Newshttp://www.luminaseries.com/news/en-US2010-03-12T12:57:01ZSquarespace Site Server v5.9.2 (http://www.squarespace.com/)Watch the Indie Soap Awards live here!http://www.luminaseries.com/news/2010/2/1/watch-the-indie-soap-awards-live-here.htmlJT2010-02-02T01:57:26ZAwards Indie Soap Awards We Love SoapsWe at LUMINA are so excited about the imminent broadcast of the Indie Soap Awards - catch the award presentation show here:
We're going to be watching!!!!
Jen & the Cast and Crew of LUMINA
]]>Download a free Tim Be Told song here!http://www.luminaseries.com/news/2010/1/23/download-a-free-tim-be-told-song-here.htmlJT2010-01-24T01:17:18ZDownload Music Single Tim Be ToldAs you already know from my previous post on Tim Be Told, I'm a huge fan of this Charlottesville, Virginia based band and hearing "All of Me" on LUMINA webisode 4 is still one of my favorite moments in the entire series.
And now Tim Be Told is offering their single "Analyze" from their new EP From the Inside for free for fans to download! Grab it while it's hot!
]]>LUMINA nominated for 6 categories at the Indie Soap Awardshttp://www.luminaseries.com/news/2010/1/12/lumina-nominated-for-6-categories-at-the-indie-soap-awards.htmlJT2010-01-12T14:12:37ZAwards
We're very excited to announce that LUMINA has been nominated for 6 categories in the 1st Annual Indie Soap Awards! It is an absolute honor to have been nominated and we're excited to be in the running for the final round of judging.
Best Indie Soap Best Writing, Jennifer Thym Best Directing, Jennifer Thym Best Editing, Bettina Enigl Best Sound Design, Ben Robinson Best Storyline
There is also a Fan's Choice Award where you can vote for your favorite indie soap. We would be really happy if you would click here and cast a vote for LUMINA!
From the official press release:
The Indie Soap Awards are sponsored by We Love Soaps and the nominees were selected from a first round of judging from a panel of entertainment critics that cover the industry.
We Love Soaps is an online soap opera magazine dedicated to preserving the history of soap opera and fostering the growth of new productions. The 1st Annual Indie Soap Awards were developed to honor the efforts of creative forces in the world of independent web series productions, specifically those who produce continuing drama series.
]]>Want to party with the stars on New Year's Eve?http://www.luminaseries.com/news/2009/12/11/want-to-party-with-the-stars-on-new-years-eve.htmlJT2009-12-11T09:33:26Znetworking party
Get your tickets early for the alivenotdead's New Year Eve Party 2010 - their insane Halloween bash sold out long before party time, so EARLY is IN. ;)
alivenotdead has been such a staunch supporter of indie filmmaking in Hong Kong - if you have any aspirations about being a filmmaker, go to the party, network and make your dream a reality!
]]>LUMINA is in today's South China Morning Post!http://www.luminaseries.com/news/2009/12/7/lumina-is-in-todays-south-china-morning-post.htmlJT2009-12-07T23:55:56ZPress merchandise online distributionLocally made Hong Kong web series LUMINA is featured in today's South China Morning Post - grab a copy for posterity! Big thanks to SCMP Features Writer Sara Yin and Multimedia Editor Michael Logan - you guys rock!!
The online version of the South China Morning Post newspaper print article is here and the accompanying video interview is available on YouTube:
And YES, to address the rumors going around, we've got some nice surprises planned for the LUMINA store (here's a hint) - stay tuned!
]]>LUMINA jumps from the little screen to the big screen!http://www.luminaseries.com/news/2009/11/12/lumina-jumps-from-the-little-screen-to-the-big-screen.htmlJT2009-11-12T07:32:10ZFestival indie filmmaking
Hong Kong's very own romantic fantasy web series LUMINA makes the jump from the little screen to the big screen! This past weekend, over 3,500 festival attendees got the chance to catch the first webisode of LUMINA on the big screen at the Clockenflap Music & Multi-Media Arts Festival held at Cyberport, Hong Kong.
Interviews with cast and the writer/director Jen Thym are available upon request. Thank you very much!
Jen & the Cast and Crew of LUMINA
]]>Jen Thym is the next guest on iWriteAboutMe!http://www.luminaseries.com/news/2009/11/4/jen-thym-is-the-next-guest-on-iwriteaboutme.htmlJT2009-11-04T13:16:44ZAsian Canadian ethnic cool filmmaking
LUMINA writer/director Jennifer Thym is speaking at the second iWriteAboutMe.com workshop hosted by Schema Magazine on November 4, 2009, at the Irving K. Barber Learning Center in Vancouver, Canada! Jen's talk starts at 6.15 pm, but if you get there early you can catch a special screening of the Mighty Asian Moviemaking Marathon films. Check out Schema Magazine's post for talk and venue details.
This special event is part of iWriteAboutMe.com, a monthly series of web writing workshops and speakers, featuring some of the most pioneering, innovative and ethnic cool voices on the Internet.
]]>LUMINA screening at CLOCKENFLAP!http://www.luminaseries.com/news/2009/11/2/lumina-screening-at-clockenflap.htmlJT2009-11-02T16:39:55ZFestival screeningWe're so excited to announce our first festival screening! LUMINA Webisode 1 will screen at the CLOCKENFLAP Music & Multi-media Arts Festival in Hong Kong on November 7-8, 2009 (click on the picture to go to the ultrahip Clockenflap website):
If you are in Hong Kong this weekend, please go check out Clockenflap - there's a great lineup of live music from Hong Kong, the UK and the US, including the UK punk band Blood Red Shoes plus a great short film and music video selection, including LUMINA soundtrack contributor Anton Wong's video for "LoveSong Sing It" and Jasmine star Jason Tobin's short film starring our very own Simon Yin called "Cut Short." Take some time out to enjoy the awesome sunny & cool weather!
]]>Spotlight on the LUMINA Soundtrack: Anton Wonghttp://www.luminaseries.com/news/2009/10/24/spotlight-on-the-lumina-soundtrack-anton-wong.htmlJT2009-10-25T02:01:00ZHong Kong is the biggest small town in which I have ever lived. For a city of 7 million people, it's amazing how often you run into people you know on the street; what's even more amazing is when you meet someone cool who all your friends know, but you didn't. And musician and music producer Anton Wong falls smack into that category.
I remember superstar guitarist D'in Cheung asking me to come meet the new band that he was putting together and to talk to a music producer who was helping them out - Anton. We ended up talking about a million things that night, but most of it seemed to revolve back to 80's metal and pop.
Anton's wide ranging taste in music paired with his encyclopedic knowledge is something I am perpetually fascinated with and the fact that he also a talented musician in his own right is doubly cool. I have the honor of having the fantastically paced, instantly likable sounds of "LoveSong Sing It" end LUMINA Webisode 6: Windows. One of these days I'm going to write a screenplay that's going to be ripe for lots of guitar driven dance music and I'm going to deck it out with Anton's songs.
LUMINA writer/director Jen Thym sits down with Hong Kong music producer & musician Anton Wong for an exclusive interview:
JT: How long have you been writing, creating and producing music? Was there a particular moment in your life when you realised you wanted to be a musician?
Anton: I don't remember exactly how long. I've always been playing guitars and piano since I was a kid. The writing part came more naturally when a few years ago, one day, I woke up and realized I had something to say to the world. And my message wasn't entirely what's already been told before.
JT: What inspired you to write "LoveSong Sing It"? Tell us a little about the music video for it.
Anton: "LoveSong Sing It" is a tiny bit biographical, and a tiny bit inspired by this old film Lunes De Fiel by Roman Polanski. The story is really about dysfunctional relationships, and how people get badly hurt by them, whether physically or mentally. Quite often those who inflict pain are hardly even aware that they are inflicting pain on others. Some of my friends think it is a realistic portrayal of modern love.
JT: Name the top five artists that you want to produce an album for.
Anton: I would love to produce Imogen Heep, Chemical Brothers, Marilyn Manson, Muse, N.E.R.D. Basically people who I enjoy musically, and who I think would be interesting to produce because you just know their creative process has to be killer awesome.
JT: Who are your favorite up and coming artists? What's your advice for young musicians in Hong Kong?
Anton: Assuming you're talking about the local bands around here. I really enjoy the following:
Killer Soap - They are pretty much a Brit-pop style band. While I don't listen to Brit-pop day and night, I like the fact that their songs are intricately arranged, well-rehearsed, and they just sound great live. I can go on and on about how Rocky sings well and how Gould is the most entertaining drummer to watch. But the most important thing is, these guys are not doing pop because they're not technical enough to do metal (which is often the case in Hong Kong). They've made a conscious choice on their genre and did a kick ass job at it.
Gong Wu - People either love them or hate them - or love the songs but hate their in-your-face self-promoting ways. But being loud mouth and pompous is what makes rock'n'roll so much fun. And these guys ROCK HARD.
Crazimalz(now defunct) - I don't think too many people have seen them play. But I really thought this band had found an angle. They looked the part. They're a metal band but their sound was unique - with songs and arrangements that are memorable yet fresh. I kept wanting to hear more from them.
Violent Jokes - These guys do electronic band music. They suffer quite a bit from the inconsistent live mixing job that's commonplace at the venues in Hong Kong. Because sonic quality is such a big part of electronic music, the crappy live house mixing jobs make them sound totally different everytime they play a gig. But if you listen to their studio recorded tracks, you'd be amazed by how insanely creative they are, while keeping the songs very listenable. They will be opening for Roni Size when he comes to Hong Kong in Novermber. Enough said.
Sajid & the Lost Boys - Sajid is a very eloquent singer songwriter. His studio tracks are very good but they do not give you even a hint of how captivating his live performance can be. His songs are mesmerizing, without getting all cheesy.
Advice: Musicians, even indie musicians, are nonetheless entertainers. Define who your audience is, find them, and give them what they want.
JT: Tell us your plans for the future - any new songs or albums coming out?
Anton: Trying to work together with a few guys from some of the bands mentioned above, and put out a kick ass electronica album. The music will hopefully defy geographic boundaries.
JT: Thanks for the interview Anton! You can follow Anton Wong on his AlivenotDead blog and the song "LoveSong Sing It" will be available on iTunes shortly.
]]>Spotlight on the LUMINA Soundtrack: Tim Be Toldhttp://www.luminaseries.com/news/2009/10/12/spotlight-on-the-lumina-soundtrack-tim-be-told.htmlJT2009-10-13T00:41:58ZAsian American band LUMINA Tim Be Told UVA soundtrackLUMINA Websiode 4 is my favorite webisode in the entire series. I felt like we truly captured that magic moment in a relationship, when things could either go completely wrong or blossom into the most wonderful experience ever.
I remember combing through hundreds of songs looking for the right one to end Webisode 4. I found many that I enjoyed listening to, but somehow they didn't quite capture that feeling of being on that narrow ledge between amazing and frightening. Then my producer Sommer Nguyen mentioned this up and coming band called Tim Be Told from my homestate of Virginia and the rest is history.
The band is comprised of singer Tim Ouyang, guitarists Andrew Chae and Luan Nguyen, drummer Jim Barredo and bassist Parker Stanley. Tim Be Told's soulful music transcends the pop genre that people will inevitably classify them in - the music is timeless and true, in the moment and heartfelt.
And. They. Rock. Live. Go check out any of the numerous videos on YouTube and even though the audio quality varies greatly according to which audience member recorded it on whatever phone or handycam, the passion and raw musical talent of this five piece band shines through. Just read through the comments on any of the forums and fanpages they have, and you know they inspire everyone who listens to them in concert. In an age of digital everything, this band still has the real in-person magic mojo.
LUMINA Writer/director Jen Thym sits down for a chat with Tim Ouyang, lead singer of Tim Be Told.
JT: Where did the name "TimBeTold" come from?
Tim: This is a common question. I want to say that my last name means "BeTold" when translated in English. But the truth is that it comes from the expression "truth betold."
JT: Talk a little bit about "All of Me." What's the song writing process for you like? How long does it take and what inspires you?
Tim: I wrote "All of Me" during a time in my life when I was doubting a lot of things. Writing the song was a way of dealing with it. When I write music, I have to have something to write about. I generally don't write unless I feel like I have something to say or express. So that means I can sometimes write multiple songs in day, or sometimes I won't write a song for months. It can be unpredictable.
JT: What attracted you as a band to the LUMINA project? Do you have any favorite web series or TV shows?
Tim: We were really impressed by the care that went into creating the LUMINA project. I also like the way Jennifer Thym directed it with the Internet in mind and the depths she went to combine the video elements with music that really brings out the story she was looking to tell. My favorite TV show right now is Law and Order SVU which I happen to watch on Netflix.
JT: Name your five top musical influences.
Tim: My top five musical influences at the moment are Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, Kirk Franklin, Aretha Franklin and Disney movies.
JT: Any recent news to share with your fans? Any info on upcoming concerts?
Tim: Right now we are on the road heading to play a show with the band Reilly who are close friends of ours. We just put out a brand new EP called "From The Inside," which is available for sale on our online store at www.tbtstore.com. We hope to see you all out on the road.
JT: Thank you, Tim! Don't forget to check out Tim Be Told on their Facebook page, their myspace page, and YES you can buy "All of Me" from iTunes! You can also follow them on Twitter.
