Dances with Sharkmen 2

Cont'd from Dances with Sharkmen 1

My Chek Jawa video gave me confidence; what I was doing could make a difference.

At the David Doubilet and Stan Waterman presentations back in 2002, I was introduced to Victor Wu by a diver friend codename : Fat Allan. I learnt that Victor worked for an NGO called WildAid and he was the sole representative in Singapore. His speciality? Sharks!

As a kid, I grew up eating sharks fin soup. No questions asked. It was a dish that was served at special occasions, an expensive dish fit only for an emperor. I never asked how it got there, how it was killed, what happens to the rest of the shark!

It wasn't til I took up diving and started watching National Geographic and Discovery Channel that I learnt more about this dish that I'd been consuming all these years. Meeting Vic, someone who's dedicated his life to a great cause right here in Singapore, was awe-inspiring! And Singapore, a country where sharks fin is fast becoming a staple for any sort of occasion with a cause to celebrate, needs a hero.

Fat Allan and I spent some time discussing with Victor about how we could help the cause against shark-finning. We came up with a game plan to conduct a survey to collect data about your regular Singaporean's knowledge about sharks and their sharks-fin eating habits. We devised a list of questions which we'd solicited strangers on the street to fill in during WildAid public events. We also sent a mass email soliciting answers from family and friends. This project was eventually abandoned when someone broached the issue that the data collected probably couldn't be used as we did not engage a professional survey company. And most of the friends / relatives forwarded were probably conservationists, so we would effectively be receiving data from the converted!

What else could I do?

In early October that year, WildAid embarked on a Whaleshark Balloon Tour in 2002 which saw a life-sized 16 metre helium-filled whaleshark tour 3 major countries. The "Axis of Evil" (as definned sharks would have coined them) where sharks fin is in high demand : Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore. The tour was to end at the Cites 2002 meeting held from 3 - 15 November 2002 in Santiago, Chile. Important decisions for the protection of shark species were to be voted on at this meeting. It was the first time I'd ever heard of CITES!

Victor had taken footage of local celebrities in Taiwan and Hong Kong and asked if I could help with the Singaporean leg. I snuck out during lunchtime and ran towards the Singapore Cricket Club where a press conference was held. Lo and behold, our celebrity was none other than Gurmit Singh, whom I'd video-ed at several Camp Sunshine events organised for terminally-ill children. Good on ya, Phua Chu Kang! I captured footage of Gurmit speaking passionately about whalesharks at the Padang where the balloon was anchored.

But I still lacked footage of a real-life whaleshark swimming in its natural habitat! I'd seen whalesharks and other sharks countless of times during my prior dive trips, but I hadn't taken up videography back then! Well, if I didn't have the footage, I can't wait for it to fall from the sky! Go out there and grab it!

The end of the year marks the start of the monsoon where whaleshark sightings are almost guaranteed during weekend dive trips to Anambas. When veteran diver Davy Koh mentioned there was a trip leaving late October 2002, I immediately jumped on that opportunity! Despite my second-hand housing equipment going on strike on me, I managed to capture decent footage of the little whaleshark that miraculously appeared as if an answer to my prayers! A delightful report of the trip was written by a fellow German lady technie diver by the name of Rose.

Armed with sufficient beauty whaleshark footage, I did a short promo piece called "The Kiss" which was screened at the next WildAid event held at Hard Rock Cafe, Singapore. Victor then spoke to the audience about what transpired at the CITES meeting with accompanying footage. In hindsight, HRC was probably not the best place as the noise got heavier and the crowds got rowdier.

Victor passed me a bunch of tapes, including footage of local Indian fishermen hunting and killing whale sharks taken by internationally reknown filmmaker Mike Pandey in 1999, and of the "tofu" shark (as it is known in Taiwan) being prepared by a chef in Taiwan. We went through a several drafts of the a script incorporating the whaleshark balloon tour video and the CITES outcome. I thought I didn't have sufficient footage of the whaleshark killing and almost engaged a cartoonist friend to re-enact those scenes. I dropped the cartoon idea as it just took up too much time.

Next, how to source for original music which fits the bill. Leonard Ng, a fellow lawyer by profession, is a prolific musician and had produced a couple of CDs. I have always loved his songs, and I didn't think twice about using the other songs in his album for this video. He was always generous in giving his support. I was such a slave to his music that I plonked his songs on the editing timeline and then began to choose the images. I would listen to his CD repeatedly on my way to work and picture in my head how to fit footage to music. I also approached another musician, Neil of local band NightSound, for the closing song. For the fillers, I just rented a Korg Karma and tinkered around with the range of musical instruments.

Next on the list - how to convey the message to the audience? Voiceover or words? I always preferred the former, as the latter was too high a variable and could make or break the mood of the short film. I called upon my copywriter friend, Camelia, who conducted extensive research on the topic before spending a couple of nights in front of my computer discussing which words to use.

When it all came together, I tested the impact of the video on my then housemate and a couple of friends. The silence and teary-eyed look on their faces at the end of the screening convinced me....the video mattered! :)

Vic has since moved onto another NGO and sadly, without a replacement for the Shark Conservation Program. I really suck at marketing and am quite a pathetic public speaker, so I'd jsut have to let my videos do the talking....and others like Siva who was able to bring the video to the masses with his superb oratorical prowess.

If you feel moved by the message about the plight of the sharks, please forward the video to others you feel the need to share it with.