WOW...nice Gala Premiere scene...
WOW WOW...1.5 MILLION BOX OFFICE...a 0.2 million jump!!!
Wow WOw WOW...Royston Pocket More $$$ liao...hahaha

Good Achievements!!! top

APPLAUSE, on the remarkable compliments from SM Goh.Recognition of the success of 881 is further justified from personnel of different social class and backgrounds.The compliments from the diversified group denotes the appeal of the film. The compliment from SM Goh also demonstrate SM's compassion, acceptability to diverse ground activities.
Great Job Royston. I loved the flim too. top

Hello our fav director!!

haha we miss chasin all the 14 881 roadshows leh!!hv so much fun wif u all runnin abt diff shoppin malls in sg lo!!thx to u, yuwu can get tis interestin role and sing hokkie songs!!haha

we have watched 881 at least twice each lo!!i am gg to watch my num 4th time wif my parents soon!!

GREAT movie n ost team!!btw u noe that time u all filmin at turf city i got go down aso leh..haha ok hope box offices win all the local movie in sg!!

881 huat arH!!paradise luv 881!!!=)

p.s did i saw our pic in ur blog?wahaha *wInkS* top

Hey Royston,

Once again, 恭喜 to the entire 881 team & you for the great success for 881! And also, the remarkable compliments by SM Goh!

All these don't come easy i know. Right from the start, there was the nasty egg incident to deal with, which affect the team's morale. Furthermore, it occur at the FIRST day of the roadshow! But its over and all the promos & roadshows have ended. We were there and can see all the hardwork and effort you guys put in, in promoting! Esp Yuwu heh, he looked tired at some point, but still stood strong.

& Royston, your baby has finally became a huge adult, after the SM Goh's praise & great sales, more than 1k!!!!! Also, the OST is number 1 for HMV! All thanks to Funkymonkies as well!

Will look forward to your new film, hopefully Yuwu will be cooperating with you again. *cross fingers*

Anyway, congrats once again, you will always be my favourite local director! All the best to all for 881 to hit entire world and do Singapore proud! top

Hey Royston,

I've watched 881 today, it really inspire me a lot! You're definitely one of the film makers i will look up to. I aspire to make films like 881, a film that touch the hearts of people! Thanks for the wonderful show! and also, i loved the OST, especially the song 一人一半！ And congrats on making a hit in the box office!

Looking forward to your next film,
Xuan top

Hey Roystan! Is so touching that 881 can touch hearts of all ages even my ah ma is going to watch! The day I went to watch 881 with my family there were so many senior citizens. You gave them another chance to step into the cinema once again or probably their first.

Anyway this time the mda support you all the way haha! 加油！ top

hi royston!
photos are excellent and
really great!
keep in touch always!

justin top

Hi Royston! I've caught 881 the other day, and I'm kind of proud to declare that the one crying the most and the loudest in the entire theatre must have been me! I think everyone could have heard me snorting and sniffing nonstop.(:

Thank you so much for the wonderful movie. I'll always be behind you all the way!(: top

his is an analysis on Royston Tan’s film ‘881′. A film which emphasize on the ‘getai’ culture every year during the hungry ghost festival in Singapore.

The ‘papaya’ sisters are 2 chinese girls whose friendship and bond exceeds that of even real sisters. They met each other during a ‘getai’ performance and share this passion of singing hokkien songs. This film places a great emphasis narrating important issues concerning our society’s view and perspective on the usage of ‘hokkien’ in daily lives, the society’s need to depend on the other world(gods and ghosts) for luck and prosperities.

I will write about the last important part of the film. The duel fight to survive in the ‘getai’ industry between 2 groups of ‘getai’ sisters. The ‘papaya’ sisters and the ‘durian’ sisters. I sensed satricial turn on this part of the story. The ‘durian’ sisters’ role were play by Eurasians May and Choy. They were known as ‘Ang Mo durians’ by the ‘other’ papaya sisters’ role, played by Yeo Yann Yann and Mindee Ong.

During the challange between them, the ‘durian’ sisters were seem to have been protray as the westerners with hints of subtle hegemony in it. This can be seen by the western culture influences on the ‘durian’ sisters. Their hokkien songs sang were of a techno beat, their costumes were of bodily hugging materials, rubbery and plastic. Their bras were inspired from ‘Jean Paul Gautier’ infamous pointed bras, which Madonna has worn for performance. The ‘durian’ sisters shot power from those bras. Which seemed to suggest the arragonce of the west. They are situated high up on the stage, which can also be seen as the west being a dominating force on the ’stage’. Their insentitivities towards other cultures can be seen by the way they handle conficts with others from the show.

For a moment, i thought Royston Tan may be mocking at the Taiwan’s ‘political stage’ situation. When the ‘durian’ sisters gives out freebies to gain supporters and giving out speeches from the lorry. Its so similar to what Taiwanese politicians do to gain votes and some of these politicians wannabes are celebraties in real life.

For the performance from the ‘papaya’ sisters, heavier texturlized costumes were used. We see important chinese cultural elements like the lion dance, the need of reassurance (suspertious) through the consultation of the diety. They perform outside the stage, with the people, which suggest unity and standing by the people. There is a value of chinese tradition.

I feel that throughout the film ‘881′, Royston Tan has sympathise and places great emphasis on human values within the ‘getai’ and ‘hokkien’ culture of Singapore at times to the point of them being glorified.
In today’s society, most of us probably remember the ‘hokkien’ culture as a language that is vugluar and abusive.

In conclusion, Royston Tan’s 881 has interweave many aspects of cultures symbolism to create the ’stage’ of our society today. This ’stage’ can touch itself on a personal level or a collective level. The myth of the hungry ghost festival gives its setting for many traditional values the chinese hold on to strongly. To put it simply, these values and myths are what make chinese people so different and unique from other culture.
Posted by XY top

No ghost in ghost movie, scare!
每逢农历七月，电影院里总是有很多恐怖片轮番上映，大发“死人财”。

就算你可以远离电影院，打开报纸杂志电视，也有可能会被突然出现的恐怖宣传海报或者电影预告吓一跳。

我天生是个压抑的人，被恐怖的东西吓到的第一反应是将自己从现实中抽离或是把恐惧硬硬压到心里去，所以不管那个恐怖片的剧情或者演员有多好，我都会尽量避之则吉，免得恐惧感积压导致心情不舒畅。

因此，当我几个礼拜之前看到881的宣传片里面又是歌台又是仙姑还有一大堆穿得稀奇古怪的角色的时候，我的第一感觉就是：“又是一个借鬼节赚钱的无聊电影”。

当然，最后我还是去看了。（要不然怎么会有这篇影评？）而动机居然是里面的一首歌--《一人一半》。（歌词见附录）

可以用一首这样窝心的歌做主题曲的电影，可以恐怖到哪里去呢？

结果一如所料，这部是我看过的鬼片中人情味最浓的一部。

一对歌台姐妹花，一个被家庭抛弃，一个身患绝症，加上一个俗得有趣而且重情重义的经纪人，和她那喜欢玩鸡（是真的鸡）更喜欢默默（真的是只有心声而完全没有对白的）支持着这对姐妹花的英俊儿子，四个人加起来的故事其实至少够拍两三部戏了。

整部电影里面大部分角色的性格刻画鲜明，节奏上也掌握到了悲喜的适时交替；歌韵绕梁，舞影流丽，以七月歌台做背景除了带出怀旧感之余也减少了当中穿插歌舞的突兀；整体上做到了热闹有余也不乏动人的细节。

以第一次拍商业片的艺术片导演来讲，Royston Tan算是把应有的商业元素都放了进去，同时也保留了一点点艺术片的特色（大量独白的出色运用），交足了功课，

但这部戏毕竟是他的转型之作，在不少地方的处理手法上仍有待改进：主要角色（除了经纪人之外）的形象虽鲜明但都缺乏立体感和应有的成长，主线剧情薄弱（几乎感觉不到）而且部分桥段显得儿戏(例如歌台对战变成如来神掌外加诡异暗器大斗法？！），支线上原本可以深入描写的姐妹情（经纪人和仙姑），母女情（大木瓜和她妈妈），母子情（经纪人和她儿子），三角关系（两女一男，就是那三个啦），都只是轻轻带过，末段的医院戏略嫌拖沓过火（尾声的歌台相会反而做到了精简而动人），还有数处缺乏应有的呼应（仙姑的五大戒律和她施的保护咒似乎纯粹为了制造气氛而无实际用途）。

平心而论，这部戏其实是有潜力更上一层楼的。

但就算它只能保持现在的样子，也不失为一部适合一家大小观看的商业片。

难得有一部戏你可以邀请你的外公外婆爷爷奶奶和你一起看，你也就不要犹豫太多了吧。(^_^)

(P.S. 今天看戏看到结尾字幕的时候，男主角和导演突然在现场出现问东问西，害我看不到最后的剧情，后来他们还借口说最后的剧情其实也很重要呼吁大家再买票重看一次，Orz...)

(P.S.2 恕我不懂歌台艺术，但为什么歌台的歌的编曲都好像是千篇一律地追求热闹的呢？歌词里的生死爱恨，仿佛都被这种所谓的“热闹”淹没了，不复存在了。这样好吗？）

《一人一半》
演唱：伍加輝
改編詞:小寒 曲:伍加輝

一人一半 感情不散
一人一素故 感情才會久
時光累計 安靜的淚滴
一心去追 愛那么可貴

Chorus：
這樣的人 這樣地等
無非是等個回應眼神
為愛翻滾 不計傷痕
甘心為你一生都浮沉

這樣的人 別笑我蠢
傻傻的 心痛也不覺疼
就算天冷 就算殘忍
等你想起這沒用的人

一人一半 感情不散
已經找到愛 為何要離開
時光累計 安靜的淚滴
一心去追 愛那么可貴

Repeat Chorus*
一人一半 感情不散
已經找到愛 為何要離開
已經找到愛 為何先離開

Posted by Jin at 3:27 AM

0 comments:



每逢农历七月，电影院里总是有很多恐怖片轮番上映，大发“死人财”。

就算你可以远离电影院，打开报纸杂志电视，也有可能会被突然出现的恐怖宣传海报或者电影预告吓一跳。

我天生是个压抑的人，被恐怖的东西吓到的第一反应是将自己从现实中抽离或是把恐惧硬硬压到心里去，所以不管那个恐怖片的剧情或者演员有多好，我都会尽量避之则吉，免得恐惧感积压导致心情不舒畅。

因此，当我几个礼拜之前看到881的宣传片里面又是歌台又是仙姑还有一大堆穿得稀奇古怪的角色的时候，我的第一感觉就是：“又是一个借鬼节赚钱的无聊电影”。

当然，最后我还是去看了。（要不然怎么会有这篇影评？）而动机居然是里面的一首歌--《一人一半》。（歌词见附录）

可以用一首这样窝心的歌做主题曲的电影，可以恐怖到哪里去呢？

结果一如所料，这部是我看过的鬼片中人情味最浓的一部。

一对歌台姐妹花，一个被家庭抛弃，一个身患绝症，加上一个俗得有趣而且重情重义的经纪人，和她那喜欢玩鸡（是真的鸡）更喜欢默默（真的是只有心声而完全没有对白的）支持着这对姐妹花的英俊儿子，四个人加起来的故事其实至少够拍两三部戏了。

整部电影里面大部分角色的性格刻画鲜明，节奏上也掌握到了悲喜的适时交替；歌韵绕梁，舞影流丽，以七月歌台做背景除了带出怀旧感之余也减少了当中穿插歌舞的突兀；整体上做到了热闹有余也不乏动人的细节。

以第一次拍商业片的艺术片导演来讲，Royston Tan算是把应有的商业元素都放了进去，同时也保留了一点点艺术片的特色（大量独白的出色运用），交足了功课，

但这部戏毕竟是他的转型之作，在不少地方的处理手法上仍有待改进：主要角色（除了经纪人之外）的形象虽鲜明但都缺乏立体感和应有的成长，主线剧情薄弱（几乎感觉不到）而且部分桥段显得儿戏(例如歌台对战变成如来神掌外加诡异暗器大斗法？！），支线上原本可以深入描写的姐妹情（经纪人和仙姑），母女情（大木瓜和她妈妈），母子情（经纪人和她儿子），三角关系（两女一男，就是那三个啦），都只是轻轻带过，末段的医院戏略嫌拖沓过火（尾声的歌台相会反而做到了精简而动人），还有数处缺乏应有的呼应（仙姑的五大戒律和她施的保护咒似乎纯粹为了制造气氛而无实际用途）。

平心而论，这部戏其实是有潜力更上一层楼的。

但就算它只能保持现在的样子，也不失为一部适合一家大小观看的商业片。

难得有一部戏你可以邀请你的外公外婆爷爷奶奶和你一起看，你也就不要犹豫太多了吧。(^_^)

(P.S. 今天看戏看到结尾字幕的时候，男主角和导演突然在现场出现问东问西，害我看不到最后的剧情，后来他们还借口说最后的剧情其实也很重要呼吁大家再买票重看一次，Orz...)

(P.S.2 恕我不懂歌台艺术，但为什么歌台的歌的编曲都好像是千篇一律地追求热闹的呢？歌词里的生死爱恨，仿佛都被这种所谓的“热闹”淹没了，不复存在了。这样好吗？）

《一人一半》
演唱：伍加輝
改編詞:小寒 曲:伍加輝

一人一半 感情不散
一人一素故 感情才會久
時光累計 安靜的淚滴
一心去追 愛那么可貴

Chorus：
這樣的人 這樣地等
無非是等個回應眼神
為愛翻滾 不計傷痕
甘心為你一生都浮沉

這樣的人 別笑我蠢
傻傻的 心痛也不覺疼
就算天冷 就算殘忍
等你想起這沒用的人

一人一半 感情不散
已經找到愛 為何要離開
時光累計 安靜的淚滴
一心去追 愛那么可貴

Repeat Chorus*
一人一半 感情不散
已經找到愛 為何要離開
已經找到愛 為何先離開

Posted by Jin at 3:27 AM

0 comments:



每逢农历七月，电影院里总是有很多恐怖片轮番上映，大发“死人财”。

就算你可以远离电影院，打开报纸杂志电视，也有可能会被突然出现的恐怖宣传海报或者电影预告吓一跳。

我天生是个压抑的人，被恐怖的东西吓到的第一反应是将自己从现实中抽离或是把恐惧硬硬压到心里去，所以不管那个恐怖片的剧情或者演员有多好，我都会尽量避之则吉，免得恐惧感积压导致心情不舒畅。

因此，当我几个礼拜之前看到881的宣传片里面又是歌台又是仙姑还有一大堆穿得稀奇古怪的角色的时候，我的第一感觉就是：“又是一个借鬼节赚钱的无聊电影”。

当然，最后我还是去看了。（要不然怎么会有这篇影评？）而动机居然是里面的一首歌--《一人一半》。（歌词见附录）

可以用一首这样窝心的歌做主题曲的电影，可以恐怖到哪里去呢？

结果一如所料，这部是我看过的鬼片中人情味最浓的一部。

一对歌台姐妹花，一个被家庭抛弃，一个身患绝症，加上一个俗得有趣而且重情重义的经纪人，和她那喜欢玩鸡（是真的鸡）更喜欢默默（真的是只有心声而完全没有对白的）支持着这对姐妹花的英俊儿子，四个人加起来的故事其实至少够拍两三部戏了。

整部电影里面大部分角色的性格刻画鲜明，节奏上也掌握到了悲喜的适时交替；歌韵绕梁，舞影流丽，以七月歌台做背景除了带出怀旧感之余也减少了当中穿插歌舞的突兀；整体上做到了热闹有余也不乏动人的细节。

以第一次拍商业片的艺术片导演来讲，Royston Tan算是把应有的商业元素都放了进去，同时也保留了一点点艺术片的特色（大量独白的出色运用），交足了功课，

但这部戏毕竟是他的转型之作，在不少地方的处理手法上仍有待改进：主要角色（除了经纪人之外）的形象虽鲜明但都缺乏立体感和应有的成长，主线剧情薄弱（几乎感觉不到）而且部分桥段显得儿戏(例如歌台对战变成如来神掌外加诡异暗器大斗法？！），支线上原本可以深入描写的姐妹情（经纪人和仙姑），母女情（大木瓜和她妈妈），母子情（经纪人和她儿子），三角关系（两女一男，就是那三个啦），都只是轻轻带过，末段的医院戏略嫌拖沓过火（尾声的歌台相会反而做到了精简而动人），还有数处缺乏应有的呼应（仙姑的五大戒律和她施的保护咒似乎纯粹为了制造气氛而无实际用途）。

平心而论，这部戏其实是有潜力更上一层楼的。

但就算它只能保持现在的样子，也不失为一部适合一家大小观看的商业片。

难得有一部戏你可以邀请你的外公外婆爷爷奶奶和你一起看，你也就不要犹豫太多了吧。(^_^)

(P.S. 今天看戏看到结尾字幕的时候，男主角和导演突然在现场出现问东问西，害我看不到最后的剧情，后来他们还借口说最后的剧情其实也很重要呼吁大家再买票重看一次，Orz...)

(P.S.2 恕我不懂歌台艺术，但为什么歌台的歌的编曲都好像是千篇一律地追求热闹的呢？歌词里的生死爱恨，仿佛都被这种所谓的“热闹”淹没了，不复存在了。这样好吗？）

《一人一半》
演唱：伍加輝
改編詞:小寒 曲:伍加輝

一人一半 感情不散
一人一素故 感情才會久
時光累計 安靜的淚滴
一心去追 愛那么可貴

Chorus：
這樣的人 這樣地等
無非是等個回應眼神
為愛翻滾 不計傷痕
甘心為你一生都浮沉

這樣的人 別笑我蠢
傻傻的 心痛也不覺疼
就算天冷 就算殘忍
等你想起這沒用的人

一人一半 感情不散
已經找到愛 為何要離開
時光累計 安靜的淚滴
一心去追 愛那么可貴

Repeat Chorus*
一人一半 感情不散
已經找到愛 為何要離開
已經找到愛 為何先離開 top

Royston's 881 is entering Golden Horse Award!!!
Congratz to Royston...
To know what's happening: http://www.xin.sg/article.php?article=8618

P.S the short sound clip is funny can i know the link to the clip??? top

i think everyone kinda missed out the background music for the show. it should be included in the soundtrack album too. top

hopefully the background music will be added in soundtrack! top

Congrats, 881 is a hit.

I guess you hit the right nerve in Singaporeans. The 7th lunar month may just be a almost perfect formula for cinematic success, especially when it's musical like.

I remember years ago when then TCS made shows known as 电视电影 and one of the most well known sound tracks called 关怀方式 that's remembered up till now came from a show called 七月俏佳人 which also deals with 7th lunar month.

Don't get discouraged by those who do not appreciate 881, they need more training in Hokkien. Otherwise, keep up the good work and hope to see your next piece soon. top

hello =)

can ask you something?did you post in our website tag board??haha

aniway hope 881 box offices will pass 3millions!!which i know can de!!rem wor if pass, must film part 2 of 881!!this time we dun mind be guan yin's fren or waT!!haha

huat arh!!it will be great if your up comin roadshow or events details is updated here as well =) top

Beside $ not enuff , tis is the 2nd time dat i m willing to spend $ to watch a local production film and congrats , 881 is a box office now.

However after leaving the cinema , i do feel that there is room for improvement like 4 eg , which time era is the story base on ? i c 70s-80s design flats in the movie , old hospital etc.. but the movie oso include chen jin lang death and the getai lighting+setup is of current design ????

btw i think the turntable will fetch a better price then the rooster..

Anyway all the best to u. top

watched 881 the 5th time today... still as good as ever... 1 thing im sad about is the main song of 881 sis, the 12 lotus is not included in the 881 soundtrack :( and some other misc songs like beggar song and san hao ma mi, really luv those...

if theres a 2nd release of the 881 soundtrack with those songs included, please update us in ur blog mr roystan. WAY TO GO 881! HUAT AH! top

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tk2JOoHKpTA&NR=1


hhehehhh....check it out... top

Hi royston

can i have the name of the temple you filmed 881? where is it exactly??? top

Some thoughts on marketing 881 worldwide…

I think there is always going to be a part of the market that has closed minds and a part that likes to see other cultures and has open minds. That gave me an idea how to position the marketing for 881 around the world.

The key to get a movie to move from one culture to another is to find not only the small hooks that can lure someone into watching a movie but a big “carrot and stick” that can force them to see it… else they miss out on something. Mainly everyone wants to be seen as being culturally tolerant, good people… none of us wants to be seen as overly judgmental and culturally ignorant. How can you market the movie and educate people at the same time?

I just read a review by a local reviewer… unfortunately for me, as I am not a local, the review required far too much local knowledge for me to know much of the references they were making. Also I think they got the star rating wrong (because the reviewer was too much in the local context)… they do not see that the real result from the popularity is that it is actually a 5 star movie… http://www.moviexclusive.com/review/881/881.htm

So when you move that momentum marketing I was talking about, you have to remove some of the localisations as you go… only take the stuff that will work in each location. In UK the marketing must be so different from in Malaysia or Singapore…

There is of course a way to overcome any objection anyone has but the cost of overcoming an objection determines the success of most marketing campaigns… hence you must find a cost effective means and the positive reasons why viewers must learn about the culture they do not understand.

In UK it is easy… if the reviewers give a bad review it shows they are culturally intolerant (you can quote me on that)… so they better study the culture more… which means they better see the movie a few more times!

As for me, I saw just the out-takes and music on YouTube and I decided it is a movie that I want to see.

Also you must get some things right for foreign markets… subtitles must always be yellow and ideally on a black backing and larger than you have them. Yellow looks a bit ugly and you might think it takes away from the movie… but it is highly readable and the mind must be able to almost read subconsciously when watching a movie so squinting at white subtitles detracts from the movie watching experience. You can play with the subtitles for each market too… some wordings will rate higher than others… a small test group and some re-writes to get more contextual jokes for the English market will pay dividends.

I realised how to market this movie too when I saw how YouTube shows different related things from the same area of Asia…

If you use “How culturally knowledgeable and tolerant are you?” as the “carrot and stick” to force people to overcome their cultural barriers to understand this movie, then you have a winner.

Really language is not a barrier, the story is still understandable. I just spent nearly a year in China and I could not at first understand a word in the movies which are all in Chinese (different dialects even) but whenever I cannot understand something, I just watch like a baby and let it all soak in… now i understand so much more, I understand things about Chinese culture that people who aren’t patient can’t gain… being like a baby is a great way to soak up information… watch and listen without judging… it is a great skill for all people to learn.

My recommendation for Royston is to not listen the part of the market who will never understand this movie but to educate everyone about Singapore culture… to make “Marketing Singapore culture and understanding and marketing cultural tolerance” as the focus for why people worldwide must see this movie…

They can “Judge their own level of cultural tolerance” by their reactions to this movie. Culturally intolerant people will have trouble understanding or watching it!!!!!! But people who try to understand it will prove they are culturally tolerant…

…and who doesn’t want to be culturally tolerant in today’s world?

So those of us who love seeing other cultures will enjoy it and we will get on the Internet and see what Getai is. You know here is the example, I did not know about Getai until this movie… so I first wonder “What is this thing I do not know about? Where does it come from?” and my first reference in my mind is to think of the movie Big Fish where the twins were dancing (that is the closest reference in my visual memory when I saw the Papaya Sisters).

Then I saw the amazing costumes and I thought of “Priscilla Queen of the Desert (PQD)”, lavish costumes… a good reference point as that was a movie that broke through the conservative barrier and became a massive hit… of course the EU music helped PQD… but it paves the way.

So I think the marketing in places like the UK isn’t about marketing the movie, it’s about “who is culturally intolerant and hasn’t seen this movie”?

Does that make sense? To me (and my marketing skills are quite good, not as good as some but better than most) it makes good sense. I will explain and make this into one of my traditional long posts…

I am a New Zealander and NZ is rather conservative like Australia… like UK for that matter… but if you find a way to hook the imagination of the people into why they MUST see this movie, that is when it will fly worldwide. You need to get some arty people with big clout to say “I love it, go and see it and if you haven’t seen it, then you are a culturally intolerant twat”… then turn that into a snowball effect so it becomes a “Must See”… that means it has to become a case of “if you haven’t seen it, you can’t talk with the other guests at the dinner party” because it and the subculture in the movie is the topic of conversation…

“So you better go see it”. It’s the “in crowd thing”… word of mouth… insiders… you need that level of marketing as well as the normal press stuff. It needs to be amongst the stars… are they all culturally intolerant? How many stars in London or Europe or USA have ever sat and watched a Bollywood or equivalent Eastern film? Challenge them, force a competition as to who is more culturally tolerant using your movie as the pivot point, the decider.

London pre-Christmas release dinner conversation “Oh, I did love the peacock costumes in the scene where…” etc… you get the idea.

See this if you don’t know where the movie theatres are in London that give premiers (YouTube video tour)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pne2G_h9tL4&watch_response

As an artist sometimes also feel hurt when viewer numbers drop… but must use it as energy to keep going. Also may feel hurt when not everyone loves your creation but really, to people who cannot appreciate the costumes, the music and who cannot take the time to understand the background and culture to this movie, why care what such people think?

Instead stay with people who give positive feedback (but never let it go to your head, always outside the bubble of fame are people who will never know about you and they see things just as objective reality) but for now create and enjoy the bubble and roll it like a ball… get the movie out to all those who want to see it and educate those who are undecided… you can think of it like USA does… “Winning hearts and minds” they call it… they chuck Hollywood crap at us with nowhere near the level of costumes, music and energy of 881.

Use YouTube as a grass roots marketing effort too… ask everyone with anything to do with the movie and the Getai subculture to get things out there on YouTube in as many languages as possible (English, Mandarin etc…) and allow people to put translations over the videos. Show costumes, how they were made, show scenes of where the movie was made, just have Singaporean people talk about how the culture arose, how seeing this movie reminds them of certain things, what the insider jokes and other things are… educate the viewer… those who can see YouTube are generally well educated and wealthy due to the cost of broadband that requires it. Unfortunately there are some real knuckle heads out there too on YouTube but they will actually help prove the point of the difference between the culturally tolerant and those who aren’t.

So how do you market on YouTube? You post video feedback to other videos… and you Ask people to help you… watch this guy for example… he is one of the best YouTube marketers out there (you’ll see him in the papers soon enough I think as the London You Tube gathering is going to be seen… it might not be all good… but it is going to be seen… hopefully it goes ok… it got big as he got feature)… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmzMzzJhLRA&watch_response

Some guys were threatening to beat him up for organizing this gathering… it just shows the difference between those who are tolerant and those who aren’t. Miles is a good guy, he is trying to show that the Internet doesn’t have to be dominated by culturally intolerant sicko people and the Internet can actually be a force for social integration.

You could post a VideoResponse to Miles and have a song response and just say something like (and of course you can do better but it’s 407am):

“We can’t be at the Gathering,
We are too paw but we can sing,
Sing-a-paw we’re in the sun, (my joke, you can remove it in the real one)
And we’ve got a film called 811,
We saw some guys intolerance,
They don’t give culture a chance,
But Miles and the crew have a ball,
At YouTube Gathering all walk tall,
We hope the gathering is a great one,
Please say this number 881…”

You guys have the video gear and the music skills to do this… it can be rough as guts or Eric can do it really nicely… but if you get it on as a response to Miles then you will see that he is one of the most subscribed YouTube vBloggers in the UK… and that is only likely to be more… he has lots of media coming to the YouTube Gathering in London…

You could even ask them all to put 881 on their T-Shirts… tell them it’s a movie from Singapore… is there a website? Be sure to make different websites for each market… 881.me.uk or something can be got quite easy I think.

In EU mention things you already said but you must keep saying it again and again Singapore’s “Moulin Rouge”, cultures adapting in the face of modernization, etc… educate people and it will be able to capture imaginations… tie in with similar marketing like www.alivenotdead.com where all the regional stars have their blogs give the “singing to the dead” etc… and it is mysterious… Western people want to know more… create local hype and draw the audience to it… it does not stop just because the 7th lunar month is over… that is just the beginning!

I think for posters you need animals and fruits, beautifully photographed on white backgrounds next to the stars… Papayas sitting on the poster next to the Papaya sisters… peacocks next to the costumes that look like peacocks… (monkey’s next to Eric! hehe)… because it will make people wonder… what? “What does it all mean?”… curiosity is a great marketing tool… it doesn’t require explanation… as Nike says “Just do it”…

Sanity is overrated!

Does someone have a list of ALL the media that is up on the web and that has gone out about 881 since the first mention to now? That’s needed… so you can “track the giant ball” and roll that momentum marketing around the globe, adapting it to each culture and finding ways to link it into their jokes and their lives and what they are discussing over dinner (do people still sit at dinner tables in some parts of the world?)

Good luck Royston and all 881 participants and stakeholders… hope this helps in some way

- I am not going to apologise for writing long blog posts anymore… for those who want to pick the gems out of this, it’s good stuff… 4:13am (-:B Night all (then I added more… 4:37pm Zzzzzzzzzzzz… but hopeful u find the gems) top

Well Done....Bro!! You have achieved the first step towards being the "Oliver Stone" of Singapore!!! You got to bring 881 to Melbourne soon....Your fans here are all dying to see it!!!

Your Aussie Pal....You Know Who!!! top

안녕하세요 :)

你好~ Roystontan
我是有珍。
你上个星期参加了Pusan电影节是不是?
最后一天你告诉我和我的朋友对你的 blog,,
所以我只要看你的 blog..

我要留下我的homepage adress.
有时间的话，你看看我的 homepage吧 top