Asa Li
Asa Li spent six months traipsing across Hong Kong and shooting over 30,000 images to create “Homeland,” a time-lapse video tribute to our energetic city. The low-budget DIY project quickly turned viral. Li talks to Lisa Lee about his love for the city and his next film.
HK Magazine: How did you get the idea to make “Homeland”?
Asa Li: I started [the project] in April, when I noticed there were many beautiful time-lapse videos of foreign countries online and I wondered why there wasn’t one of Hong Kong of a similar standard. So I researched, wanting to make a video that would make people go, “Wow! Fantastic!” There is a popular nature film on Vimeo called “The Mountain” that was filmed in Spain. I can’t find the words to describe how beautiful that video is. I get shivers every time I watch it. It really is an outstanding piece of film that has inspired me.
HK: How did you design your own dolly [which is needed to hold the camera for a time-lapse video]?
AL: When I first saw the initial prices of dollies, I was going to give up. They cost upwards of $30,000 and are very professional. I didn’t want to spend that much money just for a hobby, so I attempted to build my own, getting the individual mechanical parts from warehouses, like on Apliu Street in Sham Shui Po. In all it took two months.
HK: When did your interest in photography begin?
AL: Last year, my friends opened up a biking course in Tuen Mun, and I wanted to make a short clip to help promote that. From working on that I got more into filming, learning tricks and researching how to film better.
[ Homeland ] - with my DIY motion-dolly from Asa Li on Vimeo.
HK: Do you encounter any problems while you are on location?
AL: Being able to find the right time, the right locations and being able to film in good weather—bad air quality is another problem—it can be very time-consuming. Once at Ching Chung Koon [a temple in Tuen Mun], some children started poking my equipment out of curiosity. I had to retake that simple shot six times. There are days when I returned later to take another [shot, but] something had been moved or changed. But one should always try to adapt to the surroundings around them. I travel like a refugee from Tuen Mun every day with my whole kit! But this is what Hong Kong people do—have a career and do something they enjoy in their spare time.
