CHOWDHURIE, Francis Ignatius Aftab
The Public Service,
Accession Number 002386
- Oral History Centre
Source
- 26
Total Reels
- Jason Lim (Dr)
Interviewer
- 12:46:47
Total Running Time
- English
Language
Copyright Notice
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Reel/Disc 1 of 26
Metadata
- 23 Jan 2002
Recording Date
- 00:30:27
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Citation/reproduction requires written permission from interviewee
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Family background. Growing up at Cumberland Lane. Influence from family's Cantonese amah. Visit to coal shop. Followed his amah wherever she went. Reasons why his amah left an indelible impression on his family and himself. Impressions of his visits to backstage of wayang. Position of wayang stage. Recollections of what he saw in 'deity's' tent opposite wayang stage. What intrigued him at wayang stage and 'deity's' tent. Recollections of what he saw in 'deity's' tent.
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Reel/Disc 2 of 26
Metadata
- 23 Jan 2002
Recording Date
- 00:30:23
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Citation/reproduction requires written permission from interviewee
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Recollection of mediums and comparison with Thaipusam devotees. Radio programmes in Singapore. Impressions of his visits to auditorium at Caldecott Hill. Visit to his father's office. Neighbour screened movies for neighbourhood. Arrival of television in 1963. Singing competitions and autograph signing. Participated in "The Early Bird Show". Experiences in his application for job in 1964. What he knew about his Assamese culture. Recollection of his English teacher at St Anthony's Boys School. School life and his teachers at St Joseph's Institution (SJI) from 1959 to 1962.
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Reel/Disc 3 of 26
Metadata
- 23 Jan 2002
Recording Date
- 00:30:29
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Citation/reproduction requires written permission from interviewee
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Impressions of some of his teachers and school life at St Joseph's Institution (SJI). Why he did not take up Mandarin at SJI. Working in "typing pool" at Public Service Commission (PSC). Recollections of his classmates and childhood friends. Reasons for not joining SJI alumni. Schoolboy ambitions and his love for arts and botany. Job opportunities when he left SJI. Early working experiences at Radio Television Singapore (RTS).
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Reel/Disc 4 of 26
Metadata
- 23 Jan 2002
Recording Date
- 00:30:25
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Citation/reproduction requires written permission from interviewee
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Offered job at plantation after leaving school. Learnt typing. How he got job at Public Service Commission (PSC). Working experiences as clerical assistant at PSC from 1964 to 1965. Circumstances which led him to join Radio and Television Singapore (RTS) as film editor in October 1965. What fascinated him at RTS. Importance of communication with audience. Impressions of working with foreign trainers in film editing. Impressions of decision-making at RTS.
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Reel/Disc 5 of 26
Metadata
- 23 Jan 2002
Recording Date
- 00:30:28
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Citation/reproduction requires written permission from interviewee
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Anecdote of bad leak at Television Corporation of Singapore (TCS). Impression that there was lack of passion for heritage at Radio and Television Singapore (RTS) and TCS. Working experiences as Assistant Film Editor-in-training at RTS from 1965 to 1971. Co-ordination with reporters and cameramen for coverage of news and General Elections. Transition from black-and-white to colour footage in 1970s. Advent of videos in early 1980s and how it changed entire news-gathering process.
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Reel/Disc 6 of 26
Metadata
- 12 Apr 2002
Recording Date
- 00:30:25
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Citation/reproduction requires written permission from interviewee
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Coverage of elections with advent of videos in 1980s. Splicing films and changes in equipment. Making of documentaries and films. Changes in technology. Belief that parents should monitor what their children watched. Noticed that many young reporters would resign after covering General Elections. Management of television programmes. Production of variety shows and documentaries. Censors of imported films and role of "sequence cutters". No formal guidelines for film editors.
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Reel/Disc 7 of 26
Metadata
- 12 Apr 2002
Recording Date
- 00:30:35
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Citation/reproduction requires written permission from interviewee
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Working on film or production scenes that had smokers and men with long hair. Anecdote concerning Lee Kuan Yew's visit to Radio and Television Singapore (RTS). Splicing equipment and why RTS and its successors did not keep their old equipment. Impressions of his career in television. Coverage of People's Action Party (PAP) and opposition in television programmes. Recollections of Lee Kuan Yew taking on foreign journalists. Impressions of RTS. Attended Film Production Course at Artransa Productions in Sydney on Colombo Plan scholarship in 1970.
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Reel/Disc 8 of 26
Metadata
- 12 Apr 2002
Recording Date
- 00:30:04
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Citation/reproduction requires written permission from interviewee
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Attended Film Production Course at Artransa Productions in Sydney on Colombo Plan scholarship in 1970. Accommodation and working life. Benefits from his experience in Sydney. Attended Television Course for Animation Film at Berlin Television Training Centre in 1980. Working experiences in Berlin. Benefits of his experience in West Germany and what impressed him most.
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Reel/Disc 9 of 26
Metadata
- 12 Apr 2002
Recording Date
- 00:29:57
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Citation/reproduction requires written permission from interviewee
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Impressions of management of Radio and Television Singapore (RTS), Singapore Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) and Television Corporation of Singapore (TCS). Reasons for eventually leaving TCS in 1999. Office life and work schedules. Problems with middle management and some individual officers. Office politics and impression that there was no long-term vision for broadcasting station. Lack of loyalty to one's work. Outstanding individuals at RTS and SBC.
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Reel/Disc 10 of 26
Metadata
- 25 Apr 2002
Recording Date
- 00:30:59
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Citation/reproduction requires written permission from interviewee
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Work experiences as Executive Producer; then as Resource Manager, Television Corporation of Singapore (TCS) from 1994 to 1999. Impressions of management of TCS. Intellectual property rights. Impressions of some courses he attended. Applying awareness level of management. Attitude towards work.
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