This Freelancer Life

2020 has been the most challenging year in recent memory, with the COVID-19 situation hitting all sectors. Our third season looks at the impact on the creative production industry. With Singapore on a 4 week circuit breaker period, workplaces and workspaces for the creative community have had to shut, with uncertainty for so many.  It's hard to stay positive, but right now would be a good time to review our personal branding and relationship with our clients. We talk with marketing expert Yasmin Begum Website

2020 has been the most challenging year in recent memory, with the COVID19 situation hitting all sectors. Our third season is about its impact on Singapore’s creative production industry.  This podcast aims to be as neutral as possible, to present information, opinions and commentary in a manner that, we hope, is fair and useful to everyone. With so much downtime caused by COVID-19, a productive exercise would be to review our own business practices, something that a performance coach can help us address, we chat with Saba Hasanie of Global OSC Website

2020 has been the most challenging year in recent memory, with the COVID19 situation hitting all sectors. Our third season is about its impact on Singapore's creative production industry. This podcast aims to be as neutral as possible, to present information, opinions and commentary in a manner that, we hope, is fair and useful to everyone. Mental Wellness has only recently become less taboo as a topic of public discussion, and freelancers can be at risk because of the stresses of running a business of one, and self-motivation, emotional and mental wellness and risk of depression are all areas in which freelancers need to be aware Website

2020 has been the most challenging year in recent memory, with the COVID19 situation hitting all sectors. Our third season is about its impact on Singapore's creative production industry. This podcast aims to be as neutral as possible, to present information, opinions and commentary in a manner that, we hope, is fair and useful to everyone. Freelancers are responsible for themselves, that’s part and parcel of being a freelancer. The main areas, aside from delivering on the job, would be the business side, such as invoicing and accounting, and self-promotion or marketing, to secure on-going work. One area that doesn’t get much notice is mental well-being. We talk with Shaen Yeo of Happiness Scientists Website

2020 has been the most challenging year in recent memory, with the COVID19 situation hitting all sectors. Our third season is about its impact on Singapore's creative production industry. This podcast aims to be as neutral as possible, to present information, opinions and commentary in a manner that, we hope, is fair and useful to everyone. Social Media has been blamed as a source of negativity, but COVID-19 has seen many support groups spring up on Facebook, including SG COVID-19 Creative / Cultural Professionals & Freelancers Support Group, started by Nicholas Chee of The Flying Kick Asia.  LinkedIn Website

2020 has been the most challenging year in recent memory, with the COVID19 situation hitting all sectors. Our third season is about COVID19 and its impact on the creative production industry.   This podcast aims to be as neutral as possible, to present information, opinions and commentary in a manner that, we hope, is fair and useful to everyone.   In the episodes to come, we talk with Production Companies, Freelancers, and Performers in our community, and seek industry-specific advice from Financial Planners, Marketing consultants, networking experts, Professional Coaches and Psychologists.   And, in what could be the biggest topic as segments of our community are facing enormous uncertainty during this Covid19 emergency, we discuss what it means to be responsible for our own Careers, and know the how and when to Pivot to something new.    For our third episode, we sat down with George Putong, currently at a tech company after over a decade working in the creative production industry.  LinkedIn

2020 has been the most challenging year in recent memory, with the COVID19 situation hitting all sectors. Our third season is about COVID19 and its impact on the creative production industry.   This podcast aims to be as neutral as possible, to present information, opinions and commentary in a manner that, we hope, is fair and useful to everyone.   In the episodes to come, we talk with Production Companies, Freelancers, and Performers in our community, and seek industry-specific advice from Financial Planners, Marketing consultants, networking experts, Professional Coaches and Psychologists. And, in what could be the biggest topic as segments of our community are facing enormous uncertainty during this Covid19 emergency, we discuss what it means to be responsible for our own Careers, and know the how and when to Pivot to something new.    For our second episode, we sat down with Jackie They, CEO of Edutech Roadmap Asia, who has pivoted many times in her career and is enormously experienced in production from her time running content creation for major agencies including DDB and BBDO   Linkedin Edutech Roadmap Asia

2020 has been the most challenging year in recent memory, with the COVID19 situation hitting all sectors. Our third season is about COVID19 and its impact on the creative production industry.   This podcast aims to be as neutral as possible, to present information, opinions and commentary in a manner that, we hope, is fair and useful to everyone.   In the episodes to come, we talk with Production Companies, Freelancers, and Performers in our community, and seek industry-specific advice from Financial Planners, Marketing consultants, networking experts, Professional Coaches and Psychologists. And, in what could be the biggest topic as segments of our community are facing enormous uncertainty during this Covid19 emergency, we discuss what it means to be responsible for our own Careers, and know the how and when to Pivot to something new.    For our first episode, we sat down with the boss of an award-winning production company, Desmond Tan of Atypical Films Atypical Films Website

Christian Lee and Jason Chan are 2 writers/directors who both came from acting backgrounds. Both are based in Singapore (having moved from Australia and the US respectively) and run the production company BananaMana Films Pte Ltd.  Having started in corporate video production, BananaMana Films quickly moved into creative video production for corporate companies and now create narrative content for the web, TV, and film. They wrote, starred, directed and produced "Jimami Tofu", a full-length motion picture set in Okinawa, Japan. The film is still in theatres in Singapore a year after its release, and their story of how they hustled and innovated to get this into the cinemas makes for a fascinating listen.  BananaMana Films

We talk to Singapore's leading documentary filmmaker, director Tan Pin Pin. Her body of work includes her best-known film, the beloved Singapore Gaga and Moving House, recognized with a Student Oscar. She shares how she crafts her films, sometimes taking up to a year in the editing stage, and the secret to her films - intense research into her subjects before any interview begins. She's currently working on a film about Singapore's education system, called "Unteachable"

S2E10 We talk to one of Singapore's top commercials director, Desmond Tan. His company, Atypical Films, was behind the viral McDonalds Ramadan video that grabbed international media plaudits and over 1 million views on YouTube. He shoots for major clients and when he came by to record this interview, he fell in love with our fancy pants headphones!

S2E9 - We talk to William Chan, one of Singapore's best designers, whose art collective PHUNK Studio won the President's Design Award in 2017. He's been part of PHUNK for 25 years with 3 partners who were all from LaSalle School of the Arts, spent several years at MTV learning about broadcast design and the last 6 years have seen William helming his own design firm, TMRRW. 

S2E8 | This Freelancer Life talks to Dave Tan. His creative career has crossed multiple disciplines during a career that has seen him signed to Universal Music as the singer / guitarist / songwriter for Electrico, a broadcast presenter, an on-air promos producer, a film director and an in-demand voice over talent.

This Freelancer Life talks to Jasmine Ng Kin Kia, a filmmaker who tells stories across different media. She’s worked in film, television, theatre, and site-specific installations. Her credit list includes Moveable Feast, Eating Air, SHIRKERS, Lonely Planet Six Degrees, FUTURE FEED, Our Town, In The Silence of Your Heart). She edited Eric Khoo’s 12 Storeys (Cannes-Un Certain Regard), co-directed and produced Moveable Feast (Clermont-Ferrand, Museum of Modern Art-New York), and co-directed Eating Air with Kelvin Tong. (Rotterdam IFF VPRO Tigers Competition, FIPRESCI Special Critics Mention, SFC Young Cinema Award). She also has many broadcast-commissioned hours under her belt, having directed narrative-factual programmes for Discovery Channel, National Geographic, and others. She's also passionate about giving back to the industry and is the first president of the Singapore Association of Motion Picture Professionals (https://sampp.org.sg) 

This Freelancer Life talks to Hossan Leong, a multi-talented artist with credits in TV, film, stage, radio and emceeing major events. Affectionately known as “Singapore Boy”, he is a consummate performer who brings a joyous spark to everything he does.  We discuss his upcoming final show in August of 2019, the things he learned on his first scene as an actor, the challenges of running a company that provides creative services and performers and how to strike the right work-life balance

Artist and Producer Vanessa Fernandez talks to This Freelancer Life about her musical journey from a member of ground-breaking hip-hop acts like Urban Xchange and Parking Lot Pimp through to her solo turn under the moniker of Vanetta, managing radio stations and performing at festivals around the world, such the Gilles Peterson Worldwide Festival (France), Laneway Festival (Singapore), BIGSOUND (Australia), V-ROX (Russia) and Concrete & Grass Festival (China). She has also released music on major labels such as Universal & EMI, independent labels, Syndicate, Groove Note Records, Medallion Sounds, as well as her imprint, Ownself Records. In this episode, she shares insight into her life as a musician and artist who has to wear multiple hats without losing sight of her musical vision. 

In this episode, we talk to Rob Middleton, a director, and channel creative director who also happens to be one of the best-known voice talents in Asia. Having been the voice of MTV Asia when the icon channel launched in Asia in 1991, Rob's voice, his voice has been used on countless TV ads, corporate videos and as the channel voice for other broadcasters. Now running a team of over 200 in the on-air creative at Astro in KL, Malaysia, Rob shares how he got into the voice business while as a film director in Hong Kong and he's never looked back. 

We talk to Denise Keller, a multi-talented model, MTV VJ, Travel Show Host and an all-around super nice person about how working in media means a life lived in the public eye, how to deal with fame and how her journey has evolved over her career. She's traveled the world as a model in her teens, then became the face of MTV Asia and a household name. She's hosted numerous travel shows around Asia for Discovery Channel & TLC and went from on-camera talent to behind-the-camera producer for award-winning shows that explore local culture. She's always on the go, we were so happy to have the opportunity to talk to her about the challenges of being your own boss as a freelancer.

In this episode, we talk to a current affairs radio DJ and hugely popular voice over talent. She’s worked in video production before changing her career path and hosting the morning show on MediaCorp’s English language talk radio channel, 938NOW. A popular voice over talent, she’s recorded countless ads for huge international companies through to brand new start-ups. This Freelancer Life talks to Daphne Lim (Apologies for my very hoarse voice!) This Freelancer Life is presented by Reels Asia, the leading directory for freelance creatives in the advertising, marketing, film, and video production industry of Singapore.  Visit https://reels.asia to learn more

This Freelancer Life kicks off season 2 by talking to Mike Kasem, ex MTV Asia VJ and current co-presenter of the Breakfast Show on Gold905. The son of Radio Legend Casey Kasem, he's never been afraid to try new things, including house renovations, formal French cooking, hosting events, and lending his voice to products for ads on broadcast and beyond.  This Freelancer Life is presented by Reels Asia, the leading directory for freelance creatives in the advertising, marketing, film, and video production industry of Singapore.  Visit https://reels.asia to learn more

Sounds and the City visits the grandest palace of all - the Forbidden City

We visit the capital of the country that has given the world K-Pop and K-Drama!

Sounds and the City goes East - to the Middle East, to Dubai

The Pearl of the Orient is our destination for this episode of Sounds and the City

We visit the home of Bollywood - Mumbai!

Sounds And The City visits the Thai capital, Bangkok

Sounds & The City were first published as audiobooks in 2007. Inspired by the brilliant audio design of the SoundWalk series from NYC, we decided to make tours of Asian cities, but with the idea of creating documentaries without pictures. We dropped the constraint of making them an accompaniment for a walking tour, and instead, brought our listeners to a wide audience who might never visit the cities we would feature.  Our first episode was our hometown, Singapore. We made beautiful recordings of various locations in Singapore, commissioned travel writers and tapped on our network of world class narrators to deliver wonderfully dense, immersive audio.  They enjoyed a very good run on Audible, with our episode on The Forbidden City selling very well in the run-up to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. We withdrew them from sale a few years ago, and have now decided to offer them up for free as a memento for travelers who want to hear how life was in asian cities. Please enjoy “Sounds & The City” - the original immersive soundscapes for Asian cities!