1. Description of Our Community
'Erhlin' is located at the southwest of Changhua County. Elliptical shape and a fertile plain.
The name 'Erhlin' came from the two forests when immigrants came here. The agricultural population in Erhlin is more than 60% of the total population, made Erhlin a typical agricultural town with high quality of agricultural products, including the three treasures of Erlin (buckwheat, barley, grapes), wine, Bianshi, asparagus, Big Bridge rice, and so on.
Water and fertile soil in Erhlin not only grows fruits and crops, but also many distinguished artists, like famous local writer Hsing-fu Hung, contemporary artist Tung-lu Hung, advertising director Guang-cheng Xie, as well as the first-chair producer of the domestic films, Jimmy Huang. Jimmy Huang is the producer of the best-selling movies, 'Cape No. 7', 'Silk', 'Double Vision', 'Secret', and 'Seediq Bale.' Erhlin is a remarkable place with outstanding people.
2. Summary of Our Project
The project subject is our senior -Producer Jimmy Huang. We are very interested in movie, and learned how to make films in the art courses. There were many filmmakers giving speeches at our school, so we found that producer Jimmy Huang is our senior. From the speech, we learned about his struggles, and admired his courage and guts. We would like to know more about his story, so we decided the subject 'Backstage driving force—Jimmy Huang” to explore how Erhlin nurtured this “E-ling” (meaning “evil spirit”; homonym of Erhlin) and his work and beliefs.
3. Our Computer and Internet Access
A. Percentage of students using the Internet at home:more than 50%
B. Number of workstations with Internet access in the classroom:more than 6
C. Connection speed used in the classroom:dedicated connection
D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:more than 6
4. Problems We Had To Overcome
Problems We Had To Overcome:
members from different classes: Eight members are from different classes. The first problem was how to allocate work. Teachers advised that we chose the work at our will, and completed the plan step by step. Communication problems were inevitable, but through several gatherings, we gradually came on the same page.
Limited time: We sacrificed nap to discuss or allocate work in the computer lab. Although only a short period of 35 minutes, we managed to complete the project. During holidays or at night, everyone searched information at home, and then uploaded on network drive, or discussed on the facebook.
Data collection is not easy: Although the Internet is well developed, and keyword search is not difficult, how to retrieve the information we need was still not simple. We needed to think carefully and selected appropriate keywords to find useful information. Also, the correctness of online information was important.
Preparation of the interview: Most of our information came from interviews. Before interview, we developed outline, which was difficult than we had imagined. Open questions could be easily out of focus. Simple questions would be a waste. During interview, we focused to take notes and supplement questions. Sometimes we got more information than expected, and spent time carefully and patiently compiling documents.
Jimmy’s time is valuable: Jimmy got many films at hand. The first interview was during the Chinese New Year, when he flew back to Taiwan. The second interview was originally scheduled at Central Pictures Corporation for visiting his work environment, but the producer flew to Singapore because of work. Fortunately, he found us another two heavyweights in the film industry - the general manager of Arrow and the senior producer Xu-ren Hao. We learned from this experience about how busy a producer is.
5. Our Project Sound Bite
We found the magazine of Jimmy Huang by change. Our teachers tried again and again to invite him to give a speech. We learned a lot about behind the scenes, and his vision and courage. Prior to the speech, we shot a film to introduce Jimmy to students. We looked forward to his arrival, and listened to his speech with enthusiasm. Finally, with the strong support of the school and the Alumni Association, we traveled to New Taipei City, visiting film industry and people - from Taipei Postproduction, the Arrow Cinematic, and Wushe Street in “Seediq Bale”. We also interviewed the partners worked with Jimmy, including producer Ren-hao Xu, Yun-Chung Zhang of Taipei Postproduction, Tian-gui Lin of Arrow Cinematic Group. We saw a whole picture of film industry, heard a lot of stories about Jimmy, and life experiences that we should learn from. This was a priceless gift.
6. How did your activities and research for this CyberFair Project support standards, required coursework and curriculum standards?
It has been years that our school introduced video production course. We envied the seniors when they made their videos. The school joined the high school quality plan this semester and listed film production course as one special art course. Jimmy Huang’s speech let us know more about the work behind the scenes. He also shared his experiences with us, and arranged visits of studio and film production company - Taipei Postproduction and the Arrow Cinematic. We recorded these visits so that teachers can share with the whole school, to enrich the curriculum.
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