AD'ing on Kung Fu Chefs / 功夫廚神 (part 2)

It has been really interesting to work behind the camera of "功夫廚神 /Kung Fu Chefs" last year. And watching the final product 3 times in a row last week, didn't seem that long at all! Ive been reminded of a lot of memories on the set! Here are some pictures taken on the set along with some descriptions.. It's not as detailed as watching special features on a DVD, but hey, it is from a different angle! MY angle!! hehe Me, posing with the clapboard in front of the ingredient cage, where for the cooking competition scenes took place.Giving directions and listening to Philip Keung / 姜皓文 rehearsing the line, while he is being moved to the right position. I had to stand in for the actor's during rehearsals sometimes. Here, I'm standing in for Van Ness / 吳建豪 while he gets ready for the scene.Standing in and rehearsing the scene before the actors gets on set. Here, standing in for Van Ness / 吳建豪 for the scene where Sammo Hung / 洪金寶 gives him the rusted "Dragon-Head Cleaver". I had to splash soya sauce on Ada Cheung / 张可昕's face before rolling the camera, as if she spilled on herself while cooking. Looks painful, but it's actually not! On the set of the competition scenes in "功夫廚神 /Kung Fu Chefs", which is also where we had the press conference to announce the beginning of the production. (See next picture) This place is huge!! We had a huge "temporary poster" of the movie, for the press conference, which was also held in the same place as the cooking competition. (Notice the background of the previous picture)About to give the "action" to Van Ness / 吳建豪 and Ai Kago / 加護亜依 during the foot chase scene. We nicknamed this alleyway, "avenue of stars", for production purposes.Another of my task was to make sure the background actors knew what to do while filming. But, here, we were just waiting on the production crew to finalize something. Working on the actors' call sheet for the next few days of shoot. I was either running around on set, or doing a lot of paper work... trust me, a lot of both!! As much as I can be very serious on a set, I love to play around with props when I get my hand on them! hehe Here I am, posing as the emcee on set. On the set with Cherrie Ying /應采兒and Ai Kago /加護亜依. While our director Ken Wing-Kin Yip /葉永健 was giving directions to the actors, I sneaked behind the camera for a quick snapIt was truly an honour to be able to work with living screen legend Sammo Hung / 洪金寶Van Ness / 吳建豪 was great fun to work with! He gave me a lot of personal tips to be a successful actor. He's genuinely a good guy to hang out with!! Sharon Pan Pan Yang / 楊盼盼 is the person who trusted me and gave me this chance to work behind the camera. And there's Eddie Chu, the other assistant director / assistant producer. Sharon was one of the first stuntwoman in the history of Hong Kong cinema.Me, Philip Keung / 姜皓文 and the awesome Chi Chung Lam / 林子聰!I got along pretty well with the stuntmen, maybe cause we practiced together on set as well. (Pictures in a future entry) We had half a day off in the middle of the production and we were treated to the buffet! This is most likely one of the biggest buffet in the whole China and with the most choices!! As I also had some tasks as producer's assistant so I was often needed on the phone as well. Here, with actor Jian Fei Wu / 吴建飞 between 2 shots. Wooohoooo I had gr eat fun behind the scenes!! (while Sammo / 洪金寶 was on his way to the scene!)Here we go.. We moved from Pan Yu to Chung Shan for the few days remaining.On the set of the opening scenes for Van Ness' character, the Kung Fu school.Early in the morning, the stunt crew had to set up all the wires and equipment for the action scenes planed for the day. For several specific crane shot, we had this beast on set! The Plasssssss...tic looking tv we had in the hotel, in Chung Shan. Oh well, I barely even had time for TV! I might look very bad and sweaty, that's because I was working behind the camera, and it was so hot and humid!! There are lots of differences between working in front and behind the camera, but no matter which position I take, its all about giving the best of myself and take all the challenges one after the other!  More of my experience on the shooting of "功夫廚神 /Kung Fu Chefs" to be shared in future blog entries. Till then, be safe everyone! :)Michael