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Red Light Goes Red
Sunday, Oct 11, 2009 11:14PM / Members only
It's been a month of auditions, and "Red Light Revolution" finally has its principal cast locked. What a relief! Now the hard work begins. We've got actors from "Mao's Last Dancer", "Kungfu Kid", "City of Life and Death", and "Gasp" onboard; whatsmore, in keeping with the name, Red Light is shooting on the RED, rather fitting I reckon. The clock is ticking as we push this steam train towards it's production start date - just a few days away now. Here's a few shots from the recent madness; a madness that's about to get even madder!
Awaiting auditions on the roof of a theatre in Beijing.
Our little audition room, very quaint attic style.
We have a printed script, and it's bound! And actors to boot - it's moving along.
Going over the location photos with Yi Fan (D.P) and Guo Shiming (1st A.D).
Rehearsals are under way.
Our casting director Yang Yang goes over the sides.
Meetings with production and cast.
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Red Light Auditions Underway
Wednesday, Sep 16, 2009 11:10PM / Members only
Preliminary auditions are underway in an attic above a Beijing theatre. We're there from morning to night, preparing for the upcoming Chinese-language indie film "Red Light Revolution"! Check out some of the photos below: we've seen dozens of actors so far, and are having a blast. So far I'm really knocked out by the performances from the older actors in particular . I was worried they might not get the risque humour of the film, but these guys get the jokes instantly. We've had people come in from "Kungfu Kid", "Mao's Last Dancer", "Wheat"; a great line-up, can't wait to start putting this baby to film. Thanks to my buddies Ming, Yang Yang, and Haitao for all their hard work!
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"Red Light" Location Scouting
Tuesday, Sep 8, 2009 10:38PM / Members only
It's been a SUPER busy last couple of weeks, with most days spent running or biking around town location scouting for "Red Light Revolution". After my 1970's Flying Pigeon bicycle was stolen, I've had to get a new bike, an early '80s Shanghai Forever bicycle. I've ridden my new old-school bike from the far West of Beijing (Wudaokou), to the far North East (Huantie). Pretty much everyday I'm on my bike with a stills camera, taking photos of potential locations for the film. Here's a sample of some of the nicer/wackier picks from my daily excursions!
Crazy stairs in a gallery in Huantie.
Empty trucks sit beneath the 5th ring road.
Sunset approaches in a quiet alley near Yonghegong temple.
The muddy road slowly dries under the afternoon sun (nearby the former Super Bar Street).
A security guard plays with a stick on top of a heap of rubble near the North Korean embassy.
Same guard, different angle. He was just digging into the dirt, rather slow day on the job I take it.
A worker prepares a slab of wall for the blue-screen set in an art district in South East Beijing. Turns out it's the same company that did the equipment rental on "Walking the Dead", small world.
Some fun graffiti in Huantie.
More fun graffiti in Caochangdi.
A classic picture that's part of an excellent gallery exhibit in Caochangdi: Nixon hands out ice-cold Tsingtao beers to surprised folks on a Mainland China train.
One of my friends looks at an exhibit in Caochangdi. -
Shooting Sand's New Music Video: 沙子MV
Friday, Aug 28, 2009 6:52PM / Members only
I just had the opportunity to be the cameraman on the new music video for Beijing indie rock & blues band, Sand (沙子). I first shot an MV for Sand back in 2001, right after their first album, "Star Falling on My Head", was released. For that MV we shot mostly on the empty streets of Beijing in the late hours of the night, the band members running around banging their instruments in the middle of the empty streets. This time, we went for a more dreamy, old-school theatre-look. And we shot it all in one of the lead singer's apartments! Two full days all up, 16 hours a day.
Before the shoot can start we have to cover the walls with black cloth, turning the room into a little do-it-yourself black box. To do this we use gaffer tape, taking off a fair bit of the newly painted walls I must say! For the windows we use extra thick garbage bags.
All the actors wear masks in this MV. We even set one mask on fire (when the actor wasn't wearing it). I thought this music video was a mix between "Eyes Wide Open" and "Open Your Eyes"/"Vanilla Sky". Kinda creepy.
Tom is that you? An "Open Your Eyes" moment. That's Liu Dong, Sand's lead singer.
Old school, low-budget shooting. Comes off great on camera, great blacks and whites.
Setting up the mini-jib on the dolly for some high angle shots. We used rugs so as to not destroy the lead singer's brand new wooden floor. You can see the garbage bags in the background, blocking the daylight.
When we were using the jib I had to manually pull for zoom. Not ideal. The problem was that my jeans would then get in the shot during the take. We solved this problem by dressing me in a black blanket. The contrast of the blacks aren't as noticeable, you can't tell - hopefully.
The director looks on.
I'll try to post the MV up when it's all edited. Sand's new album (literal-translation "A World Which Long Ago Became a Fairy-Tale") is available now. -
Wrapped on the German Film: 德国电影
Monday, Aug 3, 2009 2:03PM / Members only
I've just wrapped production on the German feature film I mentioned in my last entry; I've been amazed at the similarities between words and phrases in English and German! For example:English: What is this?
German: Was ist das?
So you can pick up the basic topic of a conversation every once and a while! I also got to meet one of the actors from one of my favourite German movies, "The Edukators". Here's a few picks from the shoot, which took us from Beijing into the panda reserve in Sichuan!
Obligatory panda photoes. These guys remind me of koalas, not only are they vegetarians, they also climb to the tops of trees and take long siestas, just like koalas.
For those who want to get closer to the pandas: take your photo on a rocking chair with your favourite baby panda, stylish dress-ware compliments of the panda reserve.
Pandas take it easy at the "Panda Kindergarten". Check out the panda about to climb the see-saw in the right of frame. Seeing pandas playing on a see-saw, going up and down, was quite a sight! That's the camera crane top of frame.
Near the front deck, with the captain on the boat. We are on our way to film the giant Buddha.
This Buddha is really quite a sight, so are the number of tourists, who, from a distance, seem to crawl all over the giant structure like ants. There are ferries dropping off tourists every few minutes!
Earlier in Beijing, outdoor scenes on a muggy day.
At the airport, which has a very, very high roof, great for crane shots.
It's a wrap! All in all a very fun and worthwhile shoot! I was mistaken for being German on several occasions, a first for me!
