你又不是導演。｜ you are not the director.

近年來，很慶幸朋友們邀我去拍他們的電影劇照。因此也結交了一些志同道和的朋友。最近還很榮幸能為一位朋友拍他的記錄片。
事情就發生在拍攝的最後一天：是個無聲的記錄片，我們在拍攝女主角搬到新家的情景。看年輕朋友一再嘆氣，好心疼啊！
就隨口道：“為什麼一直嘆氣，嘆氣leh…”
換來的是：”關你什麼事？“ ”你又不是導演。“

//

當場見血！完全不能拍下去。心如水做。
我覺的，死了，心情沒了，這是靠心拍的記錄呀！
沒水準。

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in the recent years i was very honor to be invited to my director friends’ film set to document their film still based on my interpretation of their film, they will send me their scrip and writings and we see this as a collaboration in representing the feel and idea of the their film.

i was asked to do a “directed” sorta documentary film last month and during the last day of part one’s shoot, the following happened and it hunts me quite a bit.
we were documenting a friend who is also the main character1. its quite saddening to see a friend who keep sighing.
so i said: ” why keep sighing leh? “
in return: ” whats the matter? ” ” you are not the director. “

//

bull’s eye! right on the heart. completely disabled for the moment.
how unprofessional.

footnote
1. i don’t refer her as “actress” as this is a documentary film, its real.

Michelle & Zhixian’s Christmas wedding!

i got to know Michelle, Zhixian and gang during Phyllis & Eric’s wedding (http://yesterdaywasgreat.wordpress.com/?s=phyllis) , ever since then we have been meeting up in exotic places like botanic garden, their JC (where they met) and my cafe to discuss about their Christmas wedding party. i have personally witnessed her sisters’ gang becoming really professional in their “job”, no panic, no “right” answers. we were also amazed that how Michelle’s dad and my uncle look so similar too. ha! (http://www.tanhaihan.com/p_berthui.html) heres, their Christmas wedding, enjoy~

this is a “teochew niang” people’s ritual practice; in the old days, when the bride was married to the groom’s family, they seldom visit their home anymore, thus this actually quite an important ritual which the bride will have a proper “last breakfast” with her family. i remembered while documenting my cousins’ weddings, my aunts would always wash their face with tears during the ritual. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teochew_dialect)

awwwwww…… i love this moment.

“i love museum” – National Museum of Singapore

recently the museums of Singapore were having their campaign, “i love museums”. i thought i will also share my love tales for National Museum of Singapore;

you can visit their facebook page here:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Singapore/I-Love-Museums/147872113417

and their official page:
http://www.museums.com.sg/

remember we had an exhibition for documenting Certis Cisco personal at work, one of the photo actually features one of their elite on National Museum’s bridge, over looking the security of the museum. it was first pull out by the client but good photo never dies easily :p . last december, i reused the same idea for my pair of love birds with the same composition, differ by their tone; Cisco – cold, focus, aware of everything / love birds – warm, relax, joy.

after the bridge, if you walk toward your right, you will see Michael Lee’s “National Columbarium of Singapore”. Its is part of “Lost in the City exhibition”, a partner program of Singapore Art Show 2009. the work is taken down already, but you can re-experience his work here: www.tanhaihan.com/mic_national.html

“National Columbarium of Singapore is a model-and-text installation that addresses issues of urban development, memory, and naming. Instead of housing human remains, this hypothetical columbarium features 100 lost Singapore architecture including 45 scaled models of demolished buildings as well as fictitious and unbuilt structures.

White pervades the seemingly phantom city, triggering one’s memory and imagination. Miniaturisation of the buildings into models also stirs the audience to contemplate issues of space, power, and accountability.

By mixing history with fiction, abstraction with realism and artefacts with words, this installation evokes stories and memories about the buildings, extending their “life” beyond their physical existence.”

beside visiting the history museum which has really great installation, content and multimedia add ons ( i think they should consider the new ipad, could be doubled as a touch too ), i am also a frequent visitor to their film theater at the basement. ohh, just outside the theater is farm’s (www.farm.sg) collections of very localize stationaries, childhood toys and postcards for the museum, do check them out!!