Visiting The Set of TGHNN
Hello my lovely dreamers! In this chapter, I'll be telling you about my experience in visiting the set of The Girl He Never Noticed. My impressions and observations in seeing the production process and on how they brought the book and the characters to life.
In Singapore, we had a scheduled set visit of The Girl He Never Noticed, arranged by my Wattpad Creator Manager, Ryan, in coordination with Mediacorp. Every time we visited the set, Greys, manager from Mediacorp, would fetch us and a driver drove us back to the hotel.
During our first visit, which was at Eros Petrakis' penthouse, we entered the cast's dressing room first. It was an enormous bedroom with a king-sized bed and an aesthetic bathroom. I remember there were vast mirrors everywhere. Rack of clothes in one corner with tags of the cast's names.
Ryan, Nicole, and I stayed in the room for a while, waiting for the set to finish the scene that they were shooting. It did not take long; a crew invited us to go inside and meet Beatrice, the director/producer of the TV series.
It overwhelmed me with joy at seeing Beatrice in person, because we only met on a video call. She was very approachable, friendly, and accommodating. She showed us the set, then the two of us sat on the couch and talked about the story. We shared things like how I came up with the story, my inspiration, working as a writer, and other stuff. She told me how they cast the actors and actresses, made the script, found the right locations for the set, and other things. She was overjoyed when I gave her a copy of my book.
We stayed for a few hours, watching the shooting and quietly took photos and videos behind the scenes.
I observed, all were very professional. Everyone took their jobs seriously.
Beatrice did a run-through of the scene to be shot. She observed the actors on how they would act in the scene before the camera started rolling.
When the camera rolled, it was very solemn. You could hear a pin drop. I could still remember vividly, the director's assistants would shout, "everyone quiet on the set. Camera. Sound. Rolling, one, two, three... action!"
The actors prepared their lines well. They delivered them with an ace, bringing the characters to life.
On our second visit, at the Petrakis Building, I observed that the Production was very meticulous for details. The pictures on the walls, photos and articles on frames at Eros' Office prepared so well. Even Eros' office had a Black out privacy glass, living his image as a billionaire CEO.
Our third visit was at the boxing gym set. They fully equipped the gym with punching bags, boxing-ring, and others. What really amazed me was, the production hired a professional movie stunt director to choreograph flawlessly every boxing fight scene. There were plenty of cameras to make sure that they captured every angle of the action.
Our fourth and last visit was at the bar scene. They rented an underground nice and cozy bar. They hired a lot of extras to fill up the bar. Although it was a lively atmosphere because of the sounds and beaming dancing lights, everyone still maintained professionalism.
We really enjoyed our set visits. We could observe the production process, the transition from the book to a script, the camera setups, lighting, audio, preparation of the set, and actors transforming themselves into their roles, bringing the characters to life.
Also, we enjoyed the food they served at the set. It was always plentiful and delicious. A variation of Singapore dishes we tried for the first time.
We were very thankful to Wattpad and Mediacorp/Stardust story, that we could visit the set of The Girl He Never Noticed in Singapore. It is an honor for me to meet the Production team, composed of directors, producers, writers, and others who are experts in their fields, and also the cast, who are awesome celebrities. I never imagined that I would meet them in person and become friends.
The entire experience is very memorable for us. Not just the set visit, but also being able to explore Singapore.
We went to The Shoppes of Marina Bay Sands and explored many brands. We also went to the Gardens by the Bay, getting wet at the Merlion Fountain, got lost at Ion Orchard, took photos at Haji Lane Murals for our Instagram posts, rode the boat cruise at Clarke Quay, we still think it was the best, and last, we visited the Singapore Zoo at Sentosa Island.
We had so much fun in Singapore. The feeling is indescribable. Until now, I'm still overwhelmed by the experience. The awesome places we've been, the amazing food we've tried, experiencing complex culture and meeting new delightful friends.
Here are more pictures in TGHNN set:
Me, drinking tea at the coffee shop. Sorry Jade :)
With Marco, Tess and our lovely director, Beatrice. This was at the Petrakis Shipping Company Building.
Me and Tess, at the dressing room. Before we did our scene together, in my cameo :)
The reception table of the Petrakis Shipping Company, where I did my cameo :)
Eros Petrakis' office table.
Photo frame at Eros' office.
There are more photos and videos that I'll be sharing with you. So, watch out for the next chapter.
See you on Wednesday dreamers, it's a date!