A Christmas-themed short film by ALOHOMORA PICTURES will be released on Christmas Day, do you know how it was made in just three weeks? Let us tell you!
Director Jaysen Chong (Left), Cinematographer Felix Khu (Right)
We decided that one of our interns' ideas would be a good fit, namely the idea of wanting to see the snow in real life, the idea of the short film originated with a little girl wishing to see the snow.
”Since Malaysia does not have four seasons, there is no way to see real snow, so through this project, I wanted to fulfill my wish and dedicate to whoever that has the same thought as me. Directed by our in house director Jaysen, and the process was remarkable. “
Writer - Jui Jian Goh
After deciding on the theme and idea, our writers immediately worked with director Jaysen Chong to create a plot line, and details and discussed the materials that needed to be purchased for the set-up. Lock the storyline, components, and props, and work together to buy the props needed for the short film on the next day, December 9.
Director Jaysen Chong
During the pre-production, In order to compile information and align everyone on the same page, we created an online deck where we can include the names of the actors, the script, the location, the Storyboard, the schedule, the budget, and so on. This way we know better what we are dealing with in such a short timeline.
A good short needs good casts! We have five actors on board for this Christmas film, with our lead actress Rachelle Wong Xi Munn playing the role of Crystal Baby, Yuki Fam Kah Yan as her older sister, Jui Jian Goh as her older brother, Alwee Khu as her father, The role of the mother will be played by Ms. Yvone Lee, the biological mother of our heroine Rachelle's life.
We had about only two hours to set up the set and lighting, not forgetting we have to pre-discuss beforehand.
The first thing we do is to position our angle, with a proper frame we surely can create the ideal lighting style. Other than that, communicating with a child isn't easy either. Says Director Cheong. Spending time and being on their level is his tactic in directing the crew and the act of the cast. Nevertheless, the cast acted up to the expectations and played their role incredibly well.
We use light tubes to
create the mood at night.
“ Nothing crazy, I decided to go for lenses that can go great at full wide open. I've come to realize that shooting a narrative, you often use sets of prime lens instead and it's more efficient to create that cinematic shallow depth of field. Especially for cameras with smaller form factors, your ISO doesn’t really reliable. Composition and Lighting play a crucial role. ”
DOP - Felix Khu
On top of that, we shot the film from 6 pm to 12 pm merely, but we needed to shoot both day and night scenes, and our Cinematographer & Gaffer Felix Khu put a lot of thought into the lighting in such a tight time frame.
" Night for the day is the word here, we tried several ways to light up the subject since both are different lighting techniques, you can’t just bounce off the ceiling and call it a day. You have to craft the scene with practical and window light to look more daylight/night scene-ish which seems promising. Of course, scenes with blockings help a lot too. Nevertheless, it is truly fun and tense! "
Director & Editor | Jaysen Chong | Cinematographer & Gaffer | Felix Khu | Assist Direct | Jui Jian Goh | Project Manager | Ai Ling | Actor | Rachelle Wong Xi Munn | Yuki Fam Kah Yan | Jui Jian Goh | Alwee Khu | Ms. Yvone Lee | ALOHOMORA PICTURES