Crowdfunding For Summer Love: KL! Songs (Through Mystartr)

I have always love the idea about crowd sourcing. Have done that for most of my projects - the most notably one is probably for the 50+1 Malaysia book where I invited the public to share photographs to be published in the book.

Well a few years later, and I'm crowd sourcing again.. or crowdfunding to be exact.

I have seen Kickstartr.com, and been impressed with it. Its a platform for individuals and companies to get funds from the public to Kickstartr their project.

This is a big platform, and as cool as it sounds, however we didn't put our project up there. Probably the thought that our project is much more skewed locally was the main factor.

Us (from Superboyz.tv) and Mr Goh, the founder of Mystartr

Move fwd, and we met Mr Goh, who is the founder of Mystartr.com.. the localized version of Kickstarter.

So uploaded the project we have, and that include thinking of unique gifts for our funders/ contributors (for after all this ain't charity).

And what are we raising for? Well to fund the production costs of the recordings of the 3 songs for Summer Love: KL! This include mainly the recording hours (at RM70-100/ hour!), mixing and mastering for a full complete song.



Anyway, we are glad that we have achieved our initial target of raising RM1500. But, we are still looking to raise more. Reason being - the costs that we estimated has increased because of the additional hours needed.

The costs now stand at slightly over RM3k, more than our expected RM2400 initially.

Now here comes my sales pitch (haha!). If ur keen to support us on this project, do choose the right package that suits you. We have various contributions in return like name/ credit mentions, CD giveaway (with different versions of the songs), appearing in the making of video and all the way to us making a personal video for you. The video making is quite a prize!

Owh to support us go here >> Summer Love: KL! Crowdfunding.



So you got the website, fund us maybe? :)

Tadaa... Our 1st Episode! (Summer Love: KL!)

Hey peeps, it's UP! Yes, it's UP!!! :D

Summer Love: KL! has finally seen the light of day!

Here is the 1st episode with the full cast - Lez Ann, Mikael Silvador, Sheena Liam, Mei Sze, Fufu, Wafa... and myself! Hehe!

Owh btw, apart from the main leads in the series, we have also invited 4 other people to join. Bloggers - Ken Wooi, Eric Lee and his gf Caroline May Ling. They played themselves here. Owh, there's Eunice too - who is the youngest cast of them all :)

The main sponsors for the 1st Episode are:
1. Konji International - for makeup & hair
2. Dummyclozett - for fashion wear for Tiffany (Lez Ann)

Btw, to be honest, I thought Episode 1 is not our strongest.. ! But still, do feel free to comment & feedback to us (just not abusive) :)

And yeah, do help spread the word!!! And stay tune for Episode 2 next Wednesday, 1 August 2012! :D


*Subscribe to Superboyztv Youtube channel! :)

Yo, I Can Rap Y'all! (AutoRap App Review)

Have you ever thought that those rappers are cool? Or when you go sing karaoke, and just keep silent when the rap parts comes up?

Well, now, we all can be rappers. And you don't even need to train your voice. Or spend money at a  recording studio. Instead, all you need to do is to download the Autorap app. Yes, it's that simple!



What this app allows is for users to either 'rap' or 'talk' and the app will automatically convert your voice into ... a proper rap!

And beats wise, there are plenty to choose from - from the Freestyle version (by 'unkown'/lesser known artistes) or the Premium ones (by known artistes & songs you've heard before - like Nicky Minaj, 2Pac, Eminen, etc etc!).

Anyway, I went to try it out.. and here are a few raps I got!

PS: I was on my bed, late at night when I talked to the phone!! :)

1. Hey Pretty Girl using Turkey Burgers beat.
2. Catch No Grenade using Charger beat.
3. Catch No Grenade using Under When It's Over beat.
4. Catch No Grenade using OneOneOne beat. (love this most)

*These are my own lyrics which I actually wrote for my project Summer Love: KL! (and the song Me & You).

So, you see, we too can be rappers. What ya say? Hehe.

Btw, while I do love the app, but the downside to the AutoRap App is:
1. To get extra 'plays' & raps, one has to buy them. Or alternatively, there are ways to get them for 'free'. But you have to sign up to other sites or make purchases on other of the recommended estores. Now, because of this, I've yet to try rapping with the Premium beats. 


2. I cant find the embed code to link the raps I made (eg to put it on my blog here). Instead I can only link it back to their site. 


3. The share function on Facebook & Twitter isn't working. That ain't really social. If this is a problem, and if it gets fixed, it will helped make this app even bigger & more popular!

4, 3, 2 And Now 1 More Day (To Summer Love: KL!)

First we had the teaser videos. And now, we have the teaser posters.. which btw serve as a countdown to our launch.

There are a total of 5 videos, so do these posters.

Here are 4 of them. And the next one coming up tmrw!! :)

Owh boy, are we excited (and nervous at the same time!) :D

Owh Hey, Summer Love!

Lovely, sweet, sexy and .... naughty! Well, that's what me & my friends wants to achieve in our webseries... Summer Love: KL!

And with that in mind, we have aligned our teasers the same way too! Have you watched them yet? If not, well, here are teasers 3-5!

 





Btw, an update on what's been happening since my last update. We have been busy with the 3 original songs for our series.

The first one is the main theme - aptly titled "Summer Love"! This is an upbeat & uplifting song that is a lil dreamy.. (did I mention, I wrote the lyrics hehe).

Anyway, we have done a few rehearsals with the award winning choir group, Naturally Vocal (this group has won in various choir competitions). A very lively bunch, they are!

This was done about 2 weekens ago. It was the first time I was in the recording studio, to produce a song! I think it is the same for many of the singers from the group too plus also my other partners. 

The studio experience could have been better tho (about that another time), but that didn't stop us from having fun. The lively spirit of the group saw this through. 

The other 2 songs are still in the progress. The sad song "Remember The Time" (yeah, the song finally has a name rather than just being called "sad song") is already halfway recorded. We have had a few rehearsals and went into the studio yesterday for our recording session (this btw is another studio than the 1st :) ). 

The musicians, singers & us (from left to right: me, Ben CMX, Kenneth, Terry, Kim, Eunice, Arico)  in the rehearsal for Remember The Time. It has been quite a heavy session of rehearsals, but not without its fun!

But because this song is a lil heavier, with live music instruments recording, it took us much longer than we have expected. So even after 230am, we have yet to record the vocals of the song. And we are looking at going back again tomorrow to the studio to record the lead vocals (by Kim) and the back up vocals by Eunice next Tuesday. 

The singers Juno & Ken with composer Ben CMX. 

Now, we also have a kpop inspired song (as per our Teaser 2). For that we have 2 guys to sing the song - Ken & Juno. Kinda like the mix of their vocals which suits the kpop style of the song. 

We have done a few rehearsals and have wanted to record the song this week. But alas, Juno has a sorethroat, so obviously the best choice would be to postpone the recording till next week. 

Well, so that's what has been happening behind the scenes for Summer Love: KL! Really, lots of 'blood & sweat', or more so lots of late nights, creative thoughts, people & time management and learning too along the way. 

In any case, all looks good for a premier of the series this month (keeping fingers crossed!). Yay!

McCafe Finally Comes To Malaysia!!

A new cafe is brewing in town.. and it's a familiar name. Yes, McCafe has finally, finally reached the shores of Malaysia!

To some, this is a tad odd, seeing that some of our neighbouring countries already have had their McCafes quite a while back. Yes, I still remember going to them in Singapore when I was living there then. 

But anyway, fret not. The McCafes, early or late.. has arrived. And that's all that matters!!

So, how is the set up like? Rather similar to the McCafes I've been to, it's parked together with the usual Mcdonald's. Some can call that more like an 'extension' - which serves cafe specialties. 

So, there is the usual fare of cakes (including the awesome brownies) and their range of coffees, which are specially brewed. 

But as a non coffee drinker, I opted for the hot chocolate instead.. yeah, that came with the signature M on top of it! :)

The price range is pretty reasonable - quite similar (plus minus) that of the other cafes in town. Food wise, I'd go with the cakes - especially the brownie!

Owh, and for those wanting some meals, there's always the burgers to order at the other counter!

Me enjoying my hot chocolate!!

This first outlet is at Kota Damansara. Mcdonald's have plans to roll out many more outlets in the coming weeks & months. So, there will be a McCafe coming near you - real soon!!!

*Malaysia's 1st McCafe address:

Lot B, Jalan Cecawi 6/18A

Kota Damansara

Selangor. 

I Love Line App!

So I've decided to share some of the apps that I like. This time, I'd like to share about this messaging app - Line!



Now, let's step back a bit. Before Line came up, another app has already made waves for smartphone users. Yes, the unmistakeable Whatsapp!

Never would I imagine another app competing with it.. for how much further can the scene go from free messaging?

Ah, but that's the power of creativity and technology!

So there comes Line, initially a new player - but now boasts of over 45 million users! (and ranks as the top free app in 16 countries!!).

At first, I didn't even download the app (for yea, I was already using whatsapp). But when non smartphone friends (eg iPad/ iPod users) asked to chat via Line, that set me going to the App Store.

Now for starters, Line look very alike Whatsapp. That's the primary usage of it anyway - instant messaging. You can text friends and share pics, videos and also your location.

However there are a few differences. The main one is that Line allows for free calls (via wifi or 3G). Yea so move away Viber! :)

Also Line do not require you to have a SIM card to chat, unlike Whatsapp. That means you can use Line with any smart device like the iPad, iPod or any tablets. Even via your desktop too.

But the more prominent difference - and the reason I like Line is undoubtedly the stickers!!

Yes Line comes with some really cute stickers. Now this is kinda new to me before I used Line. You know how some people types very cool emoticons to express themselves online?

Well, this does the same. There's basically a sticker for every emotion and lots of situation that we'd like to share.



So now, there's no need to write longish words. Instead just 'paste a sticker' - a cute one that is!

There are a few different characters for each sticker - like the rabbit (called Cony), the near human like - moon (called.. Moon!), the human character James and a whole lot more!

Well my favorite one is the bear stickers.. who is simply called - Brown.



These are free stickers.. but to get more different characters, one can actually buy them. And I must admit, I succumbed to that too (blame my friends influence on that! Haha!).

Yes, I got the Ken Zzang fox stickers! Some of my friends thought its a cat, some a dog! But no, its a (cute) fox!!



So now, if you Line me, you'd see me pasting the fox in our conversations!

Well at least for now.. till probably I get another set of stickers - and I've got my eyes set on Panda Dog! :)