Red Plastic Chairs on Sticky Floors, a segment of anthology feature film Kopitiam Days, directed by Tan Siyou.
This aural-driven story is about a Singaporean director’s search for authentic kopitiam sounds while mixing her film in the Netherlands.
Given the difference in environments, there is a sense of longing and nostalgia, and through colour we helped to emphasise the contrast between the unseen Singaporean spaces that inhabit her mind and the spaces she is in that we can see.
Every shot is a contemplative moment for the character, and masterfully shot with available light by DP Lincoln Yeo.
I leaned into that mood, mostly preserving natural contrast while introducing cool tones and muting parts of the tonal range. It was a way to hint at spring, but also to invoke a pensive state of mind.
