Mining Magnate, NTV7, a Mandarin TV drama.

This week, I shot a couple of episodes of Mining Magnate for Mediacorp, for NTV7. This is a Mandarin (with English), TV drama about, as you might guess, a mining magnate and family. It is one of those very complex family dramas filled with intricate relationships and much in the way of tension between people. It is expected to begin showing in December 2012. I appear in episodes 9 and 12, which will be out, most probably in February 2013.

I  played the role of Mr. Robinson. He is a British man involved in business dealings in Malaysia. He is not the nicest of guys and holds certain chauvinistic attitudes more common, perhaps, in the 1960s, in which my scenes are set. He is also not beyond taking bribes and being otherwise less than straightforward in his dealings. He was disagreeable, but fun to play nevertheless.

The shoot was one of the most complex I have ever been on - in fact, the main scene had the most different shots that I have ever been in. It was a scene of many characters. Each character was at least a supporting role. So, each character ended up getting their own close up. When this was added to all the wide shots, shots at odd angles and so on, the total was an incredible number of shots for each aspect of the scene. Given that it was also quite a long scene, with much conversation, it took much longer than any comparable length of scene, I have ever shot in my life.

I can see why the director did this, though. He wants to create an intimacy with the reactions and feelings of each character, with the audience. Each of us was shown in detail. Our every little response was captured. As a result, I think the scene will have a great deal of intensity, when it is finally cut together.

I enjoyed the shoot, but found it very demanding. I cannot recall another scene in my acting life that required so many different shots of the same lines. It was instructive, however. I think I learnt a new level of appreciation for the technical possibilities of a dramatic, conversational scene.

The Director, Ken Ng, told me afterwards how much he enjoyed my work. "Your acting is really good.", he said. To others, he called me "the best". He also went on to say that  he wished he had known me earlier because he had finished an English language film with a Hollywood star only last year - and remarked: "You should have done that film!". It was clear he meant for me to have taken the Hollywood star's role. That was a high compliment indeed.

He promised to work with me again. I hope we do. It was a good experience.

When Mining Magnate comes out on NTV7, please let me know what you make of my work in episodes 9 and 12, by commenting below.

Thank you.

Posted by Valentine Cawley



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If you would like to see an online summary of my academic achievements to date, please go here: http://www.getcited.org/mbrz/11136175To learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 7 and Tiarnan, 5, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

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Please have a read, if you would like a critic's view of this blog. Thanks.

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My Internet Movie Database listing is at:http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/

Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/

Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is athttp://www.genghiscan.com/This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.) 

IMDB starmeter popularity changes.

IMDB Starmeter measures the degree of interest, in any person on its database, by the number of visitors each entry receives. By this measure, something strange has happened in the last week.

Today, my IMDB meter says it is "down 4%" on last week. Ainan's IMDB starmeter, is "up 7%" and my wife, Syahidah Osman Cawley's IMDB starmeter is "up 88%". Now, I must confess I don't understand how such a strange set of popularity changes could have occurred: what event, unknown to us, in the world, has caused Syahidah's popularity to rocket...but that of her husband and son to remain essentially unchanged? The thing is, I know of nothing, in which only Syahidah would have been mentioned, that has happened in the last week.

So, even though IMDB reveals changes in popularity, it doesn't, necessarily identify the reasons for those changes. In the last week, something has happened, to make large numbers of people - almost twice the previous week's tally - to check Syahidah's IMDB page. What could it be? What has focussed attention on her, but not on her son, or her husband?

I have no idea. If you do, please let me know in the comments below, what unknown event has caused this change. It must be something that acts differently on each of us.

I ask, for one reason: usually I can guess the causes of changes of IMDB starmeter rankings - for I am usually aware of some corresponding event, be it news article or tv show. This week, however, I have no idea: so do let me know, if you do.

Thanks.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 6 and Tiarnan, 4, this month, please go to:
http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at: http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/
Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/
Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is at http://www.genghiscan.com/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.)

Record Breakers Singapore TV Show

Yesterday, we had an unusual surprise for my father.

We were staying at the Bintan Lagoon Resort - which is a rather pleasant beach side resort on the Indonesian Island of Bintan. All was fine with it - barring the fact that they seem to have acquired an excessive love of money.

We sat my father in front of the TV at lunchtime on the day of our departure, having arranged a late checkout to do so.

Onto the screen came a show of no apparent relevance. It was the Record Breakers - Singapore Edition, TV show - a sort of localized Guiness Book of World Records TV programme. On the screen were two teams from different schools competing against each other, against a themed backdrop of Singaporean or World Records. The skills of the students were matched against known record breakers.

The first record was the "First 360 degree water ski facility in Singapore" - not much of a record, but fun. The children had to use the ski facility, to the best of their ability. The second record was for the most frog jumps in a minute. Again, the children had to test their ability against this, by doing frog jumps for a minute (though they didn't do real ones).

My father sat through this, perhaps a little disinterested. But then something strange happened. Our son, Ainan, appeared on the TV screen. He was there as the record breaker for the youngest O level holder (they incidentally mentioned him to be the youngest science teacher known, too - starting at six).

Ainan had designed a challenge for the children. It was a chemical structural design. It was very elegant - but required a lot of spatial perception from the competitors, for them to divine what it actually was. The task was simple: they had to view the structure for a limited time, then reconstruct it, using polystyrene balls and satay sticks. It seems like a simple enough task - but it was far from being so. Though the show only covered the segment in a few minutes, the actual contestants took perhaps half an hour or more, to finish. The difficulty arose in being able to understand what they were seeing. Ainan's structure was inherently beautiful, but also a bit mystifying, since, if you did not truly understand the inherent form, you could misperceive it as something else - which is what they did. They built what they saw, and not what was actually there.

To help them along, Ainan commented on their work, telling them exactly where they were going wrong. To do so, he had to analzye their structure, and note its disparities from the original, and tell them where the flaws were and what they were. This was not an easy task since many balls and many sticks were involved and the structures they built were not only wrong, but quite complex. Yet, Ainan was able to see through their work and relate it to where they should be.

Ainan's guidance did the trick - and though they had floundered for perhaps half an hour, after his feedback, one team began to home in on the true design. They were the Malay team.

The teams were to ask Ainan to judge their structures when they thought they had succeeded. The Malay team was the first to do so and called him over. After a brief glance at their work, he announced that their design had won. The Malay team were the winners. The other team was from the Australian International School. They tried hard - but the true nature of the structure eluded them, for too long.

It was an odd experience to see Ainan on television. He was softly spoken throughout and looked a little heavier on screen, than he does in reality. (He is really very slim - so it was unsettling to note that his face looked more rounded on tv: how much fatter would a fat person look, then, if this is what tv did to Ainan's face?!)

I think Ainan did well on his tv appearance. He was composed, and not nervous. He spoke clearly, and succinctly - and was patient throughout the filming (he sat quietly to himself between takes, attracting the puzzled question from a production team member of: "Is he always this quiet?").

Most interesting of all, however, was my father's reaction. I think he was rather proud to see his grandson acknowledged in this way.

I am happy that the timing of the broadcast coincided with my father's visit so that he got to see it - and that Western Indonesia carries Singaporean television.

Our thanks to Thum and the entire production team of Record Breakers - Singapore Edition, for thinking to include Ainan as one of their record breakers. He really enjoyed the experience - and I think learnt something new from it. After all, working on camera is a whole new set of skills in itself - and Ainan got a chance to experience that.

It also allowed us, of course, to surprise my father in a very unusual way.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and one month, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and seven months, and Tiarnan, two years exactly, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

Interviewed on Channel News Asia

Last week, I was interviewed by Channel News Asia, regarding developments in private education in Singapore.

The interview was not long - about two minutes - and would, no doubt, have been edited. I didn't catch the interview, but I am told it went out over the weekend.

Channel News Asia is the Singaporean government TV news arm of Mediacorp - the Singapore government broadcaster. All broadcasters in Singapore are state owned. The Channel has a "footprint" of twenty countries in South East and North East Asia as well as the Middle East. Thus, audiences in those countries will be just a little more familiar with me this week, than last.

Perhaps that explains the stares I got on the bus yesterday. It seems that people actually watch the news around here!

The TV Show is a documentary

As far as I know, the TV show is a documentary of some kind, that wishes to profile gifted children/talented kids and their families. It should prove valuable for raising awareness of giftedness, perhaps help dispersing misconceptions about gifted children.

If you contact me at tjvcawley2@yahoo.com and the.cawleys@gmail.com I will pass your details onto the production company and then they will contact you to initiate talks.

All families who participate will be paid $20,000 U.S Dollars each, for their input.

Remember the programme is focussing on U.S residents: so only apply if you are in the U.S.

Thanks.

(If you would like to read about my scientific child prodigy son, Ainan Celeste Cawley, six, and his gifted brothers go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also speak of child genius, adult genius, prodigy, gifted children and savant in general.)

Casting Call: U.S. $20,000 for gifted families.

This is serious. I have been contacted by a TV producer who wants to cast gifted families in a TV show. They will pay each family featured $20,000 in U.S Dollars. It would be a great opportunity to open doors for any gifted child. You must live in the U.S to participate, however.

They are looking for any child who is extraordinary in some way. They will feature the family, as I understand it, as well as the child.

If you are interested in appearing on TV, please contact me, stating Casting Call in the subject head at tjvcawley2@yahoo.com and copy your mail to the.cawleys@gmail.com I ask you to do this because sometimes my email account suffers inexplicable deletions. If you do not hear from me, please write again: your mail may have got lost - but mention that it is the second time. Thanks.

I will pass you on to the producer and they will make arrangements with you. Please include details of the child or children who is extraordinary and why. Some details of your family would be good too - as well as which city you reside in. There is no need for an address if you are uncomfortable with that. You can discuss that with the TV producer. I just want to be able to present them with all the necessary information for them to be able to contact you quickly and get things underway. Remember to include a phone number - and the ages of the children would be a good idea I suppose. I leave it up to you what information you think would impress the producers. Please be truthful about yourselves or your family - because everything will come under press scrutiny in the end. I am excited that giftedness is going to receive this attention. It is a great opportunity, for you as families, for your children and for gifted children everywhere. Please write as soon as you can. Thanks. I look forward to helping you all soon.

Kind regards

(If you would like to read about my scientific child prodigy son, Ainan Celeste Cawley, six and his gifted brothers, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of child genius, adult genius, prodigy, savant and gifted children in general.)