Filming the video

Last week, my group and I started filming for the final video for our project.

The objectives of our project are to

1. Raise awareness on the poverty situation of ex-offenders by sharing narratives of their experiences and challenges as articulated by they themselves

2. Change the attitudes and perceptions that the public currently have towards ex-offenders.

Our video is a short 2 minutes film about Tan Ah Hock, an ex-offender and drug abuser. Ah Hock has just been released from rehabilitation and is looking for a job. We see Ah Hock waiting outside the employer's office. However, he is rejected immediately upon the employer finding out that he "has been convicted before." Ah Hock heads back home, dejected, only to find out that he is not welcome at home by his hardworking wife as well. Being rejected by his wife was the straw that broke the camel's back. Ah Hock goes back to his old ways and starts abusing drugs again, eventually collapsing at an abandoned staircase. He wakes up and finds himself outside the employer's office; the series of events were merely a figment of Ah Hock's imagination.

The main bulk of our video was filmed from a first-person perspective. Such a perspective enables the viewer to visualize Ah Hock's struggles by seeing it from his point of view. We hope that after watching the video, viewers will empathise with ex-offenders like Ah Hock more and give them the second chance they deserve. The social stigma persisting against them is something that pushes them to the fringe of society. For those who are unaware of the stigma that surrounds them, watching the video will help in their knowledge of such issues and raise awareness in general.

As for the filming process, these are the roles that my group members adopted:

Brainstorming - Everyone

Logistics - Everyone

Videographer - Xin Han

Actors - Jermaine, Max, Valerie, Michell, Yan Ru

Post-production - Jermaine

For myself, it was my first time filming a short film from a first-person perspective. It was more challenging than I thought it would it be as I had to coordinate the camera with Max's body. I felt that this was something that could definitely be improved should i shoot more videos in the future.