My first dips as a co-director, co-writer led to new learning points that expanded my understanding of the moving image sphere. 

01 Dealing with content
Writing from a testimony and translating the words to the chosen platform has proved to be different. One of the things I have realised in this process was that in recreating a film that was inspired by a true story to reach a wider audience, the writing has to be revised, yet not removing the essence.

Learning point: The output and platform influences the writing style. 

02 Storyboarding & pre-production
In the viscom realm, moodboards are the comfort zone. However, moving image storyboarding requires a different aspect other than the graphics representing the mood of the situation. It has to tell the story. Working with Celine, who was more experienced in the video space made me realise the gaps in my thinking in visual storytelling and the importance of planning for the shoot, and looking for visual references to give you more ideas to shoot the angle or represent the tone and vibe of the shoot. This lead to a much more efficient execution plan and more concrete steps to look further into what is needed. As an experimental and slightly indecisive person that likes to wing-it and solve problems and explore on-the-go, this was an additional step that I had to go through and learn. 

Learning point: Planning part-by-part is essential in pre-production. Make as many creative decisions in the planning, so on set you can focus on executing and ironing out other possible problems that might crop up.

03 Creative/Art Direction
Directing requires one to upkeep a ‘creative vision’. This was something I had to grasp. It is difficult to explain because it’s not just what the output will potentially look like in concrete matters - like ‘oh I want this font, oh I want this style’. It’s upholding a certain essence and understanding where you are heading and the confidence to trust your gut. This ‘sensing’ or ‘sensibilities’, I realised, requires time to train and multiple projects to master. (Like aging wine) The management of having different moving parts is also one that requires skill. How do you guide people towards where you want? How much do you let go in the process? How micro/macro should you go?  How much to push? These were things I did not anticipate beforehand, and boy was I unprepared. It also made me realise that this project was a small stepping stone up from hands-on execution, I really do have a long, long way to go in this creative journey. 😥

Learning point: ‘Step up’. Direct. Trust your creative gut, which will take years to sharpen. Envision. And keep reminding yourself of the creative direction you were going for. (Define it to the best of your ability)

Suffice to say, it was a slightly ambitious project that at times became overwhelming. I’ve always heard the phrase ‘you need a team to make a film’, but never really saw how necessary it was in the actual work till I experience it first hand myself. Low budget it was, but the amount of help I received - from writing to production, took me by surprise. I was also required to wear different hats in the process as each step required a different thinking, a different skillset. Overall, it was a big learning process for me that also expanded the way I understood storytelling and the moving image, beyond design.