Interview with Stanley Tsang and Osric Chau

CHOPSO interviews director Stanley Tsang and actor Osric Chau, the people behind the Weapon 4Y7, a pilot for a new web series that is exclusively streaming on CHOPSO.

C: Tell us what your film is about
[Osric] Our film is about a highly trained agent who goes on a mission to save his commander when he comes across his brother, a traitor he thought had died long ago, who tells him some truths about the organization who raised him whom he never thought to question.

C: Why did you make it?
[Osric] We just wanted to make something. As an Asian actor, the roles available aren’t as plentiful as it could be and the need to step into the role of a creator and storyteller became more and more necessary. This was the first step of a long journey (I hope) and I certainly learned a lot of valuable lessons from this short film.

[Stanley] It was really a practice makes perfect scenario. In Vancouver because Osric and I have been involved in the filmmaking community, we had a chance to work together with people who also wants to hone their skills, and also for some who wanted to tackle a different role/position other than their “bread and butter” position. The short film gave them a more friendly environment to do so- learn, and make mistakes along the way.

C: The hardest part of making was…
[Osric] We could only afford 2 days of shooting and really needed a third for what we were trying to do, so the hardest part of making this was trying to get the quality to the degree that we wanted with such tight time constraints.

[Stanley] The hardest part was putting everything together. Time was a constraint for many, as we had people working in the industry, so scheduling was a problem. Budget was also another problem, as what we planned out to shoot in three days was condensed into two. I’m so glad in the end everyone had managed to find time to come support us and make this happen.

C: The part that was way easier than I thought it was going to be was…
[Osric] I wish I had an answer to this but for me, this was my first real production behind the camera and everything was way harder than I thought it was going to be. Maybe feeding everyone? Cause my mom loves to cook and feed people and offered to cater and be craft services. I love my mom.

[Stanley] I don’t think anything was easy… Every time I would tell myself we should’ve leave more time for pre-production, and at the end of the day, we always need more time. I do believe we had it lucky in terms of weather (it was about to rain, but never did much), and I would say working with people who are professionals has made everything seems easier. Everyone really had a sense of urgency during set, and it was a really good vibe.

C: Best advice you ever got?
[Osric] Fail as fast and as many times as you can while it’s still cheap to do so!

[Stanley] Whoever works the most, works the most.

C: How can people find out what you’re working on? And where can people keep up with you?
[Osric] You can follow me on my socials @osricchau and I do a daily vlogs on life and work on the Osric Chau app (On Google Play or on iTunes.

[Stanley] Because I do a lot of production and post production, it’s hard to keep up with me since I don’t (and usually couldn’t) post much of what I am working on, but please follow my Instagram and I’ll definitely post more!

Watch Weapon 4YZ on CHOPSO today!