As the Singapore producer for the highly anticipated K-drama series, Little Women, Ochre Pictures navigated complexities and logistics and provided timely solutions for Studio Dragon, Korea’s largest content production house, which had commissioned production services company, Nine Tailed Fox for the location filming in Singapore in early July 2022.
Little Women is scheduled to premiere in South Korea on 3 September 2022, as well as on Netflix. Most of the scenes shot in Singapore will be screened in its eighth episode, with more Singapore-located scenes in five other episodes.
The complex undertaking by Ochre Pictures in Singapore was made possible through support from various agencies including the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), and the Land Transport Authority (LTA).
The Ochre Pictures team for this milestone collaboration in Singapore was led by its Creative Director, Jean Yeo and Managing Director, Pedro Tan, who each brought to the table their respective skillsets and experience harnessed from 22 years of producing globally-recognised and award-winning drama content.
Studio Dragon’s Producer for Little Women, Shin Ye Ji said: “Working with Ochre Pictures as the Singapore producer was a really good experience. We had to work in an unfamiliar environment, but the Ochre Pictures team facilitated every aspect of our requirements in Singapore through their deep experience and wide regional network of contacts. They worked very hard to ensure that our director got the precise shots she needed. We are very happy that we finished well, and in the process, had much fun too. We look forward to opportunities to collaborate with Ochre Pictures again on future projects.”
Danny Kang, Executive Producer of Nine Tailed Fox Production added: “Working alongside the local Singapore crew was exciting and a great experience. We had three different groups working together in a new environment, and while we had challenges, everyone especially in the Ochre Pictures team gave their very best unstinting effort at every point. The immense teamwork shone through, and I am pleased to say that we pulled off the project very well, thanks to Ochre’s hard-working attitude and very tight coordination.”
Ochre Pictures achieved what seemed impossible at first, in delivering solutions to meet the exacting requirements for Little Women in Singapore, along with some unprecedented firsts.
For the first time in Singapore, Ochre Pictures successfully brought in a Russian arm, a highly-specialized motor crane used to film heart-stopping and dramatic car stunt scenes. A Special Process Vehicle with a camera mounted on-board was also brought in. Both of these very specialized equipment enabled the filming of a critical vehicle stunt scene realistically and safely.
Permission was granted by the LTA after lengthy negotiations as they had to be assured of strict safety protocols.
The Ochre team also secured the go-ahead to fly a drone inside the Cloud Forest at Gardens by the Bay, as well as the closure of all five lanes along Robinson Road and McCallum Street in Singapore’s financial district, when typically, past closures had seen at least one lane left open.
Staging a jungle scene out of the pages of the Vietnam War? This feat was made possible by the Ochre Pictures team in urban Singapore, including bringing two cherry pickers and a crane arm right into the midst of a muddy site within Keppel Hill.
Ochre Pictures also helped to stage the complex and massive coordination with several stunt cars, including five hero cars and 14 extra prop cars, for an action sequence involving a 20-tonne truck.
Together with a number of production houses, Ochre Pictures first met Studio Dragon in 2019. This initial meeting was facilitated by IMDA which set the stage for Ochre Pictures to be awarded the contract, after STB introduced Ochre Pictures to Nine Tailed Fox.
For Jean Yeo, Creative Director of Ochre Pictures, this collaboration is a fulfilment of an observation from 20 years ago, where she saw first-hand the unity among and tight-knit cooperation of Korean content producers to succeed on the world stage.
She says: “Studio Dragon is Korea’s biggest production company in Korea standing side by side with top power media houses internationally. It has always been Ochre Pictures’ dream to work with Studio Dragon and we are immensely proud to be selected as the Singapore Producer for Little Women.
“Working closely with the team from Korea, we learnt from each other and forged friendships that we hope will lead to more collaborations. We are grateful we had ring-side seats to a production that we are confident will be a success. On that note, we at Ochre Pictures aspire to greater heights in the content that we continue to produce.”
