Drums and dragons and lions - oh my! 

In the 15 years we have been filming in Hong Kong, there is not much that compares to getting amongst the Chinese New Year celebrations. 

When you are tasked to capture all this vibrant energy we were definitely spoiled for choice at The Peninsula Hotel Hong Kong with 10 lions, a dragon and a dozen drummers filling their hotel lobby. 

After a successful soft opening, it was only a matter of time until The Murray Hotel was paid a visit by these bringers of good luck and fortune.

Balanced by vibrant Chinese New Year themed b-roll, we packaged scenes of the dancers into this video greeting card.

It was a humbling opportunity to work with one of the best Lion Dance troupes in Hong Kong, Ha Kwong Cheong Group, with whom we collaborated to channel the true spirit of this celebration.

Huge sets and professional actors aren't always necessary to tell your story.

Along with a lite crew, we sent in some furry friends to brighten up the scene behind delicate product close-ups.

The camera always eats first at Filmages, and with over a dozen cakes to showcase we wasted no time in getting up-close with Kerry Hotel's Cake Shop latest offerings.

Besides a zen-like focus on the task at hand, we brought a selection of displays and platforms on which to present this feast for the eyes.

Have you ever been told to never work with babies and/or animals? 

Well, watch this video and tell me you wouldn't want to work with these three Page Babies!

We had the pleasure of spending a few hours with these cherubs, and helpled The Peninsula spread their festive joy

As of Jaunuary 2016, The Peninsula attracted 90,000 views to this video (in less than 1 month of its release)

Adorable kids, a tree and 5 cameramen captured the wonder of the holidays at the Peninsula Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony.

Where's Brian were over the same old bars and tired tunes of LKF and took last year's Halloween celebrations into their own bloody hands!

A jewellery box of handmade heart-shaped chocolates,
2,000 premium Ecuadorian red roses,
a fleet of 14 Rolls Royce Phantoms,
set amongst a breathtaking view of Victoria Harbour...

... all converge to create a timeless moment of gastronomic excellence and romance.

When it comes to decorating for the holidays, there should be no half measures.

The Peninsula brought in the festive cheer with full force, building a life-sized gingerbread house and a giant model train set, and of course, there was still room for a Christmas tree!

Shot over three consecutive nights, the crew became completely jetlagged but had to quickly shift back to other daytime shootings before shifting back once again for New Year's Eve party.

My mother told me to never play with my food, but I can't help it...

It was early morning in Istanbul, the city was still surprisingly chilled as the summer heat was about to turn up. I had two hours of quiet all to myself. Bliss...

As I sat in the bar terrace and ordered a turkish coffee, the Owner offered a plate of decadent mille-feuille he had just prepared.
As he sprinkled the icing sugar, I immediately thought about the cute glass penguins I had just bought for my kids.
The idea for a stop-motion animation hit me like a bolt of lightning and tout-de-suite shot the sequence in less than an hour.

Besides, I was too hungry to make myself wait to bite into that crispy pastry any longer

Together with the Filmages Team, we pieced it together as our way to wish you a wonderful and creative Springtime!

Kids helping kids be kids with the help of some child-sized teddy bears, Landmark taught young people about the gift of giving.

In the fashion of a scavenger hunt, these kids raced around Landmark to buy gifts for children of the Make-A-Wish foundation and their families.

A 28-metre long, 19-metre wide and 7-metre tall sculpture, filled with rolling baubles.

This tour-de-force sculpture, designed and built by European artist Hanns-Martin Wagner, is called the "Infinite Joy Rolling Sculpture" and certainly brought endless joy to Landmark's shoppers.

With a prop of this scale, we had to accurately plan where our cameras needed to be to capture it's momentum. 
 

Ermenegildo Zegna's tailor workshop at Landmark more than measures up to to most discerning tastes...this video encapsulates the sartorial elegance of Italian tailoring and service.

Ermenegildo Zegna Hong Kong

As the Year of the Snake snuck up on us, Landmark celebrated the arrival of the Lunar New Year by putting up a series of stunning, giant paper lanterns; decorations that heralded the vitality and vibrance of Spring.

These awe-inspiring sculptures measured up to 9 meters in height and spun non-stop, welcoming health and prosperity.

Additionally, shoppers were soothed by the smells of Spring as floating vases carried colourful, fresh flowers.

The challenge set by the Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong was relatively simple:

1) Shoot a highly ambitious, yet low budget project 
2) At 7 different locations, including 2 Michelin Starred restaurants 
3) In the course of a single day without creating any disturbance to their guests or operations

We proposed to bring Charlie Bear to life without using any 3D artifice to maintain the human element and the holiday feel.

This project required a meticulous storyboard and tight management of our production schedule.

We had five different bear puppets, each with different movement capabilities such as walking down a staircase, using chopsticks, or diving in a pool.

The proceeds of the Charlie Bear sales were given to the Hong Kong Cancer Fund
 

Ice sculptors, fire-tossing bartenders, and an indoor ski lift...

To properly commemorate Hongkong Land’s Christmas extravaganza we edited the events of the evening into contrast.
While alternating between visuals of elegance and of eccentricity we reverse paired them together with classical and heavy metal music.

"Mummy, I love you..."

Cute as a button, but that's not something you can ask a 2 year old to say on cue.
Luckily we have a ton of experience with kids of all ages.

Under the Song Dynasty (420), the 15th day of the 8th lunar month was officially declared the Mid-Autumn Festival, and it would never be complete without the famous Moon Cake delicacy.

We go in to the kitchen and observe how Chefs Frankie Tang and Yip Wing Wah prepare to make a staggering 470,000 moon cakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival, using the Peninsula's unique recipe of a traditional dough mixed with a British-inspired custard filling.

Frank Sinatra and Barbara Streisand were meeting at the Polar Express train station in Hongkong Land's Landmark Atrium.

Snowball anyone?

Extending its tradition of hosting delightful world-class holiday displays for the Chinese New Year, Hongkong Land brought a jaw-dropping puppet show created by French puppeteer Jean-Claude Dehix.
We shot "Puppetland at The Landmark" at the opening of the display and edited it very quickly for social media distribution.
The show was a major success and brought sparkles into the eyes of the Hong Kong audience.

Lift music is difficult enough to ignore, but a lift video is impossible to escape. 

VIP box wanted to make a splash and reach a wealthy captive audience in Grade A building elevators with their Valentine's special.
The challenge was, lift rides don't last very long and VIP Box wanted to fit a big load of information in to the allocated 15-seconds.
Our motion-graphics skills allowed us to deliver a big punch in a short time.

While others were joyously splashing in the water we were frantically editing the great Stanley Dragon Boat races for a PR dispatch to TV stations and for a same-day sponsored after-party.

To deliver on time we had to derush fresh footage while editing the master timeline simultaneously. So we daresay that we may have been the fastest racers that day!