Question and Answer with Alvin Tiamzon – the winner of the first MyView competition (2009)

Why do you think you won the first My View?
I think the greatest edge of my entry was its simplicity and straight-to-the-point message and the fact that it was infused with humor that speaks directly to its target audience - the youth.

Did anything unexpected happen after winning the first competition?
Well...first off, my business assignment in the US was cut short by a week and I had to ask my manager to allow me to fly back to Manila for the [MyView Competition] press conference!

Next, my entry was subsequently remade for broadcast purposes - that gave me a chance to work on a “big” production that I hadn’t experienced before. I also did receive an offer from a carbon-management company to make videos for them, similar to my MyView entry, but I had to refuse because I chose not to leave my job. I can’t manage to do it as part-time work either.





What have you been doing since you won the first MyView?
- Joined some video contests in the Philippines, as well as ASEAN-wide competitions.

- Founded a Film Club in the Philippines. As a founder and lead of the Film Club, I help produce internal videos and organize several activities related to filmmaking from videography to video-editing, etc.

- I met more budding filmmakers by attending the free filmmaking seminar with Brillante Mendoza at the ABS-CBN Foundation. Together with a team of five, we produced a short film related to the Pasig River. In fact, I unknowingly met the then-future MyView H2O Under 21 category winner Nash Anggahan at the seminar.

- I also help cover the 10-10-10 Pasig River Run (in Manila) with some of my fellow colleagues from the filmmaking seminar.

Any plans to work in the film industry further?
Definitely. Working in the film industry is still my dream job. I guess when I’m 30, I might consider leaving the IT corporate world completely and do something else – you never know – but  I’d like to think that I’m just waiting for the right opportunity to come along before I can totally break in to an industry that is still quite unfamiliar to me. I don’t even know where to start!

Favorite films you have seen in the past year and why did you like them?
(please feel free to choose any one of these...I just can’t decide which movies are my absolute favourite in the past year so I’m putting a lot of them here)

Black Swan – I like how director Darren Aronofsky shows the gritty side of ballet and how the film managed to build up into a very satisfying climax. Not to mention the phenomenal performance of Natalie Portman.

Toy Story 3 – The incinerator scene alone is worth the price of admission. It’s been well-cited that the ending made even grown men cry but the incinerator scene caught me unprepared.

Limitless – I like well-crafted and intelligent sci-fi films and this one along with Duncan Jones’ Moon and Source Code belongs to my favourites.

The Ghost Writer – The mystery within the film that didn’t reveal itself even until the last few minutes of the film kept me hanging and I love the ambiguousness of the ending.

Never Let Me Go – I don’t know but I seem to love the depression expressed throughout the whole movie.

Hanna – I like how it defies the typical action film genre.

Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank – A spot-on and totally outrageous look on Filipino indie cinema which I hope will change how future Pinoy indie filmmakers make a movie that is not about poverty and all its dead seriousness. I do hope more films like this will be produced because people are tired of mainstream movies that are all about love teams and nonsense comedy.

Atonement – Even though I’ve seen this about three years ago...I can’t help but to put this in since this is one of the movies I absolutely adore in recent memory. Everything in this movie is top notch – from directing, costume, music, cinematography and acting – this is a rare film that surpassed my expectations and has affected me for days. Having not read the book or even not seen the trailer, I watched this movie with absolutely no expectations. In fact, being a film music aficionado, I was just curious on how composer Dario Marianelli used the typewriter in the score and also to see the acting debut of Saoirse Ronan. Never did I realize that this seemingly just another period piece turned to become one of the affecting movies I’ve seen.

Your advice to making a great MyView entry?
Keep it simple. Think about how you can best deliver a simple message that is relevant, witty and fresh enough to be interesting to the target audience. It’s also best if the message you’re trying to deliver is coming from your own experience.

Where can people find you? (please provide your twitter address, - and facebook if you want to connect with people).
www.twitter.com/tiamy
www.facebook.com/tiamy
www.youtube.com/user/tiamzy
A “fan” page made by a friend: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alvin-Tiamzon/100497006660239?sk=wall

Q&A with Mun Chee Yong – one of our brilliant judges

You've been very successful in a short time - how did you get to make a feature film so quickly out of film school?

Thanks... time is a relative concept!  I did a radio interview in Singapore and the radio host thought I took very long! Well, I am one of the lucky few among my University of Southern California classmates who have made our first feature films. Like everyone else, I graduated from film school with a thesis short film, did the festivals, won some awards, got a manager and took meetings. After a while I decided that I didn’t want to wait for someone to hand me my break. I decided to find out the steps I needed to take to make my movie. Film school taught us how to make a movie creatively. But it didn’t teach us how to get it made, the business side of it. I investigated the process and learned as I went. Having been a journalist gave me the toolset to find information and piece it together. Then when I had to put together my first business plan, make deals, talk to investors etc., it was helpful that my background was in economics so I was able to speak their language.

So all of that has to do with getting the movie financed, which is the biggest hurdle for most first time feature film director with no track record. I'm quite a fearless optimist and that helped. I also have a hard time giving up.





You went to film school in the United States. Do you think there is any difference between Asian cinema and Western cinema?

Yes, there are huge differences as well as similarities. Films tell stories. I believe that the voices behind that storytelling make the biggest difference between Asian cinema and Western cinema.  Those voices are different because they are shaped by very different sets of circumstances and life experiences. The cinematic languages are different too. For instance, western color theories and design concepts are unlike their Asian counterparts. The audiences are different too. What appeals to one audience doesn't necessarily appeal to the other - and that is a big factor in what gets made, east or west.

People who are into digital art, cinema and computers often say that "feature film is dead" - your thoughts?

A lot of people have declared that cinema was doomed ever since the day it was invented. As I’ve said before, I am an optimist. And I am a cinema lover. I believe that cinema will continue to reinvent itself endlessly so that the joy of movie going experience will continue to be relevant to its audience. It will evolve. It will not stay the same. But it will find its place in the new media landscape. In fact I happened to visit two countries recently where cinema is still very much alive and thriving -  China and Brazil.

Where are you and what project are you working on now?

I'm in Los Angeles right now. I have just been to the Bahamas, for the Bahamas International Film Festival where my movie was screening in competition. I’m also doing some work on a thriller script that I’m attached to direct, as well as developing some other scripts.

What do you think would make a good MyView entry? 

I don’t know. I’m looking forward to be surprised!

How can people link with you online? 

They can message me on facebook... I will answer messages. I tweet as @wtrmts when we had our release in the [United States]. So they can check out @wtrmts for the latest about my movie or check out my movie's facebook page where they can also reach me:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Where-The-Road-Meets-The-Sun/101679913227639

Q&A : MyView Judge – Pil-Bae Song

You have worked in the energy field for many years. When did you notice that there became extreme interest in access/energy for all? 

Pil-Bae Song (in gray sweater) on the job

The Asian Development Bank has supported hundreds of energy projects in Asia and the Pacific over the past four decades. Over the past 20 years or so, we financed more than $25 billion in projects. Energy has fueled the region’s remarkable economic successes and helped to end poverty for millions. It was in 2009, however, that I noticed great enthusiasm within ADB for tackling energy poverty. This was when we were formulating our new energy policy, in which maximizing access to energy for all became a pillar. We recognized that many opportunities for increasing income, furthering education, improving health, and strengthening gender equality are simply out of reach for people without access to energy. Through our Energy for All Initiative, we are working to significantly empower the region’s poor through access to energy, which has been underpinned by the United Nations work for Energy for a Sustainable Future.

What are some of the best energy for all projects that ADB has done? 

In Nepal, after a devastating flood damaged transmission towers

Three in particular come to my mind, the first being Viet Nam’s rural electrification program. In 1975, only 2 or 3% of poor households had electricity. By 2009, 96% of both urban and rural households were electrified. This remarkable achievement in a relatively short time can be attributed to abundant hydropower coupled strong government commitment, public support, and multiple funding sources.

In the Philippines, we worked in close partnership with the country’s largest microfinance network to create the market for solar lanterns in the least electrified provinces.

In a remote village in Nepal, a small wind power project is providing electricity to homes, schools, and medical clinics. The beauty of this project is that it is locally managed: the community cooperative manages the system and collects the fees for its upkeep.

When people discover electricity as household customers what kind of reactions do you see?

I can’t stress enough how life can be transformed with access to reliable and modern energy. I was profoundly struck by a person I met in Kabul in 2009 who said “electricity is our life.” For the first time in more than a generation, nearly all of the capital’s four million people could enjoy the benefits of electricity thanks to an ADB-financed project. Can you imagine going without electricity for nearly three decades?

Making modern energy available, accessible, and affordable is essential for creating life-changing benefits. Women and children often benefit the most. In some places, they spend countless hours collecting fuel, fetching water, and performing manual labor. One woman I met in a village in Sri Lanka in 2003 shared with me that security lighting at night saved her village from wild elephant attacks and that she had started a small business selling rice cakes to supplement her family’s income. She also said her children could also spend more time studying.

Is the Energy for All Initiative going to help the majority of the hundreds of millions of people without access to electricity?

The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that 1.9 billion people in the region still use traditional biomass -- such as wood, charcoal, and animal dung -- for cooking and heating. About  700 million of these people lack basic access to electricity. ADB is taking the lead in the region on expanding access to energy. We have so far invested more than $1.5 billion to provide access to electricity or modern fuels to more than 1.2 million households. But we can’t do this alone. The IEA estimates that $34 billion a year will be required globally to meet the target. This is only 3% of the total investment in energy infrastructure over the next two decades, making this target absolutely within reach -- both in terms of technology and financing.  Partnership, however, is essential. We are working with many partners to find solutions to energy poverty and scale up finance and investment for access to energy. The aim of these collective efforts is to bring access to at least 100 million people by 2015 and universal energy access by 2030.

As an energy expert, what are you looking for in a MyView entry?

I need to see how access to energy is linked to development, and how everything we take for granted -- good lighting, cooking, heating -- is related to our living standards, access to  education, job opportunities and good health. I want to be in awe of the ingenious tools and techniques that can be used to give the poor in different countries access to energy. I want to feel inspired that we will achieve our goal of energy for all.  

Energy for All – A Goal Worth Fighting For

This week, the blog concentrates on the Energy for All project.

Energy for All is a network of people addressing specific geographic, technological, and thematic approaches to getting energy to people.

In Asia and the Pacific, more than 800 million people still have no access to electricity.

Almost two billion people burn wood, dung, and crop waste to cook and to heat their homes.

“Energy poverty” is one of the most pressing issues of this century. It’s a problem of technology, of infrastructure, of economics, of culture, and of politics.

Access to modern, cleaner energy is essential to improve infant and maternal health, education, and agriculture and ensure inclusive, sustainable development.

Energy for All has one goal: to provide energy access to 100 million people in Asia and the Pacific Region by 2015.

Access to electricity for households - using renewable energy technologies such as micro-hydro, solar, biomass, and small wind power, as well as access to clean cooking fuel, such as LPG or biogas from livestock manure, is just one of their initiatives.

Energy for All has a great website where you can get some ideas and inspiration for your MyView entry. You can also download free e-books and watch energy videos.

In future blogs, we will have more news about Energy for All.

A Q&A with last year’s MyView winner, Muhammad “Wawan” Zulqamar

How did you come up with your MyView award winning idea?

The idea came to me when I was studying at Hasanuddin University. It was about 8 years ago and I was staying at my aunt's home. My aunt is so disciplined, tough and humble and she always tells me to live as simply as I can. And the (idea came) when she taught me how to take a bath with only one scoop of water. I was surprised when she tried to get me to so that…..it felt like it would be impossible.

But she told me that’s how she bathed when she was young and it was war time. She said you just need to practice and save everything in your life. So she taught me how to bathe with one scoop of water. It was a really really funny experience!

How long did your entry take to make - where was it shot? Are the people in the clip actors?

The film was shot in one day in Ciketing Village in Bekasi City (Indonesia). There are no actors – not even the main talent. They are truly just ordinary people. And the main talent got so cold, because we had so many takes of the bathing scene!

What have you been doing since you won MyView? And what's 2012 have in store?

I am preparing for my 4th short film. It’s about a relationship between two people. It’s a drama, satire, and romance. 

What is your favorite film that you have seen in the past year and why?

I have a lot of favorite films. Those that I mention here are just lying in my mind when I answer this question....... Cinema Nuevo Paradiso, Spice, Citizen Dog, Amelie, Big Fish, Fight Club, Forest Gump, Tropical Malady, The Constant Gardener, Departures, 3-Iron, The Village Album and many more...I like them because most of them have unique ideas and characters and different way of storytelling.

What advice would you give to people who want to enter MyView 2012?

Try to see everything in your life from a different point of view. Keep exploring!! Keep thinking !! Keep struggling!!

Where can people find you?

My twitter account - @wa2nkawai

Be inspired by Wa Wan --- enter MyView

The Future is Weirdly Renewable

There once was a time, using the sun and wind as energy was considered pretty wacky. Whenever a new way of working is called for – like say, creating a new energy source that is going to be kind to the planet, is renewable, clean, green and viable – all kinds of inventors, scientists, enthusiasts, and let’s face it, crackpots - emerge to try and find unusual ways to save the planet (while sometimes testing your imagination).

If the thought of onion fired energy is enough to make you cry, well you might be right. Onion juice has been turned into fuel. One farm in the US has been using onion juice to fuel refrigerators, lights, disposal units and factory energy – and saved almost $700,000! But it cost over $9 million to set up the anaerobic digester to turn onion waste into biogas and then into methane, and then electricity. (It doesn’t take a math genius though, to see that within a decade all that money will be recouped).

Why you would use perfectly edible chocolate as an energy source (other than a late afternoon pick-me-up) may confound many MyViewers.  But this potential energy source does not quite make you want to give up your candy bars. Cocoa bean shells – and imagine how many are of those – are now being used at power stations to see if a more Earth-friendly, coal-fuelled power can be generated. The theory is that with cocoa bean shells added to the mix, less coal will be needed.  If that sounds like an invitation to eat more chocolate, thus creating more cocoa bean shells for the power stations – hold on for just a minute. It’s in its early stages and nothing really revolutionary has happened yet.

Want some turkey guts with those onions and chocolates? (It’s quite a meal we are laying out here)? With pressure and heat, slaughterhouse waste is being turned into oil at a thermal conversion plant in Missouri, USA. Along with the blood and guts, tires, plastic and human sewage gets chucked into the mix, creating a not-so-delicious blend of oil.

Human and animal waste is being used in over 80 city buses in Oslo, Norway in the form of super-efficient and renewable energy.  Two sewage treatment plants collect methane that comes from the microbial process that breaks down sewage, and pump it into the city buses.

Urine powered batteries to be exact. Urine contains urea – a very promising blend of hydrogen and nitrogen. By processing it through a nickel-based electrode large amounts of cheap hydrogen can be created --- and that hydrogen can be used in batteries.

Of course in Asia – where necessity is the mother of invention – all sorts of make-do renewable energy projects have no doubt been created and been proven useful over the decades. If you have one that inspires you – maybe that can be your MyView entry? Go to our home page to see how to enter.

And coming up in future blogs, there’ll be more weird renewable energy stories.

Q&A : MyView Judge – Shane RJ Walter

You work across many areas - books, music videos, branding, TV, short films, animation, installations to name a few.... do you have a favorite?

I love the diversity of my job, the fact I do work across all these different areas gives me a different day each day - and I just continue to learn. It also gives me an unusual perspective on the creative industries and how one can transfer skills, ideas and talent across these platforms and areas.

My main motivating factors are creating things that did not exist before and doing things that make a difference. So …. producing a work that makes a difference is something that I enjoy working in the most – to give one example (and there are many), a project we collaborated with MTV international on: onedotzero Bloom, a new talent quest initiated in 2007 and first delivered in early 2008, which actively sought out and encouraged new talents to experiment with film making for the first time.

The first wave of the internationalised project focussed on aspects of identity pertinent to people and the cities they live in, which profoundly facilitated cultural understanding and creative exchange around the world. The initial response followed by the incredibly high standard of work finally submitted, was above the expectations of all producers involved.

The films are currently on tour across the UK and around the globe - in addition to broadcast in MTV networks internationally.


onedotzero has been going for 15 years. Where will digital art be in another 15 years?

I’m not sure about 15 years but here is a little insight into the near future….

There is a definite digital culture now and it feels as if we are living in very exciting times. There have been massive transformations in the last 15 years in so many industries - not just the arts - due to digital technology. This is all backdrop to an ever-evolving creative playground where art forms have collided, hybrid creators have risen and more importantly the appetite of the audience has skewed to a more progressive and diverse entertainment experience.

I think we are now at the beginnings of a new true revolution as people who have grown up with computers and digital tools are reshaping our “tomorrow world.” Cross-media thinking, web 2.0+ attitude, communities and collaborative production are all there now to offer new forms of art and commerce that mix and meld cinema with clubbing, theatre with photography, graphics with live music, opera with computer gaming, architecture with software development.

Any organization starting today or wanting to be around in the next ten years needs to embrace this environment and strive to push forward and not merely ride off the coat tails of innovators.

A lot of this thinking is hinged on the convergence and collaboration ethos that onedotzero has championed for over a decade and a half. The idea of open source and sharing is a recent development that is now being taken more seriously by larger brands and companies. This open and collaborative approach has spread much further as a means to approach design, development, and new production models as the world wakes up to the value of sharing and openness.

I also have seen the rise of a new kind of creative force – that of the Coder. Coders or programmers were always relegated to the back room geek dens and not considered to be ‘creative’ types. Now, code is in its purest form is a new raw material that artists and designers can shape and sculpt in a myriad ways to create interactive art, generative designs and stunning motion sequences.

People are creating and sharing their own tools such as the open source programming language. There’s also environment and dev kits like Arduino, OpenFrameworks and Processing, for people who want to create images, animations, and interactions.

Cinema was the artform of the 20th century and has huge widespread critical and popular appeal. Its recipe of storytelling in sound and image gave a heady mix of escapism in a darkened room that really did export us and transcend our immediate surroundings.

Now I believe the experience of the 21st century is one that will be much more fragmented but will contain a convergence of interaction and passiveness, gaming and cinema, immersive and crowd based experiences, architectural and virtual environments.


Your advice to making a great MyView entry?

In all work I look for a distinctive voice and a unique vision and original approach.

For MyView there is a real opportunity to be bold. It is more powerful to relay a simple bold idea that communicates well in this short format. For short length films try not to cram too may ideas or concepts in – this could end up being a bit messy. There are different elements of communication and style from cinematography to graphics, the use of sound and voice over etc – how these are combined and how they serve the idea/story is key. Make the film as long as you need to get the idea across – no longer, no shorter.


Where can people find you?

There are many ways to connect and I’d encourage it!

onedotzero websites:

www.onedotzero.com
videos,  interviews,  sign up for newsletter,  updates,  web shop,  books,  DVDs + all onedotzero activities

www.onedotzero.tv
onedotzero industries, consultancy and production work, commercial project portfolio

www.onedotzerocascade.com
our educational platform and model for future creative learning

onedotzero social networks:

Vimeo   http://vimeo.com/onedotzero
Youtube   http://www.youtube.com/onedotzero
Facebook   http://www.facebook.com/onedotzero
Twitter   http://twitter.com/onedotzero    @onedotzero    #onedotzero
Flickr   http://www.flickr.com/onedotzero

Shane Personal:

Twitter   http://twitter.com/shanewalter  @shanewalter
Flickr   http://www.flickr.com/szen_volta/
IMDB   http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1392201/
Linkedin   http://uk.linkedin.com/in/shanewalter