Some of you may know my 'The Jo & Jul Show' (2009) which includes only 2 episodes and some of you may not. Well, for those who don't here is a link. Episode 1 & Episode 2. Its a 10-minute short film comedy which was suppose to be an ongoing entertainment. It didn't work out but it DID make a huge impact during the days on the local scenes. I was indeed proud with the response and support until one of them had to go abroad studies and show is canceled.
I've always wanted to make a drama of my own. But here? In Brunei? With my brain? Put both together and It'll never happen. Why? MIB.......(Melayu Islam Beraja). There's just so much errors. I know this cos I've once worked ina production in a very short period. Also picked out lots of infos from friends in the media field.
To me, filmmaking is not only a hobby, its my career. It's my job and its entertainment. Also, every short film I do is actually an experiment. I'm trying out different things, cameras, concepts, ideas etc. 'The Jo & Jul Show' was actually an experiment on whether I could get audience/viewers to enjoy a good laugh. It worked. And the idea was purposely to create characters that relates in the local scenes by adding some style. Such as episode 1 'The One With The Race' is basically about a self-centered person who cares only for himself. Secondly, never judge a fat guy that he'll lose in a race. - ADAM GROVES
'Break' is actually short for 'BreakTime' OR 'Recess as in, in school. Should notice the school uniform from the photos. The idea came to me one day that I wanted to try something with fighting. I've never done one before. Its pretty challenging because on the first day, I had to to direct the 2 actors to fight. Not that I know but by experiencing from movies I've watched. Every punch/kick are according to steps. We had to create the steps by making a partision then joining them up in post. It was hard I tell you. As for scripts, I decided to do this one in Malay. Brunei, Malay. Not standard. I hate it. I never liked the Brunei dramas where they write standard malay. Seriously, anybody around you talk standard? No right? They talk normal with the 'Ani...', 'Atu...', 'Awu...', 'Inda...'. So thats how I want them to speak, according to my scripts. I think its just way better an original.
The actors I've chose are not professionals. They are hand-picked to match the description on the character I've created. But everyone learns, and they'll get better and better once they've experience this. I've decided to shoot this with my Canon 7D as it is easy to carry around. Not mentioning how hard it was shooting 'The Jo & Jul Show' carrying the huge cam around and people can get nosey during a shoot. DSLRs are way easier to hide if you know what I mean. Even got the chance to test out the Rode mics out in the open field and the sound pickup on distance are brilliant.
Why 'Episode 0'? Because its my first pilot and introducing the actors before the actual story starts. Not that I've any idea what'll happen. There's just too many ideas I'm deciding at the moment. As for now, I've finish 3minutes of the short film. Got another 7minutes to shoot. Not sure how to do this with all the fasting this month. (Ramadhan). In fact, I've learn from my mistakes. May not release episode 0 until I've completed at least 1 more.
