Interview with Joshua Chiang;
Co-Director of S11
 This interview took place in the Preview Theatre of the Film and Media Studies block of Ngee Ann Polytechnic after the screening of the film. The film was screened as part of an irregular film event called the Filmmaker’s Seminar. Michael Kam, who is a lecturer of the Film, Sound and Video course, organises these events and also supervises the interviews which follow the screenings. The questions asked during the interviews (including this one) are provided by Mr. Kam as well as various students who were present at the respective screenings.
Q: Could you tell us a bit about yourself and how the journey began in making S11?
A: Me and Gilbert (co-director, Gilbert Chan) studied together in the School of Communication Studies (a course in Ngee Ann Polytechnic) and graduated in 2000. What happened after was that I started working at MediaCorp – it’s a nice place to work at... for a short while. (audience laughs) After that, Gilbert came up with the idea for a movie which is S11 while I was still slacking away. He actually wrote the first draft and submitted it to and won at the Singapore Screenplay Awards in 2001 and the MDA (Media Development Authority) Scriptwriting Competition in 2002. After that he came to me and asked me to come in with him and make a film together with this script. We then sat down together and reworked the script. We kept the main premise intact, but many aspects of the plot were reworked. We then took it to a couple of producers before finally settling on the Film Incubation Project which was started by the Digital Media Academy. Selected filmmakers will be provided with a grant of $100,000, or rather $50,000 because the rest of it is used for supplies and equipment. A Canon DV camera will be also provided to the filmmakers. We were actually the first filmmakers selected for this project. The second and third projects selected were Unarmed Combat by Han Yew Kwang and The High Cost of Living, which was shown at The Picturehouse a couple of months ago. The journey of the making of our film was a very, very long one. We shot it at the end of 2003 and took about three years to complete it.
Q: What was the most challenging aspect of the entire production process?
 A: The challenge of our production was actually the limitations imposed on us because of our lack of funding. $50,000 is actually very little money and there were times during the production where we actually had to beg people to provide their services for free. The music composition itself took about three months to complete. When our composers (Terence Khng and Timothy Ngoh) finally completed the score for the film, we couldn’t afford to play them a single cent. We had to motivate them to work for us by reminding them that they would be able to see their names on the credits on the big screen. Because of this incident they promised never to do anything for free again. There were also unexpected difficulties which followed such as us having to have to dub about 50-70% of the entire film. We had to call in favors from our actors to dub the film when they weren’t paid to do so. Dubbing wasn’t part of the deal. Post-production took only a total of about 3-6 months, but because of all these setbacks our completion of the film was delayed tremendously.
Q: What was the problem during production which caused you to have to dub almost the entire film?
A: Sound recording was a real problem for us because a lot of the film takes place in public areas. It’s really frustrating on set because just when you thought you’re getting a good take, a motorcycle passes by. So, there was that and also the fact that the soundman and us were not on good terms. In shooting a film, one has to be prepared for the worst. Anything that can go wrong, will be go wrong. At one point, our microphone actually broke, so some of our scenes had no recorded audio whatsoever. We had to rectify all these problems in post-production extensively. Also, the sound engineer actually went out of his way to record ambience sounds.
Q: How many drafts did your script have to go through? How were you and Gilbert able to tackle a story which featured so many different characters and interconnected events?
A: We went through about five drafts to refine the story and certain character motivations. This occurred even during our pre-production process. In this film and also in my current projects, I tend to prefer working with other writers to ensure that the script remains fresh. To answer you question, we actually noticed a lot of loopholes in our plot. But in identifying our main theme, which is that of coincidence, we were able to strengthen our script. Many of the incidents that occur in the film can be seen as coincidence or destiny, but they might have also been motivated by the characters’ personalities. So we tried to go about tying things up with this in mind. That’s really the fun in the scriptwriting process actually. But everything has to begin with that first draft. So if you have a story in mind, just go ahead and write it, then show it to the people you trust afterwards and consider their criticisms and suggestions. But then of course there is the producer to satisfy. We were actually very lucky to have producers like Tony Chow and Jonathan Foo because they did not interfere with our scriptwriting processes at all.
Q: Why did you name your film S11?
A: The bullshit answer that we feed the press is that S11 actually stands for money when the two symbols (‘S’ and ‘11’) are put on top of the other, and what actually sets off the chain of events in the film is a bag of money. But the real reason we named the film S11 is actually because the burglary in the film was initially supposed to take place in 7 Eleven (the burglary took place in a Shell gas station instead). 7 Eleven did not allow us to film that scene there because they were afraid of their customers having a bad impression of the store. So we had to hunt for another location to film that scene and thankfully Shell was not as insecure about their public image. Just to do my part in providing product placement for Shell – if any of you owns a car, pump your gas at Shell. (audience laughs) Just a note about getting locations when you’re writing your script: It is incredibly difficult and also very expensive to get the locations you desire in Singapore, especially for government-owned locations. For example, there is a scene in the film where Terrence (Timothy Nga) loses the bag of money on the bus. We actually planned for the scene to be shot on an MRT train instead. But after approaching SMRT, we realised the charge for shooting in at the MRT train station alone amounted to about $5,000 per night. We couldn’t afford it so the location had to be changed. Unless you’re a Jack Neo or an Eric Khoo, you really have to take into consideration the amount of money you have to pay in acquiring your locations. To be honest, it was a miracle for us to have pulled off our project considered that we were shooting it on such a shoestring budget. You have to be realistic about what you can get.
Q: Did it give you any problems with MDA considered your script went through so many changes during production?
A: No, not really. We did not have many problems with MDA actually. But, initially, before production started, we wanted to send them a less uncouth version of the script because we were afraid we couldn’t shoot the film the way we wanted to. The script we had was actually written completely in English including the coarse language, etc. (much of the film was laden with Hokkien dialogue and slangs). Dialogue spoken in the Hokkien dialect is actually much more colourful as you can see. But MDA saw the script and thought, “It’s okay. It’s just an f-word.” But then what we ended up with was much more interesting.
Q: What was the hardest scene to shoot in the film?
A: I would say that was the scene where the taxi crashes into a lamp post. The way we shot that scene was actually backwards, with the car reversing instead of driving towards the lamp post. We couldn’t afford the taxi to drive into the lamp post because we had so little money. It may sound simple but it actually required a lot of coordination to get it to look right.
Q: How did you go about casting your film?
 A: Many of the actors that played gangsters in our film were actually real-life gangsters. In terms of directing them, we tried our best not to offend them... (audience laughs) For the role of Michelle (Cindy Teo), we were thinking of using lesser-known actresses for the role. At one point we were actually thinking of using an actress from Moulmein High who played the role of a delinquent. We brought her in but we felt that she wasn’t right for the role. Her acting was too polished. The thing about some television actors is that they have polished their acting skills to the point whereby they can’t react in a scene in the most natural way possible. Cindy was actually a law student at the time and we saw her in a school musical that was held in her law school. Before Cindy, we actually went to a lot of talent and modelling agencies. We also went down to Zouk to search for potential actors because we thought that the girls there had an edgier look which was suitable for the character of Michelle. And, uh... well, we got rejected many times. Both professionally and personally. (audience laughs) In all we spent about three months for the casting process. But once we got the actors, we went into rehearsal immediately. Rehearsals are a very important process. It is there that you realise that certain dialogues in your script don’t work and you learn to improvise with your actors, to come up with more suitable lines, more natural dialogue. I made it clear to the actors that the dialogue in the script was not important. The effect that was required for the scene was what was important. We changed much of the dialogue in the script to fit the actors’ comfort. By improvising, we were able to get more natural acting and also funnier lines.
Q: Your choice of projects, which includes the television show Crimewatch, seems to follow two themes: crime and comedy. Was it a conscious decision for you to pick these kinds of projects?
A: My next film, if I were able to do it, would be nothing like my previous projects. When you get to a certain point, you start to get tired of stories about gangsters and such. You know, when you’re young, you prefer to do stuff which is cool and hip. I believe many filmmakers start out this way. A Cantonese Crime Story (his short film) was, according to someone, just Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels in Cantonese. In the case of Crimewatch... I did not choose to do that project. (laughs) I was in MediaCorp at the time, and it was either directing this or being an assistant director for a sitcom. So I made the obvious choice of picking the lesser of two evils. As for S11, it was mainly chance for me to get a shot at directing a feature film. If you ask me what I’d like to make right now, it would be something more in the classical Hollywood tradition.
Q: How do you convince professional actors to perform in a film with a shoestring budget?
A: Well, the actors that we got were affordable with our budget. But it was good that we got actors which were less recognizable as actors with a reputation would be less convincing in certain types of roles. But in the case of Steven Yun, who plays the robber with the Doraemon mask, money wasn’t an issue. He is very well known because of his many popular roles in local television programs, but he participates in independent films and student short films. For some reason, he’s always interested to help out with these productions and we were very lucky to get him.
Q: When you were funded by MDA to make this film, what was your commitment to MDA? Do they own the rights or do you retain ownership of the film? Also, who makes the decision on how you release your film and what rating your felt is to be released as? Also, how long does a movie arrive on DVD after it hits theatres?
A: MDA owns about 40% of this film while another 40% goes to the Digital Media Academy. The remaining 20% goes to us. Most of these discussions were held between us and the Digital Media Academy. In terms of ratings however, it was, as usual, out of our control. The Board of Film Censors handles that. In terms of the M18 rating we received, we even had to make a few changes to the finished film to get that rating because some of the coarse language made them uncomfortable. We could have fought for an NC-16 rating, but the film would probably have to be cut down to half its current length. (audience laughs)
Q: How much control did you have over advertising? Say you’ve already spent all your money on the entire production process, how do you get more money to ensure that your film is advertised properly?
A: We didn’t prepare our advertising scheme very well because we didn’t save any money from our budget for it.
Q: Was it expected of you, the filmmakers, to advertise your film properly with the budget you’re given as well?
A: Yes.
Q: So how did you actually advertise your film?
A: We ended up spending about a $1000 on our posters and pamphlets, of which we had to personally put up. Only once did we advertise the film in the newspapers when we had a matinee screening. It was a tiny little ad which cost us $200. But apart from that, we applied for everything which was free for the taking such as I-S Magazine. After that, we held press screenings for the media. We also invited the well-known Singaporean bloggers to the screenings because we knew that they had high readership.
Q: S11 was selected to be screened at the Shanghai International Film Festival. What was the experience like? What was the response from the critics there?
A: It was a nightmare. (laughs) As for the critics, I didn’t receive any response about the film... It was a great theatre which they showed it in. A 300-seater, I think. But excluding me and Gilbert, only about ten other people were in the audience. You see, the thing about films which are shot on digital is that it’s hard to even be accepted into film festivals in the first place. Many film festivals do not believe in entertaining filmmakers who bring their films in digital format. They would perhaps be more excepting if the film was transferred to film. But we approached quite a few film festivals and most of them turned us down. However, looking at the screener we sent them, the SIFF decided that they liked our film enough to showcase it as part of their festival. But of course as usual they were hesitant because of the format of the film. In the end we found a theatre which provided digital projection. But by the time we found it, the brochure for the festival was already out and our film was not publicized in it because our screening location was still unconfirmed at the time of printing. Because of this lack of publicity, hardly anyone knew our film was shown at the festival. Perhaps with the publicity our film could have had a better attendance at the screening...
Q: How did the audience members present at the screening react to it?
A: I don’t know... We didn’t ask them because after the lights came up, they left the theatre immediately. (both audience and interviewee laughs) It was that bad. But I believe the Singaporean audiences (the directors’ friends) at the screening found it funnier than the people from Shanghai.
Q: Do you feel you film has the ability to cross over, to find an audience overseas?
A: (pauses a moment before looking to the audience) What do you guys think? (“I think it is very much a Singaporean film. I enjoyed it, but I don’t believe audiences from other countries would,” a member of the audience says.) Yeah, but the structure of our film was very much similar to the structures of Pulp Fiction and Go. So hopefully it isn’t all that foreign to the overseas market... But it is difficult to answer a question such as this one because we haven’t yet attempted to sell it overseas. We have been told by our distribution company that there is a potential market for our film in America and Europe, though it is a very niche market. Unlike Jack Neo’s films, which I believe are too localised in terms of its themes and style, our film is more universal. The language of the film may be very authentically Singaporean, but our themes (such as the eventual success of the underdog) are universal and that is what allows your film to find a wider audience.
The transcript of the interview is written by Lim Lung Chieh.
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