We first met them when they came for their Apple Final Cut Pro classes at FatBars. Their movies are edited on Final Cut Pro 5. Both movies were self-financed, self-directed.This is their story.

Movie Title : The Police Box
Name: Josh Kim Age: 25
Self-description: Korean-American: boyish, clean, and in capital fettle.

A short description of your movie? A girl writes love letters to a policeman and puts them in a police box on his beat. One day a jealous boy sees her tampering with the box and decides to play a trick on the two.

What format was it shot with?  Super-16

Did you write your own script and story? Yes

Who was your crew? Cinematographer: Henry Chung
Was getting a permit to shot on location difficult?
A Location Permit isn't necessary in HK. But a permit to use the Police uniform took time to get.

What was the single most expensive item you spent on for the film? Bar rental (location)

How long did it take you from script to film? 1.5 months

What inspire you to take that first step? Unemployment 

What advise would you give to others who are thinking of taking their first step? Hiring a professional (e.g. DP) will help ensure that your project will look professional.
 
A few names you would like to thank? Henry Chung for holding my hand and leading me through the shooting process. Sam and Sze for taking me the rest of the way.

Movie Title : Cravates et Kimonos (Ties and Kimonos)
Name : Daniel Desilets Age: 35
Self-description : Dreamer determined to finally do something about it. Calm on the outside, shaky leaf on the inside.

A short description of your movie? A family from a small town in Northern Japan have to juggle a wedding and a funeral that happen at the same time. A bit of bad blood in the family renders the situation comical...even for the deceased.

What format was it shot with? HDV
Did you write your own script and story? No, the director Martin Fournier did. It is based on an actual event that happened to him in France.

Who was your crew?
With the exception of the lady who dressed the bride, our entire crew were volunteers organized by our man in Japan, Jun Tamura and associate Kiyoko.They were the solid foundation of our successful shoot. They did the casting (about 35 actors), arranged for catering, spoke with local government officials, arranged for the wedding kimonos and generously put us up for 10 days.

Was getting a permit to shoot on location difficult?
We received verbal permission to film in town from the department of tourism, permission from the Shinto priest to film in his shrine (he also acted as himself) and permission from the Buddhist priest to film at his temple. We first had to explain our story and assure them that, despite the fact that we are trying to make a comedy, we would not make fun of their culture or their religion

What was the single most expensive item you spent on for the film?
The cameras. We bought two Sony HVR A1 cameras specifically for this project. We knew the setting would be beautiful so we wanted to assure that images could potentially be great.

How long did it take you from script to film?
We started putting together ideas on paper in November 2005. We filmed in early April 2006.

What inspired you to take that first step?
 In fact, this is my second short film. My first one will never be shown to the general public. (It's that bad.) Martin has been involved in a rather large production before so we decided that between the two of us we would have all the skills necessary to make it work. We quickly realized that we needed help. Lots of help. Enter Jun Tamura. Post-production, enter Fatbars. (Thanks guys!)

What advise would you give to others who are thinking of taking their first step?
Take it seriously. Plan meticulously and delegate work to self motivated people. Stay calm, smile a lot and keep your crew well fed. Morale is everything because shooting can be taxing and boring for the actors.The last thing you need is a revolt after months of planning and much personal investment.Assure your family that you will be available to spend some time with them again when it is all done.

A few names you would like to thank? The Tamura family and Kiyoko for the above mentioned reasons, Fatbars for the training and kind advice, and the town of Misato in Akita, Japan. Masako Fujiki , a long time friend and former colleague who did much of the translation and interpretation.