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Learning and believing
Monday, Nov 9, 2009 5:17PM / Members only
November is certainly turning out to be quite a busy month. And here I was thinking everything would fizzle down towards the end of the year. Boy was I wrong! In the midst of all the hustle and bustle I did manage to squeeze some alone time in and ponder on a few things.After being actively involved in acting for a year I’m beginning to see and understand how this industry works. It is by far the most interesting and colourful industry to be in. There is constant evolution and it is filled with a lot of energy. Personally for me, it’s all about constant learning. Every new role or character that I get to play, I find myself discovering new methods and techniques to make this imaginary character as real as possible. One time it can be about believing the circumstances, another time it could be about playing out the back story or even not having to say anything at all and allowing your face and expressions to tell the tale.
To me there is no such thing as getting it right. There is no proven formula to really become a master in the craft of acting. It is not something that is fixed and formulated scientifically. To truly deliver that one stellar performance, one has to be able to adapt, mix and match techniques and really let go of all you personal inhibitions. Sometimes the best performances come when you least expect it and heck it might not even be the one that was thought of by the director but if it’s believable and truly moving you’ve got yourself a winning piece right there and then.
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Corporate shoot
Tuesday, Nov 3, 2009 11:21AM / Members only
This shoot was definitely a very interesting experience. I was once again working with the same company whom I did sports goondus with, a martial arts documentary. Apparantly they loved my whacky expressions ( didn’t know i had any) and decided to ask me to do this new project of theirs.
The project was for Aljunied town council. It was a corporate video. The aim of the video was to educate people on the harmfulness of littering along the common corridors outside the HDB flats. I’ll post a link up to the video as soon as I get it so look out for it…
The set was designed to look like a war zone. With mountains of rubbish, smoke and debris lying around. I was playing the victim who survived this crazy event. As i made my way out of the war zone, I stumble upon sights and obstacles such as; a person who’s been killed by a falling flower-pot, getting suffocated by thick smoke from the burning of paper, getting trapped in a trolley and finally climbing a huge pile of rubbish to try to escape.
It was definitely a very physical shoot, which left me with bruises and scratches. But it was all good fun! Worked with an excellent bunch of guys and it was definitely like a mini reunion of sorts.
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Work week!
Tuesday, Nov 3, 2009 10:59AM / Members only
Hey guys, finally I can catch a breather! Been running around to different sets and performances for the past week or so it’s crazy… amidst all the craziness, something good did materialize. After spending a week learning, watching and observing how all of my acting and directing peers work, I must say I’ve learnt a lot!
There’s definitely a lot more to acting than one thinks. Sure it may look easy and sure you may find yourself saying hey I can do that too! No big deal. But in reality there are tiny little details that makes acting an art form and a craft. A skill in which one has to work on and practice over and over and over again until he/she becomes good at making the unreal, real and also reacting to the circumstances.
I did my very first school show with a group of fellow actors recently. Although it was a simple show preparing for it was horrendously tiring. I had to memorize a lot of lines plus I had two more scrīpts to go through for the week. This reminded me of the times when I was back in secondary school and an important exam was coming up. I used to frantically study up everything (I’m not one of those who can study smart) and write as many notes as possible to make myself feel at ease and somewhat confident of passing the paper. Then on the day of the exam, I’d just blank out….
Which kind of sucks! But somehow I still managed to pass my tests =D This situation that I had now was somewhat different. If I blanked out I’d be in deep trouble especially since it’s a team effort and I really don’t want to make all the other actors look bad. I took a different approach and applied what I learnt in my acting class and voila! On the day of the performance I was spot on! Other than facing technical difficulties, the play went smoothly and I felt really good and relieved that it was over.
I’ve got a few more performances lined up for me for the following months. They stretch all the way up to February next year. I’ll post some of the photos on my facebook fan page : http://www.facebook.com/pages/Val-Sennan/138533303565
Don’t forget to check it out! Laters…
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Daniel Milton
Tuesday, Oct 20, 2009 2:33AM / Members only
How could I have been that dumb! Completely and totally forgot about the one person who caught the good, the bad and the ugly of me. A dude who looks like a badass but in reality he’s a very warm n charming individual, but above all a brother in arm!
Introducing Mr DANIEL MILTON. Aspiring photographer, fight enthusiast, and a down to earth yet colourful individual. He’s been around all right. Hearing his stories always makes me wonder,” DAMN! How on earth did you withstand all of that!” They are truly memorable and sometimes very entertaining. Well Danny, all the best on your National Geographic assignment, say Hi to the penguins for me and pat a polar cub =P
Also a very big THANK YOU for all the photos you’ve helped me and my acting buddies with. Was really very chilled and fun working with you, and I must say honestly, when it comes to breaking down the ice and getting to know your clients better … YOU have the magic technique bro! During our shoot you made us feel very relaxed and comfortable and you even went the extra mile by drizzling the whole atmosphere with some fun and not forgetting booze! This one goes out to you bro! PEACE AND LOVE!
http://miltonmonster.netfirms.com/
Contact him through the address above or through email : miltonmonster@gmail.com >
** All headshots in this blog done exclusively by Daniel Milton**
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Info Drama on smoking
Sunday, Oct 18, 2009 9:26PM / Members only
This was a rather nostalgic event. The performance venue was my old army camp! I havent been back there in like 2 years! Going back certainly did bring many different memories back ..
The skit was very simple, we were to perform a piece on how to stop smoking. The aim was to better educate the newly enlisted recruits of the navy BMT batch. I had a lot of fun turning the less than enthusiastic audience to a group of highl interested individuals. Check out the gallery below and enjoy…
Stats
- The acting bug hit Val at a very early age. As a child Val already knew that he wanted the red carpet treatment. Growing up, his favorite movies were the B grade action filcks from America...
- Age: 24
- Gender: Male
- Total visits: 148
