反正 (Pre-Production)
With all the roles chosen: Esther – Producer, Zong Ling – Director, Herman – DOP, Euminl – Art Director, Shobana – Sound and myself being the editor, bulk of the pre-production work was based on Esther, Zong Ling, Herman and Euminl. Due to the short amount of time that the team has to prepare for the shoot, The four of them did their job together and would give an update to the rest of the team once in a while. As Zong Ling and Herman came up with the idea, they were writing the script, Esther was busy finding location and casts for the film, while Euminl was busy with the props and art direction, as the story was to be based in the 19780-1980s.
As I was not playing the most important role in pre-production, I helped out through ways such as giving some feedback to the script, whenever there was a new version, helped to think of props that Euminl might have left out, and also to help record down the auditions, even though Herman is the DOP, but he wrote the script and thus he knows what the character in the script is like, thus he sat down together with the Director when people came for the auditions. In the end, I also helped Euminl bought the white school shoes which were to be used as props, as she could not get cheap shoes anywhere near her home, while I could. I also went along for the location scouts as I was to be the Camera Assistant on set,and Herman wanted me to know what was to happen and what to expect on shoot (in terms of pre-planning the shots, how the camera was to be shifted, how the casts were to be brought over to the other side of the canal .etc)
From my point of view, finding the correct casts for this story was very crucial, as both characters would be need to interact a lot through out the story. Thus when we thought that we have found the perfect male lead for the role, we had a huge problem looking for the female lead to suit and compliment, in terms of what the male lead could offer to the team and the story. Not only in terms of the level of acting was to be noticed, but also the actual character of the actor, how is the actor able to communicate with the other lead and the crew and also, the physical built and voice of the actor.
