 |
 |
 |
|
|
June 15, 2008 |
Summer offers a temporary hiatus from the excessively hectic
senselessness of classes, yet we've been anything but bored. Shang and
Sungho are working in broadcast and print production at Energy BBDO
(Chicago) and McKinney (Durham) respectively, both advertising agencies,
and Lawrence is at Anonymous Content (Los Angeles), a commercial
production company.
Even though we've been busy with the "real world," We haven't forgotten
about our filming--we've been fleshing out ideas for the next year. We
figure we'll let everyone know what we're up to as we actually get
things in motion, since half our plans decide to pull disappearing acts
last minute anyways.
In the meantime, we have uploaded several shorts for your viewing
pleasure to fight off your summer boredom. First is a clip from "Left to
Love," directed by Shang, shot as a final project for a film class with
a focus on cinematography. Second is Lawrence Chen's "The Sale," a short
that won best ensemble cast at Duke's Movie Making Marathon this year.
In addition we've put up the intro video to this year's Defmo Showcase,
filmed and directed by Lawrence as well. Next is "Timing is everything"
and "Unconditional", two commercials done by Steve Milligan,
professional cinematographer and resident advisor to Sweet and Sour
Productions, that aired in North Carolina. Finally, we've also uploaded
a written interview by Ricepaper back from when Shang and Muyan first
debutted "Just Want You To Know" and a couple of short scripts to
distract you from work. All these can be seen under "Additional Media"
in the media section.
We hope everyone is enjoying their escape from the iniquitous evils of
higher education. We will be uploading clips from this year's LNY soon
as well, along with some additional goodies.
-S&S Team
|
|
February 29, 2008 |
Sweet and Sour's new short "The Tunnels" has been uploaded to the media
section. We have many big plans for the upcoming weeks (once we finish
failing all our midterms), including uploading edited clips from this
year's Lunar New Year and helping out with the Duke Student Government
campaigns, so stay tuned for updates!
-S&S Team
|
|
February 26, 2008 |
After weeks of dark, claustrophobic filming in the tunnels under East
Campus, Sweet and Sour completed and premiered "The Tunnels," a scary
movie, at the Froshlife Film Festival this weekend. The video will be
uploaded to the media section as soon as we overcome some formatting
issues, but in the meantime, we have uploaded another short film for
your viewing (dis)pleasure--"Make A Wish." This was a short film we did
in preparation for filming our scary movie, and our first time using
(offensively expensive and horrifically fragile) film lenses and film
adapters with our cameras. Check it out under additional media.
-S&S Team
|
|
January 23, 2008 |
Sweet and Sour Productions has been featured in a short Duke News
interview clip about the upcoming Froshlife 2008 Film Festival. Sweet
and Sour's director Shang Gao shares some of the origins of the group as
well a few thoughts on Froshlife. The clip was shot and edited by Steve
Milligan, who is a professional cinematographer from Durham and has
greatly assisted Sweet and Sour in past productions. The interview can
be seen here.
-S&S Team
|
|
January 21, 2008 |
We are proud to announce that "The Coffee Interns" has been awarded
first place in Boston Consulting Group's Strategytube contest, along
with $3000 of prize money.
This was dampened slightly by the fact that winnings are taxed 50%,
but nonetheless, we are very excited.
In other news, after putting it off for a year, we finally got our
guestbook up and running again after it was spammed to death by bots.
Our next film is scheduled to release on February 24 as the guest entry
to the Froshlife Film Festival, so stay tuned for updates!
-S&S Team
|
|
January 7, 2008 |
Sweet and Sour kicks off the new year with a brand new short, "The
Coffee Interns." Filmed and edited four days before it was due (today),
this film was submitted as an entry to The Boston Consulting Group's
undergraduate strategytube competition. The requirement was to make a
two-minute film about business strategy--we decided to give it a
humorous spin by making it about two interns trying to get coffee for
their boss. In addition, Sweet and Sour called back their old high
school film star, Matt Nguyen, to guest act, and followed it up with a
30-hour editing marathon. The result? See for yourself in the media
section.
Hope everyone has fun returning to school... not.
-S&S Team
P.S. The Froshlife 08 Trailer has been uploaded to youtube--the link is
in the media section.
|
|
November 30, 2007 |
Before the Thanksgiving Holidays, Sweet and Sour Productions entered a
film contest sponsored by Southpoint Mall, which wanted a creative
internet video clip produced by area students to help create holiday
buzz. The film could be of any genre, and the only requirements
were that the film was to be under a minute, rated G, shot a Southpoint,
and made by a student team with four members or less.
Today, the winner was announced--our very own entry, "The Wrong
Present". The film was shot as one continuous take in Southpoint's
Cinema Circle 25 separate times before we were satisfied.
And the prize? Each member of the team--Shang Gao (director), Lawrence
Chen (cinematographer), Brandon Curl (actor), and Chrissy Ziccarelli
(actress)--wins a $450 gift card to The Streets at Southpoint,
and the Duke University will receive a $1,000 donation to purchase video
equipment.
Due to contest regulations, we cannot upload the original video before
January 31, but the youtube link has been posted in the Media Section.
Check it out!
Good luck on finals!
-S&S Team
|
|
November 26, 2007 |
Last weekend Lawrence Chen drove up to Washington DC to interview Duke
alumni and hip hop sensation John Park. He has put together a short
documentary which has been uploaded to the media section.
Visit John Park's
website to download his music or join his facebook group
here.
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving break!
-S&S Team
|
|
November 20, 2007 |
Sweet and Sour Productions was born out of Duke University's Froshlife
'06 Film Festival. To honor our humble roots and the days of using lime
poster board for greenscreen, the S&S team spent two days filming with
no sleep or class. The result is the new Froshlife '08 Trailer produced
for Duke University, uploaded to the media section.
We have several other upcoming releases, so keep an eye out!
-S&S Team
|
|
August 28, 2007 |
We have made much progress, many updates, several changes to our
upcoming film, starting with a change to the project title from "Youre
Thinking" to "Honor Codes". If
interested in becoming part of this production, please email BOTH
sg57@duke.edu and
sy14@duke.edu with subject line
"Honor Codes RSVP". Auditions/interviews will be held this Saturday,
September 1st, and shooting will begin the week after (and hopefully be
done by mid-October). Listed below are some project details, along with
the sides for the lead characters.Project Title:
Honor Codes (part 1)
Author: Shang
Form/Length: Screenplay/24 Pages
Genre: Drama
Locale/Setting: Duke University
Circa: Present
Elements:
Shang Gao (director) - attached to
Sungho Yoo (producer) - attached to
Varun Lella (executive producer) - attached to
Lawrence Chen (dp) - attached to
Peggy Tseng (ad) - attached to
Log Line: Max Jones, the scrupulous but
naive president of Duke's Honor Council, wakes up one morning to find
that he can see other people's thoughts, and the ability forces him to
come to terms with the dishonest world in which he lives.
Audition Sides: (click to view as pdf)
MAX JONES (M/21) - A handsome, over-studious college junior. He
wakes up one morning with the ability to see people's thoughts as words
over their heads. (Lead)
JAMES FISHER (M/21) - Max's roommate and best friend. A good-looking guy
with a warm and friendly smile. (Lead)
ANNE WILCOX (F/21) - Max's girlfriend. A very pretty and very sweet
junior girl who loves Max dearly but doesn't feel quite as loved in
return. (Lead)
PAULINA BORDEN (F/21) - A cute girl in Max's philosophy seminar who
seductively eyes him with less than pure intentions. (Supporting)
Stay tuned for more updates!
-S&S Team
P.S. Lawrence Chen's "Heinz Master" commercial from over the summer has
been uploaded to the Media section
|
|
July 27, 2007 |
Sweet and Sour Productions is looking for cast and crew for a new
project we are filming this fall. The project, titled "Youre Thinking",
is a serious dramatic short, broken into two parts, each part about 20
minutes. It is about a kind but over-studious college student who wakes
up one morning to find that he can see other people's thoughts, but the
ability soon brings him face to face with devastating truths. Once
completed, this film will be broadcasted on Duke's Cable 13 and
submitted to Sundance, LA Film Festival, and other various film
festivals across the nation.
We are looking for actors for lead, supporting, cameo, and extra roles.
Also, we are looking for addition crew to help out with physical
production, especially anyone with previous experience with lighting,
sound, operating hd camera, editing, or animation. If interested in
recieving a synopsis/character breakdown, crew call, and a copy of the
script, please RSVP interest to BOTH "sg57@duke.edu" AND "sy14@duke.edu"
with subject line "Youre Thinking RSVP". Please RSVP interest before
August 25th.
Filming is a very big commitment and takes a huge amount of time and
energy, but is also very rewarding in its own ways. For anyone
interested in pursuing a career in entertainment, this is an opportunity
to learn more about the film production process, gain exposure, and
build a resume and demo reel.
-S&S Team
|
|
July 19, 2007 |
Sweet and Sour Productions is proud to announce we will be working with
Lawrence Chen of tCHN Productions this upcoming semester. Lawrence has
made numerous films varying in genre, length, and quality, and also has
experience working with steadicam and other film equipment. His video "4
Fast 4 Furious" has been uploaded to the media section.
-S&S Team
|
|
July 17, 2007 |
After what's seemed like a year... or maybe it was a year... both
orientation trailers are now complete! They can be viewed in the media
section, and a formal copy will be soon posted on the Duke website and
sent to the incoming class of '11, hopefully preparing them for the sweat,
tears, and turmoil they will soon face upon entering college.
We are currently developing screenplays for a series of comedic shorts
targeting a college audience to be filmed this coming fall. They will
star the same character, but each episode will revolve around a
different theme and utilize a new experimental style, special effect, or
technique.
Hopefully, after perfecting these we will be able to
incorporate them into a possible upcoming feature. And for second semester...
remember that drama we promised a while back? We finally figured out a
way to get it to work. Well... we think. Actually... we hope. We will keep
everyone posted as new updates come up.
We have started a new facebook group for anyone interested in
receiving updates on the latest production work, getting exclusive first
looks at new films, and giving input on ideas for future productions. If
you have facebook, we invite you to
join here.
Hope nobody is working hard this summer,
-S&S Team
|
|
June 17, 2007 |
|
Contrary to popular belief, we are not yet dead. This summer, Shang has
gone to Los Angeles to pursue his dream of filmmaking and has ended up
carrying coffee at his internship with Industry Entertainment, Jeff is
battling a nervous breakdown while slaving away at his MCAT
preparations, and Muyan is taking Duke summer school and editing the
2007 Defmo Showcase.
Despite our incessant procrastination, the Duke
Orientation Trailer is almost done. (Didn't we say that 3 months ago?)
We have decided to split the original trailer into two separate
halves--Trailer A has been completed, mailed to Duke's Dean of Students
office, and uploaded to the media section. We are currently looking for
someone to do a narration voiceover for Trailer B, but it too is otherwise
complete.
In other news, we are very proud to announce that
"Plan for Autumn's Birthday" has been accepted as an official selection
into two film festivals: Asian Cinevision's 30th Asian
American International Film Festival in New York, NY (July 19-28) and the
Scene First Student Film Festival in Wilmington, NC (June 14-16). More
details and event schedules can be found at:
http://www.asiancinevision.org/
http://www.scenefirstfestival.com/SceneFirst/
In addition to the first Orientation Trailer, two
more clips have been uploaded to the site: the intro of Defmo's
mockumentary filmed by Shang and another clip from ASA's Lunar New Year
2007 DVD. Check them out in the media section. More updates to come
(hopefully)!
Hope everyone is having a great summer,
-S&S Team
|
| February 25, 2007 |
DVD editing for a performance is agonizingly tedious work, as we are
finding out now. Of course, we want all our loving fans to experience
this excruciating process along with us, so we have posted up a few
sneak preview clips from this year's Lunar New Year DVD in the Media
section. Also, by popular demand, the full version of "All the King's
Men" has been uploaded. Enjoy.
-S&S Team
|
| February 21, 2007 |
After a six month hiatus, Sweet and Sour Productions is back in
business. We do have something to show for it, but before we get to
that, we'd like to give you guys a brief update on our current projects.
The Duke orientation/recruitment video "Orientation" is halfway
finished - we plan on wrapping up production by the end of Spring Break.
Our series show for Cable 13, after going back to the drawing
board many times, is now in (we hope) the final stages of development.
Drama? Mockumentary? Porn? Who knows what the future holds... well we do,
but we aren't telling just yet.
As always, Duke keeps us busy with many side projects. The Duke Asian
Student Association's annual Lunar New Year show "Origins" was a
big success and we are currently producing the DVD of the show, so look
out for that in the coming weeks. Also, within the next year, Cable
13 will be expanding its programming and facilities, the highlight
being a brand new studio built from the ground up. You can bet
Sweet and Sour is really excited and will be one of the first groups to
test out our new studio. And now for the fan(s?) who have been waiting
on our next work, here is the tentative second half of "Orientation".Happy belated New Year,
-S&S Team
|
| August 30, 2006 |
We're back!
To all of our loyal fans who wondered why our site was MIA for the
second half of the summer, our hard drive suffered an unfortunate
accident and died in a miserable ball of fire...may it rest in peace.
After getting back to Duke and starting on our latest video project
(more on that later), we began looking for a new server. Through
multiple trips to Intrex Computers of Durham (very nice and patient
people), an exploding motherboard, and a computer swap, our new server
should last for a very, very long time (or so Jeff tells us, but that's
what he said before the first one blew up).
Our latest project (hinted at last year) involves filming Freshman
Orientation for Duke University in order to make a Recruitment Video. We
spent all of Orientation Week following around the first year students,
attending all their planned activities, and eating all their free
food--sorry to all you freshman ladies we may have bumped, hassled, or
harassed during filming. We really appreciate all that the Dean of
Students Office, FACs, and Orientation Staff have done to accommodate
us, and we hope to make a video that does justice to the amazing
Orientation you guys put together. We hope to have everything wrapped up
(post production, soundtrack, etc.) and the final video out by the end
of this semester. Stay tuned for production photos of our Orientation
filming.
In the not so distant future (also hinted at last year), our next
project is going to be an episodic drama/comedy of some sort for Duke
University's Cable 13 Television Station. More details to follow when we
figure them out.-S&S Team
|
| May 3, 2006 |
Sweet & Sour Productions is now finishing its
first year (or more like first 3 months) of production, a year filled with
a lot of success (Froshlife) despite obstacles along the way (the logistics
of starting a production company), and we are looking forward to our next
three years together with high hopes and many expectations. This year we've
completed two major productions and established contact with three major
"sponsors", Duke Dean of Students, Freewater Productions, and Cable 13 TV.
Next year we plan on expanding our projects with our sponsors--currently
scheduled are a Duke orientation week video starting in August as well as
a 6-part mini-series (think Asian Drama) for Cable 13 throughout the year.
Except for maintenance, this site will probably not be updated until we
come back during late August to begin production on the Duke orientation
week video. We'd like to thank all our wonderful viewers and fans, and we
hope you have had as much fun watching us this year as we have had making
all of our videos.
Have a great summer, and see you next year!
-Shang, Muyan, Jeff, and the S&S Team
P.S. The bloopers of "Plan For Autumn's Birthday" has been uploaded to the
media section.
|
| April 26, 2006 |
Just in time for finals, week, Sweet & Sour Productions
would like to announce (drumroll please...) the completion of our second
feature production, "Plan for Autumn's Birthday"! Check it out in the media
section!
-S&S Team
|
| April 10, 2006 |
Plan for Autumn's Birthday" is entering its
first stages of post-production/editing. Although we've had some setbacks,
including someone driving the truck we were using to a different state without
our knowing and our lead actor spraining his ankle, this production has
so far exceeded our expectations for a light romantic comedy. The release
date for the video has been set to the first week of May so look forward
to the premiere -- and don't miss the bloopers either, we've got some really
good ones!
-S&S Team
Shang films and directs as Jin discovers the perils of women, shot on our
freshly painted greenscreen
|
| March 22, 2006 |
After a month of planning, production for "Plan
for Autumn's Birthday" has officially begun. The story is about a hapless
and extremely unlucky boy who goes through a lot of trouble to deliver a
birthday gift to his girlfriend. The video will star actress Peggy Tseng
and guest actor Jin Choi from Georgia Tech, an old filming friend from Duluth
High School. Also, Shuo Zhang from Princeton, another high school friend,
will be assisting with production. We expect the video to be completed sometime
within the next two to three weeks.
-S&S Team
The production crew paints the greenscreen for the film inside the Cable
13 Studios
|
| February 25, 2006 |
We are excited to announce that we have begun
pre-production of our next video, "Plan for Autumn's Birthday." Production
is scheduled to begin in late March and be completed sometime in April.
Stay tuned for further details!
Several groups around campus have expressed interest in Sweet & Sour Productions'
work, including Duke's Office of Information and Technology. S&S may be
invited to participate in productions for such groups in the near future.
Also, a new video, "Band of Seniors," a film from Rice Bowl Productions'
earlier days, has been uploaded. Check it out in the
media section.
-S&S Team
|
| February 15, 2006 |
There's a short new video clip uploaded in the
media section: the opening act of Duke ASA's Lunar New Year Festival 2006
- Degrees of Freedom. This year's emcees, Andrew Hsiao, Lawrence Chen, and
Sungho Yoo (with some video assistance from Sweet & Sour Productions) pulled
off number after number of hilarious acts. Congrats to the ASA board, the
performers, and the great emcees for a terrific show.
-S&S Team
|
| February 14, 2006 |
Hey guys, construction on the website is just
about done! Sweet & Sour Productions is currently planning out their next
major project (which will probably be postponed until we finish failing
the rest of our midterms). Be on the lookout for more updates in the media
section!
-Shang
Happy Valentines Day! (Otherwise known as Single's Awareness Day)
|
| February 8, 2006 |
Wilson Dorm in association with Sweet & Sour
Productions are the Duke University Froshlife 2006 Champions!!! "My Only
One" was proudly declared by judges as the 1st Place Video in this year's
Froshlife Film Festival.
In addition to overall Best Picture, Jane Chong took home the Best Actress
Award, winning a Bose Companion 2 Multimedia Speaker System, and Jeff Hu
received the Best Editor Award, along with it a $25 gift certificate to
Northgate Mall. Congratulations Jane and Jeff!!!
Also, props go out to Southgate Dorm who produced an outstanding video,
"12", which received Froshlife 2nd Place, and Southgate director Paul Yen,
who received the Best Director award.
And with this, Sweet & Sour Productions has officially completed production
and presentation of their first film project. May the future be filled with
many more successes!
-Shang
"My Only One" along with "My Only One: Bloopers" can be downloaded in the
newly updated Media section. "My Only One," "12,"
and all other Froshlife films can also be viewed online at the
Duke Froshlife Website.
|
| February 6, 2006 |
Site's up and running but still under major construction.
Other than that, Sweet & Sour Productions' first film, My Only One, was
submitted last Tuesday as an entry into the Duke University Froshlife 2006
competition, a freshman film festival with the simple guideline - advertise
first year life at Duke University. All entries are currently under review,
and the final judgment will be made this Wednesday at the Froshlife premiere
by live judges.
My Only One, along with all other Froshlife entries, will play at the Froshlife
Premiere on Wednesday night at 8PM in the White Lecture Hall on East Campus.
Be sure to drop by and support Sweet and Sour Productions and the Wilson
Froshlife Team!
We will upload the video onto the Media page Wednesday night after the premiere.
-S&S Team
|
© 2005-2007 Sweet & Sour Productions
This site is hosted off the Duke University network |
|
|
|