Language matters in videos, films

Winning smiles: Yeoh (right) presenting a mock cheque to Lee (second from right) and her team members.

IF you ask University Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) student Catherine Lee Yu Ying how her team members managed to create their winning video for The Star’s English For More Opportunities (EFMO) contest, she would confess that they had to work around the clock.

“My team members and I spent over two days to work on our video, Battlefield. As it was shot outdoors in Malacca, we had to consider factors such as weather, shooting location and overall ambience.

The post-production took over a week and we had to burn the midnight oil to create the noteworthy production,” said Catherine.

EFMO is part of The Star’s on-going efforts to highlight the importance of the language in helping people to get ahead in life. Over 200 students from UTAR and IACT College submitted their videos.

The contest, held from June to August, saw students walking away with cash prizes totalling RM10,000.

Catherine and her team members Teow Chia Yin, Choo Wai Lun and Lim Shao Ying from GG Productions won RM2,500 for best video production.

Creative trio: Kirran Prashaanth (left) created the short film Aangilam with Prem and Zhi Liang.

The first and second-runners up from each institution won cash prizes of RM1,500 and RM1,000.

On hand to present the prizes was TheStarTV.com senior general manager David Yeoh.

He said EFMO was an avenue for students to be creative in conveying their message by way of videos.

“Young people who equip themselves with a good command of the English language will get a head-start when seeking work. On entering the job market, they will need English because it is a global language as well as the language of commerce,” he said.

Catherine, a broadcasting undergraduate, said their submission was part of the coursework where students were required to produce videos based on filming techniques they learnt.

“Our lecturer submitted a few videos created by my course mates. We couldn’t contain our excitement when we were selected as the winning team,” said the 23-year-old, adding her six team members, all students, plan to share their cash prize.

Their video, shot in a rubber plantation in Durian Tunggal, Malacca, depicted a soldier who is killed during a gunfight because his partner could not communicate well in English. Catherine said the idea was from her father who enjoys watching war-themed movies.

Catherine, who aspires to be a TV creative director, explained that she chose the title because “entering the workplace is akin to going into a battlefield. To climb up the corporate ladder, one must be able to communicate in English”.

English, she said, has now become one of the most important languages. People across the globe use the language to communicate,” said the Malacca-born lass, who spent RM500 to produce the video.

Short film winner Kirran Prashaanth, 19, agreed.

“Students must be able to communicate in English, since it is the global language spoken by billions of people.

“Being able to communicate in English would not only open up international job prospects but will expose young employees to different cultures,”said the IACT College mass-communication student. He clinched the prize for his work on Aangilam.

Kirran, created the film with his cousin Prem D, 21, and collegemate, Lai Zhi Liang, 19, under film production company Blank Productions.

Aangilam features a man who struggles to speak English. He tries to explain to a shop owner that he needs to find his missing wallet.

The film was shot in Old Klang Road in Kuala Lumpur and the team only spent RM50 to produce it.

Kirran said the script was based on a true story about a foreign worker in Ipoh, Perak who couldn’t communicate in Bahasa Malaysia after losing his passport.

“The person couldn’t speak proper Bahasa Malaysia and had problems informing the authorities that his passport was missing. I tweaked the idea and came up with a suitable script for the contest,” said Kirran who aspires to be a film director.

The Kampar-born teen lauded the Performance Management and Delivery Unit’s (Pemandu) online survey on the importance of English language proficiency.

“English is a universal language. Never feel shy to try to speak English. To hone your skills, speak to those who are proficient in English and most importantly, read books,” said Kirran.