How time flies! (What a cliche opening!) It's been two months since I left EY. I was lucky that GZTV English Channel decided to take me in despite the fact that I only had TV-watching experience previously. I have learned a lot from fellow apprentices along the road who have not hesitated to share their TV-production knowledge. The learning journey sort of reminds me the good old days back at EY. Knowledge is indeed power. And sharing it means greater synergy and efficiency in teamwork. What's interesting to discover is colleagues in GZTV are quite creative and artistic. Their creativity can simply spring out of the box, which I was truly impressed. I have seen so many talents that have exhibited huge potential in directing and editing. They are no longer graduates from majors such as finance, commerce, economics or management. Rather, they have obtained their bachelors or masters in the field of communications, journalism or directing. I know I have made the right decision. Just let time prove it. Leaving EY is definitely a difficult decision, but it was not a bad decision. And even bad decision could be sometimes better than no decision at all. I do thank EY for giving me the financial literacy that I could not fully understand back in my university days, but it's also time to move on. Chen Xiao Nan at Phoenix TV used to say and I paraphrased that the luckiest thing in one's life is to get the job you can enjoy. I know money talks almost 99% of the time no matter how much one doesn't want to admit it. I would like to thank my parents for supporting me who believe in that 1% when money doesn't talk. I know my decision is selfish and it could have hurt them especially when it comes to the fact that I will no longer be able to afford them a big house to live in or a luxury car to drive, let alone those trans-Pacific and trans-Atlantic travel and not to mention those space tourism in the upcoming future. So what have I obtained in these two months? I have learned the concept of non-linear audio and video editing. I have witnessed the power of Merging Technologies' Pyramix Visual Studio, a commercial alternative to Adobe Audition. I have seen the flexibility of Dayang D-Cube-Edit, a domestic replacement killer of Adobe Premiere. I start to pick up Adobe Photoshop. I also start to appreciate TV and even film production more. I begin to further realize the hardwork by behind-the-scenes people. Equally astounding is the chance to receive a screen test. For those who have shown me support by going to see Superman Returns, you can download my audition video here. Just follow the instruction step by step in the Readme FIRST!!!.txt text file. I have stuttered several times in the video and my accent might seem weird, but I think that's ok for me who have never been trained in broadcasting. By the way, for those who have not gone to see Superman Returns because they never plan to, you're forbidden to download because it will be a waste of your time. And I mean it! This is an all out war declared on you thick-skulled guys! I really hate you guys and I'm going home! (Sounds like what Eric Cartman from South Park likes to say, haha) The ultimate joy for me so far is being able to edit video non-linearly. By piecing together different shots by the cameraman, adding some special effects and matching voiceover, I was able to post-produce some good video to tell a story that I had never thought of as a mission possible. You can download my virgin editing works here. Guess what, the video is somewhat Big Four-related. Both file will be available for 7 days or 100 downloads. I will post more video editing works with my voiceover in the future. I'm really loving my job now, savoring every minute of it.
