Community College of City University // UOW College Hong Kong ASSOCIATE of ARTS BILINGUAL COMMUNICATION STUDIES (FRENCH and ENGLISH) 2018
FINAL YEAR PROJECT
迷信
Supervised By
Mrs. BOUCHONNET Delphine Valerie
Presented by
Superfilles
Christy Chan
Esther Kam
Mandy Lui
Suey So
香 港
HK Superstitions
By SuperFilles
Contents Introduction 1 Who are we?
Why do we choose this topic?
INTRODUCTION
Hi there, Do you know who are we?
What do we do in this project?
4
What are our core values?
Methodology List of methods
How did we apply these methods? Why do we do in these ways?
12
Development What is the meaning of our name ‘superfilles’ and our group logo? What did we do in different stages? What did we do from January to April? What did we learn from our interviews and video?
A team consisting of four girls --- “Superfilles”.
Our role mapping
25
Our work division
Reflection What are the challenges we encountered? How did we cope with our difficulties? What did we learn from our mistakes? What are our feelings toward this project?
33
Bibliography
List of reference Pages of appendix
We are year 2 students of Bilingual Communication Studies (French and English) at Community College of City University/ UOW. This programme assembled the ones who are attracted by French and its culture, and that is the reason why we are here. It was the first foreign language that we came to love. Through this project, we would like to demonstrate what we have learned during these 2 years and who we are, towards the foreigners, especially people from France. We sincerely hope that our final year project could help a bit to others.
Special thanks to parties
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INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
Why do we choose this topic?
Many people believe in superstitions without admitting it. When we see the number 4, we tend to avoid it; when we see the number 8, we believe that it brings good luck. Those superstitions became taboos wherever in Hong Kong. Through this production, we can find out the underneath reasons and stories of Hong Kong superstitions. By interviewing French people, we know that not many of the foreigners understand Hong Kong superstitions. Producing this project enables French people to avoid making these mistakes we mentioned. We hope to bring a funny, clear and creative way to present the stories behind Hong Kong superstitions to French people.
What do we do in this project? We used YouTube to publish videos as a media. In order to know more from French people’s perspectives, we set up an online questionnaire and went to Soho for having a street interview, targeting at French people. We acted as little teachers and also entertainers in this project as we deliver messages and also make things interesting.
Our Core Values
Focus
Understand our priorities, never get distracted.
Openness
Speak our mind, demand the same from all others you work with.
Teamwork
Every person has a role on the team, We all do our best to strive for excellence.
* These core values promote quality work as a pathway to success.
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For knowing the French people’s
For
perspective and the stories of Hong Kong superstitions
presenting our thoughts
1. Interview
2. Online google questionnaires
SO......
3. Research on the internet
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List
METHODOLOGY
Methods’
METHODOLOGY
We decided to use 3 methods to investigate the French people’s perspective and the detail information of Hong Kong superstitions: Interview, online google questionnaires and the research on the internet.
Video shooting:
mini-drama & the explanation part
Why do we do in these ways? We believe that video-making would be
the most suitable way to present our thoughts.
Playing drama can directly relate to people’s feelings by imitating the situation.
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Target interviewees
5 ~ 6 French people
Location
Soho / Central
Time
Friday Evening
METHODOLOGY
METHODOLOGY
What we did at the very beginning was to set questions. We wanted to understand more about how French people think and their attitude towards superstition. As a majority of French people usually have a drink at night in Central (Lan Kwai Fong) on Saturday, we decided to go to Central and ask for them to have a short interview with us on street around 7-9pm. Before the interview, we also needed to prepare our video equipment. For instance, the camera and microphone. But the most difficult part was that we could not recognize whether the foreigners on the street are French. Therefore, we prepared a big note (in French) to ask for help with a French flag. Some French people were friendly and gave us a helping hand proactively after seeing our note.
Summaries and analysis After finishing the interview, we discovered that most of the French people in HK have heard some superstitions in HK. For example, the number 4 represents for bad luck and number 8 represents for luck.
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METHODOLOGY
METHODOLOGY
3. Research on Internet and book Since we
are
decades, We
living all
know
in the
Hong Kong for almost 2 HK superstitions
sub-
consciously. But what we need is to have comprehensive
knowledge
to
explain
our
topic.
Research on the Internet was really helpful to our project, but we also avoided using the sites that are not convincing. Instead, we think that the sources from books are more reliable. Therefore, we referred to some history of superstitions to apply in our production.
As
we
want
to
ensure
standing towards HK
the
level
of
their
under-
superstition and to know what they
are most interested in, we set up an online questionnaire to ask our French tutors --- Delphine and Christian for helping to spread the questionnaires to their French friends. The result is what we estimated before --- they do not really understand the implications behind those superstitions, but they do know a few of them, like 4 & 8, Chinese Zodiac etc.
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METHODOLOGY
METHODOLOGY
Video-shooting We all agree that video-making would be the most suitable way to present our thoughts. Playing drama can directly relate to people’s feelings by imitating the situation.
We divided our video into 2 parts: a mini-drama and an explanation part. We want to present in a funny way to grab audience’s attention. Therefore, minidrama, along with those 5 superstitions, would be shown through the first part of the video. In order to make it more like a comedy, we used numerous props, exaggerated acting skills and a bound of sounds effects.
We a d d e d b o t h E n g l i s h a n d Fr e n c h s u b t i t l e s t h r o u g h out the video as we wanted it to be bilingual. It makes our production more professional and we hope that more people could be able to understand. For the explanation part, we used mime and a narrator to explain the underneath reasons behind each superstition mentioned in the drama. We went to many different places for viewing and shooting the explanation part such as Wong Tai Sin Temple and Ikea. Behind ever y second of the video is w hat you cann ot i ma g i n e --o ur effo rts and time contr ibuting to it.
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DEVELOPMENT
DEVELOPMENT
Super + Filles
Our name ‘Superfilles’ The idea of our name ‘superfilles’, is combined with
superstitions and us --- Les Filles.
=
Super [sypεR ]
INVARIABLE ADJECTIVE
‘Superfilles’ is here to erase your confusion on Hong Kong superstitions, like Superwoman is here to save the world! -12-
(informal)
great & fantastic -13-
Processing
Research & Planning Making Draft & Discussion -14-
PROCESS
DEVELOPMENT
PRODUCTION
Editing & Finalizing -15-
JANUARY
25
17 eo,
an
to
31 • Drafting Interview Questions
• Designing & Confirming the topic: 5 Hong Kong Superstitions
• Searching the information of French and HK superstitions • Planning
FEBRUARY
have
interview
a
vid-
and
a
DEVELOPMENT
DEVELOPMENT
4 • Drafting the online survey questions and publishing
14
• Setting the target interviewees, time and location to have the street interview
23
• Drafting the interview questions • Interviewing in Central ( Lan Kwai Fong & Soho )
questionnaire(online survey)
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DEVELOPMENT
DEVELOPMENT
APRIL
MARCH
13
7 • Drafting the back-
ground settings, characters and the content of the minidrama • Writing the script of explantation video in both English and French • Preparing the props
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22 • Filming the demo
26 • Filming the mini-drama
1 • Filming video
the
9
• Starting to plan for the portfolio • Preparing and designing the portfolio
• Editing the videos
• Recording the narration explanattion
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Analysing the results
of questionnaires
DEVELOPMENT
DEVELOPMENT
Summarizing the result After collecting and analyzing the results of questionnaires, we discovered that French may only have a rough understanding of the Hong Kong superstitions especially the four aspects of clothing, eating, housing, and lifestyle superstitions. So we tend to focus on these four aspects of Hong Kong superstitions in our minidrama and explain the story behind and its history.
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Mini-drama characters Jean, A French boyfriend He is a confident and enthusiastic man. He hopes to win Esther and Wong’s favor, but he failed. He knows nothing about Hong Kong superstitions.
Esther, Mandy’s mother She is a traditional Chinese mother. She thinks that manner and distance are very important. She does not really like the western style as it is too open for her. Jean hugged her when they met, but she did not feel good.
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Mandy, A Hong Kong girl
DEVELOPMENT
DEVELOPMENT
She is quiet, lovable but pas-
sive. She hopes that her parents can love Jean like she does, but Jean keeps doing the wrong things in the face of them. She feels embarrassed but she cannot do anything to save the situation.
Wong, Mandy’s father He is a relatively quiet person compared to his wife. But when he feels awkward and weird, the emotion will be shown immediately on his face. He is also a traditional Chinese father.
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Work Division Christy:
Esther:
Creating
Editing
- Interviewing - Designing the questionnaires - Composing portfolio content
- Filming and editng the videos - Proofreading - Photographing
Mandy:
Suey:
Managing
Sensing
- Gathering information and data
- Designing and finalizing portfolio
- Interviewing
- Translating the subtitles among
- Preparing mini-drama script
French and English
Our Reflection
- Preparing the explanation’s part script
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At first, it was hard to recognize whether the foreigners on the street are French people. Also, we were too shy to take the initiatives. This originally seemed to be a mission impossible!
REFLECTION
Our Reflection
Challenge 2: Interview with French people
Solution 2 : At that moment, we suddenly thought of writing a sentence in French to arouse their attention, so they would come and ask us if we need help. Challenge 1: Struggling with the main theme of this project
The original idea was to compare both French and Hong Kong superstitions so that we could emphasize the comparison to highlight the cultural differences. We failed to do so because we are not so familiar with French superstition.
Then, it went very well. We asked 5-6 people in total and they were very nice and enthusiastic.
Solution 1:
Apart from FYP, we still got our own stuff to do. For example, we had part-time jobs, assignments ,and tests from other courses. Since it was difficult to meet up for FYP, sometimes we forgot our own duties.
We realized that we know much better of Hong Kong superstition, so we turned to focus on HK superstitions that French people may have confusion. After interviewing the French people who are living in HK, we understood that they actually do not understand why we have these superstitions. We also think that video-making would raise their interests in understanding HK superstitions, it would be very nice to erase their confusion. -26-
[photo of pourriez-vous nous aider? SVP]
Challenge 3: The Balance between daily work and FYP
Solution 3 : To deal with this problem, we decided to make a schedule to follow, so that we could strike a balance between FYP and daily matters. Time management really plays a major role in our FYP. After that, we strictly followed our time-table. Everything is solved! -27-
FEATURES EDITOR
-DifficultiesWe poured our blood, sweat, and tears into this final year project, and involves a lot of effort or suffering. In the process of doing the project, often encounter difficulties. For example, In order to make the audience feel funny, we use a lot of props. But when we are shooting on the street, we will attract many passers-by and make us feel embarrassed. I remember a scene shot in the elevators. Since many people have to use elevators, we have difficulty shooting, so we spent a lot of time shooting. -LessonThe knowledge and experience they gain from final year projects can prove highly valuable to the success of future projects. I learned how to collaborate with our team member to finish the project. For example, Esther good at the shot the video and edit video, Mandy good at gathering information and data, Suey expert in design, I like to create the drama.So, we were assigned favorite work which done in a short time. Therefore, knowing the strengths, motivators, and behaviors of the individual team members can help you put together a better team. Knowing the same about each other will enhance their collaboration. -FeelingsTeamwork is important to help us more effectively towards its goals. When a team is collaborating smoothly, openly sharing information and able to communicate seamlessly, they are able to work at their most effective level. For example, when I no idea to design interview questions or face the problems, the team member gave me lots of ideas. I believe that when we work in individual silos, it can take longer a team to finish a particular project or task.We can share new ideas with each other. We learn more deeply to do the best work in the group.
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Esther
REFLECTION
Christy
DIRECTOR
-DifficultiesThe biggest difficulty for me was to make this production funnier. For example, what angles I have to film from, what shots I have to strengthen, how to make it short and funny, what sounds effect I have to put in... etc. There are plenty of things that I have to consider just for making one good video. It was really fun but difficult at the same time, so it was indeed challenging. I do not have much knowledge in filming and editing, but I did my best to produce it. It turned out that, luckily, it was quite acceptable for me. (HAHA) Cooperating with others is not an easy job for me. Gratefully, I have got my very nice groupmates and they had so many creative and funny ideas. -LessonIt was a scarce opportunity for me to learn and improve. Not only did I learn how to shoot and edit videos, but also cooperate with people. I learned how to be patient. This was always my biggest problem in my whole life. I am truly not a patient person. Instead, my temper could be a little bit bad sometimes. -FeelingsI have been being interested in video-editing and video-shooting. This happened to be a super great chance for me to discover. But it was not easy at all. Here, I want to show my gratitude to the faith(of my group mates) in me. After making this production, I really comprehend how hard it is to make a video funny, short and attracting. This was truly a big accomplishment for four of us!
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GENERAL MANAGER
-Difficulties-
At the very beginning, what we need to decide was to choose the type of method and the topic. We all thought that production seems better since we could play more creativities more than research. But the most difficult part for me was to prepare the play of the mini-drama. We need to present it in a funny way in order to grab audience attention. There were numerous ideas spread out in my mind but it was difficult to gather and put those ideas in one drama and made them related. Though I didn’t have any experience to write a drama script before, I still told myself that it was not a pie in the sky just if I made 100% effort on it. Therefore I did some research on some movies situations and finally decided to refer a movie called Joy Luck Club and changed some situations and the characters. After my teammates read the script and they were very satisfied with it and told me that they were looking forward to participating in it.
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Apart from the dramaticule, being an actress was another obstacle for me. If I have to describe myself in a word, I would say timidly. It was quite challenging for me at the beginning of shooting. I felt unnatural in front of the camera. It was such a hard time since I kept making countless bloopers through shooting. But glad that my groupmates kept encouraging me to try again and guiding me to act in a correct way.
REFLECTION
Mandy
-Lesson-
It is undeniable that this final year project took us a lot of times and efforts to make it. Team spirit is utmost important for a teamwork. In different stages of teamwork, conflicts or arguments may occur as we had different standpoints which need be harmonized within the team. But I learned how to accept other opinions and combined it together to adopt and fulfill a common goal in a group project. Through teamwork, I clearly recognize my role characteristics, learn to develop my strong points and circumvent weaknesses in the team, and draw lessons and reflections on how to deal with emergencies happened in teamwork. It was a lesson for me to confront those challenges that I have never been experienced.
-Feelings-
A multitude of feelings surged up came close to the end of our project. Although there was some frustration in the process, we finally got over the hard times and all the challenges. Via the process of the project, it also turned me from a timid person to an outgoing person.It was an unforgettable and memorable experience. Finally, Thanks a lot to my group-mates for carrying each other. They are all perseverance and easygoing.
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Suey
Interview script :
SF= Superfilles , B=Barbra
-DifficultiesFor me, one of the biggest difficulties was being a good actress. Since our project is mainly focused on the video production, acting is accounted for a large proportion of the whole production (mini-drama and the explanation video). For instance, I was disguised myself as a French boyfriend so I was required to act like a man and delivered my lines in a deeper voice. It was very challenging for me to perform in a funny acting yet it was also an interesting experience. Another difficulty for me was to write the script for the explanation part. I am interested in translating among languages, however, it really took me a long time to translate the English subtitles into French. Fortunately, it turns out quite good. -LessonsThe Final Year Projects provided a great opportunity for me to learn and develop. Through this project, what I have learned was not only limited to gaining the knowledge of our culture and belief but I can also develop my talent and interest in translation and design. I also learned to work together with my group mates and develop the team spirit. -FeelingsAt first, it was a bit embarrassed for me to act and manage my facial expression properly while people in the street was looking at me with strange eyes. Then, I tried to enjoy the whole filming process. Later on, I was also stressed our group may not meet the deadlines since I was responsible for designing the portfolio. All of these feelings finally turns into happiness and proudness when we finished the Final Year Project.
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Appendix
I want to express my personal gratitude for the effort and the extra time my group mates put into this project. All of you have done a wonderful work! :)
SF: Bonjour, would you mind to have a short interview with us about superstition in Hong Kong? B: Sure! SF: Are you superstitious? B: No. SF: Do you know some superstitions in France? B: Not really. A little bit in France but more in Hong Kong. SF: Do you know some Hong Kong’s superstitions? B: Yes, I know.The figure 4. I don’t know what it represents.But I know that Hong Kong people don’t like that. SF: Would you like to know more about Hong Kong’s superstitions? B: Yes! Why not? SF: This is the end of our interview. Thank you so much!
BIBLIOGRAPHY
REFLECTION
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ SF= Superfilles , D=David SF: Bonjour, would you mind to have a short interview with us about superstition in Hong Kong? D: OK. SF: Are you superstitious? D: No. SF: Do you know some superstitions in France? D: arrrr… yes! When you use the salt and the salt fell, yeah it is bad luck. SF: Do you know some Hong Kong’s superstitions? D: Number4???? SF: Oh yes! Would you like to know more about Hong Kong’s superstitions? D: Later on, yeah! SF: This is the end of our interview. Thank you so much! \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
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SF: Bonjour, would you mind to have a short interview with us about superstition in Hong Kong? Z: =Sure. SF: Are you superstitious? Z: No. SF: Do you know some superstitions in France? Z: Yes. My mum said when there’s a black cat that’s going to cross the road, shw will turn back and go. SF: Do you know some Hong Kong’s superstitions? Z: I think it’s number4 SF: What is the most interesting Hong Kong’s superstition? Z: Yeahh, I know, the temple. Like burn stuff for the spirit. Also, you don’t buy the house when someone killed themselves inside. SF: Would you like to know more about Hong Kong’s superstitions? Z: Sure! Why not? SF: This is the end of our interview. Thank you so much! \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ SF= Superfilles , C= Christopher + Jean SF: Bonjour, would you mind to have a short interview with us about superstition in Hong Kong? C: =Sure. SF: Are you superstitious? C: No. SF: Do you know some superstitions in France? C: Yes! There’s a lot. For example, you should not break the mirror. It’s bad luck. Also, When you cheer with people, you have to look people in the eyes.When you bump into it,seven years without sex. SF: Do you know some Hong Kong’s superstitions? C: Number4 is bad luck too. Black and white is bad luck. Also, when you see money on the ground and you pick it. If you don’t give it back…. I think it’s something like this. J: You cannot put the chopsticks into the rice. SF: Oh yes you got it!
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Appendix SF: What is the most interesting Hong Kong’s superstition? C: When you give the red pocket, give it by two hands. One…….. SF: Would you like to know more about Hong Kong’s superstitions? C: Yeahh, it’s like a part of the culture. The thing is like, represent the culture of the country. SF: This is the end of our interview. Thank you so much!
BIBLIOGRAPHY
SF= Superfilles , Z= Zac
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ SF= Superfilles ,P= Pierre SF: Bonjour, would you mind to have a short interview with us about superstition in Hong Kong? P: =Sure. SF: Are you superstitious? P: No. SF: Do you know some superstitions in France? P: um….. Not really.. SF: Do you know some Hong Kong’s superstitions? P: 4 is bad!! I know, 4 is bad. And 8 is the lucky number. SF: Would you like to know more about Hong Kong’s superstitions? P: Why not, why not?? SF: This is the end of our interview. Thank you so much! \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
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1.Andrea L.(2015). Top Taboos and superstitions in Hong Kong. Retrieved from https://www.ovolohotels. com/top-taboos-and-superstitions-in-hong-kong/ 2.Fluffy F.(2015, March 10). 8 Superstitions You Should Know in Hong Kong. Retrieved from https://visual.ly/community/infographic/other/8-superstitions-you-should-know-hong-kong 3. Sally G.(2017, November 29). 7 Superstitions That Still Shape the lives of Hongkongers Today. Retrieved from https://theculturetrip.com/asia/hong-kong/articles/7-superstitions-that-still-shape-the-lives-of-hongkongers-today/
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Reference
4. Kristy O.(2018,February 1). Hong Kong Superstitions: Quirky Traditions and Beliefs that Will Put Your Smile On Your Face. Retrieved from https://thehoneycombers.com/hong-kong/hong-kong-superstitionsquirky-traditions-unfounded-beliefs/ 5.鬼差(2019,September). 大迷信 Retrieved from https://www.hkreadingcity.net/book/details/5774f3556a0b 62c8098b5985 6.[Verasine](2016,July 26).The Superstition Behind the Number Four in Chinese Elevators [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFl8Z7xe0fs&feature=youtu.be 7. [Numberphile](2012,August 24)Chinese Lucky Numbers[Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/ pT52hREAf18 8.Bonzai B.[Bonzai Bopfest](2017,March 24)Never Wear A Green Hat In China[Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3REHckVCP0&feature=youtu.be 9.[Open Door Languages](2015,May 7)China Culture Episode 2 Green hat[Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/zxQLZe-605M 10.Megan S.[Megan Swiatkowski](2015,May 11)Feng Shui in Hong Kong [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Crsc0BrY9g 11. Rachel B. and Sarah Z. (2017,February 18). Feng shui a force to be reckoned with in Hong Kong, shaping homes and even cityscapes. Retrieved from ,http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/2071851/feng-shuiforce-be-reckoned-hong-kong-shaping 12.雪球(2016,October 26)香港人為什麼特別迷信風水Retrieved from https://xueqiu. com/2942188003/76640248
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SPECIAL THANKS TO PARTIES
Superfilles Production Mrs BOUCHONNET Delphine Valerie Mr MASSET Christian Ms CHOI Hiu Tung, Christy Barbra David Zac Christopher Jean & Pierre