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Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably caught wind of the man openly shedding tears while singing Singapore's national anthem during the National Day Parade (NDP) on Aug. 9.
The man, who has since been identified as 41-year-old Bedok Secondary School teacher Azuan Tan, has had his tear-stained countenance plastered over social media, and has arguably transformed into a local icon of patriotism.
Notwithstanding the memes that have flourished in his wake.
If the thought crossed your mind that such ardent emotions conveniently displayed at the most opportune moment on a televised livestream might be staged, the cameraman behind this particular shot is here to dispel such notions.
Mothership spoke to the eagle-eyed man behind the "money shot", as his friends and colleagues have called it.
Photo courtesy of Ishak Jamid
Identifying interesting characters
Formerly a cameraman for Mediacorp, 49-year-old Ishak Jamid now freelances and handles the cameras for a variety of events.
Photo courtesy of Ishak Jamid
The NDP is something he has been covering in his profession since 2014.
Two days ago at The Float @ Marina Bay, Jamid had been stationed in front of the yellow column of seats, tasked to shoot the performances on stage and capture shots of the audience for the director's cut of the parade.
Having done this for years, Jamid has a standard protocol for identifying "unique" subjects" — he starts off by scanning the sea of people for any "nice characters" that stand out, such as those with temporary Singapore flag tattoos on their faces.
Keeping in mind their seating positions, he readies himself to pan the camera back to them at certain points during the parade, in the event that there are good moments for him to capture.
Photo courtesy of Ishak Jamid
"Wah, he's really crying!"
Of course, Jamid isn't prescient, and not all his shots can be foreseen.
Majority of the visuals on camera might depend on luck and timing, but through his years of experience, Jamid has also honed a certain instinct for when a "moment" is about to occur.
Aware that emotions are bound to be running fever high in such a celebration, he keeps a close eye on spectators' expressions during the playing of the national anthem in particular.
As luck would have it, Tan, the NDP Crying Man, happened to be seated in the column of seats he was assigned to shoot.
"In that moment everybody [was feeling] emo, patriotic," he said. As "Majulah Singapura" reached its crescendo, he spotted the shine of what appeared to be liquid on Tan's cheeks.
This was "definitely not normal," he thought.
"So I immediately zoom in, and then, wah, he's really crying!" Jamid recounted his disbelief.
Although Jamid might have captured a visceral moment of overflowing emotions live on camera, timing is crucial as well.
Due to the multitude of cameras livestreaming the parade, there has to be an opportune moment to cut to his shot as well.
And thankfully there was, and Tan — and by association, Jamid — have shot to online stardom.
Getting used to the fame
Ultimately, Jamid's goal on the job is to obtain a subject or visual that others can relate to, "so when they see the visual they feel touched".
"I feel touched also," he said upon reviewing the iconic clip of Tan.
Like the spectators at the parade, Jamid, similarly, rides that emotional high the crowd exudes, and as a cameraman, has the desire to immortalise that moment on video.
The fame his video clip has garnered, however, has somewhat stumped the man.
His two children, who were watching the parade on television, initially did not know the shot of Tan was taken by him either.
"That's the beauty of [being] in this line of work, when you're behind the camera, the camera give you [a] different kind of view."
With the rounds Tan's face has made on social media, detractors have also popped up, accusing the moment of being staged and theorising that Tan was planted for the camera.
Jamid remains unfazed, maintaining that if the subject's emotions are authentic, viewers will be able pick apart real and fake.
Despite his bafflement, this isn't Jamid's first brush with fame.
A shot he took of one spectator during the 2015 NDP stole the show.
A behind-the-scenes person
Although being a cameraman is tough work, Jamid shares that he is happy to remain behind the scenes.
He admits that he retains a passion for his work in spite of the long hours and tedium of lugging the heavy equipment around.
The enjoyment viewers derive from his content also spurs him forth.
"When you get the shot and people see on the screen on the TV and then they like it, then they say 'wah it's nice', that's the satisfaction that I get every time."
Jamid also confesses that, while he is definitely appreciative, all the online attention his shot has gotten has overwhelmed him slightly.
For now, he is content to continue working behind the scenes in the years to come and to remain on his side of the camera lens.
Photo courtesy of Ishak Jamid
Top photo courtesy of Ishak Jamid and NDP Peeps livestream