Korea Dreambus!

The Crawl

2009-06-27T20:18:00.000-04:00

Crawling through footage. I'm overwhelmed.

Update

2009-05-13T14:50:00.004-04:00

I've recently been in touch with someone who will collaborate with me on getting the teacher orientation video marketed in Korea. This is a marvelous connection for both of us, as he is working as a teacher trainer and will be heading to either Korea or China soon. Thanks to Yun for putting us in touch!

The summer is officially here and I am officially working on the film, getting my hands dirty with editing, finally. Feels wonderful! I've got an editor friend in Minneapolis who's going to give me some feedback once I get a rough done up.

Things are starting to move again.

Working out 2009

2009-03-16T01:02:00.002-04:00

I spent the last week on a writing retreat at the Constance Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts and was able to clear a lot of writing projects (or pieces of projects) from my overflowing plate. Since Mom's death I've been trying to sort out my project priorities, what's easily finished and what will require more time and energy.

A "fine rough cut" of Korea Dreambus! will be completed by end of the year. By that I mean I will have the EDL finalized and will have most of it actually done, with the exception of any animations or more complicated post production effects. Sound may also require more time to finish off. However it is perfectly reasonable for me to get this much done in the next eight and a half months, given that I have logged the footage already and have written parts of the script.

I'll be blogging more regularly now, as well, and hopefully will have some milestones to report along the way.

Elsie Rose Cambio (1927 - 2009)

2009-01-25T19:46:00.006-05:00

My mother passed away on Jan. 22, 2009 after a long illness and much suffering. I was with her when she passed peacefully. Words cannot express how much I miss her, but I know she is in a better place, probably cutting a rug with her beloved Angelo, my dad.

Elsie Cambio - Obituary

Me & My Hat Rack (My Hat Rack & Me)

2009-01-15T19:05:00.005-05:00

One thing is for sure: after trolling through YouTube, I see a lot of the same stuff related to ex-pats in Korea. I am more inspired to write the script from the "KoreaDreambus!" metaphor, which is really how this whole thing began.

You know when you have a kick-ass idea, and then you run with it and it starts to morph into something else, but it's still not what you want, so you add bells and whistles and schpontoons and then next time you look at it, it's a huge blob of unidentifiable, transmorgified and completely overwhelming...stuff? Now you're afraid of it; you shove it aside, ignore it, put a hat on it and pretend it's a hat rack so you don't have to interact with it. But then you keep tripping on it. It follows you into the bathroom and stares at you when you look in the mirror. Then you know... you need to remember why you wanted to do this thing in the first place.

So you go back to that original thing, the thing that turned you on the first place, that brought you to the point of wanting to DO something. And you wipe the slate clean and begin where you left off...at the beginnig.

If you've felt that way, then you know exactly how I feel now. I am on a writing retreat and I'm dedicating a chunk of time to Korea Dreambus! This sucker is getting made this year if it kills me.

Kickin' It in Geumchon

2009-01-15T18:53:00.001-05:00

This video just made me laugh and cry.

Direction

2009-01-09T19:17:00.000-05:00

I've recently formed a screenwriting group here in Ithaca, and at our first informal meeting I confessed that I was struggling with the direction for this documentary. Should it be a standard "EFL in Korea doco" or a more personal film. Immediately the response I received was to go for the personal film and use the interviews as extras. So in essence, make two programs - the main one my personal experience, the shorter one more of a "how to" that can go on the DVD. This seems a simple solution, one that I am very happy with.

So I am focusing my scriptwriting on my own experience rather than a "how to" or straightforward expose. My journal entries from my year there and my return in '07 have already provided a lot of great material - now for organizing it.

I coulda told you that.

2009-01-09T19:16:00.000-05:00

According to this article on english.chosun.com, Korean kids don't get enough sleep. The final paragraph is of special interest:

The research team said, "We found that the more hours the children spend at private cramming institutes, the less satisfied they and their parents are with their performance; and the more obese the children are, the fewer hours they sleep." "Special attention is needed, because sleep deprivation has negative effects such as diseases, psychological instability, poor performance, and stunted growth," it warned.

Fall Update

2008-11-12T08:13:00.004-05:00

We're well into November, now, and wereas I thought things would ease up a bit around here, they have not. Not in the least. We moved my Mom into an assisted living facility, then she went into the hospital after falling a number of times. My attention is still rooted in her care, and I haven't done much else outside of work.

However, there is something fun to look at - a new website for ex-pats in Korea who have asked to reprint my article. It's a new site and is sure to grow exponentially: The Yeogiyo.com. Give those folks a visit and tell 'em you found them through Korea Dreambus!

Happy Belated Chuseok!

2008-09-16T08:57:00.003-04:00

The Korean harvest festival holiday was last week. It's often described to Americans as "Korea's Thanksgiving." You can read a decent entry about it at Wikipedia, as well as Korea.net.

I spent Chuseok 2002 with my roommate's family, who were so kind to share their holiday with me. The food was incredible (when is Korean food NOT incredible?) and we had a lovely day, including a trip to JinHa beach in the early evening.

Article on teaching in Korea

2008-08-23T12:06:00.005-04:00

I've published an article about making the most of your teaching experience in Korea. Check it out: Transitions Abroad article.

I have had to take a part-time desk job to pay bills while I scramble for teaching jobs. The upshot is working a lot of hours, plus still grappling with Mom's situation.

The good news is I've been working on the script for the film and I feel like it's coming together. Small steps, but they are at least in the right direction.

Clearing the ground

2008-08-04T15:26:00.004-04:00

The 6-week summer college program at Cornell ended on Friday after an immensely satisfying if exhausting session. My Chinese students are back home, going to school and praying for their summer break which comes in a week or two.

I am tired from a weekend of camping and hiking, but feeling refreshed and ready to press on with the film and my other writing projects. Over the next couple of months I would like to get the rest of the footage logged, and I plan to spend fall writing the script. In the dead of winter, when there isn't a bloody thing to do in Upstate New York if you don't ski or like hiking in sub-freezing temps, I will edit my little heart out.

Summer ESL

2008-06-24T07:27:00.004-04:00

I've just started teaching in a 6-week intensive Summer College ESL program at Cornell. So far I think I'm going to enjoy the program and my students. I have eight young men and women from China in my class, all between the ages of 16-17. They are very bright and I look forward to knowing them better.

Mom got her cast off yesterday and for the time being she is still in her apartment, but with additional home health aide hours every week to assist her with the things that are difficult for her to do. Meantime, I am still exploring other options for the eventuality of a more assistive living environment.

My ankle is healing very slowly after spraining it a month and a half ago (too slowly for my pleasure). I have started T'ai Chi again in the last 2 weeks, which seems to be helping, though.

Although I am swamped with summer college work, the film is never far from my mind, and I am jotting down notes for pieces of script when they come to me. Oh, and my mother found a treasure trove - she'd printed and kept every email I'd sent to her from Korea (thanks for being a pack rat, mom!) so I've started culling through those for any gems to include).

As always, thanks to everyone for their support!

Logging and Slogging

2008-06-08T17:42:00.008-04:00

I have been working my way through the DVDs with the Quicktime files of the interviews and B-roll.

The good news is the B-roll looks fantastic. The bad news is that the last 3 interviews I did in Pusan may be unusable due to a loud buzz on the audio. This was my fault; I'd forgotten to change out the battery on the lav mic. It might be possible for a miracle in post that can clean that up. One other problem with the first two interviews I did in Seoul turned out to be the aspect ratio, which I thought was set correctly but apparently was not. I was using Chang's camera for those two interviews and was unfamiliar with it (it was a new camera to him and I had only used it once before).

But that still leaves 5 great interviews, technically speaking. They were all great interviews and each teacher did a fantastic job. The trick will be seeing what can be cleaned up and what can't.

This project got pushed to the back burner for quite some time as we had to contend with my Mom's situation. Things have been serious enough since February to warrant a complete shift in priorities. She's fallen 3 times in the last 2 months, the last fall breaking her arm. At this point we are working on finding a good assisted living facility for her that is here in Ithaca, so that she will get the care she needs and I will be able to worry less. I think my next film needs to be about the experience of having an aging parent with little to no resources! This experience is teaching me so much.

But I digress. It will take a good deal of time to log the rest of the footage. But now that I am into it and have it on my calendar for the remainder of the month, I hope to get it done as quickly as possible.

I am teaching a full-time intensive 5-week program at Cornell this summer, so during that time I don't expect to get much else done, but hopefully come August/September I will be able to finish up any logging and start some EDL and roughing. I also need to talk to Chang to get some editing strategies and scheduling laid out.

Oh, and it looks like I won't be on my way to Korea this October for KOTESOL. Perhaps next year will work out better with timing and resources. In the meantime, I will be cutting a trailer to use for obtaining finishing funds, which I DESPERATELY need.

That's the scoop for now. Thanks for your support and patience, everyone~

On hold

2008-05-13T07:29:00.006-04:00

Every thing is on hold while I spent time with my mom, who fell last week and is needing my help. She's 80 and we are very worried about her.

In the meantime, for those of you in Seoul, check this out:
World Parade

Writing the Script

2008-04-12T17:32:00.003-04:00

Something about the spring reminds me of being in Korea. Even though there are very few cherry blossoms to be found here, I can close my eyes and remember the heavy perfume of the cherry blossoms from a trip I took with friends to the mountains in spring of 2003.

The sensory stimulus of my memories has helped me to journal about my experiences there, in hindsight, which I hope will lead to some actual scripting for the film.

The semester is over in about a month, at which time I will be able to start editing.

I am still waiting to hear from KOTESOL on whether my proposal has been accepted. If all goes well, I will be returning to Korea this October to attend the conference with a rough cut under my arm for screening. I would also like to get feedback and some additional footage as needed.

Update

2008-03-21T12:56:00.004-04:00

This semester has proven more difficult to navigate than I thought it would be. I am still culling through footage, and will hopefully be done by the end of May. But so far, so good!

I will have a solid month and a half this summer to get a rough edit together. When I have a few sequences done I'll put them up.

The process of creating this film has been breathtaking. Everything has taken longer than I expected it to, no doubt because this isn't a full-time enterprise that I could devote all my time to. As anxious as I am to get it done, I am determined to enjoy the process!

The Footage is back (again)

2008-02-29T23:39:00.002-05:00

I've had the DVDs for a couple weeks. Last week my husband and I both came down with a hideous respiratory virus that kept us both prone for a solid week. This week has been tough to get back to the normal schedule; still felt weak and woozy for the first few days, but now I'm feeling mostly back to normal.

I will begin the task of logging tapes this weekend, in between birthday celebrations scheduled throughout the weekend. (My birthday is Monday, 3/3.) Hopefully I'll have something positive to report about the footage very soon.

Spring Semester Starts Up

2008-01-29T21:12:00.000-05:00

The tapes are now in the capable hands of Changhee Chun, and I expect to have the DVDs back in another week or two. Meantime, the semester has started up and I am busy with teaching Academic Writing I at Ithaca College, and working on scripts for Korea Dreambus! and other projects.

I have recently been in touch with the conference chair at KOTESOL, and he is interested in having me come to their annual conference in October to screen a work in progress. I am going to try to raise some money for plane fare for that venture - perhaps I can get additional B-roll and/or interviews as needed as well as obtaining feedback from EFL teachers currently on the scene in Korea. This would also be a wonderful deadline for me to work towards. I always work better with a deadline!

January 08 Update

2008-01-20T22:36:00.002-05:00

Well folks, I have some sad news to relate.

First and most importantly: one of our supporters, William Haflett, died unexpectedly on Jan. 3, 2008. He fell in front of his home and hit his head, and surgeons were unable to stop the bleeding in his brain. This is especially sad for me because he was my uncle. Uncle Bill and his wife Dee were both happy to support this film, and when it is finally completed, I will dedicate the film to his memory. He was a generous, wonderful man who walked the talk and always had a cheerful countenance and a joke to share. He was good to me and my husband, and I miss him very much.

Secondly, the footage that was transferred onto DVD is unusable. Something happened in the transfer process (I have no idea what and neither does the person who did the work), and the DVDs either come up blank or with incomplete footage with skips and pops. Luckily, Chang has come to the rescue and will redub these DVDs on his professional equipmment.

I am pleased to announce that Chang is also assisting with getting grant support for the travel expenses. This reimbursement is much later than I had expected, but it is coming, and that's the important thing.

I am behind schedule with reviewing and logging footage, but it won't be long now before I will be able to get into that first stage of post production.
Despite the sad beginning to the year, I am as excited and enthusiastic as ever for this project. The tragic, untimely loss of Uncle Bill motivates me to honor his memory and make my Aunt Dee proud with their support of this film.

The footage is back!

2007-12-21T14:58:00.001-05:00

I just got most of the footage back last night, the rest to come tonight, and I'm anxious to sift through it and see what's what. There should be more updates as I begin viewing and logging. I'm excited!

Happy Holidays, everyone!

Stumbling Block...

2007-12-02T10:12:00.001-05:00

Unfortunately, there has been a wrinkle in the grant award. The committee is now saying that they will NOT support the project because the expenses were for MY travel, not Chang's. I really don't see what the difference is, but I suspect there are other issues involved that I won't go into here. Chang is currently trying to see if there is any way around this very unfortunate situation.

Needless to say, I am pretty, um... how shall I put this delicately... disappointed in the committee's general lack of support for this project.

I will get over it, though, and I will be seeking other sources of funding as soon as this semester is over and I can breathe a little.

Fantastic News

2007-11-16T12:30:00.001-05:00

Hello everyone. I am very pleased to report that Korea Dreambus! will be receiving $2,000 from the Pendleton Grant, courtesy of Changhee Chun and Ithaca College.

This money will reimburse the airfare and some of the travel expenses incurred while in Korea this past summer.

I am still waiting for the tapes to be dubbed to QT files; I am confident that my associate will have those completed by Winter Break so that I can begin the exciting task of reviewing and logging the footage, and begin to rough out an edit decision list.

Thank you all for your interest and support - especially my teacher interviewees. I hope to have more updates soon.

Update

2007-09-09T18:03:00.000-04:00

I've updated the bio section of the project description, located on the sidebar. Just want to keep things current for posterity.

Finally, some deep thoughts

2007-09-09T10:16:00.000-04:00

The last few weeks have been rather hectic on the outside, but on the inside I've been mulling over thoughts and feelings about my time in Korea.

I realize now that I idealized my experiences in Korea from 2002-2003, even though it certainly wasn't all happy and sunshiny. There were some really difficult times, and I was reminded of this during my 3-week trip this summer. The feeling of absolute frustration when I couldn't communicate a simple request, or a lack of understanding on my part when a Korean would do something inexplicable to my Western mind. The fact that it was 100 degrees every day didn't help - adding heat onto an already exasperating situation usually doesn't. Perhaps the heat wave was providence as far as my film goes. Ratcheting up the stress is the best way to bring out what you REALLY feel. I'm always telling my screenwriting students that characters reveal themselves through stressful situations and the characters' reactions to conflict. This is the same in life, I firmly believe.

Uncovering the unhappy memories is, well, unpleasant. Yet at the same time, it's very healing because I now have a more holistic picture in my head of that year. It was a year of unprecedented growth for me, on a personal and emotional level. At least in some part, that growth came as a result of facing difficult circumstances and working my way through them. Viscerally feeling, remembering, coming in close contact to the place I was in at that time was a little frightening, in some ways. Coming back to a place that whipped you into shape elicits mixed feelings, as I've discovered.

I think this notion of revisiting and memory will have to be a cornerstone for my script.