It was a very experimental test on film at that time. Instead of having the screenplay before shooting, John chose to use a camera recording something first and see what he can do about it. It really inspired me to try an unconventional way of making films, and that’s how I started to shoot people in different places imaging what’s their life. In the film, the precise lines of voiceover accurately match the movement of each character. It confuses viewers of believing this is a well-planed scene. The conjunction of word and image in Smith’s voiceover transforms everyday documentation into something created and artificial. Even when the tone changes and the viewer realises that Smith is retrospectively voicing-over a real-life scene, the narrative drive of the film encourages the viewer to go along with the conceit.
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There was another short film that I watched on NOWNESS, which shares a similar concept of ‘The girl is chewing gum’. The film shows a morning of a woman, and there’s a voiceover explaining what is she doing next. Then you will find out there’s no script, because even the man who behinds the scene can’t predict right, and he has to change his lines when he sees that woman is doing something else. This film is also an experiment of using post-production to manipulate a real daily scene. All these films have broadened my cognitive of moving images and makes me think about all the possibilities of telling stories.