How to hit the bullseye in filmmaking

The premiere of Hello Goodbye, last year’s grand prize winning film was screened before proceeding to the talk by the filmmakers:

Nik Amir Mustapha, the director of Terbaik Dari Langit emphasised on honesty in storytelling -- and that a story comes from within.

Researching and knowing your story is equally crucial -- a story structure can be then broken down if a director prefers non-linear storytelling.

Nik also said that an attempt in striking a balance between substance and form but to him, brilliant storytelling always trumps good cinematography.

On the aspect of directing, Nik's advice: always have your own philosophy to know what you want to do and staying true to your vision as a director.

During production, it is important to have concrete planning and keeping to the schedule but simultaneously open to improvisations if the production crew happened to be thrown into unpredictable circumstances.

Khai Bahar, a writer and director who is known for his debut film Ciplak was on the technical aspect of production; the camera and lighting.

He started off his session by pointing out the importance to always keep learning on the art of filmmaking, either through practical experience or the Internet. Before shooting a film, it is essential to be familiar with the basics of the camera such as the exposure triangle of aperture, ISO and shutter speed.

Khai posed the question, “What can your camera do?” and he said that different types of cameras have different functions and purposes which can be used to enhance storytelling. In the next aspect, he stated that subject is the key in lighting and he provided a tool for practice. “Virtual Lighting Studio” is a website that lets the user to interactively light a portrait with multiple lights and see their combined effect.

Isazaly Mohd. Isa, a veteran in filmmaking industry who is also an Apple Inc Certified Trainer, explained that editing is the means of telling a story by putting moving images together.

From the script to the shooting of scenes, the editor will assemble the visuals into coherence and materialises the visions of the writer and director into a finished film.

Finally, the editor doesn’t only play a role in the post-production but equally important during pre-production stage to explain repercussions such as how many frames per second to shoot, setting the white balance for the final colour correction, which aspect ratio should the film be and to remind never to let the editor fix mistakes that could be corrected during production.