REMOVE BEFORE FLIGHT

Inspiration

REMOVE BEFORE FLIGHT was inspired by the emotional discipline of aviation: checklists, runway lines, radio calls, and the red safety tag removed before an aircraft can fly. I wanted to turn those technical details into a human metaphor. Before people can move forward, they also have to remove fear, shame, and false obedience.

What it does

The project tells the story of Peggy Teng, a pilot haunted by an emergency landing, and Bu-ting Cheng, a prison officer trapped inside a corrupt system. At a flight school in Taitung, their lives intersect. As Bu-ting learns to fly, his checklist discipline helps him expose a hidden prison conspiracy, while Peggy learns how to return to the cockpit.

How we built it

The story was built through screenplay drafting, aviation research, character development, and structural revision. I connected two worlds: a flight school, where procedure creates freedom, and a prison, where procedure hides control.

Challenges we ran into

The biggest challenge was balancing technical realism with emotional storytelling. Aviation scenes need accuracy, but they also need character stakes. The prison storyline also had to feel procedural without becoming dry.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

I am proud that the project uses one central symbol, the REMOVE BEFORE FLIGHT tag, across the whole story. It becomes a tool, a warning, and a question: what must be removed before someone can truly take off?

What we learned

I learned that procedure can be dramatic. A checklist is not only a safety tool; it can become a moral structure. The core idea became:

$$ Freedom = Discipline - Fear $$

What's next for REMOVE BEFORE FLIGHT

Next, I plan to refine the screenplay format, strengthen the series structure, and develop the project into a cleaner pitch package for competitions, producers, and future adaptation.

Built With

• aviation
• character-drama
• drama
• film
• flight-training
• human-rights
• pilot
• prison
• ptsd
• recovery
• screenwriting
• storytelling
• television
• trauma
• workplace-drama