By Teoh Yoong Shuen
It was a momentous evening for the Han Chiang University College of Communication Year 3 Semester 1 Broadcasting students as their It’s a __Final Year Premiere 2019 sets the stage on fire.
The strenuous efforts of three months brought delight to the organising committee when a staggering 300 tickets were sold for their screening.
Edge, Preposterous and In My Time of Need were the short films screened at the final year’s premiere. Besides short films, a television commercial for Good Times Ginger Tea, a public service announcement named 192 Shades of Silver and a curriculum vitae for Imma. C Studio enlivened the atmosphere here.
The creatively constructed title of the program – “It’s a __” leaves an underscore to let the audiences’ perception colour their answer(s). The out-of-box thinking further reflected in theme of the screening where train was selected as a metaphor that signifies life. According to Lee Kean Wei, he as an advisor cum lecturer of the students represent the station master while the audience are regarded as the passengers on board. On the other hand, organising committee assumed the role of train conductors – hoping to implore that audience will realise that life is about the journey and destination.
Praising the students’ work, “they have improved over time as some of their film idea might be better than the professionals”, says the optimistic Lee. He hoped the students will not forget why they chose this path and stay passionate for filming.
The chairman of It’s a__ Final Year Premiere, Lau Chang Kean conveyed his gratitude to the organising committee for turning this event a successful one.
The winner of The Best Cinematography – Unfold Pictures
“Throughout the journey, members of the organising committee took great care of each other which strengthened their bonding. They have grown and learned numerous things during the entire journey eventually bestowing them with plenty of memories to be shared and cherished among them in the future.”
During the closing ceremony, audience were asked to jot down their dreams on a form and fold it into a paper aeroplane. Everyone threw their paper aeroplanes on the air and shouted, “We Will Fly!”, sparking the hope and motivation to pursue their dreams.
Unfold Pictures, the team which produced the television commercial for Good Times Ginger Tea won the Best Cinematography. The film In My Time of Need Bak 2 ia Production bagged two prizes under the categories of Best Short Film and Most Popular Film.
The winner of The Best Short Film and Most Popular Film – Bak2ia Production
Members of Bak2ia Production expressed their surprise as they were not expecting lecturers and audience to appreciate their experimental mode of filmmaking. They thanked Lee for not only allowing them to stay truthful to their filmmaking style, but also helped them immensely in the course of production.
Han Chiang Deputy Vice Chancellor, Jenny Khoo too attended the event held at Northam Hall Penang on 6 th December 2019.