According to an interview, Wei watched Taiwanese films "in old, small cinema halls and at an outdoor theater near where he lived."

Later Wei worked odd jobs to fund his own short films, including Three Dialogues (1996) and Before Dawn (1997), which both won a Golden Harvest Award.

In an interview Wei said that Yang "taught me to be a perfectionist and not sacrifice one's vision, even on a tight budget...He also told me to use my own life experience and not copy anybody."

[2] In 1999, Wei's drama About July, won "a special mention at the Alcan Dragons and Tigers Award for Young Cinema at the Vancouver International Film Festival.

In addition, the big international investment, technology and effects employed by the film impressed Wei to pursue big-budget filmmaking.

Double Vision's director, Chen Kuo-fu, suggested that he make a film that could win the people's trust.

In July 2004, Wei read about a Yunlin postman who successfully delivered a piece of mail addressed in the old Japanese style.

As the production went over budget, Wei had problems securing additional capital; he then refinanced his home and put his family NTD 30 million (nearly USD 900,000) in debt before the release.

[9] Wei believed "that the films that hit the screens before the end of summer vacation in 2007 were all 'safe bets'", because they avoided competition from Hollywood blockbusters.

According to an interview, Wei got the idea to make the film Seediq Bale in 1996 when he saw a protest demanding land to be returned to Taiwanese aborigines.

Wei began to study history relevant to the aborigines and decided to make a film about chief Mona Rudao.

52Hz, I Love You is a Mandarin-language musical film that presents a series of romantic comedy stories with original songs that take place in modern Taipei City, Taiwan, on Valentine's Day.