Attended the  SINGAPORE MEETS EUROPE - A event by Media Authority of Singapore held in SPAIN - BARCELONA/MADRID on 25Nov-5Dec2008.

Together with other Singapore media related professions, we meeting producers, film makers, directors from Madrid & Barcelona and it has been a great learning experience, we shared our ideas and I pitched my new idea for my new feature film [School In The Sky], a film that will be filmed in Bhutan.

I arrived at Barcelona on 25Nov2008, Tuesday afternoon, meetings and pitching starts 26Nov, Wednesday.

Without hesitation, I dump all my luggages in the hotel and immediately take the opportunity to orientate myself in the city. I stay in Diagonal Hotel, located near Metro station Glories.

I took the metro, and drop at Universitat, their old town. Walking the narow street in La Rambla, it was WOW!!! the buildings are gotic and so beautiful. I could just stare and admire for hours.

The weather is pretty nice, 12 degrees celcuis, cooling and drops.   

But there is not much of time for me, I quickily take my dinner and return to my hotel to prepare for tomorrow presentations. For the next two days, it was presentation and presentations, meetings after meeting. At the same time, I have to arrange my Eurail ticket to Madrid on 27Nov, it was very stupid mistake I made, I should have gotten my  Europass in Singapore which cost Euro148 for a 3 days pass, but I didn't and ended up paying Euro128 per trip, from Barcelona to Madrid.

On 27Nov, Thursday after my last meeting at 17:00, the Singapore team makes our way to the train station to catch the 19:00 train. In Winter, day is short, it gets dark around 16:30. It is a 3hours journey, we reach Madrid at 22:00. We put up at Mario Room Mate Hotel, near Opera Metro Staiton, which is in Madrid old town, near to the shopping district, SOL.  But not much time for shopping as I have to prepare for tomorrow presentation.

On the 28Nov, Friday, the last day of our 'official' meeting and hereafter we are on our own. I managed to fix a few meeting after that, but it is quite a practise that Spanish knock off from work at 15:00 on a Firday and they start party over the weekend.

For business, it could be...quite annoying.  But on the positive note, life don't revolve around work. We work for living and not live to work. I called for some appointment over the weekend, but most preferred to meet on Monday. No choice but adapt to their culture, spend my weekend exploring in Madrid.

That night, temperature dip to -4degree celcuis, according to the locals, it is the coldest day in Madrid in the pass 10 years, average temperature during the day was 4degree celcuis. Windy and it is freezing cold.

I have a nice dinner with my colleague that night and chill out in one of the bar at Chueca. It is 23:00 and the bar is empty, only 2 guys are sitting the bar. I order my drink and sat beside them. T

hey turn and smile at me, "Hola, XO%#*XO%@..." and start speaking to me in Spanish, which I only understand, "Hola" which mean "Hello or Welcome or Good Day". I told them I am from Singapore and they start to speak to me in English. One of them asked, "Can we see Great Wall in Singapore?" The other guy laughed and speak to him in Spanish, and he translated, "He said he told him that Great Wall is in China, Singapore is not in China!" All burst into laugthers.

We start exchanging culture, and from them I realise their clubbing only starts after midnight and they party till dawn. The bar get clowded gradually after 01:00. 

29 Nov, Saturday, I decided to do something that I usually don't do it in Singapore, go to the park for a walk.

I take the Metro and alight at Retiro station, Parque Del Buen Retiro is located East of Fuente La Cibeles (the Palace). At the entrance, I already could hear beautuful Jazzy music, as I enter the pak, a old man is playing his sax near the fountain and the birds chimp and sing along. Peaceful and Rejuventating.

The park is a popular place for the locals to spend their weekends for family day outing, jogging, tachi and meditation. The air is fresh and cooling, no polutions, even the policemen is on horses, as they gallop along the maple parquet.

I took a stroll to SOL, along the shopping mall, it is not difficult to find street performancers, earning extra income on their weekends. And we are not talking about solo performances, but a symphony from the master piece of Mozart.

Just around the corner is Plaza Mayor, the flea market on Sunday, while I was there, it was near Christmas, most of the stalls are selling Christmas decor and small souvenirs. Not surprisingly, when I pick up a few and see, they indicated made in China.

 So fore the stalls, they did not interest me much as I am not a good shopper, but the human statue, a couple sitting in the middle of the podium, covered with mud. When you pull a penny into their pot, they started to move glaciously and kiss.

That is all for a compact tour in Madrid, mostly on foot and metro, it is the most economic way to see Madrid over a weekend.

On 2 Dec, Tuesday, rushing back to Barcelona for a few more meeting, I took the 14:30 Eurail from Madrid to Barcelona, take the eurail during the day and it is a journey never to be missed,

It snowed the night before, which it don't usually happen in this time of the year in Spain, the land was covered in white, the clear blue sky gave the scene a high contract of color, the clouds are low, like within reach. I was like, Wow! I think I should have drive, probably could stop on the way, take some photos, and I could...admire these moment longer.

I check in to my hotel, Confortel Auditori, which I booked online when I was in Spain, a minute walk from Arc De Trimof Metro station. 

Arc De Trimof station is 4 stations from the Catalunaya and Universitat station, away from the shopping and clubbing district, Confortel Auditori is much quiet and less busy, yet, conveinent to access by metro. 

I unload my luggages in the room and went for a walk nearby.

I met this handsome spanish guy and his 3 months old puppy, thought we can't communicate due to our languages, but his charming smile and his lovely active pupy greets me with a friendly welcome back to Barcelona. 

I have a busy with meeting in the afternoon of 3 Dec, Wednesday, so I wake up early in the morning to visit the landmark of Barcelona, The temple of Sagrada Familia.        

Story to be continued....

王建复首张个人专辑

SO WHAT MV拍摄

６月中，我接到王建复的经理人，Keith，电邮了SO WHAT的歌词给我，　是一首舞曲。我一向对身手敏捷

的王建复没有怀疑，舞蹈对他来说应该是小儿科。编舞的当然不是我，王建复在Patrick（王建复的舞蹈老师）

指导下，排舞，苦练，再排舞。

７月４日，我联络上ST.JAMES里的TIGER LIVES，那里有个巨大的旋转升降舞台，正适合用来拍这首MV。

７月７日，到王建复排舞的STUDIO，看看他们的排练，我一看，天啊！舞步真的很难，节奏十分快，

王建复和舞蹈员跳得一塌糊涂，一点也不整齐，心里是慌了，再过几天，怎么拍啊!

Keith告诉我：“放心，他（王建复）会可以的。”　我心想，当然可以咯，又不是你跳！

我皱着眉头，离开STUDIO，临走时，王建复过来打招呼：“导演，辛苦了”我苦笑了一笑，

只是点了点头，就离开。

７月１３日，凌晨４点，来到ST. James，disco刚刚打烊,  街上满街的醉汉。他们狂欢的一夜，

正要回家休息，我们呢，是来这里开工拍SO WHAT MV。

CUT！再来！CUT！再来！王建复和舞蹈员，我看来来回回应该跳了整百遍，从凌晨４点，

一直拍到晚上９点，连吃饭的时间也是匆匆忙忙的。

效果如何？看看MV就知道了。

SO WHAT MV

王建复将会拍摄五支MV，两支在新加坡拍摄，三支也在台湾拍摄完毕。SO WHAT是第一支用作宣传，

其它将会在专辑推出后陆续上旬，SO WHAT可以让你先睹为快。

JEFF WANG MUSIC VIDEO [SO WHAT] & [心碎的记号]
Directed by Dennis Wong

与王建复合作拍摄他的首张个人专辑的两首MV； [SO WHAT] & [心碎的记号]；

合作得非常开心.

他是我见过那么多艺人之中，最用心，最认真的一位.

在新加坡，王建复被他主持的节目定型，搞笑，好玩等等。

当他的经理人联络我，叫我为他拍MV，我也被他的{定型}而感到惊讶，

王建复能唱歌吗？我拿了王建复的DEMO，听了听，咦！唱得果然不错。

之后，从他的口中才知道王建复在台湾是参加歌唱比赛出身的，

这也难怪唱功那么到佳了。

记得第一次跟王建复合作的是在1995年，他可能不记得了，他刚刚参加完[才华]，

和林明伦，欧菁仙一起主持奥运的节目，我给了每个主持人一大篇的稿，

没想到，不到1分钟，他居然把稿记好了。我心想，这个年轻人一定有所作为。

可是过了那么多年，在和他合作，他那份不屈不挠的精神依然，

面上也增添了一份成熟感，男人味，看起来多了一份成功的魅力，

可能缺乏一点点"星运"，希望他的个人专辑，能够让观众看见王建复阳刚的一面

为他带来突破。当然，最重要的是得到观众的支持了。

他的专辑将在2009年初推出，希望大家抢购。

Finale of the course, student gets into editing suite to see

what they had shot are being edited together, and music are inserted.

And of cos...a post motem of their performance after 8 weeks of SOL course.

SOL Lesson 6

As an actor, it is a must to understand production language, the light source, and how the crew works.

So you are clear with the instruction and not blur like sotong when instruction is given!!!