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Exploring Traditional Chinese Documentary Themes

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Exploring Traditional Chinese Documentary Themes

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In the first week of our project development, our team focused on broad concept exploration. While we haven’t yet finalized our specific subject, we are aligned in our shared goal: “To create a short documentary inspired by the visual and spiritual qualities of traditional Chinese culture.”

Our early discussions centered on the tone, style, and core values that Chinese ritual culture embodies — such as respect for nature, harmony between human and land, and intergenerational craftsmanship.

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This week was about opening possibilities rather than narrowing focus. We felt a strong pull toward rituals, symbols, and everyday sacredness in Chinese tradition — but were cautious of falling into clichés or vague aesthetic imitation.

One challenge we identified: “How do we make something that feels genuinely Chinese without relying only on obvious motifs (red lanterns, incense smoke, guzheng music)?”

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Finalizing the Theme & Starting Development

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Finalizing the Theme & Starting Development

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Following several in-depth discussions both in and out of class, our team has finalized the overarching theme of our documentary: Rituals in Chinese Culture.

Given the vastness of Chinese traditional elements, we felt it was important to narrow down our scope early. Rituals stood out to us as not only deeply symbolic, but also rich in spiritual meaning, craftsmanship, and visual storytelling potential. We believe that this focus will allow us to explore the intersection of culture, aesthetics, and belief in an impactful way.

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To begin building Assignment 1, we created a shared Google Doc where we collaboratively contribute written content. We also prepared an empty Canva presentation template, which will be used for the final visual presentation after all writing tasks are completed.

We have divided the workload as follows:

Justin: Introduction & Community of Practice

Sky: Proposal & Production Plan

Aaron: Formatting the Google Doc and developing most of the presentation in Canva

So far, the collaboration has been smooth, and we’re confident we will complete Assignment 1 on time.

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Finalizing the Concept and Establishing Theoretical Framework

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Finalizing the Concept and Establishing Theoretical Framework

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This week, we officially finalized the subject of our documentary: Anlong “Dian Tu” (安龙奠土) – a traditional Chinese ground-blessing ceremony performed before the construction of a new building.

This ritual expresses reverence for the spirits of the land and conveys hopes for prosperity, peace, and protection. It combines local folk beliefs with distinctive craft practices, the most iconic of which includes: Shaping a dragon from rice (米龙), symbolizing vitality and auspiciousness

Embedding gold coins, which represent wealth, luck, and future blessings.

Through this project, we aim to go beyond merely presenting the craftsmanship. Instead, we want to explore how objects like rice, dragons, and gold coins become cultural vessels, rich with meaning, memory, and ritual value. Our goal is to allow the audience to experience the emotional and spiritual layers of this tradition through deliberate cinematographic choices.

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Our documentary approach fits within the scope of fieldwork-based ethnographic filmmaking, where the image becomes a research method in itself. We’re especially focused on the intersection of ritual, material culture, and moving image.

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This documentary captures the labor of salt workers with a strong emphasis on humans’ relationship with nature and craft. Inspired by this work, we plan to use:

Detailed close-ups to reveal the texture and gestures of handcrafting

Slow-motion sequences to emphasize the poetic rhythm of rice dragon making

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A Bite of China (2012, CCTV Documentary Team)

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A Bite of China (2012, CCTV Documentary Team)

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A highly refined piece that links culinary tradition with cultural identity through lyrical cinematography. From this work, we are borrowing:

Poetic visual language to present craftsmanship as something sacred

Macro shots with natural light and shadow to capture delicate details

A low-angle, static long lens to infuse scenes with a heightened sense of ceremony — particularly during the molding and shaping of the milong

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We are now moving from theoretical grounding into visual planning. Drawing inspiration from both independent fieldwork documentaries and high-production cultural films, our visual style will merge:

Quiet reverence

Close attention to detail

A respectful portrayal of human interaction with the sacred

These reflections are guiding us into the next phase — storyboarding, test shooting, and refining our camera techniques.

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Filming, Travel, and Transition into Post-Production

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Filming, Travel, and Transition into Post-Production

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Over the past few weeks, our project has evolved rapidly. We deepened our research into the specific ritual we’re focusing on — Anlong Xietu (安龙奠土) — a traditional ground-blessing ceremony deeply embedded in Chinese cultural and spiritual practices. More in-depth information is included in our Assignment 2 presentation materials.

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Behind the Location: How We Secured a Filming Site in China

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Behind the Location: How We Secured a Filming Site in China

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While we had previously shared that our shoot would take place in China, we hadn’t elaborated on the backstory. One of our group members, Aaron, had been doing a part-time internship prior to semester at a media company in China. That team had ties with the National Palace Museum, where they were involved in promotional video production.

Thanks to this connection, we were fortunate to secure exclusive filming access to a site typically closed to students and the public.

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We scheduled our shoot during the semester break (April 20–24), but due to tight budgets and indirect flight routes, travel logistics were complex.

We flew into Xiaoshan District, then navigated several flight and train transfers.

Equipment was booked online on-the-go via Meituan, a local Chinese platform.

Despite only having 1.5 filming days due to transit time, we captured roughly 900 GB of footage (some of which, admittedly, may not be usable).

Fun Fact: This trip also doubled as a personal one for me — I had to squeeze in a dental check-up appointment amidst our tight filming schedule!

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We shot across multiple angles and backgrounds to allow for flexibility in post-production. The weather was ideal, with natural light sufficient for most scenes — so we rarely needed artificial lighting.

Equipment Used:

Sony A7S III

Sony A7 IV

Sony A7R V

All were rented from a local camera store. Aaron led the filming to maintain visual consistency. I assisted with some shots, though our filming styles differ. Justin handled lighting and liaised with the equipment rental service.

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A significant and unexpected highlight: Chen Cihai, the fourth-generation Taoist ritual master (道长), happened to be present. With experience in over 1,000+ ceremonies, he offered deep insights and agreed to be interviewed for our documentary.

He explained many aspects of the ritual while performing it, which we recorded in both video and audio for later inclusion.

Some ritual elements included:

Rice (used for crafting the rice dragon)

Gold coins

Wax candles

Dried fruits and candies

Rice wine, flowers, and many materials we couldn’t even identify

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Although the past few weeks were overwhelming — especially balancing travel, health appointments, and tight production time — we pulled through.
Thanks to teamwork, luck, and good planning, we now have valuable content to work with. We’re confident we can complete the documentary on time and are excited to bring the ritual of Anlong Xietu to life for a broader audience.

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We’ve entered the editing phase. This week:

We are sorting through the footage

Selecting usable clips

Laying out a rough sequence

Searching for a suitable soundtrack to set the tone

Future editing tasks will include:

Adding ambient and recorded sound

Smoother transitions and cuts

Enhancing visuals through color grading and filters

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Technical Challenges & Preparing for Post-Production

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Technical Challenges & Preparing for Post-Production

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This week, we encountered a major unexpected issue: while the footage played perfectly fine on the camera previews, none of it worked on PC. After some testing, Aaron discovered that the files played smoothly on Mac, which led us to suspect a format compatibility issue.

Eventually, we confirmed that the footage — although recorded in standard .mp4 — would only run on PC after being converted into .avi format. With over 900 GB of raw video files, this discovery definitely added pressure and required significant time for file conversion and organization.

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In addition to editing, I was responsible for selecting the soundtrack and managing the subtitles. For the background music, I chose the track 《鸿影-变奏的梦想》, which balances a gentle melodic flow with a subtle emotional build-up — echoing the solemn yet delicate tone of the ritual we’re portraying.

To ensure cultural sensitivity and accuracy of translation, especially when the dialog involves spiritual or ritual terms, the subtitling will be done

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After our final demo, we were advised on the choice of soundtrack for the video and felt that it was not suitable for a solemn occasion and that the piece did not look like an incomplete documentary. So we made adjustments here:

Replaced the background music with a more culturally appropriate and emotionally resonant track that reflects the traditional Chinese tone of the ritual.

Created a proper introduction, giving the viewer immediate context and establishing the theme from the beginning.

Added several “semi-intro” sections between major transitions to help guide the narrative and improve the flow.

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Initially, we discarded many of the unwanted background noise clips, but in the course of re-watching them, we came to realize that these raw ambient sounds actually provided authenticity and immersion.

As a result, we reintegrated several of these clips, extending the final cut by almost a minute. This not only enriched the storyline, but also slowed down the pace, giving the viewer more space to experience each moment.