Past Filmmakers

Changhee Chun
Creation: Episode 1: Lift Up The Earth

The Interview

1. How did you come up with the idea for the film?
This film is about myself as an independent filmmaker. So, the idea for this film has been in my mind for a while. Whenever I saw the interesting images in my daily life, I wrote them in my creative journal. For this film, I read through this journal and picked up some ideas that could show the truthful moments of the filmmaker's life.

2. How long did the production process take?
Actually, it's still going on. This film, Episode 1: Lift Up the Earth, is the first part of the feature length film. When I decided to make the first episode, I came up with the idea of other episodes. I planned to combine four different episodes to accomplish my first feature film. Now, I am making the final episode in Taiwan. Just for the first episode, I spent a year to finish it. It took three months for shooting and another three months for making money (I had to pay off credit card bills before the post-production).

3. What challenges did you experience in the creation of the film?
There are so many challenges, including "budget". It would take 20 pages to describe all of them. However, the hardest thing is about communication. I came to NC three years ago from Korea. Can you imagine how bad my English is? No wonder! Actors and crews always waited for my words on location and I had to say what I want. It's tough but, thank God, film is a visual medium. I made a visual storyboard for every different shots to communicate with actors and crews. Eventually, this storyboarding helped me a lot for the visual design of the film as well as communication.

4. What is your favorite memory from creating the film?
When I finished the editing, it was around 5 AM. A lot of mixed feelings suddenly came into my mind. Joy, sorrow, regret, self-pity and so on... Even though the finished film is very "bad" to me, I praised God because I believed Jesus gave me this valuable chance to make the film. I have never forgotten his love for this film production.

5. When someone has finished watching the film, what do you hope they take away from the experience?
It's very tough question. I think it totally depends on the audiences' own imaginations but I hope, at least, this film can make the audiences "think" about their own life. I mean, there are so many great entertaining films, but only a few films showing totally different aspects or styles. That's why I tried to make this film.

6. What type of reaction has your film received from viewers?
"boring...confusing...different....unique...I don't understand what's going on...." Many people have asked me the theme of the film, but I have never explained. I believe that the filmmaker has to say something by film, not by words. So, if they don't get anything, it's my fault.

7. What advice would you give to aspiring young filmmakers?
"Keep shooting..." just like the main character of this film... I bet you will have a hard time making a good film. Sometimes, you will say, "I'll give up!" but that is the moment you have to overcome. This film is my 10th short film but it is still bad. However, I am not going to give up.

8. Please tell us about the next film you plan to work on?
I am making the 4th episode (of this series). Hopefully, I can finish it before the end of the year. Once I finish it, I will combine the four different episodes to make a feature length film.

9. What are your thoughts on the film industry in NC?
Quite frankly, I don't know much about the film industry in NC. But when I heard about NC Visions, I felt the bright future of the independent filmmakers in NC.