on my first time as a grip boy...

helped out at a friend's video shoot the other day. My first time as a grip*. Always wondered what a grip does, because always see this appears in the credit roll of a film. Well, turns out basically to be a runner for the director and camera-man. Kinda fun, brings back fond memories of secondary school days in the drama club, doing up props and backstage work.

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oh, turns out i know the female lead actress from my university days. Just know her as an acquaintance from my Counter-striking days. Kinda weird, because for the corporate video, she has to act up as a "extra cute-sy" counter girl. there's just two things i cannot reconcile:

1) Back when we were counter-striking days, if my memory still serves me correct^, this girl was a pretty fierce and aggressive player. While I won't call her "Xena: Warrior Princess" or "Harridan Harriet", she can cuss and swear in leetspeak** with the rest of us during a game of counter-strike. So there's a dissonance when i see her being directed by my friend to act extra "kawaii", while underneath I know what she can be like...

2) where to find such a "chio bu" as a counter girl?  okay, she's not say "super choiz". Maybe just the typical/stereotypical male fantasy i.e. long-haired, fair-complexioned, eyes a big bigger than usual and nice teeth. If described like that, "pretty common what" you will think. But usually it's very difficult to find them willing to work behind the desk as front-line counter girls.^^

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Though video-shooting might be fun, it's actually a lot of work. For that 5-10 minutes worth of usable footage, we need to shoot at least 3-4 hours worth of film. This is because got to get the actors warmed up, then have to wait for lighting, then have to wait for big boss to come and give the go-ahead... and so on and so forth. I only did the minimal stuff, and my back was killing me a bit. Can't imagine the ladies who were handling the cameras - how they handled with the stiff necks from holding the cameras in position for such a long time.

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* see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grip_%28job%29

^ afterall, it's been 5 years since I left university days. Memory could have gone all the way downhill... :D

** e.g. "SMLJ??! Chao camper!!!! piangz, gu-niang CT mai zao!!!" oh, these are the milder ones, the more colorful phrases cannot put in print. 儿童不宜

^^ either that, or I haven't been seeing enough of the world. Maybe I should leave my place in front of the laptop and go walk, walk around more often...