I SHOT HONG KONG + RED CAMERA SHORTFILM + RTHK INTERVIEW

So the past couple weeks have been super duper busy.  Literally everyday something had to be finished.  When it rains, it truly pours!

One of the highlights of this month was the long awaited film festival "I SHOT HONG KONG".

Its one of the first festivals that I've had a heavy involvement in, where I've had 2 projects submitted as well as working on 4 of them.

It was one of the reasons that my first ever music video was finished on time!  It was because we were rushing to make the deadline for the festival!  So you see, DEADLINES is the best reason to get things done

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmXi2-SjkOQ&fmt=18 .

Here are several events that I was involved with leading up to the opening night of the festival:

RED CAMERA SHORTFILM - "CUT SHORT"

I had the pleasure of shooting and editing Jason Tobin's entry into the "Artists Series" of the festival.  These films were not in competition and it involved 3 chosen directors ( Jason, Simon Birch and Eugenia Yuen), who were given access to the RED Camera and a 48 hour time limit to shoot and edit a 5 minute short film.  Challenging to say the least!

We were lucky enough to be working with superstar Josie Ho and my fresh brother in crime Simon Yin.

Jason was able to come up with a witty dark story that showcased his ability as a director to direct a dramatic scene and an action scene.

One of the locations was this wonderful pier recommended to us by Josie. 

Also something very cool happened while we were shooting.  All of a sudden, out of all the days that we could have shot and of all the locations we could have went to, at that exact time we were shooting DEREK YEE, director of SHINJUKU INCIDENT, showed up with his pre-production crew and was scouting locations!   What made it even more special was that I recognized some friends and crew people who had worked on DREAM HOME, the Josie Ho and Pang Ho Cheung feature film I worked on a couple months back.

Maybe it was a sign that we were on the right track?

I have to say something about Simon's acting.  It is probably some of the best work I've seen him do.  Honestly, I'm not just blowing smoke up his ass because he's my very good friend.  When I was watching his scene with Josie, there was a moment when I simply forgot we were actually "filming" and I believed what he was saying. He WAS that character.  It was amazing.

I really cannot wait to see what the future holds for him.  Given the right material and opportunity the sky is the limit.

RTHK RADIO INTERVIEW

Next up was an interview with legendary RTHK, a institution in Hong Kong society.  I accompanied Simon and Craig Leeson, CEO of Ocean Vista Films and the founder / co-ordinator of I SHOT HONG KONG.

This was exciting because this was my first radio interview EVER.  I really didn't know what to expect.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xq_2CoCK3zI

"I SHOT HONG KONG" FESTIVAL SCREENING

Finally the day had arrived and it was time to see all our hard work up there on the big screen.

I really didn't know what to expect and I was definitely a ball of emotion as the event unfolded.

I have to say that I was a little nervous when our films went up.  Would the audience get it?  Would they laugh at the right moments?  We were too close to the film so we couldn't even see it with fresh eyes anymore.  This was going to be the test.  On the BIG SCREEN.  In front of people who hadn't seen it.  Jason's film "CUT SHORT" was up first.

My worries quickly evapourated when the sound of the audience's cheers echoed throughout the theatre.  They LAUGHED.  It was fantastic!  We even got more laughs then I thought.  They reacted PERFECTLY.  That really made me feel proud.

Then our music video came on and the crowd erupted!  Two for two!  They loved it!

They say that the best motivation is seeing that all your efforts have been appreciated.  Well, I was feeling SUPER confident and motivated and excited to start working on the next project.

W HOTEL AFTER PARTY

So after the 2 hour screening, we all headed across the ELEMENTS Mall and into the W Hotel, where the afterparty was being held.  After a successful run, it was time to celebrate!

I want to thank the whole Ocean Vista Team for their hard work and to give a big congratulations for pulling it all off.  It has definitely helped me grow as a filmmaker and also I think it has helped Hong Kong's film scene grow as well.

This whole "I SHOT HONG KONG" experience has been wonderful and informative and very fun.

I'm very glad to have been a part of it and I really can't wait to see what next year has in store.