Reality Check Teaser Trailer
What is “space”? We may think we understand the meaning of space, but in fact, not many in this world truly understand what space means.
The recently discovered “Mandela Effect” seems to reveal a new awakening to the definition of space to the world.
This indie movie REALITY CHECK is a wake-up call for all to come face to face to the reality we are living in!
Yat Cheng is a senior engineer in an architectural firm and a stagger. Life has been fine for him until one day, his very best friend Fei Wan introduced him to “Mandela Effect” that inspired him to reconcile with his depressing past that he is running away from.
“Mandela Effect” is the resolution to his troubled past and this has re-defined “space” for Yat Cheng’s subsequent action.
In the summer of 2018, I participated in the Director Training Program organized by a local NGO, Hot Bear Bear Film Production. I have worked with over 100 seasoned and amateur filmmaking individuals to produce this film. From storyboarding, script writing to the actual production, I had the opportunity to job shadow and work with the team to produce this indie movie in a month. This indeed is a great opportunity for me to learn about directing, acting and film production and put my classroom knowledge into practice.
Story Development
REALITY CHECK is based on a popular topic in recent years, the “Mandela Effect”. For Hong Kong people, the hectic lives they are living may have consumed everything they have. I would like them to have a “reality check” on the space they are living in, whereas even history and reality may not stand the test of time. Without us even realizing it, reality has been changed. I would like to inspire my audience to rethink and reevaluate their value system and priorities in life by taking a fresh look at the space of our very existence.
Character Development
The inspiration of the main character, Yat Cheng, came from American’s Got Talent from which a staggered comedian shared about his throat injuries in a baseball game. I especially developed Yat Cheng to suffer from staggering as this is the close tie and complex emotional connotation attached to the relationship with his father. I named the character “Yat Cheng” which means 10 feet by 10 feet, a measurement in 2 dimension to relate to our search of the meaning of space set forth in this movie.
Symbolic Cinema
Character, behavior and costumes are key tools in communicating symbolism to the audience. I have deliberately built in a side-kick character in this movie, Uncle Bo (meaning wave) to denote moments of awakening to the understanding of space. Whenever a character has a new understanding of space, Uncle Bo will appear in different roles. He also acts as the narrator who lives beyond our space and guides the audience in understanding the meaning of space.
Framing and Composition
I think filmmaking is about the composition inside the frame. In this production, I have applied different techniques and screen direction to enable the emotional expression of the characters.
In the English-speaking culture, we read from left to right. This has also defined the emotional expression to be from the left to the right and it becomes the natural flow in the audience’s subconscious mind.
Collaboration
Nothing is possible without collaboration! I am really thankful for this opportunity to participate in the Director Training Program and to get to know many teammates who are very experienced in filmmaking and production. From the team’s great role model, I would really like to be able to further my studies in filmmaking through the undergraduate program at the School of Creative Media in City University.
The making of Reality Check
Director Aidan in my eyes
Premiere
20180930
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Director Commentary Sharing
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