My documentary assignment, The Happiest Tram Driver: Extra Time, is in production during these two months.
Therefore, in August, we were very busy on three assignments. First of all, in the assignment of class Writing with the Camera, we have to shoot 8 shots, including zooming and wide angle, edit shots in two sequences of Premiere Pro, and conduct a critical written document to explain shots how we did, what mistakes we made, and how to improve it next time.
Next, in The Writers Room class, we need to personally submit an episodic story discussed by our own group, Married Couple.
It is not difficult to come up with the story plot, but it suffers during the group discussion. Our team members, Patricia, Anusha, and Sarah have good communication skills to guide us in the right direction of this story. Additionally, Parsa and Jason contribute many interesting ideas to make the story fun and dramatic. We completed the whole story structure earlier than the other team.
The Vlogs of our two tough classes
The last one is the Documentary class. Jason, Janice, and Sanjeev joined my team to cooperate on interviewing our subject, the Happiest Tram Driver in Melbourne, Bruce.
There is a lot of shooting equipment we have to use in the interview.
We filmed the interview on Aug. 14 since there was a mid-break week from Aug. 10 to 19. The interview location is a Tram Cafe near the CBD. Our four members coworked well and took a good frame with clear interviewee's audio.
The more difficult part is the written document for the documentary's proposal and treatment. It is submitted by individuals. The format is so complicated. We will take our time in the following weeks.
Along with Shekhar's documentary production, Nav, we went to Geelong, where the subject lives, far away from the city. We spent almost three hours there because of the metro lockdown.
Shekhar's team is very professional, and it took them a long time to set up the light. We stayed there until 10:00 p.m., and it was almost exhausting.
In August, Shekhar, Quang, and I also went to the location scouting for wedding shootings, where we visited many places, such as Royal Botanical Garden, Yarra River, Parliament, Carlton Garden, Fitzroy Garden, Chanel Street, and Hosair Lane.
Afterward, we coworked on a wedding ceremony and two dance events, which are a DJ nightclub and an Indian club.
Watch the movie "Wake Up" at the Melbourne International Film Festival 2024
During the mid-break week, I got some interview invitations, such as one for a full-stack developer position, not related to my current major, filming or directing. It is still in the process, but I prefer to find a film production job in Melbourne because I already have one remote job teaching Taiwanese students programming.
Many students at Deakin, including my classmates, are eager to get part-time jobs here, no matter if they relate to film or not. I would say that it is expensive cost on what kind of experience you get in your studenthood. If you decide to work as a service worker in the restaurant, you will master it in the future. It turned me into a woman sending me a message on LinkedIn, who is going to be an overseas volunteer.
She was considering if it was a risk to take the overseas volunteer position for one year and wanted to know why and how my past experience working as an overseas IT volunteer in St. Kitts and Nevis. The conclusion is that what kind of decision is worthy of your life depends on the individual. Some people, like me, have skills in remote working and multitasking, but some people prefer to work in person without other ways to make money.
"Humans living in the world are always taking risks. Happy living in your comfort zone, or struggling and growing in the unknown."
I said it is up to you. No one can give you advice.
Even though I booked an online appointment with Kevin, who is trying to help students and freshmen consider some advice in their careers, I know that it is a connection, not an instruction for my future.
Like why I took a part-time job to teach Mandarin in primary school here, it is because I want to improve my communication with multi-languages, interaction, and observation with children or students, which will help me direct young actors in the future. It is a connection. By the way, before taking the role, I obtained my Working with Children Check certificate and a Full Driver's License.
Agile methodology focuses on strong team connections, such as empathy, understanding, safety, and team agreement. I know it is hard, but it is the right thing to do.
After one marvelous month of studying and having fun in Melbourne, I realized that most people are always pursuing something unknown but joyful in the present moment.
"Don't drain your time without being present.", my friend said to me.
Where I am and what I dedicate myself to define me. That requires long-term practice.
Let's see how we practice in the Writing with the Camera class.
Study & Play Hard - week 2 day 2 at Deakin
How to create vibey footage in a thriller film: it relies on camera movement, lighting, and sound design, with editing as the final step to synthesize these elements into a cohesive clip.
I'm utilizing generative AI tools(such as Copilot, Shakker.ai, and InVideo.ai) to build resource archives for the concept demonstrations of web series script I wrote in the Writers Room.
knock knock in the Writers Room
We got more and more practice in Week 3.
Writing with Camera & The Writers Room - Week 3
Now we have 4 musketeers (Aarav is a bachelor's student of film and TV)
Additionally, I am so lucky to have met the happiest tram driver in Melbourne, Bruce, on the first day I arrived here, because now he is my documentary subject. While I found his card and had an interview with him this week, he promptly agreed to my filming.
Documentary Production Practice - Exhausted on our Assignments - Week 3
Bruce's story is fantastic. Like he said in Mandarin, "頂好，剛剛好!"
Then the Taiwanese guy, CW, he took me, Jason, and Simon to nightclubs in Melbourne city. It was such an amazing wild-life experience.
Melbourne Nightlife A Filmmaker's Dream
A few days ago, I suddenly thought that Henry, one of my online programming students, was planning to study in Australia. I tried to connect with him via the Line app. One day later, I received his response, and we met at a coffee shop near Burwood Village in Camberwell. OMG! He has been studying at the University of Melbourne for more than 1.5 years, and his current place is very close to my house.
What's a coincidence! Henry will graduate as an IT specialist at the end of this year and is looking for some local work opportunities next year.
Henry drove his car with me to the city and explored many tourist places I hadn't been to yet during the past month.
Henry asked me a question. He was curious about my apparent talent for connecting with foreigners easily and quickly. Basically, I don't speak English well, but I really love making foreign friends. I have failed many times before, but now you just see my apparent talent.
I told Henry, "You will be if you practice, practice, and practice."
University of Melbourne
Queen Victoria Market
National Gallery of Victoria
Yarra River
One thing that happened this week I want to mention is a homeless lady I met on the tram and later met on the street near Camberwell station, where I met Bruce.
The homeless lady politely asked for the tissue from me because she saw me wearing a mask and blew my nose with tissue, so I gave her the tissue. At that time, I didn't know she was a homeless person. Afterward, because I would meet with Bruce, I went to Camberwell station and saw her sitting on the ground of the street to beg money.
I saw her using corrugated paper, writing down "Human Kindness" & "Please Help." She recognized me as the man on the tram. I kneeled down beside her and said, "I will give you 20 dollars, but can I take a photo of the paper? only paper, thanks." She said, "Sure."
I just saw that the paper she made was beautiful and wanted to memorize it. Also, I asked her several questions, like, Where do you live? Do you have friends? Why don't you go to the city for more tourists?
She answered all my questions and said thanks to me as well. I am not sure I was polite without discrimination. I hope so.
Anyway, one thing is for sure: Melbourne has given me memories I'll never forget.
I have a Master's degree in Computer Science from my hometown in Taiwan, and I also studied for an MA(Master of Art) degree at NTUA for one and a half years.
Another "Master" I have is the certificate of Scrum Master.
However, when it comes to mastering life, I've learned that optimism is the key.
"A pessimist may be correct, but an optimist always continues to improve." This is the quote Mason shared with us in the English online study group.
Our lives are always a struggle, regardless of whether we are rich or poor.
Especially for full-time students, the struggle is present every day.
This week is our first week of this trimester, but the lecturer didn't come to class on the first day. It made us nervous, so we looked for someone in Student Central to ask the reason.
Afterward, we found out that Monday's class is held online and would watch the recording sometime during this week. Yes, actually, the lecturer had updated information on DeakinCloud, but no one knew to read it before the class began. So, it's nothing much happened today.
Just with my classmates Shekhar and Quang, we explored the campus and filmed lots of material for our future series.
Filmed by Shekhar
Then it came to the amazing second day.
Writing with the Camera
The first unit in the morning, from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM, is a very practical lesson on how to manually operate the camera and tripod.
The place is on the first floor in the P building
Our lecturer, Lachie, brought us to the equipment office, where two technicians, Matt and Mark, demonstrated how to borrow these devices, including the camera, battery, microphone, cables, and tripod.
It's so cool that around 2 to 3 students can operate one camera and tripod for practice.
Lachie showed us, step by step, how to unpack and pack the Miller Air Solo 75 tripod.
Shekhar is familiar with manipulating the Panasonic HC-X2 4K
Lachie also demonstrated each funtions of the camera
The Writers Room
Next, we went to the B building, where we have a class called the Writers Room, to learn how to write a script for a web series.
The goal of this unit: Devising and writing an epsodic short-form web digital series
This unit is awesome! I never thought that reels could be so attractive and dramatic. The lecturer, Mary, showed us many clips from TikTok channels. It was very helpful in understanding how the current business markets have completely changed.
The younger generation spends a lot of time on social media, where content rotates quickly, but some of it has flourished on the internet as web series, with episodes typically lasting about 1 to 3 minutes, which online viewers often watch.
It means that we will have a Pitch for our final assigment in this unitl.😱
Our lecturer, Mary, gave us a formula to create the story for a web series.
The formula is really helpful and simple
She encouraged us to share our ideas in class.
I shared a story about my first day arriving at Southern Cross station in Melbourne. There was a homeless person staring at the locker where I was preparing to store my big suitcases. At first, I was a little nervous to notice that he was looking at me seriously. I was afraid that he might hurt me or steal my belongings.
Then I found out that he just wanted to tell me how to operate the locker. I apologized for it and said "thanks" to him.
Mary said it's a good story for practice and suggested adding a twist, such as revealing that the homeless person's real identity might be incredibly wealthy.
On the third day of this week, Shekhar, Quang and I went to Port Melbourne, which is 20 minutes away from the city.
We really love this hidden gem. (I learned the term "hidden gem" from the old couple we met there.)
There were no tourists, and the quiet atmosphere made us feel relaxed.
After dusk, we met an old couple with a big dog named Z Buddhist.
They are very kind and willing to share anything with us. Although I felt a little scared of their dog when I was feeding Z with a snack, haha😂. The old lady talked to me about many countries they had traveled to, including Taiwan, where they had met their daughter who worked there and learned Mandarin many years ago.They stayed in Taipei city for several weeks only, so they didn't feel very positive about their last trip to Taiwan. I suggested they should visit eastern Taiwan in the future.
It was a good interactive experience with locals in Melbourne for our future filmmaking projects.
Actually, there will be many projects coming up in this trimester. One assignment was announced on this Friday, where we have another unit for filming a documentary.
Documentary Production Practice
This is a fantastic unit where we need to prepare many potential subjects(the subject should be a person) for our upcoming documentary production. There will be a small discussion next week for the potential list, and in the following weeks, we will pitch our main subject.
The professor, Dr. Simon, screened a documentary titled "Bastardy," which tells the story of Jack Charles, an Australian Indigenous actor who struggled with criminal activities and drug addiction.
It's very touching and showcases the hard work behind this production.
After this class, we originally planned to play table tennis (TT), but it was closed. So we went to the Friday Friends event where they were hosting an activity to paint traditional Australian boomerangs.
This one was made by Aara, not by me.
Then Shekhar, Quang and I went to a public installation art on campus, which is a tram.
We took many photos and tried out various filming techniques. It's another published reel. 😍
Basically, we have already filmed many documentaries about our daily lives here.
It will last for the two years of our study.
The 3 Musketeers
On this Saturday, we visited the St. Kilda for our Saturday Friends outing! Chug! Chug! Chug!
"May I won't become a filmmaker, but we are definitely a crew."
There is always something happening if you believe we can make an impact since we are here.
Even though just a little thing has changed, we did it without regret.
Before week 1 of this trimester, the college prepares an orientation week to ensure new students are ready and empowered for their future studies.
There is a peer support program called "PASS" in the Peer Mentoring Program. It is an online study group for tough units. Sounds nice, right? On campus, we can receive a lot of help to PASS our units through the program.
It's difficult to say that you can't get any help from the university.
One aspect of Deakin University's culture that I greatly respect is its focus on building connections in leisure spaces such as cafes, libraries, and various formal and informal social settings, where students are willing to share.
DUSA (Deakin University Student Association) provides many clubs that we shouldn't miss, such as the film society, it's so cool!
Eventually, on the second day of orientation week, I met many classmates studying for a master's in film and television. I also met some students studying for a bachelor's in film, television, and animation.
This time, I kept my "Human Bingo" card
One of the bachelor students thought I am a professor at Deakin University, which made everyone, including me, laugh. He said I look very professional, haha.😆 Never mind, I will be.
The meet and greet is not just for film majors' students but for all students under the Faculty of Arts and Education. Hence, I met some new friends from Arts, Education, Humanities, Communication and Creative Arts, and Social Media, all of which are essential in filmmaking.
Afterward, something big will be coming! An online introduction to the Master of Film and Television was held. We received information about the course structure and overall credit points across four trimesters.
Some people here have asked me why I changed my major? There has actually been no change in my major for more than 20 years.
Even though I already have both a master's and bachelor's degree in computer science from my hometown, the essential major of my life is always there.
Life is so short. What matters to you? I mean what truly matters to you, not to others.
Recently, I received a message on LinkedIn.
Sophie, a UI/UX designer, and I met when she was a candidate interviewing with me at my former company many years ago. She is also a Maverick pursuing her dream in Australia now.
She also asked me, "why I changed my major to study film?
I am not a particularly brave person and I realize there are many risks in pursuing a career as a director without sufficient funds. However, knowing why you are here is only one part of what it means to be human. We started our lives with nothing, so why worry about the risks of ending up with nothing?
"Is it important for you?" Kratik asked me when I lost my "Dare to Dream" sticker in a restaurant near the Yarra River several days ago. He is a sweet guy who cares about my feelings.
However, I wasn't worried about that at that moment.
The important thing is not the physical item I lost; it's something that already exists in my mind, something that cannot be lost.
"Instead of talking about your dreams to others who don't matter, show them through your actions.", I responded to Sophie.
My Taiwanese friends was just kidding to say, "Ivan can survive anywhere, even as a nomad."
Honestly, there are a few homeless individuals staying in Southern Cross Station in the city; however, the situation is better than in the capital city of my country.
At least I can be a street performer.
No worries about it. Deakin also cares about your future career - DeakinTALENT website provides many resources to help you find part-time jobs during your studies and full-time jobs after graduation.
There is one common website that both employers and employees use here, which is seek.com.
The course design at Deakin University has been structured to integrate work and study(WIL) from the beginning. Deakin's students are trained to become specialists for their future careers.
Moreover, there is another online session called "Step Outside the Classroom", which mainly teaches students how to apply for internship jobs.
Exploring the library on campus is also very important for improving your study. There are many online sessions available that teach students how to utilize it effectively.
I borrowed some textbooks from the library this week.
Online hosts are available to answer all your questions.
Furthermore, knowing how to write your academic essay is crucial for postgraduate students.
During this orientation week, all online sessions began with this acknowledgment.
Clubs and societies assist students as well.
Join the online Kahoot😂 hosted by DUSA!
The answer is Big Hero!
Even though we have lots of work to do, I believe that eventually, we can achieve more than we think.
Additionally, I look at many different technical studios in the P buillding where filmmaking students will study throughout their units.
I and Shekhar met a technician and two seniors there. We discussed more about internships and commercial production, and how we can achieve success during our two-year study. The two seniors were passionate about sharing a lot of information with us, such as StarNow and the 16th Street Actors Studio, for our future casting opportunities.
Connection is always the key, no matter where you stay.
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