverley argues with her mother.

LOCATION PARKING LOT – (EXTERIOR/DAY)

Shot 4 MCU tracking shot, Beverley has a fed-up expression on her face as she walks. 

LOCATION CLASSROOM (INTERIOR/DAY)

Shot 5 MCU frontal tracking shot, Beverley’s lecturer walks to the front of the class.

Shot 6 Medium shot, the words “FINAL ASSIGNMENT. DUE: APRIL 23^RD” is written on the board as the lecturer points at it.

Shot 7 Panning wide shot, Beverley’s classmates react negatively to the assignment given.

Shot 8 MCU shot, Beverley pulls a face as her reaction to the assignment.

LOCATION PARKING LOT (EXTERIOR/DAY)

Shot 9 MCU tracking shot, Beverley continues to walk. 

LOCATION HOUSE – BEDROOM (INTERIOR/DAY)

Shot 10 Long shot, Beverley sits on her bed.

LOCATION HOUSE – KITCHEN (INTERIOR/DAY)

Shot 11 MCU shot, Beverley’s mother is scolding her.

Shot 12 MCU shot, Beverley argues with her mother.

LOCATION ARCADE GAME CENTRE (INTERIOR/NIGHT)

Shot 13 MCU shot, Beverley and her friends celebrate after winning at the arcade.

LOCATION HOUSE – KITCHEN (INTERIOR/DAY)

Shot 14 Medium long profile shot, Beverley’s mother is scolding her.

Shot 15 MCU shot, Beverley gets irritated.

Shot 16 Medium long shot, Beverley walks away as her mother shakes her head at her.

LOCATION PARKING LOT (EXTERIOR/DAY)

Shot 17 Close up shot, Beverley is thinking back.

 LOCATION CLASSROOM (INTERIOR/DAY)

Shot 18 MCU high angle shot, the lecturer looks up to Beverley, walking into frame from camera left, as she hands in her assignment.

Shot 19 MCU low angle shot, Beverley gives a nervous smile at her lecturer.

Shot 20 MCU high angle shot, the lecturer takes a look at her assignment.

Shot 21 MCU profile shot, Beverley explains her work to the lecturer.

SCENE CHORUS

LOCATION HOUSE – BEDROOM (INTERIOR/DAY)

Shot 1 MCU frontal shot, Beverley opens her door and shouts angrily at her mother, then slams the door shut.

LOCATION CLASSROOM (INTERIOR/DAY)

Shot 2 Close up shot, the lecturer assesses her assignment.

Shot 3 Close up shot, the lecturer’s hand puts Beverley’s assignment on the table and fiercely points at it.

Shot 4 MCU profile shot, Beverley continues to explain her assignment.

Shot 5 MCU shot, the lecturer tells Beverley that she is not satisfied with her assignment.

Shot 6 MCU shot, Beverley walks away disappointed.

LOCATION PARKING LOT (EXTERIOR/DAY)

Shot 7 Medium long posterior shot, Beverley stops walking at the end of the parking lot.

Shot 8 MCU posterior shot, Beverley looks around.

LOCATION HOUSE – BEDROOM (INTERIOR/DAY)

Shot 9 MCU high angle shot, Beverley is doing her assignment at her desk.

Shot 10 Medium shot, Beverley is taking out her anger on her teddy bear. She then flings it across the room.

Shot 11 MCU high angle shot, Beverley sighs as she does her assignment.

LOCATION HOUSE – KITCHEN (INTERIOR/DAY)

Shot 14 Medium long profile shot, Beverley’s mother is scolding her.

LOCATION HOUSE – BEDROOM (INTERIOR/DAY)

Shot 15 MCU high angle shot, Beverley is doing her assignment at her desk.

Shot 16 Medium shot, Beverley’s teddy bear lands on her storybooks.

Shot 17 MCU high angle shot, she rests her head on her hand as she looks at the laptop.

Shot 18 Big close up shot, Beverley’s fingers are typing on the keyboard.

Shot 19 MCU high angle shot, she sits upright and continues typing.

Shot 20 Big close up shot, Beverley’s fingers are typing on the keyboard.

LOCATION HOUSE – BEDROOM (INTERIOR/NIGHT)

Shot 21 MCU frontal shot, Beverley is still at her desk doing her assignment.

SCENE VERSE 2

LOCATION STREETS (EXTERIOR/DAY)

Shot 1 MCU posterior tracking shot, Beverley is walking.

LOCATION TRAIN STATION (INTERIOR/DAY)

Shot 2 Long shot, Beverley stands in the middle of the station.

LOCATION PARK (EXTERIOR/DAY)

Shot 3 MCU low angle shot, camera rotate slowly, Beverley is looking around.

LOCATION TRAIN STATION (INTERIOR/DAY)

Shot 4 Close up high angle shot, Beverley is riding the escalator up while thinking.

LOCATION PARK (EXTERIOR/DAY)

Shot 5 Medium frontal shot, Beverley is crouching down while leaning on a tree.

LOCATION TRAIN STATION (INTERIOR/DAY)

Shot 6 Pan from right to left, to medium tracking shot of Beverley walking in between the crowd.

LOCATION ARCADE GAME CENTRE (INTERIOR/NIGHT)

Shot 7 MCU shot, Beverley and her friend are playing a game and laughing together.

Shot 8 MCU frontal shot, Beverley celebrates as she wins a game.

LOCATION STREETS (EXTERIOR/DAY)

Shot 9 Point of view shot, a group of ladies look at Beverley.

Shot 10 MCU posterior shot, Beverley looks back.

LOCATION TRAIN STATION (INTERIOR/DAY)

Shot 11 Long shot, Beverley stands in the middle of the station.

LOCATION STREETS (EXTERIOR/DAY)

Shot 12 Long shot, Beverley continues to wander.

SCENE CHORUS

LOCATION TRAIN (INTERIOR/DAY)

Shot 1 Medium shot, Beverley leans on the wall of the train, looking down.

LOCATION BUS STOP (EXTERIOR/DAY)

Shot 2 MCU profile shot, Beverley is laughing while chatting with her friend.

LOCATION TRAIN (INTERIOR/DAY)

Shot 3 Insert shot of the train tracks from the back of the train as the train was accelerating.

LOCATION BUS STOP (EXTERIOR/DAY)

Shot 4 MCU shot, Beverley is laughing while chatting with her friend.

LOCATION PARK (EXTERIOR/DAY)

Shot 5 High angle shot, camera slowly rotates, Beverley crouching down in between tree branches.

LOCATION TRAIN STATION (INTERIOR/DAY)

Shot 6 Medium posterior shot, Beverley walks towards a staircase and takes off her hat.

LOCATION STREETS (EXTERIOR/DAY)

Shot 7 Close up shot, Beverley’s feet walk away from camera. In the foreground, her assignments drop to the floor behind her.

SCENE ENDING

LOCATION BUS STOP (EXTERIOR/DAY)

Shot 1 MCU profile shot, Beverley’s smile turns to a frown.

Shot 2 Medium shot, Beverley starts to get sad.

Shot 3 Long shot, Beverley is sitting at the bus stop alone.

LOCATION STREETS (EXTERIOR/DAY)

Shot 4 Medium shot of Beverley’s leg walking towards the camera.

Shot 5 Close up shot, Beverley’s feet walk into frame from camera left. Camera tracks blood on the road towards Beverley’s face. Camera dolly out to reveal MCU shot of Beverley dead on the road.

LOCATION TRAIN STATION (INTERIOR/DAY)

Shot 6 Medium long posterior shot, Beverley walks up the overexposed staircase.

LOCATION STREETS (EXTERIOR/DAY)

Shot 7 High angle shot of Beverley’s feet walking away from camera off frame.

REFERENCE SHOTS