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FRAME NOTES 10 - Framing LonelinessA few people have told me that my framing tends to have a sense of sadness or lonelin...
07/10/2026

FRAME NOTES 10 - Framing Loneliness

A few people have told me that my framing tends to have a sense of sadness or loneliness to it. I never really thought much about it, but I think it comes from how I see these moments.

When I am framing a character who is alone or sad, I tend to imagine that I just happened to chance upon them. They don’t know the camera is there, and we are just quietly observing this private moment from afar.

I think I am quite similar in real life too. If I see someone who is upset, my instinct is not to approach them, I will probably give them some space and watch from a distance. So I tend to do the same with my camera.

I like wider frames where the character feels small and alone in the space. I also use quite a bit of negative space, often pushing the character towards the side or corner of the frame instead of placing them nicely in the centre.

It throws the composition slightly off balance, and somehow that emptiness around the character makes the loneliness feel even stronger.

I guess for me, framing sadness is not always about going close and seeing the emotion on someone’s face.

Sometimes I just want to give them the space to be alone.

Boon Lay Place | directed by He Shuming
An Island Drifts | directed by vivian ip 葉頌怡
Sylvia | directed by Sabrina P**n
Jay | directed by Chen Sze-Wei
Colours | directed by Don Aravind Rajah
Nila Kalaam | directed by K. Rajagopal


 
 
 


FRAME NOTES 09 - Naturalistic LightWhen I think about naturalistic lighting, I usually start with what is already there....
30/09/2026

FRAME NOTES 09 - Naturalistic Light

When I think about naturalistic lighting, I usually start with what is already there. Where is the light coming from? A window, a door, a practical in the room? How is it interacting with the walls, furniture and textures in the space?

Then I decide what I want to keep, enhance, recreate, or sometimes block out completely.

Because in real life, light is messy.

You seldom get one perfect source at one perfect colour temperature. Daylight mixes with practicals. Light bounces off walls and picks up colour. Different surfaces reflect different colours back into the room. Even outdoors, there are all kinds of colour spills coming from the environment.

That’s why I like to dirty up my lighting.

I will mix different colour temperatures and different sources within the same scene. Sometimes the light might hit a character’s body but not fall perfectly on their face. Sometimes a reflected light can be a slightly different colour from the main source. Sometimes light reflects off objects and creates secondary sources.

Even if I don’t like the existing light, I might still keep the logic of it. A ceiling light might be ugly because of its intensity or spread, but instead of getting rid of it completely, I recreate the same idea with more control.

For me, naturalistic lighting is not necessarily about using natural light or leaving everything untouched. It is about understanding how light behaves in the real world, then bringing some of that messiness and imperfections into the way I light a scene.


Strawberry Cheesecake | directed by Siyou Tan
Dream Stall | directed by Annette Lee 李安 
暮海行散 | directed by BiDiu 
Homeless Girl | directed by 戴薇薇 
Wild Saturdays | directed by Sabrina P**n 



 
 
 


Frame Notes 08 - DistanceWhen I think about shot sizes, I don’t usually think about coverage or focal lengths. I think a...
16/09/2026

Frame Notes 08 - Distance

When I think about shot sizes, I don’t usually think about coverage or focal lengths. I think about where the audience should be in relation to the character.

With a child, that can mean bringing the camera closer to her height and scale. We are not necessarily seeing her literal point of view, but the world starts to feel a little more like her world.

In other moments, getting physically close changes our role in the scene. We stop observing from a comfortable distance and begin to feel caught inside the character’s experience.

And sometimes I want the opposite.

Pulling the camera far away can withhold that intimacy. Instead of seeing every expression, we start to read bodies, space and the distance between people. The characters become part of a larger environment.

For me, choosing camera distance is really choosing the audience’s relationship with the character - how close do I want you to be?

Homeless Girl | directed by 戴薇薇
Threads | directed by Don Aravind Rajah
Sunset | directed by Don Aravind Rajah





09/09/2026

Frame Notes 07 - The Autonomous Camera

Most of the time, I like the camera to have a reason to move. But sometimes, I let the camera become autonomous.

A shot can start by following a character or responding to their actions. But at some point, the camera does not have to follow anymore. It can stay behind, wander somewhere else, or become curious about something on its own.
I like the idea that the camera can discover the scene for itself.

Instead of always being led by the characters, it can observe things independently and reveal information that the characters themselves may not be aware of.

That changes our relationship with the camera. We are no longer only seeing the world through the actions of the characters. The camera becomes another presence in the scene, with the freedom to decide where it wants to look and what it wants us to discover.

I don’t use this often, because I think the camera has to earn that freedom first.
But when it does, I like letting it wander a little.

An Island Drifts | directed by vivian ip 葉頌怡





02/09/2026

Frame Notes 06 - What Makes the Camera Move?

When deciding on camera movements, one thing I always ask is - what is making the camera move?

A lot of the time, I let the actors motivate it. It can be something physical, like a character moving through the space. Or it can just be a look or a reaction that shifts our attention somewhere else.

Now movement becomes a way of revealing information. Instead of showing everything in the frame from the beginning, the camera can hold something back. Then, when the character gives us a reason to move, we discover that information with them - it could be another character, a new part of the space, or something that changes how we understand the scene.

So the movement is not just getting the camera from one composition to another. It’s controlling when the audience learns something, and hopefully making that discovery feel motivated by what’s happening within the scene.

For me, that’s much more useful than moving the camera simply to make a shot feel more energetic or dynamic.

What do we reveal, when do we reveal it, and what gives the camera a reason to show it?

That’s usually where I start.

01,02 - From Victoria to Ang Mo Kio | directed by Eva Tang

03 - Forget Me Not | directed by Seng Yew





26/08/2026

Frame Notes 05 - Emotional Geography

I don’t usually think about the camera as leading a scene. More often than not, it’s following it.

For this film, where the actors are emotionally is as important as where they are physically.

There are moments where Luz and her employer are only a few steps apart, but emotionally they feel worlds away. Other times, they are separated by a doorway, yet they are closer than they have ever been.

Those invisible shifts become just as important as the physical blocking.

Rather than constantly searching for the most beautiful frame, I wanted the camera to quietly follow those changes. Sometimes that meant holding back. Sometimes it meant moving with a character. Sometimes it just meant staying in the right place and allowing the performances to happen.

I think the camera is not just recording where people are, it’s also recording the emotional distance between them.





Frame Notes 04 - Spatial GeographyOne thing that became really important while making this film was blockingBefore think...
19/08/2026

Frame Notes 04 - Spatial Geography

One thing that became really important while making this film was blocking

Before thinking about lenses or camera movement, Jac Min and I spent a lot of time figuring out where each character belonged within the house.

Luz is constantly moving through spaces that aren’t really hers. She pauses at doorways, hesitates before entering rooms, finds places to hide. Meanwhile, her employer moves through the house effortlessly because it’s a space she naturally belongs in.

As their relationship changes, so does the way they occupy the space. One of my favourite moments is towards the end in the baby’s room. For the first time, I stopped seeing an employer and a helper. I saw two mothers standing in the same room.

The camera wasn’t trying to create that emotion. It was really just observing how the actors moved through the space.

I think blocking is one of the most important storytelling tools. Sometimes a single step into a room can completely shift the power of a character.





29/07/2026

Frame Notes 01 - Environment

I have always found it interesting how much the environment can say about a character before any dialogue is spoken.

For the opening of “Grandma Nai Who Played Favorites”, we begin on the temple grounds before the arranged date even takes place. To me, it is more than just a beautiful location. The temple represents tradition, family and the weight of cultural expectations.

Later, the film moves into a karaoke. The world suddenly becomes tighter, noisier and filled with reflections. Everyone is watching each other, everyone is putting on a bit of a performance, and the space starts to feel just as emotionally complicated as the conversation itself.

I guess that’s something I always think about when framing a scene. Sometimes the environment is not just a backdrop, it also quietly carries part of the emotional weight.

Beautifully directed by chheangkea





29/07/2026

Frame Notes 01 - Environment

I have always found it interesting how much the environment can say about a character before any dialogue is spoken.

For the opening of “Grandma Nai Who Played Favorites”, we begin on the temple grounds before the arranged date even takes place. To me, it is more than just a beautiful location. The temple represents tradition, family and the weight of cultural expectations.

Later, the film moves into a karaoke. The world suddenly becomes tighter, noisier and filled with reflections. Everyone is watching each other, everyone is putting on a bit of a performance, and the space starts to feel just as emotionally complicated as the conversation itself.

I guess that’s something I always think about when framing a scene. Sometimes the environment is not just a backdrop, it also quietly carries part of the emotional weight.





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