Videographer Sam Tan was in the thick of excitement at the wedding of one of Taiwan’s most famous celebrity couples.
Contributed By Seow Jieying
PHOTO COURTESY OF SAM TAN
Videographer Sam Tan found himself in the middle of a glitzy frenzy at his latest wedding assignment.
Tan was the videographer for the wedding of Taiwanese host Blackie Chen and singer Christine Fan on May 7 in Taipei. While the wedding has yet to be legalized, the church ceremony was conducted with much fanfare.
The founder of Vocare Media Production has been in the business of wedding videography for many years. While he has worked with couples from all walks of life, filming a celebrity wedding was a first for the 30-year-old.
On the actual day of the wedding, a chain of challenges befell the team; for one, movement was restricted and time was tight. “The difference with shooting a celebrity wedding is that we have to learn to work with the media. The media and our team were all stationed at the scaffolding of the church building; we couldn’t walk around freely or get too close to the couple when we filmed or we will get in the way.
“But the real challenge was the tight timeline we were given. The church wedding ended at 4:30 p.m. and we had to rush out the highlights for the dinner by 7 p.m. With the security checks delaying us, we had even less time to work with,” Tan said.
What was most memorable for the team was to come face-to-face with the infamous Taiwanese paparazzi. “Once we got out of the cab, all the paparazzi crowded around us. We were told to just keep walking and give no comments.”
Having studied mechanical engineering in polytechnic, Tan only discovered his interest and talent in videography when he joined City Harvest Church’s TV ministry in 1999. “My cell group leader told me there was an opening at that time and I wanted to serve God.”
Through a simple willingness to serve in the house of God, Tan eventually found his calling and is now fulfilling his dream in the marketplace.
