The simplest of desires often spark the most extraordinary of journeys. In the case of #FilmMyIdea, it all began with a straightforward aspiration of our director, Jay Sen Cheong from ALOHOMORA PICTURES
"I want to make a narrative-driven content."
This unassuming wish laid the foundation for a project that would soon capture the hearts and minds of both creators and audiences alike. #FilmMyIdea is a unique project that invites the audience to share their thoughts and ideas, which are then transformed into a complete story, resulting in a 3-minute video.
Pre-production
At the very beginning, our primary goal was to capture the attention of our audience to ensure they would actively engage with our project. We had to find ways to entice them to stay and not simply scroll past our stories. To achieve this, we decided to release three Instagram stories each over three days to get their responses in different stages: the beginning, the middle, and the end.
Once we received responses from the audience, we employed a unique method to complete the storyline. Using a spin, we randomly selected a result from the audience's comments. While spinning, we recorded our reaction and this became the basis for our video's introduction.
Here are the results that we selected.
Beginning: On a stormy night, a couple hastily exits an old hotel...
Middle: As the boy follows closely, suddenly the girl's body goes into convulsions, and the girl's second personality appears...
End: The boy suddenly finds that the girl's second personality is actually his mother who has died many years
Initially, we were concerned about low audience participation. But surprisingly, we received responses on all three days of our release which was quite satisfying.
As soon as we had the opening, middle, and ending from our audience, the scriptwriting process kicked off swiftly. To streamline our ideas and project management, we utilized platforms like Milanotes where we could organize and visualize all our concepts in one place.
The foundation of any film project lies in the creative vision, which guides the mood, tone, and overall aesthetics. We dedicated nearly a week to creating a creative deck that would serve as our visual and conceptual roadmap. This document included the color palette, the ambiance of various locations, and the desired wardrobe styles for our characters among other crucial details.
We also collaborated with a local artist company, HANXIN PICTURES. Our female lead, Venny, and male lead, Hong Lin. Hong Lin's youthful appearance and personality were an ideal fit for this character, Frued. His aura exuded the charming playfulness that the character required. Veny's exceptional versatility allows her to seamlessly shift between the roles of a quiet and shy young lady and a character with unexpected depth and complexity, making her the ideal choice for our female lead.
This marked Hong Lin's second collaboration with ALOHOMORA PICTURES, and his chemistry with our team was impeccable. Veny, on the other hand, was a first-time collaborator, but her inclusion added a harmonious dynamic to the entire production process.
Before shooting, our team embarked on a recce adventure to an enchanting old hotel on Petaling Street on September 15th. The hotel's staircase adorned with elegant chandeliers and framed artwork exuded a captivating vintage ambiance. The green walls in the room also matched the color palette emphasized in our creative deck. The surrounding
environment of the hotel was also perfect. The aged buildings nearby lent an atmosphere reminiscent of a downtown slum, precisely the feeling our director envisioned. So, we joyfully declared this charming location as our shooting location, confident that it would add a unique and authentic dimension to this project.
Now You Might Wanna Know How's Our Shoot Going
Upon arriving at the location, our first tasks were to position the camera angles and adjust the lighting setup. The official shoot began around 8:00 p.m. on September 28th.
For lighting, we employed the versatile GODOX TL60 RGB PAVO Tube Light with different colors to set the mood. We also used the NANLITE FORZA 60 LED Monolight to create a thunder effect.
In terms of cameras, we used the FX30 for shooting. Its ease of use allowed us to progress quickly. We employed four different lenses, including SIGMA50mm, SIGMA50-100mm, SIGMA 18-35mm, and TOKINA11-16mm, to achieve various effects for different scenes. Additionally, our DOP, Xenis Ng also utilized a gimbal for capturing smooth handheld shots. The shoot lasted for almost eight hours, concluding before 4:00 AM successfully. We aren't crazy, yes. 4:00 AM!
Director & Scriptwriter | Jaysen Cheong | Producer | Felix Khu | Executive Producer | Jia Rou | Cinematographer | Xennis Ng | Gaffer | Jiun Sheng | Production Assistant | Jui Jian
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