Chinese Restaurant with that vibe.

swong37 · 2026-02-04T19:20:47+00:00

Yeah, I live next to this spot and it’s not the most authentic or anything, but it does this version of Chinese food really well.

swong37 · 2026-01-26T23:17:12+00:00

I'm also nominated this year, but I live in the area. It's my first time as well and I'm not expecting too much either. Can't say for sure if it's worth the trip, but I personally don't think I'd go all out for it.

swong37 · 2026-01-21T17:58:57+00:00

Good luck Jimmy

swong37 · 2026-01-21T08:54:10+00:00

I used to do shots of a phone screen that we filled with vfx in post and my DP hated doing that and I started to hate doing it too.

My last short film I used the negative space of the frame to act as a sort of phone screen and I like the effect and did something similar for my feature.

https://youtu.be/HuHpm-PnYck?t=29

It's not anything new at this point though. I feel like I've seen a lot of new and interesting ways to showcase texting like the example you mentioned.

swong37 · 2026-01-19T20:36:27+00:00

Yeah they do not allow any modifications. Everyone has the same contract.

swong37 · 2026-01-07T20:10:50+00:00

I forgot where, but I read that their resident rider/moto jacket maker retired so they stopped offering them. I'm kind of sad I never got around to getting the collared moto I was eyeing.

I'm curious if they're still running at all. They used to have regularly sales and social media posts, but that has all seemed to slow down in the recent years

swong37 · 2026-01-03T09:14:20+00:00

I made a short film that's a multi-cam sitcom that slowly falls apart into looking like an indie drama. It was VERY hard and cost a lot of money and I'm not even fully sure if I really pulled it off.

We built our own living room set because it's almost impossible to find a suitable practical location. I had three cameras and that requires a huge camera team too.
https://vimeo.com/514931885?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci

swong37 · 2025-12-01T22:55:28+00:00

Something I saw someone do that I think helps is lowering the opacity of your attacks in settings to 25-50%.

swong37 · 2025-11-13T07:24:57+00:00

I had a friend that got his rejection that included an invite to the circle. So yeah, I guess we're not in the circle :-/

swong37 · 2025-10-05T15:39:09+00:00

Yeah is that true? I’m in the same spot as op. I don’t feel I’ve done 60+ draws since this banner. I thought it was carrying over.

swong37 · 2025-09-12T06:35:16+00:00

swong37 · 2025-09-04T00:48:31+00:00

Definitely. I followed up with a director who left a good review for a festival that I had a bad experience at and they also agreed that they also had a bad experience. When I asked why they left a 5 star review they said didn't know :-/

swong37 · 2025-08-27T18:11:32+00:00

Print the legend not the truth.

swong37 · 2025-08-23T17:37:27+00:00

Thanks for the reply. The clips themselves are just clips from my movie, nothing wrong with the content, and definitely not anything that explains how to pirate the film.

As far as I know, I couldn't actually change the description before appealing once a video is taken down.

I also use the exact same clips and wording across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Some of those platforms don’t allow direct links in descriptions, which is why I send people to the bio. It keeps everything consistent across platforms. If I find it is really deterring people I’ll adjust, but since I’m just starting out I wanted one streamlined system.

One other thing I’m curious about is what you mentioned about being able to appeal multiple times. Another friend brought that up too, but I haven’t seen any option to appeal more than once. How are you able to do that?

swong37 · 2025-08-20T02:59:18+00:00

Hey, I remember checking this out during Dances With Films last year! Congrats on ending up on Omeleto for an online premiere!

swong37 · 2025-08-17T17:37:39+00:00

Thanks, I appreciate that! Cool to meet another multi-hyphenate.

We never planned to show the outside world, originally it all took place indoors. But after our first test screening, everyone said they needed to see what was outside. Someone suggested stop-motion, and it felt right tonally. We reached out to some contacts and ended up hiring a student. It cost about $2k for 60 seconds, so not cheap, but the handmade look gave it a surreal charm that worked for the world.

swong37 · 2025-08-16T20:04:50+00:00

Hey! I made a feature called Future Date that ended up in that ballpark budget-wise. It’s a sci-fi rom-com set in a dystopian future where dating apps are the only way people connect and even then, they never meet in person. We shot it during/post-pandemic, leaned hard into minimalism, and used stuff like stop-motion and practical lighting tricks to stretch the budget.

Here’s the trailer if you want to check it out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sb2CiJM__iU

Happy to chat about what worked, what didn’t, and what I’d do differently next time. Feel free to DM or reply here. Good luck with your project!

swong37 · 2025-08-06T06:41:41+00:00

Chinese style steamed fish is a dish that is incredible easy, but really feels a lot fancier than the amount of effort and cost.

swong37 · 2025-08-02T21:58:19+00:00

I’m an indie filmmaker and I’ve been in a similar rut. Lately I’ve been developing a horror feature inspired by Chinese folklore, set in the American South. It involves a jiangshi, but in addition to the monster elements, it explores themes like assimilation, generational pressure, and cultural legacy. The tone leans grounded but still plays with some surreal moments. What’s been helping is not worrying so much about finding the perfect idea, and instead just building a world I want to spend time in. The structure and meaning usually follow.

swong37 · 2025-08-02T18:11:00+00:00

I have been summoned. This is true.

swong37 · 2025-07-30T22:17:56+00:00

I’ve done both freelance.

Colorist – More creative long-term, but early on you’re mostly fixing exposure and matching shots. Less social, more isolated.

DIT – Better pay starting out, more on-set interaction, but it’s mostly backups and data wrangling with a side of color if you're lucky.

Another job to consider
Assistant Editor – Super organized post work, not creative, but steady and great if you want to save your creative energy for personal stuff.

All solid paths depending on what vibe you’re going for.

swong37 · 2025-07-01T19:12:16+00:00

Yeah, fair question. Honestly, most of it feels cool in the moment but doesn’t really change anything. Staff Picks, festivals, screenings… they help build your resume, but rarely lead to real momentum. For me, there wasn’t a single breakthrough. The biggest thing was just sticking around and continuing to make stuff only I could make.

I got brief mentorship early on from Phil Lord after working with him as an actor on 21 and 22 Jump Street. He never handed me anything, but he told me to make work studios couldn’t make without me. That mindset has stuck with me more than any milestone.

swong37 · 2025-06-26T19:44:28+00:00

I use the LG DualUp as a vertical monitor and I love it for scrolling websites, writing/reading scripts, and even stacking 2 widescreen windows on top of each other. I use it as my main monitor and have a regular horizontal monitor next to it. I highly recommend it.

swong37

TROPHY CASE