Amanda Jiang and Jesse Yu, IMA '22: The Wizards behind "Graveyard of Horses"

Introduction

The 2022 short film Graveyard of Horses, written and directed by Jiang Xiaoxuan (Amanda) and produced by Yu Jiaxing (Jesse), who are students in the MA in Interactive Media Arts program (IMA), jointly established by NYU Shanghai and the NYU Tisch School of the Arts, is currently competing in several film festivals around the world. The movie, shot in Inner Mongolia, focuses on a Mongol herder and her daughter, and examines various elements including, among others,  nature, survival, and family. In a recent interview conducted by the Office of Graduate and Advanced Education at NYU Shanghai, Amanda and Jesse discussed their motivation for making the film, the production process, their experiences in the IMA program, and their vision for the future.

Director and Writer: Amanda Jiang

Production Designer: Jesse Yu

Poster of the Graveyard of Horses

A Horse by the Road

In the winter of 2020, Amanda returned to Inner Mongolia to shoot some additional scenes for a project. It was January, the coldest month of the year. On her way to a herdsman's house, she saw a dead horse on the side of the road with a stillborn by her side; the mare had miscarried and died in the cold. “When I first saw this scene, I was surprised and wondered if animal mothers in the wild and human mothers were connected. Would they fight in the same way and choose the same course of action if subjected to the penalty of nature?”

Interestingly, the movie is named Graveyard of Horses while neither a dead horse nor a graveyard of horses appear in the film. “The name was inspired by the scene of a dead horse. It came to me that the vast grassland in the winter was an ‘open grave’,”  Amanda said, “When winter arrives, animals like horses suffer the most.” The name Graveyard of Horses is therefore elevated beyond its literal meaning and refers to the mighty and harsh environment, where all humans and animals are vulnerable and fragile. “Horse” itself is also a figurative being frequently used by Amanda in her works. “I think ‘horse’ is a symbol that amplifies life and death,” Amanda believes that a horse, as a creature giant in size, comes into being and dies in a magnificent manner, “When you stand in front of its body, you would feel overwhelmed, your eyesight occupied.”

Film Scene

When asked what message she wishes to convey with Graveyard of Horses, Amanda replied that she wants the audience to reconsider humans’ place in nature. “Living in cities, we sometimes forget that people and nature are connected, but in the wild, people and animals both fight for survival. The film serves as a reminder that nature is still unpredictable and exists outside urban life.” Amanda doesn't think the film is trying to prove anything in particular. “I think a successful film should allow the audience room for imagination,” she opined, “The point of a well-made movie is to encourage the audience to gain inspiration for their own lives.”

"Whatever it Takes"

Jesse, as production designer, is responsible for all the setting, scenes, and props of the film, from selecting the color, pattern, and age of a bookcase to establishing the mood and tone of a scene. Jesse said, “To my understanding, the job is ‘to deal with whatever comes’. If the director has an idea for the scenes and objects, which I concur would help the development of the story, I have to make sure the props needed are in position whether it be purchasing them from online shopping sites like Taobao or Idle Fish, borrowing them from villagers, or creating them from scratch.” Jesse thinks that even the smallest details could hamper the progress of the story.

Film Set

The movie’s tone and expression of emotion are communicated through the scenes and props. The contrast between warm and cold in one scene, where the mother is carrying a torch in the pitch-black snowy day to scare away the wolves, is incredibly powerful. “The herder is placed in a cold and perilous setting, with snow and wolves around her. The candle serves as a little beacon of civilization and a form of safety amid the wide wilderness. The ‘little’ flame and the ‘vast’ frigid atmosphere, as well as the ‘warm’ and ‘cold’ are in sharp contrast, creating an aesthetic expression.” Jesse said. Another scene in the film features the heroine and her daughter dining as a story about Genghis Khan is on the radio. “What, apart from life in the grasslands, is the spiritual world of the people who live here? I'm hoping the introduction of this radio would open up the audience's imagination.” Amanda says “Genghis Khan, who was mentioned on the radio, is the conquering hero that many films and TV shows boast about, but only few well-known pieces had concentrated on the women who were left behind in the Mongolian yurts and how they experienced the war. What kinds of challenges and concerns do they face?” 

Film Set

Amanda and Jesse are both resolute. Amanda once shot a film in Beijing for 24 hours in a roll at -4 degrees Celsius. Jesse replicated an entire old Chinese flat in Los Angeles after his trip back to China was canceled due to travel restrictions. His teacher referred to the flat he built as “the best scene constructed by students throughout her teaching career.” The shooting of Graveyard of Horses was no easy task and “snow” turned out to be one of the most tricky challenges. Most of the snow scenes shot in the movie were natural. However, due to a tight schedule, they were unable to wait for a snowfall before filming the exterior of the house. “We wanted to take matters into our own hands, so we borrowed a snow-making machine and two garden watering trucks to create a snow scene on our own.” Jesse said. ​​Even with snow-making equipment, a shot like that required a lot of work, according to Amanda. Since snow-making machines can only make snow when it is below -5 degrees, Jesse was almost sleepless for two days in order to take advantage of the low temperatures at night. It was with such zeal and effort of the whole crew that Graveyard of Horses was successfully created.

Snow-making Machine

Path, Future

Graveyard of Horses is not Amanda and Jesse’s first stab at filmmaking. Amanda’s short films Reality·R£@617¥ and Three Walnuts won recognition from film festivals globally, including European Cinematography Awards, Los Angeles Film Awards, Festigious Film Festival, Largo Film Awards, and Hollywood Film Competition. Jesse has had exposure to filmmaking since high school. An expert in environmental storytelling, he double-majored in drama and film during his time in college.

The two’s collaboration on the film stemmed from the IMA program. “ We happened to be working on a circuit experiment in the interactive media lab on campus, so we got into talking. She was writing a script at the time, having yet to create a team and I was very interested in the project. We just hit it off.”

Director on Set

Amanda and Jesse spoke of their time in the IMA program with great enthusiasm.

“First of all, I think IMA has changed my understanding of ‘art’” Jesse said, adding that the program helped him discover that many things are not merely installations or lines of code. With design concepts and feedback to society, games and toys can also be a form of art. “The IMA program has also revolutionized how I envision the future. For many, the future may be the next five or ten years, but IMA courses look beyond this century, pushing us to explore futuristic concepts including, among many others, the metaverse, bioart, and post-human,” Jesse opined, “Envisioning the future would inspire bold exploration of next-generation technology.” 

Production Designer on Set

While futuristic thinking is vital, the IMA program also emphasizes the ability to take baby steps to make an idea into reality.  “IMA puts great effort in expanding our technical skills, such as using Unreal Engine, a real-time 3D creation tool, and employing motion detection technology to open doors,” Jesse said. “Mastering these technical skills enables us to better tell stories through scenes (environmental storytelling). Storyboards in conventional filmmaking might be hand-drawn, but today we have access to creation and design tools like Unreal Engine, Unity, and Blender to general storyboards, develop scenes and visualize art concepts.” Amanda added. These tools and skills empower IMA students to experiment with various forms of art, integrate their own talents and experiences, and explore limitless possibilities of artistic expression.

Interview Conducted by OGAE

While in the IMA program, Amanda and Jesse created many amazing works which incorporated their unique experiences and passions. “I recently organized all the works I’ve made during the program into a portfolio.” Looking back, Amanda was amazed by the number of interesting projects she engaged in, Unity development, website design, interactive programming shows, etc. “The program encourages all students to bring along their prior experiences and demonstrate them, with what they learned in the program, in a refreshing way.” Amanda added.

These works are not only a witness of their past learning but also a key to new opportunities in the future. “I am using the portfolio to apply for jobs in the field of media and visual storytelling.” Amanda hopes when she works full-time, she would still have some time to work on passion projects in her free time. Jesse’s graduation capstone project, Lay In, used virtual production techniques to standardize and streamline the procedure. Immediately after its release, Jesse was approached for commercial discussion. “Currently, we are exploring applying the production procedure to music videos but it can easily be employed in commercials. This is just the start,” Jesse said with excitement.  Jesse described his future as “multithreading”, where he would go about different projects simultaneously. He is also running  a startup company that connects actors and film crews.

The path to the future comes with exciting unknowns. Amanda and Jesse are embarking on a journey of infinite possibilities.