The Best Director

In the azure sky, over a dozen ordinary white helicopters bearing the MNU logo and five camouflaged armed helicopters hovered in their respective positions on standby. On an ordinary helicopter, Wang Yang, who had fastened his seatbelt, stood at the cabin door, listening to the loud rumbling noise made by the rotating propellers. Through the viewfinder in his hands, he gazed at the Soweto slums below.

The Soweto slum is located to the south of central Johannesburg and is the largest slum in Africa. Its area has now reached 120 square kilometers and includes 33 towns, inhabited by nine black tribes including Xhosa and Zulu. Unlike other slums, it also has some brick houses, even beautiful, large houses built by wealthy black people. However, the area beneath the helicopter consisted entirely of dilapidated tin shanties, their roofs laden with bricks, rags, and other debris.

“Can we fly a bit more to the right, try thirty meters!” Wang Yang shouted towards the pilot’s seat. The pilot, Brandon, gave a thumbs-up and responded, “Roger that!” Aside from the pilot, there was also a flight technician, along with cameraman Harry George, a lighting technician, and several other members of the camera crew on the helicopter.

After Wang Yang issued the order, the helicopter immediately rumbled toward the right. The strong wind gusted against his face, whipping up his hair and making his cheeks slightly painful. He kept an eye on the images in the viewfinder. Once he adjusted to a suitable camera angle, he yelled, “Stop here!” At the entrance to the slums below, on a potholed dirt road, over thirty white mine-resistant armored vehicles were lined up, as well as several camouflaged armored vehicles, all on standby. The footage soon to be filmed primarily consisted of connecting shots, such as a convoy of armored vehicles entering District 9 with an aura of menace and aerial troops swooping across the sky.

To capture these shots well, and to do it quickly and efficiently, the crew had prepared in advance, rehearsing positions during script readings; they also had eight cameras shooting from all angles—three in the air, directed by Wang Yang; five on the ground, with Wally Strant overseeing them at the front of the convoy, at the back, and from a distant front angle… Each camera was manned by an assistant director or a photography assistant, all to ensure that footage from different perspectives was captured.

“Hmm, this position is pretty good.” Wang Yang put down the viewfinder hanging around his neck and picked up the walkie-talkie on his waist. “Wally, Wally, this is Yang. Are you all set? OVER.” Wally’s slightly hoarse voice immediately came through the walkie-talkie, “Everything is ready, OVER.” Wang Yang grunted in acknowledgment and said, “Proceed to the final check phase. ‘Lightning Action’ officially starts in five minutes, OVER.”

He smiled as he put down the walkie-talkie and turned to look back, saying, “Hey, fatty, what are you doing standing there? Come over here!”

Harry George, the cameraman, slowly shuffled over, his plump face full of nervousness as he stuttered, “Man, I think I might be afraid of heights. I’m really scared…” Wang Yang laughed heartily and, holding the doorframe, extended his foot as if to kick the chubby man, cursing and joking, “Damn fatso, who are you kidding! If you complain one more time, I’ll kick you out!”

Amidst the rumble, everyone on the helicopter burst into laughter, the tenseness on Harry George’s face dissolved, and with resolve, he lifted his head and camera and declared, “Alright, I’m a warrior!”

“Fatso, remember?” Wang Yang looked at the bearded Harry, suddenly recalling something, as if it were a long time ago or just a few days past. He smiled and said, “Donald and Heaton.” A flash of confusion crossed Harry’s chubby face as he furrowed his brows in thought, then suddenly he burst out laughing, “Ah! Donald and Heaton, the full-panoramic aerial shot!”

Wang Yang nodded with a smile. Back then, they were in McDonald’s, pointing at the TV, discussing how to shoot a series of cross-cutting montages for “Donald and Heaton”… He looked out at the blue sky, white clouds, and the minuscule model-like slums below, spreading his arms and proclaiming, “Boom, boom, boom, this is the helicopter.” Harry gazed down below, his eyes sparkling with excitement, inhaling deeply and asserting, “This is the full- panoramic aerial shot!”

“OK, everyone, take your places!” Wang Yang clapped his hands vigorously, and everyone responded and picked up their equipment. He spoke into the walkie-talkie, “This is Yang, all units listen up, acknowledge when you’re ready, OVER.” Then the other seven camera units all responded with “Ready,” “All set,”… Wang Yang took a deep breath, looking at the ground convoy and surrounding helicopters, and shouted, “Guys, Lightning Action, Action!”

At the signal to start, the armored convoy immediately fired up their engines and drove one by one into the slum enclosed by fencing. The helicopters in the sky followed their predetermined flight paths, and as the convoy slowly came to a halt, a host of MNU security and District 9 site managers jumped out of each white armored vehicle, fanning out toward the ramshackle tin huts all around.

“CUT!” Seeing the performance of the shot was over, Wang Yang shouted for a stop, and then asked through the machine to Wally Strant and others, “How was it?”

This kind of shot didn’t involve actor performances and didn’t have any special effects issues, so the key was whether the photographers could complete their tasks well. Harry George gave a thumbs up with a smile, “Director, no problems on my end!” Voices from Wally and the others came one after another from the machine, “Shot beautifully!” “Perfect performance.”… Wang Yang hummed in satisfaction and shouted, “Well guys, let’s get ready for the next series of shots! Let’s try to finish these scenes today!”

Today marked the tenth day since the “District 9” crew arrived in South Africa. Long before the shoot in Vancouver, The Producers’ Stephen Cauley had come to Johannesburg to arrange matters, including finding suitable slum areas, dealing with the local government and security companies, and renting these helicopters and armored vehicles… Upon their arrival in Johannesburg, Wang Yang confirmed several scenes in Soweto on the first day and started shooting on the second. Everyone’s efficiency and enthusiasm were very high, hoping to finish shooting early and go home for Christmas.

It had been less than three months since 9/11, a time when everyone was on edge, almost all crews were cancelling outdoor shoots, including in Australia, Hong Kong, and the entirety of Hollywood refused to step outside America. Meanwhile, “District 9” headed to South Africa, to the dangerous slums no less. The media dubbed it “putting the film before their lives,” and fans sent their blessings, hoping the wondrous Yang and the whole crew could return safely.

In reality, Soweto was not as dangerous as imagined, with South Africa’s most dangerous slums being in Durban’s “city of murder,” Kwa Mashu. Of course, Soweto wasn’t some utopia either. Besides hiring a dozen professional bodyguards from an Israeli security company in America, the crew also signed a contract with Johannesburg’s local Nicholls-Steyn & Associates company to be responsible for security throughout the shooting. The cost of security for the crew would be at least $3 million US Dollars.

Don’t drive around carelessly, lock your car doors when driving, don’t stop for strangers, carry some small change, and don’t resist if you’re robbed… However, these risks were not high for the crew, who either came to Soweto with armored vehicles leading the way under heavy protection, or stayed quietly in the hotels in central Johannesburg. Nobody came here for tourism.

Shooting in Soweto went quite smoothly and mostly as expected. The crew didn’t have any conflict with the locals. Before setting out, Wang Yang had instructed every member to respect the local people! After arriving in the slums to confirm the filming locations, the crew distributed many gifts to the local children, including chocolates, Coca-Cola and other foods, footballs, basketballs, rugby balls, and some toys; they were also planning to fund the construction of several basketball hoops.

These actions changed the locals’ attitude from “hostility” to “suspicion” and they agreed to their filming. And certain individuals with ill intentions, facing the armed bodyguards, dared not make any rash moves.

“Helicopter 13, please move about ten meters to the left!” Wang Yang was looking through the viewfinder out at the sky while giving orders through the communicator to adjust the position of the helicopters. The helicopter carrying them circled sideways, right in front of the hatch was the helicopter fleet. The next shot to film was their coordinated flight toward the alien spaceship, but for now, they were just setting up formations.

Following his command, the helicopter on the left immediately moved into position. Watching nearly twenty helicopters rumbling into place, Wang Yang nodded and said to Harry George beside him, “Buddy, get ready.” Harry took a deep breath and squatted down, shouldering the camera aimed forward. Wang Yang looked back at the pilot seat and shouted, “Brandon, when I say action, just control it to rise slowly, OK?”

“Roger that!” Brandon shouted back. Wang Yang double-checked with the viewfinder and then picked up the communicator to announce, “Everyone get ready!” After a short pause, he shouted again, “3, 2,1, Action!”

Rumbling—the vast blue sky under the scorching sun, the massive group of helicopters flew forward. There was no spaceship, just a blue sky, the slums below, and Johannesburg in the distance.

“Mom, come out and look, so many planes!” At the doorway of a rusty iron shack, a black child playing in the mud suddenly jumped up excitedly, looking up at the helicopters flying overhead amidst the “rumble” of engines, hopping and shouting excitedly, “So many planes! One, two…”

The word count is a bit low today; sorry guys, I’ll rest up and keep at it with full force!