One Note (单注)

With the Harvard deadline only hours away – a moment Joyce and her parents have been preparing for since she was born – just as she is about to hit submit, Joyce realizes that she’s made a mistake in her video. Now, with the clock ticking, she scrambles to fix it. Will she manage to pull it off in time? And more importantly… will she get in? With One Note (单注), writer/director Jamie Ting delivers a darkly comedic look at stress of college applications and the pressure placed on high school seniors – especially in immigrant families.

“I was immediately surpassed by virtuosos who more resembled machines than humans”

When discussing the inspiration behind One Note, Ting admitted that he actually drew from his own experiences. As a kid, he learned to play the violin and landed a place in a top magnet high school, only to be “immediately surpassed by virtuosos who more resembled machines than humans”. But the true spark for the film came from a “Washington Post article exposing a high school senior who had faked ivy-league acceptance letters to impress her parents and peers” -someone who, Ting noted, actually went to his own high school

This article prompted him to do some research: “I found that ivy league college admissions have become more stressful and more cutthroat than ever before, often driving applicants to the brink of insanity”, he shared. Ting blended his own stories with the themes from the Washington Post story to deliver a sharp, darkly comic coming-of-age film, that’s not only enthralling but also effective at making us take a look at the psychological toll of this experience. 

Danielle Liu stars as Joyce in Jamie Ting’s One Note

From the opening scene, Ting immerses us in the pressure his protagonist Joyce puts herself under through the use of voice over, sharp editing, and dynamic camera movements. The framing of the shots, where she is in between her parents, is almost suffocating, as we understand all the unrealistic expectations and pressure she has been living with. There is also the added factor that when you’re a first-generation immigrant, perfection is always expected. Taking these two factors into consideration, with that deadline fast approaching, it’s no surprise One Note takes us on this insane quest for perfection. 

Just like in real life, One Note asks an important question: how far is too far in the relentless pursuit of that coveted acceptance letter? Ting subtly raises the stakes, escalating the tension until, even from our seats, we’re not really sure when Joyce crosses the line. Is it when she chooses to re-record the video? When she decides to put on that suit? Or when we discover that she hasn’t actually applied anywhere else?

Joyce goes to extreme lengths to try to fix her mistake

Throughout the short, editors Karen Kourtessis and Artemis Tapliga craft a pacing that keeps us on edge, while still allowing us to grasp the downward spiral Joyce is in. But it’s in the final scene where the film truly surprises us. As the tone shifts, leaving only the dark side of the dark comedy, we start to really see the damaging consequences of spending 17-years of focused on only one goal. With this tonal change, the visual aesthetic alters as well and without that ticking clock the pacing slows down and leaves us to linger with her in that fragile mental state. 

Ting is an experienced comedy writer, but with this film he proves that he blends perfectly comedy with darker themes, without turning his narrative into a farce. His ability to simultaneously entertain while crafting a story with depth only leaves us impatiently awaiting his future projects.