For this project in Saigon for the Hoan My hospital group, the director, Asua, wanted to create a piece that felt truly cinematic, blending objective, observational shots with intimate, first-person POV sequences.
Due to the logistical constraints of filming in a working hospital, the entire shoot had to be completed in a single, massive 20-hour day. This intense schedule meant that every decision had to maximize efficiency. When we struggled to find a location for a key scene, I suggested we use a daylight photo studio close to the hospital. It had huge glass windows and a white cyclorama, allowing us to build a convincing hospital room with just a few key props, giving us full control and saving precious time.
My aesthetic goal was to create a look that felt as natural as possible, using light to shape the world in a way that was felt but not consciously seen. I shot on the RED Epic, pairing Zeiss High Speeds for the exteriors and the beautiful Cooke S4s for the more intimate interiors to achieve this soft, naturalistic feel.
The production house was on a very fast and efficient post-production schedule, which initially resulted in a color grade that was more generic and commercial than the nuanced, cinematic look we had planned. Seeing the project's vision was at risk, I stepped in. I asked for the opportunity to fix it, so the director, Asua Han, and I sat together with the colorist and rebuilt the entire look from scratch in about four hours. We went back to the raw files and recreated the look I had originally envisioned and captured on set.
The final film, with the grade I supervised, is the version you see today—a spot the director was so proud of that he still features it in his portfolio. It's a project that underscores my belief that a cinematographer's job isn't over when the camera stops rolling; it's over when the director's original vision is successfully realised on screen.