A moment frozen forever in time.

The 'comic strip' above comes from a scene in my short film, GIRL DISCONNECTED. The lines of dialogue between the two characters, Wiler (played by Justin, yes, guestblogger Justin) and Maya (played by Sarah Corbyn) never actually ended up in the final version of the film even though we shot the scene with the actors saying them. Thus the scene was more open-ended.

Tags: webcomic, girl disconnected, short film, filmmaking

Cinejam screening of my two short films "Girl Disconnected", "Vertical Distance"

I'm going to CINEJAM tomorrow night (14th of June) at KL JAM ASIA. Not one, but TWO of my short films, GIRL DISCONNECTED (watch previews here and here) and my earlier work, VERTICAL DISTANCE, will be screening there, along with a few others. This marks the FIRST public screening of VERTICAL DISTANCE.

I'll be sticking around for the Q & A session, so see you there.

(In case you can't see the poster above)

CINEJAM
Thursday, June 14, 2007. 9:30pm.

at

KL JAM ASIA
No. 19-1, Jalan 22A/70A
Plaza Crystalville
Desa Sri Hartamas
50480 Kuala Lumpur

Tags: edmund yeo, filmmaker, filmmaking, short film, kl jam asia, cinejam, malaysia, malaysian, plaza crystalville, video, youtube

Two Teaser Clips From GIRL DISCONNECTED

Working with me is NOT a privilege.

It's more like a punishment to most. Justin himself can tell you how many takes I would go for just to get a simple shot right. A production shoot with me can be really tedious and frustrating since I'm, er, a perfectionist.

But also, for the sake of reassuring everyone that I'm REALLY a filmmaker and not just some shallow lecherous hack who was only capitalizing on some opportunity to ogle at babes in an event which MIGHT enforce the objectification of women (initially, I was named as the judge without receiving a personal mail from the organizer) like some people do ;-), I shall share with you extended scenes from my last film, GIRL DISCONNECTED, just for a glimpse of, well, my filmmaking style. Enjoy.

My Short Film, Girl Disconnected, Screening At KL Jam Asia Tonight!

Yes, after being screened at FILMMAKERS ANONYMOUS 2 (videoblog here, watch me babble non-stop about my film, includes snippets of the film itself) on February and MALAYSIAN SHORTS on March (videoblog here, watch me babble less about my film, and watch famed Msian filmmaker Amir Muhammad presenting the films), my short film, GIRL DISCONNECTED, is going to be screened at KL JAM ASIA this month (... er, wow), which, I believe, is a special REPEAT SCREENING of FILMMAKERS ANONYMOUS 2. (FILMMAKER ANONYMOUS and CINEJAM are sister events/ close allies/ best friends etc.) tonight (12th of April), at 9:30pm.

This MALAY MAIL article features screenshots of GIRL DISCONNECTED.

It's unlikely for me to attend the actual screening since I'm having dinner with some family friends (where I will seize the opportunity to convince this friend of mine to be the main guy in my upcoming short film), but I'll see whether I can make it to the Q & A session after the screenings.

(of course, even with my absence, enthusiastic viewers eager to know the secrets behind the romanticism and poetry of my last short film can always leave their questions here)

I will now copy and paste the line-up from CINEJAM's site:

VIDEO: Malaysian Shorts (March 2007 Edition)

Just as I've mentioned here, my short film, Girl Disconnected, was one of the 10 short films screened at this year's first edition of MALAYSIAN SHORTS, held in HELP Institute. Once again, I was the only person representing the film. Unsurprising, considering that I'm the only one of the three Malaysians involved in the production who is still in the country. (Assistant director Yun Chin had gone back to Perth to finish her studies), the other, my actress, Grace the Rabbit Fairy, had seemingly disappeared in the past few weeks. Couldn't reach her via email, blog comments and Friendster messages. Worrying.)

All short films shown there were of high quality, and they were pretty different from one another. Don't really feel like reviewing them one by one, since I feel somewhat... wrong to review other films in a screening which my short film is part of.

Girl Disconnected Screening At Malaysian Shorts, March 2007 Edition.

I'm back from Singapore!

My short film, Girl Disconnected had been chosen for screening at the March 2007 edition of Malaysian Shorts!

DATE: 19th of March, 2007
TIME: 8pm
VENUE: HELP INSTITUTE AUDITORIUM, Pusat Bandar Damansara

ADMISSION IS FREE!

I'll be there for the Q & A session, although if I really get the chance to speak, I'll try not to babble as much as I did during last month's Filmmakers' Anonymous 2 (I was, ah, both excited and nervous at the same time then, being its Malaysian premiere and all, you see).

For the whole line-up of that night, I'll copy and paste directly from Amir Muhammad's message I got from the Malaysian Cinema mailing list.

Screenshots of my short film, Girl Disconnected, on The Malay Mail!

On today's Malay Mail:

Visiting Filmmakers Anonymous 2, Central Market Annexe

So yes, just as I've mentioned here, I went to Filmmakers Anonymous 2 at the Central Market Annexe last night for the Malaysian premiere of my latest short film, Girl Disconnected.

It was an interesting experience watching my film again on a big screen. It was first screened at Murdoch Uni in Perth last December, but unlike the rushed version shown then, the Girl Disconnected I submitted for last night was pretty much the definitive version that I'm satisfied with (I did some re-editing at the last third of the film, slightly increasing its running time, changed some music during my trip in India earlier this month, and had been working non-stop on it in the few nights leading up to the Filmmakers Anonymous 2 gathering... hence the lack of updates on the blog lately)

Of course, one of the worst things about being a perfectionist is that some of the teeny weeny flaws would bother me greatly. During a ballerina scene towards the end of the film, I almost gasped in horror when I noticed I made an embarrassing editing goof where I didn't manage to cut off a split second of unwanted footage. For a while, I got really scared that other people at the screening would notice my mistake too.

One of the most pleasant surprises was seeing my old friend, Kai Wen, who really managed to make it to the screening, and Danu, a friend of mine I met at Murdoch Uni whom I haven't met for a year since her graduation.


Danu and I


Kai Wen and I

I looked... stoned.

But anyway, here are some brief thoughts about the films screened last night.

Malaysian Premiere of my short film, 'Girl Disconnected' this Friday

Reminder to anyone living near Kuala Lumpur: My latest short film, Girl Disconnected, will have its Malaysian premiere this Friday (23rd of February) at Filmmakers Anonymous 2. Screening (which is FREE!) will begin at 8:30pm, the venue is Central Market Annexe. Central Market Annexe is located behind Central Market, near the Pasar Seni LRT station.

The version shown on that very day is the newly edited version of the film different from the one that was screened in Perth last December. (I fixed it while I was traveling at India)

Make sure you arrive early because Girl Disconnected is going to be the FIRST FILM screened at the event.

Hope to see you there! (there will be a Q & A session after the screening)

Here's a teaser of the short film I put together last year, uploaded by my cinematographer, Brian.


Preview of the ballerina scene in Girl Disconnected


You can also check out some screenshots and production photos of Girl Disconnected on my Flick account.

I've also written and posted a video of Filmmakers Anonymous 1 here early last month.

Tags: girl disconnected, edmund yeo, filmmaking, filmmaker, anonymous, malaysian, premiere

More 'Girl Disconnected' Production Photos From The Corridor Scene!

Based on the test viewings thus far (test viewings amongst my teachers, fellow film students etc.) The 'Corridor Scene' from my latest short film, Girl Disconnected, is one of the most well-received scenes of the film. Some called it the turning point of the film, where it just elevated to another level of filmmaking (compared to the first half of the film). Another friend of mine just shook his head and smiled, saying that it was certainly 'trippy'.

Received Some Awards Nominations for End-Year Murdoch University Film Festival.

Two of the short films I wrote and directed this year, Vertical Distance and Girl Disconnected, have been nominated for a few categories in the end year Murdoch Film Festival held on the 3rd of December.

Shooting of Girl Disconnected Wrapped!

Shooting of Girl Disconnected wrapped on the 12th of October November, 2006, two nights ago, and I pulled an all-nighter to piece the entire film together. Things are looking well, I'm doing sound recording and everything to finish this up, submission is on 16th of October November, Thursday. A day before my mom's birthday (and the world premiere of the latest Bond flick, Casino Royale)

I generally edit the footages not long after a shoot, for the sake of lessening my post-production work, but because of this, I am incapable of doing my shoots in consecutive days (two back-to-back days is fine, but anything more will kill me... but then, since we've been a 3-men crew, it's a miracle that I'm still alive). Anyway, I'm excited that everything's going to be finished soon. For the time being, I'll share with some of you more screenshots of my film. (these scenes, from the last few shoots, definitely display Brian the Cinematographer's mastery with lighting)

There were lots of frustration involved in this production. Desperation leading to creativity. People bailing out and not honouring their verbal promises. A supposed big production where costume design and special effects teams were expected turned into yet another indie guerilla filmmaking endeavour with the support of volunteers and friends. I look at other groups and marvel at the amount of money they pour into their films, some nearly a thousand, some nearly two thousand, with a major crew and the help of outside professionals. They raise the stakes, and they are good motivation to ensure that despite the limitations we face, Girl Disconnected can still remain a work of quality (otherwise, it'll suck if this film does not accompany my previous film, Vertical Distance, to compete at the end year Murdoch University Film Festival). But I would never have achieved this if I hadn't had a great cast and crew that helped me realize this dream project (well, contrary to most dream projects, this one was just something that I had been working on for a few months, I rarely have anything that I spend years working on, having a short attention span and all)

Anyway, enough with that. Will go back to editing after finishing this entry.

I'll give everyone a proper shoutout when everything's really done.

Brief Hiatus To Finish Short Film, Girl Disconnected.

I'm near the ending stages of my film, Girl Disconnected, which is due on the 14th of November. (I have to finish it in time for the uni film festival) So there won't be much time for me to post here.

Will be spending my time editing, planning the last shoots, and more editing. For the time being, here are some screenshots. Shot the scene at Fremantle Beach. Click thumbnail for bigger versions.

Visiting Fremantle Beach, An Unexpectedly Romantic Place.

Can't write much, I'm in the midst of a Stanley Kubrick marathon (just watched A Clockwork Orange, currently watching Barry Lyndon while typing out this post) as the professor of my Advanced Screen Production unit said last week that referencing his films would be useful when directing my own Girl Disconnected. (Yes, surprisingly, I haven't seen a single Kubrick film before, except for three quarters of Eyes Wide Shut few weeks ago on television)

Therefore, I'll be posting photos of Fremantle beach that I took on the 9th of October, when I was doing my location hunting. A nice-looking beach was crucial for my film, and I wrote my script with the Fremantle beach in mind after visiting it for the very first time few months ago (check out the video here, I went there with Justin and a bunch of cute Japanese girls... and guy, from Himeji, Japan).

Why a beach? I didn't grow up living near a beach, and besides some vague memories of my childhood when I last visited Penang (I couldn't be more than six), or seeing it from inside a car on the way to Singapore, I don't think I've ever actually been to a beach all my years until I came to Perth. Beach activies like, ah, playing with water, playing beach volleyball, swimming, sunbathing, etc etc. were things I've watched on television or read in books, but would never really bothered trying in real life. (getting sand in my shoes? Truly an annoyance!)

Retro-looking Trains, Ballerinas and Fairy Rabbits. More Production Photos From Girl Disconnected.

My skin is currently peeling after the major sunburns I suffered during last Friday's grueling shoot.

Thankfully, the subsequent shoots for the production were much easier as we were in a more controlled environment. One in the university's TV studio, and one in the Bassendean Railway Museum. The scene with Justin and Grace (the rabbit) was shot during Mooncake Festival two days ago, while the train scene was shot early yesterday.

So here you are, some more production photos from my upcoming short film.

A New Wiler. And Photos Of The Most Grueling Shoot Ever.

Chau, the original actor playing Wiler has to drop out of the project as he has to leave for UK on the 2nd of October.

The Rail Transport Museum In Bassendean

I went to Bassendean (a few train stations away from Perth city) to pay The Rail Transport Museum a visit last Sunday, hoping to gain permission for shooting my short film (working title: Girl Disconnected) there (remember it's a story of a girl who took a train to the moon? I need a train, and since I was almost arrested a year ago for trying to shoot in those Transperth trains, I decided to go for those old, non-operating trains of the Victorian era instead).

Opened only on Sundays, the Rail Transport Museum is operated by the volunteers of The Rail Heritage WA (Western Australia), and according to the flyers I got, it has the largest single collection of items pertaining to WA's rail heritage. From large steam locomotives to carriages and old photos. So yeah, the following photos are from the exhibition building.

(I forgot to bring my own camera that day, so I could only take them with my mobile phone. Click photos for larger versions.)

GIRL DISCONNECTED Shoot Begins

Sorry for the lack of updates in the past few days, been really busy doing prep work for my film (work title: Girl Disconnected... AAARGH! STILL WAITING FOR YOU PEOPLE TO SUGGEST ME SOME NEW TITLES!)

Balancing both the producer and director work can be pretty exhausting, especially when you have to deal with repeated disappointments of people promising much more than they can actually deliver, and then also the difficulties of trying to find an art director/production designer to replace the ones I've lost previously.

Help Me Rename My Short Film!

Girl Disconnected is just the working title of my upcoming short film. Of course, originally, I was thinking of sticking with the title, but Yun Chin, my producer/ assistant director, felt that it doesn't seem appealing, or particularly memorable.

Location Hunting for GIRL DISCONNECTED

Was doing some location hunting for Brian The Cinematographer three days ago for my short film, Girl Disconnected. Went to University of Western Australia (first three photos are taken there), and then somewhere near the city beach (second three photos). Here are some photos for you all to ogle at. Once again, I used my usual blurry, dreamy effect from Photoshop, with varying degrees of success. They're all taken by Brian.