French Taste Films HK Ltd is the production company behind the cross cultural comedy series "Mister French Taste®", starring Olivier Malet, Osric Chau and Sarah Lian.  Now in development on the show's second season, French Taste Films HK Ltd is looking for an energetic and motivated social media savvy individual who can contribute to expanding the social media presence of the company and the show.  If you already enjoy spending time on Facebook, this internship may be just right for you!

Job Title:  Social Media Intern

Commitment:  Two hour blocks, three times a week for a total of 8 weeks. Starting November 7th, 2011. Working from home, with regular meetings with the team.

Compensation:  To be discussed

Job Description: 

- Expert with Facebook, Twitter, Weibo and other popular social media sites

- Fluent in English & Chinese (French is a plus!)

- Ability to conduct online research and deliver clear written & verbal summaries

- Ability to write short humorous articles for online publication to the social media sites

- Ability to interact humorously (but still appropriately) on social media sites

- Proactive personality who enjoys teamwork and innovation

Please submit resumes & cover letters to:

[email protected]

"What should I make?  A short film or a web series?"

I get asked this question alot by budding filmmakers, and a recent discussion with a friend about the death of the film industry as we know it sparked me to hammer out some of my thoughts on this topic.  For the record, I've done both (LUMINA the Web Series and my current short film Bloodtraffick, which premieres in the US in August, both projects featuring fellow AnD talent!)  So without further ado:

WEB SERIES PRO's:

1.  To me, the absolute best thing about a web series is that as soon as you finish it, you can pop it online for everyone to see.  This is also cool for everyone who worked on it, since how many of us have worked on projects that never got finished or that no one ever saw? 

2.  Web series is all about disintermediation - no filters, no middle man.  Just you and the audience.  And your potential audience is limited only by who has internet access and isn't IP-blocked.  That's alot of people, folks!

3.  Use audience feedback to evolve as a filmmaker.  I'm not saying listen to every YouTuber who wants to pick a fight, but take some time out to connect to your audiences, listen to the constructive comments, and improve things for your next episode. 

WEB SERIES CON's:

1.  Even for popular web series like the Guild, budgets for web-based entertainment is low.  So get used to fetching your own coffee, love!

2.  The "serial" aspect doesn't link up with "short form" easily.  I found that I was trying to cram a traditional story arc in every three to five minute episode, and that meant find a memorable beginning and ending to each, but once you add in the intro and the end credits.... that meant BAM! BAM! episode was over.  It didn't allow me the luxury of having those low points that make the high points more memorable. 

SHORT FILM PRO's:

1.  Nothing beats sitting in a cinema with the lights off, surround sound, and your images absolutely HUGE.  Go ahead and tell me that most people will watch films on their TV's, computers, mobile phones (why is the screen territory getting smaller and smaller and smaller!)  I'm old school: Silver screen, I still love you.

2.  You can take as much time as you want to tell your story.  No arbitrary deadlines (well unless you're entering a 1 minute film festival), and no lightning fast edits unless that's the style you want to achieve. 

3.  Festivals are great places to meet fellow filmmakers and industry people who can help you.  Sometimes getting out from behind your desk and seeing other people face to face is a good thing. 

SHORT FILM CON's:

1.  Waiting for festivals feels like waiting for colleges again.  Thick or thin letter?  Long or short email?  Though I have to say, getting acceptance letters is AWESOME.

2.  This is still an uncommercial product.  It's tough to get your money back for making the short.

WHAT YOU STILL NEED NO MATTER WHAT YOU CHOOSE:

1.  Good story.  All the pretty special effects from that fancy plug-in you bought will dazzle your audience for a few minutes.  Then they'll turn it off.  A good story will stick with them long after they stopped watching.

2.  Evangelist friends.  There's a reason that PR people are good to have, and if you can't afford them, the next best thing are to have friends who help you spread the word about your production. 

3.  Perseverance.  Filmmaking isn't an easy process.  Yes, the technical side has opened up (cheaper digital cameras, cheaper editing software) but making a good product will still take good old-fashioned effort.  It's easy to be an arm-chair Scorsese, it's much much freaking harder to go make an original film on your own.

My personal answer:  I like both mediums, and respect their differences.  If I was starting over again, I'd probably do bunches of ultra low budget online videos first to get the hang of it (stand alone's or series, doesn't matter), and then if I made a short that I felt was strong enough, keep that offline and enter it into film festivals and chase that feature!

Hope this helps!

- J.T.

I'm not telling.  You'll have to see this gem of a film to find out.


26 Happiness Road is a beautifully told father-daughter story, starring Yung Yung Yu, Ren Jun Heng and Hui Qiang Wang.  The film is directed by Bill Chiu and shot and edited by Simon Young.  And yes, what Anton Wong wrote in his blog entry is true - I cried through a good portion of the movie and was still teary-eyed afterwards.  (Stop making fun of me, Anton!  If you don't stop, I'll tell everyone that you cried during the movie too!)


Yung Yung's performance as Xun Qing was absolutely amazing.  Her portrayal of a daughter torn by conflicting emotions is spot on, and the chemistry between Yung Yung and the actors who play her father and her childhood best friend (pictured below) sparkles on screen.


I first met Yung Yung Yu in the winter of 2009, in that now fateful acting workshop taught by Jeanne Hartman and organized by Jason Tobin.  The energy of my first class with her was spectacular, and I'm happy to say that I am still friends with everyone in it, and better yet, have worked with a good number of them on different film and TV projects as well.  I loved this class so much that I took it every single time Jeanne has come back to Hong Kong, and I am going to take it again when she's here in December.  And I hear she's added a Writer's Workshop as well this time.   Book a spot while you can!


Over the past two years I have seen Yung Yu grow as a person and develop as an actress and producer.  She's driven by a deep passion for acting, and that has paid off in this gem of a movie.  Yung Yung, this photo is for you.  Do you know when it was taken?


Watch the trailer for 26 Happiness Road in the link below.  The simple yet emotionally resonant music for the trailer still gets me every time I watch it.
26 Happiness Road is showing one more time at the 2010 Hong Kong Independent Film Festival - today actually, so get your tickets while you can!

Bravo Yung Yung!  And congrats to the rest of the cast and crew on a job really well done.

-- Jen

CASTING CALL FOR A NEW CROSS-CULTURAL COMEDY SERIES

Mister French Taste (played by Olivier Malet) is an etiquette coach who is faced with the challenge of a lifetime: transforming the unruly Leon into a perfectly groomed gentleman while at the same time, trying to steal the heart of Leon's sassy girlfriend Lily.  Watch Hong Kong and France collide in this hilarious comedy of manners!

Producer: Veronique Girma
Director: Jennifer Thym (LUMINA, Bloodtraffick)
Writers: Arne Venema (Robot Entourage), Olivier Malet
Format:  Ten episodes, three minutes each (pilot season)

We are casting for two leading roles and a wide variety of supporting roles, so we are looking for a broad range of actors, male and female, all races and all ages.  The leading roles are paid.

LEON - mid 20's to mid 30's Asian male who is able to speak English and some Cantonese.  30 years old and still living at home, Leon is the only son of a conservative Hong Kong family and a constant source of scandals and shame.  He is loudmouthed and rude, and believes that money and connections can solve everything; he's insecure in his relationship with his on-and-off-again girlfriend Lily.

LILY - mid 20's to mid 30's Asian female who is able to speak English and some Cantonese.  Lily is the beautiful young heiress to a Hong Kong fashion empire, educated and smart, and fluent in the art of shopping.  She fancies everything French, particularly their language and their luxury goods.  Although she is currently dating Leon, she is not sure if he is what she wants for her future.

Please send your headshots and cv to [email protected].  Once we have reviewed your material, we will contact you to schedule an audition.  Auditions will be held between 6 pm and 10 pm on Friday, May 28, 2010, and between 3 and 9 pm on Saturday, May 29, 2010, in North Point, Hong Kong.  Shooting dates are currently scheduled from Monday, June 28, 2010 to Monday, July 12, 2010, in Hong Kong.

We have been working tirelessly on getting my new action short film Bloodtraffick ready, including having our ultracool action choreographer and fellow AnD'er Philip Ng over for a very long rough cut review session this past week.  No matter how many times I watch the footage, I am always amazed by how great Grace Huang and Kirt Kishita look in the fight scenes.  Phil did a great job coordinating this and making it look freaking awesome!

And as an extra treat, Andreas Thalhammer, one half of my ultra-talented DP team from Bloodtraffick and LUMINA, has made four cool wallpapers for the new film. 

It is said that a picture speaks a thousand words; I think in this case it's just two:  "MOVE IT." 


Grace Huang looks so incredibly cool in this one - as does, of course, the famous Hong Kong skyline.


This one is my personal favorite of the four wallpapers, and the one that graces RockGinger's homepage, and similar to the one that Asian film expert Fred Ambroisine featured on his recent Action Queens posters blog post.


Out of these four, this one reminds me the most of a videogame, especially of the Final Fantasy series.  Advent Children, anyone?


All four Bloodtraffick wallpapers can be downloaded in a variety of sizes from www.rockginger.com/wallpapers.

Enjoy!