Tokan film: Tiarnan’s Malaysian movie debut.

A couple of months back, a call came in, as they tend to do: “Can you bring your kids along to do a film tomorrow?” It was very last minute. This is typical of filming in Malaysia.

“Only Tiarnan is free. Fintan has exams to do and Ainan is at University and I don’t want him to miss a day.”

There was a pause, the silence evaluated my remark.

“OK. Bring Tiarnan.”

“What is it for?”

“The film is called Tokan. It is about drugs. The scenes you will be doing will be in an airport.”

The following day, I brought Tiarnan, fairly early in the morning, to the KTM railway station which was to be made to look like an airport scene. He was quietly expectant.

Now, Tiarnan, 6, has appeared on film before – but for TV documentaries and a reality TV show. He hasn’t been in a film.

He was to pretend to be the young son of a man going on holiday to Brazil. He was supposed to be excited to be visiting this new country.

The first scene was filmed going into and through a smoke filled tunnel through the airport. What was notable is that Tiarnan really tuned into his surroundings and the situation, like it was really happening in the way he had been told. He was properly excited, to be visiting Brazil. At just the right moment he had been instructed, he said: “Come on Daddy!”, and dragged me forward as he rushed ahead to see what was to be seen. His face glowed with excitement – yet, of course, none of it was real – it only seemed to be so. My young son was acting.

What impressed me was the patience he showed with the filming process. He did each take as if it were the first time he had experienced the scene. Between scenes he waited with the rest of the actors – his father and Ignas Versinskas, who is a friend of ours (usually a film director, actually). He never betrayed any signs of impatience with it all.

In one scene, on the train platform, as we set to leave the airport, he played a game with me – which he had invented, actually. The director had seen him playing it and liked it so much, he asked us to do it for the camera. We were the centre of the image. The game was simple: tossing a teddy bear back and forth between us in ever more exotic ways, always catching it and throwing it back.

Again and again he played the game, like it was his first time. He never failed to seem enthusiastic about it. I rather think that his smiling little form will steal that scene.

The final scene was as everyone was being checked through security. We were at the front of the scene. In it, Tiarnan looked properly impressed by the gun toting police. He whispered to me between takes: “It is not a real gun, is it? Just fake?”

“Just fake.” I assured him.

“And the police are only pretending to be police?” he continued, looking up at their tall, stern features.

“Yes. Just pretending.”

That reassured him somewhat.

At the end of the shoot, the agent, Sam came to pay us. She started to pay me, for the work – but I shook my head and indicated Tiarnan. She paid him directly. He was most pleased to see so much money for his day’s work.

For me, it was very instructive to watch Tiarnan act. He is, in my view, a natural actor. He treats the circumstances as if they are real and behaves within it, according to the director’s request. He is able to do take after take and he shows great patience with the process. Not that alone, but his acting is natural and not overdone, as many children’s acting is. It was a revelation for me to watch him work and a very pleasing day indeed.

In the days that followed, he asked me, quite a few times: “Are we filming again tomorrow?”

He had really enjoyed himself and wanted to do some more.

“Some time, Tiarnan, we will do it again.”

Fintan felt that he had missed out because of his exams because he too wished he had filmed. I assured him that next time he could do so, if there were no exams in the way.

For me, as an actor myself, it is pleasing to see the same ability and disposition growing in my sons. I had glimpsed this before, in Tiarnan, when I had taken him to an audition for a TV commercial and he had worked with me. He had been very good then...very realistic. However, this was the first time I had actually worked with him. That day, he was not merely my son. He was a real actor, too.

Well done, Tiarnan on your film debut, in Tokan!

Posted by Valentine Cawley

(If you would like to support my continued writing of this blog and my ongoing campaign to raise awareness about giftedness and all issues pertaining to it, please donate, by clicking on the gold button to the left of the page.

To read about my fundraising campaign, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-in-support-of-my.html and here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-first-donation.html

If you would like to read any of our scientific research papers, there are links to some of them, here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/02/research-papers-by-valentine-cawley-and.html

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.

There is a review of my blog, on the respected The Kindle Report here:http://thekindlereport.blogspot.com/2010/09/boy-who-knew-too-much-child-prodigy.html

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

You can get my blog on your Kindle, for easy reading, wherever you are, by going to: http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Knew-Too-Much/dp/B0042P5LEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1284603792&sr=8-1

Please let all your fellow Kindlers know about my blog availability - and if you know my blog well enough, please be so kind as to write a thoughtful review of what you like about it. Thanks.

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.) 

U Mobile TV commercial Malaysia.

Fintan, my eight year old son, is presently in a TV commercial for U Mobile, the telecommunications provider, in Malaysia.

Fintan had a great time on the TV shoot particularly because the requirements of the shoot, were physical challenges, and he likes those. As you can see, from the film linked here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umby_auvzns

Fintan had to dive bomb into a swimming pool and swim underwater. This, of course, required many takes to get it “just right” from the Director’s point of view. It was interesting to note Fintan’s unflagging enthusiasm, as he did take after take; underwater swim, after underwater swim. It seems to me, that he would be up for any physical challenge, on film, given a chance – he just enjoyed it so much.

If you observe carefully, you can see Tiarnan, five, in the shot, as well – though he is seen only fleetingly. There was much more footage than they eventually used. Indeed, there was enough footage of the boys at play in and around the pool, for the ad to be about them, alone.

This is Fintan’s first TV commercial, though he has been on film, before, in documentaries. I did not know, until I saw him at work, how much or whether he would enjoy it – but it was clear that he did. Thanks to Reservoir Productions for giving Fintan the chance to have a good day putting together a commercial.

Apparently, the commercial is running on all channels in Malaysia. Our contract stipulates a two year period, in which the U mobile commercial may run – so it might be around for some time to come.

Well done Fintan.

Posted by Valentine Cawley

(If you would like to support my continued writing of this blog and my ongoing campaign to raise awareness about giftedness and all issues pertaining to it, please donate, by clicking on the gold button to the left of the page.

To read about my fundraising campaign, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-in-support-of-my.htmland here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-first-donation.html

If you would like to read any of our scientific research papers, there are links to some of them, here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/02/research-papers-by-valentine-cawley-and.html

If you would like to see an online summary of my academic achievements to date, please go here: http://www.getcited.org/mbrz/11136175

To 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.

There is a review of my blog, on the respected The Kindle Report here:http://thekindlereport.blogspot.com/2010/09/boy-who-knew-too-much-child-prodigy.html

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

You can get my blog on your Kindle, for easy reading, wherever you are, by going to: http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Knew-Too-Much/dp/B0042P5LEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1284603792&sr=8-1

Please let all your fellow Kindlers know about my blog availability - and if you know my blog well enough, please be so kind as to write a thoughtful review of what you like about it. Thanks.

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.)

Julia Gabriel Centre and age discrimination.

A few months ago, we enquired at the Julia Gabriel centre, here in Kuala Lumpur, as to whether our son, Tiarnan, four, could join a drama class. Now, those of who have read much of this blog, will know that Tiarnan is rather partial, instinctively, to the ways of an actor: he is a boy of much imagination, given to constructing alternate realities to play in. He has also been on TV, in a reality show, so he is comfortable before a camera. We thought, therefore, that he would benefit from a drama class. However, it was not to be.

The teacher at the Julia Gabriel centre was teaching a class of five year olds, supposedly introducing them to drama. Guess what she said on hearing that four year old Tiarnan was set to join the class? We had told them that he was bright, verbal and given to acting and that he had been on TV. So, just have a guess at what her response was.

Well, she refused to allow him to join the class, saying: “I wouldn’t know how to teach a four year old.”

Err…how dumb, for a teacher to say that, I thought. The only differences between Tiarnan at four and most children at five, is that Tiarnan is brighter, more verbal, more imaginative, more attentive and EASIER to teach. Apparently, this “teacher” didn’t know that there is a lot of individual variability between children and that age is not an effective guide as to behaviour or ability.

This response of the teacher, however, taught us something. It taught us that she would not be a suitable teacher for our son, anyway. No-one who knew so little about children as to dismiss a four year old, because they were not five, is just not suited to teaching our children anyway – or anyone’s children for that matter. Thus, when Tiarnan turns five, we would be unlikely to seek drama classes for him at the Julia Gabriel centre because he would probably end up in a class taught by just this particular dumb teacher. That would, most probably, be a waste of time.

This incident brought home to me, however, just how common the stereotyping of children by age is – and just how little understanding there is among, even teachers, about the intellectual variability of children. Age lockstep education is ALWAYS a bad idea, since it ALWAYS leads to underchallenged – or overchallenged children. The only type of education that makes sense, is education by ability, not by age. Sadly, the whole world’s education is done by age stereotyping, with very few exceptions.

Anyone who knew Tiarnan would know how dumb that teacher was to turn him down, without even meeting him, when he was more than capable of doing her class. Just this type of educational injustice is occurring all over the world, to millions of children, even as I write.

Let education be by ability and interest – and let age be nothing more than what it is: a number that increases in proportion to our time on this Earth – and nothing more.

Rather ridiculously, we were unable to find a drama class for Tiarnan, at four, anywhere in KL, that we knew of. Does the education system think that he learns more by NOT attending a class to match his interest? That is the effect of age discrimination. Perhaps, there would be wisdom in a law to ban age discrimination in education, just like there are laws in many parts of the world, to ban age discrimination in the work place. We would then see a world in which children ended up classes suited to their abilities, and not their ages and social stereotypes. I hope, one day, to see such a world. Tiarnan would be happier in such a world too.

We may have some time to wait…

The dance goes on.

It is funny to see what is inherited by one's children. Sometimes it is like seeing the essence of a parent poured into the child - a reanimation of the soul. A case in point occurred last Friday, with Tiarnan, three.

Tiarnan was having a "Concert", for his graduating class from Kindergarten. Each class got the chance to dance at least once. Tiarnan had more than one dance.

Now, I didn't expect much from a children's dance - and indeed, most of the children were not really able to dance: they didn't know where to place their limbs, and when to communicate beauty in anyway. Tiarnan, however was a revelation. What was startling was to see him dance with the utmost confidence in his movement, his grace and just the right choice of placement of limb, to have the greatest effect. I realized, very quickly, that Tiarnan, though very small, was a natural dancer. I felt deeply touched to see him dance, for I realized, in that moment, that he was, in a very real sense, like a living reincarnation of his mother - who is the best dancer I have ever seen (though she would be shy to acknowledge it).

I felt so proud to see Tiarnan up there. He can be quite shy at home - but on stage, he came truly alive, in fact, more than alive, he was like a little demigod, up there, shining forth with a previously unseen stage presence. I understood, then, that Tiarnan really is a natural performer. The stage, for him, appears to be a natural territory - a place he instinctively knows how to be, on.

Tiarnan's stage presence and his skill at dance and movement are special abilities. I realize this. I understand this. I appreciate this. However, in Singapore's unilaterally academic environment, how many people see this? Does anyone, here, really understand the emotional and kinaesthetic intelligences involved when a child is able to do what Tiarnan did, on Friday? I think not. Singaporeans typically do not see the intelligence in such things - nor do they see its value. Perhaps that is why Singapore's dramatic and dance scene is so irremediably impoverished.

Tiarnan is a natural actor and a natural dancer. He is also many other things -but were he just those two things, I would be more than pleased. Such gifts, are wonderful gifts to have and mean that he can make an interesting contribution to life. However, I think his eventual contribution will be more complex still and diverse and whether it ever involves acting or dance, will depend very much on the opportunities he receives to learn and grow in those areas - and, of course, the chance to work in them, too. I don't know, at this time, whether any of those chances will be forthcoming - but I will try to make it so.

What really struck me about his presence on stage, is that he seemed so happy there - so comfortable. That, in itself, is the best sign that it is the right thing for him. He showed no nervousness, no worry, no fidgeting - he was utterly still when he should be still and in graceful motion, when he should be moving.

Tiarnan...the stage loves you...and it seems you love the stage. Tiarnan, you were by far the best dancer, on the stage that day, out of all the years who danced (up to six years old). I am glad you have discovered this particular pleasure so young. I hope, too, that you get more chances to explore it, in the years to come.

The discovery of Tiarnan's dance skill was uncanny. I felt, at once, its potent meaning: that the dance which began in Syahidah, continues in Tiarnan. Whatever genetic gift my wife has for complex graceful movement has been passed on, in sufficient measure, for it to be seen in her three year old son. I cannot, at this moment, know if he will ever be as good as his mother (that hardly seems possible!), but certainly, he has enough of her gift for dance to be noted for it. It would be good to think that he will one day be as good as her.

What was particularly funny was that Tiarnan was dancing to 70s music. It was sweet.

I hope, one day, Tiarnan, that you see little dancers in your own children, too.

Long may the dance go on!

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, 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, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.

IMDB is the Internet Movie Database for film and tv professionals. If you would like to look at my IMDb listing for which another fifteen credits are to be uploaded, (which will probably take several months before they are accepted) please go to: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3438598/ As I write, the listing is new and brief - however, by the time you read this it might have a dozen or a score of credits...so please do take a look. My son, Ainan Celeste Cawley, also has an IMDb listing. His is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3305973/ My wife, Syahidah Osman Cawley, has a listing as well. Hers is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication prohibited. Use Only with Permission. Thank you.)

Tiarnan greets his Daddy.

Tiarnan was being settled down for a nap, today, by his mother, when I entered the room.

He looked up, in apparent fear and said, in alarmed tones: "Here comes a human being!"

His mother looked along his line of sight to see me there. She didn't laugh. She played along with his imagined drama and let it unfold.

I strode towards the bed, in weighty strides, to match the import of his introduction.

As I neared the bed, Tiarnan stood up, stretching himself a little beyond his not very great natural height. Then he declared, as if speaking of something of great power and import: "I am a human being!"

Thus it was that Tiarnan greeted his Daddy, this afternoon. With him around, I sometimes feel I have walked onto the set of a filmic epic in the midst of an important scene - for such is the way he conducts himself, in his everyday life. Though he is very, very small, he manages to be bigger than life. He is quite delightful, in his dramatic ways. Thank you, Tiarnan, for making an ordinary entrance into a room, by this particular father, into something of great moment. Now, sleep well.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, 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, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication prohibited. Use Only with Permission. Thank you.)

Perceptiveness in a young child.

Tiarnan, three, is a perceptive child. In fact, I cannot really make it clear what I mean by this, unless you are acquainted with him. He sees what others do not see...indeed, he notes every little thing about what is going on around him. In particular, he sees the subtlest nuances of people.

The other day, he said to his mother, who had just sat down: "Why do you sit like that?"

"What do you mean?", she asked, surprised to be accused of sitting in any way, in particular.

"Why do you put your hand down first?" He then showed her what she had done, sitting just like his mummy. For a moment, he was his mummy. He captured her in motion and gesture, as he sat.

In seeing him, doing so, she finally saw herself and became aware that, yes, she does have her own unique way of approaching a chair.

What Syahidah found uncanny about the moment is that Tiarnan had actually perceived the subtleties of her motion, even though she, herself, was unconscious of them. He had seen what others would never see. He had not just seen: "My mother is sitting.", as most would, but had seen just HOW she was sitting.

Tiarnan is funny like that. He observes the essence of people and is then able to express what he has seen, with his own body. It reminds me of the time he captured me, in thought, with a notebook - giving an impression of his father conceiving an idea and writing it down, with the haste of inspiration. His impression of me was a shocking echo...for he had suddenly seemed old, wise and thoughtful, adopting, for a few brief seconds, my posture, mannerisms and facial expressions.

Given his propensity to portray his understanding of others in this way, I rather think that Tiarnan has the makings of an actor. The question is, of course, whether he would like to be one. Right now, he is just a little boy with a penchant for expressing his understanding of others, in a physical way.

We will see how it turns out.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, 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, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication prohibited. Use Only with Permission. Thank you.)

Tiarnan's way with the camera.

In recent months, Tiarnan, three (though he began this when he was two) has been doing something funny in front of the camera. Whenever a camera is pointed at him, a change comes over him. He drops his childishness, and adopts a serious demeanour. His face becomes all composed and mature and he looks into the camera, with wise little eyes. It is quite astonishing to see the fullness of the change. Then, when the picture has been taken, the usual Tiarnan returns: playful, fluid, mischievous and he rushes over to see the picture.

"Can I see? Can I see?" he will demand, then will study the image at the back of the digital camera, intently.

In the image, there will be this serious little boy with the wise eyes - and Tiarnan, seeing this will be quite happy, even though this doesn't express his inherent playfulness at all. It seems that Tiarnan is image conscious and has, in mind, a particular image that he wants to portray.

There are days, however, when Tiarnan is determinedly camera shy and refuses to be photographed, at all, as if he were some big star hounded by paparazzi...he will hide from the camera, or obscure the lens. Of course, when he is in such a mood, we give up on trying to photograph him. The pity of it is, that we miss good photo opportunities, at such times.

Photographing Tiarnan is like photographing a little actor. He poses for the camera, controls his image in it, decides what he wants to portray - then does just the right things to portray it. He even monitors the results closely, checking to see if he has succeeded in putting across his "public image". On those days when he doesn't like to be photographed (which are random and have no discernible pattern), he is again behaving like an actor - only this time, one who is in a private mood and doesn't want to yield to the paparazzi. Or perhaps he is just being shy, at times, for reasons of his own.

So, we have a mix of photos of Tiarnan. In some he is putting across an image he wants to portray. So, in a sense, these are not authentically him, of that moment - they are just how he wishes to be seen. The others are ones captured when he is not in a posing mood, or is unawares: these show a wider range of expressions and behaviours and embody him more fully.

I only hope that, many years from today, we are able to tell the posed photographs from the unposed ones and see in them, glimpses of the little Tiarnan he once was. It would be a pity if we were unable to see him as he really was, and were only able to see him as he wished to be seen (though, of course, this expresses part of who he is, as well...for how he wants to be seen, is a manifestation of his own self-image).

What is notable about his photos, though, is that he has a very expressive face. There are so many different "airs" to be seen in his images...so many different emotions, thoughts and expressions. On the evidence of this, it is telling that he poses as if he were an actor doing a publicity still, for he may just be one, one day. We will see.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, 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, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication prohibited. Use Only with Permission. Thank you.)