UNNAMED SHORT FILM. Shot September 2024.
Script/PM: Buu Thach
PRODUCER: NGUYEN TRAN
Director/ DOP: Nguyen Tran
EDITOR/COLORIST: Nguyen Tran
VFX/ SFX: Nguyen Tran
This short film serves as a practice piece for honing my filmmaking skills, including directing, editing, cinematography, color grading, VFX compositing, and sound design.
All scenes below are graded.
The lighting setup in this scene is quite simple, in fact, there was no light at all.
Since this is a zero-budget film, I didn’t use any additional lighting throughout.
All the light comes from the windows on either side of the actor, with the door in the background providing some backlighting.
Adding some smoke could have created more depth and highlighted light rays, but again—no budget! :)
This scene is fairly straightforward, inspired by Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer.
It mirrors the moment where Oppenheimer grapples with his inner turmoil following the bombing.
Below, you can compare the original scene with my interpretation.
Movie Reference
MY VERSION
HOW IT'S MADE
In case you didn't catch it! Turn the sound on!
I’ve done some replication of the sound design from the Oppenheimer scene!
The scene is inspired by the effect and sound design. Color grading is different.
This is the same scene and set, just shot in a close-up.
The lighting comes solely from the window, and with the right angle, a single light source works perfectly.
The scene is intentionally shot with brighter lighting to convey the character's gradual emergence from a state of depression.
As the light subtly increases, it reflects the character’s journey toward a lighter, more hopeful mental state, visually representing his slow release from the weight of his internal struggles.
Just to clarify, this isn’t an Apple iPhone promotion—we simply came across their latest ads and were genuinely impressed.
At this point, the sun went down, causing a drastic shift in lighting.
This is one of the major challenges for no-budget filmmakers who lack additional lighting equipment.
This center shot worked out perfectly thanks to the nice weather, allowing us to capture it without any additional fill lights.
We got lucky with that!
I used the rule of thirds... or maybe I just thought the cage in the background looked cool!
I love this scene—it captures the character's confusion perfectly.
The row of trees feels like prison bars, symbolizing his entrapment, while the open path to the left represents freedom.
It visually reflects his inner struggle to find his way.
This dreamy scene features close-up plants framing a blurred silhouette. Anamorphic flares add cinematic depth, with a purple lens flare and warm lighting suggesting a gentle, contemplative mood.
Please note that the anamorphic flare was added in post-production—no way we could afford anamorphic lenses when we can't even get a basic light!
Just to reiterate, this isn’t an Apple advertisement!
We’re simply showcasing our work and the effects we’ve used to enhance the visuals.
Also this was heavily influenced by Apple ads.
This scene has been sped up to loosely mimic the transitions seen in Apple ads.
Unfortunately, we’re probably never going to be able to afford a motion control arm or fancy stabilization equipment.
The speed ramp shot was done on an iPhone, which has better optical image stabilization than most cameras and delivers quality good enough to match seamlessly with the camera footage in post-production.
I added the Flash effect just for fun—it’s mostly an exercise to work on my compositing skills. Story-wise, it’s pretty out of context. You can check out the demo below.
You see, the rotoscope wasn't great, but I'm too lazy to redo all of it.
Also it's a slightly different version than the still.
Also it's a slightly different version than the still.
Just another still from the film.
In this scene, there were a lot of ceiling lights, so I had to search for a good spot to avoid harsh lighting. The next scene shows just how challenging the lighting was, but we had to make do with it.
It would have improved the shot to have a negative fill on the right to reduce that bright spot on the ceiling while still maintaining the nice contrast on the actor's face.
At least the backlighting turned out somewhat well.
Overall, I’d rate it a 6/10.
The script was written by my friend, Buu Thach. I added a few small details to align with my vision, directing style, cinematography, and editing.
Believe it or not, everything was shot on an 8-bit camera—my trusty Sony at 4K with just one lens, a 23mm (34mm on APS-C).
Overall, the film could have turned out even better with more time, manpower, and equipment. But I’m satisfied with how it turned out.
