State of hush hush

• Main Author: Kong, Ian Yi-Jun
• Other Authors: Lucas Jodogne
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2015
• Subjects: DRNTU::Visual arts and music::Film
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/63369
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

State of Hush Hush (梦想狮城) is a 15-minute narrative short film about the last two young people in Singapore. The synopsis of the film is as follows: Christian girl Ru Yi finds herself alone in an empty Singapore… until she meets Aidan, a stranger with a vintage radio, who does not share any of her beliefs. The two discover a strange radio transmission and embark on a journey in hopes of finding other people who are also “left behind.” The short film’s main context harks from Magical Realism, wherein the extraordinary or the magical is accepted and dealt with in the rational world, and in rational terms. Genre-wise, the short film can beclassified as Science Fiction, due to the presence of the radio that picks up strange radio transmissions – physically and rationally impossible, given the supposed absence of all mankind – which sets up the short film’s plot. The film primarily deals with the themes of faith and hope. Through the characterization of two individuals with completely different responses to the unnatural phenomenon as well as belief systems,conflict is a given: Ru Yi believes that the Rapture has happened, but is baffled as to why she was not taken up as well. Aidan, a realist, decides to cope with the situation at hand and does not understand Ru Yi’s fervent holding on to her belief when everything about a people-less Singapore speaks of a betrayal of what she has been taught. When Ru Yi discovers something about Aidan, she takes that for her purpose and harbours hope that “converting” Aidan would be her ticket to heaven. It is through their conflicting interests that we get to explore the lengths that we can be pushed to in order to affirm our beliefs and by extension, our perspectives and identities. The main message the film hopes to communicate is that through the drawing up of clear lines that divide us by way of faith, we might end up robbing ourselves of serendipity, actually getting to know and understanding a stranger, essentially forgetting that we all share a common humanity. Through the perspective of a Director, this Report will detail the conceptualization, characterization, development process (Pre-production) and challenges (Production and Post-production) specific to making State of Hush Hush