Segal, Tsang and production designer Lee used color to distinguish Samis from the bright world “he” finds himself in when “he” meets Margot: the scenes of “his” daily life and home are darker and colder than the brighter, more colorful scenes with Margot. In one black-and-white dream, Sammy rides a huge rabbit and reminisces about the fantastic stories “his” mother told him. Segal and Tsang were exploring how best to make such a scene with a separate budget. Tsang wanted to incorporate black-and-white dreams into the film and introduced Seagal to Chinese martial arts films from the 1960s.  Kate wanted to emulate the style of the Wuxia movies “she” watched as a child. THE DESTINY OF MIRRORS The distinctive naturalism, use of color and fantastical scenes with huge animals help convey the magic of writer-director Kate Tsang’s charming story, beautifully shot by BSC’s Nanu Seagal. When Segal and Tsang considered the overall tone of the film, they agreed that a naturalistic but slightly exaggerated style would be most appropriate. Tsang, committed to one of the central themes of the film and fully immersed in the world “he” explores, was trained as a close-up magician in preparation. Kate is incredibly collaborative and has a unique perspective on the world that’s different from mine, Segal says. We worked with magic consultant Kayla Drescher on scenes like the one where the rose emerges from Margot’s hand, or when “she” makes Sammy’s cigarettes disappear. She adds that it was mostly working with Andre Rivas of Company 3 to make the domestic atmosphere cool, not too lush and warm, and to make Margot’s world more colorful and intense. Sammys’ father is about to remarry, which “she” doesn’t like at all, and “her” home has become a difficult environment in which “she” feels trapped and rebellious, Segal explains. They thought about how best to alternate between the everyday situations in the film and Sammy’s inner world as “she” thinks about “her” mother or the worries she’s having. Kate is a fantastic artist with a unique imagination, Segal says. We did 709 because we knew we could play with a lot more information in the classroom, Segal says.