Talent, hard work, and the embrace of new and unusual work; that’s how you create a long lasting and successful career, regardless of your vocation. Editor “Lucia” Ziyang Wang knows more than a little something about this. She’s worked extensively on many award-winning films like Free Ride, Confession, Son of Wanderer (alongside two time Oscar-winner Jana Sue Memel), and documentaries (Love, Antosha). When approached to edit a commercial for the audio book of The Little Prince read by Mark Chao for Mint Reading, she eagerly accepted. Never mind that she was piecing together a visual presentation for an audio book; the irony is obvious. Any work has great potential these days. Consider that this commercial which Lucia cut aired on several Chinese social media websites, including Weibo (500,000 hits, 29,000 reposts) and Tencent video (1.6 billion hits). Mint Reading is an app with more than four billion users; Their display of this commercial on their banner culminated in an overall viewing of Lucia’s work in the multiple billions. These numbers rival many Hollywood films that are released.
Award-winning actor Mark Chao is a huge star in China, known for both his talent and his looks. Mint understood that capitalizing on his reading of The Little Prince meant some form of visual presentation. The answer to this was in the form of a behind-the-scenes commercial. Chao’s voice acting in the studio was a simplistic setting; Lucia was enlisted as the editor to piece together the footage in a compelling way. The commercial presented Chao’s reading of this classic fantasy book but focused on his emotional connection with the subject matter. He is seen tapping into his emotional core, ranging from wonderment to tears. Wang utilized this in her cut. She relates, “For all these years there has been a myth that the star appearing attractive meant more than anything. That they should always keep a perfect smile, appear in the best camera angle, and look handsome. I’ve never agreed with this and feel that genuineness is more important than anything. The way that Mark was touched reading the book, his connection, that’s what attracts others to him. No one looks attractive when crying but at the same time there is a beauty in this. He was in the art itself, and forgot who he was as if that’s the least important thing in the world; that’s so beautiful! As an editor, I definitely feel it is my responsibility to not hide or cut this kind of shot but instead to share this with the world and let everyone respect his commitment to this art.”
Lucia’s approach and presentation of Chao was proven correct by the massive number of hits it has already received. While she is more often found editing films, cutting shots that enable audiences to feel the passion of the actors is as essential to a commercial like this as with longer form productions. Regardless of the format, viewers want to “feel” and Wang is outstanding when it comes to perceiving and anticipating these emotional receptors. She’ll be utilizing her talent in a number of upcoming projects which range from an Icelandic Glacial Commercial to the Reality TV Show Niki & Gabi: Take over Miami (YouTube/awesomeness TV/Viacom) to director Jensen Noen’s Feature Film Disillusion.