Seventeen
Five

To start the project, I first listened to the pre-released song. From that initial listen, I already had a visual in mind, based on the song’s rhythm and style and how the visuals could sit directly with the theme of her relationship. After going back and forth with the artist on different ideas and elements, we settled on a visual reference built around a warm, match-cut narrative.

The story moves through different moments of the couple together while showcasing landmarks across Hanoi. This let us keep a non-linear storyline, jumping through key moments in time and matching the visuals to the song’s lyrics. During the breakdown, one section of the song stood out the most: the phone-call sequence. We planned that part as a more scripted, pulled-out moment, closer to reality and the present, a separation that steps away from the visual language of the rest of the video.

Treatment board

From there, we planned each location and the route, deciding which landmarks to show and which held the best visuals and moments for the couple. To avoid repeating the same action throughout, we planned each location to have its own kind of interaction, specific to that place, from Hoan Kiem Lake to Long Bien Bridge. Using AI-generated storyboards, I previz’d each location to set the framing and the feel before we arrived.

AI storyboards · Imperial Citadel · Hoan Kiem · St Joseph · Old Quarter

I also ran tech scouts to evaluate the weather and the lighting conditions, making the most of each location to account for our minimal crew and run-and-gun style of shooting. Using reference images as a general concept for each location, I planned the shot list for the main shoot days, arranged by the route we would take and by the best shooting conditions.

Shot lists · schedule · location route · sun path & weather

For the more scripted section, I created a previs, since we had more control over the environment and could take our time with the rented location. I recreated the set and moved the set dressing around to best suit the project’s needs, then recreated the character positions and shot angles to give us all the coverage we needed. As we were also renting the lighting equipment, building the previs let me calculate and measure the light placement and strengths before arriving on set.

Set.a.Light 3D · set build & lighting for the Airbnb room

The previs, then the final graded frame

We had two days of production. The first day covered the Long Bien Bridge and the narrative sequence in the rented facility. The second day was planned across the center of Hanoi: following the structure I had set, we ran the route from one location to the next while covering all the shots we had planned. We also planned an additional intro sequence that needed a match cut from the same distance and sizing, with the couple aligned in the same position at each of the main locations we had prepared.

Across the two days · Long Bien, the Citadel, St Joseph, Hoan Kiem