When I first heard about Adina’s Deck, I was excited in the film’s premise because it was something that was both fresh and meaningful. However, I knew from watching dozens of student films that it would most likely be a small, amateur production. I could not have been more wrong! Despite being on a tight budget, I was consistently amazed at how professional and motivated people on this film were!

When I first met Jason and Debbie, the script had not actually been finished yet. But within a month, they had a script that was engaging, educational and well written. After sitting in on a few production meetings, it quickly became apparent that despite having limited resources, Debbie and Jason had organized and mobilized a large pool of talent, which meant Adina’s Deck would be as close to a professional production as one could get.

As a production assistant, I floated between departments to try and learn as much as I could about film production by doing various jobs.  It was a great experience not only because I learned a lot, but also because the crew was amazing! Whether it was as simple as holding Jamison’s massive camera, duct taping the film location together with Felicia, making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with Estelle and Jason or helping Sam move lighting equipment I can honestly say that everyone I saw worked their absolutely hardest to try and come up with the best film that they could. It was inspiring to see how everyone worked together to form a cohesive team, which worked tirelessly despite long hours, the hot sun and the occasional fire truck that would scream past and ruin a shot! (Which inevitably resulted in Mario and Ifran shouting at the firemen to be quiet.)

I was also very impressed with all the cast members of the film as they gave the film their full effort and patience. I first met some of them over an intense couple of days during casting calls, and was amazed at how well (even from day one!) they acted and bonded together. The kids had incredible amounts of energy and stamina and worked through the toughest moments of the film (the ones which were hot, uncomfortable and close to lunch) without any complaints. I was especially happy to see that by the end of the film many of them had become good friends! However, I have learned from this film that kids will eat the props if they are edible (Sam Juarez, this means you!), so do NOT let Jason give out all the gummy worms to all the kids, especially when the scene is not over yet!

Cyber-bullying is an important issue for kids and parents alike to learn about because it is not well known and yet has caused so much pain and suffering for kids all over the world. Even off the set, when telling people about the film, I have found myself educating them about cyber-bullying as most have never even heard the term or problem before. Adina’s Deck is a film that kids and parents will be able to watch and enjoy, while being able to see first hand for themselves the dangers of cyber-bullying.

Looking back, Adina’s Deck was an amazing film to work on because of its high production standards and its educational value. I had a blast and cannot wait for Adina’s Deck to be released! A big ‘thank you” to the cast and crew, you were all amazing!

James Liao recently graduated (June 2007) from Stanford University as a history major. He has lived most of his life in Hong Kong, China and has had an interest in making films and documentaries since high school, which has led him to work on several amateur short films and documentaries. He is currently certified as an Emergency Medical Technician (Basic), which is why he sometimes carried around a fire extinguisher on set. James has a twin brother, who was also at Stanford with him, and perhaps it was the twin posing as James and not James himself on the film set! No one will ever really know!

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 4th, 2007 at 5:44 pm and is filed under Cyber Bullying. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.