Reflection!

Hello! So sorry that I took such a long time to write my last post for the blog! ok, so is been like almost a month since I came back from san frans, and I really do miss the place, the food! and of course the wonderful people that I got to know there! Without them, I will not have enjoy myself so much!

The first person I got to thanks is none other then my boss Harry! I am really thankful that I got to learn so much throughout my 3 months of internship, learning to wrap cables, learning the use of different video and audio cables(before my internship, I know nothing about bnc, hdmi, vga, etc..what those cables are really use for, now I know much more) , learning to operate the switcher board, sound mixer, remote camera, boom camera, learning different techniques of video editing, got the chance to edit about 5 videos throughout the three months! Opportunity to shoot backstage for a musical, and much much more! Thanks Harry for all the opportunity you given us! may it be shooting for christmas sing, thanksgiving dinner or  editing for harvestfest or the thanksgiving music video, I really enjoyed myself and I learned a lot while working on all the project you gave us. If you would ask me which were my favorite projects that I work on, it would be helping to edit the music video for the Thanksgiving dinner! When the video is being shown during the thanksgiving dinner, It was kind of a special moment for me as it was the first time something I edited was shown to hundreds of people. It was something I am proud of when I saw it. Beside the music video, I also enjoyed myself alot while helping to set up and shoot for the english christmas Sing, although tiring, I really had alot of fun setting up and shooting backstage, not everyday I will get to do something like that! working and helping on such a big christmas musical!

Other then the work stuff, I want to say a big thanks to Harry and Li soon for always driving us around, especially the 8 hours drive to LA! and the 5 hours drive to lake tahoe! bringing us around San Francisco, teaching us how to take the public transport and always giving us a treat. I really could not say enough thanks to Harry and Li soon for taking such good care of us during the 3 months. Because of such great hospitality Harry and Li soon gave us, at one point, I even thought that I am part of Harry family!

Lastly, I would like to thanks Phil,alex and the rest of the mass media crew for all the stuff you taught me and all the fun and laughter we had! It was really an amazing 3 months because of you guys!!! If theres something to look forward to when I get back to san frans to further my studies or for a vacation, it would be to hang out with all of you!!!!

So thats all I got to share for my last post! Thanks for taking the time to read all of our post! Really took a long time writing this! hahaha! Bye Guys!!! Hope you enjoyed reading! And once again, sorry for all the grammar mistake! :)

Thoughts and reflections .

Hi Harry & Lisoon and whoever is reading this. Hellooooo hellooo! i am Ace the cake.

You guys really go all out for us, and I must say…. You guys are like our cooler, younger SF parents lol. But, Thank you. From the bottom of my heart. You have no idea how grateful I am. Hehehe. Prior to my SF adventure, I was really scared, and skeptical even, I ever felt like maybe it wasn’t the right decision to go, but I know myself, that’s just really my pessimistic side of my brain chanting a bad rhyme. So let us start the journey!

I really love film and production, but I love motion graphics/ simple vfx most of all. I was real glad we got a chance to be in the production! I remember the first mograph I did was for the harvest festival video hahahha, I was really pumped, and to see what I did being commended and all, it felt really rewarding. I remember Harry giving me tips on how to make my mograph more dynamic and detailed as he himself is very detailed orientated, I learnt so much from that experience itself.

In the beginning, I really, really, really, disliked sound and audio design, but I was exposed to sound a number of times during the service production as a sound engineer and grew to like it! I really absorbed a fair bit knowledge and skill in this area. From disliking this area so much to really appreciate and try out for myself, (using Adobe Audition! :D) I’ve come to actually use the software in my own time to record my Pokemon voices. HAHAHA. I even edited my FYP audio with what Harry taught me; REVERB! Sounds so much better. J this was definitely something I would have missed out if I was in SG.

Christmasing and all the live productions was a real eye opener. Especially Christmasing! The amount of dedication and hardwork everyone put in for the show, it was really just so heartwarming; packing equipment, setting up, tearing down and then setting back up in Cornerstone! And as a very messy person, I really hate packing! But I remember the day we packed for Christmasing, I had so much fun, laughing and cracking jokes while packing, it was the best packing experience ever, I still talk about it till this day hahahha! And setting up too! I was the BNC WOMAN. Plugging and unplugging the BNCs was my duty, hahaha! It was such an amazing experience, full of crazy fun working with people from the techcrew/massmedia.

All in all, im lost for words, in a good way; I bought a book at a random store in SF, just so happened it had my favourite quote: “Since the house is on fire, let us warm ourselves.” The choice is always mine, but the fire isn’t, how I respond to a situation, reflects my attitude; I want to do my best no matter in SF or back home. I cannot say that every minute in SF passed like a breeze nor did I wake up to that mindset everyday, I did have some down-in-the-dumps moments, but no matter what, I’d try to do my best. & so it comes to this; there isn’t any word in my vocabulary that can help express how grateful, thankful and just how happy I am, that I was able to experience the culture, work and play here in SF. Thank you for this wonderful opportunity. 

ありがとうございます

Love,

Acelyn Cakes

Reflect.

Hola!

So the 3 months of internship in sf flew by quickly and now we're back in Singapore.
I have so many things to be thankful about. & I'm so grateful for the awesome people I've met.

Firstly I'd like to thank The Boss, Harry. He has given me so many opportunities to experience doing stuff outside of just camera work. Before I went for internship I've never even touched a camera for any of my projects before, let alone do multi-cam production. Now I've even tried sound work, lighting and being a tech crew. It's a great experience for me to learn so much in just a short period of time.
It has also shaped my confidence in handling camera, which I'll never be able to do before I went to sf.
The greatest change about myself after internship would be my interest in audio engineering. I'd like to thank Phil for this, who is an amazing mentor. He taught me how to manage a sound board, and he was also patient enough to explain to me about certain areas which I didn't understand.
The best part about the internship for me would be the multi-cam live productions, namely the Thanksgiving dinners and also Christmasing!! I've only been part of a live production once back in Singapore before internship, but I didn't get the chance to work the camera.
Now we not only get to be on camera, we're also part of the crew which includes setting up, plugging all the cables etc. It's amazing to be able to learn all of that!!
I'd also like to thank each and every one of the people in Cornerstone who helped us alot in different ways, treating us so kindly like we're family!! I'm thankful to know some of the most amazing people I've met in my life too, I'll treasure the friendship forever. They are the reason why we enjoyed our 3 months stay in sf so much, even being so far away from our family and friends.
I've brought back alot of great memories with me to reminiscence, even the time when we had to set up until past 3am after Christmasing is a memorable experience.
I'm so grateful towards Harry & Lisoon for everything, as besides work they made sure we had fun too, and also to experience different parts about the US culture which is very new to me. I've never thought of studying college in the US before, but now this is a goal I'm working towards to :D
Once again I'm thankful for the opportunity to even go for this internship, thanks to my lecturers and also Harry & Lisoon :)


So this is it. Final post.
Goodbye & love y'all !!!
Elyz 

Reflections

Hiiiii there. Okay so the internship has come to an end and I'm about to do a reflection of the whole three months that was spent there. I learned alot during the time I was there and I have grown as a person. Firstly I would like to Thank Harry for giving me this opportunity to experience this and it was the best 3 months of my life. During my time there I have learned alot and it was one great experience I can never ever forget. Even during the last week, there were things for me to learn and Harry taught Larry and I how to build cables from scratch which was super cool. During these three months there, I have also gotten comfortable with using the cameras and actually being the cameraman which was super awesome. I have also learned lots of technical things like how to plug the cables into the different equipments. Harry also taught us the different cables and what they are used for which was very useful for me because during the Christmas Sing we had to know which cables went where in order to speed things up.
All in all this whole experience has also helped me to grow to love filmmaking even more. I am very thankful for having the opportunities to operate the cameras and be part of the live filming team. As well as the very fact I could be involved with the process of everything was run was really awesome and I think I befriended the coolest and best bunch of people I ever world. For me Christmas Sing and the children's programs were the most memorable for me because I got to use the boom camera and was backstage camera and that made me feel important as I was actually given such a great opportunity during the internship to use these cameras and learn from my mistakes. Using the boom camera was one unforgettable experience as I really learned alot from it and it gave me the chance to play around with how I wanted the shots to be and it gave me confidence to learn from any mistakes I made, and also let me be creative with how I wanted the shots to be. I REALLY LEARNED ALOT DURING THE WHOLE CHRISTMAS SING PROCESS and it was crazy fun. I never expected myself to enjoy filming so much. From packing cables to labeling them, doing inventory with the bunch of cool people and making the most of it was fun. hehehe. Thank you mass media folks for being ever so kind to us too. I hope I brought you laughter hahahaha. TOO BAD IF I DIDN'T, just kidding, but thank you for giving me a great honorable opportunity to work together with you guys and learning so much from each and everyone of you, as well as forming this friendship/bond with you hehe.
During my time in SF, I have also enjoyed every single thing, especially when we are out and about exploring and soaking ourselves under the sun and in the culture. Even simple things like paying for tips was a good experience since we don't do that back home. I really would like to thank Harry and everyone who made this internship possible for me and everyone whom I have gotten to know because this internship was so memorable and I am extremely thankful for having been given the opportunity to intern there and these memories will stay with me forever. Last but not least, thanks to Harry and Li Soon for being so kind and graceful and bringing us around everywhere, and for being my parents in SF, it was awesome, and I know we will keep in contact because I will be constantly bothering you ahahahaahahaahahahahaa. & thanks to everyone I met in the church, I believe this friendship will last forever and Thank you once again!!!!!!!! I love you San Francisco. I will be back. Wait for me ):

x

Tania

Week 11 and 12

Hello Ladies and Gentlemen! I am here to present to you my trip to LA and Lake Tahoe! Going to be a long post! And yes, I am going to make sure I finish writing both weeks by today! hahaha.. Lets go!

Week 11 - Trip to LA

After finally done with all the Christmas Sing and the Kids Christmas Program, the time has come for us to head down to LA! Our plan? 5 days, 4 theme parks, Conquer them all! We took off the day after we finish our last Christmas Sing on Sunday. I would really like to thanks and appreciate Harry and Lisoon for driving us down (about 7 Hours drive!)  and helping us to save the cost as we first intend to go by plane before Harry and his family decided to go with us. 

On the way to LA!

Stop at a place for toilet break and snacks.

We reached the hotel during the night and went to iHop for supper, before going back to our room to rest and get ready for the next day! 

Day 2 - DisneyLand!

Usually, we always need to wake up early to go school or work. On the second day, we need to wake up early to go to DisneyLand! 

We are reaching to the happiest place on earth!

 

Taking the space mountain early in the morning! 

The arcade from the movie Wreck it wrath!

Time for some Go kart!

Yeah, see how happy am I to be in DisneyLand

Queuing up for  Rollercoaster!

 Look at the size of that Turkey Leg!

The christmas parade was awesome!!!

Snowman?

Yeah, so we literally spend the whole day in Disneyland, we managed to ride the more popular rides in the morning before the crowd starts coming in. After visiting Disneyland, I planned to watch all the Disney movie again! 

Day 3 -Disney California

After an awesome day at disneyland, we went to disney california the following day! There, I got to take the California screaming roller coaster which is right now my favorite ride of all time! 

You could see the california screaming next to the mickey Ferris wheel.

How can you not take photo with Mickey?!

No idea who is he..hahaha

Cable car in Disney california!

The Tower of terror! The only ride I dare not to take!

Grooving with cars!

Sorry! having to much fun! Didnt really have alot of photos. I really had a great time in Disney California! To me, the rides were more thrilling and fun then in disneyland. Got to definitely come back here again!

Day 4 - Universal Studios

Although Singapore had a universal studio and I have been there a few times, the one in US is much bigger and better!  I enjoyed the studio tour the most as we got to see set pieces of some of the blockbuster movies and experience how some of the movies effects were made.

Universal City walk!

One of the set they use for filming

hahaha..let me the the director once!

We queued almost 2 hours for the transformers ride!!!

Universal was great, but we spend more time queuing then playing! 

Day 5 - Seaworld

After 3 days of theme parks! we went to visit the last theme park, Seaworld! Which Harry need to drive about an hour to San Deigo to get thete! Thanks Harry once again!

Although not as great as the other 3 theme parks, we had fun too as there were fewer people and we do not need to queue for a long time to take a ride. 

Day 6 - Disney California and Disney Land!

During our last day in LA before heading back, we went back to Disney California really early in the morning to take the 'cars' ride which was really popular and you need to queue for about 2 hours to take it, so we decided to go early just to take that ride! Never expect myself to wake up so early just to play!

Heading down to Disney California early in the morning

The park is not open yet! Went there to early! Failing!

Lego Shop at Disney Downtown

During the late afternoon, we went down to Disney Downtown to buy some merchandise and souvenir!

 We went back to Disneyland during the night to watch the fireworks before saying goodbye to the happiest place on earth. 

The day after, before driving back to San Francisco, Harry brought us to visit Rick warren church! And man! It was one of the coolest church I have ever seen! 

Saddleback Church!

They had a area where their church members can come in to play some games and relax.

Bye LA!

So thats all for my whole week in LA!  I am really missing all the fun we had there! 

Week 12

The next day after we got back from LA, we went to shoot the watch night and baptism service for the church. And yes, our work is not done yet! After shooting, we countdown for the new year in cornerstone! First time spending my christmas and new year overseas! 

Pastor Clifford in the house!

After the countdown, I and Tania spend a night at Harry house playing video games with nathan! 

Lol..

After the new year, we head down to lake Tahoe for our second adventure! It was about a 4 hour drive, and I want to thanks Harry and Lisoon once again for driving us! 

Getting all ready for the road trip!

I guess you don't get to see this in Singapore?

Stopping for some pictures!

We finally reached our destination! Our new home for the next 5 days! Cool eh?

Now this is where I want to live when I retired. hahaha

Went around for some sight seeing. Is cold!!!!

During the next day while we were leaving the house to ride the snow mobile, we saw this German Sherperd wandering outside our house. And guess what, it was the friendliest German sherperd I encountered (I was attack by my own German Sherperd once.) 

I'll be back

Riding the snow mobile for the first time! Pretty Fun!

Caramel apple! It was really good! Love it! 

Some night Sight seeing

We went to bake cupcakes for Harry and Lisoon! 

Getting ready to ski for the first time!

Emerald bay! Now if I were to shot a movie, I will have my establishing shot here.

Our Ski Instructor

Last day at Lake Tahoe

 Really had alot of fun in Lake Tahoe! Tried snow mobile for the first time which I really enjoyed it! Tried Skiing for the first time! Love it so much that I can't wait for the next time to ski again! Now why we don't have all this in Singapore!!! Had a great time with Harry and his family too! Really enjoyed the time where we watch movie and had dinner together in the cabin. And we got to eat Lisoon awesome curry chicken and mee siam! Overall, I really had a great time during the past 2 weeks in LA and Lake Tahoe! Will never forget the wonderful memories I had there!

I will be posting my last post tomorrow. Just 2 more day before heading back home. Time really flies! Although, I am looking forward to go back to Singapore, but at the same time, really sad to leave here! I really had lots of fun, learn lots of things, ate lots of good amercian food, got to experience the American culture and got to know lots of wonderful people during my 3 months here! Going to miss all of them! I love America!!!!!

So thats all for now! Bye!