What I saw from Pearl Centre (almost typed Harbour hahah) today on the eleventh floor. Apparently it's gonna be torn down, so my cousin really wanted my other cousin and I to view this magic, which he was very excited to show us. I must admit I have seen crazy-ass city lights that have amazed me ten times more atop of MBS. But this one kinda had its little Chinatown neighbourhood charms.

Teehee! I look sibeh cui lah coz Saturdays for me are relac days.

Anyway, here I am blogging again ugh coz all you taggers leave stuff on the board that make me feel like ugh, I do need to continue~ I mean, I will prolly come back once in a while, but I can't blog as regularly anymore. At least for now, I just don't seem to have the blogging fritters. Hahaha am I even using the term right? It's like banana fritters. But ya lah, yall make me guilty only! So here I am wahlau yall ah!!!!

I'll give yall as much blogging stuff I can before I disappear again. Work has really been leaving me drained almost everyday. But I'm happy at least I enjoy doing it?

Ok, a lot... like almost EVERYONE has asked me about what I do at Mediacorp, Channel NewsAsia. And I've been answering it a gazibABOLILLION times, and I kinda feel a bit tired explaining HAHAHAHA. But honestly, I dunno how to describe my work too. But here goes,

I am working as an intern for the show called, On the Red Dot. Shows on Channel 5, 9pm and Channel NewsAsia 11:30pm on Wednesdays. It covers Singapore-based issues and WHATEVER Singaporean. You know, sometimes I think it's fate that I kena this show leh. I mean of all shows, I FATED to get On the Red Dot. Like how much more Singaporean can I get?

What do I do on On the Red Dot?

Well, I'm a Production Assistant. I am also an intern.

First thing you think- Intern, ok, she does Sai kang. But for me, I don't think that what I'm doing is Saikang. Not trying to validate anything or cover up anything but seriously, it's not saikang. If you ask whether I am asked to buy food for my colleagues and bosses, the answer is no. I've never been asked to buy food for my colleagues, in fact, they treat me really really well. They're almost like my friends. A wkw friend who once did an internship in Mediacorp once said that, that's the nature of MC (from here on, I shall shortform it to MC). The people are just really family-like. I must say I'm lucky to be on a team that fits that mould. The people in my team really are, very family-like.

That's without saying that I get scolded too. Of course I've been scolded before. Then, I felt a bit indignant and embarrassed about getting scolded. But on hindsight, I kinda deserved to get scolded to learn. I need to get scolded lah. If not, I'd never learn. I put a lot of pride in my work so this. is necessary.

I thought, CNA would be of a different breed actually. I thought it'd be corporate-like, super office and stuff. But I guess for the Current Affairs department, it's not so much of that. I guess it's good in a way, you don't feel so stifled. For the News department... definitely more formal. Haven't got a taste of it, but I would really really like to, tho it's a bit daunting.

What else do I do?

Admin stuff, I've to do. I won't bore you with the technical stuff, but basically whatever you see on your tv screens, I must ensure it gets there. So all the coordinating, checking blahblah. While the video gets edited, I have to make sure bumpers, credits are in, subtitling looks alright. I help the senior producer spot mistakes and relate it to the video editor.

Also, whatever you see on Facebook, I post them up. I write them and it gets vetted by my senior producer. So actually all those posts you see on Facebook, not so easy hor, people screen them k hahah. But I enjoy doing Facebook coz I love to see people like, share, comment on the posts. Pretty exciting I think. It feels like the producers' work is appreciated.

I help cut the trailers as well. I'll sit in with the video editors and direct them what to cut. Usually, the editors know what to do when they see the script, which has been written by producers. So all I have to do is make sure music is all right and the trailer looks good. Get the different layers to approve the trailer, which are A LOT of layers.

It's quite cool coz I never really thought about CENSORS. You know? They check if any F words or too much dialects or if smoking is on TV. Can never show smoking on TV. Didn't know. They'd point those out and you'll have to change stuff around.

There was one time, my god, I stayed back till 3am coz there was a hell lot of sheesha in the episode. And the censors AXED them ALL out. And a smoking scene. So there was a scramble to re-write the entire episode. Well, not exactly the whole thing, but there were a lot of parts to be redone. So I was there to be a runner hahaha. 3am fooyooh. Latest I stayed up till. It was all right I thought. My bosses even felt bad for making me stay up when I truly felt obliged to stay back. I mean, it's my job anyways! So yes, my bosses are reallllyyy nice. I am lucky indeed.

So I never knew that much about censorship. Censorship in Singapore bro. Sometimes.... I think there needn't be that much censorship. It takes away a lot of the essence of the episode. For example, there was one with sheesha, it was about Kampong Glam and HAJI LANE. Haji Lane is KNOWN for sheesha... so to me, it needs to be in there. It might seem a little promotional, but it really loses a lot of the essence lah.

Anyways,

Now more to the fun side - Production.

I get to go for shoots with my colleagues. And I swear, there have been SO many places in Singapore that I'd never been before and I got the chance to explore.

Like this place in Sembawang. It's in Sembawang Park. I had never seen a sunrise as beautiful as the one over there at Kampong Wak Hassan.



Now how gorgeous is that?
Pictures like these, I don't put on Instagram haha. I save for myself. Kidding, true reason is I dunno how to post panoramic photos HAHHA. But yeah.. I've been to Singapore's ONLY HOT SPRINGS in Sembawang as well! And it's really cool.. Just working on On the Red Dot got me in touch with THE LITTLE RED DOT so much more.

Sometimes, I think there's actually a whole lot more to this country that we can ever know. I agree sometimes when people bemoan that there's nothing to do here. It's true, there are thousands of shopping malls, and more to be erected. But I think it's our passiveness to explore further in this little country of ours. I myself am amazed. Thinking I know everything already, but actually.. no.

And yes, on shoots, I help to take production photos, act as calefare or move things about. Yeap, I'll be there. I don't have to be there most of the time. The producer manages on their own, but I kaypo and go coz I wanna learn. It's quite cool to watch them direct their own episodes. But usually, once I reach the location, I get so damn tired I wanna sleep ahhaha. But yes, learn I do.

Once, I helped to conduct an interview with an aunty who could only speak mandarin. I was helping my Malay colleague. Thought it'd be easy, but nabeh, I realised how bad my Mandarin was. I seriously REFLECTED. Even my Malay colleague could tell how jialat I was. I struggled. I'm thinking of borrowing Chinese library books to read. I'm guessing my basics is pretty screwed up. Ever since Primary 3. My first Band 3. Primary 2 it was Band 1. I dunno what happened.


Also, I work with Otelli Edwards, presenter for ORD. She's really really cool and nice. She's the only presenter I've ever worked with but everyone tells me... she's one of the best. Coz she's not a diva hahaha. Pretty down-to-earth. Had drinks with her too fwahahha. I was really quite shy when I first met her. Star-struck, I must admit. Now, she's a colleague. Texting and emailing her doesn't seem as daunting as when I first did.

Working as an Intern here in CNA has made me realise....

Yes, a degree is important. It gives you the head start coz I realise how important it is as a gateway for you to job offers. It really is. I've a colleague, no degree, therefore he couldn't start off as producer. And my boss is waiting for him to graduate SO that he can BECOME a producer. And they're just waiting. So.. that piece of paper, as they all say, is really important.

Also, whatever I learnt in school does actually help. The technical skills of Final Cut Pro really did help me I believe. I understood the terminology in the scripts. I understood all those things. Having a degree in Communications is not NOTHING. Having studied Communications and am still studying Comms, is something. It actually helped me at work. Quite impressed by how closely related those things were.. what I studied and real life.

All those are important, but they are never as important as what you will learn On-the-Job. Experience truly is the most valuable lesson you can ever have. Therefore, I say the internship has really opened my eyes to quite a lot of things.

Firstly, you might have the qualifications, the know-hows, the very valuable piece of paper, but I've never felt that this one other thing overrules all other qualifications, and that is...

PEOPLE SKILLS.

I swear to God, you need people skills at work. I've never felt it more valuable than anything else ever. And you will only know when you work. You realise... knowing your shit is not as important as knowing the people around you. And how well you get along with them.

On my side, being able to work with the cameramen, the video editors, your fellow producers, YOUR BOSSES (duh), ALL lead up to a great work life. I swear. In any point in your career, you will need help. And help comes in the form of those around you. Without that help, you will really struggle. And I've seen it lah. One of my previous colleagues, she had the BEST qualifications out of everyone. But she couldn't get along with people, and guess what, she left. Maybe that was her intention all along lah, like she never wanted to stay. But even so, I really couldn't see her stay for long as well.

So yes, whatever the Chinese said... Guan Xi, that is the key to every career. You need to know how to work your way around people. Ya know, it's not the work that is scary sometimes.. PEOPLE ARE THE SCARIEST THINGS ON EARTH. My goodness.

That really is how my job is like. And I've learnt aplenty. But I feel like I've a lot more to learn tho.

What now?

I'm happy to say that my bosses are letting me and another intern produce an episode together. And that is awesome balllzzz. Which means I get to write my own script, do my own interviews, direct production. WOW. It is really quite exciting tho challenging at the same time. I've been waiting to do this lah. In fact, I've been so HUNGRY to do this.

I'll tell y'all more as we progress into April coz that episode is due in May but we've to film in April so there's much prepping to do.

That's what I've been doing the past 3 months and I feel like my internship is gonna end real soon. Like exchange, I kinda don't want it to end? Haha.

And starting on this internship has really got me thinking about what I wanna do upon graduation. Like what job I want to do, where I want to go, do I like what I'm doing?

A lot of things are not cast in stone yet, and I do hope life brings me a lot of great opportunities. I mean that's what everyone hopes for. I'll save this for another time tho, I think it deserves another post on its own.

For now, WHATTA COMPREHENSIVE POST THIS HAS BEEN. Pat on the back. But I'm gonna lose sleep. Tmr gotta wake up bright and early to go roller blading with cousin and uncle, then Joo Chiat with May and finally round it off with Huiquan's Dance Concert. Fooyooh, I'm made of steel bro.


I'm gonna leave y'all with some photos of me and my outings with friends. Many, I don't post on Instagram, and only for y'all to see : ) Cheers!

Thanks again, those taggers whoever you are. It really does make me feel touched that PEOPLE DO WANNA HEAR ME TALK. Loll. Why ah? Why yall wanna hear me talk? Haha. It makes leaving blogging even harder. I do like to blog, it's just the time. I know it may sound like an excuse but I think it comes with growing older. There's so much more things to do that blogging takes the backseat. Don't even have time for myself to stop, reflect and blog anymore. It's hard, but I will try guys. I will try. It's something I enjoy doing anyways, it's just pure laziness and tiredness. I must confess.







See you guys real soon : )