DBSPTA Newsletter 2019 ver12

2019 marks the 25th anniversary of the French Club.
Do you remember how the idea to make a movie came
out that year?
The idea came from our discussion with our French
Teacher and Master in Charge of French Club, Mr Sourd,
I was the Chairman of French Club at that time, and had
an exchange student from Belgium, Johan Jacobs and
between the three of us and we were big fans of movies.
DBS French Club had worked on a couple of French
Plays by then and The Drama Club (Which I was also
involved with) was involved in many Inter School and
Inter-House Drama Productions, and this was mainly
fueled by our love for the movies. So when Mr Sourd
suggested he would provide his Video Camera and we
would could make a short film, we jumped at the chance.
How the script was designed?
Johan Jacobs wrote the script, he wanted to speak
about the pressure to succeed in HK school system and
his point of view was from someone coming from outside
HK. The story was about Secondary School students
and how important it is for them to compete to be best
in school results.
How did you choose the actors?
Basically the main role was played by one of the best actors
in school at that time, and of course being involved
with the Drama club we our friends and Drama club and
french club members to play parts. The “adults’ in the
films were played by friends of Mr Sourd
Do you remember how the scenes were shot?
I remember we had a lot of fun, the shoot was done over
2-3 days. We shot the opening 1st scene at the home of
Mr Sourd’s friend and we then shot the Night Scenes at
the School Drive during evening time. Our Headmaster
Mr Lai gave us permission to shoot a sequence in the
Headmaster’s office (The old office) and we were able to
shoot at the School Canteen after school hours (with the
background noises)
What was the major difficulty when you shot the movie?
Looking back, I don’t remember much difficult, in
those days the schoolboys were pretty innovative, we
just made things work. We wanted a Trolly shot up the
school drive and we “borrowed” a Shopping Cart from
Park N Shop and shot with Mr Sourd operating the camera
while sitting in the shopping cart and us pushing the
cart around. We just made thing work
Why the movie was not edited at that time?
We didn’t not have movie edit equipment on Computers
as easily available, and Video Editing had to be done
by booking Editing Room. Mr. Sourd offered to do it in
France when he visited the country next. And of course
with Exams and then us graduating from School onto
Universities and Jobs the video was thought to be lost,
until now.
What was your feeling when 25 years after Mr. Sourd
asked you to edit the movie for the 150th Anniversary
of the School?
I was excited to do it. I know it would take a lot of my
time but was keen to work on to it, It is still a work in
progress as finding time from Work and Family Commitments
is tough, but a rough edit is ready now.
What are the best memories you have from this singular
experience and what do you suggest to the young generation
of DBS boys nowadays?
My Best Memory is shooting the scene at night at DBS,
my advice is think out of the box. DBS has always had
students who are creative and innovative and achieve
great things through their passion. Creating something
which excites you brings joy. But work at your own pace
and follow your passion especially when you have a supportive
environment at School.
We thank a lot Ravi to have answered our questions and
spent time on the editing which is still in process.
Finally, I would like to give the voice to Ricky Young,
who studied French also in the mid 90s. He is now parttime
member of our French Department teaching this
new academic year 2019-2020 G7, G8 Advance and G10
NSS boys.
« I started learning French when I was in Form 1 (now
known a Grade 7) back in 1991. Our French teacher
then was Madame LAU. She was very strict and would
only talk to us in French. I still remember clearly how,
on our first ever French class, she taught us the trick
to properly master the technique of pronouncing the
famous French “R” by gargling some water! We had to do
it together in the classroom where there was a little refrigerator
containing a bottle of water and some cups…
Speaking of the classroom, I think the French Room
can be considered as quite a rare and unique one at DBS
during that time. Its amphitheater style setup, all in
wood, allows a good interaction between the teacher and
the students, which is perfect for language learning.
As a “French Boy”, we had to travel to the French Room
every time for our class while the non-French boys
stayed in the same classroom for their Chinese class;
and then during Chinese History class we would go to
the library. I am still convinced that the non-French
Boys were jealous of us as we had the privilege of
exclusive access to the library. For this, I think it was
quite special to be a French Boy for we had extra opportunities
to stretch our legs a bit outside our own classrooms
compared with the others who could only change
classrooms for subjects like Art, Design & Technology,
Integrated Science, Music, and Physical Education.
When I was in Form 5, I was elected to be the President
of the French Club. We had joint school events with other
secondary schools that taught French such as DGS,
MSS, MCS, SJS and LSC. So every now and then we
would travel to each member school to hold after school
meetings, to discuss, for instance, the publication of a
French student magazine and to rehearse for the Interschool
French Drama Competition. It was all a valuable
experience and memory. Merci ! »
I really hope to create a special French day to celebrate
beside the 150th Anniversary of the School, the 90th
Anniversary of the French Department as well as the
25th Anniversary of the French Club with a special
screening of the movie « Mind Blows « edited and
restored in both French and English in the presence of
the team who worked on it and put so much effort and
passion into it.
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DBS PTA Newsletter
2019
DBS PTA Newsletter
2019
39