The person behind the 'miraculous' shot of A80: When I quoted the price, VFC was silent

After the 80th anniversary celebration, parade, and march of the August Revolution and National Day on September 2 in Hanoi, cinematographer Le Bao Han is one of the names that attracts attention on social networks when she contributes beautiful shots to the people.

On his personal page, he shared for the first time about the opportunity to cooperate with VTV and the process of working with unprecedented psychological pressure at the A80 event.

Opportunity to cooperate with VTV

At the end of June, Le Bao Han accepted an invitation to work at the A80 event from cameraman Vu Trung Kien - Director of Photography Department of Vietnam Television Film Center (VFC), VTV.

After a short discussion and receiving the quote, Mr. Kien was silent for a moment and then said: "This project is very important, I don't know if I have enough money to invite you, but I still asked for a quote first to calculate because I need your special calls."

Le Bao Han thought of the important event that only happens once every 80 years of the country so she proactively asked not to receive any salary, only taking the cost of food, accommodation and travel for the accompanying staff.

More than a month later, Mr. Nghiem Ba Hoai - Head of VFC's Visual Director Department - informed that Le Bao Han was approved to work at the A80 event.

However, using the Steadicam Trinity(advanced camera stabilization system allows smooth 5-axis rotation, 360° rotation and flexible movement from low to high in one shot - PV)need more time to convince the leaders.

Mr. Hoai added that he still calculated the cost for Le Bao Han, not letting him suffer any loss.

Take a risk and cut the group off

Before the operation, Le Bao Han asked to go to cut the tank column but the VTV crew was afraid of the risk or the army did not allow it. In the end, they still agreed to deploy during the joint training session.

Even though the practice went smoothly, a VTV cameraman still reminded him to be careful because "the distance between a hero and a national sinner is only one step, a stumble can ruin the whole ceremony".

The sentence made Le Bao Han "suffer terrible mental pressure", the closer to the A80 incident, the heavier the burden in her heart.

He said he had to be sure of the areas he was allowed to move around in because the Steadicam Trinity was the "most sensitive and dangerous" piece of equipment.

On September 2, Le Bao Han was assigned to film 11 important blocks, including 4 blocks for the crew. Although the script was carefully planned, there were still variables during the filming process, sometimes the plan had to be changed in a split second according to the director's orders via walkie-talkie.

He patiently followed the instructions and tried not to make any mistakes until the end of the program. When Mr. Hoai told him to stop, his emotions exploded, and the entire VTV crew shouted with joy over the intercom.

"I have never had to endure such a terrible mentality in any project. But it was worth every second and minute. A Steadicam worker can probably only do it once in their life," he shared.

The cameraman told the VTV crew: "Thank you for giving me the opportunity to show my skills. Perhaps this is our glorious milestone in our entire career. See you guys on A100 if we still have the strength and dare to do it again."