THE PEAK

Feels like I just came back from a long trip- back to a messy room from the hurry the day before. Making a movie is like a dream. A temporary suspension of reality. We went through a series of challenges that somehow we managed to overcome.

Yesterday started at 8.30am. Woke up to a list of things to do before meeting Severine at the train station. Print scripts, call makeup artist, make notes about acting, make timetable for shoot, photos, stills and voiceover, pack stuff, clear memory card for photos etc. So by the time I left home it was already 11.40am.

Severine calls and I met her in the sunshine. Thank God the weather was really nice. Loc comes and we all walk to his place. Ren joins us, and together the four of us have our first session- talking about acting, makeup, production, clothes.

Challenge #1:
Severine did not have a jacket.

Ren calls Bea, and we pack into the car (a very sandy one because Loc does kitesurfing) and head towards his old place. Get jacket from Bea. I ran to Saba's place for the chair I talentspotted while at her place. We get to Rotterdam at 3pm and drop Sev and Ren off to get to the Maas tunnel. Loc and I went to 2012 to pick up the wheelchair and the chairs.

Challenge #2:
The wheelchair wheels were deflated.

We went to a petrol kiosk only to find that the air pump is malfunctioned. We drive to Zuidplein and went to two shops before finally managing to get air into the wheels at the third. By the time we got to the Maas tunnel it was already 4.40pm, 1 hour 40 minutes overdue.

Challenge #3:
We had to get permission to film at the Maas tunnel.

We were about to start and someone suggested that we go tell the Maas tunnel personnel that we were filming there. Oana goes and we get to briefing. Oana comes back with dismal news- we couldn't film because we had to ask for permission. Carlos and I went up. The guy was tough- he said we had to call this particular guy Mr X on Monday and that we couldn't film. I told him that we were there and we did ask some guards for permission and they said yes. Carlos started to talk to the guy. The turning point came when the guy went back and wrote down MR X's mobile number. Hope surged in my heart, because this man was actually going beyond the call of duty to bother his superior on a Saturday evening. He said that if Mr X did not reply- it's a NO. If Mr X says no, it's a NO.

He went back to the office with lots of monitors ( I could see the team sitting around in the tunnel from the screen) and dialled the number. I prayed like mad. The guy answered! Again hope rose to another level. Carlos went in to talk to the guy for some 10 minutes. He came back to a smile- he said YES! I wanted to hug the guard- but had some self control and smiled and said a very sincere THANK YOU!

We went back to the team and started preparations. I explained that the whole process was like a dance around the camera. Severine put on her own make-up with some help from Oana. Oana put some dark eyeliner under Han's eyes and darkened his eyebrows. Carlos practiced with Ren for the camera and the wheelchair. We put the props in place. Take 1! We had this really funny system where Ren was sitting in the wheelchair holding the camera, Carlos was pushing, I was behind watching the camera and controlling the speed, Oana followed behind giving cues to Han when to speak, Loc followed behind giving cues when to pause for voiceovers.

Watched the tapes and took a break. We had take 2 which went much smoother in terms of choreography, but there were glitches such as two people appearing in one frame, and some noise interruption. Sev and Han practiced the end scene again. They got better at the hugging and crying part. Also practiced various poses for Sev and Han. Wanted Sev to have more variation, movement, angles and fingers. (Somehow fingers on screen looked really pretty) And the running part. Ren was invaluable throughout for giving comments and bouncing ideas with.

One million things needed to be decided and done, and the whole team was just quite together. No whiners- just a team who was really cooperative! Severine was very easy to direct.

Challenge #4:
Microphone problems.

We realised that the receiver for Severine's microphone was not plugged in! Then we realised that one of the receivers ran out of batteries! I took the used batteries from the bag. Plonked them in and miraculously the thing worked. Mind you, with batteries that were previously from the mikes. God is miracle working.

We have our last take. An old man was walking towards us and Loc goes towards him to warn him. I was thinking man, we are in deep trouble, the wheelchair was heading right at him and we were in the end scene where Sev was to run. We go into running pace and approach the old man. He almost did a double take at the wheelchair going at running speed towards him. I found this very funny! We reverse and I supposed he heaved a sigh of relief.

That was the last take. Everyone leaves except for me, Loc, Ren and Severine. We did the voiceovers and Loc and I returned the chairs to 2012. We pick up Ren and Severine from the tram stop near the Maas tunnel and go to Whitte de Whit for a drink. Crammed up with loads of people. We hit Loc's at 2am. After meddling around with Premier for some time, we decide to hit the sack. Also to forget about my insane idea for filming again. Was not too pleased with the jerky movements of the camera.

Everyone has strange dreams due to fatigue. We wake up at 11am+. Loc and Ren shared a bed and Ren dreamt of Vietnam and blamed it on Loc. We did a final voice recording.

The whole experience was really enjoyable. Yes it was hard but we all learnt a lot and had fun. We tried to put a lot of thought into preproduction but could not forsee certain problems- like the jerking movements of the camera because of the uneven floors and the mike and camera problems- due to inexperience. In any case, I will definitely make another film.