My TVC Folio

Fireworks

2009-09-23T12:13:00.000-07:00

This TV Commercial took 3 years and two wars to produce. The idea was conceived during the first war but we couldn't sell it to any of our clients. We finally managed to sell the idea to EON during the second war. Budget was non-existent though. So what we did was produced it ourselves, literally. We nicked footages off old war movies and edited it at Pixelpost Production with the lovely Kenny Khoo and begged Imaginex Studios for the sound effects.

Makcik

2009-09-23T12:12:00.001-07:00

Yet another favourite. The Makcik was such a joy to work with. Shooting began at 5am on Saturday and went on to 5am on Sunday, with no break. At around 2am on Sunday morning, Makcik actually asked the director why couldn't he just copy and paste? Lovely old dear.

Early Treatment

2009-09-23T12:08:00.001-07:00

Everyone knows dengue kills but not many were doing anything about it. So we tried a different approach. To appeal to the emotions of the parents instead. Who would want to live with the knowledge that they caused their child's death?

I'm not overly fond of long TV commercials though. After the novelty is gone, it gets old pretty quick.

So fast one?

2009-09-23T12:06:00.000-07:00

One of my favourites. Charming. An exaggeration of course. But you've got to be pretty daft to take it literally, no?

Uik

2009-09-23T12:04:00.000-07:00

This TV Commercial had to be re-shot after it went on air for reasons I'm not willing to put down here. Suffice to say, the original version was crisper.

Hariraya

2009-09-23T12:00:00.000-07:00

Not exactly creative but proof that persistence pays. Surely the longest running and the most popular raya jingle ever. This cover features Mawi and the AF kids. Shot on video due to budget constraints. We also had to use a Mawi stand-in due to his time limitations. Bet you can't spot the impostor.

Masuk Jangan Tak Masuk

2009-09-23T11:54:00.000-07:00

3-day shoot. The best fun I ever had on location. The director, KL Khoo of Filmstage, is one of the most approachable directors I've ever worked with. Unfortunately, we had to feature far too many celebrities. If it had been up to us, we would just feature the group Spider, Dollah Salleh, Shebby Singh and the footballers. I don't think the other celebs add any values.

The kids you see here were the Malaysia U16 back then. Talented, humble and disciplined. Let's hope they grow up to be decent footballers, in all senses.

The lyrics to this song were subject to much debate due to its innuendoes. But hey, football is supposed to be fun.

Looooooooong

2009-09-23T11:52:00.001-07:00

Who says you can't make effective ads with a low budget? Simple proposition, simple idea, simple production. Yet the message is loud and clear. Idea derived from my favourite Malaysian icon, Datuk Lat.

Global Raya

2009-09-23T11:46:00.001-07:00

The snow scene was shot in a neighbourhood park in Damansara Jaya, where flour were poured down from a tall crane. The exterior of the house was actually a huge poster.

Uncle Choi

2009-09-23T11:38:00.000-07:00

These TV Commercials initially featured Choy San - the God of Prosperity but the storyboards were rejected by the authorities. It seemed that Malays won't take too kindly to a Chinese God telling them to practise safe road practices. (???). So Choy San became Uncle Choi.

Scripts were all written in English initially before being translated into Mandarin and BM respectively.

Note the male talent in 'Motorcyclist' is the same young boy in 'Rayai Sejarah' TV Commercial. Small world.

Rayai Sejarah

2009-09-23T11:29:00.000-07:00

Client's Brief:
To produce a raya commercial with raya feel while at the same time celebrating the Malay pride in conjunction with Malaysia's 50th Anniversary. This entails featuring all FIVE Prime Ministers, the freedom fighters plus prominent Malays in the field of sports, arts etc. And don't forget the technology! How to fit all these in 90 seconds? Major headache. Oh, I have nothing to do with the flying astronaut at the end. I repeat, nothing whatsoever.

Deepavali

2009-09-23T11:26:00.000-07:00

We almost had to cancel this shoot on shoot day itself. I can't tell you why. But perhaps you can figure it out if you recognise one of the talents.

Deeparaya

2009-09-23T11:19:00.000-07:00

Confusion arises when Deepavali comes just a day before raya, while the Muslims are still fasting.

(Editing could have been better. eg: the Chinese/Indians singing in different languages and wearing different costumes won't be apparent to a Mat Salleh who presumably just arrived in the country)