SYFF - In Conversation with Jake Low

JS:  I notice that both sighnight and Manhole have stop motion elements, including a sequence involving shadow puppetry in Manhole that resembles Wayang Kulit. What was your inspiration behind this, and what was the process of making it?

JL: The very basic answer is that I was trying to showcase this character’s life in the sewers, but to film it practically would have taken too much time and too much budget. I’ve always enjoyed mixed medium looks to any sort of video. Shaista was the one that actually came up with [the idea]. [She] was the assistant director and producer for Manhole. Shaista's suggestion made me recall a project I did with Subhas back in 2018. I had created these shadow puppet designs for his EP launch's stage visuals, and I realised that that style of shadow puppetry would work with Manhole's concept.



So I used that experience and expanded on it. We drew the designs in the particular style that I did back in 2018, and then I sent it to a laser cutter to cut it out of 5mm wood. It added an element of eeriness to the entire sequence.

JS: To me, your short films are bizarre and surreal, and I mean that in the best way. What inspired you to approach your narratives in this style? 

JL: Just not seeing a lot of it in local cinema... So far, I haven’t really seen any weird stuff. Also, I was inspired by The Lighthouse and a lot of Ari Aster’s work. It’s kind of weird surreal horror but also not really ghostly horror. It’s not jumpscares; it’s more atmospheric, like something’s off, you know?

JS: I noticed that you’ve directed and edited music videos [MVs] for some prominent local musicians. How is your process for MVs different or similar to that of your short films?

JL: Well, I think [for] MVs, you’re answering to the artist, and you’re answering to whatever the budget is. It’s a lot more stressful. With short films, especially the ones that I do, there’s no fixed budget. It’s really how much you’re willing to spend on it. The challenge is in finding the right team to execute this vision that you have. But I would say it’s a lot more freeing and it’s a lot more enjoyable to create something. Because with a short film, you can do [it] as original as you want. As for MVs you're sometimes limited by the music genre. Not always, but sometimes. Usually the artist and music label have the final say over the end product, even though you're the director. So it's quite different from making your own short film.

JS:  You have worked with your partner and close friends across sighnight and Manhole. What is it like working with loved ones as collaborators?

JL: Oh, it’s so interesting. I would think of Shaista as the emcee - any hosting, you go to her. And maybe I would think of myself as someone you come to for fun visual stuff. But because of the lack of resources and because we wanted to keep it tight, I thought “Oh maybe Shaista can co-direct”. And then you realize that, “Oh, she actually CAN co-direct”.

She had a lot of creative input towards this project. And same with the rest [of our collaborators], you know?  They don’t have these opportunities to display these talents on the daily because that’s not their full time job, but through these collaborations you realize that, “Oh, actually everyone is so, so good in this field”, and eventually you start to let go and you feel like, “Oh my god, these people are so talented”. 

So you just gotta trust it, and eventually they pull through, and the whole product becomes bigger than yourself.

JS: You have mentioned in interviews that you take on many roles in making your short films to maintain complete creative control and consistency. How has this approach shifted as you gained more experience, and what approach do you hope to take on for future projects? 

JL: I feel like I’ve sort of hit the limit of what I can do as a single individual already, because it’s just too physically tiring. I think the next thing that I have to work on as a director, which I’m still learning, is to find people that understand your vision and also can do things better than you, and then just trust them with that process. And when I allow other people to come into this process, it’s so interesting to hear or see what they do differently than what you were imagining, and somehow it’s always better, you know? It’s like…, I didn’t think it could be done that way, but it still works and I love it even better than my original idea. So yeah, that’s the next step I guess, to really find a nice team that I can work with and be open with.

JS: What do you hope the audience can take away from seeing sighnight and Manhole?

JL: I think sighnight really is a tale for people watching it to think of their future children and just be kind and understanding, to know what it feels like to be controlled. It really is to break that cycle, you know? For Manhole, it’s to feel or to understand that sometimes the cost of going the easy route may be the same or more expensive than going the harder route; to really just solve things at the root. 

That’s pretty much it man, like, I wouldn’t say my films are that deep, but I just want people to walk away with a certain vibe.

JS:  You have 2 short films in your belt now. What’s your next project? Are you working on a feature film? What can our readers look forward to from you next?

JL:  Wow, I think the next one is not going to be a feature film, but it’ll likely be something about a supernatural robbery. It’s going to be a story about desperate people doing desperate things to survive, but told through this supernatural lens. 

JS: Am I going to have to brace for jumpscares?

JL: No, no, no. I don’t think my films are ever ‘jump scary’. It’s more of a certain vibe, maybe something’s off.

JS: Yeah, I got really worried watching sighnight just now. *laughs*. Is there any advice that you have for aspiring youth filmmakers out there?

JL: I would say, don’t be too worried about what your message is. Sometimes the best way to start is to just do cool sh*t, you know? So don’t be too hard on yourself and think, “oh, my films aren’t saying the deepest message in the world”. It doesn’t have to sometimes, it just has to be something that someone else can relate to. And always try to make something that you feel for.

I would say the best way to start is just do something about your personal experience plus something that you want to see on screen. So that’s where the cool element comes in. Maybe you’ve had a breakup, but oh, maybe I put a ghostly element to it, you know? You can do anything. *laughs*

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Jake Low’s shorts and creative process – especially with how he finds hidden talents in people – struck a chord with me. He truly embodies the “just do it” vibe, telling his personal stories, unafraid of his works being criticized.

Catch Jake’s work and other youth filmmakers at the Singapore Youth Film Festival, where filmic creativity comes in various shapes and forms!