Sunday, January 21, 2007

Short films, long impacts...

Its been a pretty eventful week. Yup, and I got no idea why, but I've been kinda running out of ideas to write on my blog. Its pretty much due to the fact that my 2 major sources of inspiration for blog post is gone... I remember the days when I was in the student council and in RV, there really was a lot of things to write then...

Of course, the reason why I am writing this isn't because I am lamenting that my 2 major sources of inspiration are gone, but its rather because I really want to type something down. I've been casting my mind around and moving them around all over the place trying to get an idea and I managed to get something, or I wouldn't be here anyway...

So, have any of you ever watched a short film or play before?
My first exposure to short film and play was in my secondary 1 life. A long long time ago before I had even set up this blog and write out stuffs. There was a CLDDS (chinese literary drama and debating society) in RV. As the long title suggests, what they do is that they are interested in chinese language type of drama and debating...

Anyway, when I was in sec 1, they had a public performance called 学艺新声 (xue yi xin sheng). It was basically a "short story project". They had 2 short stories and 1 slighlty longer story. I wasn't an avid audience of short plays then, seeing that I had not yet been exposed to them until then. But after watching the three short shows, I told myself that I would watch their next year performance no matter what happens.

What really gripped me about short films is that it really impacts you as you watch it. The message that the show send to you as you are sitting down and watching it is very strong. The characters only appear for a short amount of time, they don't do much, they don't talk much, but you feel for them. It is this strong message that is sent that kept me watching short films and plays. The message, the events that happens in the play keep you on the edge of your seat. There isn't any chance for laid-back-ness (this word does not exist). Things just keep on progressing on in a short play, and this is what makes it nice. It is because of all the short length and such that makes the message that the play tries to send to you very strong and very easy to pick up.

To me, short films and plays are the medias that has the easiest time sending tears into your eyes, or a hollow feeling in your heart, but it is also the easiest for you to feel happy and excited about the things that happen, so much so that you are hanging on to the edge of your seat.

It is also one of the reason why I don't really watch drama serials. To me, drama serials are not able to send a really strong message at you (although there are a few that break out of this and are really really good) but most of them aren't really up to standard. What happens in the end is that drama serials feel like they are trying to satisfy fans who adores seeing their idol up there. Besides that, drama serials have a nasty habit of dragging events, espeically korean serials (da chang jin comes to mind pretty easily). What happens after they drag? The message that they were trying to send is kinda lost or reduced in strength...

Also, I'm not sure if this is a problem in Singapore, but due to the large amounts of serial being produced here, I'm starting to be able to predict what may or may not happen in the serial. It also gets a bit boring when you see directors reuse the same idea over and over again. I'm really glad that they had abandoned the idea of a loony in their serials for the time being...

What happens is that I don't really get anything out of the drama serials other then laugh at their stupidity and occasionally pitying their horrible condition of life. There isn't those message that tells you things that makes you wonder what is friendship and so on and so forth...It is pure enjoyment when you watch this serials, but I feel that plays and films aren't just there to bring in money, it is also to show, as what arts central says, the meaning of life.

The short films that I managed to watch so far really touches your heart, your mind and your soul. The short films focuses on normal everyday stuff, and it is this normal everyday stuff that is closest to your heart that leaves you hanging on the edge of your seat as the message comes sinking in...

The greatest thing about short films is just that, its short, sweet, but it leaves you with a lasting thought.
Of course, only the good short films and plays out there can do that...
Which so far, has been quite plentiful.

Discmon

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