Getting Interactive

Nine weeks of hard work but it was all worth it.

The 3^rd Annual Commfest (Communication Festival), organised by the public relations students of Taylor’s University’s School of Communications,  was a successful event.



One of the organiser’s Nur Afiqah Suhaimi said: “After more than 9 weeks of hard work, we ended up seeing good results. All the activities were well accepted by the students and received a lot of attention.”

Themed Social- Lympics (Social Media Olympics), the event was a combination of both social media and sports and took place at the campus from 10am to 4pm.



Commfest saw students taking part in various social media games and activities. There were nine activity booths and these included games booths including InstaChallege where youths took part in challenging sports adapted from online games.



The reason why the fest was so themed is because youths seem to spend so much time on social networking sites without having face-to-face interaction and physical activities with each other. Through these various games, it was hoped that students would have the opportunity to participate and communicate with others.

Taylor’s University’s deputy vice chancellor Pradeep Nair, who launched Commfest, said: “Youths need to know how to balance their social networking life and get involved and partake in outdoor activities.”

The social media sports and activities were inspired by famous social media applications such as Instagram and Facebook.



Nabil Jeffri and Jason Lo writing on the Facebook wall

Facebook came alive that day when students were able to update their status on a life-sized board. There were many students who actually wrote on this huge wall. They were given the chance to post anything. Other games included Snakes & Ladders, Tetris, Instacaps, Candy Burst and Instaclock.

Instaclock featured challenges and games revolving around a huge manmade clock. Every time the clock stuck an hour, participants were in for some surprises.

Instacaps being just like Instagram allowed one to take a picture and add irrelevant captions to it. The one with the best caption was allowed to keep the picture and receive a prize. This activity also attracted many students who took pictures against a huge handmade orange frame.

In Candy Burst one would have to pay RM2 to give an estimation of when the mammoth- sized balloon was going to burst. The person who got the time right won RM777. At approximately 3.37pm it was raining candies when the balloon next to the Facebook wall exploded. It was an intensifying moment as there were many students who were seen biting their finger nails, closing their ears and just anxiously waiting to find out if their estimation would win them the prize money.  Once the candies were on the floor many people rushed to pick them up.



Photo Booth as the name suggests was where anyone could dress up and stand in front of manmade props to have a photograph taken. People were able to snap pictures of themselves and also take a group picture with their close friends. There were props given like hats, rabbit ears, glasses and others.



 

Lecturers getting ready for the InstaRace

InstaRace saw interesting challenges between lecturers and students. It was an activity that was inspired by the TV series The Amazing Race. This activity however added a social media twist to it, as it was a challenging competition in which lecturers/administrative staff and students had to complete a seven-obstacle course around the campus. It was such an exciting activity as most students cheered on their favourite lecturers.  The teachers and students were seen frantically running with the clues to find the items needed to win this challenge.

Four women from the divisional office won the race and with two groups of students taking the second and third places.

Vivien Koh Kim Suan, one of four women from the winning group said: “We never expected to win because we thought it impossible to complete the seven obstacles in 45 minutes. The toughest was one of the activities from the InstaChallenge where we had to spin 360 degrees in a space ball and not throw up.”

“Although we had to undergo all the challenges she said they had a fun and exciting experience.

The age-old game of Snakes & Ladders was played not on a board but a huge mat that represented the board. One had to roll a huge dice and step forward while answering various questions. This game got most of the students participating as it was a very interactive game where you could see students laughing and having a friendly competition.

Nadia Zahed, a broadcasting student from the semester 4, said that she really loved playing Snakes & Ladders. “I really had so much of fun and I also got to interact with my friends and even the organisers who were in charge of the game. Although I ended up losing the game, I honestly think this year’s CommFest was planned really well and I think it did achieve its purpose,” she said

The unpredictable weather did not stop people from playing these games. However the crowd started easing away after 2pm.  Commfest was also attended by various well known personalities like Tune Talk chief executive officer Jason Lo, and  former Miss Malaysia/World 2010 and Taylor’s alumnus Nadia Heng (School of Communications) and National Youth icon 2012 Nabil Jeffri (School of Business). It was these special guests who kick-started the games. Both Lo and Nabil were seen having a blast.

Various vendors such as Tune Talk, Galaxy.fm and Nestle also set up stalls. Galaxy.fm drew the crowds as the youth were given the experience to broadcast live radio shows.

Organising comitee(sem4 and 6)



Snipping Her Way to Sucess

Sometimes it is just through trials and errors that one finally gains success. Other times it is one’s passion that drives one to success.  Hard work and opportunities taken are also how some people find their niche.

Take the late Steve Jobs, the creator of Macintosh computers, for example.  He was a college dropout who became a multi-millionaire, a successful icon and also left behind a great legacy for the world.

Local hairstylist Jasmine Charles has got her own story to tell of her winding road to success that has been helped on by her bubbly and friendly personality.

 

 

Jasmine Charles

 

 

It all started for the 48-year-old at the age of 15 when she was given a book on make-up and beauty. “This book gave me the inspiration to just love make-up,” said Jasmine, who is of Sri Lankan descent.

 However, she never really thought of making it a career as she didn’t think she had the skills for it and she wasn’t sure if there were courses related to it.

“I always thought because I was an extrovert, the best course for me was something to do with communications,” chuckled Charles.

It was after her SPM that she realised she had to do something productive with her life and of course trying to make the wiser choice she chose to do her A-Levels at the Methodist College in 1984. “Half way through my course I realised A-Levels sucked,” she laughed. She then decided to quit and start working.

She always nursed a desire to study in America because she had a relative who also lived there. So she decided to work hard in order to save enough money to get her to the States and pursue a degree in Communications and Music.

Her first job here was at a blood bank where she worked for two years. She was ready to be made a lab technician there but by which time she had saved enough funds to go abroad.

“When I was just about to leave for the States my dad passed away,” she said. It then became harder for her to leave everything because her siblings including and her had to pay for the funeral and support their mother. She put her dreams on hold and continued working for another two more years but this time in an engineering firm.

In 1987, “I finally saved enough money to pursue my dreams,” she said excitedly. I had been accepted at a University to do a degree in Communications and Music, and was going to live with a relative.

“Then one day while I was in Los Angeles, I met a very friendly woman who asked me if I would be her model for her hairdressing examination. It brought back memories of when I was 15 and inspired by cosmetics,” she said.

 

Soon after this Charles changed her course of study. She enrolled for a three-year Diploma in Cosmetology in Los Angeles.  She thoroughly enjoyed this course because it did not just focus on one area like the hairdressing or make-up but incorporated everything from head to toe. “I learned all about hair, make-up, waxing, and manicure and pedicure,” she said.

After studying for about two years she returned to Malaysia for her brother’s wedding but sadly was unable to go back to the States as she overstayed in the US therefore leaving her visa revoked. Devastated and frustrated she had to just use whatever skills she had already acquired to start working in the hair business and made her way up.

In 1990 she worked for one year as hairdressing apprentice. “I couldn’t take working for someone else so I decided why not I start my own business,” she added.

She opened her hair salon in a third-floor shop lot in PJ Newtown and ran a successful business for 20 years. It started out with only one chair, then two, expanded to four then later six and now eight chairs in total. “It was never easy because at that time I was practically the only Indian entrepreneur operating a hair salon,” she said. Charles added that her salon was like having one in the backstreets of New York where no one would want to go.

Nevertheless she managed to attract medium working class and she somehow advertised her business in magazines and also through word of mouth. Her business began to pick up and soon artistes and media people began to patronise her. Her vivacious personality helped  gain more customers.

Today besides her hairdressing expertise, she also sells imported hair products from the States and Europe. The brands include Redken, Joico, La’ biosthetique, Bosley and Nioxin . A year ago she moved her shop to a high end place in PJ Palm Court.

She now focuses more on scalp issues, dry and curly hair, damaged and coloured hair, thickening of the hair and anti-hair fall treatments. She is noted for her colouring and redefining of the curls techniques.

In addition to this, she has also earned a reputation her bridal, corporate and formal wear make-up where she only uses Bobbi Brown and M.A.C brands, waxing and treading,  and manicure and pedicure.

Now with a clientele of 500 customers she has become a successful hairdresser. It is amazing for someone who started out on rocky ground. “It was not an easy way up for me as I had to undergo many trials and tribulations.”

      She however advised those who are considering this career to really have the passion for it.

    “Never ever take this line just for the money,” she advised.

“Being a hairdresser is not easy as you have deal with the customer’s mood and keep them satisfied. You also have to update yourself on the hairstyle trends. Also not forgetting the long hours of standing up and dealing with many customers,” Charles added.

A person can always be successful no matter what people say. Take all the negativity in life and turn it to something positive. Sometimes you need to take the wrong turns to end up on the right track. It doesn’t matter how rich or poor you start out being but  everyone still has a chance to have some measure of success in areas they are passionate about.

Assignment 1

 Get creative with BMW

By Laveda Charles

 

The BMW Shorties 2012 returns for the sixth year. The event, organised by BMW Group Malaysia, was launched at the Taylor’s Lakeside Campus on Aug 30.

According to Sashi Ambi, BMW’s corporate communications manager, “The (film) competition was created to encourage the short film art form as well as to spur creativity in the Malaysian film community.”

“Possibilities” is the theme for this year’s competition. “The theme was chosen to encourage budding filmmakers to further explore their creativity as well as to not limit themselves in the discovery of opportunities,” he added.

The BMW was launched in Malaysia in late-2006 as a platform for Malaysian short filmmakers to explore their talent. Since then it has become one of the most anticipated annual filmmaking events here with BMW Shorties’ productions travelling to prestigious international film festivals in Cannes, Rome, New York, Rotterdam, and Dubai.

The competition provides Malaysian filmmakers access to international filmmaking and as an unwitting platform for young Malaysians to cultivate their social conscience.

New movie Sid & Berry, which will premiere this month, was also previewed at the launch. This movie is directed by Quek Shio Chuan who won last year’s competition with his winning entry Guang, and is also the director of this year’s Petronas Hari Raya advertisement.

Guang has won numerous awards worldwide – Best Film and Audience Choice at the 3^rd Who Likes Short Shorts? at the Film Festival 2012 in the United States, Best Film Alternative World and Golden Film in the 10^th Irpen Film Festival 2012.

Sid & Berry is about a boy named Sid and a fruit, berry as they travel through a bird’s intestinal system. However, at this point more details of the movie was not revealed

Sid & Berry’s executive producer Ismail Kamarul, speaking on behalf of Quek, said, “Over the years, the BMW Shorties has become an event that is eagerly anticipated by many in the local film-making community.

Ismail, who is also the executive producer of Guang, further mentioned that the short film competition is also the most holistic platform for budding filmmakers and it is a great platform for them to demonstrate their creative skills and talents to the society, be it in Malaysia or among our peers around the world.

“We had the idea of making Sid & Berry for almost two years. Compared to Guang, we have had more time to solidify the idea of making Sid & Berry,” added Ismail.

In addition to first-hand insights into film making and what goes on behind the scenes when making a short movie, the special screening of the past winners of the BMW Shorties at Taylor’s provided practical tips on filmmaking to 200 students and film enthusiasts who attended the event. This was the first time that Taylor’s University was playing host for the event and was mainly attributed to the abundance of filmmaking talents in the university.

As in previous years, the BMW Shorties 2012 is offering the winner a production grant of RM75,000 to make a professional short film to be showcased both in Malaysia and at international film festivals around the world such as the Busan International Film Festival which will go on from October 4-13 2012 and the Cannes Film Festival that will take place next year on the 15 May 2013.

Also present at the launch was School of Communication’s Dean, Josephine Tan.

Entries for the BMW Shorties is now open until Oct 26.  For more informational go to BMW Shorties Facebook page at www.facebook.com/bmwshorties.

ENDS

 

   

      Ismail Kamarul and  Sashi Ambi at the launch of BMW Shorties 2012 at Taylor’s Lakeside Campus