The original article (in Chinese) was published in the 2 December 2024 edition of Ming Pao's Monday Campus Subscription.
"The work of a film director is more painful than enjoyable because there are so many things to be responsible for." Sunny Chan who directed films such as "Men On The Dragon" and "Table For Six" said, "However, at a ticket appreciation event for "Table For Six", a viewer who had watched the film many times told me that he had a bad relationship with his family, but this film moved him and reminded him of his family, so he decided to invite his family out for dinner." Sunny said that when he was young, he often asked himself if he had the ability to make the world a better place. Although he is not equipped to doing great things, being a film director helps him achieve this wish, which is also the happiest part of this profession.
Q: Uni Dream
A: Director Sunny Chan is a film director and screenwriter, and a lecturer at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA), focusing on teaching screenwriting and creative development. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Screenwriting from the HKAPA's School of Film and Television, and a Master's degree in Chinese Literature from Lingnan University.
Q: Why did you study film at university?
A: When I was young, I loved reading novels and was very interested in telling stories. After graduating from Form 5, I joined the Drama Club while studying accounting and started writing scripts. I found that I really liked writing stories, but the Internet was not popular at that time, so it was difficult to become a novelist. It was not until I participated in a further education fair and saw that the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts was accepting students that I naturally chose to study film screenwriting.
Q: How did you gradually become a director?
A: I have been a screenwriter since I entered the industry, and I never thought about becoming a director. Unexpectedly, the film industry was in a downturn, so I was forced to leave the film industry. I started producing TV programs and teaching film in colleges. I have always insisted on continuing to work hard on the edge of the film industry. Later, a screenwriter friend suggested that I try to be a director. By chance, I had the opportunity to contact a friend who worked at One Cool Film Production Ltd., and he also had a written script on hand. So I volunteered to try to write and direct it myself, and that work was "Men On The Dragon".
Q: What does a director’s job involve?
A: If you are responsible for writing the script, you need to conceive the story, write the script, contact investors, select actors, and organize a production team in the early stage. You need to work with photographers, art directors, producers and other units to decide the locations, costumes and shooting days. During the shooting period, the director needs to shoot the work to a satisfactory level within limited resources and time, and ensure that all departments perform at their best. After the shooting is completed, editing and soundtrack production are also required. The whole process usually takes one and a half to three years.
Q: What qualities or skills do you think a successful director needs to have?
A: You don't need to have very grand creative ideas, but you need to have a deep understanding of drama, such as dramatic conflicts, story structure and character creation, because as long as you master these elements, you can write a good story even if the story theme is not novel. Second, a director must know how to communicate with people, because making a movie requires at least dozens or even hundreds of people to work together. If the performance of one position is not as expected due to poor communication skills, it is enough to greatly affect the work.
Q: What advice do you have for students who aspire to become directors?
A: The market is facing a script shortage. Students may wish to learn to write scripts first and shoot their own scripts. This will make the filming process easier because creation is often a very personal thing. There are several universities in Hong Kong that offer film-related courses, but before enrolling, you may wish to take some short-term courses to see if you are really interested in making movies.
In addition, students should also understand that Hong Kong directors usually make accomplishments in a certain professional field (such as screenwriter or assistant director) before switching to become a director. It is rare to become a director overnight. If you don't want to go through this process, you can try to make short films first, until you reach a professional level, and maybe you will have the opportunity to become a director directly.
Learn more about film and television production
Degree courses: Many higher education institutions in Hong Kong (such as the School of Film of Hong Kong Baptist University, the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, and the School of Creative Media of City University of Hong Kong) offer degree courses related to film and television production. These courses cover scriptwriting, directing skills, photography and editing to production management, aiming to cultivate students' professional abilities in visual storytelling and technical aspects.
Non-degree courses: Hong Kong also has a number of higher diploma and certificate courses, such as the "Higher Diploma in Film, Television and Photography" of the Hong Kong Institute of Design and the "Foundation Certificate in Television and Film Production Assistant" of the Hong Kong Polytechnic Institute of Vocational Training. These courses teach all aspects of film and television production, including pre-production, shooting techniques and post-production, providing flexible learning options for those who want to quickly enter the industry or further their studies.