!!! Annual!Report!! 2010!! Yangon!Film!School! Non9profit!Association!for!the!Promotion! of!young!burmese!film!and!video!artists!!!

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1 Yangon Film School Annual Report AnnualReport 2010 YangonFilmSchool Non9profitAssociationforthePromotion ofyoungburmesefilmandvideoartists

2 Yangon Film School Annual Report Contents Page I SummaryofActivitiesin ProjectPlan 7 2.Fundraising 8 (i) Comments 8 3.Schedule,Methodology,Tutors 9 4.Permits,ParticipantsandImplementation 9 5.StudentTrainers 10 6.Management,SchoolRegulations,Copyright 11 7.CompanyRegistration,Licences 11 II HowFilmsWork:AnIntroductiontoFilmAnalysis 12 1.RationalefortheCourse 12 (i) Participants 12 (ii) TeachingandWorkingMethods 12 2.WeekOne:HowFilmsWork 13 3.WeekTwo:ExercisesinFilmAnalysis 14 (i) FinalAssignment 14 (ii) Evaluation 14 (iii) TheCulturalPerspective 14 4.Recommendations 15 III IntroductiontoEditingWorkshop 15 1.Aims 15 2.Participants 16 3.CourseStructure 16 4.WeekOne 17 5.WeekTwo 17 6.WeekThree 18 7.WeekFour 18 8.Challenges 18 9.Results 19 IV TheArtofStorytelling:AdvancedEditingWorkshop 20 1.Aims 20 2.ParticipantsandProjects 20 3.CourseStructure 21 4.WeekOne 22 5.WeekTwo 22 6.WeekThree 23 7.WeekFour 23 8.Challenges 23 9.Results CommentsfromAustralianEditingTutorMelanieSandford CommentsfromAustralianEditingTutorStewartYoung 24 V TheCreativeProducer:FilmProduction 25 1.Aims 25 2.MethodologyandStructure 25 3.Content 26 4.Results 27

3 Yangon Film School Annual Report Contents Page 5.EvaluationandRecommendations 27 VI OtherWaysofSeeingII:FilmHistoryandFilmLanguage 28 1.Aims 28 2.Methodology 28 3.Content 28 4.ResultsandRecommendations 30 VII TrueFictionsIIWorkshop 31 1.Overview 31 2.Participants 31 3.Aims 32 4.TheFilms 32 (i) HastheWaterRisen? 32 (ii) Bungkus 34 5.Challenges 35 (i) Crews 35 (ii) Preparation 35 (iii) ShootinginChinlanguage 36 (iv) ShootingintheDelta 36 (v) TheNewCanonEOSCamera 36 6.Achievements 37 7.BenefitsfortheStudents 37 8.FuturePlans 38 VIII ProductionManagementteachingmodule 39 1.AimsandApproach 39 2.Participants 39 3.Challenges 40 4.Recommendations 40 IX TrueFictionsIISoundWorkshopand SoundDesignWorkshop 40 A)TheTrueFictionsIISoundWorkshop 40 1.AimsandParticipants 40 2.Challenges 40 B)TheSoundDesignWorkshop 41 1.Aims 41 2.Participants 41 3.MethodologyandStructure 41 4.TheCulturalPerspective 42 5.Results 43 6.Recommendations 43 X TrueFictionsEditingWorkshop 43 1.TechnicalChallenges 43 2.Participants 44 3.EditingFictionalMaterial 44 4.BenefitsforStudents 44 XI YFSAnnualRooftopScreening 44

4 Yangon Film School Annual Report Contents Page XII DirectResultsofYFSWorkshopsandActivitiesin VisibleOutcomes 45 2.BenefitsforTargetGroup 46 3.DisseminationofYFSFilms 46 (i) CommissionedProjectsforNGOsandAidAgencies 46 (ii) NewCommissions 46 (iii) OtherProjects 47 (iv) IndependentProjectbyYFSFilmmakers 47 (v)yfsfilmsatinternationalfestivals 47 (vi) MyanmarTelevision,YFSCrews 48 (vii)studytripsabroad 48 XIII ConclusionsandtheNextSteps 49 (i) AssessmentsandSuggestions 49 (ii) Workshopsin (ii) FlyingMentorships 51 AnnualReport I SummaryofActivitiesin2010 Theyear2010markedtheYangonFilmSchool ssixthroundofworkshopsinmyanmar.with nofewerthaneightworkshopsandthreeteachingmodulesresultinginsome17newtitles, itwassomethingofarecordyear.theschool splentifuloutputinmyanmarwasmatchedby copious activities in the international arena; these included Visiting Fellowships abroad to PragueandLondonforthreeoutstandingstudents,aswellaspresentationsof16YFSfilms atinternationalfilmfestivalsinitaly,france,germany,theczechrepublic,switzerlandand Thailand.Thebroad varietyofactivitiesonceagainreflectstheproject sabilitytofulfilits briefto support Myanmar sburgeoningcivil societybynurturingagrowing communityof talentedfilmprofessionalsinmyanmarandfindingplatformsfortheirwork. DemocracyatWorkatYFS Theyear2010waselectionyearinMyanmar.YFSalsohelditsownfirstelection,bysecret ballot,ofa seven9memberyfscommittee. This YFSCommitteenowmeetsregularlyto makedecisionsonanarrayofyfs9relatedissuesincludingadvocacy,staffing,interviewingof potentialcandidates,equipmentloans,productionandcrewingoffilmsforngosandother projects.followingitssuccessfulintroductionin2009,thetrainingoftrainersprogramme continuedin2010,withmoreexperiencedyfsstudentsassistingasstudenttrainersduring Editing Workshops.YFS graduate Myo Min KhinalsoledteachingmodulesonDVDDesign andhdworkflow.

5 Yangon Film School Annual Report StudentTrainerMyoMinKhin(farright)takingaclassonDVDDesign In 2010 the Yangon Film School held eight workshops and three teaching modulesintwoblocks,asfollows: a) b) c) HowFilmsWork,heldinYangonbetween14and24June,wasatwo9weekfilm analysiscourseledbyfinnisheditingtutortuulamehtonen.attendedby18 students (nine women and nine men) the course was designed to give emerging filmmakers the ability to distinguish between different editing methods in fiction filmandtounderstandhoweditingcanbeusedtobuildafilm sintensity. Thiswasfollowedbythefour9weekIntroductiontoEditingcoursewhichtook placeinyangonbetween26juneand24july.ledbyyfsfilmeditingtutorstuula Mehtonen(Finland)andJessica Ehlebracht(Germany), this course gave 17 YFS students (eight women and nine men) the opportunity to gain a basic understanding of the technical, organisational and storytelling aspects of digital documentaryfilmeditingaccordingtointernationalstandards. Taking place between 2 and 28 August, the four9week Advanced Editing Course: The Art of Storytellinggave17YangonFilmSchoolstudents(nine women and eight men) the opportunity to develop their own projects in the editing room with guidance from editing tutors Melanie Sandford(Australia), StewartYoung(Australia)andJessicaEhlebracht(Germany). The second block of YFS workshopskickedoffinoctober2010withtwoparallel workshopsheldbetween11and22october: d) e) f) Led by Finnish director and producer Jouko Aaltonen, the Creative Producer: Film Productionworkshopprovided ten female and seven male participants with a general overview of how professional film production is organisedineuropeandotherpartsoftheworldandtoexplaintheroleplayedby theproduceraspracticalandcreativefigureinthefilmmakingprocess. Taking place in alternative sessions with the Creative Producer workshop, the Other Ways of Seeing II: Film History and Film Language workshop, filmmaker and Film History Tutor Frances Calvertdeepenedninefemale andninemaleyfsstudents understandingofdifferentstylesoffilmicexpression andbuildstudents awarenessofthefactorsinvolvedinmakingtheirownfilmsfor the TrueFictions course. From15to18November,YFSgraduateMyoMinKhinconductedateaching moduleondvddesignforthreefemaleandthreemaleparticipants.

6 Yangon Film School Annual Report g) h) i) From20to22NovemberYFSgraduateMyoMinKhinconductedateaching moduleontechnicalworkflowfortruefictionsprojectsfortwofemale andfivemaleparticipants. The True Fictions II WorkshopwasledbyYFS Screenwriting and DirectingTutorRachelMathews.ItranfromSeptembertoDecember2010. YFS Production Management Tutor HelkeMadrywasinYangontoprovidea teachingmoduleonproductionmanagementandoverseepre9productionand productionfrom25octoberto 20 November.ShewasjoinedbyDirecting Tutor RachelMathews,CinematographyTutorLarsBarthel,SoundTutorIvanHorák andeditingtutorregina BärtschiwhotravelledtoYangontomonitor filming andeditingfrom14novemberto11december.eightwomenandsevenmentook part in this workshop. It resulted in two short fiction films with a documentary sensibilityusingnon9actorsinactuallocations.bothfilms were shotfromscripts developed during the 2009 Screenwriting Workshop, one by experienced older writer Dr Aung Min, one by young Chin writer, Anna Biak Tha Mawi. Both storieswerewrittenfrompersonalexperienceandarebasedonreal9lifeeventsin Myanmar. From6to19January,2011,theschool ssoundtutorivanhoráktravelledto Yangon to conduct a two9week workshop in Sound Design. The course was attendedbyfivefemaleandfourmalestudentswhohaveaparticularinterestin soundandmusicrecordingandmixing,butalsoininstallationart. j) The True Fictions Editing WorkshopwasconductedinYangonbyYFS EditingTutorReginaBärtschifrom23Januaryto16February2011fortwo female YFS editing students working on separate edits of the two True Fictions productions: Bungkus and HastheWaterRisen,filmedduringthe TrueFictions IIWorkshop innovember/december2010. Duringthecourseof2010,theYangonFilmSchoolalso: a) Cooperated from June to September 2010 with the European Burma Office andthecharleswallacetrustburmatosendyfsstudentlaythidatothe UK to attend the National Film and Television School s SummerDocs course, during which Lay Thida independently researched, filmed and edited a shortdocumentaryentitledwrongsideupaboutaburmesestreetmusicianin London. b) c) d) e) Cooperated with clients Pyoe Pin, Shalom Foundation and the Local ResourceCentretosendFlyingMentorsJessicaEhlebrachtandRegina BärtschitoYangontooverseetheeditandpost9productionoftheprojectsRice: TowardsaBetterFuture;HiddenWoundsandRespectfulEncounters. InAugust2010YFSDirectorLindseyMerrisontravelledtoDouarnenezinFrance topresentaselectionoffiveyfsfilmsattheannualfestivalducinéma. In September theyangonfilmschoolheldabrunch in Berlintopresentthe workofyfsstudentlaythidatoanaudienceoftutors,yfsboardmembers andthoseinterestedin Burma or working in other development projects inthis country. InNovember2010YFSDirectorandtwoYFSstudentscurrentlystudyingatFAMU in Prague, Thu Thu SheinandThaiddhipresentedseveralYFSfilmsata

7 Yangon Film School Annual Report f) Heinrich Boell Foundation event Burma/Myanmar nach den Wahlen (Burma/MyanmarAftertheElections)inamainstreamcinemainBerlin. AlsoinNovember,YFSstudentMaungOkkartravelledfromYangontoMunich andwiesbadentopresenthisfirstdocumentarycharcoal Boy(YFS,2009)in competitionatthemunichfestivalofstudentfilms.healsopresentedaselection of four other YFS films at exgroundfilmfestivalinwiesbaden.hewas accompaniedbyyfseditingtutorjessicaehlebracht. 1.1.BreakdownoftheYFSManagement/ProjectPlan January2010 March2010: DuringthisperiodtheYFSDirectorandProjectAssistantundertookthefollowing: o Preparationoffinancialandnarrativereportsof2009workshop o Supervisionofsubtitlingandpost9productionof14filmsmadein2009 o Grantwritingandotherfundraisingactivitiesincluding - Fundingmissions,visibilityactionssuchasscreeningsofYFSworkto potentialclients,festivalorganisers,ngos,donors o Pre9workshoporganisationincluding: - Devisingcourses - Sourcingandselectingofparticipants,tutorsandstaff - Workshoppermitapplications - Coordinatingtravelarrangements - Researchingandpurchasingofequipmentandteachingmaterials - Cashflowandfundmanagement o CoordinationoftheYFSFlyingMentorshipProgramme o SubmittingYFSfilmstofestivalsandcoordinatingYFSstudents participationat internationalfestivalsandevents o CreatingindividualDVDsandportfoliosofstudents work o Year9roundmentoringofindividualprojectsforNGOsaswellasindividualfilms byyfsstudents o Year9roundmentoringofYFSstudentsinallorganisationalandcontractual aspectsofrunningtheyfsasamediaresource o Establishingcontactstobroadcasters,festivalsandotherorganisationstopave thewayforco9productions,trainingprogrammesandscholarships 14June 29August2010 YFSProjectCoordinatorHelkeMadrytravelledtoYangonto: o SuperviseFilmAnalysisandEditingWorkshopsandsupporttutors o Preparetheworkshopvenuewithstudents o Prepareteachingmaterials o LiaisewiththeWorkshopManageroncateringandshuttleservice o Re9negotiateworkshopvenue/hotelrateswithhotelowner o Organisemeetingsbetweenstudentsandtutorsaboutcoursework o OverseetheworkoftheYFSlocalAccountant,ProjectDirectorandProject Assistants o FinalisecontractswithtutorsandYFSstaff o OrganiseelectionofYFSCommitteeMembers

8 Yangon Film School Annual Report o PrepareTrueFictionsprojectpitchmeeting 10August 20August,2010 YFSDirectorLindseyMerrisontravelledtoYangonto: o MonitorprogressofEditingWorkshopsandindividualprojects o MeetwithNGOclientstodiscussprogressofcommissionedprojects o AttendaManagementCommitteemeetingandoverseetheelectionbyYFS studentsofaseven9memberyfscommittee o Interviewcandidatesfor2011Beginners Workshop 1September 12December,2010 TrueFictionsIIWorkshoppreparationinBerlinandYangonfollowedbyworkshopsproper. ProjectCoordinatorHelkeMadrysupervisinginYangonfrom ;Lindsey MerrisoninYangontomonitorprogressfrom January 17February,2011YFSSoundTutorIvanHoráktravelledtoYangonto holdthesounddesignworkshop;yfseditingtutorreginabärtschitravelledtoyangonon tomentortheTrueFictionsEditingWorkshop December2010 May2011: Supervision of the online edits and post9production of the 17 films produced in 2010 (includesfinecutting;subtitling,colourcorrection,rightsclearance,creditsinburmeseand English,soundmix,editofworkshopfilm,productionoffourNGODVDs,threeworkshop DVDs, cover design, inlay text), preparation of financial and narrative reports and individualaudits. 2. Fundraising Inspiteofhavingattractedone9offfundingfromanewdonor Singapore9basedFreedom tocreate itwasnotpossibletosecureallthefundingrequiredtocovertheinitial2010 budget of 283,000 Euro. This situation was compounded when in May 2010 regular YFS funder Heinrich Boell Foundation announced an unexpected budget cut of 50% of their usual contribution. This required a stringent reworking of the budget and a marked reductioninequipmentpurchases,sothattheplannedupgradeofyfsequipmenttocomply with internationally prevalent HD specifications had to be abandoned. The two 109week blocks of workshops could however go ahead as planned thanks to funding pledges from SIDA,theFriedrichEbertFoundationandGoetheInstituteJakarta. (i) Comments TheYFSDirector sbidtosecurefundingfortheschoolforthenextthreeyearswaspartially successful thanks to a 439page funding application she prepared and submitted to the EuropeUnionfortheyears2011and2012whichwasapprovedinDecember2010.Atthe timeofwriting,thefinnishmediafoundationvikeshasalsoconfirmedasecondthree9year term of funding for YFS for the period Together, these pledges constitute approximately46.5%ofthebudgetrequiredtofundtheyfs currentactivities.nonetheless, theyfsdirectorisstillneedstobridgetogapof150,000euroannuallyinordertofully9fund theproject. However, if the YFS is to continue to expand and diversify atitspresent rate, substantial funding still needs to be found to finance the school as a permanent andpossibly even regional trainingcentrewitharegularcurriculum,housedinitsownbuilding.thisbuilding should be large enough to house residentialworkshops, regular screenings,severaledit rooms,aswellasofficeandpost9productionfacilities.

9 Yangon Film School Annual Report The YFS Director would welcome suggestions from the school s regular donors as to how suchfundingcouldbesecured. 3. Schedule,MethodologyandTutors Mindful of the need to give students an opportunity to digest what they learn during workshops and have sufficient time to work on films independently, in 2010 YFS tutors decided to offer trainings in two separate semesters. Hence the first block devoted to Editing washeldoveraten9weekperiod fromjuneto August, whilstthe secondblock, held from October to December, concentrated first on film production and film language andthen,followingatwo9weekbreakforpre9production,dovetailedintothetruefictions Workshopandedit. Asusual,theworkshopsweretaughtinamixtureofclassroomteaching,practicalexercises, screenings, feedback sessions and individual mentorship, culminating in several short documentaries and two short scripted films with a documentary aesthetic. This year, approximatelyhalftheworkshopswereresidential. The Editing Analysis and Introduction to Editing workshops were led by editors Tuula Mehtonen(Finland)andJessicaEhlebracht(Germany);JessicalaterledtheTheArtof Storytelling: Advanced Editing workshop for which she was joined by co9tutors Melanie SandfordandStewartYoungfromAustralia.TheCreativeProducercoursewasledby Finnish filmmaker and producer Jouko Aaltonen; Australian filmmaker and lecturer FrancesCalvertledtheOtherWaysofSeeingII:FilmHistoryandFilmLanguagecourseand British director and screenwriter Rachel MathewsledtheTrueFictionsworkshop.She was joined by co9tutors German cinematographer and filmmaker Lars Barthel, Czech soundengineeranddesignerivanhorák,germaneditorreginabärtschiandgerman production management tutor Helke Madry, who also supervised both workshop semesters.yfsstudentsreceivedfeedbackonallprojectsandongoingtuitioninsubtitling fromyfsdirectorlindseymerrisonwhowasinattendanceduringworkshopsinyangon. 4. Permits,ParticipantsandImplementation Thankstoongoingadvocacyefforts,YFShasbeenabletomaintaingoodrelationswiththe Myanmar Motion Picture Organisation (MMPO), Myanmar Motion Picture Enterprise (MMPE) and the Ministry of Information. In particular, cross9pollination between YFS and other institutions such as the University of Culture (where several YFS9trained students teach), the broadcaster Myanmar International Channel (where two YFS students Su Su Thaing WinandLwin Ko Ko OoareworkingasProductionManagerandProgramme Managers respectively), MRTV (in 2010, MRTV editor Myint Myint Kyi, who is also a teacheratthenationaluniversityofartsandculture,joinedtheyfshowfilms Work:FilmAnalysisCourse)andtheMMPE sfilmlaboratory(whereyfsstudenthan LinnAungisLabManager),helpstoconsolidatetheroleofYFSwithinMyanmar smedia sector. As a result of this strategic collaboration, YFSwasonceagainissuedwiththe necessary Permits in order to implement all activities at the venue of choice and with beneficiariesofourchoosing.businessvisaswerealsoissuedtoallinternationaltutors.as of2011,yfsintendstoapplyforyear9longpermitstoenablegreaterflexibilityinplanning. The first semester of Editing Workshops (June August) was consistently well attended. However,asDirectingandScreenwritingtutorRachelMathewsexplainsinherreportabout thetruefictionsworkshop,crewingofthetwo TrueFictions filmsprovedchallengingsince several experienced students were unable to attend due to their involvement in other

10 Yangon Film School Annual Report projectsatthetimeofthe2010electioninmyanmar.inviewofthissituation,tutorsand YFS Committee members exceptionally decided to give promising YFS Screenwriters an opportunitytotakepartinthe second semesterofworkshops sothat productionofboth TrueFictions filmscouldgoahead. (i) WorkshopVenue The Princess Hotel on Than Lwin Road in Kamaryut Township has been the home of YFS workshops for the past six years. SituatedinaquietpartofYangonandwithadiversityofrooms to accommodate tutors, students, screenings, teaching and editing, the hotel had always proved ideal for workshops. In 2010 the hotel was leased to new management. Although the new manager and his wife were initially accommodating and workshopswereconductedtheresuccessfully,thehotel,whichnowderivesmostofits income from renting out rooms to largely nocturnal clientele at an hourly rate, has gainedareputationthatmakesitverydifficultforourfemalestudentsinparticularto feel comfortable about staying there. In addition, the nightly comings and goings regularlyrobbedseveraltutorsoftheirsleep.sadly,thishasmadethehoteluntenable asaworkshopvenue.findinganewlocationforyfsworkshopswillthereforebeoneof thefirst,dauntingtasksin StudentTrainers In2010,YFScontinueditspolicy,commencedin2009,ofinvitingYFSgraduatesandstudent trainers to teach at workshops. During the Introduction to Editingworkshopheldin July, student trainers Hnin Ei Hlaing, Pe Maung Same, The Maw NaingandZaw WinHtwewereaskedtoobserveparticipantswithlittleornopreviousknowledgeofFinal Cut Pro editingsuitesandassistwhere necessary astheylearnedhowtosetup, digitalise andprepareprojectsforediting.thesestudenttrainerswerealsocalledupontosharetheir knowledgeduringclassroomsessions. In a pair of two9day teaching modules prior to the True Fictions II workshop in November/December,YFSgraduateanddigitaleditingsoftwarespecialist Myo Min Khin firstlydescribed How to Design and Produce DVDsoffinishedfilms.Subsequently,in preparation for the True Fictions Workshop that was to follow, he explained the High9 DefinitionTechnicalWorkFlownecessaryinordertocaptureandsynchupseparately recordedsoundtracksofhdprojects. (i) Comments Involving more experienced YFS students as trainers once again proved to be a successful move: teaching was more direct as it was being conducted in Burmese, and student9trainers enjoyed consolidating and transferring their knowledgetotheirpeers.integrating students into teaching not only enables tutors to monitor student trainers knowledge, but the tutors

11 Yangon Film School Annual Report themselveswerealsodelightedtolearnfromitspecialistandyfsgraduatemyominkhin, whohasagreedtosupportyfsasatechnicalconsultant. 6. ElectionofYFSCommittee,Management,School Regulations August 14, 2010 was an historic day for YFS since it marked the election into office of a seven member YFS Committee. Of 35 participants eligible for voting, 27 took part in the secretballot(somevoteswerereceivedvia )andthefollowingthreefemaleandfour maleyfsstudentsweredulyelected:laythida,hnineihlaing,ehmwee,kothiha, PeMaungSame,ZawWinHtweandNyiLinnSeck. No soonerdidthecommittee take up its work than members were asked to address a number of urgent management issuesincludingstaffing,responsibilitiesofindividualstaffmembersandequipmentloans. FromtheminutesofthefirsttwoCommitteemeetingsit was apparent that the process of learning good governance is a gradual one. Although much discussion tookplace,thereappearedtobeaninherentreluctance tocometoadecision.aspartoftheprocessofacquiring the skills of democracy in action, members have since begun to realize the need to find solutions and make decisionsinordertomoveonandallowyfstogrowand matureasanorganisation.atacommitteemeetingatthebeginningof2011,themembers came back to the set of Regulations that had been meticulously drafted in by the YFS Directorand studentsatthe endof2009anddecidedthatit shouldberatifiedbyallyfs students. AtthetimeofwritingtheYFSCommitteehasappointedthefollowingstaffattheYFShouse: one Project Director(EhMwee),oneLocal Accountant(NiMar),oneProject Assistant(HninEiHlaing),onePermit and House Manager(PeMaungSame),one Editing Equipment Manager(KhinKhinHsu).TheCameraandSoundEquipment Managerpositionisstillcurrentlyunderdiscussion. The Committee has also raised the sociological concern that, when the position of YFS Project DirectorisassumedbyaYFSfilmmaker,thismakesitdifficultforthepersonin question to a) manage their peers and b) make their own films as well as manage commissionedworks.toresolvethisdifficulty,thecommitteehasindependentlydecidedto outsourcethepositionofyfsprojectdirectorandiscurrentlyinterviewingcandidatesfrom thedevelopmentandmediasectors. 7. CompanyRegistration,Licences HavingbeenawayattendingacinematographycourseattheFAMUfilmschoolinPraguefor most of 2009, in 2010 the YFS member responsible for the company registration subsequentlytookupamastersdegreecourseatthesameschoolandsoitwasnotpossible tomakeanyprogressonthisapplicationduring2010.itishopedthatthisyfsmemberwill beabletopursuethisapplicationwhentheyreturntoyangoninjune2011. However,YFScontinuestorenewonanannualbasislicencesissuedbylocalauthoritiesfor filming,productionandediting.theselicencesenableyfstooperateinthemediasector.

12 Yangon Film School Annual Report II HowFilmsWork:AnIntroductiontoFilmAnalysis Atwo9weekworkshopheldbytheYangonFilmSchoolinMyanmar from14 26June2010 ReportbyYFSEditingTutorTuulaMehtonen 1. RationalefortheCourse Theideaofthecoursewasto give emergingfilmmakerstheabilitytodistinguishbetween differenteditingmethodsinfictionfilmandtounderstandhoweditingcanbeusedtobuild afilm sintensity.thecoursewasanintroductiontoobservingandanalysing,emotion,form, structure, dramaturgy and content. The main goal of the course was the development of individual,creativethinkingbasedonexperience. (i) Participants This analysis course was open to all YFS9students and initially the plan was to take in 6912 students. Later, 6 screenwriting studentsclamouredtobeadmittedtothecoursewhich meantthattherewere 18 students all together.althoughthe groupwasratherlarge thecontributionofthe screenwritingstudents was useful because they were clearly more used to leading discussions than the other students. The difference between the beginners and more advanced students was also quite marked, but it didn t disturb the overall high level of discussions. (ii) TeachingandWorkingMethods Thecoursewastaughtinaclassroomandcontainedamixtureoflectures,screenings,shot9 by9shot viewings, group work, discussions, preparation of assignments and, finally, independentpresentations. Thecoursewastaughtintwosix9dayweeksplusoneextraday.Duringthefirstthreedaysof thefirstweektheemphasiswasonlecturesandsamplefilms.thethreefilmstobeanalysed werescreenedattheendoftheweek;eachfilmwasscreenedtwiceduringthecourseof oneday.onehalfofthesecondweekwasdevotedtointensivegroupworkandtheother halftoeachgroup spresentations.

13 Yangon Film School Annual Report WeekOne:HowFilmsWork Thefirstthemeofthecoursewasemotion.Webeganbytakingalookatvariousprevalent theoriesaboutemotion.wealsotalkedabouthowemotionsareconnectedtoexpectations, aswellastointerruptionsanddelaysinfulfillingtheseexpectations,andhowthespectator canadopteitheratrusting9incorporativeorasuspicious9aversivemood.inourfirstexercise, overonehundredstillswereplacedonthetableandthe studentswereaskedtothinkof theirowneithercurrentorrecalledemotionsandexpressthoseemotionsbymeansofthe stillphotographs.thechosenimageswerethenanalysedanddiscussedinordertoexplore howfareachstudent sindividualemotionalreactioncouldalsoberegardedasuniversal. CarlosSaura sfilmcría%cuervos%(spain1978)editedby PabloG.DelAmowasthenscreenedandtheemotional response discussed. Overcoming the students natural reticence (imbued by their cultural practices) about discussing emotion proved arduous but ultimately successful.studentslearnedthereareno right answers andthattheirownfeelingsaretherighttoolsforfuture film9makers and film editors. In cross9cultural exercises they also learned to understand intentionality by watchingbodylanguage.notunexpectedly,thegirlsweremoreperspicaciousbutalsoshy aboutspeakinginfrontofthegroup.ithereforecalledoneveryonetospeak,whichmade thediscussionssomewhatmoreelongatedbutculturallyproductive. Thesecondthemeofthecoursewasdifferentlevelsofmeaning fromthebare9bone plotsummarytomoreabstractandgeneralmeaning. This entailedalectureonthe basic components of film language and another on how to help an audience identify with the charactersinafilm.cría%cuervos%wasscreenedasecondtimeandthedifferencebetween theplotandthethemeofthefilmwas% discussed,firstinsmallgroupsandthenalltogether intheclassroom.ialsocreatedatimelineofthefilminpreparationforexercisesinanalysis thatweretofollow. Two versions of Krzysztof Kieslowsky s film A% Short% Film% about% Love(Poland1989) editedbyewasmal,werescreenedasanexampleofhowitispossibletoeditdifferentfilms fromthesame material.thecinemaversionofa%short%film%about%loveis86minutes longandthetelevisionversionis58minutes.whencomparingthetwo,theparticipantssaw howafilm slengthcanallowthefilmmakertoexploreitscontentmoredeeply. Threemorefilmswerescreened.Eachfilmwasscreenedtwice,andeachtime,theabove9 mentioned approach to group work and discussions was used. These films were: In% the% Mood% for% Love% (Hong Kong 2000) directed by Wong Kar9Wai and edited by William Chung; The% Crash(USA 2004) directed by Paul Haggis and edited by Hughes Winborne; Mulholland% Drive(USA1999)directedbyDavidLynchandeditedbyMarySweeney. Between these screenings, I gave a talk about the different structural approaches used in thesefilms.ittranspiredthattheinitialtranslationsofthehandoutswerenotalwaysvery good and so I had them re9translated, with assistance from course participant Pe Maung Same and YFS translator Aung Ming Tun. For much of the film9specific vocabulary we decidedtosticktotheenglishtermsratherthantrytotranslatethemintoburmese;instead, Iexplainedthemeaningofeachtermindetailandthetranslatorputmyexplanationsinto Burmese. At this point in the course the students were divided into groups in order to prepare a summaryoftheirdiscussions.thereweresixgroupsaltogether;ineach groupthere

14 Yangon Film School Annual Report was one screenwriter. We were also careful to include one advanced and one less experiencedfilmstudentsandmaintainagoodgenderbalanceineachgroup.twogroups wereeachgiventhesamefilmtoanalyse;thefirstgroupwastoanalysethefirsthalfofthe film,andthesecondgroup,thesecondhalf.thedesiredresultwasachievedasbythistime, everybodyseemedverykeentotalk. 3. WeekTwo:ExercisesinFilmAnalysis Inthesecondweekthegroupsweregiventwodaystocreateamoredetailedanalysisof theirfilm.duringthisexercise,thegroupswereaskedtodescribethecontributionofeach scenetothewholefilmandtoevaluateeachscenein terms of the overall structure of the film. Groups wereaskedtocreateatimelineforthecharactersand themes, identify plot points and anything else of interestthatoccurredtotheminthe filmtheywere analysing.thegroupswerealsoaskedtochooseone scene and draw a floor plan of the scene on white board.inthisway,theylearnedaboutthevariousset9 ups, image sizes and camera angles and learned to analysethemeaningofeverycut. (i) FinalAssignment:Presentations Eachgroupwasgivenonedayfortheirpresentation.Inamovefromaddressingmeorthe translator, the participants learned how to address to whole audience and present their ideasandtimelinesanddefendtheirdecisions.translationfrommyanmarintoenglishand vice versa was lengthy and slow and, since there was plenty of discussion, this made our daysratherlongandexhausting (ii) Evaluation Bytheendofthecourse,alltheparticipantshadviewedeachfilmthreetimesandlookedat them from differing points of view. Firstly, films were viewed from anemotionalpointof view;afterthesecondscreeningweconcentratedonwhathappenedinthefilm,andasked ourselveswhatthethemewas,aswellasthepossiblemessage,andfinally,welistenedto thepresentationsbyeachofthesixgroups,duringwhichthefilmwasscrutinisedsceneby scene. Thecoursewasdemanding forthenormallynon9opinionatedburmesebutiamconfident that the participants learned how professional and careful analysis of films is essential in acquittingtheskillsinvolvedinfilmmakingandineditinginparticular. (iii) TheCulturalPerspective IwasverycurioustoseehowtheBurmesestudentswouldreacttotheselectedfilms.There were fewer cultural differences in the way the films were received than I had expected. Howevertherewasa significantdifferencebetweenthe moreadvanced studentsandthe beginners,especiallywhenitcametotheirabilitytofindthefilm stheme.thestudentsalso expressedtheiruneasinessinwatchingsexscenes.ihadtoexplainhowthesexscenesin these films are there not for their own sake but on account of their deeper emotional meaningwhichcanbedetectedonlybyexaminingone sowntruefeelingswhilewatching.

15 Yangon Film School Annual Report In a revealing exercise in cross9cultural reception, also screened a few scenes of an Hungarian film Angi% Vera,% directed by Pal Gabor because the opening of this film is a good example of how to build audience identification with the protagonist. When I screenedthesameexcerptinfinlandandaskedstudentstoimaginewhatwillhappento the protagonist later in the film all the Finnish film students were convinced that the protagonistwassincereandbelievedthingswouldendbadlyforherattheendofthe film. The Burmese students however immediately saw that the protagonist would surviveandthatshewouldbepreparedto sellhersoul forherowngood. 4. Recommendations Itisextremelyimportantforafilmmakertowatchmanyfilmsandanalysethemcarefully. ForthefutureIhavethreedifferentsuggestionsinordertoimproveparticipants skillsin editingandstructuralanalysis: 1. More advanced students such as Pe Maung Same, The Maw Naing and screenwriter Aung Minare,Ibelieve,inapositiontoleadthiskind of course for less experienced students. They nowknowthemethod.iwouldliketosuggest thatparticipants shouldselectafilmingroups oftwoorthreeandthentakeaweektoanalyse the film together. At the end of this period, eachgroupshouldpresenttheiranalysistothe others.thetimeframewouldbe:oneweekfor preparation, one and half days for each film screeningandpresentation. TuulaMehtonenandYFSStudentTheMawNaing 2. Iwouldalsoliketosuggestthatthisanalysiscoursecouldbecomearegularpartoffuture courses so that in addition to general analysis, a certain film from the classical or contemporarycanoncouldbeanalysedfromthepointofviewofcinematography, sound design,andeditingbyprofessionalsfromeachofthesefields. 3. Similaranalysiscoursescouldalsobeheldondocumentaryfilm,accompaniedbylectureson differenttypesofdocumentaryfilmmaking. II IntroductiontoEditingDocumentary Afour9weekworkshopheldbytheYangonFilmSchoolinYangon, Myanmar,from28June 24July2010 ReportbyYFSEditingtutorsTuulaMehtonenandJessicaEhlebracht 1. Aims The aim of the four9week Introduction to Editing Courseheldbythefilmeditors TuulaMehtonen(Finland)andJessicaEhlebracht(Germany)inYangon,Myanmarin summer 2010 was to give Yangon Film School students the opportunity to gain a basic understanding of the technical, organisational and storytelling aspects of digital documentaryfilmeditingaccordingtointernationalstandards.

16 Yangon Film School Annual Report Theory and technical lectures wereaccompaniedbypractical editing exercises to givethe participantsthechancetolook closely at key elements of documentary storytelling such as how to approach observationalmaterial,howto deal with filmed conversation andhowtheuseofvoice9over changes the meaning of images. YFSEditingTutorJessicaintroducingtheeditingcomponents 2. Participants AllYFSmembersinterestedinfilmeditingwereinvitedtotakepartintheIntroductionto Editing Course fromabsolutebeginnerstostudentswithsomepriororevenmore regular editing experience. Since YFS successfully introduced the TOT (training of trainers) idea in the 2009 workshops, our plan was to involve the technically more experiencedstudentsinthebeginners educationinordertotrytogetthebestresultoutof eachstudent.thecoreofparticipantscomprised18participants(eightwomenandtenmen) which we divided up into six working groups. Three YFS screenwriting students who had barelyengagedwithdocumentariesandcomputersbeforewerealsotakenonboardtogive themthechancetodelveintotheworldofdigitaldocumentaryfilmediting. 3. CourseStructure Sincetherewasahugedifferenceinthecourseparticipants priorknowledge,wedecidedto keepthescheduleflexibleandupdateitaccordingtothestudents progress.wewantedto be sure that they had enough time to understand the technical aspects and to think and reflect thoroughly on the content of the editing exercises. Material for all the editing exercises was taken from the documentary% Rice% % Towards%a%Better%Future,%an NGO productionfilmedbyyfsmembersin2009. Basically,theIntroductiontoEditingCourseconsistedof: classroom lectures on technical and organisational aspects i.e., following the natural workflow of the documentary editing process; basic editing rules; the documentaryeditingprocess;dramaticstructureandfilmeditinghistory hands9on exercises on preparatory steps i.e., setting up the editingsuite; creating a new Final Cut Pro project and capturing material and the editing processitself one9to9one tutoring of the students in the editing rooms during the editing process screenings and discussions of rushes and the edited exercises with the whole group screenings and analyses of documentaries edited by the tutors and other professionals.

17 Yangon Film School Annual Report WeekOne Webeganthecourseintheclassroom,teachingthecomponentsofthedigitaleditingsuite, thebasicsofapplemacintoshcomputersandtheeditingsoftware(finalcutpro)aswellas thepreparative stepsinthe editingprocess,such aslogging,capturingandorganizingthe filmed footage. All available editing laptops were brought into the classroom to help the students practice directly what they had been show. The course participants were then asked to move into their individual editing rooms,torepeatforthemselvesthe steps that had been taught and to prepare their material for the first editing exercise. The idea of pairing absolute beginners with the more advanced students really paid off alltheteamswereabletohelpeach otherwithoutmuchrecoursetothe tutors. Participantspracticingintheclassroom Thematerialused forthe first editing exercisewasthirtyminutes of observational materialfromayfs9producedfilmrice:%towards%a%better%futureintroducingtwodifferent ploughing methods: one with buffalos and one using tractors. After watching the rushes togetheronthebigscreenthestudentswerefreetoassemblethematerialineitheraone ortwo9minutesequenceoratwo9minuteshortfilm. InviewoftheworldsoccerchampionshiptakingplaceinSouthAfrica,thedocumentaryThe% Final% Kick% (edited byguido Krajewski)% was screened during this week. It showedhow the magic of editing can blend the expectations and emotions of football supporters from all overtheworldintooneexitinganddramaticadventure % % At%first,%I%thought:%if%the%editor%has%a%script%and%the%materials%then%all%% they%have%to%do%is%put%them%together.%i%now%realise%what%a%key%role%the%% editor%plays% SuSan(picturedright),participant,YFSEditingWorkshops2010 % 5. WeekTwo The studentsworkedontheirfirst editingexerciseandwecirculatedaround eachgroups editing room twice a day, viewing the cuts and giving feedback on content and technical inputaccordingtothestudents owngoals,andchartingtheirprogress. Inthemiddleoftheweekweallmetupintheclassroomtoscreenanddiscusstheoutcome ofthisexercise.therewasanatmosphereintheclassroomofcommittedandconstructive work and the participants were really astonished by the different interpretations that the editingofonepieceofmaterialcanoffer.

18 Yangon Film School Annual Report The second editing exercise was designed to help the students learn how to edit interviews. They received 15 minutes of images in which a rice farmer worships the field spiritsandachoice ofthreeconversationsinwhichtheprotagonisthimselftalks:1)about the tradition of worship, 2) about hisfamilylifeand3)abouthisexperienceofcyclone Nargis.Thestudentswereaskedtochooseoneoftheinterviews,edititanduseitasvoice9 overoroncameraforthesceneofworshipping. By way of showing one approach to filmed conversation, Jessicaintroducedherworking method and showed the students how to do a paper edit using a transcript of the interviewandtuulagavealectureonthebasicrulesofediting. ThedocumentaryThe%Cutting%Edge% %The%Magic%of%Movie%Editing%(directedbyWendyApple) wasscreenedtobroadenthestudents mindsastotheendlesspossibilitiesopentothefilm editor and the editor s power, and as well to introduce the students to the historical backgroundoffilmediting. 6. WeekThree WeekThreebeganwiththecourseparticipantsworkingontheirsecondeditingexercisein theirroomsanduscirculating,watchinganddiscussingtheircutsandindividualapproaches. A lecture on how to overlay the edited interview onto a cut sequence was given and the methodofcreatingsubtitleswastaught. Jessica screened parts of the film Rivers% and% Tides% (directed and edited by Thomas Reidelsheimer)togiveanexampleoftheuseofvoice9overandinterviewinadocumentary film. The screening of the second exercises in the middleoftheweekopenedupavaluable discussion as to how the editor can carve the best out of filmed material or destroy its powerbyneglectingits realpotential.thelattercasewas well revealed when oneofthe screenwriting studentsworkedthewholenightthroughtofinishhissequence,butinstead ofreallytryingtoseethefootagehewasgivenandderivingtheeditingstructurefromit,he imposed his own theoretical interpretation on it and made an enormous number of cuts whichintheendnobodyunderstood. The third and final editing exercisewasintroducedbyalessonfromtuulaabout dramaticstructureindocumentaryfilmediting,ascreeningofthefilma%portrait%of%a%man% (edited by Tuula herself)% and a talk about her editing process and co9operation with the director. For this exercise we decided to provide 45 minutes of footage about the process of rice transplantationforthebeginnereditorsandaskedthemtocutonetwo9minutepiecefrom it.wegavetheadvancedstudents3.5hoursoffootageofseveralscenesfromthericefilm (about a spirit festival, rice growing and rain) for a free associative 597minutesequence. Musicwasallowedtobeusedinthisexercise. As in the previous exercises, all of the rushes were screened to the whole groupinthe classroomandthistimethestudentsfoundouthowtiringitcanbetowatchanapparently endlessamountofrushes.thenthestudentswenttoworkontheirfinalexercise. 7. WeekFour WeekFourwasallaboutfinishingthefinalexercise.Thestudentsworkeddayandnightin theeditingroomstofinishtheirgiventasksuccessfullyandwewereconstantlypresentto supportthem.

19 Yangon Film School Annual Report A lecture on sound issues in editing was given by Jessica and while she was talking about fading audio, one of the students faded himself out due to exhaustion and amused the classwithhissnores. The final two workshop days were reserved for the screening and discussion of the final exercisesandonthesetwodaysitbecameclearthatthiselementinthecoursewasoneof themostimportantasitarousedendlesstopicsfordiscussion. The smallerexercise,inwhichyoung girlsweretransplantingriceinheavy rainwhilemen were standing by, evoked a major, heated discussion on gender in the class. The bigger exerciseinturnstirredupadiscussionaboutbuddhistpractice:buddhistbeliefscompared withspiritworship.weallfinallyagreedthattheeditingofafilmisgoodwhenpeoplebegin totalkaboutthequestionsitraisesandforgettodiscussthefilmitself. During the course we were quite worried about one particular student who had already edited a hundred Burmese films and who had really absorbed a formulaic and rather unthinking method of editing as a result. However, with the third exercise, something happenedtohimandhesurpriseduswithtwoverydifferentandexcellentsequences.his firstonewasapoliticalmetaphorofwhathappenedduringtheuprisinginmyanmarin1988 andwiththesecondhesucceededincreatingabeautifulpoemofricefieldsandrain.bythe endofthecourse,thankstohim,allthestudentssawareallygoodexampleofthemagicof editing. 8. Results Beingabletofocussolelyonthetopicoffilmeditingforfourweekswasthegreatadvantage of this Introduction to Editing Course. Documentary film editing and digital documentary film editing in particular is a broad field with many different aspects to understandandlearn.duringthiscoursetherewasanatmosphereoflivelyconcentrationall the time. The students appreciated the value of taking a profound look at all the aspects: technicalissues,thecontentoffilm editingandinterpersonalquestionsregardingthejob. Moreadvancedstudentsassistedthebeginnersasamatterof coursewhilethebeginners didnothesitatetoaskforhelpifneeded. TheIntroductiontoEditingCoursehelpedthosestudentswhohadsomeexperience of editing to study and deepen their knowledge while the beginners were able to gain an initial impression of the complexity of the work of a documentaryfilmeditor. We are sure that some of the course participants now feel motivated to continue as editors; for example, Snow, Khin Khin Hsu, May Htoo Cho should have the chance to edit asmuchaspossibleandreceive thehelpandfeedback oftheyfstutors. TuulatutoringKhinKhinHsu

20 Yangon Film School Annual Report Others who worked hard and made huge leaps during the course included Zaw Win Htwe andthemawnaing.thesetwocouldattendasimilarkindofworkshopfocussingonusing personaloressayisticvoice9overwithimagesinaneffectiveandexpressiveway. They would also benefit from structural analysis of a selection of documentary films. A combination of analysis and prepared lectures, together with somewhat broader tutored exercisesanddiscussionswouldstrengthentheirskillsaseditors. The beginner students have now gained a glimpse of film editing, and who are obviously interestedinlearningmorearekhinmyomyat,susan,lwinkokooo,sannmawaung.we could offer another basic editing course where they could have the chance to do more editingthemselves. III TheArtofStorytelling AdvancedEditingCourse A four9week YFS workshop held in Yangon, Myanmar from 2 28 August2010 ReportbyYFSEditingTutorJessicaEhlebracht,Berlin, Aims Theaimofthe49weekTheArtofStorytelling AdvancedEditingCourseheldin Yangon, Myanmar in August 2010 was to give six Yangon Film School students the opportunity to develop their own projects in the editing room with guidance from the editing tutors Melanie Sandford(Australia), Stewart Young(Australia) and Jessica Ehlebracht(Germany).YFSfilmmakershadthechoicetoeitheredittheirprojects themselvesortoaskanotheryfsmembertoactasaneditorforthem. Thefocuswasnot on finishingthe editingduringthecourse,buttousethetimegivento exploreandexperimentwiththerawmaterial,totrytoworkasindependentlyaspossible andtofindthebestwaytotellthefilm sstoryinaninterestingandengagingway.students wereabletoworkoneitheradocumentaryora truefiction (docufiction)piece. 2. ParticipantsandProjects We were pleasantly surprised to learn how many YFS studentshadfilmedmaterialduring ourabsenceandwerewillingtotake partinthe Advanced Editing Course. Wedecidedto takeonboardasmanystudentsaspossibleandasksomeofthosewithsmallerprojectsto shareaneditingroomandworkinshifts.a coupleofstudentsevenbroughttheirown computer to be able to edit as much as possible during our presence in Yangon. Thosewhohadonlyjustlearnedthebasics of editing during the Introduction to Editing Courseonemonthpreviously were also keen to keep on learning and some of them grasped the opportunity to actasassistanteditoronaprojectoreven editaprojectthemselves. MayHtooChoworkingwithaShantranslatoronher versionof UnreportedStory

21 Yangon Film School Annual Report In the end we had ten different projects tobecutduringthecourse(oneofthemtobe edited twice by two different YFS students) and 17 students (nine women and eight men) taking part as editors, directors, editor9directors or assistant editors. All projects were documentaries. 3. CourseStructure The students were asked to capture and preparetheirfilmedmaterialinthespare week before the Advanced Editing Coursesoastobeabletokeepasmuch time of the course as possible for the editingprocessitself. Each of us editing tutors wasgiven three or four projects to mentor and we individually made appointments and schedules with our students according to theirprocessandtheirneedsintheediting room. EhMweeworkingonherpapereditof UnreportedStory OneprojectwasacommissionfortheBurmesebroadcasterMRTVinternational(The%Game abouttraditionalmyanmarboxing)andhadadeadlinetobefinishedduringthecourse. TheAdvancedEditingWorkshopProjects Thursday s Child anobservationaldocumentaryabouta Myanmar migrant workers family. Directed by Tay Zar Win Tun, edited by Khin Khin Hsu. Editing Mentor: Melanie Sandford. TheRiver(WT) apoeticdocumentaryaboutmyanmar slargestriver.directedbytayzar Win Tun, edited by Pe Maung Same. AssistantEditor:SuSan.EditingMentor:Stewart Young. TheGame aglimpseintotheworldoftraditionalmyanmarboxing.directedbyokkar, editedbyzawwinhtwe.assistanteditor:sannmawaung.editingmentor:stewartyoung. YoungGay(WT) afilmonthetopicofayounggay scomingout.directedandeditedby HninEiHlaing.AssistantEditor:KhinMyoMyat.EditingMentor:JessicaEhlebracht. Family abrieflookatthelifeofanextremelypoorbutfun9lovingfamily.directedbyshin DaeweandeditedbyMyaDarliAung.EditingMentor:MelanieSandford. Clinic adocumentaryonchallengesfacingamyanmardoctoronadailybasis.directedby DrAungMyint,editedbyTheMawNaing.EditingMentor:StewartYoung. TheHoliday(WT) apieceobservingvisitorstotheanandapagodafestivalinbaganin UpperMyanmar.DirectedandeditedbyShinDaewe.EditingMentor:MelanieSandford. Unreported Story adocumentaryaboutayoungshanwomanwhotellsusthe unbelievably painful story of her life. DirectedbyLayThida,editedbyEhMwee(Version one)andmayhtoocho(versiontwo).editingmentor:jessicaehlebracht.

22 Yangon Film School Annual Report Retrospection(WT) afilminwhichthedirector sfatherlooksbackonhisglamorouslife asawell9knownmyanmarscreenactorbutalsothesadstoryofhisfailedmarriage.directed andeditedbyaungnwaihtway.editingmentor:stewartyoung. 4. WeekOne Togetalltheprojectsandstudentsgoingatthesametimewasabigchallengeforustutors atthebeginningoftheadvanced EditingCourse.Westarted off withaintroductory meeting in the classroom to get to know each other s projects and the students expectations.weaimedtofolloweveryone sprocessthroughoutthecourseandtogather everyonetogetheragainforroughcutscreeningsanddiscussionsandtogleanhowfruitful their encounters had been during the Introduction to Editing Course. We then put participantsintolittlegroups(eachtutorwithhis/herstudents)toclarifytheprojects status andtodeviseascheduleofworkforthefirstfewdaysoftheworkshop. Thosestudentswhodidnothavethetimetopreparetheirrushesinthespareweekpriorto theadvancededitingcoursebegantologandcapturetheirfootageintothecomputers andtotranscribetheirfilmedconversationswhichwerethentranslatedbyaninterpreter. Thosewhohadalreadyfinishedtheirpreparatorystepssatdownwiththeirtutors,watched rushes,discussedthemandconsideredhowbesttostarttheeditingprocess. Role allocation and responsibilities were among the initial topics in those editing rooms wherestudentshaddecidedtoworktogetherasdirector,editorandassistanteditor. AstudentwhohadwontheYFSPitchingCompetitionattheendof2009withhisideafora documentary about his own family history, Aung Nwai Htway, and who, due to his employmentinalocalngo,hadnotfoundthetimeforfilmingbefore,decidedtousethe periodoftheworkshoptoshoothisfilmandstewart,ashismentor,satdownwithhimto developafilmingschedule. 5. WeekTwo Timefordramaticstructureandpapereditsinseveraleditingrooms.Studentswereasked tothinkabouttheemotionalandargumentativegoaloftheirfilmsbeforestartingtomap outtheirdocumentariesusingpaper,pens,scissorsandtape.allavailablespaceintheedit suitesattheworkshop svenuewasusedtoworkonthepuzzle. Interesting cultural discussions were raised between us tutors and the students whilelookingattopicssuchaseducationor homosexualityinmyanmar.somestudents were asked to do pick ups or to organise photographs for the gaps in their story. One student, The Maw Naing, struggled with his responsibility as an editor to discuss the material s limitations with the responsible cinematographer andaskhim toreshoottoobtainmoresuitablerushes. TheMawNaingtriesnottogetdesperatewhile workingon TheClinic

23 Yangon Film School Annual Report WeekThree Students started to turn their paper edits into a first cut in their computers. We tutors touredtheeditingroomsinordertoprovidethemwithallmannerofsupportandadvice.all technical, structural and content questions were raised and answered individually. May Htoo ChoandEhMwee thetwo editorsofthetouchingfilm UnreportedStory faced theadditionalchallenge ofworkingwithashantranslatorinordertobeabletocuttheir film sconversationandputitintotheordertheywanted. 7. WeekFour Timeflies aseveryonerealisedduringthefinalweekofthecourseandstudentsputona spurt in order to try to finish rough cuts of their films. The project for MRTV which was edited under pressure was screened to the group for final comments. Whilst everyone agreed that both the director and the editor had worked extremely hard in getting the editingdoneduringthecourse,manyfeltthatmoretimefortheeditingprocesswouldhave beenmuchbettertoenabletheeditortoplayaroundmorewiththevariousstoryelements andreallytrytogetthebestoutofthefilm. Those students who had managed to make it to fine cut were given an introduction to colourgrading.theyalsofoundouthowtopreparetheirfinalcutforthesoundmixaswell asotherpostproductionsteps. 8. Challenges Given the slow pace of life and decision9making in Myanmar, the pace at which students workedwasmuchslowerthanwehadexpected.althoughwedidnotaskstudentstofinish theireditingduringthecourse,itseemedtotakesomeofthemalongtimetoachieveeven abasicassemblythat,intheend,therewassadlynotimeleftforthemoreenjoyablepartof theedit,inwhichthereisnormallyroomforexperimentation. Many students had other commitments alongside the workshop (someattendedabritish Council English course; others had day jobs) so their energy and concentration for the editingprocesswasnotalwaysoptimal.neverthelesssomestudentssurpriseduswiththeir doggedpersistence likekhinmyomyatwhoworkedina hospitalasanurseduringthe day,butwasdeterminedtocontinueassistinghnineihlaingwithherproject(aboutayoung gayman)everynight. Wealsofacedquitealotoftechnicaldifficultiesbecauseoureditingequipment someof which is over five years old seemstohavegotabitlonginthetooth.thisproblemof ageing equipmentwastotry our patience increasingly during the subsequent Advanced EditingCourse. 9. Results Onapositivenote,wenoticedthatthosestudentswhohadtakenpartintheIntroduction toeditingcoursethathadtakenplacepriortothisworkshophadarealadvantageover those who had missed it. In future we believe that participation in a basic editing course shouldbecompulsoryforallstudentswishingtoworkaseditors. Oneconclusionthatparticipantsofthe Advanced Editing Coursemighthavebeenable

24 Yangon Film School Annual Report todrawisthatadocumentarythatworksreallywellcannotbeeditedovernight youreally needtohaveideas,bedecisiveandbringcreativitywithyouinordertobesuccessful. InthissensetheAdvancedEditingCoursewasarealtouchstoneforallparticipantsto findoutwhethertheroleofthefilmeditorreallysuitsthem. 10. CommentsfromEditingMentorMelanieSandford Editingisthemostcomplexoffilmmakingskills;theonlywaytoreallymastertheartisby doing, doing and doing some more. It involves highly complex technical and storytelling skills; it also involves the use of the editor s emotional responses, analytical intelligence, attentiontodetailandobservationalqualitiesaswellasagoodunderstandingoftheuseof soundandmusic.thesethingscanonlybeacquiredfromexperience. By the end of the workshop, Darlihadmasteredthetechnicalside;Shin Daewehad completedafirsteditofherfilm,andwantedtoaskamusiciantocomposesomemusicfor it. Khin Khin Hsu discovered that she is a natural editor who needs very little input from her mentor. She and everyone else were extremely happy with the filmshefoundinthematerialtay Zarhadgivenhertoedit.TayZar learnt valuable lessons about coverage and editing; he is a versatile cameraperson and directorandhasthemakingsofa goodeditor,but,likemost;needs practice. Melanie,ShinDaeweandMyaDarliAungwatchingrushesfrom thefilm Family 11. CommentsfromEditingMentorStewartYoung I was involved in four projects during the Advanced Editingcourse:The River; The Clinic,TheGameandRetrospection(WT)afilmbyKoNwaiabouthisfather,forwhich Ihelpedsetuptheshootand edit.directedandshotbytayzarand editedbype Maung Same,TheRiverhassomebeautifulcinematographyinitandsomeverygoodstoryideas sothatbutihavetosaythatconstructionofthestoryintheeditingroomstillprovestobea majorweakness.alotofeditingskillsareacquiredbywatchingfilms;ialsothinkadeeper understanding of the film storytelling process and how to shape a film s flow would be a great help. Technically, both filmmakers have mastereddocumentary cameraand sound, but they both need to spend more time working with the images and working together effectivelyasdirectorandeditortofindaproject sform. TheClinicdirectedbyDrAungMindescribesadayinhislifeandcertainlyshowsthestate of medical care in Myanmar today. This film suffered from an inexperienced camera operator(afriendofdraungmin s)andsoeditorthemawnaingandiwentthroughthe rushesand explainedtheproblemsandthe range ofchoiceswhichthematerialgenerated and how some scenes would and some would not cut together. There was a re9shoot of some of the material and the difference was astonishing. The Maw Naing managed to get

25 Yangon Film School Annual Report thebestoutofsomeinitiallyveryroughmaterial;hiseditingskillsaresharpandhehasa keeneyefordetail. ThefilmRetrospection(WT)byKoNwaiwasoneoflastyear spitchwinners.afull9time editoratanngo,konwaidevotedhisentireannualleavetothefilmingandeditingofthis filmabouthisfather.emotionallytheconversationwithkonwai sfather(filmedbykonwai adifficultthingforanyonetoachieve)wasverygoodbutthecameraworkwas unimaginative and required a re9shoot. However, with two solid conversations and some clever editing it should make an interesting film. Ko Nwai s editing techniques have improvedsincehefirstjoinedtheschoolin2006(backthenhehadatendencytoover9cut; his pacing was also far too fast and did not allow the material to breathe). Editing was commencingasileftandiamsurekonwaiwillmakeaninterestingandthoughtfulfilm. Theboxing filmthe GamedirectedbyOkkarandeditedbyZawWinHtwewasajoyto mentor despiteatwo9weekdeadline.theywereagoodteamandtheamountofwork that went into this project in the limited time was admirable. The editor could see the director s vision of the story and it had good energy and rhythm. The rough cut that emergedwasabout35minuteslongandifeltwasclosetoitsfinalstructure. V TheCreativeProducer:FilmProduction Yangon Film School Workshop held in Yangon, Myanmar from 11922October2010,ledbyJoukoAaltonen ReportbyYFSProductionTutorJoukoAaltonen 1. Aims Theaimofthe filmproductionworkshopthecreative Producerwasto introducethe students to the world of commercial production so that they are equipped for all eventualities in their careers. The course sought to provide a general overview of how professional film production is organised in Europe and other parts of the world and to explaintheroleplayedbytheproduceraspracticalandcreative figureinthefilmmaking process.atthesametime,thepracticalgoalwastohelpstudentspreparetheirown True Fictions docufictionprojectsscheduledfornovember MethodologyandStructure Thebasicstrategyofthiscoursewastofollowthelogicoftheproductionprocess,starting from script analysis and breakdown, moving on to budgeting, financing, scheduling and

26 Yangon Film School Annual Report organisingtheproduction,pinpointingtheproducer sresponsibilitiesduringtheshootand postproduction,aswellasmarketing,distributionandclearanceofrightsfortheproject.a particularemphasiswasplacedonagreements,co9productionsandcopyrightissues.oneof the central aims of the course was to convey the nature of film production as a uniquely creativeandcumulativeprocess,oneinwhichaproducerplaysacentralroleasthedriving forceandmotor,adedicated,oftencharismaticfigurewhohastheabilitytoinspireateam toworktogetherasawhole. During the course different examples of international industry practice were provided. Copiousdocumentation(budgetforms,releaseforms,callsheets)wasalsoprovidedsothat studentswillbeabletothisnotonlyduringthe TrueFictions shootthatfollowedbutalso continue to use this as they integrate international standards into their own filmmaking practice. Homework included script analysis, script breakdowns, storyboarding, budgeting andproductionscheduling. There were four components to this workshop, which was taught in twelve four9hour sessions: Lessonsduringwhichinformationand harddata wasconveyed Screeningsoffilmsandanalysesoftheirproductionprocessesascasestudies Homeworkforproducersworkingon TrueFictions projects Discussions 3. Content DayOne:Opening,introduction,courseschedule,whatisaproducer?Thescriptasthe basisforplanning.homework:scriptanalysis&synopsisofthescripts Day Two: The film production process: development, funding, production and post9 production.breakdownofascreenplay. DayThree:Budgeting,differentbudget forms(europe, USA,YFS)Homework:Budgetsof TrueFictions projects DayFour:Financing,productionproposals.Homework:Financingplanfor TrueFictions projects DayFive:Internationalfinancing,co9productions,presales,financingforums. DaySix:ProductionPreparingtoshoot,locationscouting,therecce.Therolesofthecrew, casting,testshootings. Day Seven: Cinema distribution. The artistic elements of the producer s task. The storyboard. DayEight:Contracts,ownershipandcopyright.Consentforms,productionmeetings. Homework:both TrueFiction crewshadproductionmeetings. Day Nine: Copyright, rights formusic,photosandarchivefootage.organisationatthe location. Homework: one call sheet as anexample. Day Ten: Marketing, distribution, PR tools. Homework: distribution & marketingplan. Day Eleven: Film festivals and alternativedistributionmethods. Day Twelve: Breakdown of the storyboards. Following up, reporting, rightsclearanceofaproject.therun9up totheshoot.

27 Yangon Film School Annual Report Results Successfultransferofseminalknowledgeaboutfilmhistory,criticalanalysisandfilm productiontoyfsstudents Studentsdevelopedconfidenceindiscussingandmanagingfilmproductions Participants will be able to diversify and professionalise their film output in the future Studentswereabletoimplementtheirnew9found skillsasproducersanddirectors duringtheproductionoftwoshort TrueFictions projectsinnovember/december EvaluationandRecommendations On the whole I think the course worked well. Unfortunately, the timing of the course was not optimum and several of the students found that, due to an unexpected conflict of commitments,theywerenotabletotakepartintheworkshopeveryday.thisaffectedthe continuityofhomeworkassignmentsandmeantthatsomeofthestudentsdidnotbenefit from the feedback they needed in order to prepare for the True Fictions workshop that followedinnovember.nonetheless,giventhefactthatthestudentsareconstantlyworking witheachotheronawide rangeofprojects,iamconfidentthat,overtime,the students whowereinattendanceonaregularbasiswillbeabletodisseminatetotheirpeersinthe YFSgrouptheknowledgeandpracticalinformationtheyobtainedduringthecourse. I%was%impressed%by%the%practical%and%organisational%aspects%of%the%workshop.%Although%the% students %level%of%english%meant%that%teaching%had%to%be%done%via%interpreter,%i%was%surprised% at%how%well%this%worked% %not%least%on%account%of%the%excellent%interpreters%employed%by% YFS.%Teaching%at%Yangon%Film%School%was%a%fascinating%and%most%enjoyable%experience%and%I% am%delighted%to%have%been%given%this%opportunity%to%make%a%contribution.%%% YFSFilmProductionTutorJoukoAaltonen FrancesCalvert(toprowleft)andJoukoAaltonen(secondrow,farright)withtheirstudents AungMyinTun,theschool schiefinterpreterispicturedtoprowright.

28 Yangon Film School Annual Report VI OtherWaysofSeeingII:FilmHistoryandFilmLanguage AYangonFilmSchoolWorkshopheldinMyanmarfrom 11922October2010,ledbyFrancesCalvert ReportbyYFSFilmHistoryTutorFrancesCalvert 1. Aims 1. BuildingonaFilmHistorycourseof2009,the2010coursesoughttomakestudents moreawareoffilmart,more sensitivetoitsnuances,textures,rhythmsandmore perceptivein reading itmultilayeredblendofimage,sound,colourandmotion. 2. A second aim wasto build students awareness of the factors involved in making theirownfilmsforthe TrueFictions course. 2. Methodology Ablendoftheory(writtenhandouts)andvisualmaterial(filmclipsandstills)wasused.The coursecoveredcinematography, mise9en9scène, composition, movement, texture, editing, soundandmusic.furtherideaswereexplored:creatingdrama,evenindocumentary;point of view, auteur documentaries; manipulated documentaries as well as what is a True Fiction film? 3. Content 1. HanaMakhmalbaf s TrueFiction 9styleBuddha%collapsed%Out%of%Shameproveda richsourceofmaterialforthestudyoftruefictions inthefollowingareas: Castinganddirectingnon9professionalprotagonistsandespeciallychildren Workinginaforeignlanguage(especiallyusefulforthosepreparingtofilminChin language) Sensingthe relationshipoftrustandfriendshipbetweenthe filmmakerand pro9 tagonists SpeculatingonproductionfactorsaffectingaTrueFictionshoot9weather,conti9 nuity,scheduling,etc. ClosecriticalanalysisofthethemeandideologicalelementsinHanaMakhmalbaf s Buddha%collapsed%Out%of%Shame,provedfruitful. 2. This film was contrasted over several days with Phil Grabsky s long9 term observational documentary The% Boy% Who% Plays% in% the% Buddhas% of% Bamiyan. The students showed great sensitivity to the manipulations in that film. YFSFilmHistorytutorFrancesCalvert

29 Yangon Film School Annual Report Auteur documentarieswerescreenedforstudentstoextracttheirauthorial PointofView,e.g.,WernerHerzog sfata%morgana,flaherty snanook% of%the% Northand Man%of%Aran 4. Lecturesweregivenonmotifs,symbols,metaphors,allusions,emblems, allegory,iconographyandcodesinfilm.culturaldifferencesinperceptionbyeastern and Western viewers were illustrated and discussed, e.g., how everyday objects become imbued with meaning specific to the film. Film examples included clips from Zinnemann s High% Noon, Eisenstein s October, Kurosawa s Seven% Samurai, Bergman s Seventh% Seal, Murnau stabu,mayaderen smeshes%in%the%afternoon. 5. Atthestudents request,adaywasdevotedtostudyingdramaindocumentary. Examples included excerpts from Maysles Brothers Grey% Gardens, Malle s God s% Country, Rosselini sladri%di%bicicletta. 6. Documentaries about art andartistswereparticularlypopularasthe studentsoften filmartistic fellowartists: singersandmusicians,puppetshows,dance,and balletictypesofsportaswellastheworkofngossuchasthemusicschoolgitameit.film clips of art documentaries included Greenaway s CageandMonk(abouttheavant9garde composerjohncageandtheperformativesingermeredithmonk). 7. Students sensitivitytosoundandmusicinfilmwashonedbymeansofclose scrutiny of the classical soundtrack in Disney s Fantasia andfischinger sdrawingsforthe BachToccataandFuguesequence,alsoProkofiev sroleineisenstein sbattleship%potemkin, Ivan%the%TerribleandAlexander% Nevsky; the documentary 4, about Vivaldi s Four Seasons arrangedandperformedinfourdifferentcountries,andthenewagemusicofbaraka.the importanceofhearingoriginaldialogueswiththeirownintentionandcolourwasstressed. Scenes were studied for how an effective sound design can trigger a response in one s imaginationfargreaterthananyvisualimage. 8. Theimportanceofframing and composition and how placement of objects in the frame andproxemicspaceacquiresomuch meaning was explored. Examples includedclipsfromhommage%à%noir,% The% End% of% August% at% the% Ozone% Hotel, Peckinpah s Straw% Dogs, Polanski s Macbeth, Hitchcock s Psycho, Lifeboat% and Rear% Window; Life%of%OYHaru(confinedspace);The%Lady%in%the%Lake(forthetotallysubjectivePOV);Baraka asanexampleofessentialisingpeopleandlandscapes. 9. Editing was studied using excerpts from Eisenstein s Ivan% the% Terrible; in surrealistic films such as Bunuel s Un% chien% andalou and Maya Deren s Meshes% in% the% Afternoon.Hitchcock seditingwasscrutinisedincludinghisownelaborationofthekuleshov Effect,whereheuseshimselfasanexample 10. The essay documentarywithanintellectualthemeprovedsomewhatobscure tothestudentsatfirstbutafterwatchingextractsfromerrolmorris Fast,%Cheap%and%Out%of% ControlandThe%Thin%Blue%Linetheygraspedtheauthor sintentions.otherbriefexamples wereshownfromherzog sfata%morganaandnickbroomfield sthe%leader,%his%driver%and%

30 Yangon Film School Annual Report the%driver s%wife.thesefilmsalsoprovedfertilegroundfordiscussionsofinterviewstyles, howtoapproachevenodiousinterviewees,howtomaintainironyinquestioning,theself9 reflexivefilm9makerwonderingabouttheimpactofwhathe/sheissayinganddoing. 11. Third World cinemawascoveredinalectureaboutpov,ethnocentrism, multiple interpretations according to cultural standpoints (e.g., Milani s Legend% of% a% Sigh) andfilminglegendsforentertainmente.g.,diabolo,a Gollywood filmfromghana. 12. True Fictions: to help raise students awareness of the difficulties of filming a scriptwithnon9professionalactors,examplesofsuchfilmswerescreenedincluding themakhmalbaffamily sfilms.toacquaintstudentswiththeteamrolesonafilmset,the firstactoftomdicillo sliving%in%oblivionwasreadasascreenplayandthenviewed.three scenes from Jonze s Adaptationhighlightedtheagoniesand ecstasiesofthescreenwriter with writer s block; whether to follow a screenwriting guru (debating rules versus guidelines )whenwritingfeaturefilmscripts.theagoniesofcastingwereencapsulatedin thecastingscenefromguns%upon%the%clackamas. 13. TrueFictions:theproblemsofwriting,financing,shootingdocumentariesandTrue Fictionsaroseateverylecturesessionbutonthelastdaythestudents attentionwasdrawn specificallytoalternativetypesofproduction.thiswasdesignedtocomplementtheparallel coursebeingtaughtoncreativeproduction.takingthecreditsofthe%boy%who%plays%in%the% Buddhas% of% BamiyanandThe% Age% of% Stupidasexamples,studentslearnedaboutInternet sites for eliciting direct donations, government and NGOfunding,corporateand private donors; raising funds amongst a country s diaspora, charitable and philanthropic organisations;tax9deductibledonations,etc. 14. The two9week, 129day course finished with a recap of the main topics (handout) and remarks directed at students personal interest in filmmaking. A call for feedbackrevealedthatthe filmclipswereespeciallywelcomeastheyintroduced students toakindof canon ofpreviouslyunknownfilmclassics. The second element in the feedback was an intense interest in Iranian filmandi wouldrecommendfurtherclosestudyofmoreiranianfilmsfortheirwonderfullyelliptical story9tellingthroughobjects,poems,looks,smilesandmetaphoricaldialogues.theiranian LawofCommitments (censorship,taboosonhowtofilmwomenandcouples,emphasison children s stories so as to circumvent taboo adult subjects) sparked a response in our students.i speculatethatthetalentedburmesefilmmakersoftomorrowwill findwaysof tellingtheirpoignantstorieswiththesameclevernessastheiriraniancounterparts. 3. ResultsandRecommendations Thestudents Englishis generallypoorand could dowithimprovement. Thetranslatoris excellentandisnowwellversedinfilmlanguagehimselfandcanexplainunclearconcepts tothe studentsonhisown.reading scriptsandthestoriesornovelsonwhich scriptsare basedwouldbehelpful.articlesaboutfilmstyleandfilminterpretationarealsoverygood.i depositedthreearticlesoniraniancinemaintheyangonfilmschoollibrary,oneofthebest ofitskindinthecountry.

31 Yangon Film School Annual Report VIITheTrueFictionsIIWorkshop Yangon,Myanmar,September December2010 ReportbyYFSDirectingandScreenwritingTutorRachelMathews 1. Overview The True Fictions II Workshop ran in Yangon from September to December 2010 and resulted in two short fiction films with a documentary sensibility i.e. using non9actors in actuallocations.bothfilmswereshotfromscriptsdevelopedduringthe2009screenwriting Workshop,onebyexperiencedolderwriterDrAungMin,onebyyoungChinwriter,Anna Biak Tha Mawi. Both stories were written from personal experience and are based on real9lifeeventsinmyanmar. The first two months of the workshop involved the students workingindependentlyto develop the scripts, scout locations, cast the films and prepare production schedules and budgets. During this time they were supported by The Creative Producer Workshop run by producer Jouko AaltonenandtheOther Ways of Seeing II film history workshoprunbyfilmhistorianfrancescalvertinoctoberinyangon.productiontutor HelkeMadryoversawtheentireperiodofdevelopment,pre9production,productionand post9productionandwasavaluablepointofcontinuityforboththestudentsandherfellow tutorsduringtheworkshopperiod. BungkuswaswrittentobeshotinAnna'snative Chin homeland. Whilst efforts were made to accomplish this within the workshop e.g.by making arrangements for a tutor9mentorto travel withthecrewtochinstatetooverseetheshoot this ultimately proved impossible. Foreigners are notallowedintheregionwherethescriptwasset anditwouldhavebeendifficultfortutorstowatch andgivefeedbackontherushesduringtheshoot. Hence, Anna substantially rewrote her script, setting it amongst the Chin community in Yangon.DrAung'sscript,'HasTheWaterRisen?',wassetinthedeltaregionaboutanhour andahalf'sdrivefromyangon.hence students wereable totravelbackandforthtothis locationduringpre9production. Thefinal10daysofpre9productionandthe69dayshootswerementoredbycameratutor Lars Barthel, sound tutor Ivan Horák, writing and directing tutor Rachel Mathews, editingtutorreginabärtschiandproductiontutorhelkemadryfrom14novemberto 12 December 2010 in Yangon. Regina Bärtschi returned to Yangon in January 2011 to mentortheeditingprocess. 2. Participants There were 13 students in the Workshop. They were a mix of Advanced (6 students who havetaken3ormoreyfscourses)andbeginners(4studentswhojoinedyfsin2009)with3 Screenwriters taking assistant crew roles. The gender balance favoured females (8) over males (5). The students were from a mix of ethnic backgrounds, with Shan, Burmese and Chinnationalsinmajorcrewroles.'Bungkus'wasshotintheChinlanguageusinganall9Chin cast.partsof'hasthewaterrisen?'wereshotinthekayinlanguageandthefilmfeatured Kayinsinthemajorityofroles.

32 Yangon Film School Annual Report Aims 1. To give Advanced YFS students who have already received training in fiction filmmaking(inthe2008truefictionsworkshop)theopportunitytobecomeheads ofdepartmentinthedevelopment,shootingandeditingofashortfictionfilm. 2. TogiveBeginnerYFSstudentswhohavenotyetreceivedsuchtrainingthe opportunitytoassisttheseheadsofdepartmentandtherebylearntheprincipals of TrueFiction filmmaking. 3. To give YFS Screenwriting students the experience of seeing their screenplays realizedonthescreen. 4. TogiveYFSthreeorfoursuccessful10915minuteshortfilmswhichcanbeentered intofilmfestivalsaroundtheworldbothtopromotethetalentsoftheindividual filmmakersandtofurtherraisetheprofileoftheschool. The Workshop fulfilled aims 193 very well. Advanced students whohadnotyethadachanceto shine in film production for example, Mya Darli Aung cameintotheirownastheytook head of department roles, in Darli s case as DOP for Crew A. Beginner students received a wealth of training and experience with some also becoming heads of department e.g.kyawkokoasdopforcrewb;khinkhinhsuasdirectorforcrewa.screenwriting students not only had the experience of seeing their script made into a film but also participated in the production with Lu SannandAnna Biak Tha Mawiasproduction managersforcrewaandbrespectivelyandsusanas1stadforcrewa. DuetothetimingofMyanmar sgeneralelectioninearlynovember2010,onlytwo,rather thanthreeorfourshortfilmsweremade.thihathwe sprojectwaspostponedto2011to allowthihatofulfilhisdutiesasajournalistduringtheelection. 4. TheFilms Both films are currently in the final stages of being edited. They will both have a running timeofaround15minuteswhencompleted,whichmakesthemverysuitableforentryinto awideselectionofshortfilmfestivals. i)crewa9'hasthewaterrisen?'(wt) Written by poet and novelist Dr Aung Min, who has been a YFS screenwriting student since2007andwasascreenwritingtotin2009,thefilmwasdirectedbykhinkhinhsu,a YFSBeginnerin2009,andproducedby experiencedadvancedstudentshindaewe.the story is taken from the Dr Aung's personal experience as a doctor trained in Yangon who thenspenttimeafterqualifyingamongstthekayinpeopleinthedeltaregionsouth9westof city.thekayinhavetheirowncustomsandtraditions.theyareoftenchristianratherthan Buddhist and bury rather than cremate their dead. They are a rural community, largely madeupofricefarmers,fishermenandbamboogrowers.

33 Yangon Film School Annual Report Thefilm sprotagonistisayoungmaledoctorfromyangonwhotravelstothedeltabyboat andmeetsanoldkayinmanwhohasnurturedabamboo grovehis entirelifeandwhois nowdyingofcancer.thedoctorbelievesitishisdutytopersuadehispatienttotravelto Yangon fortreatmentinamodernhospital.buttheold Man resists,preferringinsteadto takefolkremedies(suchassnaketea).thedoctorisatfirstfrustratedandthenangrywhen his patient refuses to take his advice. However, as the bamboo grove 9whichisofgreat importancetotheoldman9beginstoworkontheemotionsofthedoctoraswell,hefinally acceptsthathispatientwillbebetteroffdyingpeacefullyinhiskayinhomeland. The%biggest%challenge%was%in%making%decisions.%The%crew% were% always% waiting% to% see% what% I% would% do.% No% matter% how% nervous% I% was% feeling,% I% had% to% make% a% decision% and% that%was%pretty%tough. %% % % % %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%KhinKhinHsu,Director, HastheWaterRisen? Asadirector,KhinKhinHsu(picturedabove)isayoungstudent(inherearly20s)whohad very limited filmmaking experience before this workshop. However, her father was a successfulscreenwriterduringthebriefflourishingofanindependentfilmindustryinburma inthe1960s.hehasclearlysharedhispassionforfilmandhisunderstandingofthemedium with his daughter. Khin Khin Hsu has the makings of an impressive director: calm, well9 organisedandwithsomeexcellentideas.shebuiltagoodrapportwithher(non)actorsand, alongside her cinematographer Mya Darli Aung, devised some very cinematic and ingenious individual shots and demonstrated an excellent understanding of how to constructascene. The film is being edited by Hnin Ei Hlaing, (pictured right), a YFS student since In the past year this studenthascomeintoherownasaneditor,workingonan impressive number of productions (personal, YFS and NGO).Havingbeentrainedindocumentaryfilmmakingand sound recording, this is her first experience of fiction editing. She has brought her documentary sensibility to thisprojectwhilstalsodevelopingakeenunderstandingof the use of time within a fictional story and of shaping scenestorealisetheirfulldramaticpotential.shehasworkedextremelyhardontheproject, dedicatinglonghoursintheeditingsuite.khinkhinhsuhasoftenjoinedhnineihlaingin herroleofdirectorandtogetherthetwostudentshaveachievedapromisingfinecutofthe film.theyarecurrentlyoverseeingtheproductionofincidentalmusicanddecidingwhether ornottouseavoiceover(writtenbydraung)tointroducetheactionandprovideabrief resolution.since'hasthewaterrisen?'nolongermakessenseasatitle(thedeltaistidal butwedon'tactuallyseethisinthefilm),theyarealsodecidinguponanewtitle. It is impossible to second9guess the decisions of film festival selection committees. However, 'Has the Water Risen?' stands a good chance of festival success. The delta landscape is photogenic and looks particularly cinematic in the images produced by the Canon EOS camera. The performances of the old Kayin man and the Doctor are engaging

34 Yangon Film School Annual Report and convincing. There is also the novelty of any kind of short fiction film comingoutof Burma9a country which has very limited film releases and where short fiction films are almost unheard of. 'Has the Water Risen?' is an interesting and accomplishedpieceofwork,especiallyconsidering theinexperienceofitsdirector. MyaDarliAung,DOPon HastheWaterRisen? ii)crewb9'bungkus'(wt) Written by Anna Biak Tha MawianddirectedandproducedbyYFSAdvancedStudent LayThida.'Bungkus' whichmeans parcel inmalay isbaseduponthephenomenonof sendingyoungmyanmarwomanabroadasa parcel tomarryamanwhomaybeaburmese emigrant but is more likely to be Malaysian or Singaporean, etc, to enable them to send moneybackhometotheirfamiliesinmyanmar.oftenthewomenwillnothavemettheir husband9to9be before the day of the wedding. They frequently end up as poorly paid servant9wivesinawealthyman'shousehold.thispracticeisparticularlyprevalentamongst the Chin community in Myanmar, many of whom come from impoverished rural backgrounds.annahashadpersonalexperienceoffamilymembersandfriendsbeingsent abroadas'parcels'inthisway.shefeltcompelledtowritethescriptafteraboatfilledwith illegallyemigratingchinnationals9includingmanyyoungfemale'parcels'9capsizedoffthe Thaicoaston7December2007,drowningeveryoneonboard. Thestory sprotagonistiszingzing,ayoungchinwomanlivinginyangon,whoisinlovewith Asang,aChinboyfromherneighbourhood.WhenZingZing'solderbrother9whoissending moneybacktothefamily9diesabroad,zingzing smotherdecidestosendherdaughterasa 'parcel'to Malaysiawherea successfulburmese emigrantislooking forawife.whenzing Zingdiscovershermotherisgoingblindandthatonlythemoneyreceivedfromherbeinga 'parcel' will pay for an eye operation, she sadly agrees to leave Asang and travel illegally overland and by boat to Malaysia. Zing Zing becomes one of the passengers on the boat whichcapsizedindecember2007. BecausethisstoryissorootedintheYangonChincommunityandraised an issue which has affected many of them, the churches (Chin nationals tendtobechristians)andindividualpeopleenthusiasticallysupportedthe projectandwerekeentohelpannaandthefilm'sproducer9director,lay Thida, becoming involved either behind the scenes e.g. by volunteering theirhomestobe filmedin,orinfrontofthe cameraascast members. After extensive casting sessions, Lay Thida chose a Chin teenager, BathshebaZingThluaiCin(picturedleft),toplayZingZing.Thiswasareal boon to the project. An unassuming young woman who is training as a lawyer,bathshebareallyshinesonscreenandprovidestheemotionalheartofthefilm.lay Thida also got strong performances from the Chin woman who played Zing Zing's mother andfromtheyoungman9afriendofanna's9whotooktheroleofasang. Although having the Chin community so heavily involved in the film was helpful to the production it did have one drawback: in order to promote natural performances, it was decided to allow the non9actorstospeaktheirlinesinchin ratherthan in Burmese. This presentedaseriouschallengetolaythida,ashannationalwhohasnoknowledgeofchin. She could use the Burmese9written script s a guideline but she was uncertain what the

35 Yangon Film School Annual Report actors were saying in individual takes. This has also proved to be a hindrance during the film'sedit. Being one of the original intake of YFS students from 2005,Lay Thidaisadirectorwith considerableexperienceofdirectingdocumentaries9yfsprojects,personalfilmsandngo commissions. However, the challenge of directing a cast whose language she did not understand meant she struggledwith'bungkus'. MatterswerefurthercomplicatedbyLay Thida's other commitments: after Cyclone Nargis, she set up an NGO to help rebuild destroyed houses and communities inthedelta.shehasbeenverysuccessfulinthisand now has 35 staff under her. This is a full9time job and she was stretched combining NGO workwithdirectingherfirstfictionfilm.thisillustratesthedifficultiesmanyfilmmakersface trying to combine a day job with filming. YFS can help on such occasions by paying discretionary bursaries to students who have to give up income9generating work to participateinworkshops.however,inlaythida'scase,itwouldn'thavebeenpracticalfor hertostopworkonherngo. The naturalistic but emotionally touching performances in 'Bungkus' 9 particularlyfrom BathshebaasZing Zing 9andthehighlytopicalsubjectmatterarebothassetsinthisfilm. Theprojecthashadtoovercomechallengese.g.movinglocationfromChinStatetoYangon. BeingshotintheChinlanguagewithaBurmeseeditor(KhinKhinHsu),hasledtoalengthier editingprocessthan'hasthewaterrisen?'however,thereisrealmeritinthisfilmanditis hopeditwillenjoyfestivalsuccess. 5.Challenges i)crews AkeychallengeintheTFIIWorkshopwasfinding enoughstudentstoparticipate.thetimingofthe General Election played a major factor: at least four Advanced Students were involved in film projects associated with the Election and were unable to commit to the Workshop. In addition, twoadvancedstudentswere outofthecountry studying at the FAMU Film School in Prague and two others have left Myanmar due to political difficulties. From left to right: Lay Thida, Kyaw Ko Ko andannabiakthamawi In some ways, the lack of Advanced Students was an advantage, since it meant more Beginner and Screenwriting students could participate in the Workshop and benefit from trainingandexperiencetheywouldnototherwisehavereceived.nevertheless,thecrews inparticularcrewb weresmallerthanoptimum.thisputparticularpressureonlaythida asdirectorof'bungkus':shealsohadtotakeontheroleofproducerandwaswithoutan AssistantCameraandAssistantSoundperson.CameraTutorLarsBarthelsteppedintothe AssistantCameraroletosupportDOPKyawKoKo,whohadverylittlecameraexperience. ii)preparation Encouraging the students to undertake the bulk of development and pre9production independentlyinseptemberandoctoberwasagoodidea,intheory.however,inpractice, neitherfilmwasnearenoughtobeingreadyforproductionwhenthetutor9mentorsarrived in mid9november. The students had a packed summer of editingworkshops,many as

36 Yangon Film School Annual Report discussed wereinvolvedinfilmprojectsaboutthegeneralelectionandotherswere workingonyfsngoprojects.itmayhavebeenthatthetutorswereaskingtoomuchofthe studentsduringthisbusyperiod. Whenthetutor9mentors and TFII participants met for a general debrief after the shoots, manystudentsraisedtheissueofpreparationandvowedtobebetterpreparedinfuture.it isafactoffilmmakingthatthereisneverenoughtime.however,hopefullytheexperience oflastminutepreparationinthisworkshop andthestressandanxietythiscaused will encouragethestudentstobebetterpreparedinfuture,whetheronpersonalprojects,yfs filmsorngocommissions. iii)shootinginthechinlanguage There s% often% no% equivalent% for% a% Chin% word% in% Burmese.% A% certain% word% may% not% be% liked% by% the% director%but%it s%more% effective%when% spoken%in%chin.% ScreenwriterandProductionManagerAnnaBiakThaMawion Bungkus Bungkus,waswritteninBurmesebyaChinwriter (Anna, pictured left). However, when it came to shooting the film, the actors spoke Chin.Asdiscussedabove,thisprovedtobeachallenge forthe film's director,laythida.althoughusingthechinlanguagegivesthestorya greatsenseofauthenticity,itwasverydifficultforafirsttimefiction directortodirectinalanguagethatshedidnotspeak. iv)shootinginthedelta Thetutor9mentorswerenotallowedtotravelwithCrewAtothedeltawhichisoff9limitsto foreigners. Tutors wereanxiousto watchthe rushesof'hasthe WaterRisen?'as soonas possible after the day's shoot in order to give feedback to Khin Khin Hsu and her crew. Henceaproductionassistant(orinsomecasestheproducer,ShinDaewe)travelledupfrom the deltato Yangon each evening withthememorycardcontainingtheday's rushes. The tutorswatchedthesealongsidethestudentandsentwrittenfeedbackbackwiththemthe followingmorning. Delta inhabitants have little experience of film crews and, consequently, the students attractedquitealotofattentionduringtheshoot,someofitunwanted.theparticipationof HanLinnAung oneoftwostudentsyfshasbeenobligedtotakeinordertocomplywith theschool'spermitregulations washelpfulinthiscase.whenagovernmentofficialinthe delta challenged the legitimacy of the shoot (and demanded a large payment), Han Linn Aungwasabletoconfirmthatthe studentswere onlegitimatebusinesssupportedbythe YFSpermitandthatnoadditionalpaymentswouldbenecessary. v)newcanoneoscameras Camera tutor Lars Barthel (pictured below with students) introduced the new Canon EOS cameras during the Workshop. These are stills cameras with an HD video facility. Film cameralensescanbeusedwiththeeostoproducehighqualityhdimages.however,the camera s inbuilt microphone is not of sufficient quality to film drama. Hence, a separate microphoneandmixerwasusedandthisnecessitatedtheuseofaclapperboardtoidentify andmarktheshots(soimageandsoundcouldbesynchedinpost9production).thefocuson thesecamerasisextremelysensitiveanddemandsagoodeyeandsteadyhand.

37 Yangon Film School Annual Report The camera and sound students had a lot to learn suchaschoiceoflens,useofthe clapperboard,focuspulling inashortamount of time. There were some difficulties with focus, particularly in Crew A where DOP Mya Darli Aung has problems with her eyesight anyway (Camera Tutor Lars Barthel has since researched the possibility of having a special eyepiece made to suit Darli's prescription). In spite of these issues, both crews met the challenge of the new cameras and produced high quality images which are equal to those shoton35mmfilm. 6. Achievements Asstated,thetwoTFIIfilmsareinthefinalstagesoftheedit.Thus,atthetimeofwriting,it hasnotbeenpossibletoscreenthemtoanyoneoutsideofyfsortopredictthekindoflife they will have on the festival circuit and/or television. However, both films promise to be interestingandengagingpiecesofwork.theimagescreatedbythecanoneoscameraare impressive and give the projects the aura of a much higher production value than their limited budgets would suggest. The performances from the non9 actors are naturalistic and convincing and both films make excellent use of their Burmese settings, with 'Has the Water Risen?' revealing the hidden landscape of the delta and 'Bungkus' the Chin community in Yangon. Both films are not only grounded in the culture and traditions of Myanmar but also offer a window onto two ethnic minoritieswithinthecountry:thekayinandthechin.bothfilmstacklestorieswhichhave importantreal9lifecounterparts:theconflictbetweenmedicaladvancementandachievinga 'good death' and the 'parcel' phenomenon of young women being forced out of financial necessitytogoabroad. 7. BenefitsforStudents In terms of what the TFII Workshop has achieved for the students, the pre9production, shoots and editing process has led to 13 YFS students advancedandbeginners being trainedintheartoffictionfilmmakingwithastrongdocumentaryethos.individualstudents whohaveparticularlyshoneinthisworkshoparekhinkhinhsu,whobearsgreatpromiseas bothadirectorandeditor;shindaewewhowasanunflappableandorganisedpresencefor Crew A; Hnin Ei Hlaing, who is becoming an increasingly accomplished editor; Mya Darli Aung who, if she can address her sight problems, has the potential to develop as an interestingdop;draungminwhoisnowtranslatinghisskillsasaprosewriterandpoetinto success in screenwriting and Anna who not only wrote and rewrote 'Bungkus' with great dedication and determination but who also facilitated the involvement of Yangon's Chin communityinthemakingofthisshortfilm.

38 Yangon Film School Annual Report % % This%was%my%first%experience%of%fiction%filmmaking%and%I%loved%it.%It%has% a%different%taste%from%documentary.%i%just%wanted%to%give%it%a%try.%we% should% try% our% hand% at% everything.% That s% what% a% real% school% is% all% about%%%%% LuSan (ProductionManageron HastheWaterRisen, picturedfarleftwithoneoftheprotagonists) 8. FuturePlans Inspiteofhavingsomanyothercommitmentsontheirtimein2010,notleastthecountry's GeneralElection,theYFSstudentswhowantedtoandwereabletotakepartintheTrue FictionsIIWorkshopappearedtogetalotoutoftheexperience.Documentarywillalways be the cornerstone of YFS, but fiction filmmaking is both a worthwhile pursuit in its own right9forexample,filmmakerscantellsomestoriesinfictionthatitwouldbeimpossibleto pursue as documentary; there tend to be more film festivals and television slots showing fiction than documentary material 9 and can feed back usefully into documentary film practice:asstated,therigorouspreparation requiredforafiction filmshootmadethetfii studentsawareofhowmuchtheyneedtodevelopupalltheirpre9productionskills,bothfor fictionanddocumentary projects;thefocusonthedevelopmentofa storyarcina fiction filmcanbeusefullyappliedtomanydocumentarypieces,etc. Hence,YFSwouldliketocontinuewithitsfictionfilmtraininginthefutureandrunaTrue FictionsIIIshortfilmmakingworkshopin2012togivethe2011cohortofstudentsachance tobetrainedinandexperimentwithfictionstorytelling. YFSisalsocommittedtosupportingthestudents'personalfictionfilmprojects.ThiHa Thweisshootinghisshortfictionfilm(postponedfromtheTFIIWorkshop)'ATwistofFate', basedonapopularshortstoryinmyanmar,injune2011.thisfilm'seditwillbesupported intheyfseditingworkshopoverthesummer.annabiakthamawiisdeterminedtomake heroriginalversionof'parcel',setinchinstate.writingtutorrachelmathewsbelievesthis script has the potentialtobeafull9lengthfeature film(witharunningtimeofaround90 minutes)andwillbementoringannainthedevelopmentofher scriptas soonasshehas finishedherworkon'bungkus'.screenwriterdraungminisdevelopingafictionfeaturefilm project set in a monastery 9 and expanded from his short film script'zawana The Novice', written during the 2009 Screenwriting Workshop 9withYFSstudentTheMawNaing.The latter is currently at the FAMU Film School in Prague where he will be developing this projectfurther.yfsiskeentocontinueworkingwithscreenwritingstudentssusan,lusann andthetkoko,hopefullydevelopingtheircurrentshortfilmscriptstobemadeintofilms ontheproposedtruefictionsiiiworkshopin2012.

39 Yangon Film School Annual Report VIII ProductionManagementTeachingModule Led by YFS Workshop Supervisor and Production Management Tutor Helke Madry in Yangon from 25 November to 3 December 2010 ReportbyYFSWorkshopSupervisorandProductionManagementTutorHelkeMadry 1. AimsandApproach Building on the workshop Creative Producer: Film Production led by Jouko Aaltonen in October, the Production Management teaching moduleprovided practical,hands9oncoachingwhilestudentsorganisedandpreparedtheshootsofthetwo True Fictions II projects. Teaching was conducted in sessions of twos and threes, sometimeswithproductiondepartmentsofbothcrewsandatothersindividually.teaching took place in regular group and individual sessions of between 193 hours throughout the pre9production, production and post9production period and focussed on preparation, logistics, financial planning and filming, but also the production manager and producer s tasksandresponsibilitiesafterfilmingisoverandcoveredthefollowingkeyareas: JobdescriptionsofProducer,ProductionManagerandAssistantDirector Explanationoffilm9specificterminology Howtoplanandconductarecce Howtoplanlogisticsandhowtorunafilmset Creationofshootingschedulesbasedonascreenplay Creationofabudget Creationofadailyfilmingschedule Costcontrollingandfinancialreporting Permitsandcontractswithcastandcrewmembers Thetuitiontookintoaccountbothinternationalstandardsinfilmandtelevisionproduction butalsospecificconditionsinmyanmar. 2. Participants This teaching module was compulsory for all students who were taking on production and/ororganisationalrolesduringthe TrueFictionsIIworkshopi.e.producersLayThida andshin Daewe, production managers Anna BiakandLu Sanandassistantdirectors Khin Myo MyatandSu San. The entire crews of both films attended sessions during whichprotocolonfilmsetsandresponsibilitieswereexplained. Since some of the more experienced YFS students were not able to take part inthe True FictionsIIworkshop,crewsforthetwoprojectsincludedamixtureofadvancedstudents, screenwriting students and students who had completed just one or two previous YFS courses. The roles of production manager and assistant directors were thereforefilled by students without any prior knowledge of fiction filmmaking. This meant that they needed intensive individual mentorship from Tutor Helke every day in order to create filming schedules,reccesanddailyschedules. HavingworkedpreviouslyonbothfictionanddocumentaryatYFS,thetwofilms producers ShinDaeweandLayThidademonstratedsolidskillsindrawingupandmanagingbudgets, whichwasgratifying.nonethelesstutorhelkecontinuedtomeettheproducersandcheck contracts,rightsagreements,budgetsandfinancialreportingbothduringandattheendof theshoots.

40 Yangon Film School Annual Report Challenges Majorscriptchangesthatwererequiredatthelastminutemeantthatpre9productionwas cuttotheboneandatonepointthetutorswereconcernedastowhetherfilmingcouldgo aheadatall.teama slocationwasakayinvillage1.5hoursawayfromyangoninthedelta (tutorswerenotallowedtotravelthere)andthiscreatedanumberofchallengesmentioned on page 36. Obtaining signatures from protagonists and owners of locations on release forms proved to be a particular challenge, since this practice is completely alien to most people in Myanmar eventhoseworkinginfilm andoftenprovokedmistrustamong communitieswherefilmingtookplace.producersofbothfilmsneededgoodcommunicative skillsandsensitivity.teamb screwandproductiondepartmentwerestretchedtothelimits andhaddifficultycominginonbudget.verylongfilmingdaysquicklyledtoanexhausted crewandrequiredarestructuringoftheschedule,afterwhichthesituationimproved. 4. Recommendations Productionmanagementisthepillaronwhichtheartisticaspectsofafilmrestandshould therefore be included as a permanent fixture of YFS courses. Good management skills will encouragegreaterefficiencyinfilmmaking whetherundertheaegisoftheschoolorinthe privatesector.itwillalsohelpyfsfilmmakers,andbyextension,mediaworkersthroughout thesectortobecomemoreprofessionalandindependent. IX TheTrueFictionsIISoundWorkshopand SoundDesignWorkshop AYangonFilmSchoolWorkshopheldinYangonbyIvanHorák intwoparts:14november 5December2010and6 19January, 2011 ReportbyYFSSoundDesignTutorIvanHorák A) TheTrueFictionsIISoundWorkshop 1. AimsandParticipants The first part of the YFS True Fictions II sound workshop was dedicated to introducing all studentsbutparticularlythesoundstudentskyawmyolwin,hannlinaung,hninei HlaingandZawWinHtwetothenewsoundequipment.TheshifttoHDtechnology wasanewadditiontoyfsin2010.therehasbeenagreaterdemandforhdqualityformats across the world and Burma is no exception. This trend has involved a number of often expensive technological changes, including new cameras, high9performance editing suites andadifferentsoundrecordingtechnology. 2. Challenges At YFS we opted for the True Fictions workshops to shoot using the relatively inexpensive CanonEOScamera.Thiscompactcameraprovidesexcellentimagequalityandissensitiveto low9level light conditions. In this set9up the cinematographer and sound recordist are no longer connected by a cable and can move about freely. This had advantages but also drawbacks:ontheonehandtheuseofwirelessmicrophonesystemsallowedfilmmakersto capture dialogue without having to use large microphones on a boom pole which often attractsmoreattentionthanthecamera.however,studentsalsohadtolearnhowtouse theclapperboardandrecordsoundexternally.inthepost9productionstage,footageneeded

41 Yangon Film School Annual Report to be synchronized with the externally recorded soundtracks aprocessthatcanbe problematic and painstaking if asthestudentssoondiscovered thecorrecttechnical procedureshavenotbeencarriedoutproperlyduringtheshoot. B) TheSoundDesignWorkshop 1. Aims TobuildonpreviousSoundDesignworkshopsheldin2009and2008andhelpstudents to familiarize themselves with the theory and practice of sound design, as well as reacquaintthemselveswithprotoolssoundeditingsoftware. 2. Participants Sound Design is virtually non9existent in BurmaandsothethirdeditionoftheSound Designcoursewasmetwithagreatinterest from the students, as well as other film professionals and artists. Advanced students in the class included Hnin Ei Hlang, Mya Darli Aung, Kyaw Myo Lwin, Wai Mar Nyut and PeMaung Same; intermediary students were Khin KhinHsu,SuSan,andZawWinHtwe, and we also welcomed visual artist and performerkojeu. TutorIvanHorákwithsounddesignstudents 3. MethodologyandStructure During the course, tutor Ivan Horákexplainedthebasicsoffinalizingsoundin documentary, docu9fiction and highly stylized audiovisual works. The course was divided intoindividualsections,aswegraduallymovedfromtheorytopractice. Thefirstfourdaysweredevotedentirelytothetheoryoffilmsound,asubjectthat isessentialtodevelopanearforsounddesign.studentscannotlearnaboutsounddesign and its aspects merely from watching films. It is very important to understand the way image and sound works together; it is equally important to become familiar with all elementsofthesoundtrack. During the course, students also learned how to use a ProTools digital audio workstation:eachstudentpickedasceneora sequence from one of the following YFS films: Rain(byZawWinHtwe);Thursday's% Child(by Tay Zar Win), and a sequence from the unfinished The% River(byTayZarWinand,Pe MaungSame).Thestudentswerefreetotryout the features of the ProTools system, and to experiencethepossibilitiesandeffectofsound within a film. The class used three ProTools soundsuitesbydigidesign/avidcompany.

42 Yangon Film School Annual Report Thiswasfollowedbyanoverviewofa sound designer's creative approaches to video art. The students and tutor selected a ten9 minute silent film called Sudden% DeathbyWaiMarNyunt.Thisfilmis composed of a single shot with no original sync sound from filming, which enabled the students to becomecreativeintheirtreatmentof sound. Experimenting in creating differentsoundtracksforthisfilmalso provedausefulexerciseintheprincipleof unityand%contrast whichisneededinorderto keeptheviewer'sattention,andentailsthesounddesignerpreventingthesoundtrackfrom becoming either monotonous or overpowering. All filmmakers, artists, film editors and sound designers need to be familiar with this rule and know how to apply it. The final rhythmandsoundofafilmisnotjusttheworkofthesounddesigner;duringtheshootthe directorandlatertheeditorbothcontributetocreatingagoodsoundtrack. The course was again supplemented by a music recording session (seepicabove right, taken at Gitameit Music Center) in improvised conditions, both with professional andamateurmusicians.studentslearnedhow, when recording music, a sound designer and director must be able to guide musicians or a composer.everyoneinvolvedneedsto sharea creative vision about the emotions to be conveyed by the film. Students also learned how useful it is when music is composed after consultation with the sound designer and director or improvised under the supervision of the sound designer. In one exercise, studentswereaskedtocreatetheirownpieceofmusictoaccompanyasection offilmedmaterial,usinghigh9performancedigitalinstrumentswithamidikeyboardandan ipadtabletandaselectionofpre9installedinstruments. 4. TheCulturalPerspective The YFS Sound Design students proved to be very creative, thoughtful and resourceful despitethefactthat,unlikeineuropeorintheunitedstates,sounddesigninburmadoes nothavealongtradition(indeed,thereisnotraditionatall).culturaldifferencesbetween BurmaandtheWesternworldarehoweverstriking.ForthisreasonsoundtutorIvanHorák was concerned to allow the students to decide themselves how best to approach the storytelling.theravadabuddhismisacomplexreligionthatdemandsfullfocusonthemind, or mindfullness.workingonacreativeprocesssuchassounddesignwithburmese students, many of whom are deeply influenced by Buddhist concepts, is a fascinating and challengingexperienceforaeuropeanorwesternertutor.

43 Yangon Film School Annual Report Results Fostering a new generation of sound designers is important in every country, including Burma.Soundisoneofthekey,ifnotthemostimportant,emotionalcomponentsofafilm. Ifoneturnsoffthesoundwhilewatchingafilm,theemotionsareimmediatelylost. InBurma,wheresounddesignhasbeensadlyneglectedfordecades,theYFSSoundDesign coursehadseveralimportantfunctions: Provided specialized training in Pro Tools software, a very efficient system used internationallybymanyfilmsoundprofessionals. Participants were sensitized to the importance of sound design and developed an earforcreatingauthenticyetimaginativesoundtracks. 6. Recommendations The students were all very enthusiastic and creatively involved in the classes. It was an honourto sharemy knowledgewiththemandilook forwardtoteachingtheminfuture editions, in more advanced classes that should take on more demanding technical and stylisationtasks. X TheTrueFictionsEditingWorkshop AYangonFilmSchoolWorkshopheldinYangonbyReginaBärtschi from29november 10December2010and22January 17 February,2011 ReportbyYFSEditingTutorReginaBärtschi 1. TechnicalChallenges The new high definition digital recording technology that was used to film the two True Fictions projectsproducedsomeimpressiveimagesbutrequiredamuchmorecomplexand painstakingworkflowintheeditroom.asyfsstudenttraineranddigitalsoftwarespecialist MyoMinKhinexplainedtoYFSeditorsandtutorsduringhisteachingmoduleinDecember 2010,thisprocessrequires: The compression or downgrading of large amounts of data for processing in the editsuite. Synchingupofseparatelyrecordedsoundandimages. Theseprocesseswerebothextremelytimeconsuming.Forthisreason,thefirsthalfofthe editingworkshop(heldindecember2010)wasdevotedtoimportingthefilmedmaterial,a task that would normally have been the responsibility of a full9time assistant editor. Synchingupprovedtobeparticularlytroublesome particularlywhenclapperboardswere nowheretobeseen.

44 Yangon Film School Annual Report Participants Theinitialplanfor thetruefictions editwas for four editors KyawMyoLwin,ZawWin Htwe,LayThidaand HninEiHlaing toworkonthematerial.inthisscenario,twoeditors would have worked on each project, producing two versions of each film. However, Lay ThidawassuddenlycalledawaytoworkfortheNGOBetterLifewhichshehasfounded,and Kyaw Myo Lwin and Zaw Win Htwe were obliged to finish editing other projects. For this reason,yfseditingtutorreginabärtschidecidedtoinvitekhinkhinhsu,whodirected Has thewaterrisen? andhadshownpotentialasaneditorfollowingherworkon Thursday s Child, to work on the edit of Bungkus. Hnin Ei Hlaing took up work on Has the Water Risen? 3. EditingFictionalMaterial Manypeoplemistakenlybelievethat,sinceafictionalfilmisbasedonascriptthissomehow makeseditingafeaturefilmeasierthaneditingdocumentary.however,offictionalediting tooisanartthatrequirestheabilitytorecognisewhenthestoryunfoldingisnotworking andtheknow9howtocorrectthis. Oneofthemostimportanttasksofthefeaturefilmeditoristodiscoverwhichofthemyriad narrative possibilities best serves the storyline. Since every situation is filmed often repeatedly,fromvariousperspectivesandshotsizes,theeditormustexercisegreatskillin choosingwhich shotstoputtogether.thisworkisassiduousand requiresa great dealof sensitivity. Another challenge is to edit shots together in such a way that the dialogue retains a naturalisticfeel.thistaskwasmademoredifficultinthatinthe TrueFictions workshopthe crewswereworkingwithnonprofessionalactorswhosometimesimprovisedtheirdialogue. Thismadeitmuchtrickiertopreservethecontinuityofdialogueandaction. 4. BenefitsforStudents Atthetimeofwritingthe edits forboth filmsare nearing completion.iamdelightedwith thewayinwhichkhinkhinhsuandhnineihlainghaveappliedthemselvestothetask in spite of considerable artistic and technical demands. Hnin Ei Hlaing has succeeded in creatingawell9paced,atmosphericroughcutof HastheWaterRisen?.Shenowneedsto learnhowtoimprovethefilm sdramaturgy.khinkhinhsu staskaseditorof Bungkus was almostinsurmountable:notonlywasshecalledupontoeditdialogueinalanguageshedoes not understand (which entailed working with the Chin screenwriter in the edit room), in addition,thescenesforthisfilmhadnotbeenwellblocked.nonetheless,shehasmanaged tocreatemomentsofemotionalintensity.thechallengenowistoembedthestorywithin thechincommunity whichmayinvolvesomeadditionalfilming. XI YFSAnnualRooftopScreening The Yangon Film School held its annual Rooftop Screeningontheroofofitsworkshopvenue,the Princess Hotel on Saturday, 4 December The audienceatthiseventnumberedover80peopleand included diplomats, representatives of development organisations and aid agencies (local and

45 Yangon Film School Annual Report international) as well as Burmese media workers (Myanmar broadcaster MRTV4, the MyanmarFilmmakersOrganisation),filmmakers,artistsandwriters. The2010showwasdesignedtodemonstratethebreadthanddiversityoftheYFSstudents workoverthepastyear.forthisreason,theprogrammeincludedbothworkscommissioned by NGOs such as the Save the Children film Listen to Us, directed by YFS student Lay Thida,butalsoanumberoffilmsthathademergedfromYFSworkshopsheldin2009and The aim of these workshops was to help students find the poetic in everyday life: DreaminginColourthereforeobservesagroupofmenworkingatabatikdyingfactory; Falling Blossoms combines images of toddlersatakindergartenwiththevoicesof two octogenarians contemplating love and death, and Between the Pageswatches thetenderinterplaybetweenthe sexesata Yangon bookbinders. One astonishing contrast was the juxtaposition of a five9 minute promo made for Pyoe Pin about a new rice9growing initiative entitled Rice: Myanmar sfuturewithtwofilmsalsoset inthe delta,butwithan entirely differentapproach.the first, Rain, was editedfromthe same material used to create the Rice film, but is a more subjective, lyrical take on the subject of humankind and the elements. The second, Thursday s Child, is a sensitively filmedpieceofobservationalfilmmakingaboutafamilyofitinerantfieldworkers.afterthe screenings,thefilmmakerstookpartinalivelyq&asessionwiththeaudience afirstfor YFSThestudentssubsequentlycontinueddiscussingtheirworkwiththeguestsinarelaxed andcordialatmosphere. XII DirectResultsofYFSWorkshopsandActivitiesin Visibleoutcomes In2010,YFSparticipantstookpartin,producedoraredeveloping: 4residentialworkshops 4non9residentialworkshops 3teachingmodules 3 FlyingMentorships 11 short documentariesranginginstylesfromtheobservationaltothe poetic 3 films made for NGOsof between 15 and 32 minutes in length: Rice Towards a Better Future(forPyoePin);HiddenWounds(for Shalom Foundation)andRespectfulEncounters(fortheLocalResourceCenter) 2 True Fiction docufiction films with the working titles: Bungkus and HastheWaterRisen The films marked in bold, as well as two short films about the Editing and True Fictions workshops held in 2010 including comments from both participants and tutors, will be availableonthreeyangonfilmschooldvdcollections:findingpoetryineverydaylife YangonFilmSchoolWorkshopsin2010, StoriesfromMyanmar2010:Filmsmadefor Development Organisations by students of the Yangon Film School, and TrueFictions

46 Yangon Film School Annual Report ayangonfilmschooldocufictionworkshopheldinmyanmar, which will be releasedinjune BenefitsforTargetGroup Trainingintheartoffictionfilmmakingwithastrongdocumentaryethosthat hasthepotentialtoflourishinmyanmar Studentsareexposedtoavarietyofcinematicstylesandareableto develop theirownindividualidentitiesasfilmmakers Uniqueopportunitytoliveandworkalongsideindustryprofessionalsfromall over the world in a relaxed but structured atmosphere in which cultural barriersmelt Participants acquire solid media skills (particularly editing skills) that are becoming increasingly desirable in a growing marketplace athomeand abroad Positive psychological effects as participants begin to take pride in their abilities, assume responsibility and acquire a deeper understanding of themselves,theirimmediateenvironmentandtheworldatlarge 3. DisseminationofYFSFilms (i) CommissionedProjectsfortheDevelopmentSector In 2010, Yangon Film School filmmakers continued their fruitful cooperation with developmentorganisationsandcompletedthree films forthedevelopmentsector.filmed overaperiod ofalmost eightmonths,thethirty9twominuterice TowardsaBetter Future isabeautifullyshot,elegiacdescriptionofarice9growing project in the AyeyarwaddyDeltawhich,ifimplementedalloverthecountry,hasthepotentialtoimprove thelivesofmillionsrelyingonthisstaplefoodstuff eitherasproducersorasconsumers. TheprojectwascommissionedbyinternationalNGOPyoePinwhoiscurrentlyusingthe filmasatooltoconvincetheauthoritiesaboutthericeproject sefficacy. Local NGO Shalom FoundationapproachedYFStocreateafilmfromsixtyhoursof material that a member of their trauma healing group had filmed over a period of eight monthsinthedelta following Nargis.Theresultingdocumentary, Hidden Wounds takes usonajourneytosomeoftheaffectedcommunitiesanddescribesthedelicateprocessifof helpingthosesuffering frominvisiblewounds to regain a sense of security that will eventually lead to psychological well9being. Finally, Respectful Encounters, a short documentary which was made for thelocal Resource Center and also filmed in the Delta, takes a look at the importance of the concept of accountability as an integral but sometimes underestimated part of community9basedresponse. AscenefromtheYFSfilm HiddenWounds (ii) NewCommissions Amongcommissionscurrentlyunderdiscussionare: AdocumentaryforShalomFoundationfollowingtheworkofanAsianMP which will be used to help newly elected MPs in Myanmar to acquaint

47 Yangon Film School Annual Report (iii) themselveswiththeday9to9dayresponsibilitiesofapoliticianinademocratic system AdocumentaryforFXBMyanmaraboutstreetchildren Two members of YFS have volunteered to help YFS filmmaker and developmentworkerlaythidamakeadocumentaryabouttheactivitiesofthe NGO Better Lifewhichshefoundedwithagroupoflike9minded social workersin2007 A documentary for the British Council in Yangon following this organisation sdiverseactivitiesoveraperiodofeightmonths OtherProjectsandPartnerships ThankstogeneroussponsorshipfromTheBritishCouncil,in2010fiveYFS students were awarded scholarships to take part in six months of British CouncilEnglish9languageclassesinYangon YFS has also been approached by the British CouncilinYangontohelp developathemeforafilmcompetition,similartoacompetitionlaunched bythebritishcouncilinsingapore. YFSfilmmakersandYFSplantojoinforceswiththeFAMUfilmschooltomount thewathanfilmfestivalinyangoninseptember2011 (iv) IndependentProjectsbyYFSfilmmakers YFSfilmmakerscontinuetodeveloptheirownprojects,withoutYFSinput, some of which are for the development sector. Shin Daewe has directed short documentaries for Caritas MyanmarandMetta Development Foundation (edited by YFS9student KyawMyoLwin)aboutNargisresponseandHIVawarenessinKachinStaterespectively.In 2009 shealsobeganworkonalong9termchronicleoftheelections.meanwhile,tayzar WinTuntookhiscameratotheDeltatoportrayamonasteryeducationproject;aswell, Wai Mar Nyunt, who returned to Myanmar in June having completed a nine9month courseinmultimediaatthefamu,teamedupwithfellowyfs9studentpemaungsameto workonaprojectaboutthegeneralelectionwiththeworkingtitle7/11. (v) YangonFilmSchoolFilmsatInternationalFilmFestivals InMarch2010,fiveshortfilmsbyYFSstudentswerescreenedatdocumentaryfilmfestivals injilhavaandprague.inaugustshindaewe sportraitofartistrahula, AnUntitledLife openedthefilmcaravanfestivalinimperia,initaly sliguriadistrict.itwasalsooneofa programme of five YFS films (the others were A Million Threads, Like Father, Like Son, Water Boy and The Change Maker ) presented by Lindsey Merrison at the French film festival Douarnenezduringthesamemonth.TheMawNaing s AgainandAgain was screenedatthezurchertheaterspektakelinswitzerland,andinseptember,shindaewe andmyadarliaungtravelledtobangkokinpresentnofewerthansevenyfsfilmsincluding FarFromHome, ASketchofWathone, Beyond the Tsunami, A Farmer s Tale, A Million Threads, LikeFather,LikeSon and MyPositive Life at the Thai International Short Film Festival. The Bangkok screenings proved to be so popular with audiences (including many Burmese exiles) that extra screenings had to be arranged. The festival later included these YFS filmsintheirtouringprogrammewhichtravelled toanumberofvenuesacrossthailand. Ascenefromthefilm CharcoalBoy

48 Yangon Film School Annual Report InOctober,TheMawNaing s arenotas wasshownatthezebrapoetryfilmfestivalin Berlin, and in November, Okkar, who took partintheyfsbeginners coursein2009, travelledtomunichtopresenthisfirstdocumentary, CharcoalBoy (right)incompetition atthemunichstudentfilmfestival;hesubsequentlyputinanappearanceattheexground Film Festival in Wiesbaden, where his film was shown alongside four other YFS films. Finally,inNovember,YFSfilmmakersThuThuSheinandThaiddhitravelledfromPragueto BerlintopresentaselectionofYFSfilmsataneventorganisedbytheHeinrichBoell FoundationattherenownedcinemaKunstkinoBabylon. (vi) MyanmarTelevision,YFSCrews YFS is still committed to building contacts to MRTV but evenpost9election thisstill appears to be something of a grey area. In mid92010 YFS filmmaker Okkar was commissioned by a member of MMPE to make a film about Myanmar kickboxing for Myanmar International Channel. However, unaware at the time of the need for a deal memo, Okkar was left in the dark by his broadcasting contact who, it transpired, had not secured a pre9sale from the channel, but was merely hoping to acquire world rights for himselfforokkar sfilmforverylittlemoney.sincethesponsorinquestionwasnotinclined tomeetarepresentativeofyfstonegotiatetermsfortheircooperation,itwasdecidedthat thebestcourseofactioninthiscasewouldbetoreturnthesponsor soriginalinvestmentin order to retain the rights for future exploitation. This incident serves to make clear the importance of creating the parameters for best practice within the media sector and buildinga solidworking relationshipwithbroadcastersasa future employerandplatform fortheworkofyfsfilmmakers. Onamorepositivenote,theNGOPyoePin,forwhomYFShasmadethreefilmsfocussingon developmenttopics(rice Myanmar sfuture,a BrightFutureandOurForests, Our Future) was successful in 2010 in obtaining permission from the then Ministry of Forestry to broadcast Our Forests, Our FutureonMRTV.Afterahiatusfollowingthe GeneralElection,PyoePinhasnowresumednegotiationswithMinistriesofAgricultureand Educationand hopesthattheothertwo films will also soonbe passed for broadcasttoa widelocalaudience. YFScontinuestobeoneofthefirstportsofcallforbothlocalmediamakersbutalsovisiting filmmakers and/or production companies from Asia and Europe. In 2010 Italian filmmaker FabrizioPolpettiniworkedwithaYFScrewtoproducerhisshortmusicvideoentitled The HousesthereWearVerandasOutofShame. (vii) StudyTripsAbroad InJuly2010YFSstudentLayThida(picturedrightin hereditsuiteatthenfts),receivedgrantsfromthe UK9basedCharlesWallaceBurmaTrustandthe European Burma Officetoenablehertotake part in the National Film and Television School ssummerdocscourseintheuk.shewas thefirstburmesestudentevertoattendacourseat this prestigious school. During this ten9weekcourse, shewasgiventheopportunitytoresearch,filmandeditashortdocumentaryonasubjectof her choosing. A task which would have been daunting for any filmmaker presented a considerable challenge to Lay Thida, who had never set foot in the UK before, but she managedtoacquitherselfwithastonishingdeterminationandself9confidence:

49 Yangon Film School Annual Report I%researched,%filmed%and%edited%a%15Yminute%documentary% film%entitled%wrong%side%up%about%a%burmese%busker%in% London.% The% discussions% with% my% fellow% students% helped% me% to% learn% about% different% ways% of% thinking% and% storyy telling.% The% best% thing% was% that,% coming% from% isolated% Myanmar,% I% was% able% to% broaden% my% knowledge% and% see% how%other%filmmakers%adapt%to%working%in%different%filming% environments.%% LayThida StillofLayThida sprotagonist,yeman Htoo,asheappearsherfilm, Wrong SideUp ContinuingitscooperationwiththeCzechfilmschoolFAMUinPrague,inSeptember 2010YFSstudentsThuThuSheinandThaiddhicommencedMastersDegreecoursesin cinematography.theyplantoreturntoyangoninjune2011andhaveagreedtosharetheir knowledgeasstudenttrainersduringthenextyfsbeginners course. XIII ConclusionsandtheNextStep AstheYangonFilmSchoolentersitsseventhyearofactivity,demandforabroadrangeof filmmaking courses on the part of current students and new candidates alike remains unabated.coupledwithyfs cooperationwiththe development sectorinmyanmarinthe shape of productions that help to incite change and growth, the continued success of our trainings nowattractingincreasingattentionfarbeyondmyanmar sborders servesto confirm the pivotal role that capacity building in the media can play in the country s developmentpost9electionandbeyond. (i) AssessmentsandSuggestions Thanks to the ten9week focus on filmanalysisandeditinginthefirst halfof2010,thisyears workshops successfully addressed the students need to learn how to shape their material into engaging films; of the eighteen students involved, four students display genuine talent as editors arguablythemostcomplexareaof filmmaking. The number of independentlyfilmedprojectsbroughttotheworkshopwasafurtherindicationof students desiretofindtheirown,individualvoicesasfilmmakers TheinvolvementofStudentTrainersduringeditingworkshopsandasTutorsinDVD design and technical workflow marked a further stepping stone towards Student Trainer9ledcourses Storytelling skills were again honed during the True Fictions II Workshop in the secondhalfof2010 thoughproblemsinfindingsufficientcrewmembersdueto

50 Yangon Film School Annual Report conflicting assignments and projects on the part of several regular participants underlinedtheneedfor newblood.thisproblemwillbeaddressedbyanannual intake of beginnersfrom2011onwards.casesofabsenteeismduringsomeof the courses will be offset by the introduction in 2011 of Registration Fees, refundableby85%attendance. Tutors have also mooted the possibility of introducing appoint system leading to Graduate and Teaching Certificates to students who have attained sufficient proficiencyintheirfield.thiswillenabletutorsandstudentsaliketoassessstudents progressandsuitabilityasstudenttrainers The election of the seven9member YFS Committeeinmid92010 now enables studentstoplayamoreactiveroleindecision9makingprocesses,butmembersmust beencouragedtomeetregularlyandfindsolutionstoproblemsifthecommitteeis tohaveagenuinefunction The challenges of being both filmmaker and Project Director have led to the Committee sdecisiontooutsourcethisposition;asimilardecisiontooutsourcethe EquipmentManagementpositionisstillunderdiscussion In YFS films enjoyed successful screenings at international festivals. YFS filmmakerswereinattendanceatsomeoftheseeventstherebystrengtheningtheir links to an international community. In future students would benefit from additionalcoachinginprojectpresentationandq&asessionsfollowingscreenings (ii) Workshopsin2011 Aworkshopheldinthefirsthalfof2011willfocus onacoursefor 12beginners.Thetopicfor2011 will be ethnic minorities in Myanmar. For this reason, six of the new intake will comprise membersofmyanmar smyriadethnicminorities. Recruitment will take place in Yangon in May 2011 with 192 YFS Committee members and the YFS Director conducting joint interviews. The second half of 2011 will be devoted to Editing withcoursesforbeginnersandmoreadvancededitorsaswellasamoduledevotedtopost9 production. Courses between the two semesters will concentrate on analysis of documentaryeditingandanintroductiontothehistoryoffilmform.workshopswillonce againberoundedoffattheendoftheyearbyfurthertuitioninsounddesign. Film Production will be taught in modules by the YFS Director and Workshop Supervisor basedonstudents ongoingindividualprojects;theyfsdirectorwillcontinuetoadvisethe YFSCommitteeonallmanagementandotherissueswithaviewtohandingoverasmuchof thedecision9makingaspossibletothecommittee. Fundspermitting,in2011YFSworkshopswillfocusonthefollowing: Beginners Workshop: the Art of Documentary Filmmaking using Student Trainerswhereverpossible,workingundertutors supervision FilmAnalysis thedocumentaryedit EditingandPost9Production Sounddesignandmixing HistoryofFilmForm FilmProduction:CreativityandCommerce FlyingMentorshipsofNGOcommissionsandstudents individualprojects