A 007 parody
Posted on February 8, 2005
I received a video art assignment that read:
Though relatively young, the use of video as a medium has already developed into various genres… Each of these has established a certain format that is readily acceptable by a board public in a smooth uncritical way… All I am asking you in this project is to look at one of these traditions and cast doubt on them through disruption.
Basically, I needed to find one or more points in a use of video and replace the element with something else to find out the results. Initially I wanted to use footage from Friends and replace the dialogues with something unintelligible to the common people but preserving the annoying laughing tracks. But I did not really like the idea, because I needed voices of various people.
So I decided to make fun of my childhood favourite – 007. In Silver Dancer, I wanted to replace the "toys" and gadgets in the Bond movies with real toys, whilst retaining the classy cinematography, and action sequences.
But time was not on my side. I had only 5 days left when the idea was solidified. However, I still went ahead to write a "script" that includes a scene to introduce the agent with a license to kill to a room of computers where he copied off classified files, but in doing so triggered the alarm.
He then escapes from the building, only to be chased by goons. A bicycle chase scene is then possible, with nice "missile" firing between them.
Progress and Results
Being inexperienced with action sequences, I underestimated the time required to shoot the video. I skipped the storyboards because I thought it was unnecessary.
That was not quite a smart move. As I have learned but never quite remembered, planning now saves time later. I took forever to compose shots during the first day of shooting, achieving only 1/3 of my goals. Many of them needed to be reshot on the next day. Furthermore, I had a hard time finding a place to shoot the computer room scene, because the rooms in school were all occupied.
So the computer room scene was dissolved. I had to drop the bike chase scene as well due to time constraints. I also had a hard time finding sound effects for it.
Luckily, He Nan, a generous friend of mine was willing to help me shoot for two days. I had the second day a second chance to rewrite the script and re-shoot the scenes that were discovered to be inadequate on the night I went editing.
The results were not bad, although too short. I wished, during the rewriting, that I included more shootout scenes during the escape – somersaults, jumping down a flight of stairs, guard rolling down the stairs, fist fights, etc.
Perhaps Another Day.
Trivia
- The opening white circle following white circle sequence was taken directly from "Die Another Day"
- The shooting location was at University of Windsor, Canada.
- Guns were purchased at Dollarama for CAD 1 each. Ammunition included.
- I played Bond and the guards. He Nan played the first guard that got shot.
- The costume for the guards included my bike helmet, goggles and dust mask painted in black, blue, green and yellow.
- Bond's gun shot sound effects were taken from "Die Another Day". Guards' machine gun effects were from… a website I can't remember.
- Guards' bicycles were going to be Jaguars.
- The tracking shot where Bond ran down a corridor was amazingly diffcult to shoot. It took 4 rehearsels and 7 takes.
Goofs
- There is no snow in Laos, even in high mountains.
- Different amount of sunlight and angle of the sun at the outdoor shots.
- Bond and the guard wore the same necklace.
- Errors in the credit roll. In particular, the gun barrel sequences were not taken from "The World is Not Enough"