Cinemagraph videos are an entirely new take on film. There’s something so unique and captivating about focusing in on that one movement; that one action. It’s like a story within a story. Weaving together separate cinemagraphs, Hong Kong native, Josh Tse, created a magical proposal video that surprised and mesmerized. Watch how Josh found “the one,” and read about how he came up with this quirky and fun idea!

She’s the One from Josh Tse on Vimeo.

Self-directed and shot video for the “proposal”. It was showed to all the guests during our wedding reception dinner. It was a smash hit!

Tell me a bit about yourself. 

I’m just an amatuer photographer/videographer but over the years I filmed a lot because photography and filming are my hobbies.  Because I am also a foodie, I even tried to make my own food show on youtube. Though the show never generated any heat, I learnt a great deal about film-making and editing out of it.

When did you first learn about cinemagraphs? 

Probably because of a whimsical collection featuring supermodel Coco Rocha?  That’s my first encounter of Flixel and cinemagraphs. It blew my mind and it’s been in the back of my mind since then.  I wanna create something with it.

What interests you about cinemagraphs? 

It’s subtle but at the same time intriguing. You can create a sense of serenity even from a crowded scene. That’s perfect for me as a story-teller as I can highlight things that I want to draw my audience’s attention to.

What inspired you to create your cinemagraph film?

So, I got this idea that what if I make an entire video with cinemagraphs? Why not give it a try. It was stuck in my mind. All I needed was a motive.

Tell me about the process of making this film. From ideation to creation. 

So finally, the time has come for me to propose to my then girlfriend about 1 year ago, who is now my wife. It then dawned on me that she would love it if I used a film to propose, as we’re both passionate movie-goers.  I was planning to book out a mini theatre, show a commercial movie just as usual and invite all our friends to attend without her knowing. And then after the credits of the commercial movie came out the theatre will show my film and I will kneel and propose to her.  I drew the storyboard and filmed quite a few scenes with our friends secretly.

Of course, like most filmmakers, my scheduling was a mess.  The plan flopped and I ended up proposing to her during a candlelit dinner on the beach in Koh Samui, which was romantic, but totally lack of the epic and drama as I originally visioned.  But even then I said to myself that I’d finish the unfinished business and show the film in our wedding as a surprise to her and our guests.

Why cinemagraphs and not photos, or video?

I wanted to bring something fresh to my audience. Also, I pictured the style to be a silent movie from the very beginning and cinemagraph goes extremely well, in my opinion, with this kind of style.

Tell me about the feedback you received from creating this film.

The guests are all laughing their heads off and loving it.  The beauty of cinemagraph and this silent movie style is, it TOTALLY set off my cheeseball acting style! I’m a huge fan of Nicolas Cage, so, go figure…

Where do you see this new medium headed?

There’s so many potential for this new medium.  I see a lot of ads are using this lately.

What do you enjoy most about creating cinemagraphs? How are they different from photography or videography?

On the one hand it offers simplicity as it can be exactly what you drew on the storyboard. On the other hand, it gives you total flexibility as with where and what to draw your audience’s attention to. You can freeze the center of attention, yet you can also filter the noise and make them idle.

Do you have any tips/tricks for new cinemagraph creators?

No need, using Filxel has been a breeze.