talking to myself

Babies Grow so quickly!!

2009-02-01T14:05:00.005+08:00

1 year old

0 year old

Yesterday, had a surprise visit from our relatives from china.

My cousin's family whom they've spent the Xmas and New Year with us last year to have their baby in HK - Hei Man

She has grown so much already!

People come, People go.

a new ending to an old story

2008-11-29T07:47:00.007+08:00

This morning, grandma left us in peace.

Family was UNITED and we said goodbye.

We forget our differences and come together.

We shared tears and remembered our wonderful memories.

No more pain for you and I am glad.

Don't be scared POR POR, you will never be alone,

You will always be in our hearts and

we can meet in dreams.

BUT still, wherever you are,

I am sure you will be smiling.

Gong Tsyn

PS: last night, memories flood back and i remembered scenes with her in my life.

it was CE (public exam) and i was feeling stressed out and feel pressured.

Mum told grandma about it and we had a really nice phone conversation.

i remembered her comforting me, telling me not to worry about it and go for it.

i could still remembered that i burst into tears hearing her words.

I could remembered that i feel so much better after that phone call afterwards

as days go by, i guess this memory kinda faded away.

I will always remember her phone calls in the middle of the night.

she will be calling asking for my mother and once she hanged up she

will call back straight after.

I have to admit that there are times that i feel annoyed by her calls

BUT now thinking back....

i miss her voice so bad.

The blues of working in the creative industry

2008-11-08T16:33:00.001+08:00

an old email~

2008-10-31T02:45:00.005+08:00

this is an old email which i found while going through some old contacts,

it describes the day when I just score myself that cableTV job, the one that i have just quit, its interesting to read it at this moment of my life:

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi SXXXX,

How are you going? Hope everything is fine on your side.

I've been very well, went to china a couple of weeks ago,
Haven't went back for more than 13 years !!

And, I would like to share with you some good news....I've just scored
myself a full time job at cableTV (a local pay TV station) , I will be their on-air promotions junior producer!! I will be responsible for producing quality promos for all their shows within the station. There will be a lot of video editing, title sequence design and video shootings involved. Should be very challenging working in a broadcast environment!! I am very excitied yet nervous at the moment as tomorrow is my first day of work!!

My job interview was certainly an interesting story to tell. For my 2nd interview, first they ask if i got anything else to do for the rest of the day....i said i am all good...

then they asked me to cut a 40 seconds movie promo, a film that i have never seen - Dear Frankie

i have to start from scratch, from watching the movie to selecting the shots, capturing the shots, writing the promo script, edit the shots, add music, add titles and designing the end titles....it was a bit rush...but still, i worked from 3 to 9pm

The following day, I got a call from my producer, telling me that they want to discuss further details with me about the job! That's it!!

I really hope that I can do well in my job and get settled in HK this time~
It just feels like the right move for me. I look forward to have a more routine and stable life and working style~

Will let you know how I go with it.

talk soon and take care!

Please say hi to FXXXX for me!!

cheers
Thomas

*** And now, my new job starts next monday, here we go again!! ***

City life - exclamation mark

2008-10-29T01:21:00.007+08:00

I have quit my job and I am really enjoying the days where i don't have to rush to work , and to constantly meeting deadlines.

I started to think about my life that walked past me all these years as I finally have time to really sit down and think. (yes my 1.5 years at cable got my 200% of working capacity and I am glad that I am out now. )

Before I start my new job, it is a very good time to do the thing that I like the most, a review, a note about my current feelings.

I have lose contact with a lot of people over the past few years, some I just intended to stop contact because they shits me for some reasons. And for others, the connection was lost mainly because the online chatting software was out to date and I stopped using it.

I have been really addicted to facebook these days and found a lot of old friends that i used to be very close to while I was still using icq and when i was still socially active. I looked at their pages, and mainly their pictures and can't stop thinking to myself

"what have I missed all these years?"

i have chosen work above everything else, family, social life, and after looking at their pages, i started to question myself once again, is it worth it? As this is my hole in a tree (ref: in the mood for love) I don't mind telling you that quitting my current job mainly because of people that super irritates me, and that week, it makes me so angry that i swear that I have to get out of this hell hole. that's when I realize that when you put all your bet onto one thing and when that thing turns against you, you lose everything.

I am glad that i have decided to quit and move on. My new job should be relatively less working hours and working style should be more comfortable compare to my day to night | night to day insane marathon working routine. And I pray to whoever that's out there that please let me meet some good people at this new place.

Although there are shit people at cable (quite a lot actually), there are still a lot of nice and friendly people that I am gonna miss. I am not a social person at all, and I wish my departure could be more all rounded but hey, everything got its first time.

which brings me back to the main theme of this note.

in recent years, people's relationships depend too much on social networking technologies, like myspace, facebook or blog...(yes .... I am one good example) is it good or is it bad? I am not going to judge it. But to have a gateway, a peeping hole to look at your friends is not such a bad idea, at least not for me, an otaku. Through these websites, i did get in touch with a lot of long lost friends. Although we have lost contact for too long that it's almost 100% that we are not going to meet face by face anymore (I am just not that kind of person), but having the opportunity to send messages to each other to see how things are going on the opposite side is kinda good.

yes the human touch is lost. To be honest, i don't like talking on the phones anymore, especially to people that i don't know very well or haven't met in ages. Geez...sound like I have become an alien in social networking. - A robot that forgets how to love. and to confess, I really don't enjoy social gatherings and I only like to spend time with people that I feel comfortable with and to be frank these kind of people are rare, but as long as you got one, you are set for life!!

I am glad that I still got friends and they basically form a very strong support architecture for me to function properly in this cold hearted city.

on monday, 3 NOV. new life begins and i wish myself all the best.

engine starts and go!!

(I am really into b/w photography these days, it just adds another level of emotion to the photos, one night at osaka & last days at cable) I will post the regular photos of my last days later on if I feel like it.

new works!

2008-10-04T21:23:00.002+08:00

Movie Promo for Assembly

Vexille Movie Promo

ENJOY!!

China WIN!!

2008-08-10T23:40:00.004+08:00

making of: http://www.xanga.com/postgal_workshop/669752232/coca-cola---olympic-tvc.html

THRILLING JUNE - Aphex Twins - Come to Daddy

2008-06-03T01:12:00.000+08:00

5.12 China Earthquake - Tribute to the people

2008-05-25T23:03:00.000+08:00

Afterthought

2008-05-20T00:42:00.004+08:00

Afterthought

Song shakkazombie - big blue

I am now sitting in my seat of flight NH 911 flying back to hk.....I am going back to work straight away tomorrow and I am now doing some serious thinking

My job is just too tough and it is really time for me to seriouly consider what to do next. I want to have a job that allows me to have my own life while I can still able to use my multimedia skills and hopefully, i can go back to my animation production routine

music: Towa tei series let me know

I am really sick of doing promos now as the creative freedom is so small, especially with my tv station and I am starting to feel that my skills are not being fully utilized. I like some of the people there as they treat me like family but still i think it is not enough.

Besides I want to work less hours, I want to have time for friends and family. If I keep this long hours, there are no way they I can have a normal social life.

music: Miho album - drop by drop

I know I want to write this for quite a long time. And now since I am in the plane, it allows me to do so. I did have some serious thoughts during this trip while I am with my friends I couldn't help but thinking that I am afraid to get into a serious relationship

Is it because of my previous experience? I can't really tell. But know she for sure has moved on ages ago.

For me I am still standing at the same spot.

Before I gone to japan, I heard some stories which makes me wonder..... How can love be so blind.....it is clearly that a couple doesn't match but still they are together and in another case, after separation one still have feelings for The other one..... Life is simply too complex for me and I just want to make it as simple we possible.....

But looking at my best buddy, he is really doing ok and they didnt even seemed to stress about it at all

They are very happy and..... I want to be happy too.

There are a lot of mean people in my circle and I just dont like the feeling pf having to constantly maneuver in order to place myself in a comfortable situation, my brain needs to he on complex consequence analysis and it is really going to drive me nuts

Minimalism is what j need

Suddenly had a thought about job, I want to have a job that I can contribute something to our society. I think at this point of my life, i wan to do more than just making beautiful things

Also I also have to add a balance to job and personal tme that I devote in it, I want to make things perfect and they will require me to put in triple the time needed than just a regular output like my other workmates, this can easily reach a basic standard in my office but for me..... Seeing something that represents me and if it does not look at its best, it really irritates me.

I am really grateful to sayuri whom she took a day off just to show me around while I was in Osaka. We were traveling buddies back in my Melbourne days. I know she I'd a really punctual person in terms of time and I dare not to be late. For me, if my friend comes to visit hong kong , would I give up a day just for them ?

I really don't know and so far i have never done that

Meeting Fonteyn was a surprise too!!!! I just randomly asks people before I come to japan for any traveling tips and there she replies, not only she is coming to japan she and her friend also lives so close to me so ikebushi which the other night I realize that it was a red light district and our area was surrounded by " love hotel's" and adult video shops

I was am really good at making small conversations and make people feel comfortable. Breaking the ice during a lost in translation is my best strength really. (Like John Travolta keeping Uma Thurman a good company for the night in Pulp Fiction) I said to myself right here up high in the sky if I meet any girls that I like and I know they she is single i will make my move I think it is about time that I can be back in the circle

Song: what a difference they make

I know my workmates will ask if I get any "action" during my trip, well I am sorry that I have to disappoint them again.

When I go back home I will straight away make sure that all the photos are safely transferred into my computer. Because there are just so many important shots that I can't afford to loose them really.

I am going to spent a lot of time organizing my album and then post them online for the world to see

I am a spontaneous person. The main reason that I suddenly decided to come japan was because of a movie that I love so much - Sofia Coppola's lost in translation. This movie inspires me a lot and visiting that big triangular zebra crossing at Shibuya was really a dream came true

I am really looking forward to the next movie that inspires me to visit

I still got quite a lot of days in my annual leave and I am absolutely positive about a second traveling this year but the destination is yet to be decided so staytune

Alright I got to chill out now

Great to have my iPod touch with me this time!!!!

10: 59 Japanese time

Cheers
Thomas
18-5-08
On the plane now located high up on the ocean

Sent from my iPod

Finally finished all the big projects

2008-04-29T02:22:00.003+08:00

and now, let's look at what i have done in the past 4 months:

Hannibal Rising Teaser A

Hannibal Rising Teaser B

Hannibal Rising Launch

The Go Master promo

Erotica Finecut

The Green City Trilogy -
episode one - Piggy Bank:

episode two - Telescope

episode three - Bowling

Hollywood Action Heroes

Green City Model Making Recruitment:

Hollywood Adventures

Olympics Celebration Promo:

These are some of the highlights of my works ..... it's a lot of working hours.....

but hey...i am proud of these works and they are not something that i just produce in order to deliver.

Enjoy!!

HK ICT awards 2007

2008-01-22T00:03:00.000+08:00

another award for SUKKI - HK ICT awards 2007: Best Direction, Best Editing and Best screenplay.

Thanks to everyone that have put their effort into it and I am forever grateful!!

GO SUKKI TEAM! This trophy is OURS!!

fisheye 2.0

2008-01-21T00:31:00.000+08:00

Got myself a Lomo fisheye 2.0, can't wait to try it out

newborn baby in DA house!

2007-12-30T22:57:00.000+08:00

Korea Special 08 - the temple

2007-12-02T23:11:00.001+08:00

Temples are everywhere in the city of seoul, and here are some.

went to this temple with Junni to eat our baskins robins icecream in between screenings~

great atmosphere really~

Korea Special 07 - Natural Korea

2007-11-03T17:23:00.000+08:00

autumn in seoul...no words to describe here.....see for yourself

Korea Special 06 - yummy korean food

2007-11-03T16:50:00.001+08:00

traditional korea barbecue, Junni ( my guide) took me to this place which is very close to where he lives and this restaurant is specialized in pork barbecue~

In Korea, there is a tradition that the restaurants wont offer a wide range of food. Their belief is that if you serve only one kind of food, that means they are expert in that area. If you offer all kinds of foods, they know u aren't good at anything. That's kinda true.

That also makes ordering food much harder because if you can't read korean that means u have no idea what food this restaurnat offers.

my first dinner by myself. I walked around the city for so long trying to find a place that has an english menu ..... i ended found this sort of american korean place and ordered some steaks and sausages.

some nice pork dumplings

traditional gin seng chicken soup~

BIP BIM BAP - meaning rice on rocks~

restaurants might look shitty from the outside, but inside, they offer quality food in cheap prices~

my all time favourite....Jum Bong Ramen, spicy seafood noodle soup~

Korea Special 05 - The Festival, Korea and I

2007-10-28T04:02:00.000+08:00

this is the festival venue. It is quite a big festival in the city and there are a lot of booths for the public to involve in like workshops and stuff. There is also a big press release booth.

this is the cinema that showed my film "Cinema Jungon"

the mayor of seoul

opening ceremony as a cold freezing night. At first I want to stay behind and watch the opening film, but....i ended up cant stand the cold and go back to my hotel room instead and go to bed early. I even missed the opening reception which they told me later that it has a lot of delicious foods.

Korea Special 04 - The Han River - Tribute to "the HOST"

2007-10-28T03:35:00.000+08:00

The Host - one of my all time favourite film. When I know that I got the chance of visiting Seoul, visiting the Han river became a very high priority. When I met Eunvy on the plane, we started talking about everything and film is one of the topics. We have decided to have a one day adventure at the han river and do things as the characters did in the film. This might sound silly to you but hey I don't care, I had fun!

some of you might remember that this is the bridge area where the monster was hanging and jumping around like an acrobat.

This is the convenient store where the character works. And in this scene he was making fried octopus and beer to his customers. Where he intentionally "steals" two long octopus legs.

We had fried octopus and beer next to the river. We talk and laughed....such a beautiful monday afternoon!!!
I pretend to be throwing beer can down the river Han. Again, if u 've seen the film, u'll know why.

I can't believe that I get to see the great monster itself at last!!

Korea Special 03 - Day and Night Part II

2007-10-28T03:32:00.001+08:00

Korean Mc Donald's, its the fist maccer that i 've seen that isn't using its original english title

8 nights of holidays passes just like.......that!

some street corners around the hotel area...i was trying to look for restaurants that has english menu...but again its hard.

phonebooth that i use to call home everynight!!

Mung Dong is great for shopping!! Looks really like japan!

We went to this pub called SKA after the dinner for the closing ceremony. People that went are mostly volunteers and with the technical team. I took the camera out, wanting to take a pic with this beautiful korean girl. The staff then quickly come towards me and told me that I am not allowed to take pics....so here it is...the only pic that i could take @ SKA.
This is the university area (Hungit University) and there are a lot of nice shops and trendy clothes for sale over there. We finishes the drink at around 5am in the morning and there were still a lot of people hanging around on the street!!

A very nice Karaoke.

Korea Special 02 - Day and Night Part I

2007-10-28T03:27:00.000+08:00

This is a very nice shot of my bed in my hotel, its like the most comfy hotel I have ever stayed in my life. The only reason I can stay in such a posh hotel is because all the other guest invited by the festival could not make it and I ended up becoming the only guest in the festival! That's why they can allocate all their budget for me......haha lucky~

downtown in Seoul City~

a nice sunset view from the Han River Bank
I only took this two shots because this bridge looks like the one from Jules and Jim~

suburban Seoul

This is a fence at the Seoul Tower. You must be wondering what are these locks for. They are locked up here by couples and young lovers......for luck in LOVE.

~ to be contined ~

Korea Special 01 - Friends

2007-10-28T03:21:00.001+08:00

This is the first pic that I took with Eunvy when we met on the plane~

Her name is Eunvy and I met her in a very interesting way...............we met at the plane!! She was sitting next to me in my flight to Seoul. She start asking me if I am Korean and we started talking. One thing lead to another, we exchanged details and she kindly offered to show me around Seoul City and of coz she did.

We went to the Han River and spend the whole afternoon there. The main reason I want to visit this river so much is because of the movie the host, its one of my favourite korean movie about this mutated monster which was hiding in this river and starts capturing and eating people!!

Anyway, I dont want to off topic too much~ she is very nice and kind and I thank her for showing me the city and came to my screening with her bf~

This young man....i cant even remember his name....he show us where the train station is when we finished having a walk at the han river. He reminded me of Luigi when he was young~....all so fat and cute.

Now, he is really the main main in my trip!! Junni is the guy that has been showing me and arranging all my hospitality needs and he has done a really great job!! He was assigned by the film festival to show me around and at first when I am communicating with him I thought he was Korean and I was worried that I can't communicate with him properly....but when I first see and talk to him at the airport.....all my doubts are gone as he is actually british. He was originally from Manchester~ I basically talk more english than most of my days in HK...which is great!!

His background was very interesting. His father is korean and he decided to come over to Seoul and studied Korean language for two years. Now, he speaks fluent korean and got himself a very nice korean gf...how cool was that!!

This again supports my theory is that to learn a language proper, date one of the girls that talks that language.

During the 8 days we spend together, we chat a lot....from korean history to customs and from his dreams to desires. He also show me how to order food which is very important in Korea as most of the restaurants there do not have english descriptions and of coz the people who work there can hardly speak any engish, so it is really hard for tourist who dont understand korean to order the food that they really want. But Junni show me this restaurant which is just right across the street from the cinema and its like 5 minutes away from my hotel and this restaurant soon became my canteen of this trip!
This is Boek Heun Oh, he is a projectionist for the film festival and he asks questions in every screening! We became friends after the closing ceremony as we both drank a lot. And he keep buying me drinks and dont let me pay as he says it's "korean tradition" to treat tourists this way....i like this custom a lot haha! He is really friendly and he also agrees to have an adventure with me in Seoul. We ended up walking up the Seoul Tower and he tells me a story about the film industry in Korea.

Chloe is a volunteer at the film festival and she is very shy to me at the closing ceremony dinner and we started chatting. I ended up calling her on my last night in Seoul and take her to dinner~

I met a lot of local people in this trip and I am very proud of it. As I think it is terribly hard to meet local people when you join a tour or you are in a very tight schedule. But for me, I got the film festival as a base for me to meet new people and of coz the film festival is very kind enough to allow me to stay back for 5 days even after the film festival is a very generous gesture to me and this allow me to relax and chill out and feel Seoul like no other trip that I have ever experienced in my life. Understanding one's culture is always a very interesting subject to me and I really look forward to my next long holiday........I wonder where should I go next? Well...I got plenty of time to think about it.

Lost in translation? not really.....

2007-10-24T23:56:00.000+08:00

last night was the closing ceremony of the film festival and it was much fun. I go have dinner with all the staff of the festivals and then all the crews decided to go to have a drink and dance at a local club called Ska.....

I 've always wanted to experience one's culture and of coz i decided to join them.....
the whole vibe of the club was so nice and everyone was having a great time. I experienced the strong friendliness in korean teenagers and this raises question in my head....

can Hong Kong teenagers be this kind to foreigners ? I seriously doubt that!!

I think koreans are really shy about speaking in english, but this do not apply after they have a few drinks of alcohol...well...they speak in broken english but it is more than enough for me to understand and being ab le to communicate with them. They are very curious about me and at the same time I am very curious about them. We ask each other really silly questions and I think this is the most enjoyable part of really understanding one's culture.

After the night club, the boys took me to have traditional pork intestine soup which apparently they said that it is good for one after they had consumed much alcohol~ taste nice and yea~

but the only thing that I have regretted is that it is the last day of the festival and I just hesitated to take a picure with this really cute volunteer which after I have a brief chat with her,.... I know that her name is candice and she studies radio frequency engineering and has been unemployed since. She is really tall has a really "Doll face" and during each screening I gets really excited because she will talk to me in korean....a bunch of words which i can't undedrstand but she say it really beautifuly with her tones and all.

I ended up going back home at like 6am in the morning and prepare for another big day at the electronic market.

** I went to the han river with Euncy ( the girl that I met at the plane) and it was again another fun night. You guys that havent seen the movie, please go download it or get a dvd.....i took lots and lots of funny photos and i even have friend octopus and drink beer along the river.....all so very nice!

I am now feeling a bit sad because holiday is about to end very soon!!

until next time

Tom

From HK to Seoul

2007-10-20T03:23:00.001+08:00

hi there,

I am now in Seoul doing this blog entry:

Feelings so far:

I just dont know what to order in restaurants as all their restaurant menus are in Korean and there are not many restaurants with english translation menus~

I got into this sort of western style korean restaurant last night and I decided to just point at what people eat and then order, but luckily, they have an english menu and I have myself one hot meal in this cold winter day....

yes the weather is extremely cold!

I met this girl on the plane (korean) and she game me her phone number and suggested that she will show me the city. I emailed her yesterday and I 've just got a respond from her!! She has also promised to come to my screening to day so that doubles the excitement!! I wonder where will she take me.

Have a look at my hotel room it is super luxury! I wish I can live like this when I am in Hong Kong. Look, there are so many beds there....with kitchen and all. I wish I can fully utilized it but u know I can't.

I am planning to visit the "Han River" the river that was highly featured in the movie, "the host"
Also, I am going to a lot of screenings tomorrow, not to mention my own screenign with the post screening questions and answers section. I wonder what the korean audience would ask me about~....

I am also planning to visit the demilitarized zone which is also featured in another movie, "JSA". Yes....I am a crazy movie fan!! Which also means I can have a taste and get to see a little bit of north korea~ Also, I think I will also do some more research after I go back to HK as it really fascinates me with all the history about korea and all~

I should really go back to bed as there is a very long day ahead of me.

Until next time!

Alone again naturally

2007-10-16T00:47:00.000+08:00

me on panel in studio

I call cams and direct the hosts( see those blinking buttons??)

me having a go with the camera

Alfred - my main man

one big cable eye family!!!

But sadly this show is coming to an end on the 31st OCT~ I would like to dedicate this song to the show~ I suddenly have a great emotion shift as I am about to go on a long holiday in Korea in a couple of days

Alone again naturally by Gilbert O'Sullivan

In a little while from now,
If I'm not feeling any less sour
I promised myself to treat myself
And visit a nearby tower,
And climbing to the top,
Will throw myself off
In an effort to make it clear to who
Ever what it's like when your shattered
Left standing in the lurch, at a church
Where people 're saying,
"My God that's tough, she stood him up!
No point in us remaining.
May as well go home."
As I did on my own,
Alone again, naturally

To think that only yesterday,
I was cheerful, bright and gay,
Looking forward to, but who wouldn't do,
The role I was about to play
But as if to knock me down,
Reality came around
And without so much as a mere touch,
Cut me into little pieces
Leaving me to doubt,
All about God and His mercy
For if He really does exist
Why did He desert me
In my hour of need?
I truly am indeed,
Alone again, naturally

It seems to me that
There are more hearts
Broken in the world
That can't be mended
Left unattended
What do we do? What do we do?

(instrumental break)

Now looking back over the years,
And what ever else that appears
I remember I cried when my father died
Never wishing to have cried the tears
And at sixty-five years old,
My mother, God rest her soul,
Couldn't understand, why the only man
She had ever loved had been taken
Leaving her to start with a heart
So badly broken
Despite encouragement from me
No words were ever spoken
And when she passed away
I cried and cried all day
Alone again, naturally
Alone again, naturally

Memory Flashback

2007-10-15T04:04:00.000+08:00

Accidentally saw an old website and saw a line of text describing me, here it goes:

" If I am a cookie from Mrs. Field's, I would be the Coffee Toffee Flavour "

......

Countdown to Seoul

2007-10-14T14:41:00.001+08:00

Details of the 1st Seoul International Family Film Festival:http://www.sifff.org/sub_program.asp?pno=32

My films will be showing in Seoul during the festival and this is really exciting as its going to be the korean premiere~

Living in the Dark:http://www.sifff.org/sub_program_view.asp?no=60

Sukki's Story:http://www.sifff.org/sub_program_view.asp?no=61

Life in Cable~

2007-10-14T01:39:00.000+08:00

My video shoot kit (ipod, my 4 color pen, my canon ixus camera and my hand drawn storyboard)

nice view from the 13th floor of the building of cableTV at Tsuen Wan

nice sunrise view from home~

my new pair of new balance~

me and Huby (host of my own cableTV show - Cable no.1 Eye)

a lonely night at the studio floor (video shoot of korean entertainment news with Vivian Lau)

Director in focus - Francois Truffaut promo

2007-10-07T15:15:00.000+08:00

My New Speaker!!

2007-09-30T23:38:00.000+08:00

Mstation Orb (Green)...goes well with my green toy on the left~

National Day Gala Promo

2007-09-25T21:43:00.000+08:00

latest work~

Anti-Drug storytelling competition Promo

2007-09-17T00:15:00.001+08:00

latest work~

me in optimus prime helmet

2007-09-03T01:51:00.001+08:00

its not just a helmet, its also a voice changer. I am having much fun with it!!

my first on screen performance

2007-08-20T23:54:00.000+08:00

its a MV production for cable's upcoming drama "Tutor Queen".....

Transformers

2007-07-29T02:24:00.000+08:00

My first video shoot with adult.....a very beautiful adult

2007-07-22T12:09:00.000+08:00

me and beautiful Vivian Lau

entertainment news promo

2007-07-12T23:04:00.000+08:00

me at work

2007-07-08T17:47:00.000+08:00

thanks to Leong for taking this photo with his new Canon Ixus 70 camera~

children of HK walkin PROMO

2007-07-05T23:49:00.000+08:00

Another set of promo for the children of Hong Kong 2007 Campaign.

my new mac setup

2007-07-02T23:00:00.000+08:00

Mac Pro: http://www.apple.com/macpro/

Specifications:

processor: 2 X 2.66 GHz Dual Core Intel Xeon

Memory: 2 GB DDR2 ram

one nice piece of machine!!

2007 Children of Hong Kong Promo

2007-07-01T14:05:00.000+08:00

Hi guys,

as you might have known, I started working at cableTV since April and it has been great fun so far.

Although a lot of hours but they are exciting, educational and enjoyable at the same time. Attached is the first project that I was assigned for the 2007 Children of Hong Kong Campaign. Again, I animated the whole thing and this promo took me around 3 to 4 weeks.

enjoy!!

a nice trip to Lamma Island

2007-04-22T17:49:00.000+08:00

何家豪的短片- (想見您) 第二場放映 @ 香港科學館 Attending a shortfilm screening of my friend - Leecat @ HK Science Museum

2007-04-20T02:29:00.000+08:00

有六、七年無見過周南....佢仍然攪笑
mates back in my SJC years....
Leecat and Me
我成年無唱過Ｋ......
Haven't been to karaoke for almost a year.....

A quick trip back to mainland! 返大陸!!

2007-04-19T16:49:00.000+08:00

伯娘和媽媽
錦雄 (伯父公)
2007 大合照
1986/7 大合照 (我還是小朋友)
爸爸媽媽

發展迅速的大陸
伯娘和威仔
大特寫
伯娘，威仔和媽媽
美味晚餐@花城酒店
"爆水渠" (阿卿大仔) 興我 - 佢真係好攪笑
阿卿興我
威仔興我
在沈思的爸爸

伯父根據風水設計的大門口
二樓露台花園
二樓露台對出的風景
威仔
阿德 @客廳 (小時候我常常在這裏看電視)
媽媽，伯娘與我
大屋正門
跟我記憶中一模一樣的小巷
阿德的摩托車
阿國的接送很周到，帶我們到處看，吃好東西。
聰明的雀仔 (伯娘每次講"恭喜發財" ，佢都識鞠躬三下。)

official ifva winners

2007-03-31T10:22:00.000+08:00

http://www.ifva.com/ifva12/newsletter/misc/ifva12_awards.html

IFVA Silver Award Winner (Animation)

2007-03-26T04:04:00.000+08:00

Sunday Awards Night Recap:

Again, another great night at the Agnes B. Cinema back at Arts Centre. Me and my mum were there early and we went up to the cafe to chill out for a while, we had a salad and a bowl of soup.

A lot of people were there but I don't know anyone, so I just do what I do best, just talk silly and making fun of stuff.....emm..I should fast forward.

The judges were commenting on this year's entry in the animation category and they were very impressed with the quality and its very hard for them to make decisions. I was listening to all those comments with my full concentration.

And the silver award goes to ......"These two films belong to the same director actually...." the judge was announcing....I know that's me...I was relieved.....no more gold for me but silver is still gd....oh! I am still out of a job.....that's it....no more guessing

(a lot of crap gone through my head at that moment and then my mind went blank for a few micro seconds)

The crowd was clapping...so I stand up and walk towards the stage. I shake the judge's hands and receive my trophy. The judge said he looks forward to see my future works.

I did prepare my thankyou speech...and here's how it goes:
"Sukki from Sukki's Story is here with us tonight, ladies and gentleman...my mum!!" Mum stand up and the crowd claps. That was GOLD!! I don't know anything like this will ever happen again, hopefully it will. I continue. " If she didn't hurt her back and scan all those photos, I would never have such inspiration to create these two shortfilms. So I thankyou!

And continue, I thanks Rob, Jacinta and Helen for their work
on my films.

One funny thing was, I didn't know that I get two trophys...so I had my usualy clumpsy moments as usual. By the way, I also win $30K prize money, I will allocate that for my next project, so I don't have to work for nothing again. But still, I want to buy myself something nice as a treat.....not sure what yet.

mum really wants to take a pic with Tony...haha!

There will be some additional screenings of all the IFVA winner's work at the Hong Kong International Film Festival, for further details, please check: http://www.hkiff.org.hk/chi/programme/content.php?se_id=88

Looking forward to see you all there!!

~the screening day~

2007-03-19T11:39:00.000+08:00

The screening went really well, it was full house and the audience were very positive towards the films. I heard some weeping while the films were playing and meaning that my films have again succeeded in touching people's hearts. I am very pleased with the respond.

The post screening discussion forum was very constructive too. A lot of questions were asked and I think I performed pretty well responding to those questions~

Juror's comment:
" We all have our own stories Living in the Dark and Sukki's Story are autobiographical works of the same creator. The simple and stylized frames work well with the personal and sentimental content and it is touching. Rotoscoping is a method of hand drawn animation original meant as an aid in study drawing and movement. It is done by capturing the targets on film and then analyses them frame by frame. Some animations turn this exercise into creation by turning the film into stylized animation. Both animations are done in the roto method. The drawing in Sukki's Story is more mature and richer than Living in the Dark, it also boasts some original morphing and is visually more pleasing, but Living in the Dark is better in the storytelling, voiceover and the monologue. A Living in the Dark remake would benefit from the creator's improved skills. " Wong Ying

Award Winners would be announced on the 25th March (this coming Sunday) at the awards ceremony, I will keep you posted! I am really excited and looking forward to it!!

IFVA opening night!!

2007-03-17T02:41:00.000+08:00

16-3-2007 Friday night~
http://www.ifva.com

Upcoming HK screening!

2007-02-16T14:33:00.000+08:00

It is with great pleasure that I announce my two shortfilms:
"Living in the Dark" and "Sukki's Story" are going to have another screening here in Hong Kong.

They are finalists of this year's IFVA (the 12th Hong Kong Independent Short Film & Video Awards) see the website for further details: http://www.ifva.com

This screening is different from the previous one as there is a "POST - screening discussion forum", and I am going to attend. Very exciting!!

The date of the screening is 17/3, Saturday, 2:30pm at Hong Kong Arts Centre

The ticket is $50 (but if you let me know in advance (my mobile: 92475850), I could get you some cheaper tickets )

Looking forward to seeing you there!

until next time, talk soon and take care!

this my main man - Luigi Tse

2006-11-13T18:09:00.000+08:00

Dear Luigi,

He has just graduated from the Hong Kong University of Technology with a Master of Philosophy in Biology.

all the best with your future my friend~

cheers
Ah Tsyn

My atom awards

2006-11-13T17:44:00.000+08:00

my shortfilm "Living in the Dark" has just won Best Tertiary Animation at the atom awards this year~

The ATOM Film, Television and Multimedia Awards recognise the achievements of Australian and New Zealand professionals, educators and students in 31 categories.

The Awards are open to students, production companies, independent film-makers, educational bodies and producers, and celebrate the very best of Australian and New Zealand product.

this is what my trophy looks like:

the label reads:
" Best Tertiary Animation "
Living in the Dark
Thomas Leung
Swinburne University of Technology

this is the prize - a crumpler bag, an aussie brand

The Atom Awards ceremony was held last friday night (10-11-06) at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI), Melbourne Australia.

atom awards website: http://www.atomawards.org/

Doc Tox

2006-11-09T23:38:00.000+08:00

Bonue Material - the G.L.O.B.S man
this is a video documenting David Withers doing an ADR for the G.L.O.B.S characters in the animation....hope he didn't get a sore throat the next day.

you're da man DAVO!

Reef - Protector of the Sea

2006-11-09T21:44:00.000+08:00

Reef - Protector of the Sea
Planet Protectors Episode 4 - "Murky Waters"

EYE - Protector of the Sky

2006-11-09T21:41:00.000+08:00

EYE - Protector of the Sky
Planet Protectors Episode 3 - "Arctic Blues"

ICE - Protector of the Arctic

2006-11-09T21:37:00.000+08:00

Ice - Protector of the Arctic
Planet Protectors Episode 2 - "Eye of the Storm"

Kat - Protector of the Land

2006-11-09T21:31:00.000+08:00

Kat - Protector of the Land
Planet Protectors Episode 1 - "the burning forrest"

I've got all the Planet Protector Toys from ELC today!

2006-11-09T21:27:00.000+08:00

Here's a kids toy animation project that i have just finished:
target audience are kids from 3 - 5 years of age

feedbacks and comments are welcome!

enjoy!!

from madrid > london blog

2006-10-12T19:29:00.000+08:00

i started a new blog just dedicated to this trip, enjoy!!

http://madrid-london.blogspot.com/

Sukki's Story's screening - After the fact

2006-10-02T22:44:00.000+08:00

Fantastic day I 've had!!

I have been feeling nervous about this day for quite a long time, never watched the film in a cinema environment with my friends and family and hundreds of other audiences in my home country~

It was good!! Couldn't be better!

Catchup with a lot of pepole that I haven't catchup in ages, Kitty, Clement's Mum, Noelle, Alex, Siu Wo, Andy, Luigi, Sergio, Auntie, Teresa, Judy and Anson.....etc.

It's like me having a party at the coolest venue possible - a cinema with Digital Surround sound....

I actually felt like I was going to the Parent's day back at my school days...nervous, but always hoping my teacher will say some good words about me....and its always nervous to get to see classmate's parents.

I guess I am more mature now.....looking forward to Spain!

please stayed tune in this blog as I will be reporting my trip through this blog~

cheers
Tom Tom

Sukki's Story HK Premiere Photos~

2006-10-02T21:17:00.000+08:00

Siu Wo and me

Judy ( my supervisor ), Anson (super professional photographer) , me

Sergio (thx for your BIG red pocket!!), Mama, Baba, me, Luigi (thx for being here dude, I am touched! ), Larraine & Auntie (thx for your BIG red pocket!!)

Carmen (thanks for coming to all my big days) and my family~

me and Andy Yeah!! (thanks for taking all these cool pix!)
you are always the cool one....thx for your support! haha!

(forgot to ask her name)...., Kitty (you look fantastic!! ) & me ( also look fantastic but with a tummy )

** (pic above) What's with that girl in the poster behind me....i guess she is just WAY too happy for me......

my family and Auntie Law (thanks for coming !! My mum love those mooncakes! Thanks)

me and Teresa's friend

me on my way to the screening....nervous as hell

my family, Noelle (love your work!!) and Alex (love your bubbles)

that's just me trying to ease the tension

3d Images Test

2006-07-04T00:40:00.000+08:00

Putting my work up for the world to see

2006-06-25T12:55:00.000+08:00

cgchannel.com

cgvisual.com

I've also put up threads at forums such as AWN, cgvisual and cgchanel.com I've uploaded all my works onto online video sharing websites such as ifilm.com and youtube.com

Sydney Film Festival

2006-06-25T12:50:00.000+08:00

Sydney Premiere of "Sukki's Story".

"Sukki's story" was selected as part of the Oz Digital Shorts Program at the 53rd Sydney Film Festival. Here are the two screenings:
- Tuesday June 20, 2006 (6:40pm)
- Thursday June 22, 2006 (9:10pm) location:
George Street Cinemas505-525 George StreetSydney NSW 2000

details:
http://www.sydneyfilmfestival.org (search keyword: Oz digital shorts)
http://www.experimenta.org

Melbourne International Animation Festival

2006-06-25T12:43:00.000+08:00

screening details:

Living in the Dark
Tuesday 20 June (8.15pm) ACMI Cinema 2 (BIG screen)
Saturday 24 June (2.00pm) ACMI Cinema 1 (repeat screening)

Sukki's Story
Sunday 25 June (3.00pm) ACMI Cinema 2 (BIG screen)

for further details:
http://www.miaf.net

An email to Maree

2006-06-25T12:39:00.000+08:00

Hi Maree,

How are you going??

Did you get my previous email about Brisbane?? If not here it is......

Just a quick note to let you know that my shortfilm - "Sukki's Story" has been invited to
this year's Brisbane International Film Festival (BIFF). 24th July – 13th August 2006

apart from that.....i was so happy yesterday as I got your MIAF program!!
That was really a surprise. Did you end up going to any of the screenings? How was it?
I would love to know!!

Also, I 've tried so hard looking for work and here are a few conclusions that i can make:

1) generally, the salary in the Creative industry of HK is generally low, I did an estimation of how much my friends are getting....around 15K -18K a year....and that's in a company that does high profile films and high end positions like compositing or even 3d animation.

2) most of the jobs are not advertised on newspapers....mostly on those cgwebsites
but since now its the low season, there aren't many available.

3) i submitted a lot of spplications and only a few replied....which i think is the same anywhere.

4) my worst interview so far is at a company that only does wedding videos.

5) HK dont really respect the people working in the creative industry....its considered as a side job here in HK, people in HK respect business people, lawyers, doctors, celebrities...never a designer or a compositor...
unless you are Wong Kar Wai, they will praise you like GOD.

6) I finally had a great interview today, they do a lot of shows in house for a lot of satellite tv channels, cathay pacific inflight videos, mtvs, commercials, independent films/documentaries....etc. which is great!! One of their full time staff is going to leave in July, so there's going to be an opening soon. They ask if I would be interested.....but of course things are not simple in my life, not at this point at least. I have my concerns.

My concerns:

1) I told them that I want to go to London to attend an animation festival, and they ask me to contact them later in August.

2) the application for my visa of Living and Working in Australia is almost complete and I should really go and start looking for work in adelaide as soon as possible, (Adelaide has granted my application of sponsorship.)

3) this visa is my only chance of Living and Working in Australia and I have to take this opportunity or I will loose it forever.

4) I can always come back to Hong Kong as its still my birth Country.

so, I guess at this point, I am thinking of going to London in August, see if there's any work opportunity there, if not, i will come back to Australia and do some serious job hunting!! And if I jump forward 3 years......if I do so well in australia, I will stay and get settled, if I didn't do so well ..... and I hate working there....

I will return to HK as my last retreat.

Life is so complicated!!

i know its a long email.....sorry hehe!

cheers
Thomas

last weekend

2006-03-28T16:15:00.000+08:00

last friday, I 've got two news, one is that i didnt get into 2 major animation festivals, one in South Korea and another one in France (ANNECY)....from that, i got a revelation.....reaching to the international arena is bloody hard, and I guess I am not up to that level yet......

But I guess I just gotta keep trying and sending it to more festivals, and who knows, I might slip into one or two big ones. I wasnt sad or anything, just know that I really need to send it to more festivals, went to Luigi's home and dub like 17 copies of preview tapes.

ON saturday morning, I got this email:
" We are delighted to extend this formal invitation for LIVING IN THE DARK and SUKKI'S STORY to be screened in MIAF 2006. "

I made it to the Melbourne International Animation Festival, that's the one that I really wanted to get into in Melbourne, and I made it. I guess I can get into that one because its a "local" production and I think it lets it get in a bit easier~ but hey, it's an international animation festival and I am happy!!

I called up robbie and we were chatting, tell him about the good news and we looked back at how much we have achieved......we did achieve something, which is pretty cool.

I miss him so much.

my showreel

2006-03-28T16:06:00.000+08:00

a screengrab from "Living in the DARK"

"Showreel 2006 of Thomas Leung" is now live on iFILM:
http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2712769

It's the short version unlike that one that I did before I left melbourne.

my two shortfilms

2006-03-28T15:51:00.000+08:00

I guess i should show you my works and how they are doing in the festival run:
I've uploaded all my films to http://www.ifilm.com and please have a look at it if you are intererested:

Living in the DARK (2005 5 minutes stereo PAL)

Synopsis:
It captures the filmmaker’s childhood experience of eye injuries, the pain and the loneliness of living in the dark. It is also a story about his father.

Screenings and awards:
- Cinefest (Melbourne University Student Film Festival)
- Icebreakers Film Festival @ Fitzroy Gallery
- 5th Bondi Shortfilm Festival, Sydney 26-11-05 (Winner of Best Cinematography)
- Graphite 2005 – Electronic Theatre Program 30–11-05, Dunedin, NZ
- Melbourne International Arts Festival – Festival Kids Club @ Art Play, 07-10-05
- Victorian Student Animation Festival 2005 (16-2-2006)
· Winner of Best Production Design
· Winner of Best Film
- Sold to Australian Television Station SBS’s program - Shorts on Screen (SOS)
- Melbourne International Animation Festival (MIAF) 2006

"Living in the DARK" is now live on IFILM:
http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2712764

"making of Living in the DARK" is now live on IFILM:
http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2712773

______________________________________________________________________________

Sukki's Story (2005 5 minutes stereo PAL)

Synopsos:

A young man’s lifelong relationship with his mother.

Sukki’s Story is an animated digital story created by Thomas Leung. It reflects on his changing relationship with his mother when he leaves Hong Kong to start his new life in a new country.

Screenings and awards:
- Selected for screening as part of the “first person” - International Digital
Storytelling conference compilations
– Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) Melbourne, Australia
- Victorian Student Animation Festival 2005 (16-2-2006)
- Winner of Best Sound Design
- selected as part of the Australia Digital Shorts Program
at the Sydney Film Festival 2006
- Melbourne International Animation Festival 2006 (MIAF)

"Sukki's Story" is now live on IFILM:
http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2712763

"making of SUKKI" is now live on IFILM:
http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2712815

state of mind

2006-03-28T15:44:00.000+08:00

It's an email that I wrote to an old friend, and i think it pretty much shows what's in my head right now.....

Hi Chew,

Good that hear you got your future all planned!!

Well, for me, I am in the middle of a 3 way street i would say. I 've spend the last 2 years working in my field and I think I 've starting to achieve something, my shortfilms are now launching in a few major festivals in melbourne and I am going to keep sending it to more international festivals. But in order to stay in melbourne, i need to apply for another visa, which is what I am doing now, in the process of putting together an application. I have to do that in Hong Kong, which gives me a really good chance of having a real holiday. I think i might actually go overseas!!!

If I don't apply for it now, I will not be eligible to apply it in 6 months, I can always go back to HK....which leads me to this option.

I might use this time to really relax as if I dont it now, maybe I need to have it in another 3 years. I can use this time to think about my future and all that. I dont think i will go back to study this soon, as I want a bit of time off before doing more studies....and I need more experience b4 more degrees. But hey, I got my first class honours, not bad yeah?!!

I really want to think myself as an international worker, and not restrict myself in one location.......I am still trying to figure out how to do that.......but i think launching my films in international festivals can allow me to do that. I might come to singapore in June if my films entered a competition there, would you be there around that time?

I was in New Zealand last December as my film was selected to be screened at a conference in Dunedin, it was great!!

no, no girl friends, I did have a crush on some girls, but because i have to go, i didnt bothered to tell her.....bummer....i think my head was full of aussie girls...hahah!!

that's it for now,

talk to you soon,

Thomas

today IS the first day of the rest of my life

2006-03-25T01:21:00.000+08:00

I've been looking at my friend Tang Shing's blog, and i thought.....
it's time to continue my blogging, and here it is, my new blog....

stay tuned as I really like to talk to myself.