ND Daily Exclusive: A different way of filming HK television series -- interview with the creators of HKTV’s new crime thriller “Borderline”

Here’s another interesting article from ND Daily where they interview the creators of HKTV’s new series Borderline and  find out from them some of the details involving in the ‘making’ of the series.  In the process, we also get to learn more about HKTV’s operations internally and the goals of the station in terms of production values and such.

I’m not going to comment much, as I feel the article really speaks for itself.   But I will say this – understanding now the behind-the-scenes effort that HKTV put into making each of their series, I definitely applaud and appreciate them more.  I’ve been following this free TV license issue thing for close to 2 years already and throughout the process, my respect for HKTV has continued to grow.  When I first read about some of the ‘non-traditional’ (in the context of HK series filming process) things that HKTV was doing to purposefully stand apart from rival TVB (i.e.:  100% complete scripts prior to filming, 8-12 hour workdays for employees, real location filming for all their series, catered full meals including 3 dishes + 1 soup for its filming crew, investing in high quality filming equipment that is regularly used in Hollywood productions, etc.), I was already thoroughly impressed with the efforts, especially given how ‘different’ the methods were from the standard HK series production methods employed by TVB.  Now, after reading the below article, I’m even more impressed!

Wow – when Ricky Wong said that his company takes the production of TV series very seriously, he truly wasn’t kidding!   Really, let’s be honest here – how many other local TV stations can you think of (not counting Hollywood) that would go to such great lengths (research / study filming techniques, focus group studies, series re-shoots, trial screenings, etc.) as well as invest so much time and money to produce quality series?  And not just that, but pretty much making their productions primarily ‘audience-driven?  

Lastly, I want to emphasize one thing – no matter how much people may dislike Ricky Wong because of his arrogant / aggressive personality, irreverent rhetoric, or whatever reason, we can’t deny the fact that he and his company (HKTV) have put in tremendous effort into trying to ‘change’ the HK television industry for the better.  Speaking from the perspective of an audience / consumer -- no matter what I think of him as a person (I will admit that I still have reservations about him), I appreciate the efforts that have been made and will gladly give credit where it is due.  Regardless of whether HKTV ends up getting their license or not in the future, they have already made a positive impact on the HK television industry – that should at least count for something!

P.S.:  For the record – I’m one of those ‘overseas’ audiences who is already used to watching Hollywood productions, so for people like us, the stuff that HKTV is doing might not seem like a big deal (since those methods are ‘standard fare’ in Hollywood).  But at the same time, I’m also part of the HK audience (since I’m also a long-time follower of HK entertainment and TVB) and if I look at this whole issue purely from an HK audience’s perspective, all the stuff HKTV is attempting to do is truly ‘different’ and ‘groundbreaking’.  [Just wanted to clarify this so as to avoid unnecessary confusion for those who may not be regular readers of my blog.]

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ND Daily Exclusive:  A different way of filming HK television series -- interview with the creators of HKTV’s new crime thriller Borderline

Source:  ND Daily News

Translation:  llwy12

Article originally published June 19^th, 2013

It has been more than 1200 days since HKTV (formerly CTI) chairman Ricky Wong (王维基) submitted his application for a free-to-air television license to the HK government – as of right now, the license still has not been issued.

The HK television industry has seen a pretty dismal ratings slump recently – with the lack of ‘refreshing’ series for HK audiences to be excited about in recent months, what choice do audiences have except to either turn off their television sets completely or just leave the television on unattended while they go about their chores and tend to other more important matters?

Actually, there IS another choice!  During their arduous 3 year (and counting) wait for a license, HKTV has been quite busy – they currently have 8 completed series in their inventory, with additional series still filming.  Not one to sit idly and ‘wait for the tea to get cold’, Ricky Wong started up a ‘Like’ campaign on Facebook last week that featured links to short trailer clips of the first episode of his series on Youtube, ultimately culminating in a poll that allowed netizens to choose which series they wanted to watch most.  The result:  crime thriller Borderline (警界线) – starring Liu Kai Chi (廖啟智), Dominic Lam (林嘉華), Lawrence Chou (周俊偉), etc. – garnered 3000 of the 7000 votes submitted, making it the ‘winner’ amongst the 8 series.  Therefore, as promised, HKTV premiered the complete, 42 minute commercial-free first episode of Borderline on Youtube last Friday night at 9:30pm (HKT).  Within 48 hours, the first episode garnered 300,000 hits on Youtube and as of yesterday (6/18/13), that number has risen to more than 380,000 hits, which is equivalent to an estimated 6 to 7 ratings points in the television world.   In addition, the feedback [toward the series]  from netizens on Youtube and Facebook have been overwhelmingly positive.   Indeed, the enthusiastic response from netizens has been very encouraging for the HKTV staff and as a result, they are considering the possibility of further on-line ‘activity’ for the series in the near future. [TN:  I take this to mean that HKTV might air additional episodes of the series online in the future?  Hope so!]

Last week, ND Daily’s reporter visited HKTV’s headquarters and interviewed 2 of the ‘brains’ behind the series Borderline: HKTV’s creative director Chu King Kei (朱镜祺) and main producer So Man Chung (蘇萬聰). [TN: both Chu Sir and So Man Chung used to work for TVB – see their descriptions below at the end of the article.]  Together, the 2 of them provide us with detailed insight into some of the work involved in producing the crime drama and also attempt to explain, from their perspective, the reason behind the premiere episode’s tremendous success.

As a sidenote – you may be wondering why we [ND Daily] are paying so much attention to a series that hasn’t even seen the light of day on HK’s television screens yet?   One reason is because out of the 8 HKTV series previewed so far, Borderline’s strong, fast pace and spectacular movie quality action scenes give viewers a sense of freshness.  The most important reason though is actually all the behind-the-scenes effort that the HKTV production team put into creating their series:  in the past 1000+ days, the HKTV staff weren’t just sitting around helplessly waiting for their license – rather, they’ve been actively doing a lot of non-traditional ‘pre-production’ work, such as specialized ‘focus group’ studies, audience trial screenings and feedback meetings, sample  re-shoots of American TV series, research and study of movie-filming techniques, etc…..all of this is part of HKTV’s ‘attempt’ to change the stagnant situation that the HK television industry has been in for the past decade.  With that said though, HKTV will be the first to admit that it’s impossible for HK series to change to a purely Westernized method of filming right away – but with the current feeble state of the HK television industry as well as audiences growing tired of the unchanging ‘TVB method’ to drama series, HKTV should at least deserve some credit for their well-intentioned ‘attempt’ at filming a “new type of HK series”.

PART A:   What exactly does a “new type of HK series” entail?

To help us understand HKTV’s direction and focus, Chu King Kei and So Man Chung provided a detailed ‘summary’ of Ricky Wong’s vision and instructions when it comes to producing quality TV series:

** TV series can’t be boring -- the dialogue needs to be short and precise so that audiences don’t feel like they’re ‘listening’ to the TV, the visual effects need to make audiences feel like they are ‘watching’ TV.

Recently, TVB experienced a ‘meltdown’ when a few of their ‘heavyweight’ series failed to garner both high ratings and good word of mouth, with audiences lamenting that TVB’s series have “lost their past splendor” and instead have resorted to becoming “housewife soap operas” and “highbrow literary series”.  In the face of such criticism, how should a production team go about finding a path straight to audiences’ hearts while at the same time ensuring they create a high quality, meticulous product with a captivating story?

HKTV’s creative director Chu King Kei (Chu Sir) explains it this way:  “Let’s take TVB’s Beauty at War (金枝慾孽貳) for example – I feel that it definitely was a breakthrough series, but unfortunately, there were too many ‘personal’ elements in it.  [Scriptwriter] Chow Yuk Ming (周旭明) and [producer] Jonathan Chik (戚其義) liked to use Kunqu opera and the ‘rumor’ theme to ‘package’ the series, but that only caused the ‘dramatic’ element to be lowered.  That type of series requires audiences to pay careful attention and follow along closely as the drama slowly unfolds – in other words, it’s not much of a ‘commercial’ work.”

Chu Sir continues:  “Ricky Wong requires us to produce works that are more ‘commercial’ in nature.  For example, he requires us to have the best artistry and aesthetic effects in every series, so we have to pay very close attention to everything – we have to use the best cameras and ensure that things such as use of lenses, editing, color scheme, etc. meet the highest level standard – our goal is to give the series a ‘movie’ effect.  First and foremost though, the number one requirement is that the series cannot be ‘boring’ to the point that audiences don’t want to watch.  It doesn’t matter if the production team feels that the series is of high quality – the audiences have to feel the same way in order for it to count.  Given this standard, we pretty much have to edit every single one of our series multiple times – for example, with Borderline, we did a lot of editing and cut a lot of stuff out so that the series overall is more compact.  A good thing about this method is that it helps you further understand what exactly about this series is most appealing to audiences.  Also, in a sense, we are trying to change audience’s habit of ‘listening’ to the TV rather than watching it, hence our huge emphasis on the best visual effects – if we are successful in this area, then there is no need for unnecessary dialogue.  These past 6 months, one of the biggest things that Mr. Wong has been trying to do is make our series more ‘Westernized’.”

** The first 15 minutes of a series is crucial and determines its ‘life’ or ‘death’; TVB is the established ‘first wife’, how can a ‘third party’ compete?  Got to be overly excited and zealous!

Last week, HKTV put up 5 to 10 minute trailers of their 8 completed series on Youtube and from the number of ‘hits’ they received, determined which series was the most popular.  For these types of trailers, most production teams would do a ‘special feature’ version where all the best parts of the series are included in those few minutes, however HKTV chose to do the opposite:  for Borderline, they chose to air the unedited first 11 minutes of the series and to everyone’s surprise, the clip garnered 44,000 ‘Likes’ on Facebook within the very first day it was posted.

Towards the popularity of Borderline after only viewing the first 11 minutes of the series, Chu Sir explains:  “It’s no secret that ‘the first 15 minutes of a series determines its life or death’ – this concept applies to HK series as well, it’s just that most production teams don’t really pay close enough attention to this.  American series actually place heavy emphasis on the first 15 minutes – the competition is greater over there because 1) there are a lot of TV stations to choose from and 2) American audiences have too many good things to watch, so they are a lot more selective and picky when it comes to this stuff.  When I used to work at a TV station in Taiwan, I felt the same way.  Taiwan has more than 100 TV stations, so audiences could sit at home with their remote and switch back and forth between channels –they could watch a minute of a series and if they don’t like it, switch to something else.  Knowing this, we put a lot of thought into the opening 15 minutes of Borderline – we wanted to make sure that within the first 10 minutes, there was enough suspense to make audiences feel that the entire segment is worth watching; every 5 minutes or so we would present a crisis, an intense moment, or situation that moves audiences.”

Why pack so much suspense in the first 15 minutes?  Chu Sir explains:  “Because we believe in competition!  It’s necessary to make the first 15 minutes such high density to ensure that audiences remain engaged and don’t want to take their eyes off the screen. We’re fighting a life and death battle here!”

Chu Sir shared the analogy that Ricky Wong often used:  “Mr. Wong often tells us that audiences will naturally have an emotional attachment to TVB, after all they’ve been ‘together’ for so long, like a couple that has been married for more than 40 years – as the newly joined ‘third party’, how can we compete?  If you want to pull the audiences over to your side, you need put on the charm – this requires a lot of hard work as well as lots of energy and commitment.  Sometimes, you may need to be overly zealous and excited.”

** A different way of watching TV series – make the series feel like a movie.

After the first episode of Borderline premiered on Youtube last Friday, HKTV also uploaded the episode to Tudou and Youku so that Mainland audiences would be able to watch as well.  ND Daily’s reporter gathered together some of the comments that Mainland audiences posted on sites such as Sina Weibo, Douban, etc. after watching the first episode and overall the comments have been positive.  A few examples of the comments from Mainland audiences:  “The picture quality is awesome, the movie-like feel is great, gives me the urge to once again turn on the television and chase series everyday;  the editing, lighting, props, story, characters, etc. leave TVB behind by miles;  the veteran actors draw us in with their fine acting, the dramatic tension is just right, the gun battle scenes feel like they’re from a movie;  after watching TVB’s ‘traditional formula’ series for decades, I would like to give Ricky Wong some encouragement and hope that audiences have more options…”

After reading through all the comments, ND Daily’s reporter was surprised to discover that the feedback from audiences coincided perfectly with the HKTV production team’s ‘original intention’ as relayed to us when we interviewed the series’ director So Man Chung last week.  Chung Gor feels that audiences who enjoy watching movies and overseas (i.e. American) series are used to ‘battling wits’ with the directors and scriptwriters – they like to take apart each scene, catch on to every underlying signal or message, etc. and from doing so, they find joy in the viewing experience.  HK audiences on the other hand are completely opposite -- they’ve essentially been ‘spoiled’ by decades of watching HK ‘formula’ series and feel that they should just be able to sit at home and watch without having to think and still be able to understand what’s going on. Indeed, the era of ‘blindly’ watching series should be gone already….with Borderline, HKTV is attempting to give HK audiences a different type of viewing experience – a TV series with a movie-like feel.

Below are a few more ‘guidelines’ that the HKTV production team must keep in mind in the course of putting together their series:

** Our series should maintain a fast pace – think of it as targeting audiences with fast CPUs.

**   Don’t give the characters too much dialogue, as the audiences shouldn’t be able to see through what the characters are thinking; audiences will feel that handling the dialogue this way is ‘cool’.

** Don’t make the dialogue too long, one line after another, and have the artists speak slower – this helps to draw out the emotional factor a bit more

** We sometimes put the camera at unconventional angles, completely opposite of what the audiences may be used to seeing – this helps to draw in a more ‘movie-like’ feel and changes audiences’ viewing experience.

** We often utilize a nonlinear, balanced editing method for certain scenes that will make audiences feel as though they’ve just been ‘played’, but then when they figure things out, it gives them a huge sense of satisfaction.

PART B:   What type of pre-production ‘homework’ is the production team required to do?

With the goal of pursuing a more ‘Westernized’ method of filming HK series, the HKTV team has been observing the filming methods of overseas series (i.e. American series) and instituting similar ‘prep work’ processes with their production team.

** Scriptwriters are required to write a ‘biography’ for each character that never makes it into the final production.

When it comes to the scripts for their series, the standard is very high.  In addition to the full script, each scriptwriter is required to write a complete ‘character biography’.  Chu Sir explains:  “When we were at TVB, they would also require us to write what we call a ‘script bible’ (天書), which basically consisted of a plot summary and brief character descriptions – each department would utilize this to go about their business.  But here at HKTV, we go much more in-depth than that:  we actually focus on the meticulous details of each character, to the point that we are essentially writing a ‘biography’ of the character – for example, what is this character’s personality, what has he done from the time he was born until now, who are his parents and where are they from, what are their backgrounds, where did he go to school, when did he have his first relationship and what was that experience like, etc….all the details.  The important thing to note is that these character biographies serve as the scriptwriters’ ‘homework’ only – none of these details make it into the final production.  In fact, we don’t even include any of these details in the plot summary!  The only people who end up reading these biographies are the production team (producer, director, etc.) and the artists who portray the characters.  Doing these character biographies forces us to get an in-depth understanding of each character so that even if it’s only the developmental stage, the dramatic element is already there.”

** Production team is required to re-shoot (re-enact) scenes from American series to understand what the challenges are to adapting those filming methods.

During the course of the interview, Chu King Kei also revealed another detail involved in HKTV’s productions:  “One of the ‘projects’ that we had to do was spend 4 days exploring the success and failure of certain American series.  Very few TV stations will do this kind of thing, but here at HKTV, they truly do allow the production team to halt production for a few days just to do this kind of research and analysis.  Not only that, we were also asked to try re-shooting scenes from certain American series ourselves and in the process of doing so, identify any challenges / obstacles we see.  Of course, the most obvious challenge is money, as the production costs for American series is 10x more than ours – outside of that though, what are the biggest obstacles to being able to film HK series in a similar fashion?  Is it a problem with lack of proper skill and technique?  Is it lack of knowledge?  How do they handle storyline and plot development?  Understanding all of these things helps us learn how produce better series.”

** Audience involvement in production of series through utilization of ‘focus groups’

Most of the general public seems to be under the impression that in the past 3 years, HKTV’s staff hasn’t done much except sit around waiting for their license to be issued and that the series they have completed are just sitting in the warehouse collecting dust.  After visiting HKTV’s headquarters, ND  Daily’s reporters can tell you directly that this ‘impression’ is entirely false.  In reality, the HKTV team has been quite busy these past 3 years, working on various projects outside of filming series. 

Starting in November 2011, the HKTV production team divided themselves up into 8 teams, with each team focused on the production details of a particular series.   One of the most interesting ‘exercises’ that these teams went through was working with specialized ‘focus groups’ --  groups consisting of audience members who would give feedback on the series being filmed throughout the entire production process.  This was one of the methods they had learned that American series production teams often utilized.   In accordance with HKTV’s philosophy of being ‘HK audience’s station’, there is heavy emphasis on audience participation and them having a say on how the productions turn out.  Therefore, the production team is constantly encouraged to interact with audiences and are provided various opportunities to do so – one of these opportunities is in the form of ‘focus groups’.

Amongst all of HKTV’s series, Borderline went through the most ‘focus group’ exercises and as a result, the series’ total points were the highest amongst the audiences surveyed.  The first group consisted of audiences who only watch TVB series – they rated the series an average of 7.8 points.  The second group consisted of audiences who watch both TVB series as well as overseas series (i.e. series from U.S. and other countries) – they rated the series at 8 points.  Lastly, the third group consisted of audiences who don’t watch free TV at all and pretty much only watched overseas series – their score was 8.4 points.  This exercise was an eye-opener for the production team – back when they all worked for TVB, it was pretty much a given that the younger audiences would be the most difficult to attract and retain, since majority of them are already too used to watching stuff on a computer.  But with the results of the focus group exercises as well as the feedback on Borderline’s airing, the production team realized that it actually IS possible to draw in the younger audiences.

** Film a pilot episode first, then hold audience trial screenings before deciding whether to continue with the series

Ricky Wong has always been known as an expert businessman who is very adept at his craft – he understands very well how to utilize scientific knowledge and methods to obtain information and feedback from customers.  Utilizing these skills, Ricky Wong instituted the concept of having the production team film a pilot episode of a series first, then hold audience trial screenings to obtain feedback and from there, determine whether to continue filming the series or abandon it.  The first series they tried this ‘pilot episode’ concept with is Flow of the Years (歲月樓情) [starring Ha Yu (夏雨), Paw Hee Ching (鲍起静), Felix Wong (黃日華), Leila Tong (唐寧), etc.].  After filming the pilot episode, HKTV held a large-scale ‘trial screening’ for the series, inviting approximately 120 audience members to participate – after watching, the audience had to fill out a detailed survey.  The production team would then reflect on the feedback from those surveys and make improvements to their filming process, script, plot, etc. in accordance with it.  This process is actually very similar to what American production companies do with their TV series – they film a pilot episode first, then do market analysis via surveys from audiences before deciding whether to continue with the series.  This is another example of HKTV’s goal of ‘Westernizing’ their filming methods.

** With Borderline’s premiere on Youtube, if majority feedback is negative, then immediate changes will be made…

The premiere of Borderline’s first episode last Friday launched another round of audience interaction with the HKTV production team.  The series’ producer So Man Chung admits that they (the production team) already anticipated a positive response to the first episode:  “Actually, back when we aired the 11 minute trailer clip, we received feedback almost immediately.  The netizens on Youtube and Facebook were actually pretty fierce – they are able to speak freely with no burdens and certainly are not going to worry about giving you any face!  Based on the feedback we received at that time, we did a lot of self-reflection – could it be that there was truly a problem with the way we structured the series?  Perhaps we need to adjust the way we handled certain scenes?  Actually, the first episode of the series that we aired on Youtube last Friday is different from the original version that we filmed internally – I made some additional edits to the episode and cut out 2 major scenes.  A few audiences also complained that some of Lawrence Chou’s lines weren’t spoken clearly enough, so I had him come in and re-dub some of his scenes.”

Chu Sir also praised this method of interacting with the audiences and making changes based on their feedback:  “This is a new, refreshing experience for us – it’s actually quite exciting!  The reactions from netizens are more forthcoming and real, since they can speak without burden – production teams should face these criticisms head-on and not be afraid to make improvements when things aren’t right.  The direction given to us by the company is that whatever can be changed should be changed.  If there is any one thing that a lot of people complain about as being ‘not good’, then it needs to be changed immediately!”

** At TVB, the production team would only receive survey results every couple of years

The ideas of ‘focus groups’ and filming pilot episodes have been in existence for a long time already and the concept of audience surveys is often utilized by many of HK’s large-scale media companies.  Hasn’t TVB ever done these types of surveys or realized their importance?  Chu Sir responds:  “To be honest, when I was at TVB, I had never heard about ‘focus groups’ – I was never involved in any matters related to market research and analysis, so my knowledge of this stuff was very limited.  My understanding is that TVB did do phone surveys and there would be reports summarizing those results every so often, but the production team never got the chance to interact so closely with audiences and actually see / hear their feedback.  It’s possible that the colleagues in the sales and marketing department and the executives [at TVB] did have interaction with audiences and get to see the reports, but perhaps they felt it wasn’t important for the rest of the production team to know the results.  I remember when I was one of the head scriptwriters for TVB, I would receive 1 or 2 reports every couple of years that summarized how audiences felt about certain series, but it was nowhere near as detailed as what we do here at HKTV.”

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About the series Borderline (警界線)

Borderline is yet another story about an ‘undercover cop’, however in the series, there isn’t just one undercover agent.   Liu Kai Chi, Dominic Lam, Lawrence Chou, Leila Tong, and Joman Chiang share the 5 lead roles in the series.  Amongst the group, one of the characters is a ‘marginalized’ cop who spent12 years working as an undercover agent (Liu Kai Chi), another is an experienced left-handed sniper (Dominic), another is a hot-tempered cop who was once framed for a murder he didn’t commit (Lawrence), the fourth is a spinster female cop who has never used a gun before, but ends up firing 3 shots that become critical to solving the case (Leila), and lastly is a female senior inspector who is also a military weapons expert (Joman).  Together, this group of ‘cops and criminals’ will match wits and strength and in the process, defy the boundaries between ‘black’ and ‘white’.

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TN:  Below is the translation of the ‘official’ plot summary that HKTV released back in August 2012 when they held the official press conference for the series.  I chose to include it because it gives a bit more detailed summary of the plot:

Plot Summary:  
Haivng a clear separation between black and white, placing heavy emphasis on discipline – both are the most important ‘boundaries’ for a cop. But if those boundaries are broken through and cops collaborate with crooks, the investigative process as well as the probability of cracking the case becomes limitlessly greater. A 12 year undercover agent living on the edge, a hot-tempered cop who once broke out of jail after he was framed for crime, a ‘King of Robbers’ who was once jailed for a crime he didn’t commit and now specializes in robbing crooks, a ‘spinster’ female cop who had never fired a single shot in her life and relies on her wits as well as life experiences to ‘figure out’ criminals, a fugitive from the law who is obsessed with female cops but always puts righteousness ahead of all else, and finally a high-ranking female officer who is also a military weapons expert – together, they will match wits as well as match strength. Out of this will come not only love, hate, and sparks, it will also break all boundaries – joining forces to crack cold cases and locate criminals, it creates an entirely different battlefield. Through blood, tears, life, and death, these most ‘hot-blooded’ of cops and criminals manifest the brilliance of human nature, leaving behind one touching, heart-stopping story after another.

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PROFILE of the creative team behind Borderline:

Chu King Kei (朱镜祺):  Known as ‘Chu Sir’ to those in the industry, Chu King Kei was formerly one of TVB’s ‘golden’ scriptwriters.  Throughout his 25 year career at TVB, Chu Sir participated in the production of numerous series, including E.U. (學警狙擊), Burning Flame (烈火雄心), La Femme Desperado (女人唔易做), You’re Hired (絕代商驕), etc.   Amongst those, Chu Sir’s most representative work is E.U., as he is credited for creating the character of ‘Laughing Gor’.  Chu Sir is currently one of HKTV’s creative directors (aka scriptwriter).

So Man Chung (蘇萬聰):  Known as ‘MC’ to his colleagues, So Man Chung was formerly one of TVB’s main directors.  In his long career at TVB, he also participated in the production of numerous series, including Triumph in the Skies (衝上雲宵), Detective Investigation Files I-IV (刑事偵緝檔案I-IV), Lives of Omission (潛行狙擊), etc.  So Man Chung is currently one of HKTV’s main directors (aka producer).

ND Daily Interview: Sheren Tang and Chow Yuk Ming speak out about the recent ‘controversy’ over ‘’Beauty at War’’

As promised, here’s the translated interview that both Sheren and Chow Yuk Ming did with a Mainland newspaper.  This particular interview / article actually came out last week (on May 15^th to be exact), but due to its length, I didn’t get around to finishing the translation until now.  

I’m actually not going to comment too much on the interview, as I feel the article speaks for itself.  In the past few weeks, there has been much ‘controversy’ surrounding the series Beauty at War – some of the news reports have been positive, but majority of the time, it’s been negative.  And it doesn’t help that the ratings for the series is at an all-time low, which of course gives the HK Media the perfect opportunity to ‘sensationalize’ and stir up controversy about the series and its cast/crew.  Yes, of course I know that’s the way things work in the heavy ‘tabloid’ culture that is the HK entertainment world – but even so, I can’t help feeling sorry for the cast and crew who so far have all been ‘dragged through mud’ so to speak because of all the events and ‘controversies’ that have unfolded to this point.

This is why I chose to painstakingly translate this particular article from ND Daily.   Over the past few weeks, there have been dozens of articles published about the series, including interviews with cast and crew (with Sheren alone, there have been at least 7 or 8 interviews that I’ve read) – out of all those interviews so far, this one from ND Daily is the only one that I feel is truly worth reading because it’s the only one that gives ‘both sides of the story’ so to speak – meaning that it’s the only article out there (so far) that allowed both Sheren and Chow Yuk Ming to state their arguments and let the readers decide who they want to believe / side with.  What I appreciate most about the article is the format – basically, the reporter asks both Sheren and CYM similar questions and presents both their responses in a ‘side-by-side’ format.  To me, this is more fair than all the embellished, slanted reports that the HK Media have been pushing out (about this issue) up to this point.  I’ve read the ‘summary’ of the below interview that the various HK Media outlets did and will honestly say that none of those recaps do justice to the original interview (especially since none of them give the ‘whole picture’ and pretty much slant in one person’s favor).  As someone who has been ‘following’ the whole BAW fiasco from the beginning, I definitely appreciate reading this particular article, as it answered a lot of ‘questions’ that had been floating around in my head from the other reports.

Lastly, I do want to make one thing clear – my ‘position’ with regard to this whole issue is a neutral one.   After reading this article, I have a better understanding of where both sides (Sheren and CYM) are coming from and though there are things I both agree and disagree with from both sides, I appreciate the overall effort made to clarify things.   

To those who read this particular post:  to me, which side you support (Sheren or CYM) and for what reasons doesn’t really matter because I’m not here to try and ‘change’ your guys’ perspectives.  All I’m trying to do is present a more ‘fair’ account of the ‘story’ so those who care (or don’t care) can at least get both sides of the story.

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Serious [Actress] vs Serious [Scriptwriter]:  Beauty at War’s ‘Serious’ Showdown

ND Daily’s face-to-face interview with Beauty At War’s lead actress Sheren Tang and scriptwriter Chow Yuk Ming

Source:  ND Daily News

Article originally published May 15th, 2013

Nine years ago, TVB series War and Beauty (金枝欲孽) caused a huge sensation in Hong Kong.  With its clever method of utilizing the inner palace struggles of Imperial times to reflect the daily struggles of modern society, well-developed characters constantly in conflict with one another, and brilliant dialogue, the series not only soared to popularity almost instantly, it also stirred up a subsequent popular ‘craze’ for ‘palace-fighting’ drama series. 

With such huge popularity of the first installment, it came as no surprise that now, 9 years later, the expectations for the series’ sequel Beauty at War (金枝欲孽2) would be high – to the point that the sequel was expected to be one of 2013’s most anticipated and acclaimed series.  Unfortunately though, currently in its 3^rd week of broadcast, Beauty at War has not been able to generate the same critical acclaim and widespread acceptance from audiences that its predecessor did.  Instead, the series has been plagued by seemingly endless criticisms and complaints, with ‘controversies’ surrounding such topics as the series being ‘too artistic’, ‘difficult to understand’, ‘miserably low ratings’, ‘zero script’ etc.  – definitely a far cry from the positive reception of the first installment!   In a further ‘blow’, the ratings for the series recently reached a ‘record’ low of 18 points, sparking further criticism as well as heated on-line discussions on the ‘cause’ of the poor ratings.

Recently, Beauty at War’s ‘Consort Yu’ -- lead actress Sheren Tang (鄧萃雯) – spoke out about the controversy surrounding the series.  Known for taking her work very seriously and always one to speak her mind on challenges related to her profession, Sheren strongly criticized the filming methods on the set of Beauty at War, with the brunt of the criticism directed at the series’ scriptwriter Chow Yuk Ming (周旭明) due to his ‘habit’ of providing ‘on-the-fly’ scripts.

Last week, ND Daily’s reporter sat down with both Sheren and scriptwriter Chow (on separate occasions) to discuss with them face-to-face their ‘take’ on Beauty at War and why the series failed to resonate with audiences.  With Sheren being a ‘serious’ actress [one who takes her acting profession very seriously] and Chow Yuk Ming being a ‘serious’ scriptwriter [one who is very meticulous about his writing], this became a ‘showdown’ of the ‘serious’.  During the interview, both Sheren and scriptwriter Chow revealed many behind-the-scenes ‘stories’ related to filming the sequel, including the trials and tribulations they encountered as well as their original hopes and expectations toward the series.

ND = ND Daily’s Reporter

ST = Sheren Tang

YM = Chow Yuk Ming

ROUND 1

‘Showdown’--  Creative Process:  Was the fault due to ‘zero script’??

[Sheren gives her perspective….]

ND:  Why the ‘high profile’ criticism of the ‘zero script’?

ST:   When I filmed this series, I was very unhappy and it was primarily due to the lack of a completed script.  I developed mood disorder and at the time, the illness was so severe to the point that I could fall apart and collapse any minute.  I felt like a rubber band being stretched to its limit, on the verge of breaking – the health issue was very serious.  At the time, I was in a lot of pain, my skin was discolored and even some of my hair was falling out – it’s just that none of that was visible because of the makeup (I really need to thank my makeup artist!).  But after the makeup was removed, the skin on my face was a blackish-reddish color, very different from the color of the skin on my neck -- I was suffering and it felt like my whole body was being tossed around in a black hole…it definitely freaked me out!   Since everyone is asking what the problem is with this series, I bring up what I feel is a very important issue based on my professional standards – from the perspective of a ‘drama fanatic’ like myself who has been in the acting profession for many years, I can very honestly say that if there is ‘no script’ while filming, sorry, but that’s a huge problem!

Actually, 9 years ago, during the filming of War and Beauty, I had also expressed the same dissatisfaction [with lack of complete script] – in fact, at the time, I had also expressed that the ‘flying paper’ [on-the-fly’ script] method was too painful and I even cried over it, but no one really paid attention to me.  Then, when War and Beauty aired, it was so well-received and there was such overwhelming praise for the series that if I had [publicly] mentioned at that time that I felt the ‘flying paper’ method was problematic, would anyone have believed me?  I’m not the type of person who says one thing to one person and a different thing to someone else – it’s just that to me, the success from last time [popularity from War and Beauty] was basically luck.  This time around though [with the sequel], as everyone starts reflecting on what problems occurred with the series, I could no longer bury my conscience and say that there were no problems.  If I say that I am bringing up this issue because it is a problem industry-wide that all of us need to reflect upon and review, then maybe people will feel it’s more believable?

ND:  Is it because the ratings [for the series] are at a record low of 19 points right now, so you’re angry to the point of lashing out?

ST:  I’ve never been one to care about ratings, so it doesn’t make sense for me to speak out just because the ratings are low.  Back then, War and Beauty had received high ratings, but I didn’t feel it was due to my performance alone – in fact, I stated that my performance just met the standard and it was really the combination of the producer’s editing as well as the well-written dialogue by the scriptwriter that gave the overall performance bonus points.  I feel that this time around, the main reason why my performance of ‘Consort Yu’ wasn’t as good as the previous one was because last time, I received 20 episodes of the script’s rough draft in advance whereas this time, it was ‘zero’ script.

ND:  How did the ‘zero script’ situation directly harm your performance?

ST:  At the time when my illness [mood disorder] occurred, [scriptwriter Chow] Yuk Ming did make the effort to give me the script [for the upcoming scenes] a little earlier, but at night, I was busy filming, so the only opportunity for me to review the script was in the early morning hours, right after filming wrapped.  However, there were some nights where I had nothing to film at all because I was waiting around for the script – the entire time, I would be worrying about how much dialogue there’d be in that particular scene, whether I’d be able to comprehend it, digest it, whether there’d be time to make changes – plus with all the classical language, not sure if there would be time to check the dictionary if needed.  Acting isn’t just about reading out the dialogue, it’s necessary to understand it and then figure out the best way to express it – this process requires a lot of time to study and digest, but with this method [on-the-fly script], there isn’t enough time.  I’m not the only one who had to endure this difficulty [‘zero script’] – the rest of the cast had to go through it as well, so I feel that it’s necessary to be forthcoming about this.  I’ve been in the industry close to 30 years already – I have a huge passion for acting and also have a huge amount of respect for those who work in the field of the arts.  At my level, I cannot allow myself to be the type of actress who merely looks up words in a dictionary and recites the dialogue without regard for anything else – unfortunately though, when filming Beauty at War, I had no choice but to do just that [recite dialogue without studying / digesting it] .   I felt helpless and my mood at the time was very miserable.

ND:   If the person writing the script is a little late in delivering the final product, perhaps he is just trying to strive for perfection.  If that’s the case, you still feel it’s ‘unforgivable’?

ST:  Back when we filmed War and Beauty, Yuk Ming also did the ‘flying paper’ thing, but the difference is that he already had a rough draft of 20 episodes ready for us, including dialogue – sure, later on he ended up changing all the dialogue, but at least I already had a framework to study and work from….this actually makes a huge difference!   By not giving us [actors/actresses] the chance to study and prepare for our roles [due to the on-the-fly scripts], he [the scriptwriter] is essentially strangling our creativity -- to me, this is very selfish behavior.  Yes, my criticism is directed toward Yuk Ming [BAW’s scriptwriter] and my hope is that he will reflect upon this.

ND:  Others feel that as long as the script is unique and creative, they are willing to accept the idea of on-the-fly scripts.  So why is it that you’re the only one criticizing?

ST:   Everyone has a different way of looking at things.  Sure, I can understand that others may feel this script is particularly outstanding and has its own style so they would rather endure not having a script than to give up on such an opportunity.  And I know that not everyone is as ‘foolish’ as me…after all, receiving the script late isn’t really my issue [as an actress] – if I receive the script late, then just do the best I can given the circumstances.  So why is it that I chose to take such a strong stance on this issue?  Because I feel that I have to uphold my professionalism as an actress and speak up on behalf of the acting profession as a whole – others may feel that [the ‘flying paper’ method] is perfectly fine and just let things slide, but I can’t.  As an actress, I also have my creative side – Yuk Ming may feel that he is just trying to put forth his ‘best’ work [TN:  hence the constant writing/re-writing that causes the script to be delayed] – I understand that, but what about my ‘best’?  Should my professionalism as an actress be destroyed in his hands?   When it comes to my profession [acting], I have certain responsibilities too – it’s unfair to disregard our efforts as actors/actresses;  just because he has the talent, doesn’t mean that everyone should just tolerate it and accommodate him.  I need to be accountable to the audiences who watch my performance as well as to my own professionalism as an actress!

[Scriptwriter Chow Yuk Ming gives his perspective….]

ND:  Why was there ‘zero script’?  Why the constant delay in providing completed scripts?  What are your thoughts on Sheren’s criticism?

YM:  Writers usually have such a habit – whether  it’s journalists, novelists, TV scriptwriters, all have this bad habit.   My ‘bad habit’ is particularly severe – since I couldn’t change it [this habit] prior to turning 30, I guess I’ll be taking it to my grave. 

In terms of Sheren’s criticism, I’ll take this opportunity to respond.  Usually, I’ll have the script to Sheren 2 days in advance of filming, though there have been times when I couldn’t get it to her until the night before (not a lot though).   Perhaps Sheren forgot, so I will try to refresh her memory…actually, the ‘on-the-fly- script situation was worse during the filming of War and Beauty – I admit this and no one should have to speak on my behalf. 

Back during the time when I wrote the script for The Criminal Investigator (O記實錄) [in 1995], I already had the habit of editing my scripts on-the-fly – in fact, I did it to the point that Felix Wong (黃日華) [TN: lead actor in the series] really hated me for it.  Of course I know that it’s frustrating for the cast and crew, but unfortunately, all these years, I haven’t been able to change it.  Actually though, these past two years I’ve done less of it and when I do, I try to do it earlier.  It’s true that I’m not able to give the cast a complete script in a timely manner, but I do provide a complete scene summary as well as rough draft to everyone.  The rough draft wasn’t written by a newbie scriptwriter [TN: as is often the habit in the industry] – it was handled in a serious manner and edits were made where necessary.  Each person in the cast was very clear on what their role would be, it’s just that they couldn’t study or prepare the dialogue because they had to wait for me to write it.  To be honest though, in comparisons to past series, I already did the least amount of on-the-fly editing with Beauty at War.

Sometimes I would feel pessimistic and the thought would come into my mind:  when a ship is about to sink, there will always be people who’d rather play mouse and try to escape first – this is truly the feeling I got this time around.  But when I look internally, I know that I can’t deflect blame either because I truly do have this bad habit – doesn’t matter how much or how little I do it – it’s still an issue and it negatively impacts the cast. 

I actually already knew a long time ago that Sheren always requests to have the script early, so I prioritize and always try to get her the script earlier than everyone else.  Why haven’t the other artists said anything?   She describes it as only herself speaking out and everyone else kept quiet, which makes it sound like the others are just putting up with it and indulging my bad habit – that’s unfair to the other artists.  They [the cast] are all aware of my bad habit, as [producer] Jonathan Chik (戚其義) puts in a lot of effort to clearly communicate with the cast ahead of time in the hopes of minimizing the negative impact of getting the script late.  Some artists that we’ve worked with for many years – Moses Chan (陈豪) and Ada Choi (蔡少芬) for example – understand this and don’t have a problem with it.  However, just because they are used to it doesn’t mean it’s ok for me to do it – I recognize that I definitely have issues and I’ve truly been wasting the artists’ time.

ND:  The ratings recently plunged to 19 [now 18] points.  When you wrote this script, any idea that it would be unpopular?

YM:  We had already anticipated that the ratings definitely wouldn’t be as high as War and Beauty, but we didn’t expect that the ratings would be this low.  Also, the number of audiences who gave up on watching the series was more than we expected.  I know that we lost a lot of younger audiences as well as mothers and housewives – even my mom gave up on watching, as she’s always felt that the series I write aren’t that good.  Those still watching Beauty at War aren’t traditional audiences. 

My friends often tell me that they feel I’m a bit contemptuous and have somewhat of a ‘temper’ – I admit that I’m a willful person.   But one thing I’ve understood since back in the day when I was writing stage plays for theaters is that, as a writer, it’s impossible to not want to communicate with audiences.  If the audiences sitting there have no reaction and have no clue what you’re saying, it’s definitely not a good thing.  Of course I want to interact with audiences, but I’m not trying to do it in a highbrow manner. 

I truly believe [that the poor reception for BAW] isn’t because audiences ‘don’t understand’ the series, rather, they dislike the series and feel that it’s boring – to me, this is a different matter altogether.   It might sound ironic, but that’s the disadvantage of doing sequels.  Some people complained that the sequel totally ruined their good impression of the original War and Beauty – to be honest, I once regretted writing the sequel too, as I felt it was an arduous and thankless task.  But later on, when my mind had cleared a bit, I realized that it [writing the sequel] wasn’t necessarily a bad thing – at the very least, it allowed me to review my previous work (the original War and Beauty series) and come to the realization that [the series] wasn’t as ‘perfect’ as I had thought.  Audiences like watching all that palace fighting and scheming stuff, but it was all just a small part of the plot – it was pretty much just using certain techniques and tricks to ‘fool’ the audiences.  Basically, all of that wasn’t the main point of what I wanted to write – actually, my intended focus was more on ‘feelings’ and ‘relationships’.  With that said, I do understand that every person will have displaced memories of  even the most beautiful of things – this applies to audiences and to me as well.

I admit that the failure this time [poor reception of BAW] rests entirely on the script.  Perhaps it was written too pretentiously, the pace was too slow…and the complaints about on-the-fly editing – these are all facts.

ROUND 2

‘Showdown’ -- Characters:  the success and failure of the ‘Consort Yu’ character

[Sheren gives her perspective….]

ND:  You said that you’re afraid to re-watch your performance [in Beauty at War].  Is it because you feel the performance as ‘Consort Yu’ wasn’t as good as last time?

ST:  Yes.  I feel I didn’t do a good enough job this time around and there were a lot of flaws.  For this performance, I did something that I don’t normally do – that is, I went into it without having the slightest idea how I should portray the character of ‘Consort Yu’ this time around.  I really wanted to portray the character well, but I was virtually clueless about the character – I didn’t know what type of person she was or what the purpose of her actions was.  In the past, I’m usually able to explain the characters I portray to reporters, but this time around, I don’t have a good grasp of the character.  To be honest, the ‘decision’ of how to portray this character wasn’t really in my hands – because of the problems I encountered with my body [the effects of the mood disorder], the ‘decision’ was really determined by my health situation at the time.

ND:  Overall, most audiences still aren’t able to accept the type of drama series where only selective audiences understand what is going on, such as with the series that Chow Yuk Ming writes.  Do you feel that Yuk Ming’s effort at ‘creativity’ this time around was a failure?

ST:  I wouldn’t use ‘success’ or ‘failure’ to describe it.  In my opinion, such a ‘lightly flavored’ drama as Beauty at War isn’t really suited for a TV series.  But of course, I understand that true creativity requires free expression of the arts, so it’s hard to be completely utilitarian – in order to be creative, one will need to take risks.  To be honest, I have no problem with portraying a gentle, weak  feminine character and actually am very glad to be given the chance to do so.  Of course I already knew going into it that this new ‘Consort Yu’ won’t ‘stand out’ like my characters in Rosy Business and No Regrets did, but that’s fine because it was a new challenge for me – after all, as an actress, I don’t want to continue playing the same types of roles all the time.  This is why I didn’t interfere at all with how Yuk Ming and Jonathan wanted to ‘design’ the character of Consort Yu for the sequel.  Instead, I told them that I already anticipated they wouldn’t repeat the same character traits from last time -- so basically I was fine with them doing the sequel differently.

[Scriptwriter Chow Yuk Ming gives his perspective….]

ND:  Sheren herself was a bit confused on whether this ‘different’ Consort Yu was the right direction to take.   For example – the character always seems to be praying to Buddha and it seems there is not enough ‘drama’ to her.  Sheren indicated that if she were to give the ‘old’ Consort Yu (from WAB) a score of 80 points, she would only give the ‘new’ Consort Yu (from BAW) a score of 50 points.

YM:  All I can say is that this time around, Consort Yu is a completely different character.  We had originally intended to give the audiences a little variety [by presenting a completely different Consort Yu], but didn’t really have confidence whether audiences would like it. 

To use the example of cooking – if you add seasonings to a dish, of course it’s going to taste good, but does that mean that you must add seasoning every single time you cook that dish?  If the seasoning was the only thing that made the dish taste good, then there’s no need for the chef to spend time specially preparing the dish.  In the industry, the ‘fast-food’ method of handling a series is common practice, but sometimes, it’s necessary to give a different ‘flavor’ and deviate from the norm a bit.  If I were to carry over the same Consort Yu from WAB into the sequel, a small group of audiences will probably complain about the lack of ‘creativity’, but majority of audiences definitely wouldn’t mind and probably would still tune in to watch.   From the beginning, I had already made it clear that I didn’t want to write about palace infighting again [hence the creation of a ‘softer, nicer’ Consort Yu], but it seems that the audiences’ wish was to see a ‘domineering’ Consort Yu similar to the original series – there’s nothing I can do about this.  To me, the Consort Yu from the first installment could pretty much be summed up in 2 sentences.

When it comes to sequels, our general practice [most TVB producers/scriptwriters] is to understand what audiences liked from the first installment and base the sequel off these elements in the hopes of meeting audiences’ expectations.  The Rosy Business franchise is a good example of this – audiences really loved Sheren’s Fourth Mistress in Rosy Business, so it makes sense that in the sequel, we would give audiences a similarly strong character in Cheng Gou Mui – this way, the audiences are happy.  Of course we [himself and Jonathan Chik] understand the ‘techniques’ that go into doing a sequel, but we just didn’t want to follow the ‘traditional’ model.  Instead, we chose to take a much riskier alternative route and very irresponsibly used the company’s money to do something that we knew wouldn’t reap much reward.  We also chose to use a more figurative, less traditional method of linking the sequel and its predecessor together.  It was definitely a gamble though – not a gamble of whether we would have luck on our side again or not, but rather, a gamble of whether audiences’ tastes would be more ‘open’ and be willing to accept such an unconventional series.  With the current poor ratings, I can’t blame the audiences for not being open-minded enough though – I admit that this time around, the way I handled things [the story and overall script] was definitely problematic.

ND:  Will Consort Yu’s character continue to be so insipid and ‘weak’ in the latter half of the series?  Or will there be a ‘change’ to the character down the road?

YM:  Consort Yu’s position is actually quite clear.  In the first series, she’s very smart and knows that there are certain things she wants in life, so she endlessly fights for what she wants and harms many people in the process.  In the sequel, she is still very smart, but the difference is that she doesn’t ‘want’ anything this time around, so there is less conflict, however, due to her high position [amongst the emperor’s concubines in the palace], she will always be a ‘target’ for others to attack.  Of course, Consort Yu isn’t going to remain ‘passive’ the entire series – as the story develops, she will go through some changes that make sense based on the situations that occur.  Personally, I didn’t want Consort Yu to go through changes in the latter part of the series, but I understand that at the end of the day, TV series are a form of entertainment, so it’s necessary to include some ‘twists and turns’ in the plot to keep audiences entertained.  There will certainly be some ‘twists and turns’ coming up in the plot, but it won’t be what audiences expect or are used to seeing.

ROUND 3

‘Showdown’ – Audiences and TV Market:  What about the poor reception for BAW?

[Sheren gives her perspective….]

ND:  Do you agree with majority audience’s perspective that BAW is ‘not good’, ‘boring’, ‘hard to understand’?

ST:   If the audiences don’t ‘buy’ the series and aren’t willing to accept it, of course we have to admit it and take responsibility – but that doesn’t mean that I’m spurning the series.  I completely accept the fact that audiences don’t like BAW or don’t have the patience to watch the series – there’s nothing wrong with this, as everyone as their own interests and audiences have the right to not like a series.  I know that Chow Yuk Ming and Jonathan Chik have many die-hard fans, so there will always be audiences out there who appreciate their series.  For those who don’t like the series, it’s unfair to say that they just don’t understand it or don’t know how to appreciate it – the reality is, these types of things can’t be forced.  The series has definitely ignited some controversies with comments being both positive and negative – I feel that there are many good things about the series, but at the same time, there’s also definite room for improvement. 

ND:  Personally, what do you feel is the biggest problem with this series that has caused so many audiences to give up on it?

ST:  I feel that the biggest problem is with the script’s framework – the storyline is too choppy and scattered.   For example, there would be a few scenes talking about Consort Yu with her son [5^th Prince] and just when audiences start to become engaged in the story, the next scene suddenly talks about a completely different character.  To be honest, when I was reading the script, this was also an area that confused me as well.  We have to understand that when most audiences watch series, they will naturally gravitate towards certain characters and become ‘attached’ to them on an emotional level – when you have a storyline that jumps back and forth too much between too many characters, it can be too exhaustive for audiences to follow.  I feel that if we truly care about the audiences, then it’s necessary to accept different feedbacks and opinions.  I don’t doubt Yuk Ming’s talent at all, but when there are concerns, I feel they should be raised.  Of course there’s a ‘fire’ in me – if not, I wouldn’t be the ‘lone dissenter’ and say such ‘unfavorable’ things.  It’s actually very simple – just like with the series itself, some people will like it and some people won’t!

[Scriptwriter Chow Yuk Ming gives his perspective….]

ND:  What do you feel was the most regrettable thing about Beauty at War?

YM:  Most regrettable is that we actually edited out a lot of stuff.  People often ask why our [Chow Yuk Ming/Jonathan Chik] series are so ‘confusing’ and ‘unclear’ -- it always seems as though too much is being ‘implied’ and nothing is explained clearly.  The reason is because of the editing.  We understand that the pace of the series may be too slow, so in our haste to adjust this, sometimes the editing decisions may not have been entirely thought out.  There’ve been times when we’d cut out entire segments because we were afraid those [segments] would drag down the pacing – as a result, certain parts of the storyline end up being ‘implied’ rather than drawn out with a clear explanation.

I actually have quite a deep affection for Beauty at War – for me, it’s a very personal thing.   As I told you guys previously, BAW is a love letter – it’s a very personal expression of my feelings and in a sense, it’s a bit egotistical.  I know very well which parts of the original War and Beauty series I loved most and which segments were most sentimental for me, so with the sequel, I’m actually ‘interacting’ with my own self from 9 years ago – it’s a gratifying experience, but at the same time, it’s a bit irresponsible.  This is why there will undoubtedly be a group of people out there who will love Beauty at War immensely, to the point of being irrational – the so-called ‘die-hard fans’.  I admit that treating BAW as a personal expression of my feelings wasn’t a rational way of handling this project at all – at the time, I was about to leave TVB and since this would be my final project, I put a lot more of my own personal feelings and emotions into the script than I should have.

ND:  In your opinion, why do you think so many audiences gave up on watching this series?

YM:  It’s similar to encountering a huge mountain in front of you and not wanting to climb it because it’s too difficult…in reality, the mountain is not as high as you think and there was never the need to climb it in the first place -- from the beginning, we had already decided to take a different route.  But of course, audiences will think: ‘Are you kidding me? You’re not giving me want I want!’  We took a risk and hoped that people wouldn’t abandon us, but we realize we guessed wrong – the number of people who gave up on us was way more than we expected.  I know that the series is a bit of a ‘niche’ series that fits the tastes of only a small group of audiences, but overall, I don’t feel that this is a ‘bad’ series.  Was the production hastily put together without a care?  No – we took this production more seriously than most other series.  Problem with the acting?  No – the actors and actresses all put more effort into this performance than they had in previous performances.   Then that means the fault lies with the script.  I admit that this is the case, so if someone needs to take the blame, then blame me.

ND:  Do you feel the series is a bit too ‘artistic’ with too many poetic elements to it, resulting in a lack of climactic plot that is necessary to push the pace steadily forward?   This is one area where audiences have expressed impatience with the series.

YM:  I understand…but the stuff that audiences want they are already able to get with other series such as The Legend of Zhen Huan (甄嬛传) and Bu Bu Jing Xing (步步惊心), for example, so why should I follow the same path?   From a creativity standpoint, there are many different schools of thought:  some understand clearly what the audiences want and try to do everything they can to satisfy the audiences while some understand clearly what the audiences want , but hope to show them something different that perhaps they [the audiences] have never seen before.  The former is of an ‘operational’ mindset where the ‘numbers’ and calculations are very important and providing consumers with what they want is the utmost goal; the latter has a merely ‘creative’ mindset who will put their own personal ‘stuff’ into the process – stuff that has special meaning for them. 

For many years now, Jonathan [Chik] and I have stubbornly chosen to take the ‘creative’ path rather than the ‘operational’ one.  With the ‘creative’ path, there are bound to be a few ‘missteps’ here and there – for example, with BAW, there were definitely some things that didn’t work.  This type of creativity is way too personal – even those ‘die-hard’ audiences who are normally very supportive of us found [the series] too exhaustive and really tested their patience, so imagine how regular mainstream audiences must feel!    I admit that this time around, I was a bit too selfish and focused too much on being in my own world.  In many respects, I ended up fulfilling my own needs with this series more than the audience’s needs – the result is that we ended up losing more audiences than anticipated.

Of course I feel disappointed as well, but what’s done is done – the pace for the rest of the series isn’t going to be too much faster than it is currently, it’s just that for the ending, there will be some climactic elements and we’ll go back to using some of the common ‘techniques’ to help engage audiences a bit more.  But to be honest, I’m not holding out hope that audiences will come back and pick up the series again – the moment audiences dislike a series and stop watching it, there isn’t a whole lot we can do to regain them back.

.********.

ND Daily Exclusive:  Sheren responds to recent rumors

In a follow-up interview with ND Daily, Sheren also took the opportunity to respond to a few of the recent ‘rumors’ and negative reports about her.  Below is a summary from that interview…

ND:  What are your thoughts on Chow Yuk Ming’s ‘sinking ship’ analogy?  Are you truly trying to ‘jump ship’? 

Sheren:  I had mentioned my mood disorder thing prior to the series even airing, so to say that I’m using that as an excuse only now because of the low ratings is ridiculous!   I’m not the type of person who feels the need to ‘strike when I lose and claim glory when I win’.  Speaking out about issues doesn’t mean I’m trying to deflect blame – if I already boarded the ship, of course I’m not going to try to jump off it.  I’ve lived for so many years and have been in the industry for so long, I definitely understand what loyalty and righteousness mean, so why would I even try to jump off the ship?   ‘Consort Yu’ is such an important character in the series, how is it possible for me to abandon ship?   No matter what the ratings or critical acclaim for the series end up being, I must endure it along with everyone else on the ship.  If I truly had any thought about jumping ship, I would have already done so earlier during filming when the problems with my health started to occur!   

I feel that we all need to face reality and not cover up things with flowery words -- my real-life personality is actually quite similar to that of Consort Yu from War and Beauty.   Perhaps the people who keep telling audiences to ‘give [the series] a little more time and patience’ are just trying to get more people to watch the series – when I first started participating in promo events for the series, I also said the same thing, but after the series started airing, I saw the various feedback and opinions about the series.  I feel it’s necessary to reflect on audience’s feedback and try to understand what types of problems the cast and crew may have encountered during filming.  Just because I bring up things I was unhappy with during the filming process doesn’t mean I have no affection towards the series and it definitely doesn’t mean that I’m bashing the series as ‘bad’!   Basically, I’m not trying to ‘abandon ship’.

ND:  Why didn’t you show up at promo events?

ST:  When I saw the reports that I was being ‘uncooperative’ with the promotion for the series, I was shocked!    The truth is that the reporter asked me in a seemingly serious tone: “Why didn’t you go film the promotional clip?  Seems like they asked all of the other artists but didn’t ask you?”  I had no clue what the reporter was talking about, so I responded:  “Huh?  They asked me to film a promo clip? No, they didn’t.”   I had actually already forgotten about the conversation after that, so why would I complain about not being included?  Unfortunately, though, the reporter didn’t forget and by the time I figured out what was going on, the headlines were already out that I had lashed out about the promo clip incident.

ND:  How about the rumors of being at odds with Jonathan Chik and Chow Yuk Ming?

ST:   I was definitely unhappy with the ‘zero script’ – if I had known earlier that there would be ‘zero script’, I definitely would not have collaborated with them.  In the future, I won’t film any series that don’t have a complete script.   I’m not trying to pick on them – it’s just that when you get bitten by a snake once, wouldn’t you be scared too?  With all the fear and helplessness I experienced during filming [due to the mood disorder brought on by the lack of script], of course I am going to speak out about it, as I want everyone to know that this type of method [on-the-fly scripts] doesn’t work.

ND:  What about the rumors of being at odds with Christine Ng?

ST:  Why would I look down upon Christine?  Those rumors are unfounded!  Remember, 9 years ago, when Gigi Lai (黎姿) and I held each other’s hand during promotion, it was reported that we were ‘pretending to get along’, then when I didn’t hold her hand, it was reported that I ‘looked down on her’?    That’s how rumors are.  Again, why would I look down upon Christine?  When filming the series, I had the most scenes with her and the two of us got along well.  All of us have been working hard to promote the series – Christine headed up the first wave of promotion, I’m responsible for the second wave, and Ada [Choi] for the third wave.  I feel that there’s no need to turn this situation into some conspiracy theory thing like in the series, especially since all along, our collaboration has been a happy one!