Young Sunway Film Maker Goes Regional

Tuesday, 4 August 2009

Young Sunway Film Maker Goes Regional

Bandar Sunway Lee Sheng Wang makes his mark in cinematography

BANDAR Sunway and UTAR student Lee Sheng Wang is making waves in the film-making world.
In recent weeks, he was given the honor of representing Malaysia at the ASEAN-ROK Independent Cinema Workshop. The Advertising major now studying at UTAR’s Perak Campus had an opportunity to learn and capture a bountiful wealth of film-making experience from other participants from 10 other ASEAN countries and South Korea.
During the course of the workshop, Sheng Wang was exposed to numerous new skills and techniques covering various aspects of film-making such as cinematography, scriptwriting, shooting, editing, directing, lighting, as well as digital and special effects.
As participation into the workshop was based on a competitive selection process, he was very happy to be one of the lucky few. “I feel very excited as this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for me. I’m very honored to be the youngest participant there,” he said in an online interview.
As a participant of the ASEAN-ROK workshop, Sheng Wang, as well as the other participants would be required to work on a short film based on the theme “Rice in the Environment”. Their works will then collectively be made into a 90 minute production to be premiered in the upcoming Pusan Film Festival in South Korea, where their talents will be given further exposure to the international scene.
This workshop will no doubt be a stepping stone for Lee, and will definitely enable the rising talent to make bigger impacts in the field of film-making and cinematography in the future.
What’s his take on this opportunity? “I feel great, very happy and excited as it is a 'once in a life-time' opportunity. I am fortunate and honored being the youngest participant selected to participate in this regional workshop. It is a competitive selection process as only two participants are selected from each of the Asean countries.”
“The other applicants are older and more senior in the film industry. I will participate in the Cinematography workshop whereas my co-participant will participate in the Scriptwriting workshop,” he added.
The workshop is open to all independent filmmakers aged 18 to 35 years. Applicants need to show proof of participation in the minimum production of two films in the capacity as Director, Writer, Cinematographer, Editor or Producer. There are two categories of participation namely Scriptwring/Direction and Cinematography and two participants will be selected from each country. A participant can qualify for only one category. Sheng Wang applied for both categories.
“I am excited with the amount of direct and indirect learning that will take place during the workshop. The workshop content is comprehensive covering cinematography, scriptwriting, shooting, editing, directing, lighting, digital effects and special effects.
“As the workshop will be facilitated by qualified professionals and experts in the film industry I hope to gain a lot more outside the workshop sessions and during practice exercises,” he said.