original in chinese: ET Mall CF Filming Diary (Sep 2005) translated into english: lynn modified by bb/bb' blog
As a joint work of Vervefilms (Taiwan), A Newlife Films (Shanghai) and Mass Message (Seoul, Korea), the ET Mall CF was considered to be the biggest CF Making project in Taiwan for the year of 2005.
Mass Message (Seoul, Korea)
It is the largest production company with greatest originality in Korea which has won a lot of international prizes.
The founder bought a land in an "A-Level Spot" in Kangnam, Seoul and built a 3-story designer building which was designed concisely as the office of Mass Message. There are 6 directors, 12 assistant directors, and 30 production crew in it. The person in Charge is 36-year old MC Park who is a very famous PD at an international level.
The director of this CF is PD Peng from O&M, Taipei.
PD Peng and MC Park admire each other's fame and they've heard so much about each other.
Before this CF, Mass Message had never particpated in any joint work with any other CF making companies. So this time was an "exception" for them. They've sent a "Super Grade A' production team to assist in the making of this CF.
With over three months of pre-production preparation, more than 10 million Taiwanese Yuan of production fees, numerous discussions among the Originality Dept. of ET Mall, O&M and PD Peng, and research made among the members of ET, a definitive edition of this CF finally came out. It was decided that the CF should be made to fit BYJ's image and personal traits to express ET Mall's thoughtful care to its members and let all the members have big smiling faces.
The locale of this CF was in a famous scenery place located in a peaceful village with a distance of six-hour road trip from Seoul. The temperature varies tremendously between day and night and the sun light changes quickly during the daytime. So the shooting needed to compete with the time.
Sep 28 10:00AM
Bright and sunny in the mountain area where the filming site was located.
BYJ's manager came to the camera to greet the filming staff and inform us that BYJ is ready for the filming.
With the height of 1.8m, athletic figure, white and bright teeth, BYJ's manager himself is just like a Hallyu star. It is said that the manager is very popular among BYJ's fans. When BYJ was in Taiwan last month to promote his new movie, all the fans were going wild for both BYJ and his manager.
Five minutes later.....
First time to see BYJ in such a near distance.
A really charming man and diligent actor!
We felt the strong appeal and charisma from him.
Just few talks let us feel the painstaking efforts of a well-known actor behind the camera.
First time to meet the PD, BYJ greeted him with his classic smile: "Annyeong haseyo! I admire your fame and I've been following your works and I really like them."
It seemed that BYJ had done a lot of research on PD Peng's works.
BYJ: "This is the first time for me to come to this place and I didn't expect that Korea has such a beautiful place."
I responded to him: "Same do the Koreans from our crew. They all feel very happy to come here."
I felt the strong self-discipline of BYJ. He put all his efforts on every project he has, no matter it is a movie, a drama or just a CF. Unlike some other Top Star, BYJ was absorbed in this project despite it was only a short CF. He went through the breakdown scripts thoroughly, conjectured his acting carefully.
A group of staff were working beside him, molding him to an international image, and they have strong ability for sentiment management. (Just imaging that BYJ showed his smiling face for more than 12 hours on July 15 during his stay in Taipei) The actors in Taiwan should feel interior and no wonder Hallyu has become so popular in Asia.
During the break time, BYJ had lunch with the staff and he brought an airgun with him to set. He didn't put on airs at all.
He is such a perfectionist about his image on camera, always checking his makeup in between takes, hoping to find his most perfect angle for close-up shots (Same as the actress LYA).
He is always meditating his acting and mulling over his mood for the shootting. Even when it was okay'ed by the PD, BYJ would ask one more time because he felt he could do better. Every time when one camera shot was finished, he was always receiving applause from all the staff.
The screen only showed him, the lone actor, serene, tranquil and elegant. Just within inches behind the camera were over a hundred people, and all of them held their breaths and there was total silence on the set. This, was the set filming the handsome BYJ.
After 4pm, the sun set hastily, we had to finish the shooting. BYJ was so friendly to take pictures with all the staff, both one on one and group pictures. Even thought it was really a messy occasion with tens of cameras shooting at him, BYJ still showed his perfectly classic smile to all the people without reserve.
After the filming wrapped up for the day, BYJ stayed behind and played soccer with the cameraman for half an hour.
The working habit of Korean team is very systematic and precise. Before the shooting, the assistant directors should finish the preparation and then shoot according to the scheduled.
But this time, PD Peng's shooting method was relatively flexible. He changed the script after seeing the location and actor and there were some improvisations during shooting.
There were some "added- on" scenes this time. The scripts were decided one day before the actual shooting and the rundowns didn't complete until in the morning of the shooting day. Sometimes, the camera was on when BYJ knew nothing about it. All these shooting methods are risky which let the Korean crew felt unaccustomed to, but after the shooting, they all felt it was really a good experience.
The system of Korean production team is quite different with that of Taiwan's. There are 40-50 staff on spot with a clear division of each person's task as well as the emphasis on team work efforts. The scale of the production company is relative big and usually it will hire a separate company who specialized on art and molding during the shooting. The success of Korean screen industry in an international level these years owe to its production industry's concerted efforts with their fields of view fully focusing on the Asian Market.
There was a huge Hollywood level dining car for the shooting team this time providing cuisine, soda, snacks etc. The Kimchi was always available during the dining time.
There was a traditional Korean restaurant near the Hotel Villa. When we were dining in it after shooting, BYJ's car was driven by quietly and disappeared at the end of the twisted road. I think maybe BYJ had already been in sleep with a satisfied smile on his face.
