10th InTheBin Short Film Festival (2010)

Hello to all Satay fans!

"Satay Satay" has been selected for screening in the 10th In The Bin Short Film Festival this year. The screening will be held at Gold Coast on the 10th of May in Parklands Currumbin and 14th of May in Neal Shannon Park Surfers Paradise.

Cheers! :)

"Satay Satay" goes oversea!

Satay Satay is selected and will be screened at the next Victoria Film Festival in Canada on the 6th Febuary 2010. This will be the first oversea premiere for Satay Satay. It also gives my film a chance to deliver a rich Malaysian culture to oversea viewers.

Malaysia Boleh!

Satay Satay the film trailer is out!

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Satay Satay (2009) Official Trailer

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Satay Satay (2009) is infused with the Malaysian spirit, reflecting it's diverse culture. This film is basically a one man team production by the creator Sen Wong who started from story developing, producing, directing till post-production and even voice acting in many roles through the film.

Satay Satay (2009) is a nostalgic look at childhood which portrays the greediness of human beings and their personal anxieties about love, family, expectations and the special gifts we are all given but do not always appreciate.

Satay Satay (2009)

Synopsis: It is school holidays and the children are out playing in the Malaysian kampung. The bad tempered boy Ah Sen is spending the day with his elderly Ah Gong who is cutting down coconuts to try and please his grandson. Ah Sen is sick of coconuts, however, and things take a turn for the worst when his nagging for satay leads Ah Gong to walk into an accident. Ah Sen’s world is turned upside down, forcing him to consider losing a loved one he never appreciated.

Film Duration: 5min 39sec

Type: 2D Flash + Traditional Animation

Softwares: Flash and After Effects

Format: Stereo, PAL 25fps, 16:9,
Available in (1024x576) SD and (1920x1080) HD

Directed, Written, Produced, Designed, Animated, Compositing and Edited by
Sen Wong (Xue Sen Wong)

Sound Design by
David Williams

Original Music by
Jimmy Ho (Jing Ming Ho)

Clarinet - Lloyd Van't Hoff
Tenor Saxophone - Ben Byrne
Percussion - Brent Miller
Er-hu - Jimmy Ho

Cast (Voices)
SEN Wong as
Ah Gong (Grandpa)
Ah Sen (Grandson)
Satay Guy

Benjamin Drake as
Indian Boy

Forewords from my comrades

I have known Sen for about 5 years now. During that time we have finished our studies, made our first film and worked side by side on many projects, both commercial and personal.

After all this time I still remain amazed by Sen’s dedication, sacrifices and his love for the art. I have witnessed Sen growing a lot as a person and animator. A sign to this growth is his latest film ‘Satay-Satay’, which shows Sen embracing his roots with a personal yet entertaining story that delivers a strong message to the viewer.

This book is only but a small insight into Sen’s vivid imagination and you’ll need to add the time factor of animation to truly appreciate his talent.

I’d like to thank Sen for his inspiration, support and friendship.

Enjoy the Senimation!

By Paul Lalo

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It was about one year ago that I was working with Sen on a pilot episode for a children’s TV series. We were part of a team of 4 artists, whose role it was to begin fleshing out the series, and to make it appealing to kids.

A few days into the project we still had no concrete theme to base the series around. The group of us were at the food court in our lunch break, going back and forth between ideas, making small progress but hadn’t yet reached a solid concept to run with. The conversation that took place over the meal is quite hazy in my memory. One minute we were eating, then we were talking about cartoons, then for some reason we were talking about food - then Sen said something along the lines of “One thing that grabs kid’s attention, is having cartoons filled with FOOD!”

That was the turning point for the whole project. A wave of clarity washed over the group as we all sat quietly for a brief moment, nodding while we pondered how such a simple idea seemed so appealing. Food became the central focus of the series from this moment on.

Sen’s film Satay Satay is his newest work, also featuring food. It follows the story of a bratty young boy, who’s lust for Satay drives him to do bad deeds to get what he wants. I believe the film’s main strength is its ability to relate to kids. Every kid knows the pain of being denied that piece of junk food that they yearn for so badly.

A lot of great art was made during the production of Satay Satay, and this book contains all the ingredients that went into creating such an enjoyable film.

By James Lee

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Somehow I think Sen believes there’s 48 hours in a day, and every second of every minute has to be spent either animating or thinking about animation. This is the only valid explanation I can come up with, his work ethic and passion is limitless.

Sen has unknowingly been a great teacher to me and many others, and most importantly over the last year, I believe Sen’s understanding of the medium, in terms of draughtsman ship, story telling, ideas and concepts have become much clearer to him.

Good stories are those which tell the truth, a human truth, evoking in us images which we all can relate though aren’t necessarily proud to admit. It appears Sen has made ‘Satay Satay” with this in mind. The narrative touches on emotions which are quite personal to Sen, while being presented in an aesthetic style which perfectly reflect Sen’s personality.

By Steven Smith

Satay Satay Funny Faces

Some funny Faces from my film "Satay Satay".

Some funny Faces from my film "Satay Satay".

Tex Avery Influences and Comparison

Lust and Greed

While doing my research on Tex Avery, I discovered the meanings and metaphors behind many of Avery’s characters. The use of the wolf, for example, is a synonym of the animal instinct and basic sexual desire of men - especially soldiers during the WWII period. Ah Sen, in ‘Satay Satay’, has a similar base instinct for food which borders on lust. His primal animal reactionto food is exaggerated to the point his tongue flips out and his eyes widen, like Avery’s Wolf.

Tex Avery, "Red Hot Riding Hood" (1943)
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Ah Sen looks at the coconut like the Wolf looks at Red.
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Ah Sen's tongue lashes out similarly.
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Old People Humour

In this shot Ah Gong is climbing a coconut tree to get a treat for his grandson, this is an unexpected act for a person of his old age. This incongruous act result in humour with the audience laughing at the unexpected behaviour of Ah Gong. A similar device is used in many of Avery’s films where old people suddenly display uncharacteristic abilities.

Tex Avery, "Red Hot Riding Hood" (1943)
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Tex Avery, "Swing Shift Cinderella" (1945)
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Crazy old Ah Gong climbs up coconut tree.
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Sexual Innuendos and Gags

Tex Avery often surprised the audience with his use of sexual innuendos. Avery would put adult preoccupations (such as sex, paranoia and lust) into a childrens cartoon, shocking the audience whose expectations were of a reassuring moral and familiar structure.

Tex Avery, "Blitz Wolf" (1942)
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Ah Gong’s bottom and the tree trunk create a phallic symbol.
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The Indian boy’s hand is a phallus in combination with the man behind.
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Slapstick

With the rapid pace of Avery’s film, the audience is exposed to an incredible amount of gags, most of these are simple but hilarious slapstick gags. This informed and influenced my personal practice.

Tex Avery, "Little Rural Riding Hood" (1949)
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School girl gets hit by coconut.
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Elastic Movement

Another influence of Tex avery, is the elasticity in which his characters are able to perform and move. This is ability to distort movement and characters is very specific to animation and Avery was one of those who understood the limitless possibilities this could offer.

Tex Avery, "Little Rural Riding Hood" (1949)
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Ah Sen elastical moves.
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Hungry Animals

In Tex Avery’s vocabulary, animals are often used as one dimensional characters with a simple goal mind troughout the story. Satay Satay also features an animal with a similar objective which eventualy causes the crash.

Tex Avery, "King-Size Canary" (1947),Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
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Hungry buffalo.

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Sudden Juxtaposition

Sudden juxtaposition or replacement of elements can cause humour as seen in many Avery’s gags. In the climax I decided to use a similar technique not only to create humour but to lead the main character to believe, that the cow is his grandfather. Therefore triggering the necessary emotional shock needed for AhSen to make an internal change.

Tex Avery, "Little Rural Riding Hood" (1949),Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
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Ah Sen: What the...?
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Conclusion

As a creator and animator, I have always admired Tex Avery for creating the wacky, eye-popping, exaggerated style that has made him so famous.

He has influenced me in many different ways from style to storytelling and even with his use of sexual gags. Avery was renowned for having a general audience appeal, with mature gags appealing to adults and a slapstick humour enjoyed by the younger generation. This is something that I would also like to achieve with my films relating to a wider audience; especially since our contemporary society is currently experiencing an age where animated content is being targeted towards specific audiences and age groups. I believe there is still a lot of space for films appealing to both end of the spectrum.

Having done my thesis research on Tex Avery really influenced the way I approached humour and animation and I think this impact will show in many of my films to come.