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Regarding S-pass application

Discuss about getting a well paid job or career advancement. Ask about salaries, expat packages, CPF & taxes for expatriate.
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ThuyChi
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Post by ThuyChi » Thu, 13 Sep 2012 10:01 pm

@SE: I bring a DVD with my portfolio to every interview. And for every single interview I have gone to, the interviewers spent a good 10 mins to half an hour looking at my work. I get complimented. And then I get "we'll contact you later" (and never heard from them ever again). That is how my interviews went... In your opinion, is my work any good? Or is it so-so? bad?

@v4jr4: I've sent it to Malaysia, the Philipines, Aus and NZ. No replynsp far. And I'm Vietnamese, my passport is green - I guess I do have a better chance in Vietnam :/

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Post by v4jr4 » Thu, 13 Sep 2012 10:42 pm

ThuyChi wrote:@v4jr4: I've sent it to Malaysia, the Philipines, Aus and NZ. No replynsp far. And I'm Vietnamese, my passport is green - I guess I do have a better chance in Vietnam :/
Perhaps you need to add something real to your portfolio, like, perhaps wedding photography for company A/B or some testimonies from your so-called clients during freelance.

And btw, your digital painting is good. Try to post it in DeviantArt. Might be useful, especially among art lovers.
"Budget Expat"

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Post by Strong Eagle » Thu, 13 Sep 2012 11:00 pm

ThuyChi wrote:@SE: I bring a DVD with my portfolio to every interview. And for every single interview I have gone to, the interviewers spent a good 10 mins to half an hour looking at my work. I get complimented. And then I get "we'll contact you later" (and never heard from them ever again). That is how my interviews went... In your opinion, is my work any good? Or is it so-so? bad?

@v4jr4: I've sent it to Malaysia, the Philipines, Aus and NZ. No replynsp far. And I'm Vietnamese, my passport is green - I guess I do have a better chance in Vietnam :/
So... I am not in the graphics business... I do not buy graphics productions... and... at one point in my life I wrote 3D graphics programs... polygon rendering and ray tracing... so I know how this works. And, while I am a 1000 miles away from being an expert, I have created my own simple animations in Blender. I know the difficulty in creating realism in 3D.

I am an engineer by training and inclination, not a creative artisan... although, from time to time that side of me bursts out. I am very creative in my own right, just not on the graphics computer screen.

Now that you know where I am coming from, I say that your website is MIXED... from two perspectives.

First... what are you? A photographer? A videographer? a 3D modeler? An animator? An artist using digital paint brushes? All creative, no doubt... but what are you? Who are you? I think your message is lost by trying to be everything. Separate websites for different content. And decide what it is you want to do.

Second... if you are into the world of 3D graphics modeling and animation, your portfolio is insufficient. Where are your models? What have you rendered that is complex/cool/unusual/unique?

I don't mean to sound like an arsehole... and... you have two entries under your Motion/Graphic link. The first is the newsreel entrance... nothing wrong with it at all... except that every last TV network in the world has something similar. You've demonstrated that you are competent in creating animated images... but what you have isn't exactly much different from BBC, CNN, Al Jezerra. Do you see that you have demonstrated competence but not creativity? You want to be hired? You need to be a step ahead of the competent people.

Your second entry is too simple. I've animated a gingerbread man, with lighting, and camera angles... honestly, this one looks like a Saturday morning cartoon. Yes... one model... duplicated... run on several animation paths. But... no lighting, no complex model, no complex animation... honestly, I think this one hurts you in the professional world because it it too simple.

I think you should step back and ask yourself exactly what it is you want to do, then focus on the to the exclusion of all the others. If you want to be a videographer, then expand this section and dump the rest of the crap.

If you want to be in 3D modeling and animation, then focus on that piece... this is one of the harder areas to excel, and therefore more of a challenge, but at the same time, less competition and better compensation.

To close, I read that you want into graphics houses, with 3D in mind. If I got that right, then you need a model portfolio... how good are you as an ARTIST... what do you create in terms of models... whether it be furniture or outer space monsters. People like me, engineers, marvel at the designs that come out of people who seem to live in the other side of their brain.

And second, how good are you at effects? Can you demonstrate skills in lighting and camera movement? How good are your materials and textures? Could you create an animation of a ship on rolling seas, moving into the sunset with clouds rolling by? In short, can you demonstrate superior skills in creating a world, putting your model into that world, then lighting, tracking, and tracing to create a real masterpiece?

My $0.02. You are a young person with much potential. I think you need to focus. Hope my critique helped.

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Post by ThuyChi » Thu, 13 Sep 2012 11:14 pm

@SE: Oh, I see it now... I got what you mean. I hope I can get a job as a video editor, and hopefully learn the ropes to have my own production one day. As you can see under the video section, all of those was scripted, shot and edited by me. The rest (photography, 3D, motion graphics) are mostly results of freelance work/own practice so my skills wouldn't go down and is there to demonstrate I have extra sets of skills. As for 3D, I'm more of a tracking, matte painting, lighting and rendering person. I took up vfx before I knew what I wanted to do in the industry... Thank you for the loooong reply. It has helped me a lot - most of the people I asked could only give short answers so I was stuck with, you know, trying to fix that site for forever since I created it.

Oh, and you're not an arse. It's called honest constructive critique :)

@v4jr4: Errrr noooo compare to the people I know, and counting my best friend a concept artist, my painting skill is slightly above average, but no where near good. I was amazed last year to be offered two jobs as Illustrator/DI artist :D Oh and my photography is on DeviantArt and they do attract some people... But that's about it :oops:

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Post by zzm9980 » Fri, 14 Sep 2012 9:26 am

I used to work in a small boutique post-production house that did film editing. We had a few locations in US and Europe. In this shop (and numerous like it), everyone pretty much started at the *very* bottom as runners. Basically cleaning studios, picking up and serving lunch, etc. to the clients. Pay was crap, we're talking $7/hour in Manhattan and Chicago less than 10 years ago. These people did this job just for the *chance* of helping the assistant editors out after their normal 8-hour with mundane tasks like digitizing video and sorting beta tapes. Those that persevered, made a lot of friends, and had a good personality, would eventually be hired as an assistant (also grossly underpaid, but they were at least at 30-40k/year). Three to five years at that, if you had talent, you might become an editor. If you didn't, you were stuck.

This anecdote likely isn't perfectly relevant in Singapore, but if that was the pay in NYC, London, LA, Chicago, etc. I can't imagine how bad it would be here. Now, this was a highly creative place, they win dozens of awards at Cannes every year, edit a sizable portion of the commercials Americans see during the Super Bowl, etc. So such a creative place also just may not exist here either.

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Post by ThuyChi » Fri, 14 Sep 2012 11:13 am

zzm9980 wrote:I used to work in a small boutique post-production house that did film editing. We had a few locations in US and Europe. In this shop (and numerous like it), everyone pretty much started at the *very* bottom as runners. Basically cleaning studios, picking up and serving lunch, etc. to the clients. Pay was crap, we're talking $7/hour in Manhattan and Chicago less than 10 years ago. These people did this job just for the *chance* of helping the assistant editors out after their normal 8-hour with mundane tasks like digitizing video and sorting beta tapes. Those that persevered, made a lot of friends, and had a good personality, would eventually be hired as an assistant (also grossly underpaid, but they were at least at 30-40k/year). Three to five years at that, if you had talent, you might become an editor. If you didn't, you were stuck.

This anecdote likely isn't perfectly relevant in Singapore, but if that was the pay in NYC, London, LA, Chicago, etc. I can't imagine how bad it would be here. Now, this was a highly creative place, they win dozens of awards at Cannes every year, edit a sizable portion of the commercials Americans see during the Super Bowl, etc. So such a creative place also just may not exist here either.
Honestly, if I could do that here to get a chance to become an editor, I'll take it. My problem comes with the visa thing :cry:

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Post by ecureilx » Fri, 14 Sep 2012 11:52 am

ThuyChi wrote: ... Honestly, if I could do that here to get a chance to become an editor, I'll take it. My problem comes with the visa thing :cry:
if you haven't found anything promising .. PM me .. I could refer you to a local production house .. though I don't know how it may transpire with your nationality ..

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Post by zzm9980 » Fri, 14 Sep 2012 1:05 pm

ThuyChi wrote:
zzm9980 wrote:I used to work in a small boutique post-production house that did film editing. We had a few locations in US and Europe. In this shop (and numerous like it), everyone pretty much started at the *very* bottom as runners. Basically cleaning studios, picking up and serving lunch, etc. to the clients. Pay was crap, we're talking $7/hour in Manhattan and Chicago less than 10 years ago. These people did this job just for the *chance* of helping the assistant editors out after their normal 8-hour with mundane tasks like digitizing video and sorting beta tapes. Those that persevered, made a lot of friends, and had a good personality, would eventually be hired as an assistant (also grossly underpaid, but they were at least at 30-40k/year). Three to five years at that, if you had talent, you might become an editor. If you didn't, you were stuck.

This anecdote likely isn't perfectly relevant in Singapore, but if that was the pay in NYC, London, LA, Chicago, etc. I can't imagine how bad it would be here. Now, this was a highly creative place, they win dozens of awards at Cannes every year, edit a sizable portion of the commercials Americans see during the Super Bowl, etc. So such a creative place also just may not exist here either.
Honestly, if I could do that here to get a chance to become an editor, I'll take it. My problem comes with the visa thing :cry:
If you have a work visa for the US, UK, or Netherlands, and the means to relocate yourself to one of those locales, then PM me and I can see what I can do. Unfortunately, can't help much else otherwise :P

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Post by urbanjungle101 » Sat, 15 Sep 2012 8:03 am

Hi Thuy,

I am in the creative business and sorry to douse that cold water on you, I have to say your portfolio is not that impressive afterall.

Yes, the industry is constantly on the lookout for that "next big shot" but there are just as many talented local grads arming themselves with pretty good portfolios every year. Coupled with the tightening of the work passes issuance, I fear you will have quite a zilch chance of landing yourself one anytime soon.

It maybe better for you to either pursue a higher degree here or go back home to garner better skills and try your luck here some other time.

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Post by ThuyChi » Sat, 15 Sep 2012 2:00 pm

@urbanjungle: Hi, I don't wish to start a flame war here, but I do like to point out that, yes, I did 'upgrade' myself to a degree in Film making, and I do believe that I am not THAT bad as you say. I accept critiques quite well, but I do have a preference of constructive comments over a gallon of cold water. Oh, and the main reason for me to try my best to stay here as I already said, is my friends and boyfriend. It's really not due to the reason of Singapore offering more money. I can go home, run a company and make much more money, if my aim was $$.
And my middle name is Thuy. It's strange being addressed by my middle name...

@zzm: Ehe thank you for the offer :wink: I am waiting for my bf to finish his 3 years bond before we move. Singapore is getting extremely unfriendly - I helped an auntie on the road the other day and she shouted at me with all sorts of hateful comments because she found out I am not a 'true blue Singaporean'.

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Post by urbanjungle101 » Sat, 15 Sep 2012 3:54 pm

To work in a highly competitive place like SG, the ability to roll with the punches is imperative. Worst is when one's self-delusional and attribute one's failure in acceptance to random hatred sentiments.

Talk abt talent, check it here @ http://www.thedesignsociety.org.sg/ &
http://www.phunkstudio.com/
Last edited by urbanjungle101 on Sat, 15 Sep 2012 10:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by ThuyChi » Sat, 15 Sep 2012 10:33 pm

Yep, thanks for the gallon of water. It was a nice shower. Helped me put my life in perspective too. Helped me remember how the industry functions sometimes - the studios I was with has a very different culture from where you're coming from.

Thanks for the follow up comment too.

*Off to annoy more people with my talentless self*

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Post by urbanjungle101 » Sat, 15 Sep 2012 10:58 pm

On my latest post, I wasn't following up to anyone's comment at all.

I was instead addressing in general the pathetic delusional state of candidates from certain asian states who failed to comprehend the high-standard of quality demanded here and yet lamenting about lack of opportunities.

Remember, employment permits or passes exist for the purpose of importing either talented professionals or personnel to fill lower rung jobs that locals shun.

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Post by sundaymorningstaple » Sat, 15 Sep 2012 11:20 pm

urbanjungle101 wrote:On my latest post, I wasn't following up to anyone's comment at all.

I was instead addressing in general the pathetic delusional state of candidates from certain asian states who failed to comprehend the high-standard of quality demanded here and yet lamenting about lack of opportunities.

Remember, employment permits or passes exist for the purpose of importing either talented professionals or personnel to fill lower rung jobs that locals shun.
BULLS**T! If that was the case, why'd you go back and edit your original post 11 minutes after reading the OP's last post? Who are you trying to kid. You got called out good and proper.

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Post by urbanjungle101 » Sat, 15 Sep 2012 11:26 pm

@ SMS

Maybe my editing was trying to make this other foreigner understand the situation here better so he/she can be as good a FREE LOADER like yourself ?

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