Cahaya

El Finale

		Tuesday, 09 June 09 - 03:34 AM (GMT +08:00) By Khairil M Bahar in Production Diary

It's the last day. The night before was insane. No updates have been posted for a while for lack of WiFi, time and mental energy. It's the last stretch of an insane yet brilliant shoot and the footage looks beyond awesome.

One more scene to go, and we are wrapped.

The end of Khatijah

		Monday, 01 June 09 - 04:28 PM (GMT +08:00) By Shirin Jauhari in Production Diary

Khatijah had her last scenes on Saturday, Day 10 of the production.  It had been an insanely wonderful and inspiring journey.  I have learned so much from the director Johan John and Khir Rahman.  I love working with Khir Rahman and I will always look upon him as my brother.

Kak G, the super brilliant make-up artist.  She is the FIRST make-up artist (and trust me, I have met many T___T) that was able to cover my Vitiligo and made me look flawless.  Her super assistants Grace Chua and Ah Sei are my mini heroes as well ^_^.  Thank you so much Kak G for making sure I look amazing.

Abang Pali, the DoP.  What can I say; you will always have a special place in my heart ;)  Thanks Abang Pali for always making my shots look gorgeous.  You make me look good on screen ^_^.  Thank you to Abang Rei, Abang Jon, Abang Man, Man sound and Abang Rashid for the brilliant lighting and everything else that you guys did for me.

Rob and Johnny, thank you for the brilliant set design and wardrobe.  Thank you for being insanely patient with me and the rest of the crew.  I sincerely apologize if I had offended either of you at any time.  I’m just really blurred and had never acted in a production before so I am unfamiliar with the dos and don’ts of props and wardrobe.

The interns, Leonard, Agam, Zamir and Fong, thanks for helping out as much as you could.  Thanks for being open and ready to learn.  I hope you’ll continue learning and improving because the production world is insanely challenging and, well, now you know that what it takes to make a movie and remember that nobody in production is insignificant or unneeded.  A production is a family and we function as one.

Rique, thanks for always making sure I knew what I was doing.  Thanks for arranging and making sure things happen.  Thanks for always making the extra effort.  You are a star.

Johan John, what can I say Papa Bear, I hope I managed to bring out Khatijah they way you wanted her to be.  I’m really sorry for any short comings and thank you for being insanely patient with my insecurities and whining.   Thank you for taking me on board this wonderful project.  I truly enjoyed our rehearsals and you guidance and I hope you’ll consider me for your future projects ;)

The producers, Khai and Abang Zul, thanks for making Cahaya possible.  Without the both of you, I know that Cahaya would face many trials (not that it’s not already).  Thank you so much for all that you’ve done.

Elaine Daly, thank you for always being bubbly and patient throughout our long hours together.  I admire your professionalism and your positive energy.  Thank you for your kind words.

Uncle Don, I hope you get someone to read this to you or you’re reading this yourself.  Thank you for the awesome delicious meal EVERYDAY.

I have learned so much from both Johan John and Khir.  Acting with Nam Ron was fun too ^_^ upon hearing how he is considered the Improvisation King and hearing countless cautions from the director and producer on how he’ll pull a fast one on me, I had a cheeky plan.  I made Nam Ron laugh ^_^ it was loads of fun.  Luckily the director didn’t get angry with me ^_^ or was he...?

A Word From Khir Rahman

		Friday, 29 May 09 - 03:36 PM (GMT +08:00) By Khairil M Bahar in Production Diary

Posted on the Facebook group wall for 'Cahaya' at 2:07am today:

Lokasi yang tinggal buat SALLEH..
- kedai urut
- pasar malam
- restoren
- ext rumah Salleh

".. lakonan terbaik ELAINE.., beliau pastinya akan semakin bijak dalam lakonan.."

"..SHIRIN JAUHARI..bakat baru yang sangat menyerlah.."

"..aku dan NAM RON.. bertemu dan berganding lagi.."

"..banyak bezanya antara KARYA dan produk perniagaan..
'CAHAYA' adalah KARYA yang tak malu untuk diniagakan.."

- khir rahman

Translated to English for the non-Malay speakers:

Locations still left for SALLEH (Khir's character)..

- massage shop
- night market
- restaurant
- ext Salleh's house

"..Elaine's best acting.., she's sure to hone her craft even more in acting.."

"..SHIRIN JAUHARI..a new talent who simply shines.."

"..me and NAM RON.. we meet again.."

"..there's a big difference between one's ART and something one sells.. 'CAHAYA' is a
piece of art that we aren't ashamed of selling.."

- khir rahman

Day 7 - Construction

		Thursday, 28 May 09 - 11:22 AM (GMT +08:00) By Shirin Jauhari in Production Diary

So, the location is gorgeous.  The set was beautifully set by Rob, Johnny and the Interns (Agam, Leonard, Fong and Zamir).  We shot in the front room of the location and opposite it, as KL is so famous for, is a construction site for some monster building.  They were doing foundation so you can imagine the noise they were contributing.  Sound was an issue once again but Day 8 promisses new equipment and hopefully, better sound.

As i'm writing this,  the crew are having breakfast of Uncle Don's homemade Roti Telur and some awesome Dal.  I wonder what's for lunch.

Nam Ron joins us today ^_^ i'm looking forward to acting with him.  I had heard that he is known to improv briliantly and i am looking forwad to that.  It's been an amazing experience for me acting with amazing Malaysian actors as Khir Rahman, Elain Daly and Nam Ron.  In the few days, i have learned so much from Khir which i hold dearly to my heart.

Tomorrow will be a wrap for my character Khatijah... hmmm...

Day 6 complete and a wrap for Location 1

		Wednesday, 27 May 09 - 06:17 AM (GMT +08:00) By Shirin Jauhari in Production Diary

I think i did it.  Well, no point thinking about it now since the shot has been done and now we move on to the next location.  Call time for Day 7 is in 6hrs time (11am @ new location ^_^) so i know i need my sleep since i have a lot of scenes tomorrow... i mean later today.

I will sleep after i say a bit more :P

Thank you Khir Rahman and Elaine Daly for being insanely patient with me.  Without both of you, i'm sure the shoot tonight would not have gone as smoothly as it did.  And the TEAM is just awesome la.  I wish all my productions will be as awesome.

Ahhh... the silly chicken behind my house has started crowing and my head is pounding.  I need to sleep.

'Ori' Only!

		Wednesday, 27 May 09 - 01:37 AM (GMT +08:00) By Khairil M Bahar in Production Diary

So last night (day 5) we shot the majority of scenes involving Khir Rahman and Elaine Daly in Khir's character's house. They were heavy scenes, heart breaking scenes, long and powerful scenes.

And the last thing you want happening is the damn cards on the camera to break down.

See, here's the thing - everybody's doing double jobs on this production as we are not a big-budget film. As well as producing, I'm also the D.I.T. on set - 'Digital Image Technician' I believe it's called in Hollywood - who's in charge of transferring footage from the camera's data cards.

Now, there's nothing wrong with the camera, nothing at all. But the cards it uses, well, that's another story.

When we ordered to rent the camera, we requested for three cards. They gave us one 8GB card and two 16GB cards. The problem is, whilst the 8GB card was an original Sony SxS card, the two 16GB cards were not. They weren't even SxS cards. Instead, they were adapters for SD or SDHC cards (those little ones you get in digital cameras).

The problem with this is that those tiny little cards were never designed with full HD footage in mind. They'll work, but they won't be stable, and we can't afford to have unstable items on set.

The first scare happened on day 2 - an overcranked shot that we had in mind didn't record right after John called action. We swapped it with the 8GB Sony card and everything was fine and the card that wouldn't record still managed to transfer the footage.

Then, on day 4, tragedy - the card stopped recording halfway and we couldn't seem to get the footage out. After putting the raw data through various experimentations I finally managed to extract the footage. All seemed well...

...until one scene in particular.

It was a long, six minute take, close up on Elaine. It was a great take, so great that there didn't seem to be a need for another and angles were switched. During transfer, however, things went insanely iffy - it wouldn't transfer, and instead decided to stall and not copy and do all the things that computers do to piss you off when you don't want them to.

Everyone was on edge - we had to have that scene, that take, we absolutely had to. Whilst they continued shooting I sat in front of the laptop trying to figure out a way around it. Everything in the manual didn't work and neither did the techniques I used the last time the card went weird. Finally, I managed to save most of the footage by selectively rendering parts of the scene. At some point between 00:00:57 and 00:01:30 the footage went faulty so we rendered the before and after of that which, thankfully after inspection, didn't fall onto anything we would miss.

Today I went to get the cards replaced with original 16GB Sony SxS cards. I still can't understand why anyone would think it was ok to use friggin' SD cards with an adapter - it was never designed for data loads like this and it can't take it. If any of you out there use an EX1 or EX3 and think about using these adapters please, for the love of God, don't.

Otherwise, you may find yourself looking like this starring at the computer at 5 in the morning:

Live long and prosper.

Nervous - Day 6

		Tuesday, 26 May 09 - 04:55 PM (GMT +08:00) By Shirin Jauhari in Production Diary

Khaitijah’s heaviest scene is estimated to be shot in a few hours time.  I am nervous.  So far, cold sweat has not come out yet, and I take that as a good sign.  We had agreed during the rehearsals (pre-shoot) that we would improv and Salleh’s words and actions will be natural and from various directions so Khatijah will have to react accordingly.  There will be many takes and shots, as I had been warned, and personally, I prefer it that way too.

When I close my eyes, I can feel the itchy material on my skin (wardrobe was set by Rob Nevis).  I can see the gorgeous set, the dinning hall, (the setting for the scene had been designed by him too and Johnny Goh had set the props just right) feel the cool marble table top and sitting on the hard wooden chair. I can see the lights (beautifully set as always) and Pali will be behind the EX3.  I’ll hear Rique’s voice yell “Artist ready?  Standby!  Silence please!”.  Pali’s voice call “rolling” and Agam’s voice call the scene and shot number, and then CLAP.  A few breathless moments later, Johan John’s voice will call out “ACTION”.

My heart thundering in my ear, calmly breathing, Khir Rahman sits opposite me.

I am Khatijah, and this is my brother Salleh.  I love him very much and I am willing to do anything just to see him smile, even if it’s just once.

The Greatness of Sony and the Importance of Sound

		Monday, 25 May 09 - 11:13 PM (GMT +08:00) By Khairil M Bahar in Production Diary

I love our camera. In fact, I think everybody on set loves our camera. The Sony EX3 is such an insanely good camera we've had to rethink our traditional way of thinking on how to light the set as the low-light capabilities on this thing are incredible.

On the day before production, whilst Pali and the crew went to get the lighting and sound equipment I went to pick up the camera. The second I got back John asked me to pop it out for a test. The place we were using as a production office was very low-lit. We popped the camera open... and we could see everything. Absolutely everything. We'd even get a bit of burn in places. This camera is beyond cool and I don't get why all the other production houses in this country prefer the other brand of HD tapeless camera.

The thing is, we were so smitten by the camera that we almost forgot one of the most important aspects of filmmaking which is often overlooked by almost all productions in this country - sound.

Our major dialogue scenes only happened on the third day and that's when we discovered the problems with the sound equipment from the rental company. We must've returned wireless mics about three times before everything was ok. Upon closer inspection of the mixer did i finally realize that a number of the settings inside the mixer were set wrongly, leading to lots of hiss.

But we're gonna strive for good sound on this production, dammit. Too many local movies are dubbed, and dubbed badly, and we are gonna do our best to make sure we don't have the same ruber-lip syndrome that local audiences have had to put up with on other releases.

We've checked the equipment, replaced bits till we've got the best we can of everything and double and triple checked all the areas. things should go swimmingly from here on end.

Fingers crossed, people.

Just another Monday

		Monday, 25 May 09 - 11:20 AM (GMT +08:00) By Shirin Jauhari in Production Diary

It was a really awesome shoot last night (yes, I know.  I'm biased.  Everyday the shoot is awesome but its true la!  Tak Tipu!).  Yesterday was Day 4 and second day shooting with Elaine Daly ^_^.  Watching the chemistry between Maria and Salleh was, well… I can’t say more cause you should wait for the movie 

I’m at work (yes, I have a 9am-5pm, 6day week job and voice over jobs) as I’m writing this and I can’t help feeling a little sad that I can’t be with my crew since their call time today is 3pm.  I hope to join them after work if I don’t have recording tonight.  The scenes for Maria and Salleh tonight are insanely heavy so I want to be there and take the stills!  We expect to wrap at 5am.  Tomorrow will be Khatijah and Salleh’s heavy scenes at night and I am trying not to think about it.  I want to be able to react naturally to my brother’s words and actions.  I want my acting to carry the emotion to the audience/viewers.  That is my wish!

Anyway, the interns have started warming up and acclimatizing themselves to production life rather well ^_^ and I hope they are enjoying it as much as I am.  The tech crews love Johan John’s direction and are happy everyday when they have a satisfactory take.  I love my crew ^_^.   Everyone on board this production is committed and passionate about bringing to life a story.  It’s just so heart warming to see everyone working together and when you get a brilliant take, no words can describe the satisfaction of watching your hard work on playback. 

You won’t see a single frown on the set ^_^ accept when Uncle Don doesn’t bring his sedap gila babi super duper pedas sambal belacan (translation: deliciously insane pig super duper spicy sambal prawn paste).  I swear that everyone has put on weight because of the sedap gila babi food that the caterer, Uncle Don, has been preparing.  An example of Uncle Don’s awesomeness, yesterday for lunch, he made Chicken Chop with brown mushroom sauce, broccoli in white sauce, salad with freshly made Thousand Island dressing and crinkle fries (I Heart crinkle fries ^_^).  I believe the secret to a happy crew is through the catering.  We also suspect that Uncle Don is constantly eavesdropping on the crew’s conversation during meal times because, the day before Chicken Chop lunch, Rob and Johnny Goh were sharing with the crew about lunches on international shoots and how we’d never get western food from local production catering.  The next day, Chicken Chop with all the trimmings.  I plan to start a conversation on Dim Sum next

We celebrated Pali's birthday yesterday after we wrapped for the day ^_^ we got him Chocolate Walnut brownies instead of cake from Secret Recipe and it was awesome.  We even stashed some in the fridge at location for today.  As the birthday boy, he got fed by the lovely Elaine Daly and I'm sure the cake tasted sweeter ^_^.

By the way, all the pictures and videos will be uploaded as soon as Khai finishes editing them so chillax la ^_^

Haih.  Time to get back to work…

The Third

		Saturday, 23 May 09 - 01:33 PM (GMT +08:00) By Johan John in Production Diary

Woke up a little "early" today. Call time's at 2 pm. We have a couple of day scenes with Khir, then 3 scenes at night with both Khir and Elaine.

I decided to edit some of the footage from the last two days of shoot, and i have to say it look's good. Great Job by Pali our Cinematographer and Rob our Production Designer. 

Let's hope today gets even better.

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