I was approached by a German production company to handle the Korea section of their feature-length documentary film that follows a South Korean conductor as she struggles to navigate the challenges facing her profession through the pandemic years. The shoot took place in Cheongju, a city in central Korea.

I used a small piece of duvetyn hanging out of frame on the right just to add a bit of contrast to the subject’s face.

The budget was on the lower side so I was shooting everything in a one-man-band style and I needed to be the director, DoP and my own production assistant. This can be challenging but also very enjoyable and it can simplify the complexity of filmmaking in some instances. Thankfully Hyunju and her family were super helpful and extremely nice to work with so I was very grateful to them.

I made the two-hour journey from Seoul down to Cheongju and met up with Hyunju at her family home. Due to the the limits of what I could carry with me, we had to shoot everything with natural light or, later in the evening, with the available light sources in the house. This lead to some creative utilisation of domestic lighting, but that can be one of the most enjoyable aspects of cinematography.

A screenshot from the final film that shows a split screen used to show the time difference between Germany and Korea and the scheduling complexities it creates for a conductor working across borders. We pinched Hyunju’s father’s desk lamp in order to create a backlight and add some shape to the dark, small room.

Working on this project was a lot of fun and one of the great pleasures of being a freelance filmmaker is the wide array of interesting people that you get to meet through this work so I was very grateful to Hyunju and her lovely family for all the hospitality and kindness they showed me.

‘The Joy of Singing’ is now available on DVD release.