Varmuus on stunt-miehen tärkein työkalu (HAASTATTELU)

Stunt-mies Tung Buille pelko merkitsee ainoastaan liian vähäistä harjoittelua.

- Jokainen päivä on mulle uusi lähtöpiste, toteaa Tung Bui, 27.

Itseään ensisijaisesti stunt-ammattilaiseksi tituleeraava Bui onkin ehtinyt paljon nuoreen ikäänsä nähden.

Karaten parissa varttunut nuorukainen valmistui neljä vuotta sitten ekonomiksi, mutta ymmärsi pian, että lapsuuden haaveet bisnes-urasta saisivat odottaa.

- Olin just valmistunut kauppakorkeasta. Otin hirveän riskin, kun lähdin näihin hommiin. Ajattelin vaan, että hei mä oon 23-vuotias maisteri ja musta tulee stunt-mies.

Jo samana vuonna hän aloitteli stunt-uraansa muutamissa televisiomainoksissa.

- Mulla oli kyllä suuria luuloja. Ajattelin, että vähintään vuoden päästä  aloittaisesta oon maailmankuulu, hän muistelee nauraen.

Lue koko juttu Trombit-verkkolehdestä täältä. Toimittanut Laura Soini, valokuvaus Sanna Hiltunen.

Making it Big with Little

THE JOB

I got a phone call from a production company. They were shooting a new crime drama TV show. Most of the work had been already done but they still had one action scene to do. They offered the fight coordinator's job for me. Before I said yes, I had some questions

Q: When are the action scenes shot?

A: After two weeks.

--> Tight schedule

Q: Who are the actors

A: 2 male actors.

--> Guys are more eager for action but because of that, there's more risks for injuries

Q: Do they have time to train the choreography before hand?

A: Unfortunately, not.

--> Demands a lot from everyone in order to get good quality

Q: Is the scene outdoor or indoor scene?

A: Outdoor

--> In the middle of the winter it'll be cold

THE BIG PICTURE

With these answers I got the picture that 

1. the scene is important,
2. most of the choreography work has to be done beforehand and 
3. I have to develop alternative solutions just in case as no one knew exactly what kind location we had for the shooting.

THE ACTION

As the shootings we're going on nearly every day getting in touch with the director was difficult. When we were able to discuss about the action scene I had to get clear answers in a fairly short time in order for me to get the information of what was expected.

I was fortunate to have a talented assistant Jesse to help me with the choreography. We had couple of challenging moves that we needed to practice together before we could teach it to the actors, so that they could perform it in a safe manner. I could've managed to plan and teach the choreography to the actors all by myself. But with the two of us we were able to show the choreography as many time as needed to the actors, director and to the director of photography. This saved lots of time, and everybody had a better image of what's to come.

The actors had a long and cold morning shooting outdoors. Before the fight scene they had lunch. Their energy levels were very low. Again, it was good that me and Jesse were there to help the actors memorize the choreography. Some amount of repetitions were necessary but if they forgot something either me or Jesse could tell them the next move instantly.

THE RESULT

Even though the scene was physically tough to perform due to the coldness and tiredness, the actors performed well. Huge respect to them for that. They were thankful for the help we stunt guys could provide. Director of photography saved some time by planning ahead what kind of pictures he would shoot (lens, shooting angle etc.). The director could focus mainly in directing the actors, instead of focusing in how the action should look.

CONCLUSION

Big can be made with little amount of resources (time, money, people etc.). In my opinion the less resources there is, the more planning work needs to be done. The higher quality the planning is, the better the end result can be. Though, even if the plan is awesome there's tons of work required from everyone. Pressure keeps you going ;)

Another example of Making it Big with Little is my new born nephew. Everybody starts small but we all have huge potential!


'Perfection with Passion'

Real-life Gamer

I was invited as a guest speaker to a Youth Center Happi. This youth center's focus is on game playing youngsters, therefore it has multiple PC's that are connected to the internet. People can play internet based multiplayer games for free as long as there's room for everyone.

MY PRESENTATION

I went there to give a presentation about 'How I've applied games in real-life'. I have played games since the first Atari's Ping-Pong game with two white sticks and a rectangular ball on the screen. It was tremendously fun game back in the 80's ;) As I've grown older the role of game playing in my life has change dramatically. For example in the year 2001 I decided that won't play games at all. I also decided not to watch television anymore. I still don't watch television but games I started to play again on the Christmas of 2007. For the last few years, Christmas has been a period of 2 weeks in my life, when there's nothing going on. I've decided to use that free-time efficiently and play through games that I'm interested in. Once a year I get a quick overview of how games have evolved, and in addition I get a good feeling that I've managed to play through a challenging game (or non-challenging)!

GAMES AND REAL-LIFE

My favorite game type is the role-playing game (Final Fantasy, Fallout 3 etc.). I usually choose to play the good guy, and I try to develop him to become even better as person. In a similar way I build my own life in reality. I learn and develop new skills constantly, and I try to put them in good use. Every now and then I might also play 3D-shooters, 3D-action games and racing games. My last exceptional experience was the Lips sing-along game on Xbox 360. I first practiced singing with that game and after few weeks I had the guts to go sing karaoke with few of my friends. At some point we managed to go sing karaoke once a week. I think I developed as a singer quite well, although I'm very, very, very far away from being a talented singer :) But it's fun skill, and I feel successful when my friend's don't have to cover their ears when they hear me singing ;)

CONCLUSION

In my case games are a good way to learn new things. In role-playing games you can even try out your moral beliefs. It's easier to do bad things in a game but these days some of the games are so well made, that if you do a bad thing, it might really get you depressed. At least they affect me, therefore I also try to be as good as possible even in games.

Sometimes I also use games as a hiding place from reality. But again, advancing in a game makes me feel better; Like I've achieved something. And when I bring this confident, good feeling back to reality, my real-life seems to be advancing in an easier way as well.

For some game playing can be an addiction. As with any kind of addiction, if it controls you, it's not good. But if you control your addiction, then it's okay. Everything done in a moderate level is usually sustainable in the long-run. Top-athletes are always on the edge of going too far. But I bet they understand it better than an average person, when enough is enough.

You are the only one who can live your life to the fullest. If some addiction controls the direction of your life, then you're not necessarily making all the decisions in your life. Know who you are, and then maximize your potential. It's not an easy path but I bet it's damn worthwhile in the long run!

'Perfection with Passion'


PICTURES

My friend Riku who invited me to event.

Multitasking > Multi Time Management

Since I begun my work as a stuntman in summer 2006 I’ve been focusing a lot in my versatile training. I considered physical skills to be very relevant in my line of work, and I haven’t been wrong. No matter what I’ve done since then, I’ve always kept on training – Although, sometimes more and sometimes less; I’m still only a human. Because of the sports center (Töölön kisahalli) where I’ve trained for years, I have had to train between 9am and 2pm.  Nevertheless, there have been times when I have had to make profound adjustments to my training schedules – especially if I wanted to keep on training as actively as always.

For example, I studied acting for a year , and for every day I was occupied with my studies from 9am to 2pm. Because of this I had to go to train right after my school. The sports center starts to be filled up with other people starting from 2.30pm, therefore I had 30min to train in peace. After 2.30pm it took more mental conditioning in order to train and not pay attention to lots of other things that were happening in the sports center at the same time. After I finished my studies, I was able to go back to my more normal training rhythm taking place between 9am and 2pm.

Since January 2010 I have been working for a non-profit organization called Young Finland Association (Nuori Suomi).  I’ve been hired for two months to help them with the Web Marketing and the Social Media for the Your Move campaign. A nice change, as I can now do some work that my education (M.Sc. Econ.) has prepared me for :D

Now, I’m required to work at the office for 37,5h per week. In common language it is a day job usually around 8.00am to 4pm and so on. Fortunately, I am free to adjust my work schedules as long as it’s a total of 37,5h per week. Training still continues to be important to me, therefore I’ve adapted to this new rhythm: 2-3 times a week I train 8.00 – 9.30am, and then I can make it to the office at 10am. Time management in this case means going earlier to bed around 10.30 – 11.00pm, so that I can wake up at 6am, have a good breakfast, and then be energetic enough to train at 8.00am.

Multitasking has always played a big part in my life. I’m one of those people who can’t stay focused on only one thing for too long. Something always has to be happening. Until some point, the more the better. Learning to recognize my limits before overdoing things has been a formidable challenge. I’m still not master in Multi Time Management, but at least I have an environment where I can practice it constantly!

Working 37,5h per week in an office, training 2-3 per week, teaching a class 0-2 times per week, working on an ad hoc basis a stuntman or as an actor and building my business as an entrepreneur requires more than just presence. I don’t think I could manage all of this unless all of them are something that I LOVE TO DO. I rarely feel that I’m just working constantly. Most of the time I’m flabbergasted for the great opportunities that life has given me but I’m not counting on it to be like this forever without making any effort. I keep on Multitasking, and with my Multi Time Management skills, I keep myself on a clear path for a wonderful life on this planet! If I can do it, anyone can!

Lessons learned about Multitasking > Multi Time Management

• Love you what you do. When you love something, there’s always time for it. If you don’t like it, DO spend some time to think about other possibilities. This is real Personal Management. Watching television etc. might be relaxing but you can’t give the responsibility of managing your life to the TV (or even to another person).

• Think constantly about the Big Picture. Everything you do in long-term should direct you towards the same goal (ie. being happy, enjoying life, achieving something X, having a meaningful life etc.). The more ecological, and unselfish your Big Picture / Dream / Life-Goal, the more likely it is that you are heading towards the right direction. And the greater forces help you more on this path. 

•  Identify the Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Definitely keep the Good, it is usually a source of positive energy in your life. Identify the Bad, and get rid of it. The sooner, the less long-term negative effects it has in your life. The Ugly is the trickiest as it can be a disguise for both the Good and the Bad. Wisdom in life helps identifying which one it is, but most of the times it’s the Gut Feeling or the 6th Sense that tells you what you should do with the Ugly. 

• Know your Self-worth. Learn to say NO. If you are a nice person and at the same time acknowledged by other people as a skilled person, you will be offered multiple opportunities to do lots of various things – usually first for their own benefit, and after that comes your needs if ever. If you have gained the status of a Pro, you might still get lots of work requests but at least everyone knows that if nothing else is gained, you require a monetary compensation. There is a common fear about saying ”No, thank you”. I urge you to think about your self-worthiness. If you value yourself low, some people might take advantage of it. If you say no to them, they still might get hurt. If you value yourself high, less people try to take advantage, and when you decline the offer, usually they understand it better. Nevertheless, self-worthiness has to be based on real-life achievements whether it is education, career progress, colourful medals, certificates etc. Unfortunately, it’s just not enough if one day you just decide to be more valuable. But it’s a good starting point for a better life. Value growth requires long-term constant effort. You have 100 years time to grow on value as a human being. Like companies, the more valuable they become, the more they help directly (donations) and/or indirectly (taxes) in making this world a better place (being ecological).

• Prioritize. Act. Receive. Be Grateful. Chill-out. Move on. Most people know how to prioritize but that’s just the beginning of actually pulling things through. I guess, it’s human nature, but usually the most prioritized or important thing becomes the scariest at the same time. It’s like betting all your money in one racing horse. You want it to win but at the same time you don’t really believe that it’s your lucky day. Of course, it’s not always like this :) Winning, getting the best result, finishing a BIG project is scary especially if you’ve put a hell of a lot of effort in it. Again, know your self-worth, feel that you really deserve all the good. And if you get it, be Grateful about it, say thank you at least to your life. Celebrate, give some moment for rest, and then move a long in your life. If you plan to live to be a 100 year old, getting the best thing in your life at the age of 30 doesn’t last for the next 70 years withouth continuous effort. Besides, how do you know that it was the best thing?

I’m not saying that multitasking is the only way to live your life. I love seeing people who are focused in only one or few major things. That’s the beauty of life: Versatility.

'Perfection with Passion'

Ideas, the Driving Force of Development

Do you get ideas? What happens to them? I get ideas constantly. Some of them pop out from unconsciousness but most of them are triggered by some external source eg. people, discussions, writings, events or just plain image or sound.

For the last 5 years I've been trying to get myself exposed to as many things as possible. New things give usually give me new ideas. Of course, I expose myself mainly in the areas that I already feel very comfortable with. In my case I have always enjoyed sports. Since childhood, in a chronological order, I have exposed myself to the following sports:

- Football
- Athletics
- Karate
- Floorball
- Breakdance
- Ultimate
- Acrobatics
- Parkour
- Motorcycling
- Skydiving
- Golf
- Rock'n'Swing dances: Boogie Woogie & Lindy Hop
- Cuban dances: Salsa, Bachata, Rumba, Merenque
- Ballroom dances: Walz, Quickstep, Jive, Chachacha, Samba
- Paintball

As a Stuntman my philosophy for being able to do good quality job is to be able to learn new movements quickly. With this in mind I consider all the sports as a combination of specific movement techniques. This allows me to do almost any sport without me feeling embarrassed (eg. tried out ballet and it's DIFFICULT!). After all, I am there to learn to use my body to for versatile movement - not to become the best of the best in one sport discipline.

With my versatile background in movement, I use it again for my stuntwork for example when I design Fight Choreographies. I want my fight choreographies to be fairly realistic in effectiveness but I also want them to be visually good looking. In more common terms I try to combine power and grace which is usually more easily said than done. And the doing part usually requires lots and lots of training in order for the movement to sink in to my body.

One of my first short-film productions Yakuza Diaries depicts a little bit of this philosophy of power and grace in fight choreography. The film was made in 2004, so my philosophy hadn't really come out yet in it's fullness (though, it still hasn't) :D

A new Thai film Raging Phoenix is a good example of innovative fight choreography. They've managed to use breakdancing in it's pure form for a fight scene. To my eyes it's a lot about beautiful movement but I'm not convinced about the power in the techniques. Nevertheless, I loved the idea that they didn't want to make a hybrid breakdance fight style but instead go nearly 100% with original breakdancing. a great IDEA in my opinion!

To conclude, for me creating ideas, looking for ideas and understanding other people's ideas is a key essential tool for my line of work and in my life in general. Every day I feel like starting my life from Day 1. My eyes and mind are wide open to devour new and interesting things! And some day an idea might pop out. Then it's another story what comes out of the idea :D

Below is a picture that portrays 8 ways that can kill and idea. Knowing your enemies is half the battle ;D I got the picture from my friend's blog at Samiviitamaki.com.

On-Air

I received an invitation for an interview for YLE Radio Savo radio channel. Although, it is a regional station in Mid-Finland it has around 70 000 listeners. The story was focusing in my professional life as a stuntman, actor and as an entrepreneur. It was only for 10 minutes but it really felt like 2 minute interview!

If you feel really lucky with the Finnish language, please hear the recording of the interview from the link below. See also the video where I demonstrate little bit of Acrobatic Body Control!

YLE Radio Savo with Tung Bui

Concealed Lives turning in to Public Life

Concealed Lives (FIN: Salatut Elämät) has been the 2nd most viewed TV program since it was first broadcasted in 1999. It only seconds to the Daily News, which is amazing as Concealed Lives is a drama series (soap opera). With average of 800 000 daily viewers for the last ten years it means that being an actor in it exposes you to ca. 1/5 of the Finland's population. Concealed Lives to us actors turns in to Public Lives, and the public's opinion of us actors is sometimes surprisingly based on the fictional character that we portray on the television.


THE ADVENTURE

My adventures on the show begun in September 2009. My character, Noa Okada, was an 18-year old exchange student from Japan. His father was a Japanese but his mother a Finn. As Noa's mom was very strict on teaching him the Finnish language, his spoken Finnish was perfect. This made my acting million times easier! As I was chosen to act Noa's role, his background got additions with active training in martial arts and gymnastics. See the example videos below to see, how these characteristics were used in the show.

Noa vs. Miro

Noa vs. Miro on the dance floor

Noa chose to come to Finland as he wanted to experience himself what it means to be a Finn. He was excited about everything! This included going to the sauna and drinking heavily with the boys with dramatic results ;D In real-life I have seen exchange students coming to Finland, and these two activities are one of the first things to introduce to a new visitor! The dramatic results are based on the person himself ;D

Noa also started to have feelings towards his first friend in Finland, Oona Kiviranta. Oona was friendly towards him right from the beginning and made it easy for him to get used to the Finnish culture. Oona was also very interested in Japan and Japanese youth culture, therefore they had a lot in common. But Oona already had a boyfriend, Miro Holm. Their relationship was having difficulties as Miro had to put business before their relationship in many occasions. Still, Noa tried to behave himself in an honorable way all the way to the end. Huge problems begun when after a sushi dinner, arranged by Noa to Oona, both of them got accidentally drunk. Miro's mother Isabella Holm didn't approve Oona's and Miro's relationship, therefore she was willing to sabotage it as much as possible. Eventually, Oona kissed Noa, which totally surpised him as well. The truth didn't hold for long, and the true drama begun with drastic outcomes. After all, it is a drama show :)

After a very special exchange student experience Noa left back to Japan on the episode that was broadcasted on 18th January 2010. Towards the end he and Oona continued to be just friends. In the last scene between these two youth they said farewells in a positive manner.


POST-ANALYSIS

Noa, as a character, was designed to be a good guy. He was well raised, and he considered himself to be a descendant of a Samurai. Therefore, he always tried to be as honorable as possible. Nevertheless, he was still a teenager in a foreign country with its own culture, which created conflicts in his own mind and in his life in Finland. As much as I've paid attention to Noa's popularity in real-life, he has fans who like him, people who dislike him, and people who couldn't care less. No matter popular the character is, they have at least all these three groups of viewers.

In total, Noa was seen on 37 episodes between 11.9.2009 - 18.1.2010. Acting in Concealed Lives has been my most visible role so far in my acting career. Yet, I consider it to be just one great job among the many other jobs I've been privileged to do as a stuntman or as an actor (see my CV). I couldn't tell beforehand how the publicity from Concealed Lives would affect my life, and now as it is over, I can't tell yet how it will affect from this day onward.

What I know, is that deep down as a person, I haven't changed much (my subjective opinion). I've gained tremendous amount of new experiences and knowledge regarding actor's work and living as a more public person. But I've always worked hard to make my dreams come true, and as I'm still on the same path, I continue to work hard :D

I've enjoyed mainly positive publicity, and I am very thankful for everyone for that. I do my best to keep my image as positive as possible now and always! I am a happy person, and I love sharing this feeling to others as well! The more I share, the more I get in return. The Circle of Happiness where no one has anything to lose! :D

What I'm going to do in the future hopefully can be read every now and then from here, in this blog. How will I look, I don't know. Below are various pictures from my professional life over the years. I know it's me in them, but sometimes I think I look cooler in the pictures than in the real-life, hahahah ;D



Story of me in Ekonomi magazine. Photographer Tommi Tuomi (2006).




Acting as a Ninja Pirate in a corporate video. Photographer Paavo Mikkola (2007).




Actor/Stuntman for the Leet Promotion Video (watch it from here). Photographer Robert Örthen (2007).




Stunmant in Nissan Tiida TV commercial (watch it from here). Photographer Boyd Benkenstein (2007).




Parkour model in Salcomp Inc. company's Annual Report publication. Photographer Mikko Tikka (2007).




Model for the Extreme Running mobile game promotion materials. Photorapher by Joonas Mäntynen (2007).




Personal promotion picture. Photographer Sirpa Heikkilä (2007).




Stuntman for a TV commercial. Photographer Antti Lahtinen (2007).




The Cat with my mom from the Alice in Wonderland theater play. Photographer my sister (2007) :D




From Nokia N79 Active Promo video (watch it from here). Photographer Timo Lampinen (2008).




From Yakuza Diaries - Blooming Flower short-film (watch it from here). Photographer Mika Laurila (2008).




Personal Promotion picture. Photographer Jere Hietala. Visualization by Jay Style (2009).


See more pictures and videos of me from my website WWW.TUNGBUI.COM