“Moscow Mission” Film Production Orchestra Project

Project Name: Orchestra for Film Shooting – Moscow Mission Production

Project Type: Film Production Orchestra | Foreign Musicians Coordination | On-set Music Services

Timeline: September 2022

Venue: Harbin Workers’ Culture Palace

Orchestra Size: 49 professional musicians

Project Background: In 2022, Dengtai Artists took on an exceptionally challenging assignment: assembling a live symphony orchestra for “Moscow Mission,” a major crime-action film starring Andy Lau and Zhang Hanyu. Directed by Herman Yau, the movie tells the true story of the 1993 China-Russia train robbery and required filming in Harbin to recreate 1990s Moscow scenes.

The production needed an orchestra composed entirely of foreign musicians to authentically represent a Russian concert hall scene. This requirement became an unprecedented challenge during China’s strict COVID-19 controls. With international borders closed, inter-provincial movement restricted, and testing and quarantine policies changing constantly, we had to gather nearly 50 foreign professional musicians from across the country within a short timeframe. Performed Shostakovich symphonies, providing comprehensive orchestra for film shooting services.

Musician Recruitment and Selection

Our core task was finding and vetting foreign professional musicians nationwide. Through our established international musician network, we contacted candidates from nine cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Kunming, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Changsha, and Huizhou. Each musician needed to meet multiple requirements: professional performance level, foreign nationality, and schedule availability. We successfully assembled a professional orchestra with over 90% foreign musicians.

Cross-City Logistics Coordination

Domestic travel restrictions during the pandemic made this project extremely complex. We created individual travel plans for each musician, confirmed local epidemic prevention policies, booked flights and hotels, and arranged ground transportation. Daily tracking of COVID situations and policy changes in all nine cities was essential, with constant readiness to adjust plans. Any sudden outbreak in one city could affect musicians’ travel, demanding strong emergency response capabilities.

Musical Instruments and Equipment Support

Harbin couldn’t provide the required professional instruments locally. We coordinated transportation from other cities for complete performance equipment, including a 7-foot Yamaha grand piano, Lyon & Healy professional harp, and Adams symphonic percussion set. We also prepared complete scores, music stands, conductor’s podium, and other stage facilities to ensure everything was ready for filming.

On-set Conducting and Management

Dengtai Artists founder Oleg Sheremeta personally served as orchestra conductor, directly participating in the on-set musical presentation. This not only ensured professional performance standards but also enabled better communication with the director and production team, allowing quick responses to changing shooting requirements.

Cross-Provincial Coordination During Pandemic

In September 2022, China maintained strict COVID-19 controls. Inter-provincial travel required multiple PCR tests, policies changed daily, and quarantine could happen anytime due to outbreak escalation. We established a real-time information monitoring system, tracking epidemic prevention policies in nine cities daily and creating detailed travel plans for each musician. We scheduled all PCR tests in advance and built in sufficient buffer time to ensure everyone arrived in Harbin on time and passed health code verification smoothly.

Scarcity of Foreign Musicians

Finding nearly 50 foreign professional musicians willing and able to participate in filming was already difficult. During the pandemic, many foreign musicians had left China, and those remaining reduced activities due to various restrictions. We leveraged our international musician network built over years, contacting, convincing, and coordinating one-by-one. For hesitant candidates, we explained epidemic prevention measures and safety guarantees in detail, ultimately persuading enough high-level musicians to join the project.

Equipment Transportation Complexity

Professional symphonic instruments, especially large ones like grand pianos, harps, and timpani, are technically challenging to transport. Pandemic-era logistics restrictions added further difficulty. We planned transport routes in advance, ensuring no epidemic risks in cities along the way, selecting reliable transport companies, purchasing insurance for valuable instruments, and arranging professional staff in Harbin to receive and tune equipment. Every instrument had to reach optimal performance condition before filming.

Tight Shooting Schedule Pressure

Film shooting schedules are typically tight, allowing no delays. From receiving the assignment to completing filming, we had only a few months’ preparation time while handling various emergencies. Through efficient project management and team collaboration, we completed all preparations on schedule, ensuring filming proceeded as planned.