In the first episode, we see Fala's exaggerated thick eyebrows, it turns out that Fala allowed the makeup artist to put on a fake eyebrow on her: "This is a very rough Chung Mo Yim because she came from the mountains. I am not afraid of making myself look ugly because Chung Mo Yim is like that. As she is ugly, no one likes her and discriminates her. This is why there is the Chung Mo Yim story."
Designed the Red Birthmark
Although QDH is a comedy, Fala does not treat it carelessly, she will put in her heart and soul into it. For example, the red birthmark on her face is in the shape of the ancient Country of Qi's (Chai Kwok) map. The birthmark was jointly designed by Fala herself and a designer: "I gave a lot of input, this is a kind of participation, I like this. It creates a better work atmosphere, and allows me to get more into the work. Of course, the producer has to approve it too, but at least I had the heart. Also, the most important is to have communication. The other cast and I designed many of the little tricks and gimmicks to make the roles more interesting."
Comedy Effect Difficult to Grasp
First time taking on heavy screen time, Fala frankly expressed she was especially nervous. From the costume design to the acting and the dialogue, she was very on top of it all. Especially the ancient dialogue, it became the greatest burden to this Miss Chinese International who came from the US. "Aside from hoping to be able to say the lines, I also hope to be able to act it all out and be in character. Before when the roles were given to me, I would just go act it out, and wouldn't think too much. This time, I really have a lot to reflect on, really using my brain." Fala said she didn't have a special method to practice, but the people around her have all been good teachers: "Louis Yuen is so smart, his Chinese is so good and his handwriting is beautiful! Sometimes I ask the director and other times I would call up the scriptwriter in the middle of the night. I written all over my script of the correct enunciation. However, I have to completely understand the 'four character phrases', understand the meaning, before I can actually remember them and use them in the correct way. Otherwise, next time when I see them again, what I say make any sense!"
Fala reveals the first half of the series will be relaxed and lighthearted, but the drama will gradually start in the later half, there will be a mix of tragedy and comedy. "When doing comedies, you must concentrate on it even more, just let it all go and forget about yourself. However, when shooting the last section of the series, it was very difficult for me because the scenes started getting heavier and heavier. As Chung Mo Yim, Ha Ying Chun (Sharon Chan) and Emperor Chai (Roger Kwok) will get into a confusion of spirits, we had to exchange roles. The plot was fun, but the acting was difficult. The tone, emotions and personalities were all in a huge confusion, so full concentration is necessary. Had to be mentally focused, otherwise you'll start acting as yourself again. Up until now, I still have yet to understand the trick in the series, not sure how to grasp the comedy effect."
A Pot Full of Pressure
In 2005, Fala participated in Miss Chinese International and won second runner-up. Since then, Fala joined TVB and have developed an interest for acting. In the past several years, she had always had high expectations on herself, been hard working and because of this, last year when she was shooting this series, she hoped to do more than what others expected of her. "I have high expectations on myself, but that does not mean I can do it! I have a lot of ideas, but I am not confident that I could do it."
Eventually she had a pot full of pressures, one day when she was doing her makeup, her entire body couldn't bulge at all. Sometimes she felt a stab of pain on the side of her face, it felt like she was getting burned. One time, when she was speaking her lines, she suddenly forgot everything. Fala said she has gotten back up on her feet, and that it was frightening: "In fact, I couldn't find the reason for my illness. I believe my feelings and body were affected. Since youth, I had been thin and weak, also because of fatigue and the stress, I just could not physically handle it at the time. I was really unhappy, but I couldn't stop, I could just keep going."
Late last year, Fala took a month off and had thought over a lot of things. "I now understand a bit of the knowledge of being an artist. That is, I can't force myself too much, artists have to be at the right state of mind, have confidence and be fully prepared. It is necessary to have a lot of mental and physical capability. On the other hand, must be very into character and have the heart, then there will be improvement. However, when you can't get into that right state of mind and feel frustrated inside, then you feel like you want to escape and won't be able to continue acting. This will result in ruining the entire picture, and the acting won't be natural. Just one expression in the eyes can already betray yourself!"
Artist's Personal Training
Fala now understands its quality not quantity. Also, she will take good care of herself and take a few stops in her steps. "My face and body are the tools to making money, I have to really protect them. Last year I filmed a 100 episodes, so much! TVB is very efficient, and I hoped to do my best in each scene, so I kept charging up nonstop and didn't give myself any space. The illness woke me up, I have to think outside of the box and read more books, watch more of how others act. I have to adjust my attitudes too. In the past, I felt I had very little personal time and that my career was the most important, but I never thought that I have matured. Maturing is an artist's accomplishment. It does not depend on the script, it depends on me. I have to self-train to help myself, but I didn't have time to do it nor did I have time to go out and see the world, understand others' cultures. I didn't grow up in Hong Kong and don't know how the people in HK live, so how can I act as a person from HK? I have no experience, then how do I know how to make my acting seem real?"
Fala knows many things are waiting for her to go absorb and accumulate. "These things are related to self-regulation, my manager won't tell me to go read more books, thus I will take things step by step, give myself more time to read books and watch movies. I love watching Western TV shows, and that's why people tease that I shoot TV series in the morning and watch TV series at night. However, I am really learning from it."
A way to reduce stress is to talk to people more. In the past, she was accustomed to being independent, but now she has learned to open her window: "Many things, when I think of it myself, it's like almighty, but then I have no capability to actually do it. Many problems that I can't resolve trouble me in my own world, but because I share with my family, friends and manager, we give each other advice. They are an one-sided mirror that gives me a reaction. As for myself, I have to trust people and allow them to understand me."
Currently, Fala hopes to reach a higher level in her acting, usually she reads a lot of related books and has already taken initiative to go improve herself: "I have already found a pile of material, mostly from foreign schools, some programmes are great, it is what I need. If you give me two years to immerse myself into it, I will have improvement, but for now it's impossible because in May I'll be starting a new series and I'm currently working on my debut album. I'll plan again next year!"
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