When Serendipity Brings You Fresh Opportunities

As one would normally do at the end of the year, I had been thinking of what I wanted to achieve for the new year. From a growth perspective, I made a conscious decision to put myself in situations in which I would be in front of the camera and to be a storyteller with a face. I had intended to do so through independent projects, as with all self-initiated ambitions.

Usually when presenting, I let myself go on auto-pilot, leaving my inner instincts to take over. Perhaps I’ve always felt that this was the ace up my sleeve - that despite the fact that I have few things to offer, my success rate in talking my way to success provided me this comfort that this auto-pilot will work (most of the time).

In hindsight, this would have most likely resulted in failure. Enjoying talking is one thing, but being paid to talk comes with expectations that change the dynamics of casually “talking about something”. Fortunately, an unsolicited opportunity came in the midst of my own recent preparation to be in front of the camera.

A client whom I had worked with 2 years ago called me up, and said that they were looking to do a filmed factory tour, but they did not have the budget that would allow me to hire a professional host. On a whim, I asked the client if they could take a chance on me to be the host instead. Fortunately, the client also had the same idea, for I had left a good impression on them when presenting my ideas and approach during our initial engagement.

After that informative and successful production, I received yet another unsolicited call the next day. This time, it was from a producer who was hoping to do a Sungei Road Thieves Market Feature for the Mediacorp series, On The Red Dot. Initially, I thought they would want some footage from my documentary, Trespass, that I did 3 years ago to document the closure of the unique enclave. To my surprise, they wanted me to host. I was taken aback at first, but thanks to my previous experience hosting, I did not hesitate to take up this opportunity to further develop my skills.

These two opportunities have given me the necessary foundation for me to produce my first independent and self-hosted video, with a higher degree of success. It is currently in the scripting phase.

If this does not describe serendipity, I don’t know what is.