Touching Is Teaching

New York, New York. USA. • 2013
Independant Narrative Short
Directed By: Lydia Rui
Format: 35mm Arricam Studio. 3 Perf.
Lenses: Zeiss Ultra Primes
Role: Director of Photography

Lydia Rui Huang

Director | Touching is Teaching

Toby and I became great friends after he shot my film, so from that you can assume it was a great experience to work with him. Toby came on board about a month before we had to shoot, but he was there without hesitation through the pre-production process. He was wonderful to collaborate with—we spent many a night storyboarding together, discussing the look and visual references for the film, and he pushed me to put on paper my thoughts. He challenged me to think deeper about the shots and the look, but he was always respectful. Together we came up with ideas that alone we could not have. He took care to understand the story and to let that guide us, rather than using the film as an opportunity to flex cinematography tricks. Everyone who has seen the film realizes the beauty of Toby's cinematography, but it does not try to call attention to itself.

As for his pace, we got everything that we needed without stress and I was very comfortable letting him do his thing on set without watching over him. This was because we had clearly storyboarded and discussed each shot in prep. My film was shot on 35mm as well so I had to really trust Toby. The result is something I am deeply satisfied with.