Retiree revisits childhood dream of film-making by turning to YouTube
Published on
22 Oct 2022
Published by
The Straits Times
SINGAPORE – In his youth, Mr Chang Swee Wah loved cinema outings and dreamt of making his own movies.
After the former civil engineer retired, he returned to this childhood dream of film-making. But his chosen platform, YouTube, is distinctively modern.
Since 2014, the 68-year-old Singaporean has been uploading short films on his channel (str.sg/wVBb). He initially shot videos with a camcorder or DSLR camera. Now, he uses his mobile phone, an iPhone 12 Pro Max, and captures ambient sound with an external microphone. He edits using iMovie software on his MacBook Pro.
One of his more personal works, A Stroke Caregiver’s Journey (2021), provides a first-person account of being a caregiver to his wife, Madam Tan Seow Heang, 63, when she suffered a stroke in 2017. The nine-minute film details her stay in hospital and rehabilitation. They have two children in their 30s, and two young grandchildren.
Another film, The Cat Story (2018), focuses on the stray cats around Dakota Crescent around that time. The estate was redeveloped under renewal plans for Mountbatten, and its residents moved out around 2016.
Mr Chang shot the film on its felines, abandoned by the estate’s former residents, in three days. He says: “I passed by the estate and felt sorry for the cats, who had nowhere else to go. I felt their story deserved to be told.”
Getting low-angle shots of the animals proved challenging. Mr Chang had to crawl, squat and stand in a few drains. But his efforts paid off when the film was nominated for the “open category” and “most creative” awards at the My Singapore Future Micro Film Competition in 2017.
He says: “Although I did not win, getting nominated is also an honour and encouragement that I am on the right track.”
This year, another of his films, Mynah & The Twin Sisters, won the silver award in the Most Popular Micro Film category at the My Singapore New Norm Micro Film Competition.
Nowadays, when not volunteering with non-profit groups RSVP Singapore and Singapore National Stroke Association, as well as the Penpals in the Community initiative, he makes films on topics that inspire him, whether from a newspaper article or a conversation with a friend.
In his youth, his idol was American film director Steven Spielberg, and his favourite movies included Jaws (1975) and Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981). But he adds with a laugh: “I do not have the team to film action scenes. And at my stage in life, I do not just want my works to entertain people. I want to inspire them too.
“In today’s world, social media is the way to reach the masses, and I am happy just to have as many people watch my films as possible.”
But he acknowledges that many people at his age are fearful of new technology: “They are worried they won’t know what to do, how to click. Some do not want to step out of their comfort zone, and prefer to just go to a coffee shop, or call their friends, to talk. I think seniors who do not want to use social media may be blocking themselves from the outside world.”
For example, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, he recalls, group sizes were limited and dining in was not allowed. “The only way to communicate with one another was through social media.”
He encourages his friends to be open to learning new things. “I always tell them that if they are unsure how to use social media, they can always ask their friends or attend courses at the community clubs or RSVP. We are never too old to learn something new.”
Source: The Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Reproduced with permission.
ALL views, content, information and/or materials expressed / presented by any third party apart from Council For Third Age, belong strictly to such third party. Any such third party views, content, information and/or materials provided herein are for convenience and/or general information purposes only. Council For Third Age shall not be responsible nor liable for any injury, loss or damage whatsoever arising directly or indirectly howsoever in connection with or as a result of any person accessing or acting on any such views, content, information and/or materials. Such third party views, content, information and/or materials do not imply and shall not be construed as a representation, warranty, endorsement and/or verification by Council For Third Age in respect of such views, content, information and/or materials.
