 On her first directorial assignment, an episode of "The West Wing", Yu was heartened that Wells encouraged her stylistic input.“He made a point of saying, ‘You should bring your own ideas to the table,’ rather than just follow prescribed formula.” So she decided to open with a series of mood-establishing low, wide-angle shots to signal the calm before the gathering storm.She directs a sport comedy film, "Ping Pong Playa" (2007), that explores Asian family culture through a Chinese ping pong son that is trying to prove himself to his family.