Alex Cheng (portrayed by series creator Samantha Wan) is thrust into the fast-paced and ruthless world of Martial Arts when she inherits her estranged father’s Kung Fu studio. Struggling to balance her family commitments with her romantic relationship, Alex risks it all on a final showdown.
Sudden master is a five-part tale packed with tradition, vengeance and of course – choreographed fight scenes.
How much work went into the choreography and production behind the fight scenes in the series?
A lot. We had several days of rehearsal and then did what is called “ Pre-visualizations”. A Pre-vis is when you actually shoot the whole fight in a rehearsal hall beforehand to see what angels you need and how everything is going to cut together. This way you don’t have to guess on set. Personally, I also trained 5 days a week, 2-3 hours a day for a month to make sure I could handle the rigorous shoot schedule.
The series finds an interesting balance between a very down-to-earth protagonist and a genre that’s often very over the top, how did you find that balance?
This effect was created by two things 1) Though we always wanted the story to be fun, the characters needs and objectives had to be rooted in something real, AND 2) The balance between traditional Chinese and North American culture, which many second generation kids, like Alex, experience. This meant that we had looks that were homage to Asian director Ang Lee, mixed with scenes inspired by “Scott Pilgrim verses the World”.
What’s your background as a content creator? And how did you approach this project differently to previous projects?
I was an actor first, and then I started creating work because I felt there were not enough roles for diverse actors. I’m also a martial artist myself and so it was a story that was very close to my heart.
This is my second project, the first being a sit com that will go to production this summer. The martial arts is something I think separates it from anything else I’ve done thus far, though I hope to do more . I have to give much of the credit to working with an incredible team as well. My advice to anyone is always work with people who are smarter then you. You can learn a lot and the work (and yourself) are always better for it.
What was the most difficult challenge you had to overcome in production, and how did you go about it?
I used to wonder why there were no independent Kung Fu web series. Now I know it’s because it’s REALLY HARD. We had a tight budget and had to shoot six fights in three days. Jackie Chan usually gets a month to shoot just one of his big fight scenes. I can only say we were so lucky to have such strong stunt actors, coordinators, and camera men to get it all.
From start to finish, how long did it take to complete this project?
Once we received funding, we had a month and half to write the scripts before production. Near the end of January we shot for one and a half weeks. Post was finished by June first.
Why should people watch Sudden Master?
Come for the action, stay for the heart. Personal struggles mixing with tradition, culture and expectation is something I think many of us can relate to.
What do you want audiences to take away from your series?
I want people to feel empowered, particularly girls. I love martial arts because it’s like being a super hero, except the powers come from your own strength and training.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome making Sudden Master?
Small budget with big fights. I’m grateful that our crew still wanted to grab a beer together and laugh at the end of the day. It’s important to have a good team in that kind of slog.
How do you reach your audience?
It was exciting that we were the OMNI television first original online series. However, it also made it hard to pull in audiences right away. In our second window we joined the KindaTV channel, which had an audience of mostly young teen girls who loved the series.
How long have you been making web-series for?
I have been a part of web series for four years now. I started acting first, I was the lead in Leslieville, then played a principal on Ruby Skye P.I, then become a board member of the IWCC ( International Web series Creators of Canada) for a year. Sudden Master is the first web series I’ve made myself.
Sudden Master on the web:
Sudden Master Website
Sudden Master on Facebook
Sudden Master on Twitter