We recently connected with Honglin(Adam) Zhu and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Honglin(Adam) , thanks for joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
The most meaningful project to me is Mingling, which is a short film talking about gangsters in Los Angeles. Although it is a student film, me and the director wanted to make it like a feature film. We wanted to create great production value. For example, we have some stunt scene and gun shooting scene, which we’ve never tried before. We don’t know if we can make it good because we all lacked of experience. Also, we are have very limited time to shoot in three days, especially on the last day. I was really nervous and worried that we can’t finish the shooting on time. Luckily, we made it in the end. When the film came out, it turned out to be a well-made genre short and we love it. I’m glad that we challenged ourselves and we never give up.
Honglin(Adam) , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
From the start, I never thought about becoming a filmmaker. At first, I wanted to be a journalist. But when I began college in 2017 at Beijing Normal University-Hong Kong Baptist University United International College in Zhuhai, China, I chose to study Cinema and Television (CTV) upon my mom’s suggestion. In my major, there were many courses covering different aspects of filmmaking, and as I learned more, I started to really like it.
Film History was one of the most important courses for me. It helped me understand how the film industry developed from the beginning. The French New Wave period impressed me the most because it always motivated me to keep my enthusiasm for filmmaking. What really influenced me was when I started to watch Japanese movies in a course called Asian Cinema. I loved Hirokazu Koreeda, a Japanese director. The way he talks about film and life really impressed me and inspired my final-year project. I directed a short family drama film based on my childhood. It wasn’t perfect, but it meant a lot to me.
During that time, some other filmmakers also inspired me, like Wong Kar-wai, Diao Yinan, Jiang Wen, Stephen Chow, Quentin Tarantino, and Martin Scorsese. After graduating, I decided to study cinematography because I think a cinematographer is the second most important person in the crew after the director. It creates the overall look of a film. So, I went to Chapman University and studied cinematography. I’ve met many skilled people and seen more films. I got chances to shoot different genres, and I really enjoyed that. Learning and living in a different country have been unique experiences that helped me discover my own filmmaking style.
Currently, I’ve been working solely as a DP, which is exactly what I want to do for a lifetime. In this role, I believe I excel at capturing the emotions of characters. I can choose specific shot sizes, lens lengths, or movements to convey the genuine feelings of a character. Additionally, I’m a strong advocate for using natural lights. I prefer practical lights in the location or sunlight because the resulting image appears more authentic with natural lighting. Moreover, my lighting approach is logical and grounded in the real environment of the scene, ensuring it doesn’t look artificial on the monitor.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
I believe the most rewarding aspect is humility. As a new and young DP, while some shots in my works may look great, it doesn’t signify everything. There’s a wealth of knowledge for me to acquire and many people I can learn from. I recognize that the world is vast, and I’m just a small piece of it. However, it’s equally essential to be confident. Confidence helps me keep my enthusiasm so that I’m not afraid of any challenges.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
Yes, there is. For now my first goal is to make money. I’ve already spent a lot on learning filmmaking and all the money I spent is from my parents. Now, I have enough skills and experience and I think it’s time for me to make some money like shooting advertisement or vertical drama. My second goal is that I’m gonna make my own film as a director, which is my ultimate goal of my life. Film is the only way that I like to express myself so I’ll do whatever I can to reach the goal.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/double2pig/