19 - 11 - 09 : The Blood Bond Saga (part 43)

Into the corridor of death... (AKA The Longest Night)

The night started easily enough, with the scene where Lompoc (Simon Yam), Guang Di (Emma Pei) and their fellow rebels storm the rear of our hospital set. (We couldn't find a suitable, accessible building, and so constructed the hospital on the backlot.

We were initially concerned about Emma jumping out of the back of an ambulance, gun blazing, but she insisted on doing it herself, and, of course, was perfect, take after take.

The attack might sound complicated, but it proved very straightforward to shoot. The only major challenge was the cold.

We also got a shot of Tremayne and Deva approaching the hospital at the end of the film. I have to say the place looks pretty convincing.

In fact, Michael finished early, and so I had the crew grab a couple of pick up shots: a SWAT officer reporting the death of an assassin, the results of Deva's target practice at Ding's camp...

Meanwhile, our pyrotechnician (brought in from Guangzhou) arrived late, and prepared, and prepared, and prepared... Little did we know that this would turn in to the night from hell, as we fought to 'shoot out' Simon Yam, while still keeping the amount of destruction on the corridor consistent from shot to shot.

At a certain point, it seemed that Michael, who has been acting, directing and doing every other conceivable job on the film for weeks, had reached the limits of his endurance, and I threw in my ideas of how we could make the scene work in the time allowed.

Thank heavens for Simon Yam. Even though we were (literally) under the gun, he was behind us every step of the way, showing how the scene could be shot and constantly acting like, well, like Simon Yam.

Note to would be producers: if you have any role in your film remotely suitable for Simon, cast him!

DP Ross Clarkson made an interesting point. The reason that Simon knows so much about every aspect of film-making is that he's never had a trailer to go to! Hong Kong actors have to stay on the set and absorb everything going on around them. Hollywood stars retreat to the honeywagon and call their agents.

Not to would be actors : Make yourself part of the process, not just the end product.

Michael got his second wind, and we were back in the fray.

It was the night from hell, but would have been far worse if we hadn't had our spirits raised by our two lead players, Simon and Emma. You really couldn't have asked for two greater troupers, cutting up between takes and constantly 'in the moment' with energy and suggestions.

We've never had a big budget for the film, but I think we've done more with it than would be possible anywhere else in the world, and this has a lot to do with the luck we had in the people in front of and behind the camera.

As the dawn rose, we had Simon's scenes in the can, and we bid farewell to this terrific team player. Til next time, Simon!

Next : Girlfight continued, and goodbye to Emma