Production 02: Report

Date        : 17 October 2013 - 20 October 2013
Location  : Pangkor Island/Budget Resort

Scene 1 : Jose on the way to Souland
On the first day to Pangkor, we did not waste our time on the ferry doing nothing.
We went to the back area of the ferry which is open aired.

Jocelyn stood on the side of the ferry and we started to shoot.
The natural daylight that day really help a lot to bring out the film noir feel.

I was in charge on shooting that particular scene.

*I was quite satisfied with the out-coming of this scene, either the scenery or the emotion of the character, they really brings out the scene well. 10/10 points!! 

Scene 2 : Jose entering her resort room
We shoot at the late evening when we were given the Free & Easy time.
We tried out different lighting - whether to use the soft light in the room or not.

With the soft light, the main character would be more visible to the audience.
Without the soft light, she would be just a silhouette.
I decided to shoot without the soft light as it brings out the mysterious feel of Souland to the audience.

Thought there were many NGs and flaws, we really had our time shooting that scene and it turned out well.

*This scene was actually really impromptu. I simply thought of filming this scene as we could made use of the nice resort room. If there is any personal opinion, I wished I would re-shoot another face close-up of the character. Face close-ups are really helpful to show the emotion or the feeling of the actor/actress in the film.

Scene 3 : Jose approaching the reception center
Special thanks to Alvin Ng who agreed to assist us in filming this scene.
We stayed up really late to film this scene.

At almost 4 a.m. in the morning, we went to the reception counter to set up before filming.
We tried out different angles for this scene.
We were under the 'mosquito-attack' while filming.

I was in charge to shoot the overall conversation of both of the characters and the face close-up of the receptionist.

*I was quite unsatisfied with the lighting provided on the set. I believed the others felt that as well. The lighting was simply too bright for film noir. We had no choice but to film under such circumstances. If I were to choose, I would rather re-shoot the scene with our lights prepared but not only the cellphone's flashlights. I would also like to shoot the hand close-up of the receptionist to show he is a native Souler.

Production 02: Contextual Approach

Scene where the boat was heading to Souland.

• Shooting the water splashing from the side of the ferry.
• Show the ferry was moving in high speed.
• The fast-moving yet not-arriving-to-the-island ferry somehow reflects the emotion of Jose.
• She was eager and curious to know everything about the mystery of her family, but was hesitating to know them all as she was afraid of the truth.

Scene where Jose was on the ferry to Souland.

• The scene shifted from the back to the face of Jose.
• The facial emotion of Jose is the main focus.
• She was not excited to the island at all, instead, she had a lot of things in mind.
• Her confusion of her sister, mystery of her father, and the Soulers.
• The strong wind blowing in her direction helps to bring out her emotion well. I mean, without the wind, she would just be standing there staring in the space.
• With the existence of the wind, somehow brings motion into the scene.

Scene where Jose arriving the resort on Souland.

• Shoot the steps Jose took to approach the resort reception center.
• To show her heavy footsteps.
• Although she was on a vacation, she did not really enjoy the whole trip.
• She was on that island to reveal everything about her family.
• On the other hand, it was also another way to show her messy thoughts of all these mysteries involving her family.

Scene where Jose checking in the resort, meeting a native Souler.

• One of the islanders on Souland.
• Put lighting on the hand of the receptionist, to show the Souler symbol clearer.
• Although the islander was friendly to Jose, she did not really act friendly at him because of her messy thoughts of Soulers.
• She laughed dryly at the receptionist.

Scene where Jose was entering her room in the resort.

• Silhouette formed from the daylight outside the room.
• Shooting the silhouette instead of using the lighting to show mysterious feeling on that island.
• We tried different lighting on this scene, whether to put on a soft light in the room or not, ended up without using the soft light in the room.
• Jose wearing casual outfit to show she was on a vacation.