While the city has been in a “relatively static” state for the past week, a group of young local content creators told The Macau Post Daily via an online interview yesterday that they did not let the city’s “suspension” during the government’s special COVID-19 control and prevention measures stop them, instead, the suspension has activated their creativity.
Established in 2016, Bacalhau is known for its hilarious videos that have reached audiences in Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and to date has over 160,000 subscribers on the video sharing platform YouTube.
Creative Director of Bacalhau Rico Leng told The Macau Post Daily yesterday that the suspension has disrupted their filming schedule, forcing members to face the challenge of maintaining content output without their crew.
To overcome this, Leng said, he and his team started a series called “Brainstorming”, where instead of the members always appearing to be hanging out and playing games together as usual, he had members shoot their own videos at home and then put them on YouTube for viewers to vote on who did it better. “Through this fun activity, we’ve seen the creative potential that everyone has, and the diversity of the way everyone thinks.”
“The good thing is that we have the chance to think more about what creativity means to us,” Leng added, noting that members are creating videos featuring life under the pandemic, which he thinks shows that the local community is greatly affected by the city’s current suspension.
However, Leng said he is excited to see how the members have been using their creativity to turn their plight into positive energy that entertains their viewers.
So far, the “Brainstorming” series has been viewed 160,000 times.
Bacalhau member Leong Chi Long told The Macau Post Daily he sees the suspension as a reflection on the creative process itself for him. “On the one hand, I’m adjusting my mindset, on the other hand, it has trained my creativity and my desire to create has increased.”
Leong emphasises that, if one keeps on practising one’s thinking and creative skills, they then will definitely improve, which in turn will give one more passion and make one more creative.
Leng agrees, saying that his driving force to create is “staying excited”, “I like to get new ideas to activate my brain, and I like to be surprised.” – With this motivation, he said, he is able to lead the team to create more and more.
Still, Leng acknowledged that the pandemic has had a negative influence on their team, and he hopes that after the pandemic is over, he and the team will be able to travel to different places to work with different people, so that one of their series, “Happy Travels”, will continue. “We have to keep thinking and creating to make up for the opportunities we have lost over the past two years due to the pandemic.”
Bacalhau’s most watched video was the one showing members taking on the spicy food challenge in Hong Kong, which has been viewed a million times so far.
Bacalhau is the Portuguese word for cod and – in a culinary context – dried and salted cod.
Video Grab from Bacalhau showing the online “Brainstorm” series
Undated photos provided by Bacalhau yesterday showing the team members posing
Video Grab from Bacalhau shows the team’s most highly viewed video taking on the spicy food challenge in Hong Kong
This photo shows Creative Director of Bacalhau Rico Leng (left) and member Leong Chi Long having some fun
