Director’s Think Tank on keeping Hari Raya traditions alive in a time of Covid

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Director’s Think Tank on keeping Hari Raya traditions alive in a time of Covid

Despite more subdued Raya celebrations this year in light of the ongoing restrictions, the team at top production company Director’s Think Tank (DTT) Malaysia were busy producing Raya spots to ensure the spirit of Raya prevailed.

 

Making celebrations meaningful despite being apart was a key theme this festive season, with storylines focusing on families welcoming Raya without the yearly tradition of balik kampung, connecting with wider family members via video call, and even receiving e-duit Raya from distant relatives. To capture this, DTT had to take on a unique approach to shooting its Raya films to comply with government restrictions.

Maxis’ Suasana Syawal Sempurna, directed by Sling Ng, features a little boy recounting the special moments of Raya. Ng had to guide the child talent’s family to shoot the boy all through Zoom. The post-production process also played a key role in editing stock images and news clips relevant to the current situation.

Aiman Aliff’s Perayaan Yang Berbeza, Namum Tetap Bersama for UMW Toyota featured a family with experience in videography to enable them to shoot themselves with Aliff directing through Zoom as well.

“We were lucky to find, cast, and select a family that has a videography background and experience in the industry,” said Aliff, Director at DTT. “This made the process smoother as they were comfortable shooting themselves. Directing via Zoom though is a completely new experience! When you are on set, you have better interaction with the talents to communicate what you are after. On video call however, certain verbal and physical cues can be lost so you have to work even harder to be more precise with directions to get the shots you are after,” he continued.

DTT also created a comical series of Raya videos for Tesco, telling the story a mother and son duo celebrating Raya apart. Hyrul Anuar directed the grocery retailer’s four-part Iklan Raya 2020. The series features Anuar’s housemates and all scenes were shot in the director’s own home.

“We are proud of the fact that the team was flexible, agile, and ready to try new things. Despite having to operate differently, we created strong, engaging and topical Raya films to connect with audiences,” said Rajay Singh, DTT’s Co-Founder and Director. He continued, “Especially with the current circumstances, we want to make sure that audiences still feel the spirit of Raya. This is certainly one festive season we’ll never forget.”

VIEW THE MAXIS’ SUASANA SYAWAL SEMPURNA FILM

VIEW THE AIMAN ALIFF’S PERAYAAN YANG BERBEZA, NAMUN TETAP BERSAMA FILM

VIEW THE IKLAN RAYA 2020 PART 1 FILM

VIEW THE IKLAN RAYA 2020 PART 2 FILM

VIEW THE IKLAN RAYA 2020 PART 3 FILM

VIEW THE IKLAN RAYA 2020 PART 4 FILM

Director’s Think Tank on keeping Hari Raya traditions alive in a time of Covid Director’s Think Tank on keeping Hari Raya traditions alive in a time of Covid Director’s Think Tank on keeping Hari Raya traditions alive in a time of Covid Director’s Think Tank on keeping Hari Raya traditions alive in a time of Covid