Chinese Idol Group SNH48 films video on Saipan
As I prepare for the next “Jamaican in China” nomadpreneur travel adventure starting with Macau in a few days, I’ll share my most recent “passionpreneur/follow your passion and do what you love/Jamaican on Saipan/saipanpreneur” adventure!
Now it can be told!
Back in January, ZanyBros, Korea’s biggest video production company (known for their work with K-pop artists in the global “Hanryu” Korean Wave pop culture explosion) , contacted me to help them arrange a video shoot on Saipan for Chinese idol group, SNH48, for their latest release. After months of planning and preparation, an advanced team arrived on March 17, the remaining film crew arrived on March 20, and filming took place from Saturday March 21 to Monday March 23. Here are just a few of the 1200 photos documenting the project with me as location manager along with my project partner, Chang Yoon Suk, PR Director of the Korean Association here on Saipan.
(photos by Ferdinand Ramos)
Meeting Director Kim, Assistant Director Lee, and Producer Nomura at the airport
Chang, me, Lee, Kim and Nomura scouting locations days before the shoot
Chang has an idea
Shooting around the island ( Banzai Cliff) 24 artists, 25 artist support staff, 17 film crew, 5 fifteen-passenger vans, 2 siennas, 2 pickup trucks, Korean-English translator, Korean-Mandarin translator, drivers, equipment, generator….now let the fun begin!
Doing the location manager thing…
Internationally famous Carolinian singer, Gus Kaipat, as sound engineer
Drivers for a day, Mario, Conrad, Kevin, Alejandrof, along with me and Nomura
Producer Nomura, Chang, Marlin and me
On location at the Bird Island trail
Behind Hyatt Hotel
Camera on the ground, camera on the crane, camera in the air
Me and a little more than a quarter of SNH48
Chillin’ with the local crew
Watching the filming…it’s a great gig if you can get it!
Final shot at the airport with ZanyBros! (photo by one of “Saipan’s Finest!”)
The weather was perfect!
And with our international team consisting of a Chilean overseas marketing producer, Korean film crew, Chinese artists, Japanese producer, along with a uniquely Saipan mix of Chamorro and Filipino drivers, Carolinian sound engineer, vendor owners and hotel managers from Czech Republic, Bangladesh, India, Russia, Korea, Hong Kong and the United States, along with one Jamaican location manager, we pulled it off! Things went smoothly, and all filming was finished in three days! Stay tuned for info on the release of the video and see if you can identify the various filming locations around Saipan!
SPECIAL THANKS TO
Angelina at ZanyBros, Nancy McDowell and Pamela at Hyatt Hotel; Kazu, Martin, Das and Joseph at Fiesta Hotel; Helen, Yukari and Yulia at Aqua Resort; Hafa Adai Hotel; Doug Brennan and Jocelyn Pangelinan at Microl Toyota; Alex and Kit at Hertz; Divine at Islander Car Rental; Ephraim at Thrifty Car Rental; Tati and Shane at the Department of Public Lands; Top Development; Coastal Resources Management; Saipan TV, Noli at Marianas Studio; Domingo at Hanmi Hardware; Gus Kaipat; Cinta Kaipat; Lino Olopai, John Joyner; Joe Hill; Godfather’s Beach Bar; Anna Chang and the staff at Canton Restaurant; Byung Hoon Park at The Grill Hai (Fusion) restaurant; Frank Li at U-Save Car Rental; Darlene and Debra at Joeten Supermarket; Joseph at Island Equipment Rental; Gordon Marciano; Mario, Alex, Conrad, Jude, Kevin, Alejandrof, Gids, Dave, and Joe , Ichi Ban Marine Sports, plus all the security personnel, front desk clerks, and other staff, plus extra special thanks to photographer, Ferdinand Ramos, for capturing it all!
Check out SNH48 at https://www.snh48.com and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SNH48
Read more about the idol group phenomenon which started in Japan at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_idol
Check out ZanyBros at https://www.zanybros.com
Read more about business services (location management/logistics) at SaipanBookings Business Services
