Instagram stories are translated by my beloved friend K.L.
Emptiness. That’s what it feels like when a habit, supposed to punctuate our daily lives, suddenly disappears.
Emptiness has permeated my days and breaths over the last few months, ever since I took a break from writing blog posts.
The reason is simple and obvious: I’ve run out of time, because I’m in the middle of producing a documentary. And a documentary is not a task to be ticked off a to-do list, but an infinite generator of to-do lists.
I try as hard as I can to do as much as I can while maintaining a constant level of quality. Prioritizing has become a matter of survival. This is how the blog came to be on stand-by, without even a note to announce its absence.
I have to be honest and realistic: my regular return here won’t be for a while. A bi-monthly rhythm, as before, is impossible until production of Behind the Dream is completed.
What strikes me is that I’ve shared the behind-the-scenes of this adventure just about everywhere – on YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn… – except here, on the blog.
October is my birthday month, and I feel like filling the emptiness that’s been following me around for months. So here’s a slightly different article: a compilation of behind-the-scenes Instagram stories, sorted by day.
This article will be updated regularly, so keep coming back to follow this adventure.
You can find all the information about the film here: https://tuhaan.com/en/behind-the-dream-3/
Table of contents
Day 1
My phone fell in water ..
Can you see the problem? It’s now impossible to upload new insta stories or take photos … Communication lead / An with a broken heart / Co-director of Behind The Dream
On the set, you have to make a series of BTS insta stories every day !!!
Don’t forget to take a lot photos of the BTS !
Therefore, I’ll keep everyone updated with my old combination: pencil and sketchbook !
But before, I need to cross the mainland France with 30kg of props and equipment, 2 changes of train, and no Google maps nor any helping tool from my phone
This morning, when my partner told me:
Make sure to find a way to let me know when you get there, okie?
That made me think of 2011 …
Make sure to find a way to let us know when you arrive to France, okie?
17-years-old An
I crossed the continent with 40kg of luggage without a phone
The good points of not having a phone
It was a period that I really had a lot of works (around 30 emails to be dealt with each day)
No smartphone = impossible of consulting my mails
-> Suddenly, I’m legit allowed to be broken from the burning fire of the project
-> Grabbing some peace in the middle of a storm
Absolutely no risk of doom-scrolling on Instagram or YouTube during 12 hours of traveling
-> I have:
-read a book
-done the sketch for my movie
-draw THESE !
Dopamine detox
-> Increased emotional stability
-> Increased concentration
-> Two important weapons for upcoming days of hardcore filming
I travel with my small notebook, just like a grandma terrified of getting lost
What a joy to meet Jo again on the train platform, after a journey of 12 hours …
Nico arrived an hours after
He recognized us right away, seeing one human very tall standing next to one human very short …
We mostly used public transport for our commute to the filming set
The first filming section of Behind the Dream: Filming the interviews with the experts
In our first filming day, the @caebourgogne team welcomed us in their office right in the center of Dijon
While Jo and Nico ran the setup, I prepared the interview with the @caebourgogne team
Just look at the seriousness on Nico’s face and mine !!!!
In all reality, that day I wore the contact lens for my right eye on my left eye, and the one for my left eye on my right eye
Jo focused on checking the matching between the answers from the experts during interview and the stories in the script
The first day of filming: done!
The BTS for Behind the Dream will be grouped by day in my Story highlight so everyone can check them our anytime
Nico & Jo: “Nah, but I don’t want to revive those painful memories …”
To support Behind the Dream, you can send us a cup of coffee here ! ko-fi.com/tuhaan
Day 2
The second day of filming took place at the office of BGE Perspective
While Nico installed the equipment, I prepared the interviews with the experts
In the meantime, Jo ran through the script while trying to survive the crazy heat of Dijon …
This is my very pro co-director, with his very pro setup …
And this is his co-director who couldn’t hide her happiness that she was able to film with the very consultants who helped her in her beginning
It was a bless to work with Nico who could make everyone feel at ease
We also squeezed in some shooting for the narrative part planned in the script
Without a single head-up, me and Macha, our ex-consultant, wore outfits with matching opposite colors *icon smile*
Ladies and gentlemen, I had no idea how short I was until I saw this photo …
At the end of the second filming day of Behind the Dream …
Day 3
We were very excited because it was the day that we will get to discover the location for the majority of our scenes *icon smile with heart*
We were welcomed by all the staff of La Coursive, just right before their annual vacation
It would be in this very room that Nico, Jo and me will spend most of our time in Dijon
Just like usual:
– Nico took care of the soundcheck and visual setting
– An took care of interview arrangements
– Jo verified the matching between the answers given by the experts and the storyline in the script
Also just like usual, we took the chance to film several shots of narration as well, this time with the @lacoursivedijon team *icon smile with heart*
That day, we were under pressure a bit because Nico had to leave for his bus at 1PM
Still, right before he left, he still slided in a super interesting idea for the next filming that took place that afternoon
Third day of filming: done
First filming section: done
In the reality: This is how we look like after the first 3 days of filming …
To support the movie Behind the Dream, you can send us a cup of coffee through this link ko-fi.com/tuhaan
Day 4
… therefore we weren’t that productive by the 4th day
But it wasn’t really our fault neither, because an investigator showed up at our Airbnb
Her name is Schroudi ..
She is the cat of the neighbour living on the floor above us, and she got in through the window of Nico’s room
Kidding, we actually spent the fourth day buying materials to produce props for our second filming section
Day 5
Since Nico had to be absent between the first and second filming section, Jo recruited the new staff Schroudi The Cat, and our team looks somehow just like the Dalton brothers in Lucky Luke *icon laugh hard*
Although Schroudi isn’t that much of a team player
The promise I couldn’t keep
Update ngày 01/06/2025
As you may have noticed, this blog article hasn’t been updated in over six months. The reason is simple: I haven’t shared any new Instagram Stories about the behind-the-scenes of Behind the Dream.
After many attempts, organizational experiments, and moments of self-reflection, I came to realize that documenting things through Instagram Stories brings me no joy. It’s always felt like a chore.
You can read more about this in Creati’letter 20.
And if you’ve been following my Creati’letters, you probably saw in Creati’letter 21 that… I’m letting go of this promise in order to make space for something better.
I’ve finally found a format that truly suits me for sharing behind-the-scenes content: horizontal YouTube videos, in the classic format, blending photos and video clips, filled with funny anecdotes and heartfelt reflections. I even drew directly onto some frames — just like in a sketchbook.
You can find all of it in the Behind the Dream playlist on my YouTube channel. This is also where the full documentary will be released once post-production is complete:
The YouTube videos are now organized by theme, rather than day-to-day updates like Instagram Stories. Each video therefore requires more reflections, more thought — and more creativity too. It’s less spontaneous, but so much more in tune with the way I like to tell stories.
That’s also why I now share early behind-the-scenes previews in Creati’letter, my monthly newsletter.
Creati’letter is where I share my most personal reflections, the ones I don’t always feel ready to post publicly on social media, in the form of a creative lesson of the month, along with updates on my projects and the behind-the-scenes of my creative life.
If you’d like to receive it:
Creati’letter en française : https://tuhaan.com/accueil-fr/#fr-creatiletter
Creati’letter in English: https://tuhaan.com/en/home/#en-creatiletter
Creati’letter tiếng Việt: https://tuhaan.com/vi/trang-chu/#vn-creatiletter
Keep creating!
Tu Ha An
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