Guest blogger Jane shares her director’s commentary and production notes for the short film Nanjing Road exclusively with Mer-chan. Get updates on her film here at nanjingroad.mer-chan.com
This didn’t make the final cut in Nanjing Road. The editor said it was too random and it takes a few viewings to understand what’s happening. We only had a film permit for the taoist temple; the park police couldn’t issue one for the outdoor scenes because it was the height of tourist season. So we played it cool, hid in the bushes to let the tourists wander by, and shot our footage like film trolls under the temple bridge. But a tourist spied us and chatted. He asked to take a picture with Jingle. I took it but I think it came out blurry.
Guest blogger Jane shares her director’s commentary and production notes for the short film Nanjing Road exclusively with Mer-chan. Get updates on her film here at nanjingroad.mer-chan.com
Jingle and I shot a lot of tape. We were in Shanghai for two and a half months, and we often used a multiple camera set up. This is probably what kept us together. The cameras were always rolling. As soon as the film was in the can, I guess so was our relationship.
Most of the shots were useless since the completed film clocks in at not even 12 minutes. In the final film, I used the most tape from the camera that he controlled. It looked more intimate to pretend it was a single camera. Single camera setup — sounds like what happens to a camera who’s a great catch but can’t quite meet the right one. This is a rare outdoor night scene. I like the way Jane (that’s the character in the film; I’m not a third person self-namer. The girl in the film just happens to have the same name as me) gets reflected off the glass wall on the right. This ends up in the final film, but is seen through a computer screen as footage that Jane is editing.
Guest blogger Jane, who made the short film Nanjing Road, shares her director’s commentary and production notes exclusively with Mer-chan. Get updates on her film here at nanjing.mer-chan.com
Many people have asked, “Jane, what is this giangxi that you’re talking about? I have no idea what that is!” A ginaxi is a type of Chinese demon that sometime gets translated as a vampire. But giangxi are not like coolly lustful western vampires. Gianxi are the unsettled dead. They have their own set of conventions dictated by folklore and Hong Kongfilm studios.
Jingle, as the gianxi, had to go by the rules of our film. He can’t bend at the knees because of rigor mortis, the bane of the undead. I made him hop for 2 hours in 98° degree (30° C) weather. 100% humidity. Just to get this shot, which I later cut. Kind of makes up for him dumping me.
Guest blogger Jane, who made the short film Nanjing Road, shares her director’s commentary and production notes exclusively to Mer-chan. Get updates on her film at nanjing.mer-chan.com
“Hi from Shanghai!” No, I’ll never get tired of saying that. I made my short film Nanjing Road as a valentine to Shanghai. There are many fantastic films about Shanghai, but a city can never have too many lovers (can’t say the same about a**hole guys who dump you). I love this city! In this blogella (short blog) I chronicle the making of Nanjing Road so come back to nanjingroad.mer-chan.com for deleted scenes, production notes and other updates. Many thanks to Film Independent and Mer-chan for making this happen!
Maybe you already know this since I can’t seem to stop talking about it, but I went to Shanghai and made a short film called Nanjing Road. This is the quickie synopsis: Lovers make a horror movie set against China’s economic expansion. Their relationship sours before the film is completed, and the man abandons his girlfriend and their film. She completes the movie, obsessing over real life and myth.
It stars Ge Jin in as Jingle (the boyfriend / Chinese demon) and me as the girlfriend Jane. Big thanks go out to Ge Jin’s amazing family! I wanted to add deleted scenes and production notes, but decided to let Jane do it since she made the film. Look for her updates here and on a special Nanjing Road site: http://nanjingroad.mer-chan.com.
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