I am the director and scriptwriter for this project. It’s a new environment with new group members whom I have never worked with before. Ironically, it’s also my first time directing for a film camera.

In the pre-production phase, my role is obviously to get a script done and written. As they have always said and reiterated, it is always easier to describe on paper my role than actually doing it. In screenwriting classes, my script is always written with a tag-line but never with an intention to create a message or procure a meaning to strike an impact on the reader. My scripts were written based on stories I want to tell and show, more than a message I want to convey. It’s rather conflicting when I have a sensitive character when I am dealing with friends, and yet when it comes to writing scripts, I adopted a rather oblivious stand point.

Therefore my initial script was written with an ending that double-twists the audience and gives them all the confusion that they deserve for all the chaos they produce in today’s society until Dingjie starts to question me in terms of message, intention and reason. I realised that I am a kind of person that hates to answer with reason, because I am still a young and naive boy with ideas that are wild and illogical. However I tried my best to rationalize my thoughts and slowly squeeze out the last bit of brain juices for four days to conjure a meaning for the story out of thin air. I admit that the meaning and intention of the script was kinda of forced rather than felt and I was particularly guilty for it.

My initial purpose of doing a double twist kind of hallucination story in a tight relationship of 2 brothers and one sister is to create a sense of escape for people who has been already watching films that are already giving them all the emotional impact, the heart-warming cheesy romance or bromance. I simply just want people to have their own revelation by the end of the story, to put puzzle pieces together and interpret the ending on their own.

After much discussion with Ding Jie, I have decided to change it into a heart-warming tale that emphasizes on the reason to live for someone that needs you. I eliminated and took away all notions of confusing and leaving an air of suspense for the audience and converted the ending into something that actually touches people a bit. The story isn’t about twists and turns anymore, I have to guide the story’s arc into something that procures a meaning of sibling love.

After the script was written, before I went on to worry about the screen play, I did a two column script, stating the purpose of each and every scene and their relevance to the theme of the story. Aside from a forced story intention, I realised that the column script ironically helped me to understand my own thoughts and my own “forced” intentions better. I learnt how to justify the reasons and intentions in each of the scene I have created. I realised that there is always an underlying reason behind every scene I create, the only hindrance is to put forth the reason from the back of my mind on paper.

After I have understood and known the story arc I am trying to achieve in accordance to the theme of sibling love, I started to do the usual line script with the beats and also the shot list for Ding Jie. Visualizing what was on paper is a new challenge for me who is new to directing. I had to take into account the amount of coverage I need based on the importance of the details within the scene. I learnt that it is always best to express what you need within a long take than to break them up into cuts. In my opinion, I figured that it is more comfortable for the eye to follow an action within a take, than to let the cut visually guide the eye to follow. I need to know when I should guide the audience along with multiple cuts and when do I need to let them follow the action within a single long take. This is when I realise that screen play and purpose of each and every scene are highly interdependent.

I have to communicate and express the purpose of the shots I have designed in the shot list to Ding Jie who is my DP and my casting director. I referenced OZU’s style and felt that his strong points were the usage of wide-shot and stage theatre kind of establishing shot. I didn’t like his POV pick up shots as it brings audience in forcefully into the emotional tone of his films. I wanted wide-shot coverage to show the overall dynamics between the three siblings. Close-up shots that I have designed are always meant for the beats I have stipulated for the script.

Overall, I felt that the pre-production stage was an opportunity to reflect closely on what I want to achieve and what I want to express. I was disappointed with myself to have done something for the sake of pleasing people. I should have been more assertive and opinionated with what I initially sought out to express and work on it instead of tweaking it into something that has already been done before.

My teammates are very helpful people who is willing to go the extra mile to get things planned during pre-production. Once my shot list is done, the rest of my teammates would help with the shooting schedule and the storyboard and efficiently get them done in a single day.

However , the group was rather unorganized and there was minimal time for communication as everyone was busy with the mad rush of projects and open house consistently. The lack of communication often breeds misunderstanding especially when your teammate is always trying hard to guess what you might want. Hence, I think that our group can improve in terms of communication. We as a group should have been more prepared during pre-production. I felt that it is always very important for everyone in the group to open up and convey your ideas and opinions in front of your group members to ensure that there are no misunderstandings. There shouldn’t be any middle man to relay messages from one person to another, I feel that my team mates should have communicated and confronted the respective person if they have things that they wish to criticize about.