“We can’t protect what we don’t yet understand” – Jacques Cousteau
That was my big takeaway from watching Jean-Michel Cousteau’s presentation The Other 70%: Understanding the Earth’s Underwater Ecosystems on this 40th Anniversary of Earth Day. He spoke to a packed auditorium at Northwestern’s Pick Staiger Hall, sharing his life passion for ocean exploration and conservation.
He told the story of how he was first “thrown overboard” by his father at age 7, and how he now has his two children working alongside him to inspire and educate people around the world about the need to maintain a sustainable ocean.
Sharing multiple clips from his PBS/KQED series “Jean-Michel Cousteau Ocean Adventures“, he was able to illustrate with vivid imagery the beauty that lies in the depths. Through watching them, I understood how our actions were seriously endangering the existence of our wild turtles, sharks, birds and whales. I also learned about Jean-Michel’s role in influencing President Bush’s 2006 decision to designate the North Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument to preserve 138,000 square miles of ocean.
But the clip that truly resonated with me was one which depicted 5 people across a spectrum of ages and diets getting tested for the presence of toxic substances in their bodies. The cameras were rolling as each person in the study was told the test results for the first time. The emotion captured on their faces was incredibly moving. You could totally see the shocking realization of how great an impact our environment and diet can have on our health. After the initial tears, came the renewed determination to protect and prevent others from suffering the same consequences.
And that, to me, was a step in the right direction following a higher level on understanding. Jacques was right. We can’t protect what we don’t yet understand. I’ve seen this ring true in my life too. The conscious lifestyle choices I make today are the result of me learning and gaining more knowledge about environmental and sustainable food issues. Knowledge is power, indeed.
So it was down to our final day of shooting on Karolyn Szot’s Message Received.
7.30am call time. With just a small crew, we headed out to the front of Evanston Township High School to grab a wide establishing shot. As we unloaded our gear onto the sidewalk and started putting the crane together, a bus from the nearby Double Tree hotel pulled up right next to us. Next thing we know, out pours a group of young Asians who start taking pictures of the high school. It all seemed rather bizarre to us at first, since 1) it was reallyearly on a Sunday morning and 2) our dear neighborhood Evanston Township High School isn’t usually a hot tourist attraction. I’m pretty sure they weren’t expecting to see a film crew on a random sidewalk either. So as much as both groups tried to carry on like nothing unusual was going on, we all couldn’t help but take repeated glances at each other, wondering what on Earth the other group was doing there.
I thought it’d be fun to see if I could determine where the group was from by identifying the language in which they were speaking. So as I worked with Benz to set up the camera, I put my eavesdropping skills to use.
Can’t quite hear them… oh wait, i think they’re speaking in English… hey, that accent sounds familiar…
“AH!” I exclaimed to Benz excitedly. “THEY’RE SINGAPOREANS!”
Our actor Johnny Langan talking to the students from Temasek Academy, Singapore
I haven’t been home in a year, so seeing them brought tremendous joy to my heart. Can you believe they were also from the school where my dad used to teach? Talk about coincidence! Oh boy, the odds of that happening must have been one in a million. Apparently, the students from Temasek Junior College’s Integrated Programme were there on a Science and Mathematics trip and had visited ETHS earlier.
Karolyn decided it’d be a great idea to ask them to be extras in the movie and after some persuasion, they kindly agreed. So now we’ve got a shot of our main character James walking to school with lotsa fellow schoolmates! Sweet. :)
The next shot took us around to a parking lot at the back of the school. What we didn’t realize was how popular a place to park it would be among the lacrosse moms going to support their kids at a game going on nearby. One of them even stopped to ask us for directions to the field house. Good thing our Gaffer Brandon knew exactly where the field house was. “It’s over there, where the sign says field house… (pause)… darn, that made me sound like a total douche.” Being on crew’s tremendous fun, especially when you witness something like what happened next. It basically involved our Sound Designer Marshall sprinting across the parking lot after our moving U-haul truck, yelling at the top of his lungs. It was epic. Good thing we had all those donuts right before.
DP Josh filming Johnny texting behind the wheel.
Then off to St. Paul’s Forest Preserve again it was to get shots of Johnny driving and getting into the big crash. We knew that it was going to be a challenge filming our two cars getting into a head-on collision without actually damaging the vehicles or hurting ourselves. It involved precise steering and the ability to apply the brakes on time so we’d stop right as we were about to collide, all while avoiding the regular traffic along that road. So it was lead actor Johnny, DP Josh and Director Karolyn in one car, and me in the other. (I certainly didn’t wake up that morning realizing I was gonna be a stunt driver!) After several attempts to make it look like the two cars actually collided, we decided that a different strategy was needed. We treasured life too much to get close enough for the shot. That was when the brilliant suggestion of starting the shot with the two front bumpers touching and having both drivers go in reverse was made. The rest of it will be done in post-production. Oh, the magic of moviemaking! :)
Director Karolyn and DP Josh taking a shot of Johnny from outside the car
After a delicious lunch at a Chinese Restaurant (the rendezvous we went through to get there is another story altogether), it was on to complete the final few shots of the movie. With both Karolyn and Josh both outside the car concentrating on the shot, I took it upon myself to direct traffic to go around us. That’s when a lovely old couple on a stroll stopped to talk to me.
“Are you the same group that had the wrecked cars here yesterday?” the lady asked.
“Yes, that’s us!”
“So what’s the movie about?”
“It’s about the dangers of texting while driving, ma’am.”
“Oh! A worthy cause! Good luck!” She said, nodding her head in approval, as they both waved goodbye and went on their way. Aww.
Josh leaning on the hood to get the shot as Karolyn gives Johnny directions.
Our crew went through great lengths to make the film pretty, even if it meant our DP Josh working those back muscles, leaning on top of the hood with his legs stretched out for balance to get the final shot.
And with that, we could finally clasp our hands together and yell out with joy those three magic words: It’s A Wrap!
After months of preparation, 4 days of shooting and hours of lost sleep, we’re finally ready to move into post-production. Our Editor Andrew and Sound Designer Marshall are gonna have a fabulous time.
While looking back on the fun times and crazy adventures we had on set will definitely put a smile on all our faces, what I’m most excited about is the impact the finished film will have. Yes, it’s going to look fantastic and sound amazing, but more importantly, it’s going to make our roads a safer place for all.
Thanks for following our journey so far. Look out for Message Received next year, coming to a screen near you. And finally, please remember, don’t text and drive.
My friend Pat Bishop was awarded a grant from Northwestern’s Adshop to film a spec commercial for Kafein, a popular hangout among NU students, located at Chicago & Davis in Evanston, IL. He asked me to help out with sound on this project, and since we had such an awesome time working together on our 280 project, I jumped at the opportunity to work together again. It truly makes a difference who’s working on the crew with you. The team Pat lined up made all the difference in making it such an enjoyable half-day shoot. Plus, who can resist a little doggie on set? :) And to top it off, we all got our choice of smoothies/milkshakes on set as a crew member. Sweet. Thanks Pat!
It’s been a long time since I felt as nervous and fallible as i did yesterday. By the time it hit noon, all i could focus on for the rest of the day was on the big screening. Got there an hour early to set everything up and test out the equipment with the help of Jane, Tiff and Alvin. And by the time the crowd came streaming in through those doors, there was no turning back. Strangely, I was unable to stay seated during the show… nerves, i guess. It was really nice watching the way the audience reacts to your movie though!
It was also an honour to receive another standing ovation. The positive response certainly helped dispell most of the uncertainty and fear I had. From the feedback forms received, it seems like people really enjoyed how personal the story got and how it kept their attention right throughout the movie.
The best part of the night though, was getting to truly thank all the important people in my life here at NU. Took the chance to do so since we’re 3 weeks away from graduation and the people who came were people who really mattered to me.
I did a little recap of the short 2 years I had on campus and tried my best to recapture the memories through little stories of experiences I had together with individuals. And totally wish i could kick myself for forgetting to mention Meixi in my speech. She’s someone I’d totally recommend you find an opportunity to sit down and talk to because you’ll feel incredibly inspired after.
If you were among the 50 people at the screening of Beyond The Drive last night, thank you so much for your support. I had a wonderful time reading each and every one of the lovely messages penned in my guest book. I admit I teared a little while reading. Thanks to Ariel, Zhihui and KX for the balloon and chocolates. Thanks to Sam, Cindy, Jessie and Jane for the bouquet of flowers and card. I hope you know that this documentary was inspired by you – the incredibly amazing people I’m surrounded by here in NU.
Still to come… an encore screening because I’ve been receiving requests from people who couldn’t make it yesterday… and the DVD release in a couple of months! Hooray! :)
“We can’t protect what we don’t yet understand” – Jacques Cousteau
My friend Pat Bishop was awarded a grant from Northwestern’s Adshop to film a spec commercial for Kafein, a popular hangout among NU students, located at Chicago & Davis in Evanston, IL. He asked me to help out with sound on this project, and since we had such an awesome time working together on our 280 project, I jumped at the opportunity to work together again. It truly makes a difference who’s working on the crew with you. The team Pat lined up made all the difference in making it such an enjoyable half-day shoot. Plus, who can resist a little doggie on set? :) And to top it off, we all got our choice of smoothies/milkshakes on set as a crew member. Sweet. Thanks Pat!
Shuling Yong 