In 2000 and 2001, Herman Yau gave up
category 3 films to shoot less strongly rated features such as From The Queen To The
Chief Executive and Master Q 2001, the latest was produced by Tsui Hark. Herman took care as well of the
cinematography on Time And Tide and Legend Of Zu. Herman Yau proved
that he is not only an excellent director of photography but also a good director.
HK Cinemagic: You are very famous for
your category 3 movies [e.g. Bunman, The Untold Story and Ebola Syndrome].
Was it something you really liked to do?
Herman Yau: Yes, I enjoyed making this type of extreme films.
HKCM:
How did you get to join the Film Workshop Company [Tsui Hark Film production company]?
HY: I wanted to make different type of movies. It's more fun. I didn't really choose to
join the Film Workshop Company. Tsui Hark contacted me to take care of the cinematography
for Time And Tide. Afterward, he proposed me to shoot Master Q 2001 for
him and I agreed.
HKCM: What type of photography Tsui
Hark wanted for Time And Tide?
HY: He wanted something different. He wanted everybody from the cast to the crew on the
set to bring their own touch to the project. As far as I was concerned, I didn't use that
much of added lights on the set. That's the way cinematographers would do on small
budgeted productions. It was a way to avoid that type of clichéed lighting from big
budgeted movies where sets are usually overflowed with light.
HKCM: How were chosen the
colours and the lighting in Time And Tide?
HY: It was a real teamwork with Tsui. I proposed him some stuff and sometimes he agreed,
and some other times he asked me to find something else.
HKCM: After Time And Tide,
you directed Master Q 2001. As a producer Tsui Hark is known to intervene quite
often during shootings. What was your freedom of action on the set?
HY: I was quite free to do whatever I wanted. Tsui Hark came only once on the set!
HKCM: Following Master Q 2001
production, you were on charge of the Legend Of Zu photography. What did Tsui
Hark ask you to do on this production?
HY: A lot of computer-generated-special-effects were used for the Legend Of Zu
and Tsui Hark wanted a very colourful photography in order to show something different
from Hollywood productions. In Legend Of Zu, there are two worlds: the earth and
the paradise. The earth was supposed to look like chaos, like a world full of smoke and
leafless trees. To create the oriental paradise, which has a very different aesthetic from
the occidental one, we took our inspiration from the Chinese art compositions.
