March 2016 archive
I wasn’t feeling well since Monday (last Monday actually) but chose to attend Tuesday class (condition got worse so was absent for Wednesday class). It was worth going as we were asked to read each others short story and think about the further developments of the story, what kind of experimental or unique elements does the story contain, and the strengths or weaknesses of the story, later then post it as a 4-5 sentence of blog comment. I thought I read a really good piece of short story. It did not show what the title was for the short story but I thought it would be a one-word title if there is a title (my opinion). The story was rather unique and it did not need for further developments.
We also watched how does transmedia storytelling work and I thought it was really cool, especially after watching the marketing campaign that went viral for The Dark Knight. This transmedia experiment with millions of people across the countries, whether on the internet, prints, broadcast, or mobile phones. The amount of participants really showed how highly-anticipated the movie was. I personally think that this sort of marketing will only do a very good job if it’s under thriller, crime or mystery genre.
I watched Sherlock Holmes Season 1 episode 1 on Wednesday during the Story Lab class. I am originally a crime and mystery fiction lover, so watching Sherlock Holmes reminded me of my childhood favourite Japanese manga and anime, Detective Conan (also known as Case Closed). Just a tiny bit of spoiler, Edogawa Conan, whose real name is actually Shinichi Kudo, a 17-year-old high school student/detective, noticed two mysterious men at the theme park and decided to follow them. Unfortunately, his presence was quickly revealed and the men fed him a pill (while he was in an unconscious state) which was supposed to kill him but his form shrank into a kid’s body instead. Trying his best not to reveal his real identity to investigate the two suspicious men and their dark organization, Black Organization, he decided to live on with the name Edogawa Conan.
Back to the topic, why did watching Sherlock Holmes reminded me of Detective Conan is because his favourite author was Sir Conan Doyle, who was the well-know detective Sherlock Holmes’s creator. During the first half of the episode, my first impression of Holmes was someone who is observant, of course, since he’s a detective. He is also strong-headed, doesn’t listen to anyone, and he’s got his theories right always, which is why it makes the police don’t like him even more. I also thought he’s quite a warm character, though not obvious, is that he trusts Watson and he’s a lot more protective over Watson that he seems. The chemistry between Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson is slowly developing, and I wonder what kind of challenges will they be facing, will there be any situation that will break the bond, and that’s what makes me look forward to the next episode. (But the fact that SH is now at Season 3, though Season 4 is coming soon, each season has only 3 or 4 episodes makes me feel sooooo sad!!)
This was where I ended up when I chose to socialize tonight haha
I received a Whatsapp text notification last night when I was in the gym and it was from my friend who I’ve known for 16 years. She asked me to go to the Moomba Festival tonight. Normally I would have thought of lots of excuses (something that will actually work since she knows me too well) in order to reject the offer (I’m just too lazy to get out from my house), but I said yes, surprisingly. Later we were chatting as usual, but suddenly she changed the topic, and this was what she wrote:
We were roommates last year and it was her first time in Melbourne, and since I wanna cut down on living expenses, so I told her we should share a room. We went through a lot haha now that I think of it, we really did quarrel like we were real sisters; there’s this once when she got mad at me due to some misunderstandings, and I couldn’t forget her face when she came up to me the next morning and said, “Griffin, I’m sorry.. Are you still mad?” Hooooonestly speaking, I wasn’t mad but part of me wanted her to apologize to me. I’d pictured in my head how should I act when she apologized to me, but that didn’t work when it’s actually happening. I replied her saying that I wasn’t mad anymore and she said, “But you still sound mad.. I’m sorry I must be very sensitive yesterday. Sorry..” and later she flashed her white teeth at me, I couldn’t help but laugh coz that face reminded me that she’s someone who I’ve met since we were 5 (classmates in kindy and secondary school).
Not only that though, obviously she got mad at me as well (messiness, laziness, messiness…), but our cold wars never lasted for more than a day. She woke me up telling me that she’s got my breakfast ready; I massaged her when she was really stressed; she cooked dinner for me almost every night when I was stressed out during my filming week; I cooked for her (ON MY BIRTHDAY when she said she’ll prepare for me haha) when she was having her exam… These are the memories that I doubt I will ever forget them in my life, ever. That’s how much I treasure you, if you can hear me..
Good night.
Took my time to have lunch when I was already late for my lecture, and rushed all the way to uni. Smart me wore a sweater out when it says 29 degree. IT’S HOT, SO DAMN HOT. When I went in the lecture theater, Mia (I met her last year when we were studying Adv. Diploma) asked me if I’m alright. Before I could catch my breath and said yes, a carton of cold corn milk was put on top of my laptop. I turned to her, she said, “It’s for you,” without looking at me. What a tsundere haha (if you watch anime).
#trueloveinlecturetheater
I woke up super early this morning, amazingly without alarm clock for the first time in my whole uni life. I thought this must be a good start so I actually prepared toast with butter for breakfast (nothing much) and sat on my bed drinking hot cocoa, but I really regret it coz right now I AM FREAKING TIRED… T.T I should have went back to sleep, and It’s raining now so it makes me feel even worse 🙁 anyway, I’m having my first jiu jitsu lesson so I’m actually quite excited about it.
8 minutes left to my class…
Well, it was hard to get it started, honestly, since it is a short-story and there’s a limit of 800 words. I am not familiar with short-story writing concept since I’ve been writing with no word limit since secondary school, so I reread Lamb to the Slaughter. I liked the way how Roald Dahl gave so much space for me to imagine what was the husband trying to tell the wife, or if he managed to tell her, how would her reaction be like, or what if she had a different reaction when she had sensed what was coming up next, would there be a different ending. I thought that was the tip of writing a good short-story, so I tried using the same method.
I tried to picture the situations that had happened around me, but as soon as I started, I deleted it, because even I thought it was really ‘interesting’. So I thought of creating a situation that might happen, and if it really happens (though I really wish not), what am I going to do? What are the actions that I’m going to take and are the chances high for me to achieve my objectives in that situation? Will I get shaken up or will I be steady enough to get through all the obstacles? I wonder.
P.s. I came across this quote one day while surfing the net, and this is my inspiration to my short-story.
Love your parents. We are so busy growing up, but we often forget they are also growing old.
-Unknown-
It was the first week of the semester in 2016, everything was so different compared to the system that I had back in Advanced Diploma. We had to decide on the major, the studio and the electives. This is a different experience for me and I actually felt like I’m living an undergrad student’s life for the first time.
We were asked to read two books and a short story in the first class: The Substance of Story by Robert Mckee, The Philosophy of the Short-story by Brander Matthews and Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl. Among the three readings, I enjoyed reading The Substance of Story the most as I can relate the most to Mckee’s words. He specifically broke down the characteristic of a protagonist into many parts, which was something that I have never thought of when writing a story. I know how important it is for the protagonist to have an aim or objectives but the way Mckee explained why the protagonist may have a self-contradictory unconscious desire really clicks in my head, and that’s when I thought this could be the tip to write a better story.
… This is my first time using a blog and I don’t exactly know how and what am I supposed to write so yeah… Hope this will be the chance for me to improve and explore the world of blog, and learn to be more expressive in terms of writing and speaking.
On the way to get the watermelon frost cheese cake (?) when I was supposed to deal with my short film preprod. documents. (August 2015)
