04 October 2008

Roaring Success

The first time I saw Kallang Roar (KR) trailer, I went.. finally! a movie about local soccer. The last one was one leg kicking and even though some people disliked it, I like it cause it had that homely feeling. And when I found out that Cheng DinAn was the director of KR, I smiled to myself. I knew Cheng when I was studying in Perth and this guy is crazy bout soccer. A very good player at that. So i guess mixing his passion and making it into a movie should be fun...here are the questions I asked him.




Is this your first feature? Are there any of your other works that we can view or being showcased?
Yes, this is my first feature, fresh off KAllang roar the short film being nominated for top 7 best short films in Singapore Film festival
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How large is the cast and crew for Kallang roar?
We are quite commando unit, so we have a relatively small crew, less than 40.

Which is more supportive of KR, govt bodies or sponsors?
I would say both has their good guys n bad guys hahaha!!
Luckily sports council, there was their CEO, and a Dr Bervyn, who saved us, allowing us usage of the National stadium for filming, as there wont be any movie.

For sponsors, Milo can forth with so much marketing, product, event sponsorship, and Canon bought out a Film magazine cover to co advertise our movie!!!

How tough was it working with green screen? How much time did that take up?
There was a curved stadium shot, which took us 4 hours and appeared on screen for 5 seconds. These are the 1 or 2 luxury shots that I am not very fond of spending on as i like to watch my budget.

Tell us something we do not know or cannot see during KR. Cameos maybe...
i am in the film, behind the goalpost as a cameraman taking photos.

How did you manage to pull off that 70s look? The wardrobe, props...
We had an experienced old Art director whos been with mediacorp for decades, and a very hardworking wadrobe lady who took charge of finding difficult to find wadrobe.

What are the roles you played in kallang roar other than being director?
scriptwriter. I wrote the story in between working freelance for 3 years. They announced the tearing down of Kallang stadium so i no longer could sit back and watch my slow ladder progress in film indsutry. so i stood up and went about finding ways to make the full feature.

What are the most memorable moments while making Kallang Roar?
The last day? upon the final moment, i would not say Cut...in fact i never say cut, ever.
I laid down on the orange track of a sports stadium and looked at the stars, as my actors n crew went around congratulating each other on the super tough journey... phew...my assistant director got his pants pulled off.

From concept to script to production to cinemas, how long did the whole process take?
Concept and script 3 years. The rest started in december and ended before august. We were trying to catch the national day in time.

What is your advice to aspiring film makers who wanna make features?
Hmm...Financial finding is the real challenge, and i will be honest with you, there are no rules or textbook methods. Solve this problem and you can embark and safely sustain your passion without incurring the term "poor film maker".

Any future projects? :)
no comment, wahahahha, finally get to use the word.

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