The MV of the title track of Jessie Chung’s all new English album, There You Are has surmounted a quarter-million views on YouTube in less than two weeks; meanwhile Jessie has flown to Australia to film the MV for her second single on the album, Drive My Heart.
The director had higher expectations this time, and things went for a turn when he made Jessie speed through a narrow passage in the mountains during one scene. Jessie took the wheel herself while the director brought his camera along and rode shotgun next to her. When Jessie asked the director how fast she should drive, the director replied surprisingly, “as fast as possible”. Upon taking her “orders”, she pedaled to the metal and began an exhilarating run through the mountain pass. The narrow pass was full of twists and turns, but nothing was going to stop the director from asking more; he required Jessie to look at the camera time after time while singing the lyrics simultaneously. As a result, Jessie came close to colliding with oncoming vehicles driving on the other side of the road many times. In one case, a car came from the opposite side as she turned her steering wheel at the last moment, barely avoiding the catastrophe. She and the director turned pale after experiencing the close-call, but the director was relentless and willing to keep trying. Under the circumstance, Jessie was forced to take up her cross and finish the scene under dangerous conditions.
Other scene required Jessie to stand and perform on a steep hillside; walking along the side of the hill was quite dangerous already, but the director asked Jessie to sing and lose herself on the edge. Jessie remained obedient, and she disregarded her own safety. While she unreservedly performed, she totally lost her balance and tumbled down the hillside. Luckily, personnel were able to take hold of her in time, and she was saved from the fate of falling further down, all the way into the ravine. Everyone was utterly shocked by the incident. The fall gave Jessie a fair amount of cuts and bruises on her extremities, but she continued to film despite the hardship.
Afterwards, shooting moved into the studio, and in order to achieve certain visual effects, the director brought in a fog machine. However, the artificial fog made the stage very slippery, and Jessie who had high heels on slipped and slammed on the ground with a loud “boom” during one of the takes. It took her quite a while to stand up after the fall, and examination revealed that her thighs and bottom were severely bruised. The director contemplated halting production, but Jessie, not wanting to delay the team, insisted to continue filming despite the pain. Her dedication and passion caused a wave of applause to rise among the personnel. Jessie indicated that although filming process was quite arduous, and progress was slow and hindered by many obstacles, she had the drive and persistence to pull herself up by her bootstraps and “finish the race” every time she thought of her fans and friends who support her. On the other hand, she’s also very eager to see the MV of <Drive My Heart> come into realization.
