They Come in Waves

A film that I created with help from family and friends.

An interesting process of this film was how we bypassed the restriction of filming on a beach. The rules were that on the beach, no one was allowed to use a drone. So, I kayaked in the ocean and remotely controlled the drone and filmed that way as the ocean is technically public property.

Another interesting fact is on the music. The music was created with themes and motifs that evolved and changed based on the story or characters state, each music piece having a meaning and message. It was a collaboration between myself, (story/message) Jem (music creation) and Raina Lin (music creation).

The title "They Come in Waves" not only references the main character's fear of the ocean but how depression and guilt affects her. Often with moments where you can breathe to suddenly drown as if hit by a wave.

The films idea stemmed from my constraints. I took inventory of what I could work with within a budget of a flight ticket from Beijing to the Philippines.

Knowing that I would be working alone; I wrote a script with what I had, limiting locations and actors. I used this to enhance the story, and used an actor that I know and love.

Actress: Jem is brilliant in musicals with a beautiful voice. She can portray a tragic character and can express sadness really well. With that in mind I started creating the story to involve her voice.

I wanted her character to interact with other characters, but with my limitation of actors I could only rely on my family. So I used their voices.

Location: I was limited to one person in the crew (myself) who would film, record audio, do the lighting, and design the set - so I knew the majority would need to be in a controlled environment. To maximize on this I made it a apocalyptic setting forcing my protagonist to indoors where lighting is easier to control.

I had access to a beach nearby, so I linked the tragedy (part of the film) with the locations available. Allowing for a more diverse setting within the film.

Pre/Pro/Post - Production: I had the benefit of being the entire crew so when I was writing the script I was able to keep in mind of possible transitions during editing and possible shots for the cinematography.

It would have been easier to have a crew, and a lot more fun, but I did the best with what I had and I enjoyed it all the same.