Senior Lecturer
Film
Puttnam School of Film & Animation
6 November 2014
Tell us a little about yourself – which country do you come from and how did you come into the teaching profession?
I started my career as a cinematographer in USA and when I returned to Tokyo, Japan, 14 years ago, I was offered an opportunity to teach filmmaking in Waseda University. In the early years of my teaching career, due to my lack of experience, I put in more efforts to explore the pedagogical methods of teaching students in film school to further improve my training methods.
What made you decide to come to Singapore and why LASALLE?
Gisli Snaer, then Head of LASALLE's Puttnam School of Film, invited me as a visiting artist to share my experience in filmmaking with the film students. The Singapore film industry is still developing, and I feel that it is important to educate and impart my knowledge to young and aspiring filmmakers. Through my short stint at the School, I was impressed with the level of ‘freedom’ in the curriculum planning, compared to other universities that tend to adopt fixed and restrictive curricula. I was also impressed with the students’ positive learning attitude. I decided to join LASALLE to further develop the film curriculum and share my experience with the students. It was also a good opportunity for me to further understand the indigenous Singapore culture with which I am fascinated.
You have been with LASALLE for more than 3 years, how has your experience been so far, living in Singapore and working in LASALLE?
The cinematography module, by nature, requires me to visit students’ film locations. I have had the opportunity to travel around Singapore and it has been a great experience for me to explore off-the-beaten track locales in Singapore. During these three years, I found it easy to blend into the Singaporean culture.
What is one quality in you that you find most 'Singaporean'?
The extensive usage of “Singlish” has become part of my daily conversation and sugared tea (commonly known as ‘Teh-O-Peng’) has become a routine refreshment for me.
Read more about Hideo here.
