INTERVIEW
[InC-terview] ‘So Bright’ Cast and Director Share their Thoughts on Making Singapore’s 1st Chinese Musical Web Series.
By Flora / 27 Aug 2018 (Monday)
Photo Credit: Sentang Entertainment's Facebook
Bunz, Aden Tan and Jannassa Neo, together with director Wen Han, aka Isukuta, shared with InCinemas their memories filming ‘So Bright’, as well as their personal journeys of making a leap to chase their dreams.
It all started with an idea, a song that was written years ago, and a team of dedicated individuals who never stopped at pursuing their passion. When they got together in 2017, it’s a birth of their passion project - Singapore’s first mandarin musical web series, no less. And their 8-episode series is not surprisingly, about chasing one’s dreams.
Released on their YouTube and Facebook channels over the course of 8 weeks since June, ‘So Bright’ has garnered positive reviews about their feel-good story and catchy tunes.
“Reactions (to ‘So Bright’) have exceeded our expectations. When we started on this project, we didn’t have much of a following. Despite not having much promotion for the musical, we had pretty good views. This is a very new kind of concept that is not seen often,” shares Bunz, who plays the conceited Ah Ji in the series.
He adds: “It’s a sense of accomplishment for all of us because we spent so much time and effort on it.”
Photo Credit: Sentang Entertainment's Facebook
For the female lead, Jannassa Neo, who starred in Toggle's 'The Breakup List', feels that it is the team’s camaraderie and effort that she cherishes dearly. “I think mostly I am inspired by the show and the people involved - in terms of the hard work, the passion for this project, be it for music or acting. The synergy and this friendship are precious to me.”
Neo plays Si Si, the free-spirited photography enthusiast who has feelings for Zi Yi (Tan) ever since they were childhood sweethearts. The series also stars Justin Mission, Hanrey Low, Ben Sng and Benjamin Eio.
It’s not considered a musical if there isn’t some kind of dance choreography in it. And we dare say ‘So Bright’ kicked it up a notch with their dreamy-like couple dance sequences and delightful group numbers throughout the series. Despite the tight timeline, the cast - mainly Neo and Tan -delivered a sweet, adolescent love story that is comparable to your K-dramas (sans the cancer diagnosis subplot).
“We had 3 duets and filmed 3 dance sequences. My favourite has to be the song called ‘Zhi Yao’. This song was filmed as a rooftop scene (between Si Si and Zi Yi). It’s a very emotional and meaningful scene for the story and myself,” quipped Tan, the 26-year-old actor-singer who has appeared on shows such as Channel 5’s ‘Left Behind’ and ‘The Lion Men’.
Aden Tan and Jannassa Neo lovely couple dance. (Photo Credit: Sentang Entertainment's Facebook)
There are about 14 original songs featured in the series, composed and written entirely by Bunz and director Isukuta. “I can’t pick my favourite song,” laughed Isukuta, who hopes to explore different genres of music in the musical.
“In ‘So Bright’, you will see that we incorporated many forms of music. From musical-like numbers to rock, hip-hop and romantic tunes. If we have the chance to film a season 2, I would like to explore more hip-hop music in it.”
The musical, after all, talks about chasing one’s dream. For all aspiring musicians, performers or practically anyone who hopes to pursue their dreams, take heed from the show and from this bunch of performers - “don’t give up”!
Neo encourages dream-chasers to “just go for it because you only live once”. “I think fear is inevitable. You will definitely be insecure (about a lot of things), you fear for the future and about yourself but if you really want it bad enough, you will just do it.”
“Do what you want; do what you love. Overcome your problems and take these obstacles as a stepping stone to achieve what you set out to do,” shares Tan.
Director Isukuta, Jannassa Neo and Aden Tan looking through their shots. (Photo Credit: Sentang Entertainment's Facebook)
Bunz’s journey is quite an inspiring one. He recalls the times he made a couple of wrong choices and bad decisions that marred his music journey as a singer but eventually made his mark after many years of persistence - be it as a singer or a music producer.
“There was a point where I really wanted to give up because I’ve been chasing this dream for about 7 to 8 years. Every time you think that you’ve reached somewhere but you come back down to ground zero (is frustrating).”
Many would have been introduced to Bunz as an actor on Jack Neo’s ‘The Lion Men’, but he initially sent his resume for the role as a music producer instead. “I wanted to write songs for Jack Neo’s movies, but he offered me the chance to act in The Lion Men. It was from there that I started acting and managed to composed certain songs for the boys (Ah Boys To Men cast) as well. Then it got me thinking that this dream is actually possible,” he recounts.
“Somehow, through persistence, fate will somehow pull you back.”
Photo Credit: Sentang Entertainment's Facebook
For the fans of the musical series, it’s time to rejoice as there may be a ‘So Bright 2’ in the pipeline! “We don’t have any concrete storylines written yet, but it’s still going to be something on dreams as we want to encourage people to continue chasing their dreams,” reveals Isukuta.
Meanwhile, the team are looking to release the soundtrack on various digital platforms to share their original music publicly, so look out for that in the coming months, or simply rewatch the entire series as a timely reminder to never stop pursuing your passion.