The Beat Manila's Up and Coming: One Dynamic Take with Director Chyna Lo
The Beat Manila’s Up and Coming is a series where we feature rising talented artists from Manila, giving them a platform to share what they’re passionate about and promote the work/art they (and us too!) would love for the world to know about. Do you want or know someone who wants to be featured? Email us at [email protected] or slide through our DMs on Facebook or Instagram!
Lights. Camera. Action!
The world of film and television is something akin to a magic trick where the combination of elements somehow makes the impossible, possible. Although we are aware of the processes that take place behind the camera — the story is written and pitched, greenlit then actors are hired to form the cast, the project is shot then edited, and done! — only a few truly understand what happens in between those stages and how much effort, technique, talent, and most of all time it takes to make well-produced video content.
Director Chyna Lo knows this firsthand, being one of the rising directors in the Philippines whose professional work involves an array of advertising campaigns and collaborations with notable companies such as IKEA, BPI, and Globe Telecom. Still, at an early stage in her career, Chyna is already making her mark in the industry with her dynamic directing style inspired by Asian cinema and colored by anime aesthetics. Her use of modern techniques and bold ideas produce both vibrant and visionary content that resonate with today’s audiences.
The Beat Asia sat down with the young director and discussed what goes on behind the scenes, her filming style, techniques, and influences, what she has learned, and her goals in her burgeoning career.
A storyteller with a vision
Inspiration is what drives our everyday pursuits and for a creative like Chyna, it was probably safe to assume that her desire to become a director was inspired by a movie growing up.
“Actually, it wasn’t even a film or a video. Growing up, I love reading and writing stories. I wrote this crazy fantasy piece once, and I just remember thinking how exciting it would be to see this story come to life. Of course, it’s crazy to expect something fantastical to become a reality so what’s the next best thing? In my head, I thought…movies!”
And that’s how Chyna started her journey as an aspiring filmmaker. A storyteller at her core, she was simply someone who loved stories and wished for them to take on a new visual form.
She pursued a degree in Communications at the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU), focusing on Image and Sound Production and Film and Media studies. Although formally learning about film theories was only a tool that aided her in her craft. Her true teacher? First-hand experience.
Chyna told us, “Learning how to direct and operate in a production team is something that I learned better through practice, and I was just very lucky to have had the opportunity to work with industry professionals early on in my career.”
Although luck may have played a role in her rise to becoming a filmmaker, there’s no mistaking that Chyna’s style and ingenuity come from inside her and simply shines through in her work, characterized by vibrant visuals and graphics, snappy transitions, and upbeat music as seen in her previous projects such as on Mobile Legends’ Tara Laro Trilogy campaign.
When asked about her influences, the young director proudly shared, “I love anime. Not just in a visual sense, but also in the way it encourages people to expand their ways of interpreting visuals and at the same time by how much it explores so many different ideas that a lot of people are not yet familiar with.”
She further expressed her love for the medium, emphasizing how the genre opened a lot of possibilities for storytelling and visual interpretation, “I have a lot of respect for animators because it takes so much work and so much passion for you to be able to produce a fantastic piece of animation.”
This passion for anime in turn influenced her current directing style, describing it as “dynamic” which shows in her portfolio. Despite her desire to create something beyond the conventional, Chyna considers messaging first and foremost.
“When it comes to advertising work, I tailor-fit my approach depending on what the client and the agency are looking for or what the actual campaign needs, because at the end of the day, it's branded content. Personally, I find it very exciting to be able to execute ideas in different ways or with different aesthetics. But before anything, I need to pay attention to the details and make sure that everything is planned out really cleanly. You can only start experimenting and playing around with these kinds of projects once you've laid down the groundwork for it.”
Having a good foundation is the basis of any brilliant production, and Chyna honed her skills through practice and by taking inspiration from existing films. Some films that made an impression on her include the 2004 Japanese movie, “Kamikaze Girls,” and the experimental coming-of-age film, “All About Lily Chou Chou.”
She also listed classic movies from the West, such as Wes Anderson’s “The Darjeeling Limited” and Jim Jarmusch’s 2003 film, “Only Lovers Left Alive.”
Directing in the Now
Chyna truly made great leaps in her early career, but she’s only getting started. Having been inspired by classic films and pop culture trends, she opened up about her desire to deviate and create something fresh.
“I think no matter what I'm working with, I try my best to not make it boring. I make sure to highlight what’s interesting about it, or something that makes viewers feel something,” she said. “I like putting my own spin on things without disrespecting what needs to be said. I think that’s the most important thing. 'What's the essence of the video or project I’m trying to do?' Once I’ve got that down, only then do I play around with it.”
And what project would she choose to put her own spin on? Chyna candidly told us about her exciting idea of localizing a popular Netflix series.
“I think it would be interesting to translate ‘Bridgerton’ into a Filipino setting with how rich our culture and history are,” Chyna said, adding that she’d love to do remakes of some of her favorite films such as “Beck: The Mongolian Chop Squad” and “Fast & the Furious: Tokyo Drift.”
The young female director showed much passion and knowledge of her craft, which was reflected in the way she explained creative interpretation.
While working on a music video for PARADISE RISING, Chyna told us that MVs have a special place in her heart as she grew up watching MTV and that she would jump at another chance to direct music videos.
“I think it's interesting how you're able to translate another person’s work of art into your own visual interpretation. I believe it’s a really good complementary thing because once you make something new out of it, you don't necessarily take away from it. You just really make it into this one bigger thing.”
The rising director also gave us a rundown of how she manages advertorials, lamenting that being a director in the advertising field has taught her the woes of knowing when to “kill your darlings” — an expression used by creatives when editing or cutting down their work to fit a particular word count, standard, or in an advert’s case, time limit.
Despite this, the rewards outweigh the challenges as she gushed about her experiences working with big industry names.
“I enjoyed working with IKEA because they were very open to our ideas and gave us a lot of creative control. For Mobile Legends, we had so much fun playing around with the narrative, the effects, and how we told the story. It resonated with a lot of people, and we were happy to see how much traction it gained online. For BPI’s After Six, I learned so much just from watching the guests talk about how they managed to get on top of their game. Just being there and seeing all those successful people remain so grounded made me see things from a new perspective.”
We can tell that Chyna is working her way to redefine branded content and elevate visual content by infusing them with her personal style and aesthetic vision. Still, the director confessed that she still has much to learn and would still want to work on different projects to challenge herself and grow as a director. Moreover, she would give the same advice to aspiring directors out there.
“Hone your craft and learn as much as you can. Work hard but also take care of yourself. I think that’s very important because as creatives, our brain is our most important tool so if it’s not working properly or if you’ve exhausted it too much, it won’t give you the best results in any kind of work,” she shared. “Be open to new ideas and sources of inspiration. Be grounded, but at that same time don’t be closed off to limitless possibilities.”
This interview has been edited for length and clarity. To know more about Chyna Lo and her works, follow her on Instagram.
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