The production methodology of Zi is not a camera choice. It is a choice to make a film without the infrastructure that most contemporary feature productions require. A crew of seven. No pre-secured locations. No full script. Three weeks in Hong Kong. Director Kogonada and DP Benjamin Loeb arrived, walked the city for three days, and then started shooting.
Kogonada described the process to IndieWire: "We landed and we walked around for three days and then we started shooting. And it was so liberating for Benjamin and I. Because we would talk about how many meetings you would have to have to just shoot in one of these locations. But sometimes we saw this great noodle shop and we're like, that is our noodle shop. And then the next day, we're shooting at this incredible space." This is not improvisation. It is deliberate methodological choice, tested and refined across previous collaborations.
Guerrilla filmmaking in a major international city in 2025 requires a specific technical foundation. The camera package has to be small, fast, and inconspicuous. It cannot trigger the kind of production infrastructure that would require permits, location managers, liaison with municipal authorities, and the elaborate logistics that transforming a public space into a film set demands. Loeb and Kogonada moved through Hong Kong with minimal equipment that allowed them to function as a small unit: visible enough to be legitimate, small enough to be invisible when it mattered. The production was designed to be responsive rather than imposing.
The city's density worked in their favor significantly. Hong Kong's architecture—high buildings creating shadowed streets, covered walkways with overhead practicals, interior markets filled with fluorescent light—provided a ready-made production environment that did not require supplemental infrastructure. A location that would demand a full lighting truck and permits in many cities could be shot with existing light and a handheld camera in Hong Kong's dense urban environment. The city's commercial infrastructure became part of the film's visual design.
The craft implication is that Loeb had to be ready to shoot anything, anywhere, any time. There was no safety net of a locked lighting package or a gaffer with backup equipment. When the noodle shop was "their noodle shop," the DP had to be able to walk in with a camera the next day and make it work. This requires both technical skill and creative flexibility. It requires knowing your camera's ISO capabilities, understanding exposure latitude, and being able to work with existing light rather than against it. No permissions. Noodle shop seen today, shot tomorrow. The format was speed and trust.
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