Friday 6 April 2012

Cinema in my life!!!

Slowly, all the things I dreamed of years ago are materialising in my 'real' life. Cinema is taking more and more place in my work. Pierre est heureux is in post-production now. There are still some adjustment to be made in the music, and yes, one more song. I thought of it the other after reading an e-mail that the director sent me. The narration is very distanced, so there is a need to connect to the audience through the music.
I won't be singing the song, and am thinking of asking Deserts. I haven't talked to her since last September. I still wonder whether the song should be in English or Chinese... 

The shooting of Rowboat is finished. CJ is exhausted. The editing will start next week and I guess I will have to come up with something very soon. I had ideas in my head. They're more ideas of ideas than actual music. I think I will only use two musicians for the viola and cello parts, Piano, percussion and harp, I will play myself.

[...]

I was in my bed, about to fall asleep. The day had been long and exhausting, but I felt happy to be involved in all these projects. I had just read a few pages from Le Cabinet des Fées, a compilation of fairy tales which was published in the 18th century. Emmanuel had given the three volumes as a gift (he knew I loved tales, so he would take great pleasure in offering beautiful editions of books of tales whenever he had the chance). 
The lights were off, but the room was lit by the street lights. I closed my eyes and heard a car pass by. The sound it made turned in my head into a palpable grey matter. I seized it and focused on its energy; and from grey, the sound became bright and positive. It was the first time I felt I could do that. I was astonished. Was it a dream? No.
I tried again as another car passed by.

[...]

"You have to meet this bloke! He's a terrific director of photography and camera man!" Aurélien told me once. Zed Wang, his name is. He just came back from years of study in the US. He actually was supposed to study business but he lied to his parents and enrolled in a cinema school!
When his father discovered the truth, he was, quite understandably angry with his son and refused to talk to him for months. Now they have accepted the fact - what else could they do? Zed is passionate and full of ideas. We met a few weeks ago at my place, just for a drink but  very quickly were in the midst of it with tons of ideas and projects we wanted to do together. Aurélien had thought of Zed for the video of Being Human, which he wishes to direct. Now we were talking very passionately and happily.I told him about my plan to direct a video for Nothing come to Light, with Wei Wei as the main character. I played him the song, which he loved immediately.
"Play it one more time!" he asked when it was over.
I told him the images I had in mind for the song.
"Yes I can see it very well! Your song speaks for itself" he answered.
True, I'm very visual when I write music.
"Let's start soon!!!" Zed said.
I haven't told Wei Wei about Zed yet. I will wait until the Winterreise performances are over to do so.
Zed also suggested to film the performances.
"I love to watch movement. I really want to do something with dance."

A few days later, Zed said that he had just met someone he really had to introduce to me.
"He's a film director. Animation film. He was looking for a composer and I played him your songs. And he loves it!!!" Zed told me on the phone.
"Okay, then tell him to come over and we can talk and eat and drink!"
An appointment was set and the two showed up at my door on that day.
The director, Wenchung Lu has studied at the University of Disney where Tim Burton also learned his skills! He showed me some of his work, stop-motion animation shorts. It was bizarre, Gothic, dark, witty... Needless to say, I was in heaven.
Wenchung requested to hear some other songs of mine.
"Yes, we have to work together!!!" he said.
He is working on a long feature film The Way of the Marionette. A story about vampires, robots, flying mice which will be filmed in 3D!!! I saw the storyboard and was more than excited to be part of it. We were all very excited.






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