K-Pop Kraze is a documentary which follows the story of an extreme K-Pop fan who's giving up her obsession with 1 final project, in hopes of reconciling with her parents.
THE FAN
Hajar is a 19 year old female who is really passionate about supporting a Korean Pop group, Teen Top. Although K-Pop brought much joy in her life, her passion for it also made her estrange from what's important to her - family.
MESSAGE
K-Pop Kraze is not just another documentary. We go beyond the life of a K-Pop fan whose life has been affected because of her liking for her it. We explore the themes of the costs of being a fan, finding one's identity and of course, love and reconciliation.
written on Thursday, 21 February 2013 @ 05:41 ∞ 0 candies
4 years ago, Hajar laughed when she first saw a K-Pop video. Today, Hajar practically worships
it. She owns uncountable posters and albums of her favourite group, Teen Top.
No one would have guessed that this hardcore Panic At the
Disco and Green Day fan would turn into a K-Pop fanatic.
“Someone sent me a video ofSHINee’s ‘Replay’ practice video. Then after that, I started like watching the videos online and kinda got
addicted,” Hajar says.
After getting to know more about K-Pop and the Korean
culture, Hajar eventually stumbled upon and fell in love with Teen Top, a
6-member pop group consisting of Niel, Changjo, C.A.P, Ricky, L.Joe and Chunji,
who is her favourite member.
Her passion in supporting them grew from watching their
music videos to attending their Singapore fanmeet. Not being able to get enough
of Teen Top, she then flew to various countries, in secrecy, to watch them perform.
She also became the Singapore-based fan club leader and even learnt Korean, so
that she could watch their shows without subs.
However, her joy in supporting the group wasn’t well
received by her parents. They frowned upon her being obsessed with K-Pop. But of
course, the strong-headed Hajar still continued liking K-Pop and soon, her
family ties deteriorated.
Her determination to support the boys was short-lived. An
incident that happened while she was in Thailand for Teen Top’s event, served
as a wake-up call for her and made her think about what she was actually doing
with her life.
Now, Hajar has decided to end her relationship with K-Pop
with 1 final project that celebrates Teen Top’s 1000th Day
Anniversary, for her parent’s sake and for her own.
Know of anyone that is as passionate as Hajar? Share with us
your stories!
Update: K-Pop can ruin a person's life?
written on Thursday, 21 February 2013 @ 05:41 0 chocolates
4 years ago, Hajar laughed when she first saw a K-Pop video. Today, Hajar practically worships
it. She owns uncountable posters and albums of her favourite group, Teen Top.
No one would have guessed that this hardcore Panic At the
Disco and Green Day fan would turn into a K-Pop fanatic.
“Someone sent me a video ofSHINee’s ‘Replay’ practice video. Then after that, I started like watching the videos online and kinda got
addicted,” Hajar says.
After getting to know more about K-Pop and the Korean
culture, Hajar eventually stumbled upon and fell in love with Teen Top, a
6-member pop group consisting of Niel, Changjo, C.A.P, Ricky, L.Joe and Chunji,
who is her favourite member.
Her passion in supporting them grew from watching their
music videos to attending their Singapore fanmeet. Not being able to get enough
of Teen Top, she then flew to various countries, in secrecy, to watch them perform.
She also became the Singapore-based fan club leader and even learnt Korean, so
that she could watch their shows without subs.
However, her joy in supporting the group wasn’t well
received by her parents. They frowned upon her being obsessed with K-Pop. But of
course, the strong-headed Hajar still continued liking K-Pop and soon, her
family ties deteriorated.
Her determination to support the boys was short-lived. An
incident that happened while she was in Thailand for Teen Top’s event, served
as a wake-up call for her and made her think about what she was actually doing
with her life.
Now, Hajar has decided to end her relationship with K-Pop
with 1 final project that celebrates Teen Top’s 1000th Day
Anniversary, for her parent’s sake and for her own.
Know of anyone that is as passionate as Hajar? Share with us
your stories!
About Kpop Kraze
What?: K-Pop Kraze is a documentary which follows the story of an extreme K-Pop fan who's giving up her obsession with 1 final project, in hopes of reconciling with her parents.
Who?: Hajar Salim, a 19 year old K-Pop fanatic, is the profile of this documentary. She is a huge fan of the Korean boy band, Teen Top. Although she found joy in supporting the group, her passion has resulted in family problems. She spends most of her time in her room, occupied with K-Pop and hardly talks to her parents. She has done many things in secrecy and has to constantly hide stuff to prevent her parents from finding out how much she has spent on the group. However, an incident served as a wake up call, made her re-think about what she was really doing with her life. Now, follow her story as she wraps up her passion with 1 final project, celebrating Teen Top's 1000th day anniversary, in hopes of reconciling with her parents.
Why?: This story is important because the Korean-Wave it at it's peak right now. We all have seen and heard about Kpop, thanks to Psy, and we have heard of how dedicated Kpop fans can get. However, we have never ventured into this.
Kpop Kraze unveils the stories of the costs of being a fan, finding identity and love and reconciliation.
When?: K-Pop Kraze is a documentary which follows the story of an extreme K-Pop fan who's giving up her obsession with 1 final project, in hopes of reconciling with her parents.
Where?: Get the latest updates on this story through our other social media sites:
The Team are all students from Singapore Polytechnic, pursuing a diploma in Creative Writing for Television and New Media (DTVM).
For an assignment, we have been tasked to produce a film that features an interesting profile, through whom we have to tell a compelling story that explores a theme or social issue. In our case, you can view our idea and story through this blog.
THE TEAM
WONG KING LAM
Cameraman
King is a 19-year-old DTVM student in Singapore Polytechnic.
KYLIE KAY
Editor
Kylie is an 18-year-old DTVM student in Singapore Polytechnic.
NUR HAZIRAH YUSOFF
Soundperson
Hazirah is a 19-year-old DTVM student in Singapore Polytechnic.
HEIDI JAMAL
Producer
Heidi is an 18-year-old DTVM student in Singapore Polytechnic.
OUR JOURNEY
King's Journey
Filming a documentary has always seemed like a very boring task to me. After actually filming several, they have taught me filming a documentary is actually much more difficult than filming a short film. There are no re-takes, you have to wait for the right moment and just hope that you capture it. It has made me respect those great documentary makers. Another thing I’ve learnt is that sometimes, a smaller group is better. The individual we wanted to film was less shy when there were less crew, so sometimes you have to understand the person you wish to film and adapt to them.
This scene was tough to film as Hajar got pretty shy. Some of us had to leave the room so as to allow her to open up.
Kylie's journey
I realized that for documentary, you'll really have to be constantly on your feet and look out if there's anything interesting to capture. For our documentary, I felt that we missed out a lot of important or key moments because we only had one camera and we were not alert enough. Also, having a backup plan is always important. In the case of being unable to film a particular sequence, having a backup plan will most definitely help. And for the number of footage, the more the merrier. These are some things that I have learnt.
Hazirah's Journey
Firstly, I think this experience has been a huge eye-opener for me as documentary making is really unexpected. You think that everything is going according to plan, but then once we review it and go for consultations, there are a lot of things missing. However, I really did enjoy my time, and I’ve discovered that its good to have team members that help push each other to be the best. Also, certain things can be a blessing in disguise. For example, during the Chinese New Year period, only Heidi and me could go for filming, but because of that day, we were forced to learn a lot of things in regards to handling the camera.
Heidi's Journey
A documentary is not easy, although it’s only 5 minutes. You have to move quick and think on your feet. You have to be brave to take risks. You need to sacrifice your comfort zone and do whatever it takes to make sure it works.
Here we see how Hazirah had to uncomfortably lie on the floor to get the soundbite during the interview.
I learnt the importance of always checking the sequences that has been filmed. I learnt that we need to check immediately after filming because in the hustle & bustle, you might forget to film some sequences.
The film was also close to my heart in a sense that the profile is my close friend and that I like K-Pop too. Filming her and researching more about K-Pop made me understand both her and K-Pop much better.
K-Pop fans are not the only crazy ones!
