G'day from chilly Melbourne

My name is Aaron Wilson and I am very honoured to be attending the Objectifs Residency & Lab for Photography and Film in September 2006. My time at the residency will be an amazing opportunity to surround myself with talented and energetic individuals as I aim to creatively push myself in new and exciting directions.

The temperature outside is in single digits as i type this, late at night in the dead of winter (or early in the morning, depending on how you look at it). For me, this is the best time to think. There is a certain clarity that comes when everyone around me is asleep, something invigorating about the city at night, the lonely silences and the smell of the air. Winter in Melbourne also means film festival time here, and there are no less than four Singapore feature films screening at this year's fest. It is relevant that i mention this because they are popular films at this festival, no doubt due to the universality of their stories told with fresh perspectives in environments that are interesting to Australian audiences.

I grew up in rural Australia and now live Melbourne. Though since moving to the city, I have come to appreciate the uniqueness of the rural environment and am now fascinated by the rural textures and social milieu of my home town. I am drawn to the small details of daily life, the simple mundane things that most people do not notice, but which inform us so much about who we are and how we exist (on both an interpersonal and societal level). This sort of stuff is also universal; despite the apparent differences between the urban and rural environments, there exists a commonality of thought and emotion. This is what I like to explore in my films.

Righto, i guess i should tell you a bit about my preparation for the residency. I have returned today from a location reccy in rural Victoria, for the Australian part of my short film shoot. So what is my residency short film project about? Hmmm .... it's an evolving concept that is still largely stuck in my head, an experimental piece that shares themes with my feature film project. I guess I could summarise it something like this: "a film about two people in two countries who once shared a common experience." Whilst i am usually obsessed with planning for a shoot, this one will be different. For this project, I am interested in the evolution of thoughts, ideas and feelings when i arrive and spend time in Singapore, and how they will shape the film over the course of my time at the residency.

Before i finish up, i want to say hello to fellow residents Mingmongkol and Ellery ... I cannot wait to arrive in sunny Singapore and begin the exciting process of, as previous resident, Darlene Lin, put it, creative collaboration. Oh, and I'm dying to have real Char Kway Teow again, like you wouldn't believe.

See you very soon, Singapore.

- Aaron Wilson

Getting Down To Basics

Hi All,

A little introduction of myself. My name is Ellery Ngiam, and I am the first local filmmaker resident for Objectifs' wonderful new Residency program.

I am really excited by the prospects and potential of the residency program. To be provided with this platform to create personal works and ultimately improve my craft.

Though I have been working as a writer/director in the industry for a couple of years, I think, for me, this residency will be about getting back to the basics. Creating works with only the bare minimum. None of that big sets, big crew, big casts, dealing with clients etc. It will just be about me, the camera and a few actors.

And so let this journey begin.

Cheers,
Ellery

Privileged Photographer

My residency has come to an end but certainly not my project and my involvement with Objectifs. This residency was definitely more than just an opportunity for me to work on a photographic project.

The several photo-clinics and workshop I conducted over the past 3 months were great learning experiences for me as much as they were for the students. The formal discussions and coffeeshop-chats with them brought back memories of my first few years in photography. Despite their age, they were enthusiastic, experimental and daring. Qualities a photographer must have to survive! I was truly humbled and inspired.

It has also reminded me how important it is for an artist to purse his or her dreams despite failures, pressures from society, economic challenges and bureaucratic redtapes. Some people accuse us artists of being indulgent but remember this: we are in the business of reminding people how beautiful (or in some cases, how ugly) this world is, and the fact is people need to be reminded.

The power of pictures is tremendous and with that power the photographer have the responsibility of using the pictures fittingly and correctly to change mindsets and perceptions. The great thing about that is the photographer is the first person to ‘see’ things differently. Isn’t it such a privilege to be a photographer?

Well, it was definitely a privilege to be part of the residency program, the three months may have ended but I love my work 3000 times more.

Thank you all! -Ernest Goh



A preview of my residency project

(Watch this space for the announcement of my residency exhibition)

Introducing...

Objectifs Residency & Lab for Photography and Film It's July and 3 filmmakers have come on board as artists-in-residence for this quarter, July-Sept.

INTRODUCING:
Ellery Ngiam (Singapore)
Aaron Wilson (Australia)
Mingmongkol Sonakul (Thailand)

Check out our website to learn more about them! www.objectifs.com.sg (Go to Other Education)

Watch this space to follow the progress of their work.

WORKSHOP#2: Stretching Your Eye Muscles

The workshop was held on 17 June, with participants Huiying, Ulla, Angie, Sam Kumar, Sam Chin and Justin setting out to complete two shooting assignments for the workshop. The two assignements, 'Shooting without looking through the viewfinder' and 'Shoot a creative self-portrait' were designed to help the participants expand their visual senses and make them 'see' more creatively. Here are their amazing pics!


Picture by Sam Chin


Picture by Justin


Picture by Sam Kumar


Picture by Ore Huiying


Picture by Ulla Gratton


Picture by Angie Kwok

Here are some ideas that were taught in the workshop:

We only make the pictures we know, it is hard to break from our preconceptions about how something should look photographed.

Challenge yourself to forget your preconceptions about how to photograph something. A photograph is nothing but an illusion of a literal description of how the camera saw a piece of time and space.

Realize that when the whole photograph worked it is an intuitive response to something visual, unexplainable in words

- Ernest Goh