Macau Documentary

[Marilina Crawn]

Thisunderstanding of how memory functions is challenging. It does not seem to conform to our daily experiences. On a more fundamental level, it also suggests that we may not know ourselves nearly as well as we think. As a historian I know that all personal narratives not tied to contemporaneous documentation are at least somewhat suspect.

The creative nature of memory indicates that it is not an entirely individual phenomenon. Memories are cemented in our identities largely through the act of sharing them. This suggests the existence of a communal or social quality to certain types of memory. I might, for instance, have clear memories of some childhood incident precisely because my parents frequently repeated that story but not some other one. The construction of shared memories is a critical means by which we create and shape our communities.

Outside viewers would likely approach this documentary with a different set of questions. Rather than asking what is remembered, they may be more likely to ask who is doing the remembering in the first place? Such viewers are unlikely to be intimately familiar with the faces and life stories that flash across the screen. Second, they would probably have some questions about the genre and purpose of this film, particularly if they are not martial artists. And if they came from another part of the hand combat community, they might find themselves asking about the nature of Wing Chun itself.

Such commemorative works are of interest to me as any effort to propagate social memories of the past are also an ideal opportunity to reshape how practices are understood in the present. And one can spot several instances where this documentary may do just that. Many historical discussions of the Chinese martial arts obsess on a mythological (or at least solidly late-imperial) past. This project, on the other hand, repeatedly framed Wing Chun as a modern and dynamic fighting system with a bright future. This could be seen in all sorts of places, from the sorts of personal stories that were told to the interior design sensibilities of the schools that were visited. In an era when Wing Chun students are regularly bombarded with images of their fellow stylists getting trounced by MMA practitioners on social media, members of the Ho Kam Ming lineage repeatedly pointed out that they were gearing up for full contact, mixed style, tournaments a decade or more before it was cool. Other instructors in Macau noted that they continue to do so today.

This documentary seems to have a different message for its viewers. The continual visual juxtaposition of the growth and modernization of Macau with the expansion of Wing Chun provides audiences with a powerful counter-argument to these gloomy meta-narratives. It is certainly true that the nature of the Chinese martial arts community is changing. The boom years of the 1970s and 1980s are behind us and unlikely to return.

The respondent is Frontline, the 32-year-old award-winning public television series that regularly speaks truth to power, along with its founder, David Fanning, and its executive producer, Raney Aronson-Rath.

Then, after much handwringing and many disagreements between Frontline and Team Bergman over various edits of the film, it was delayed once again, tentatively rescheduled, and finally cancelled for good on January 22 of this year.

But Team Bergman contends that Frontline, which owns the footage and funded the film to the tune of $700,000, killed it mainly out of a fear of litigation from billionaire gambling titans Steve Wynn and Sheldon Adelson.

Fanning and Aronson-Rath had already decided to postpone the documentary last September when Wynn, 73, slapped a slander suit on hedge fund manager James Chanos, who was interviewed on camera for the film.

On September 21, nine days before the widely-promoted documentary was scheduled to air, Fanning and Aronson-Rath summoned Isaacs, Bergman, and London-based filmmaker Bill Cran, who had been toiling on the script, to an emergency meeting in Boston.

At dinner in Boston after the September 21 meeting, the dispirited Bergmanites predicted that their documentary would once again be delayed; their fears were quickly confirmed, and Frontline took control of the final edit.

At one point during the conference call, according to contemporaneous notes taken by Bergman associate Zachary Stauffer, David Fanning ruminated on the negative impact of a potential lawsuit from Steve Wynn on the future of Frontline and its overworked staff.

Still, the two sides continued to tweak the film even as the facts on the ground were beginning to change; the authoritarian government on Mainland China was preparing to crack down on Triad-fueled fueled currency violations and money laundering in Macau. Various gambling junket operations shut down; arrests were being made.

By last month, a once-exploding industry was contracting violently. The Macau gaming bubble had begun to burst. The revelations in Bigger Than Vegas, as presented and edited, were slipping past their sell-by date.

The documentary adopts a fast-paced and network-like narrative method, and each episode tells a small story of different regions and fields with different characteristics, paying great attention to the audience habits of the current mobile new media platform.

Students in the Department of Communication develop their talents and skills in reporting, writing, photography, video production, cinematography, and digital graphics. Every semester students work with each other and with staff to create original productions, publications, and manage student organizations. The tangible products of their efforts include student publications, videos, and other creative work.

UM Bridges is an English language publication produced by fourth year students in the Department of Communication. Through this publication, students apply the skills of journalism, publishing, design and event planning. The aim of this publication is to cultivate an awareness in the students and call their attention to issues happening around them.

The Video Workshop is a fourth year course for students majoring in Communication at the University of Macau. Students work together to produce documentary, experimental, and narrative shorts films that engage creatively with the given theme of the semester. Work can be seen at the Creative Media Lab.

The passion and hard work that a team of four Grade 10 students put into a film project has not gone unnoticed. Working together before and after school for countless weeks has won them third place at The Golden Fountain Awards. The award ceremony was held last month at the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST).

The Golden Fountain Award is a short film and microscript competition sponsored by the Film Academy of MUST and supported by the MUST Foundation. The competition is divided into three sections: script, feature film and documentary. The purpose of the competition is to promote student exchanges by cultivating script creativity in film and television.

The inspiration behind "Many Make Macau" was to show not only the traditional side of Macau depicted in most other projects, but also the modern aspect of Macanese society as they are both equally important. Along with this, we also wanted to show the diverse blend of cultures that can be found in Macau, from Portuguese to African to Chinese. This blend of cultures is the fabric of what Macau is today and that is why we wanted to make this the focus in our project.

We did face a few obstacles when filming, namely the logistical issues of filming at the break of dawn, which took a lot of willpower for some of us to get up at five in the morning and make our way across the bridge to the Macau Tower. Also, many of our filming locations were scattered all across Macau, from the border gate in the Macau peninsula all the way to Hac Sa Beach in Coloane.

Some of the skills we used during the filmmaking process we learned at TIS, while some of the more complex tricks we learned on our own accord. One of the subjects some of us have taken that contributed to the success of this project is Multimedia A taught by Mr. Nick Soentgerath. His contributions were significant as he was the teacher who initially introduced us to the project. Mr. Soentgerath also lent us camera equipment that was vital to the filming process. Another subject that truly helped with this process was the three years of Middle School I.C.T/C.T.F (Information Communication Technology/Career and Technology Foundations), which was taught by Mrs. Paige Janveaux. This course taught us vital and important skills that we used when filming and editing our product.

When a Hollywood film does well, its payout comes in millions of dollars in ticket sales. However, when a brand film does well, its payout can be audience engagement, growing brand recognition and loyalty, and an improved company reputation.

The purpose of TV commercials was typically to sell or inform consumers about a new product. Branded short films, Web series, and social videos aim to do much more. Selling a product is often simply one of many results from making a good branded video.

Online films naturally build up a social following for a brand. Most companies post videos to the big three: Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter, with others partnering with relevant websites or creating their own sites for the film.

"We were trying to tap into an emotion; we wanted to create something inspiring," adds Campbell. "As a viewer, maybe you can identify with your own inner child and, if you played with Matchbox cars, ask yourself, what would you do with that car?"

Subtlety key for branded content

Subtlety is the key in brand films. Content creators often refer to the line between "beating someone over the head" with the brand and integrating it naturally as walking a tightrope.

The Audition is a short film featuring Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, as they travel to Asia to vie for a part in a new Martin Scorsese movie. However, they do not know they are competing with each other for the role.

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