Jon StojanAs Floating completes a year since its release, Tianjiao Zhu revisits her journey working on theaward-winning film, which depicts her editing brilliance and creative power.
Tianjiao Zhu’s Editing Journey for Floating
The official editor of the film Floating appeared for an interview in the local media as the film marked the first anniversary of its successful release. The audiences and critics received the film exceptionally well, winning the Best Student Film award at the prestigious Los Angeles Film Awards. She also spoke highly of her experienceworking with the producer Geling Guo and director Zihan Zhang.
Tianjiao also remembered the director of photography, Peng Wang, who passed away in a car accident when the film was still under production. After the untimely demise of a fellow worker on set with whom she bonded well, Tianjiao recalled how the cast and crew came together to ensure they completed the film on time as a tribute to Peng’s services. Gone but never forgotten, the editor showered immense appreciation to the entire team for forever cherishing the memories made with the DP.
Tianjiao has already been in talks for her recent release, Stratosphere, which is the diametrically opposite genre of what she did for Floating. Upon being asked about the contrasting genres and the level of difficulty they pose, she outlined that Floating required a lot of change of locations and the background of television playing on the house, which would require her to play, making sure it blended in well with the scene. It was time-consuming; she needed a lot of preparation to get things right but found it the most interesting part. She drew her satisfaction from perfecting every scene.
(From set: Setting up for the climax scene of the film).
Tianjiao’s bold approach to creating intricate detailing and seamless blending of sound and picture has earned her positive comments from film critics; she is now a prominent name in the independent film fraternity. She does notcall herself the editor of the director’s choice but believes in delivering the final product above and beyond expectations. She does not shy away from putting in extra hours and days of work to bring out versions of the film,allowing the director to have a choice to make. She applauded the producer and director of the movie for allowing her to experiment and bring her expertise to the set.
‘When I collaborate with the director, I always aim to present a better version of the film that the director didn’t even imagine it could be. For me, that’s the real mission of being an editor. When my vision diverges from the director’s, I usually complete both versions instead of trying to talk the director out of it so they can better understand what the film will look like if we choose this path. What matters to me is not the decision but the discussion behind why we should make this cut.’ Tianjiao Zhu
Tianjiao proudly shares her sources of inspiration when working on a film. She believes the film industry is forever evolving, but the basics are best learned and implemented from the critically acclaimed blockbusters of the past. She took some of the ideas from Drive My Car and The Lost Daughter for Floating. The film has also received a silver award at the Independent Shorts Awards and an HFPA scholarship at the Asian World Film Festival.
Since childhood, Tianjiao has been amused by the power of the mind and how it can narrate any story that a stretch of imagination can create. She was interested in Disney and Japanese anime. She was intrigued to learn what goes behind the camera and how the pictures move. Her thirst for knowledge led her to explore her options in filmmaking. The editor enjoys her line of work and feels the difficulty of her job brings joy and satisfaction to her life.
For more details and information, visit https://www.imdb.com/name/nm13865789/. Follow her on Instagram to stay updated about her upcoming projects and sneak a peek inside her personal life.
The Los Angeles Based Tianjiao Zhu is a renowned film editor who has worked on Floating, Stratosphere, and Spring Tide, among others. As her film Floating completed a year since its successful release, the editor recalled thememories created on set and the effort that went into creating the award-winning movie.
Follow Tianjiao at:
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm13865789
Instagram at @meanniniland
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Writer: Sherry Lee, Editor
GTK PR Agency, LLC