Truth, Goodness, and Beauty

French minister paid for ‘boy sex’ in Thailand

ehung — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 21:34:43 +0000

Frederic Mitterrand image from BBC News and Cambodian girls who are victim of the sex trade

France’s Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand wrote in his 2005 book The Bad Life, “I got into the habit of paying for boys,” even when he fully understood “the sordid details of this traffic”.

“All these rituals of the market for youths, the slave market excited me enormously… the abundance of very attractive and immediately available young boys put me in a state of desire.”

I don’t know what our world has come down to when an important personnel of a country openly admitted that he had sex (or more accurately “raped”) boys, and wrote a book about it. I mean, what kind of a title “The Bad Life” is that? Why is he showing off all the bad things that he had done? And what is in the mind of the French president when he chose Monsieur Frederic Mitterrand as their culture minister? …enough of my rant on how far our world has fallen. What I want to talk about is the sex trade in Cambodia.

Just recently, I went to a conference by Ratanak Foundation. The conference was an eye opener. My heart was broken as I heard the speaker talking about the horrendous sex trade that is happening in Cambodia right now.

“The U.S. State Department estimates that 600,000 to 800,000 people a year are trafficked across international borders, mostly girls and most of them for the sex industry.”

The girls that are involved in the sex trade are as young as five. These girl are sold as product within the country and to Thailand and other places. They have an average of 8 – 10 “customers.” per night. I mean…they are FIVE years old! What can you do with little girls like that? No only girls are sold, boys too. And I bet some of them were shipped off to Thailand where Monsieur Frederic Mitterrand enjoyed his “very attractive and immediately available young boys.”

As human being, how can we let it happen? And how on earth can the French Minister be involved in something like that, and when we read it on the newspaper, we just shook our head and moved on to the entertainment section? I know I am sounding like an angry youth, but the truth is the world needs more angry people. We need people who are ANGRY at this kind of injustice. We don’t need people being saddened or shocked. We need ANGRY people who will tear down this injustice, who will take action.

I wonder what our world will become in twenty years. Let’s hope it is a pretty place.

The Suffering Cactus Movie

ehung — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 21:22:40 +0000

The Suffering Cactus Storyboard

ehung — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 22:40:52 +0000

The Suffering Cactus

ehung — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 22:15:17 +0000

1. TITLE: The Suffering Cactus
2. OVERVIEW: The story is about a cactus who came all the way from Hong Kong to Canada, just to be tortured by her evil master. This is a story about perseverance, hope, and love.
3. AUDIENCE: All ages, but mainly for children
4. KEY MESSAGE: The message of the story is about perseverance. It encourages people not to give up in difficult situations. Future may seem bleak, and life is not fair, but there is always hope. It is actually a very fitting story for the current time with the economic crisis and terrorist attack in Mumbai. The story is meant to bring a smile and a nod from the audience.
5. CONTENT PLANNING: The story is about a cactus who has to persevere through many tough situations in order to gain her master’s love and respect. Many of the situations that the cactus will go through in the movie will be exaggerated. The movie is suppose to be light hearted and entertaining. There will a Cantonese narration that goes with the movie. For those who don’t understand Cantonese, there will be English subtitle as well as lot of sound effects to help them understand the story. I will be playing with the text and the sound to integrate it with the movie so it is not just a side element. The entire movie will be hand drawn and then animated using After Effects and Flash. For more detail, please refer to the storyboard.
6. BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Samples used from Freesound

    December 1, 2008
        By analogchill (http://www.freesound.org/usersViewSingle.php?id=241598)
            scream.wav (http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=35716)
        By BristolStories (http://www.freesound.org/usersViewSingle.php?id=113976)
            u_chimes_short1.mp3 (http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=51713)
        By TwistedLemon (http://www.freesound.org/usersViewSingle.php?id=29)
            saltshaker.wav (http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=6112)
        By cognito perceptu (http://www.freesound.org/usersViewSingle.php?id=57789)
            hammering 2.wav (http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=17012)
        By cfork (http://www.freesound.org/usersViewSingle.php?id=17129)
            flying_papers.aif (http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=7969)
            cf_FX_batch_jingle_glock_N--kling.aif (http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=26874)
        By NoiseCollector (http://www.freesound.org/usersViewSingle.php?id=4948)
            pickupmonitor.wav (http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=15319)
        By burnttoys (http://www.freesound.org/usersViewSingle.php?id=24197)
            hichimes.wav (http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=9248)
        By Erdie (http://www.freesound.org/usersViewSingle.php?id=118241)
            mega-thunder.wav (http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=24003)
        By DalomarGrimm (http://www.freesound.org/usersViewSingle.php?id=15055)
            Bone Cracking 2.wav (http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=7720)
        By Syna-Max (http://www.freesound.org/usersViewSingle.php?id=111920)
            alien_predator_laugh.wav (http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=39417)
        By sagosen (http://www.freesound.org/usersViewSingle.php?id=103862)
            rive papir 4.wav (http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=21104)
        By Terwelp (http://www.freesound.org/usersViewSingle.php?id=130336)
            Jet over Rosemont Horizon Parking Lot.wav (http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=24796)

7. VISUAL REFERENCE: I want to have a scrapbook feel for the movie, so I use two kinds of visual treatments in the movie. The first one is the cut out. This idea is inspired by a music video that I saw. I find this style to be very fun. It also gives some depth to my video, which otherwise will look very flat with the line drawings. I also love the “choppiness” of the motion. It gives a very cartoon feel to the movie.

The second style that I am using is for the drawings and animation that happen at the back. It is very simple line drawings. I love the rough edges and the texture. I think this style is very personal and intimate. It is simple but effective. It also goes very well with my scrapbook theme. It is inspired by a poster/flyer from The Art Directors Club. It is very beautiful, but so simple. I really love the vibrancy of the yellow. So this is where I take my colour scheme from.

Shadow Chasing

ehung — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 00:19:01 +0000

Project 2 Final Creative brief + Design Statement

ehung — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 04:26:08 +0000

Creative Brief For Shadow Chasing

1 . TITLE: Shadow Chasing
2. OVERVIEW: Shadows made form hands transforming into different numbers.
3. AUDIENCE: All ages. I want to make something that everyone can enjoy. I think that everyone would enjoy the transformation of the hand shadow. It is something that is intimate, something that everyone can relate to. It is also visually appealing.
4. KEY MESSAGE: “Shadow Chasing” is a metaphor for chasing after something that is impossible to get. Shadow chasing is a fruitless and meaningless process. No matter what you do, you cannot catch shadows or time.
5. CONTENT PLANNING: Shadows made from hand motion will transform into different numbers. Then the light will turn off to signify the end of the chase. I will be taking photos of the shadows, and then edit them so they will have good contrast and the same coloring. And then I will put them together in FinalCut Pro.
6. BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Samples used from Freesound.org

    November 10, 2008
        By TicTacShutUp (http://www.freesound.org/usersViewSingle.php?id=196)
            light 1.wav (http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=408)
   ---------------------------------------
    November 9, 2008
        By willpio (http://www.freesound.org/usersViewSingle.php?id=94296)
            COEUR.mp3 (http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=29585)
   ---------------------------------------
    November 1, 2008
        By jbum (http://www.freesound.org/usersViewSingle.php?id=114160)
            pianoMinute.wav (http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=32242)

7. VISUAL REFERENCE: There is no special attempt to mimic any particular style, but the final product has a similar feel to the film noir movies. It is black and white, strong contrast, and the dark atmosphere.

Design Statement

The count down video was made based on the concept of shadow puppet. Numbers made from the shadow of the hand were projected on the wall. The shadows were then photographed, edited, and put together in FinalCut Pro. The story line is very simple. Numbers were simply transforming into one another in an organic manner and when it reaches “2″, the lights turned off.

To make the transformation process smoother, I blurred the shadows by casting them farther from the wall. And when I reach o a full number (i.e. when the number finished its transformation), I cast the shadows close to wall so I can have them crisp and dark. The duration of the full numbers was also longer to signify the end of the transformation.

Sound was crucial to the mood of my video. A heart beat is used to signal the beginning of a second. A descending scale on the piano was the soundtrack. The video ends with the sound of light switching off. The sounds that I used created a feeling for a chase and anticipation. Hence my title is called “Shadow Chasing.” People are always trying to catch something, to grab on to something in life, yet this process is often futile, just like trying to catch a shadow.

Meaningful Object (3)

ehung — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 23:17:25 +0000

They are a designer's best friend. I need them to cut and measure. I carry them with me all the time. I don't even use scissor any more. Knife rules!

I am a avid book lover. I use my library card all the time. I don't mind living in the library. Books brings me so much interesting information. It is the best source of entertainment. And if you have a library card, this is all FREE!

A gift from my mother when I graduated from elementary school. I don't exactly know what it can be used for, but it is very cute, and I like it very much.

I love it and I hate it. I hate it when it wakes me up 6:30am in the morning. But I also love it because it is so useful. My clock is broken, meaning the minute hand could not be changed. So I always have to do the math in my head to figure out the correct time. Right now, it is an hour and 20 minute faster.

This is a blanket. It is my favorite thing in the world. It is warm and comfy. I would never want to leave it if I can help it. I would stay in bed all day just to be under it.

This is the book I lived by. It is the most important thing in my life. It guides me, gives me advice, and comforts me. I read it every day just so I can know what God wants to tell me that day.

This is a gift from my grandmother six years ago. This is the only living thing that belongs to me. The cactus is the only plant that has not die on me yet. I have not watered it for 2 years.

The Macbook is a meaninful object to me not because I spend 10 hours on it every day, but because I brought it with my own money. It is $1300!! Very expensive for a poor student. This is the most expensive thing that I have brought for myself.

10 Meaningful Object (2)

ehung — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 22:54:45 +0000

This jewllery box was given to me when I was 1 year old by my uncle who had died long before I could remember him. My mom kept it for me for 10 years, and I have been using it for another 10 years.

10 Meaningful Objects (1)

ehung — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 22:51:45 +0000

They are very important to me, because it has witness my years as a teenager. I began reading the series when I was 13. The last book came out when I was 20 years old. Harry Potter basically grew up with me.

Story Board for Pro 2

ehung — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 14:21:20 +0000