Up Close & Personal with JinnyBoyTV!

Taking a break from the usual foodstuff, here's one of the very few events I'd probably ever go for while I'm here in Melbourne. 

I was in Melbourne Central on Thursday when I spotted Jin and Reuben from JinnyBoyTV, and Marianne who starred in unfold, one of their videos. It took a while for me to realize who they were, and I think they noticed that I was staring. Whoops. I knew they were here in Melbourne to film unfold 2, and that they were seen at Melbourne Central a lot, but I was still surprised to see them there.

I think was a little starstruck when I received a reply. I don't think I've met anyone anywhere close to famous before, and getting a tweet from Jin kinda threw me off guard. Of course, I didn't join them for lunch but I did go upstairs to grab a picture with them after contemplating for a good 15 minutes while walking around Melb Central (I'm shy, no joke). 

I felt so bad for interrupting their lunch! They were mid-bite when Iryan and I went up to them, and I could actually see them trying to force down whatever they were happily chewing. 

Not the best picture; I forgot to change the camera settings! Ugh.

They reminded me about their showcase the next day, and I went home and decided to save my spot. Originally I was supposed to work that day, but since I wasn't rostered, why not eh?

The weather didn't go too well though. It was raining, it was cold, and it was windy as hell. But I made it to Arrow looking decent despite getting slapped around by wind and rain anyways. It was a little sad that I was there alone, and that I didn't see any familiar faces at all. At least the majority of them were Malaysian.

Now, whatever event it may be, it cannot be considered a Malaysian event if it didn't start at least 30 minutes later than the planned time.

We started 48 minutes late. Yea. I check the clock a lot when I have nothing to do.

The turn out was pretty good too; they were even humble enough to admit that they were really happy when they were told that 15 people have bought tickets for the event a few days prior.

It was nice to know that the people in the room actually made the effort to attend the event in support of JinnyBoyTV. At least we know that there is some form of support, that I'm sure is growing, for the Malaysian media scene.

We got to watch some of the videos that have already been published earlier this year: Ah Wing, KL Style, BOLEH, and of course, unfold.

Both Jin and Reuben answered the many questions the host asked, mainly about how JinnyBoyTV came about and what they do while they film their videos. They both seem like very humble, down-to-earth guys who genuinely love doing what they do.

A few things Jin said really caught my attention too:

(rough quotations)

'..we should all be colour blind and not be influnced by skin colour, race, religion..'

'..no matter what, we should always start by writing for the people at home and from there, the people from home will spread the word for you..'

'..i miss home. i miss my mom, she has been my pillar of strength..'

Ethan Curzon and Marianne Tan, the stars of unfold and the anticipated unfold 2 joined us a short while after too.  

I think he's a pretty good actor, considering he hasn't got any acting background and all, but really, that shirt.. No, no, nope. He didn't say much though, but he seemed like a pretty chilled kinda guy.

Marianne is as pretty in real life as she is in her videos, if not prettier. And humble too! Had a short chat with her when they were wrapping up the photography/meet&greet session. Didn't realize we have a mutual friend, Ming Han, up till that night!

Watching unfold. One of my favourite videos by JinnyBoyTV.

Watching unfold lead to the biggest easter egg of the night, which i shall refrain from mentioning to avoid spoilers, as well as another: we were the first people in the world (besides Jin, Reuben, Marianne and Ethan) to see clips and footage from unfold 2. Yeah. Totally worth it.

The first clip they showed was enough to make me tear cause I guess I could relate to the emotions and the situation in the video. We were shown very raw, very unedited clips, and even then it was already pretty good. It was so raw, Jin had to narrate and explain quite a number of parts of the video. All the clips we saw were filmed in Melbourne, it felt nice to see parts of Melbourne that I've been to/know of.

But basically, that night, we found out more about JinnyBoyTV: some of their videos were very, very personal to both Jin and Reuben, and others were inspired by many different things, and how they kept getting kicked out of places for filming anything.

They've probably come a long way since they've started; no one wanted to act in their first video a while back, when now, people are probably lining up to audition for their next clip. 

I did meet a few people there, and among all, Ian really stood out.

He was about the most outspoken among the audience, constantly commenting on what they're saying or audibly mimicking as we were watching the videos. I think Marianne's a little scared of him cause he was acting like he was obsessed with her, but it was all just for laughs. 

Here you go, you and your signed poster!

And the photo of you and them. Good luck with your YouTube channel too! I can't seem to find it via the usernames you gave me though, but let me know when you finally figure out what you username is (lol).

I'm just waiting on the official photographer to post up pictures from the night; I wasn't allowed to use my own camera for individual pictures with them (though tons of other people did it, sigh), so I've gotta be patient. Or maybe not.

They're nice people to talk to, really. I guess it's the perception of them being seemingly famous that makes you think that they're on a different level, but they're really just like us.

It's a pity they'll only be here till Sunday. I did ask them out for brunch (of course I did, I ask everyone out for brunch) but I doubt they'll have time for me anyway.

Good job Meld magazine! Although some things could've been planned or handled better, but I really enjoyed my time that night and I'm sure the others did as well. I'd happily spend another $20 on another event like that.

The host, I must say, did a great job for the night. I can't recall what her name was, but she's from Meld Magazine. Very well spoken and professional! Great job!

Of course, I needed to take a better picture this time round. And they remembered me from Grill'd too! *fan girl squeak*

I hope you guys have a great last day in Melbourne, and I do hope that you guys will be back soon! I can't wait for the final edit of unfold 2!

how's that, double post today!

may.