Mr. Roger S. Christiansen, the U.S. director of the hugely popular sitcom series “Friends,” gave talks at TNUA in October. Mr. Clifford Choi and Prof. Kim Hong-Joon were also invited to talk about the film industries in Hong Kong and Korea respectively.
Mr. Christiansen and Mr. Choi delivered their talks in their respective Maestro Lectures, while Prof. Kim was invited to a forum arranged in line with the Kuandu Film Festival.
Mr. Christiansen attributed the huge success of “Friends” to a great production team. He played some behind-the-scene video clips of “Friends,” as he explained how each episode was meticulously designed and rehearsed. Everything, from revisions to the script, costumes to props, had to be ready by every Friday before actual shooting began.
He said a good script could make a good TV drama series, and the birth of a good script begins with learning to tell a good story. Screenwriting requires team work.
“Friends” had a team of about 14 screenwriters every season, with two of them being the leaders, he said. They worked under immense pressure as they tried to make every episode perfect.
Screenwriters of popular TV drama series usually make more money than their directors, Mr. Christiansen said. He noted that the big difference between TV drama directors and their movie counterparts is that the former usually do not choose their casts. The actors and actresses have already been casted before the directors are employed. Mr. Christiansen was guest professor at TNUA in 204 and 2005.
Mr. Choi’s debuted as director in 1980 by fiming the much-acclaimed “Encore,” which sparked off a new wave of Hong Kong “teenage movies.” He said that for a director, the best screenplay is the one that satisfies him or her most, because the director knows what he or she can do best. But he admitted that directors will also have to make compromises in the face of reality and market demand.
Prof. Kim introduced the Korean film industry at the forum of the Kuandu Film Festival, which featured 17 short films from TNUA’s sister school, the Korea National University of Arts (K-Arts). Prof. Kim noted that a Korea film on average needs an investment of US$10 million, one third of which is for marketing.