echo By Kwong Hui and Hoo Kien Seng
Edited by Ms. Amanda Chong
There is something big happening in all TGV cinemas in 2017. It is not just a movie launching but a storytelling. A story about you and me, a story about us, a story about our generation.
On 7th September 2017, Jin Lim, known as Jinnyboy, and Reuben Kang (Director of the movie) together with their team pumped up the whole atmosphere of JC1 by bringing in their first movie “By MY Side”. It is a movie about typical Malaysian teenagers growing up in high school and going through all the challenges in life. The sharing session, behind the screen and the 12 minutes exclusive review triggered everyone’s interest to watch the full movie.
Reuben mentioned that they have been doing Youtube videos for 5 years and suddenly they came out with a thought of producing their first movie. Although this is something different compared to what they were doing previously, at the end of the day they still upheld their spirit of sharing our home-grown stories. So they decided to do a ‘real’ movie, sharing our love life, our heartaches of whatever dramas we used to go through growing up, and wanted to share this story to the world. Initially, there was no title for this movie until they incidentally decided to use a song named “By My Side” by David Choi. They figured it has a lot of significance to the storyline.Hence, they decided to name this movie “By MY Side”. “MY’ stated in capital letters represents our nation, Malaysia.
“Right now I feel like watching the movie! The movie is so relatable, everyone is responding towards it. It reminds me of all the memories we have.” -Shafika
By having the passion towards embracing Malaysia’s culture and talent, the team, lead by two enthusiastic individuals managed to complete the whole movie in 4 months time from writing since May 2017. The production team consists of nine young but talented people. Irwin Oon (Producer), the first being hired, spends most of his time behind the camera together with Dixon (Director of Photography). Ryan Yee (Assistant Director) oversees and coordinates the team. Justin Lee (Camera Assistant) works closely with Syafiq (Visual Effects) to ensure the outcome of the film. Amira (Content Writer) is responsible for writing the script and storyline together with Rueben. Tiffany Chin (Editor) has to assist Syafiq and to be at the shoot at all times.
Of course, success is like an iceberg. What people do not see is the challenges they had to go through. Irwin recalls the time he had to obtain location approval quickly because of the short timeline of only four months. Without the help of many organisations, it would be crazy, as Irwin describes it. With this, he expresses his indebtedness to Sunway University for their support. Dixon and Ryan both agreed that working with over 40 people from different departments for a movie production was different from a YouTube video. Spending five long hours to deal with 20 children between 3-5 years old in one classroom for a ten second sequence was something they were not accustomed to. On the other hand, Justin and Syafiq had to meet Dixon’s expectations of a ‘perfect’ shot in line with their capabilities. Amira and Reuben sat in a room continuously for days, trying to figure out what the characters should do next. They wanted each character to mean something more important. Despite having doubts as to whether she could write a film, she challenged herself and learnt that she is capable. She is proud of her team for being able to pull something great together.
Despite barely knowing each other prior to coming on set, they bonded during their three-night stay at Pulau Redang. There was a spark between them. Their chemistry emerged as result of their passion and sincerity. Everything fell into place. Brandon, who plays the character Ben, recollects that there was never a dull moment when they were together. Arwind, who plays a student who goes to school to study and not for love, reminisces the time a turtle gave a little bite to Marianne’s (Faye) finger. He is a little heartbroken knowing that he is uncertain as to when they will ever get to see each other again. Maggy (Faye’s best friend) gives credit to the hours spent together for their strong bond. Overall, the cast enjoyed every moment of the shoot.
“We are very different people as individuals but the moment we all have a common goal, that’s where our differences are put aside” -Reuben Kang
When asked about the procedures to join their team, Jin responds that those interested can always drop them an email at their website. However, it is not that simple. Their team met due to odd timings and perspiration. Some worked very hard to reach where they are today. JinnyBoy TV does not solely look for people with the right skills but also their dedication, willingness to learn and ability to meet their goals.
“I want to say this to every intern that came into JinnyBoyTV: Welcome to hell. For real!” -Maggy
