FILMMAKING

…Doesn’t it?

PROJECT STATUS: Work-in-progress

DATING SUCKS

Made by Norman Yeung for lo-fi shits 'n giggles

Camera: iPhone / Crew: A tripod

Daniel distracts himself from depression by hooking up with strangers and partying. He meets Maggie, whose troubled relationship with her mother shows Daniel the issue he needs to resolve in order to escape his profound sadness.

Anne Darling gives a nuanced look at depression, how some people can hide their suffering by avoiding the problem. And how inspiration to get help can come in unexpected ways.

ANNE DARLING / 2016 / 16 minutes / Electric Train Productions

Written and directed by Norman Yeung

Cast: Norman Yeung, Allison Scagliotti, Janet Lo, Cara Gee

Producers: Aaron Kopff, Alexander Brodzki, Agnieszka Gutkowska / Co-producer: Jamey Sinanan / Director of Photography: Catherine Lutes / Production Designer: Sophia Pierro / Costume Designer: Jessica Mary Clayton / Editor: Stephen Philipson / Music: Beliefs, LIDS / Special appearances: Beliefs, Brendan Canning, Jesse Rath

SELECTED SCREENINGS:

Soho House Film Festival – Toronto

DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival – Washington, D.C.

Asians On Film Festival – Los Angeles

NSI (National Screen Institute) Film Festival – Canada

GRANTS AND AWARDS:

Best Cinematography (Catherine Lutes) – Asians On Film Festival

Faye’s husband tries to shake her out of her melancholy by inviting guests for dinner. It’s an unwelcome surprise.

HELLO FAYE / 2006 / 16 minutes

Written and directed by Norman Yeung

Cast: Jo Chim, Lee Kim, Melissa Poll, Zaib Shaikh

Producer: Morgan Tams / Director of Photography: Chris Clifford / Production Designer: James Algie / Costume Designer: Claire Edmondson / Editor: Gareth C. Scales / Music: David Arcus / Paintings: Juliana Neufeld

SELECTED SCREENINGS:

Mini Movie International Channel – Europe

Vancouver Asian Film Festival

Los Angeles International Short Film Festival

GRANTS AND AWARDS:

Norman Jewison Filmmaker Award

William F. White Production Grant

Kodak Canada Film Stock Grant

A woman brings a man home to meet her husband.  The open marriage collapses overnight.

MARNIE LOVE / 2005 / 15 minutes

Written and directed by Norman Yeung

Cast: Colette Kendall, Lee Kim, Peter Nelson

Producer: Morgan Tams / Director of Photography: Sarah Kolasky / Production Designer: James Algie / Costume Designer: Claire Edmondson / Editor: Adam Jones / Music: David Arcus / Choreographer: Aurora Stewart de Peña / Titles and Animation: Tim Moore

SELECTED SCREENINGS:

Air Canada on-flight entertainment

Movieola: The Short Film Channel

Student Shorts Film Festival – Toronto

Moving Pictures Film Festival – Canadian National Tour

Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival

Vancouver Asian Film Festival

Calgary International Film Festival

GRANTS AND AWARDS:

Jack Kuper Award for Filmmaking

Technicolour Award for Cinematography (Sarah Kolasky)

Jury Honourable Mention, Vancouver Asian Film Festival

The passage and movement of light through film.

LIGHT 01 / 2006 / 3.5 minutes

Made by Norman Yeung

Materials: 16mm black leader

PROCESS:

I gathered scraps of black leader from a processing lab and took them in my shower. I soaked them in a basin of water to soften the emulsion while I washed myself. Every few minutes I would roughly agitate the film. Some soap and shampoo mixed with the basin water, but I doubt this had any effect on the film. Because the emulsion was already fixed, the film was strong and did not scratch as much as I expected.

After splicing the pieces together, I transferred the scratched images to Mini DV by shooting the projection from a white wall. I intended to fuse audio and image in Final Cut Pro. However, I had not intended to use the resultant recorded sounds of projection. But when I slowed down the footage in Final Cut Pro, the projection clatter became droning and hypnotic; I was intrigued by the slowed audio. So, instead of exploring only slowed pictures, I decided to also explore slowed sound.

INTENTIONS:

I wanted to work with pure light. No colour, no recognisable images, just light. I decided that scratched black leader would best portray the passage and movement of light through film.

In order to analyse the movement of light, I slowed down the images to as little as 2% of regular speed. The scratches became a sort of animation, with after-images remaining due to persistence of vision and, perhaps, the differing frame rates between film and video. In effect, the scratches became explosions of light, pulsating slowly enough for one to note their shape.

SELECTED SCREENINGS:
Traverse Vidéo – Toulouse, France
Veni Vidi O at Lennox Contemporary Gallery – Toronto

Film Fort – Toronto

Alienation, loneliness, and mystery.

SWF-31 / 2006 / 3 minutes

Made by Norman Yeung

Materials: 16mm B+W film

PROCESS:

I intentionally shot the film over-exposed and out of focus. I hand-processed the film by cramming all 100ft into a small bucket with excessive agitation to create scratches on every frame. The nicks become their own sort of animation. I played with the speed of the images based on the performer’s movements and content of the audio. For example, when the performer leans to look out the window, I speed up her movements and scratches to real-time to create anxiety. The women’s monologues are excerpts from a telephone dating service; the messages were transcribed and recited by friends and colleagues.

INTENTIONS:

SWF-31 explores alienation, loneliness, and mystery. The performer in the film is separated from the outside world, remaining inside her home reading and catching only glimpses of life beneath her window. She is alienated from society and remains a mystery. Her state of mind is represented by the women’s voices, who suggest a loneliness, a certain yearning and lack of fulfillment. These real and common human feelings are expressed electronically – their humanity rendered technological – intensifying a sense of detachment and alienation.