In Vietnam, we had to ride on motorcycles following a group of vigilantes as they patrolled the streets, looking out for burglars and thieves.
In Metro Manila, we spent days camping out with volunteer firefighting brigades. When a call came, the film crew had to hang on for dear life as the fire trucks raced off.
There were also operations where it was too dangerous for a film crew to follow. We tried something we’d not done before – what if we had the volunteers capture the footage?
The Hong Kong mountain search and rescue team attached GoPros as body cameras before going in search of a missing person. One GoPro captured the horrifying moment when a volunteer almost lost his grip on the ropes as he was abseiling down the slopes.
The gravity of these situations kept us grounded. As documentarians, we have a tendency to see the ‘stories’, but for the people involved, it could be a matter of life and death.
There was an all-female firefighting team made up of cousins, mothers and daughters. There were restless university students and office workers eager to make a difference. There were those of an older age, who worry they lack the stamina.
And yet, there they were, turning up time after time, whenever a call for help came.
Moo Lee Lim
Series Producer/Director
Threesixzero Productions, for CNA Insider
