Ermagerd, why do I do 100 resolutions every year was my first thought this year HAHAHAHHA shows how lazy I've become.
Still, it's nice to have these things to look back on and I want to stubbornly commit to them haha.
OKAY NOW LET'S SEE WHAT I HAD PLANNED LAST YEAR..
[2014 New Year's Resolutions]
SO YOU WANNA BE A MASTER
You can kind of tell when I have those periods where I'm rarely home or too busy, and then suddenly I have that day I'm at home and all the overdue posts appear HAHAHAHA.
Fome did an awesome cover of the Pokemon 2nd season opening, Pokemon World, for Karu for our NYA (Norcal Youtube Alliance) Secret Santa exchange. I really liked this song ;u; Sooo much nostalgia.
Somehow he dragged me and Chiisana into having a small feature in it LMAOLMAOLMAO. Oh jeez. We were so embarrassed. But it was fun.
(I'M ALSO VERY HONORED LIKE HOLY SHIT fome and chiisana tbh are among the most talented vocalists I know and I'm lucky to have them as close friends and to be able to work with them I am secretly fangirl hshshshs///)
Fome did an awesome cover of the Pokemon 2nd season opening, Pokemon World, for Karu for our NYA (Norcal Youtube Alliance) Secret Santa exchange. I really liked this song ;u; Sooo much nostalgia.
Somehow he dragged me and Chiisana into having a small feature in it LMAOLMAOLMAO. Oh jeez. We were so embarrassed. But it was fun.
(I'M ALSO VERY HONORED LIKE HOLY SHIT fome and chiisana tbh are among the most talented vocalists I know and I'm lucky to have them as close friends and to be able to work with them I am secretly fangirl hshshshs///)
4
comments
Labels:
rambling
Not exactly a reality check, what I received about two weeks ago. There was no fantasy to begin with, but I guess it's comparable to stepping through the gates into a larger world and suddenly feeling minuscule? I didn't know I was so ignorant and incompetent. I always knew I was small but I guess I never cared to look upwards until now. In the midst of being happy over improvement, I gained confidence that I'm not sure if I deserve. Of course there's always going to be people better out there, of course you can't expect to become professional overnight, of course it doesn't come easily when you're just starting out, of course the journey will and should never end. But there are a lot of really, truly talented people among my peers that I know I would never be able to catch up to because I lack the element that will make them soar: passion. There's passion, inherent talent, resources, the time to practice. It's not impossible, but I realize it would be difficult to substitute these with hard working effort on a late start. I'm not giving up; I'll still give my all. But it's discouraging to know there'll be a limit--a cap--on my ability. I thought I wasn't bad. I still don't think I'm bad, but I'm also not great. Seeing others' ability, I'm not even sure what I can do? My achievements are still achievements but damn do they look insignificant now. And how do you grow as a juvenile when people want to work with the ripened, with the best? It's all about the results and everyone wants the best ones. The industry out there is no different. Is there a place for somebody who is just "not bad" in a world that requires only the best? Can you survive as a jack of all trades but master of none when being the best requires specialty?
CAN I EVEN GET A JOB. WILL ANYONE EVEN TAKE ME FOR AN INTERNSHIP. WHAT CAN I EVEN TELL ANYONE THAT I CAN DO. WHAT HAVE I DONE THAT I CAN EVEN BE PROUD OF. I DON'T WANT TO BE A PATHETIC, DEPENDENT FAILURE. GAAAAH THIS AFFECTS EVERYTHING. runs around in circles
CAN I EVEN GET A JOB. WILL ANYONE EVEN TAKE ME FOR AN INTERNSHIP. WHAT CAN I EVEN TELL ANYONE THAT I CAN DO. WHAT HAVE I DONE THAT I CAN EVEN BE PROUD OF. I DON'T WANT TO BE A PATHETIC, DEPENDENT FAILURE. GAAAAH THIS AFFECTS EVERYTHING. runs around in circles
The Modern Fairy Tale
And so the princess's heart was replaced by numbers; shrouded in memories of overdue bills and calculations; with the blackest energies of impatience and lethargy in lieu of a soul.
The only antidote in all the land was a magical, but rare ritual that could only be performed by the princess if she were able to return to her chamber--and it was called 20 bother-free hours of sleep.
The only antidote in all the land was a magical, but rare ritual that could only be performed by the princess if she were able to return to her chamber--and it was called 20 bother-free hours of sleep.
ლ(१д१ლ)
0
comments
Labels:
gross fangirlling
Kei (left) & Soojung (right) of Lovelyz covering IU's "Friday"
Aaaaaah I'm so glad I found this little gem of a video.
The girlcrush is undeniably strong with this one! ლ(१д१ლ)
I knew I was right to choose Soojung/Sujeong as my bias LOLOL.. Okay, it was initially because she reminds me of Morning Musume's Kudou Haruka and I find them both to be the most adorable, gorgeous things /// but then she comes out of the left field as a really fucking good singer?! with a singing style I will eat up. (Not to mention a grounded, earnest personality..)
Kei almost flawlessly plays the role of main vocal, of course; bless her entire being. Baby Soul and Jin, whose vocals were advertised prior, are predictably leads. But Soojung is the surprise! Especially when she's one of the youngest members. She sometimes gets pitchy on certain notes when performing Lovelyz songs (tbh all of them get somewhat pitchy so I look forward to seeing them not as nervous rookies on stage) but seems a lot more in her own skin here. :> I'm so glad they let her debut and give her opportunities to shine. THIS MAKES ME HAPPY.
SHINE ON ME
LET IT SHINE ON ME, YEAH!
(insert Red Velvet's Happiness)
After dabbling in film and photography stuff, you really realize what a big difference lighting makes. Brightness, color temperature, softness/harshness, positioning—they're all surprisingly important. With my interest in videography growing (or at least intent to try my hand and improve at it), I figured I need lights and hopefully some kind of flexibility with them.
For now, my first purpose requires soft, diffused, even, flat, skin tone-flattering, bright, [and cheap...........] light. Think soft, prettily lit K-pop idol MV. That's what I want to attempt.
So today, Fome and I did some shopping at the dollar store, Home Depot, and Staples
...then built softbox lights! ;u;
It works out because his band Phoenix Ash is looking to upload more videos in the future, which is why he's interested in building lights too. They're actually gonna upload a new cover soon (OF AN AWESOME SONG) so look out for that~
Materials are:
white foam board, aluminum foil, vellum paper, lamps, light bulbs, and a shit ton of duct tape.
(we ended up being SO happy with the white duct tape because it would've looked much uglier otherwise heheheh)
First version, we wanted to see what it'd look like just as a white foam box without foil and felt like there was wasted bounced light escaping from the sides? So we added foil after the box was assembled and that was comparatively messier than doing the second box.
FTISLAND - Hold My Hand
(insert Red Velvet's Happiness)
After dabbling in film and photography stuff, you really realize what a big difference lighting makes. Brightness, color temperature, softness/harshness, positioning—they're all surprisingly important. With my interest in videography growing (or at least intent to try my hand and improve at it), I figured I need lights and hopefully some kind of flexibility with them.
For now, my first purpose requires soft, diffused, even, flat, skin tone-flattering, bright, [and cheap...........] light. Think soft, prettily lit K-pop idol MV. That's what I want to attempt.
So today, Fome and I did some shopping at the dollar store, Home Depot, and Staples
...then built softbox lights! ;u;
It works out because his band Phoenix Ash is looking to upload more videos in the future, which is why he's interested in building lights too. They're actually gonna upload a new cover soon (OF AN AWESOME SONG) so look out for that~
Materials are:
white foam board, aluminum foil, vellum paper, lamps, light bulbs, and a shit ton of duct tape.
(we ended up being SO happy with the white duct tape because it would've looked much uglier otherwise heheheh)
I decided I wanted to be extra meticulous huehuehue and so the second version is slightly prettier.
HEH. can you tell which was the guinea pig and which is not? HEHHH. (he's jealous because I'm technically the owner of the second one)
Yehhhhh !!
(Bonus: Without the vellum paper as a diffuser, having the box open actually works to make the light more spotted because it's all concentrated in one direction without spilling on the sides. It's harsh and not what I want, but for certain purposes, it works!)
We tried duct tape as the lamp mount on one of the softboxes, but mmmmh we're still trying to figure out an alternative that would be sturdier and hopefully with less potential to melt off. For mine, it'll be extra tricky because I require the softbox to be collapsible so that I can more easily store it disassembled when at home.
(Upper) No softbox light! Light source is the fluorescent lights on the ceiling, which give off a bit of a green tone.
(Lower) One softbox light from above! We made the mistake of leaving the fluorescents still on, but oh well..
Definitely a huge difference, which is emphasized by the original green'ish tone of the room. But the effect of the light is noticeably less harsh, a bit more flattering on the skin, cleaner, clearer?
We put a lot of thought into choosing the color temperature of our bulbs (which btw are amazing in brightness output, especially for the wattage and price of 4 for $10) and yet I wonder if we settled too low. In particular, I was looking for color temperature ranging between 3500 and 4100 Kelvin because that's the spectrum of slightly warm to neutral white to slightly cool. Yellow disgusting ass household bulbs of 2700 Kelvin are out of the question. 5000 Kelvin looks too blue and inhuman.
But we couldn't find anything at Home Depot between 3000 and 5000 K, and so we got the 3000 K bulbs which didn't look too bad in the display.
It's a huge improvement compared to the yellowness of household bulbs, but still a tad too warm for my taste. I don't want to replace the bulbs because I am a frugal cheap ass who already thinks this shit was too expensive for a homemade project (those foam boards are fucking rip-offs I tell you ok) so I'm thinking about trying some kind of blue filter or fabric on top of the paper to counteract the yellow? Or just rectify it in post production color correction lololololol.
Well, we both had a lot of fun! We learned lots! And here's a song of the day which we found to be hella rockin'.
FTISLAND - Hold My Hand
go-go get.
Wassup?
I'M FINALLY DONE WITH THE SEMESTER!!!!!!!!!!!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
aa
a
a
a
a
a
a
HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH.
It was an enlightening, valuable, and fruitful semester indeed.
Actually, I'm a little sad to see it go. Mostly because I had just started making many friends of whom I've no guarantee I'll see again, just starting to become involved, just starting to feel like a proper student with some passion towards the schoolwork beyond my obsession with achieving top grades.
But ultimately, this semester left me in a great place, with many bounds leapt and much room to grow: many opportunities looking forward, experience under the belt, and mistakes on which to reflect. I'm a happy student. I'm not entirely competent and not entirely confident. I really wish that I were better. I wish that I were the type that's just inherently talented--effortlessly achieving instead of having to work hard and long to maybe get to the same place. I'm scared that I let anyone down, and sorry that I lack so much. But I'm happy with how far I came in this semester, as well as how much resolve I now boast to improve as much as I can.
Dude. Compared to before, I'm frighteningly social now.... I actually made a lot of friends and acquaintances! Connections! Being a bit more fun and open! People know who I am! I'm being proactive! Volunteering! Speaking loudly! Not so afraid to stand in front of a mass of people! More willing to be an object of attention! Performing! In front of people! Sometimes being praised for it!
Who am I even?
Also I can't wait to catch up on some well overdue sleep, man. In the past month, there've only been a handful of nights when I was able to sleep earlier than 4 AM. orzzzzzzzzz All 3 of my final projects (which I edited) were due on Monday.......... And it's not like I procrastinated at all because every night, I've been up til past 4.. sometimes up til 7 doing productive things. But this last weekend was tough LOL. In the span of 55 hours, I slept for 3 hours.
Speaking of last weekend, I went on the film shoot that I spoke of in my last post. To be honest, I can't help but feel disappointed, because this was a golden opportunity that ended up in another basket. When I got there, they had filled in the 2 spots on the audio team (I'm sure they probably did a good job, but they also didn't have previous experience with the equipment) and I guess they needed more extras........ It was a different, interesting experience. Luckily I enjoy playing dress-up LOL so I was fascinated with the process of having a costume team pick out my outfit and then having a make-up artist do my face.
What I did not like was uselessly sitting on my ass in the make-up room, just waiting to be called onto the set. I wanted to help.. gain experience.. be hands-on.. learn something.. then have another line for my resume.. sigh....
I could have used the time to--OH I DON'T KNOW--sleep or work on projects.
But here's the outfit I wore on camera! WOOHOOOO grossly vandalized school bathroom mirrors. The theme's supposed to be 60's and I'm not so sure if it's accurate LOL. They decided to make me the go-go girl/mod girl. The camera doesn't capture it, but I'm wearing fishnet stockings. BASICALLY ACTUAL FISHNET; that was some stiff stuff. And I was 6 feet tall in these boots, lord help me.... how embarrassing... But I did it! In front of the entire crew! And on camera!
Now I'm feeling super hyped because I intend to have a productive winter break! I'll be increasing my work hours, but I'll try to find the time nevertheless. There's a lot I want to do! And I'm going to try chasing after some opportunities! I'm gonna have some fun while at it. I'll do my best. I want to become a more impressive version of myself. I can do it. :)
I'M FINALLY DONE WITH THE SEMESTER!!!!!!!!!!!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
aa
a
a
a
a
a
a
HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH.
It was an enlightening, valuable, and fruitful semester indeed.
Actually, I'm a little sad to see it go. Mostly because I had just started making many friends of whom I've no guarantee I'll see again, just starting to become involved, just starting to feel like a proper student with some passion towards the schoolwork beyond my obsession with achieving top grades.
But ultimately, this semester left me in a great place, with many bounds leapt and much room to grow: many opportunities looking forward, experience under the belt, and mistakes on which to reflect. I'm a happy student. I'm not entirely competent and not entirely confident. I really wish that I were better. I wish that I were the type that's just inherently talented--effortlessly achieving instead of having to work hard and long to maybe get to the same place. I'm scared that I let anyone down, and sorry that I lack so much. But I'm happy with how far I came in this semester, as well as how much resolve I now boast to improve as much as I can.
Dude. Compared to before, I'm frighteningly social now.... I actually made a lot of friends and acquaintances! Connections! Being a bit more fun and open! People know who I am! I'm being proactive! Volunteering! Speaking loudly! Not so afraid to stand in front of a mass of people! More willing to be an object of attention! Performing! In front of people! Sometimes being praised for it!
Who am I even?
Also I can't wait to catch up on some well overdue sleep, man. In the past month, there've only been a handful of nights when I was able to sleep earlier than 4 AM. orzzzzzzzzz All 3 of my final projects (which I edited) were due on Monday.......... And it's not like I procrastinated at all because every night, I've been up til past 4.. sometimes up til 7 doing productive things. But this last weekend was tough LOL. In the span of 55 hours, I slept for 3 hours.
Speaking of last weekend, I went on the film shoot that I spoke of in my last post. To be honest, I can't help but feel disappointed, because this was a golden opportunity that ended up in another basket. When I got there, they had filled in the 2 spots on the audio team (I'm sure they probably did a good job, but they also didn't have previous experience with the equipment) and I guess they needed more extras........ It was a different, interesting experience. Luckily I enjoy playing dress-up LOL so I was fascinated with the process of having a costume team pick out my outfit and then having a make-up artist do my face.
What I did not like was uselessly sitting on my ass in the make-up room, just waiting to be called onto the set. I wanted to help.. gain experience.. be hands-on.. learn something.. then have another line for my resume.. sigh....
I could have used the time to--OH I DON'T KNOW--sleep or work on projects.
But here's the outfit I wore on camera! WOOHOOOO grossly vandalized school bathroom mirrors. The theme's supposed to be 60's and I'm not so sure if it's accurate LOL. They decided to make me the go-go girl/mod girl. The camera doesn't capture it, but I'm wearing fishnet stockings. BASICALLY ACTUAL FISHNET; that was some stiff stuff. And I was 6 feet tall in these boots, lord help me.... how embarrassing... But I did it! In front of the entire crew! And on camera!
Now I'm feeling super hyped because I intend to have a productive winter break! I'll be increasing my work hours, but I'll try to find the time nevertheless. There's a lot I want to do! And I'm going to try chasing after some opportunities! I'm gonna have some fun while at it. I'll do my best. I want to become a more impressive version of myself. I can do it. :)
asdflkjw
heh.... I'm not good at handling stress...
No final exams for me this semester but hella final projects due in... 2 days. This past week has been my finals crunch stress time. Going to bed at 4 AM is considered "early" and "lucky" :'D And work and some other things and dumb people. stress.
But um orz I bumped into a professor a few days ago who's in charge of one of the department's big productions--which will actually be on 35mm film! Somehow he persuaded me into coming in to the set tomorrow morning because he wants me to be the sound recordist.. QAQ I couldn't say no because despite how fucked I am, it's a pretty good opportunity?? Especially considering I'm being purposely seeked out for this role by a professor. I've only ever been on one big film shoot doing audio. And I thought I wouldn't be able to do any more shoots due to lack of opportunity and time..
I will add some color to this post with a selfie from some weeks ago, before I started looking like a zombie and having countless people tell me I look very tired or asking me what's wrong with my skin/face LOL. This is a happy selfie because I'd just caught up on sleep beforehand~ I look forward to looking this bright in a handful of days I hope~~
No final exams for me this semester but hella final projects due in... 2 days. This past week has been my finals crunch stress time. Going to bed at 4 AM is considered "early" and "lucky" :'D And work and some other things and dumb people. stress.
But um orz I bumped into a professor a few days ago who's in charge of one of the department's big productions--which will actually be on 35mm film! Somehow he persuaded me into coming in to the set tomorrow morning because he wants me to be the sound recordist.. QAQ I couldn't say no because despite how fucked I am, it's a pretty good opportunity?? Especially considering I'm being purposely seeked out for this role by a professor. I've only ever been on one big film shoot doing audio. And I thought I wouldn't be able to do any more shoots due to lack of opportunity and time..
I will add some color to this post with a selfie from some weeks ago, before I started looking like a zombie and having countless people tell me I look very tired or asking me what's wrong with my skin/face LOL. This is a happy selfie because I'd just caught up on sleep beforehand~ I look forward to looking this bright in a handful of days I hope~~
(I forgot to publish the post.. Now it's 5 AM. :'D I need to be on that film set in 4 hours. Fuck. :'D)
monochrome
Yesterday had a good time at NYA's Thanksgiving potluck~ 7:35 AM now and I made slower progress than I'd hoped on the film audio edit hyuuu... Film shoot today at 4. I will sleep til 1. good nightt
Lovelyz
Oh help, I'm starting to fall very deeply into Woollim's new girl group Lovelyz, LOL. I haven't been this invested in k-pop in a while. I NEED TO TALK ABOUT IT. THIS IS MY INTERVENTION.
The horrible group name itself makes them a guilty pleasure. Their music so far as a group is pretty basic and nothing to write home about. They're what lots of people would consider "bland" and overly cutesy. BUT I HAVE THE EXACT ACQUIRED TASTE THAT FINDS THEM AND THEIR MUSIC SO CHARMING AND DELICIOUS. SOBS. Actually their very image and the sound of their bubblegum pop has a very J-pop and slightly old-school feel to it. And I like that a lot....
Candy Jelly Love
This won me over almost instantaneously because I have hella bias for cute candies. I LOVE the style of the MV with the bright boldness of the jellybeans contrasting and complimenting the light pastel colors and flowy whites with soft flares. YES. YESS.
First and second listens: "This is ok. I can probably dig."
Now: "THIS IS MY JAAAAAM."
Good Night Like Yesterday
First listen: "Who are they this is boring and I can't even watch this all the way."
Now: "SO....... CATCHY...... NEED TO LISTEN ON REPEAT."
Objectively not the best ballad, but ... my acquired taste loves it. Also it helps now knowing who the girls are because I can put the singing in some kind of context and thus appreciate it better.
Initially, most of them look like the same person, their voices sound dry and the same, and they kind of give off the impression of not being musically driven. qqqqq now I find them super cute in their unique ways and you know what: THEY ACTUALLY CAN SING SURPRISINGLY PRETTY WELL.
So, 3 of them have had solo debuts before.
One being Yoo Jiae, who honestly is one of the weakest vocalists of the group. Despite being the well-known frontrunner face, I'm glad that Woollim seems to acknowledge her weaknesses instead of trying to shove her down our throats. xD In Candy Jelly Love, her only lines are.. the titular "candy jelly love"s at the choruses HAHA. She has an important iconic part--suitable for her role--but befittingly small. And I'm very okay with that; it works! Giving her solo Delight a second listen (okay I ended up listening to it a lot more after), it's not as unimpressive as I remember? It's forced. Technique is lacking. But she tries!!! In latter parts of the song, she belts a bit and she even has a baby vibrato. I can respect that. :D
Baby Soul is fucking awesome. I defs dig all her pre-official-debut work.
See: Stranger (ft. Wheesung)
I feel like this girl really works against her odds. She's now debuting at 22 years old, which is considered a bit old for k-pop idols. She has a high and light tone, but still shows that she can sound strong. You'd have the expectation for the Lovelyz concept so no surprises there, but things like Stranger (power ballad song and the cool way she's presented) are unexpected especially given her 'type' and the industry.
Jin I feel like mostly got attention because her solo Gone had a QQQQ feels-inducing MV starring goddess child actress Kim Yoojung and EXO's Xiumin. Unfortunately, the MV does overshadow the song, which took me a while to get into. But she pulls off ballads so well that I'm kind of left wondering why she's in this cutesy pop girlgroup where her lines are enough quantitatively but don't seem to stand out or scream, "hey guys this is Jin singing here!" (She sings the first chorus to Candy Jelly Love and STILL I tend to overlook it because of distracting other things.)
And then the rest of the members who didn't have solo exposure before Lovelyz:
There's Kei, who reminds me of Girl's Day's Minah in terms of the way she's styled (the bangs and clean cute image, I suppose) and because she's the main vocalist ahaha. I'm surprised she was never in the media before. Her voice is pretty similar to many of the other girls' voices, but there's a smoothness and control to it that I can pick out. ;u; I do like that she doesn't actively try to sound cuter despite softening up for Candy Jelly Love. (In contrast, Jin obviously tries to use a cuter side to her voice in the song.)
For anyone questioning her main vocal abilities, see 1:43 of: Acapella performance of Word Up
My bias in the group so far is Soojung, who sings the first solo of Candy Jelly Love. She's uuuuugh so cute/pretty and reminds me of Morning Musume's Kudou Haruka who I also find to be an angel. I love that she's one of the youngest (born in 1997 lord help me) but is the one with a deeper, slightly husky voice AND is one of the vocal carries, with really good lines. (She does choruses in both Good Night Like Yesterday and Candy Jelly Love!)
Speaking of young, then there's maknae Yein who's born in 1998 jfc.. She has a certain awkward cuteness to her that's very appropriate for her 16 year oldness LOL. Something about her's very endearing. I don't know the range of her vocal prowess but so far to me she seems like she can sing well enough? There's a certain rawness and husky undertone to her voice that makes her one of the easiest to pick out. (Her parts are the 1st solo of the 2nd verse of Candy Jelly Love and the 1st singer in the bridge of Good Night Like Yesterday.) (I like that the two members with slightly lower voices in the group are the youngest ones LOL I can see this group having hella maknae power..)
And who can forget Mijoo? What the hell. She's so fucking pretty. Maybe it's because she has a gorgeously bright smile showing all her straight teeth, but she reminds me of Sooyoung from SNSD. And it's also because they're both so-so singers that do try! Soft tones and they both do the little squeak that even I do because I don't have the technique/control to end notes in a more complete way. It's charming from them though! I hope she'll be able to prove my impression of her as a passable-but-not-spectacular vocalist wrong. ;u; I think she has potential?
Ah... and lastly Jisoo, who's immersed in scandal to the point that she couldn't join the girls for their debut. It kind of works out since she had THE TINIEST TINY part in "Candy Jelly Love," thus it doesn't feel like much is missing. She does the engrish speaking part before the bridge that goes, "You're the best ever come in my life. You're the best of my life," and I think that's it ahah. So my assumption is that she's not a strong singer, though I guess I can't judge from this. AND THEN she's given the entire 2nd verse of Good Night Like Yesterday and doesn't sound impressive but also is passable enough?! So good for her! She probably has hidden potential too!
I love that despite their image of being cutesy (which is linked to being weak tbh), that's not all and they do sing. Especially after hearing their acapella bits, I think they have the potential to really bring it.... And I do appreciate that their weaker vocalists or members considered the "visuals" do make efforts to sing. They're actually more than passable and I like their voices enough. ;u; A Pink and SNSD are some of my favorite groups but to use them as an example: Na Eun and Yoona in purely vocal performances. Objectively, they struggle to be passable in terms of singing ability. (But still they've got plenty of other strong points and they're some of my favorites tbh. I just don't look to them for vocals.)
The horrible group name itself makes them a guilty pleasure. Their music so far as a group is pretty basic and nothing to write home about. They're what lots of people would consider "bland" and overly cutesy. BUT I HAVE THE EXACT ACQUIRED TASTE THAT FINDS THEM AND THEIR MUSIC SO CHARMING AND DELICIOUS. SOBS. Actually their very image and the sound of their bubblegum pop has a very J-pop and slightly old-school feel to it. And I like that a lot....
Candy Jelly Love
This won me over almost instantaneously because I have hella bias for cute candies. I LOVE the style of the MV with the bright boldness of the jellybeans contrasting and complimenting the light pastel colors and flowy whites with soft flares. YES. YESS.
First and second listens: "This is ok. I can probably dig."
Now: "THIS IS MY JAAAAAM."
Good Night Like Yesterday
First listen: "Who are they this is boring and I can't even watch this all the way."
Now: "SO....... CATCHY...... NEED TO LISTEN ON REPEAT."
Objectively not the best ballad, but ... my acquired taste loves it. Also it helps now knowing who the girls are because I can put the singing in some kind of context and thus appreciate it better.
Initially, most of them look like the same person, their voices sound dry and the same, and they kind of give off the impression of not being musically driven. qqqqq now I find them super cute in their unique ways and you know what: THEY ACTUALLY CAN SING SURPRISINGLY PRETTY WELL.
So, 3 of them have had solo debuts before.
One being Yoo Jiae, who honestly is one of the weakest vocalists of the group. Despite being the well-known frontrunner face, I'm glad that Woollim seems to acknowledge her weaknesses instead of trying to shove her down our throats. xD In Candy Jelly Love, her only lines are.. the titular "candy jelly love"s at the choruses HAHA. She has an important iconic part--suitable for her role--but befittingly small. And I'm very okay with that; it works! Giving her solo Delight a second listen (okay I ended up listening to it a lot more after), it's not as unimpressive as I remember? It's forced. Technique is lacking. But she tries!!! In latter parts of the song, she belts a bit and she even has a baby vibrato. I can respect that. :D
Baby Soul is fucking awesome. I defs dig all her pre-official-debut work.
See: Stranger (ft. Wheesung)
I feel like this girl really works against her odds. She's now debuting at 22 years old, which is considered a bit old for k-pop idols. She has a high and light tone, but still shows that she can sound strong. You'd have the expectation for the Lovelyz concept so no surprises there, but things like Stranger (power ballad song and the cool way she's presented) are unexpected especially given her 'type' and the industry.
Jin I feel like mostly got attention because her solo Gone had a QQQQ feels-inducing MV starring goddess child actress Kim Yoojung and EXO's Xiumin. Unfortunately, the MV does overshadow the song, which took me a while to get into. But she pulls off ballads so well that I'm kind of left wondering why she's in this cutesy pop girlgroup where her lines are enough quantitatively but don't seem to stand out or scream, "hey guys this is Jin singing here!" (She sings the first chorus to Candy Jelly Love and STILL I tend to overlook it because of distracting other things.)
And then the rest of the members who didn't have solo exposure before Lovelyz:
There's Kei, who reminds me of Girl's Day's Minah in terms of the way she's styled (the bangs and clean cute image, I suppose) and because she's the main vocalist ahaha. I'm surprised she was never in the media before. Her voice is pretty similar to many of the other girls' voices, but there's a smoothness and control to it that I can pick out. ;u; I do like that she doesn't actively try to sound cuter despite softening up for Candy Jelly Love. (In contrast, Jin obviously tries to use a cuter side to her voice in the song.)
For anyone questioning her main vocal abilities, see 1:43 of: Acapella performance of Word Up
My bias in the group so far is Soojung, who sings the first solo of Candy Jelly Love. She's uuuuugh so cute/pretty and reminds me of Morning Musume's Kudou Haruka who I also find to be an angel. I love that she's one of the youngest (born in 1997 lord help me) but is the one with a deeper, slightly husky voice AND is one of the vocal carries, with really good lines. (She does choruses in both Good Night Like Yesterday and Candy Jelly Love!)
Speaking of young, then there's maknae Yein who's born in 1998 jfc.. She has a certain awkward cuteness to her that's very appropriate for her 16 year oldness LOL. Something about her's very endearing. I don't know the range of her vocal prowess but so far to me she seems like she can sing well enough? There's a certain rawness and husky undertone to her voice that makes her one of the easiest to pick out. (Her parts are the 1st solo of the 2nd verse of Candy Jelly Love and the 1st singer in the bridge of Good Night Like Yesterday.) (I like that the two members with slightly lower voices in the group are the youngest ones LOL I can see this group having hella maknae power..)
And who can forget Mijoo? What the hell. She's so fucking pretty. Maybe it's because she has a gorgeously bright smile showing all her straight teeth, but she reminds me of Sooyoung from SNSD. And it's also because they're both so-so singers that do try! Soft tones and they both do the little squeak that even I do because I don't have the technique/control to end notes in a more complete way. It's charming from them though! I hope she'll be able to prove my impression of her as a passable-but-not-spectacular vocalist wrong. ;u; I think she has potential?
Ah... and lastly Jisoo, who's immersed in scandal to the point that she couldn't join the girls for their debut. It kind of works out since she had THE TINIEST TINY part in "Candy Jelly Love," thus it doesn't feel like much is missing. She does the engrish speaking part before the bridge that goes, "You're the best ever come in my life. You're the best of my life," and I think that's it ahah. So my assumption is that she's not a strong singer, though I guess I can't judge from this. AND THEN she's given the entire 2nd verse of Good Night Like Yesterday and doesn't sound impressive but also is passable enough?! So good for her! She probably has hidden potential too!
I love that despite their image of being cutesy (which is linked to being weak tbh), that's not all and they do sing. Especially after hearing their acapella bits, I think they have the potential to really bring it.... And I do appreciate that their weaker vocalists or members considered the "visuals" do make efforts to sing. They're actually more than passable and I like their voices enough. ;u; A Pink and SNSD are some of my favorite groups but to use them as an example: Na Eun and Yoona in purely vocal performances. Objectively, they struggle to be passable in terms of singing ability. (But still they've got plenty of other strong points and they're some of my favorites tbh. I just don't look to them for vocals.)
Sound's speeding!
hyu hyu, this is basically a narcissistic post of, "Hey look at these pictures that I'm in that kind of show what I've been up to!"
Yeeeeee, I had hella fun on this film shoot even if it meant long days and very little sleep. The shoot was supposed to end last Saturday, but they added one more day next Saturday for pick-up shots. But man, as soon as last Saturday was over, I basically went into a faux coma LOLLL. Got out of bed at 5 PM on Sunday..... Got out of bed at 3 PM on Monday because my only non-cancelled class was my 7 PM one........ Still pretty productive though throughout the nights. :> I'm a little sad that the last day of the shoot is coming since I'm not sure if I'll get the chance/have time to do any more shoots, but I learned a lot since it was my first time on a big'ish film shoot... I always used to say I don't have interest in film production (and only wanted to do post-production) but this changed that. ^^
(Also can I just say that I am super proud of myself for not only being able to stand in front of a room of people but also for being able to speak loudly and confidently in front of everyone without stuttering alksdfjlksdf)
On stand-by.
My friend Edy told me to make the face at him and now I wish I were smiling LOL qq.. (These are taken with a film camera with rich-looking, expired film; pretty cool.)
OOPS HAHAHAHAHA....
Yeeeeee, I had hella fun on this film shoot even if it meant long days and very little sleep. The shoot was supposed to end last Saturday, but they added one more day next Saturday for pick-up shots. But man, as soon as last Saturday was over, I basically went into a faux coma LOLLL. Got out of bed at 5 PM on Sunday..... Got out of bed at 3 PM on Monday because my only non-cancelled class was my 7 PM one........ Still pretty productive though throughout the nights. :> I'm a little sad that the last day of the shoot is coming since I'm not sure if I'll get the chance/have time to do any more shoots, but I learned a lot since it was my first time on a big'ish film shoot... I always used to say I don't have interest in film production (and only wanted to do post-production) but this changed that. ^^
(Also can I just say that I am super proud of myself for not only being able to stand in front of a room of people but also for being able to speak loudly and confidently in front of everyone without stuttering alksdfjlksdf)
 |
| pc: Edy |
My friend Edy told me to make the face at him and now I wish I were smiling LOL qq.. (These are taken with a film camera with rich-looking, expired film; pretty cool.)
 |
| pc: Edy |
A snap of me at the end of a lunch break. Real fuckin' flattering.
And now shots in which I'm pretty insignificant but at least I'm still kinda there--and still doing what I consider to be cool things!
 |
| pc: Colin |
First day on the shoot and nobody told me how wrongly I was doing my boom op job Q________Q I should be much, much closer, and the pole should be horizontal aaaa embarrassed. Oh well. Actually I'm pretty sure I must've gained some muscles from this film LOL.
 |
| pc: Meghann |
Second to last day (excl. upcoming pick-up day) and I was the only person on the sound team to show up.... so I got, er, "promoted" to production audio mixer. :'DDDDDD Which is actually a lot less of a crucial job than boom operator imo but oh well. Stole my grip&lighting friend to help boom op for me in this scene heee..
 |
| pc: Colin |
Somewhere on the side, but. At least I can say I worked alongside this heeeeella legitimate $$$ equipment. :D (the cam, and this doesn't even include the zoom lens and the dolly....) (hell, the microphone I was holding was like $4000..)
Momentum in the Moment
Aah, feels so good to be proactive. ^^ Film shoots have been unexpectedly so fun! Long hours and late nights but I'm learning a lot, enjoying the experience, making friends pretty easily, feeling good and confident. I've been one of the two boom mic operators, but also trying to help out lighting & grip when they're shorthanded by the end of the night. Today after work, I had dinner with my coworker and met her friends, which was fun. I'm socializing! The past few days, I've only been at my computer from 11 PM/1 AM til 4 AM. I need to stay up this late to do homework and take a breather and get things done, but I am productive. Tonight, I looked over the footage of a project I'm editing, and then I put together my resume and cover letter to apply for a really exciting internship I'm hoping to be able to do next semester. Despite working for 3.5 years, this is my first time properly applying to a job/internship and this one would be simply amazing to get!!
Chains
on the freedom of expression are the heaviest.
I really, mrgh.. have been feeling unmotivated lately. Like my spirit's been sucked out of me. Because life is busy and stressful, but not in any kind of fulfilling way. The drive I used to have to really pour all of my effort and heart into anything I engage in has taken a back seat--because what I'm being forced to do doesn't feel worth it, doesn't feel beneficial or rewarding, and I don't have a choice. I already have little to no free time, so it just feels sucky that the things I must commit my time to feel like a waste. Like going to class, where I feel like I'm hardly learning anything recently but attendance is required. And there's been a lot of disrespect and a lot of belittling of us students. How are we the inexperienced going to ever break out of this trap if only the experienced elite are allowed to do anything? Work is good, but just too busy, too overwhelming, and my newly bestowed tasks allow 0 innovative freedom which kind of makes me feel dead inside. Homework is a waste of time. Having assignments to spend the night on when you get home late everyday is a fucking bummer. But I will do all my homework because I have an obsession with grades that's arguably unhealthy. And this month, there will be lots of film shoots for projects I'm not even given room to care about because I'm just an inexperienced lackey and free student labor, and suddenly I matter when they want me to give up more of my time and my weekends... Go to work, film shoot until probably past 1 AM, go to work/class the next day, somehow fit homework in there, rinse and repeat. Obligation and no 'me time.' Gross. Lethargy. And frustrating ass people aren't really helping either.
And in the midst of this, I'm trying to find an outlet somehow somewhere. Two things that give me a recharge: singing and writing.
Sometime last week, I decided to procrastinate on an assignment (guess who's dealing with that now heh) and instead write and record a rap because I impulsively really felt like doing it, and this is one of the best things I've done in the past couple weeks in terms of personal fulfillment. It makes me so happy even if I'm not great at lyric writing or rapping. But... no time to mix it...... I wonder when it will be able to see the light of day, heh. :'D Plus I don't know if anyone will like or appreciate it.
And recently, I've had this inexplicable desire to write a screenplay. I didn't even have any story ideas; I just liked the very process of writing a screenplay.
So I spent my gap between classes yesterday trying to brainstorm story ideas, since I couldn't go home and do more urgently productive things. I realized that what gets me so stuck when it comes to screenwriting is the restriction of my imagination to merely reality, what's "easy to film," what's relatable to college students, etc. For us Radio-TV-Film students, it's so hammered into our heads that what's important is film production. When I write screenplay, I'm told to think about what might be filmable. When you try to make small talk with others in the major, they ask about if you're doing any film shoots. You just kind of forget that there's "Radio-TV" also attached to our lol degree title lol and that live action, accessible films aren't the only films there are.
I'm sorry, but truth be told, reality gets boring for me.
When I saw Book of Life (which btw is an AMAAAAAAAZING gem of a movie that I want to see again and highly recommend), I had this realization like, "This narrative and dialogue are all so well done..... The writing is great.. Ah........ wait, scripts can apply to animation as well... Maybe I can write a screenplay for animation, and it's okay even if my imagination soars?! Whoa!"
And animation is like a whole other world to me since nobody even mentions it in our department. You kind of forget that in animation, there are also people writing and editing and designing audio.....? The entire team isn't just made up of artists...? :'D (I actually am very interested in maybe trying to work on sound for animation or video games in the future heheh. But we learned nothing of the sort in classes, so good luck me.)
It's scary how much quicker a story comes to me when I have freedom of imagining life beyond humans. I came up with a simple premise as my short gap between classes would allow. I went to class all newly pumped up--not for the actual class at all--but to be able to bounce my thoughts and bombard my animation major classmate with questions.
I had a lot of apprehension I wanted to ask him about. Perhaps I'm thinking too practical and being the very thing entrapping myself. But what I wanted to know was: is there a point in me writing for animation when I'm not an animation major? This is the effect of film people practically ramming the belief that there's no point in writing screenplays unless it's filmable down my throat. Are there different rules between writing for film and for animation? I know animation majors focus a lot on coming up with characters, so since they already have the ideas, do they just develop those into stories? And meanwhile, there's no need for a pure writer or filmmaker to write a story that will be actually produced by other people? No need to 'outsource' for ideas?
"You should write whatever you feel like writing," this classmate told me. Oh, so much relief. That's what I need to hear.
Still, the answers to the questions were as I somewhat expected. They start with art designs and go into storyboarding. The outline and script are fluid, and there's no blueprint that dictates how the entire animation will go. In other words, it seems like there's no room for me. And the unfortunate lack of focus on narrative in the film major is just as apparent in the animation major. We have no classes about how to properly develop a story; what we learn is mostly technical or aesthetically driven.
This classmate didn't say or do anything wrong and I really appreciate him showing interest and discussing all this with me. But I just couldn't help but feel shut down. "What were you thinking for character design?" I don't know. I didn't think that far. That's not even one of the first things I think of. "You would want to keep to certain shapes for this kind of character. And how about conflicts?" So the one thing I felt a spark from, the one way I thought I might express myself with, I feel like I'm not qualified to do and like there's no point in me doing it. Not that there's time, heh.
And then I get sad because this all reflects a lot of work I see, whether done by students, or online, or professionally. Substance and cohesive narrative are no longer key despite how important they are, and how much they do make or break the quality of a piece. What's concentrated on is superficial--though I do acknowledge there's importance in appearance and presentation. How should we light this shot? What does the character look like? Custom art and animation are not only required, but make up a large portion of your score! And very little thought into conducting a story that makes sense and is fascinating/meaningful, or the actual singing in what's advertised as a 'singing' competition. Yes, that was an extremely pointed comment.
I really, mrgh.. have been feeling unmotivated lately. Like my spirit's been sucked out of me. Because life is busy and stressful, but not in any kind of fulfilling way. The drive I used to have to really pour all of my effort and heart into anything I engage in has taken a back seat--because what I'm being forced to do doesn't feel worth it, doesn't feel beneficial or rewarding, and I don't have a choice. I already have little to no free time, so it just feels sucky that the things I must commit my time to feel like a waste. Like going to class, where I feel like I'm hardly learning anything recently but attendance is required. And there's been a lot of disrespect and a lot of belittling of us students. How are we the inexperienced going to ever break out of this trap if only the experienced elite are allowed to do anything? Work is good, but just too busy, too overwhelming, and my newly bestowed tasks allow 0 innovative freedom which kind of makes me feel dead inside. Homework is a waste of time. Having assignments to spend the night on when you get home late everyday is a fucking bummer. But I will do all my homework because I have an obsession with grades that's arguably unhealthy. And this month, there will be lots of film shoots for projects I'm not even given room to care about because I'm just an inexperienced lackey and free student labor, and suddenly I matter when they want me to give up more of my time and my weekends... Go to work, film shoot until probably past 1 AM, go to work/class the next day, somehow fit homework in there, rinse and repeat. Obligation and no 'me time.' Gross. Lethargy. And frustrating ass people aren't really helping either.
And in the midst of this, I'm trying to find an outlet somehow somewhere. Two things that give me a recharge: singing and writing.
Sometime last week, I decided to procrastinate on an assignment (guess who's dealing with that now heh) and instead write and record a rap because I impulsively really felt like doing it, and this is one of the best things I've done in the past couple weeks in terms of personal fulfillment. It makes me so happy even if I'm not great at lyric writing or rapping. But... no time to mix it...... I wonder when it will be able to see the light of day, heh. :'D Plus I don't know if anyone will like or appreciate it.
And recently, I've had this inexplicable desire to write a screenplay. I didn't even have any story ideas; I just liked the very process of writing a screenplay.
So I spent my gap between classes yesterday trying to brainstorm story ideas, since I couldn't go home and do more urgently productive things. I realized that what gets me so stuck when it comes to screenwriting is the restriction of my imagination to merely reality, what's "easy to film," what's relatable to college students, etc. For us Radio-TV-Film students, it's so hammered into our heads that what's important is film production. When I write screenplay, I'm told to think about what might be filmable. When you try to make small talk with others in the major, they ask about if you're doing any film shoots. You just kind of forget that there's "Radio-TV" also attached to our lol degree title lol and that live action, accessible films aren't the only films there are.
I'm sorry, but truth be told, reality gets boring for me.
When I saw Book of Life (which btw is an AMAAAAAAAZING gem of a movie that I want to see again and highly recommend), I had this realization like, "This narrative and dialogue are all so well done..... The writing is great.. Ah........ wait, scripts can apply to animation as well... Maybe I can write a screenplay for animation, and it's okay even if my imagination soars?! Whoa!"
And animation is like a whole other world to me since nobody even mentions it in our department. You kind of forget that in animation, there are also people writing and editing and designing audio.....? The entire team isn't just made up of artists...? :'D (I actually am very interested in maybe trying to work on sound for animation or video games in the future heheh. But we learned nothing of the sort in classes, so good luck me.)
It's scary how much quicker a story comes to me when I have freedom of imagining life beyond humans. I came up with a simple premise as my short gap between classes would allow. I went to class all newly pumped up--not for the actual class at all--but to be able to bounce my thoughts and bombard my animation major classmate with questions.
I had a lot of apprehension I wanted to ask him about. Perhaps I'm thinking too practical and being the very thing entrapping myself. But what I wanted to know was: is there a point in me writing for animation when I'm not an animation major? This is the effect of film people practically ramming the belief that there's no point in writing screenplays unless it's filmable down my throat. Are there different rules between writing for film and for animation? I know animation majors focus a lot on coming up with characters, so since they already have the ideas, do they just develop those into stories? And meanwhile, there's no need for a pure writer or filmmaker to write a story that will be actually produced by other people? No need to 'outsource' for ideas?
"You should write whatever you feel like writing," this classmate told me. Oh, so much relief. That's what I need to hear.
Still, the answers to the questions were as I somewhat expected. They start with art designs and go into storyboarding. The outline and script are fluid, and there's no blueprint that dictates how the entire animation will go. In other words, it seems like there's no room for me. And the unfortunate lack of focus on narrative in the film major is just as apparent in the animation major. We have no classes about how to properly develop a story; what we learn is mostly technical or aesthetically driven.
This classmate didn't say or do anything wrong and I really appreciate him showing interest and discussing all this with me. But I just couldn't help but feel shut down. "What were you thinking for character design?" I don't know. I didn't think that far. That's not even one of the first things I think of. "You would want to keep to certain shapes for this kind of character. And how about conflicts?" So the one thing I felt a spark from, the one way I thought I might express myself with, I feel like I'm not qualified to do and like there's no point in me doing it. Not that there's time, heh.
And then I get sad because this all reflects a lot of work I see, whether done by students, or online, or professionally. Substance and cohesive narrative are no longer key despite how important they are, and how much they do make or break the quality of a piece. What's concentrated on is superficial--though I do acknowledge there's importance in appearance and presentation. How should we light this shot? What does the character look like? Custom art and animation are not only required, but make up a large portion of your score! And very little thought into conducting a story that makes sense and is fascinating/meaningful, or the actual singing in what's advertised as a 'singing' competition. Yes, that was an extremely pointed comment.
Catchin' catchin' up
Some more pictures from the past 2 weeks!
Classmates and I had a film shoot for our short film entitled "Cheater." The first night of shooting went til 4 AM, and the second night ended at 6 AM and I got home at 8 AM. hyuuuuuu. lord.
I was in charge of audio so I got to work a $299 Tascam audio recorder that we rented, and was also boom mic operator. The second night, we were short of hands so I also did some lighting/grip work and running extension cables and shit. Got a lot more physical than I expected, but... you know. Group projects teach you that you can't trust everyone to help or show up just because they say they will.
By the end of it at 6 AM. Rainy, cold, exhaustion.
A happy farewell to my shotgun mic bae of those 2 days, to which I was very attached to. with a cable. on my belt. Literally attached. We were married.
Right, and Halloween was 2 days ago.
:'D
..
Yano was like, "Hey Eva, want a Halloween costume?" and I said sure.
So I was a maid for Halloween.
Classmates and I had a film shoot for our short film entitled "Cheater." The first night of shooting went til 4 AM, and the second night ended at 6 AM and I got home at 8 AM. hyuuuuuu. lord.
I was in charge of audio so I got to work a $299 Tascam audio recorder that we rented, and was also boom mic operator. The second night, we were short of hands so I also did some lighting/grip work and running extension cables and shit. Got a lot more physical than I expected, but... you know. Group projects teach you that you can't trust everyone to help or show up just because they say they will.
Happy boom op. (photo credit: Edy)
Filming with Black Magic.
A happy farewell to my shotgun mic bae of those 2 days, to which I was very attached to. with a cable. on my belt. Literally attached. We were married.
Right, and Halloween was 2 days ago.
:'D
..
Yano was like, "Hey Eva, want a Halloween costume?" and I said sure.
So I was a maid for Halloween.
but I'm not sure what this little tool is for~ g o s h u j i n s a m a ☆
[PHLOG] Mexico Cruise
0
comments
Labels:
food,
phlog,
pictures
[Blog, vlog, PHOTO LOG...]
Yo, yo!! Aaaa first time in a long time having a day just at home *^* Lots of things I wanted to blog about are no longer current, but looking back, I really did have a blast on my company cruise to Mexico so I'll dedicate a post to that~ I'm really lucky because I've been working there long enough to have the company cover all of my cruise expenses. I had to miss a whole day of class and I missed the opportunity to pitch my short screenplay The Anti-Cupid to the class as a potential to be made into a film, buuuuuut this might be a once in a lifetime chance that I'm glad I didn't miss!
It was such an adventure!! My first time on a cruise! And we went to Ensenada in Baja California, Mexico! And I felt like I got closer with my coworkers, who were great company!
Yo, yo!! Aaaa first time in a long time having a day just at home *^* Lots of things I wanted to blog about are no longer current, but looking back, I really did have a blast on my company cruise to Mexico so I'll dedicate a post to that~ I'm really lucky because I've been working there long enough to have the company cover all of my cruise expenses. I had to miss a whole day of class and I missed the opportunity to pitch my short screenplay The Anti-Cupid to the class as a potential to be made into a film, buuuuuut this might be a once in a lifetime chance that I'm glad I didn't miss!
It was such an adventure!! My first time on a cruise! And we went to Ensenada in Baja California, Mexico! And I felt like I got closer with my coworkers, who were great company!
 |
| photo credit: Jun |
Come aboard?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
