HaoMing Du was the lucky filmmaker awarded the Grand Prize Winner title in the 2022 Picture This competition. Responding to the brief The Time to Act is Now!, Du created The More We Wait, The Longer It Takes – an impactful stop motion animation commenting on the 75 trillion pieces of rubbish floating in our oceans.
The video reminds us that if we reverse our habits and work together, small actions can create a positive change. Du’s creative approach to inspire action for people and planet impressed the judges. As part of his prize, Du flew to London for an exclusive award luncheon and benefitted from a two-hour mentoring session with executives from Sony Pictures Television and the United Nations Foundation.
To help further Du’s filmmaking career, he was also given $1000 (USD) and a Sony Alpha Full Frame camera - a great kit for aspiring filmmakers. One of the most exciting elements to his prize was his once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work closely with the Sony Pictures Television creative team in Latin America to finalize his film.
Given unique access to work hands on in the post-production process with creative experts, Du learned and contributed to selecting and approving a voice over actor for his film (which was translated into six languages) and chose music that would be cleared for worldwide broadcast. Additionally, he worked with the graphics team to create a new title treatment (the opening and closing slides of his short film) and was educated on key elements necessary for a film’s final delivery for broadcast - including the audio mixing and colour correcting process.
It’s fascinating to see the film before and after his time with the Sony Pictures Television creative team and today, to celebrate World Water Day, we unveil his refreshed and updated film.
Speaking about the experience, the Sony Pictures Television creative team say how they had an amazing experience working with such a young creator and were thrilled to be part of his filmmaking journey.
If you’re passionate about communicating the planet’s biggest challenges through short film, sign up to our Creo Film newsletter, where we’ll keep you updated with the Sony Future Filmmaker Awards - a short film competition elevating creative voices within filmmaking. Picture This is part of a global year-round creator engagement programme created by Creo in partnership with Sony Pictures and the United Nations Foundation. Set up to shine a spotlight on creators amplifying stories that promote prosperity and peace for the people and planet, this initiative aims to mobilisie and inspire through photography and film.
