Crew Statements - Dadah, Sarimukti Village, Indonesia

Rian Suryalibrata, director 2/producer/camera:

There were a lot of positive things that came out of the shooting experience. We found out how exhausting it was to shoot for 24 hours on terrain like we found in Sarimukti Village. The shoot was fun, because it was a new experience, the first time I’d done a 24 hour shoot. It was crazy, my whole body was tired, but it was still fun.

Well, we were all tired, because the shoot was only carried out by two teams. So there wasn’t any time to rest. Maybe if the terrain wasn’t as rough as we had it, two teams would have been enough - but with terrain that difficult, two teams felt really inadequate. [Note: We had planned to have three teams, but the third camera dropped out unexpectedly.]

Here are a few things that might be important to note:
- The number of teams was lacking – if we’d had one more team, we might not have been as tired. Two more teams would have been even better.
- It seemed like the operational funds were too meager. Money was an important factor, since we purchased a lot.
- If we’d had more funds, we could have gone to prettier or better locations in Indonesia.
- Our base camp at the village head’s house was too far from our subject’s house [around 5 minutes’ walk], which made things difficult when trying to find scattered equipment.

Those are the only things that need reworking. If we do another shoot, hopefully we won’t have these problems again.

And once again, overall, the shoot was really fun. It was a beautiful place, the whole crew was enjoyable, and the Sarimukti villagers were all great.

Yufik, camera:

In general, the shoot went well.
[Points to note:]
- The crew was noisy during the shoot, I’m sure the noise carried over a lot.
- The team needed to be more in control of the terrain, we were feeling our way through it.
But I’m up for the next job.

Riva, photographer:

What works:
- We all clearly work as a team
- We each filled in for each other’s shortcomings, considering the loss of one person from the original roster
- As a team, we managed to be invisible at Dadah’s home, which allowed for better recording of her daily activities.

Opportunities for improvement:
- For the future: pre-production and planning are important, but all this depends on the [willing] involvement of team members as volunteers.
- Without wanting to compare this to previous projects I’ve been involved in, it seems to me that several team members are still unable to see the greater vision/big picture of this project. Their frameworks are still strictly limited to video production per se. In the future, the choice of team members should be very careful to adjust for the scale of the project.

Personal view:
Getting to know Dadah and issues in farmers’ lives has provided me with a new perspective.

Okka, producer:

Cons:
- Having to adjust to having one less team, on the spur of the moment, meant everything felt a little more panicky and haphazard.
- Half the crew was unable to attend the briefings prior to the shoot, so – despite previous email and phone contact - we had to explain everything to everyone in just one final briefing session.
- Time constraints meant the crew hadn’t had a chance to actually go up the mountain by foot before it did so on D-Day. The strain of it was definitely a shock, and it would’ve been good to have done this beforehand.
- After an epic effort by Endah et al to get a generator from friends in Bandung, which they’d tested beforehand, it ended up not working.. We didn’t need it in the end, but this did cause a lot of undue stress pre-shoot.
- One of the booms was massive compared to the HDV camera we stuck it on. Nothing some tape didn’t fix, but it was lopsided and wasn’t ideal.
- We ended up using more money, for expenses such as motorcycle drivers and food, than we’d thought necessary.
- Difficult terrain and rainy weather were definite challenges – at one point, several crew members got lost up a mountain, and one of them fell from a motorcycle.
- The script could’ve been tighter – Dadah didn’t go through her day exactly as she’d told us she would, i.e. leaving for work a little earlier than 6am, and ending her work earlier (due to the rain). It wasn’t a big deal to work through, but it would’ve been better to have left out the unexpected. Also, at one point while she was at work, Dadah was given bread by a crew member, which didn’t seem as natural as if she’d had her regular meal.
- It was difficult to limit how noisy we were as crew, especially considering the small space we were in in Dadah’s house! For instance, I know some snoring got on tape that didn’t come from the subject’s family – funny, but probably not the best thing!

Pros:
- Really good cooperation in getting equipment and crew from various sources, and being open to the idea of the shoot in the first place.
- Lists worked! The crew made sure to jot down lists of equipment, expenses, job descriptions for each person, and schedules before the shoot. We sent this to crew members by email beforehand and printed out a copy of the information for each.
- Both the village head’s family and Dadah’s gave absolutely fantastic support, that we just can’t understate. It meant a lot having the locals cooperate so smoothly. We certainly wouldn’t have survived without the hospitality of Imas, the village head’s wife – great food and accommodation. I thought there was great rapport with Dadah and her family, and Dadah in particular made it so easy for us to document her life as naturally as possible.
- Sudden loss of one key crew member, not to mention the unexpectedly tough physical circumstances, meant a lot of improvisation was necessary. I’m really proud of how everyone banded together and made things work, from keeping up constant walkie-talkie communication to surviving with only two teams! Overall, the shoot was a success.

Ratih, cameraperson [Ratih wrote up a detailed hour-by-hour breakdown of the shoot schedule – too long to include here, but let me know if you need to see it! Here are the comments she attached at the end.]:

I met Okka, Endah, Rian, and Riva for the first time on October 24. Prior to that, I had only been in email contact with Okka to coordinate schedules and equipment, and had been shown the proposal that Okka had submitted to GLP. We hadn’t discussed the concept of the video.

In the afternoon, I arrived at Okka’s house and we briefly discussed the project, then Okka showed me the Global Lives videos.

I didn’t bring a few personal items that Okka had asked me to bring, such as a sleeping bag and raincoat. Okka ended up buying raincoats and lending me a sleeping bag, thanks Okka. Because I imagined that uphill climbs would be on asphalt roads and fields, I didn’t bring mountain climbing shoes. When we did the survey, it turned out that the road was slippery, so Okka had to lend me her shoes. Sorry Okka!

When I met Endah WS, I asked her how we would shoot the footage, and she explained that shooting would be improvised the following day. There would be a variety of shots, sometimes close ups. We also hadn’t discussed audio. We also hadn’t brought up recording HDV with a 4:3 composition until the question cropped up.

On the morning of the 25th, Endah WS called to discuss the audio cable, which would attach the external mic to the Sony FX1. As the Sony FX1 had no XLR, which we would later buy in Bandung, I asked how we would record our audio with only one radio mic. On the 26th, it was decided that audio recording would use an internal mic and a boom mic. Because what we had was an Omni microphone, to ensure that sound didn’t spread too much we taped it on the right and left sides, and the entire crew helped with sound checking.

I had planned to always where headphones during the shoot, to always make sure that the audio was going well. But the reality was that I forgot to wear headphones several times, and couldn’t because of the circumstances on a number of occasions. Several times during the shoot, I began shaking because my concentration had gone down. I was exhausted.

Unfortunately, there was no production book that compiled information on pre-production, production, and post-production in written form to coordinate fully on the concepts of what the shots, audio recording, and video output would be like. If we had had that, the result would have been better. Everything was highly improvisational. We consulted each other in making considerations. But as a whole, the production ran smoothly, relying on each individual’s taking good responsibility.

I was very happy to be involved in this project; the method of shooting for 24 hours is a new method that I had never thought of before – all the details of the subject’s activities were recorded. This project is very important as historical material for the family documented, for everyone involved in the project, and in a broader view as a representation of national history. This was the first time I’d joined in on and conducted a 24-hour shoot. The shoot wasn’t easy, and I think you do need practice to ensure that the cameras keep rolling for 24 hours. There were many things I got out of this for the future - concern for documenting surrounding environments, as part of collecting historical data. Our children and grandchildren will need this data for the next 1, 2, 300 years, and it will be very valuable for the future. According to Dziga Vertov and his friends (Kino-Eye, Kino Pravda), there is a conviction that from the beginning, films that represent real life are capable of supporting enlightening and educational initiatives.

Endah:
Pre-production
To be honest, in the beginning I had doubts about this GLP production, for various reasons. First of all, of course, was the fact that we would be shooting for 24 hours straight. It was the first time I’d done this. True, it was a new challenge, but shooting for 24 hours depends on several technical aspects: equipment and crew members.

Second was the problem of a production team. With a voluntary system, the choice of team members was limited. With a limited team, it would of course be difficult to expect the production process to run smoothly. Because, besides being unable to measure people’s capacities, it was also difficult for me to judge individuals’ characters, which really effects how you form a cohesive team that will work hard during a shoot.

Thirdly, there was the problem of funding. The funds provided by GLP were very limited (unlike the Japanese team, which received aid from a third party, we had to rely fully on these funds). My worry was whether or not the available funds were enough for the cost of an out-of-town production.

The fourth was more of a personal matter, which was the timing of the shoot. To be honest, I didn’t have a lot of spare time to take off from the office. And even I did take leave, I’d have to think twice, because no one would take care of Abil (my son, 6 years old) as I don’t have a nanny.

I’m thankful that everything ran smoothly in the pre-production process. Through discussions with Okka, we began to find solutions to the problems above. There was the problem of equipment, especially standard HDV cameras. Despite it being difficult to find a free loan of one, Lexy kindly lent his entire HDV camera set as our main camera. However, one camera was not enough for a nonstop 24 hour shoot. It wasn’t easy to find a second camera. Even a day before D-day, we weren’t sure about getting this second camera.

Teamwise, I invited a friend, Rian, to be co-director. Besides having worked together often, through good and bad experiences over the years, Rian had no problem with working as a volunteer. “At the least you’ll get to go to Garut, and when else are you gonna have the experience of shooting for 24 hours straight?” I persuaded, so he’d come along. He said yes.

Before Rian, I’d offered the job to two other friends. They refused point-blank. One person’s reasoning was, “Well… at the least we should get some pocket money…” The other one said, “Are you crazy, working for free out of town, and with an American..? You’re pretty willing to be oppressed by those Americans. Scary…” Hahahaha… (I also invited a number of other people, who still couldn’t decide whether or not to join us until the final moment, one of whom was Rovina).

With Rian and Okka, a production plan or funding proposal was drawn up. At first it wasn’t detailed, because Rian and I (who hadn’t gone on a field survey) didn’t have an idea of what the location and subject would be like. After that, the three of us went on another survey to Garut. In Garut, a new problem cropped up, which was that the main character Okka surveyed was seriously ill, and wasn’t fit to participate in the shooting. She was sick for two months.

Fortunately, there was her replacement, Dadah, one of Khadijah’s neighbours. The first impression I got from Dadah was that she was a tough woman. She was so tough that she didn’t want to leave her wood fire stove to talk to us at first. Hahaha…! Good thing there was Igud, her husband, who mediated between us. Dadah and Igud are potato farmers, who have to climb uphill every day to get to where they farm. And they were willing to be shot for 24 hours straight.

We also invited Igud to take us to the field they worked on. Because it was getting late and rain was coming, we decided to go by car to the field (we shouldn’t have, since we didn’t find out how the ‘actual terrain’ was). The field itself is on the slopes of Darajat Mountain, or to be exact, in the shadow of a Chevron power plant. The fog had come down very thick as we walked towards the Blengur forest, where Dadah’s plot lay. However, it turns out that the sensation of bitingly cold air, combined with the thickness of the fog, was what made Rian and I enthusiastic. “This is it.. This kind of shooting atmosphere is what I’ve missed for a long time..” I thought. It turns out that Rian thought the same.

As a result, when we returned to Jakarta, we prepared everything more enthusiastically. Especially after finding out that the terrain was hilly, that we had to be more serious about the equipment and team.

The team was finally collected. Although Carita (cameraperson 1) couldn’t come due to pregnancy, Ratih and Taufik were to act as camerapersons 1 and 2. Cameraman 3 was Yufik from Bandung. That was the initial plan. With rough terrain, it twould be impossible to only rely on one team to follow Dadah to the field. The production team would be divided into 3 crews. Each team consisted of a director, cameraperson, and assistant cameraperson, and would be given 2 hours’ shooting to do at a time. The third team would shoot at night. (Rovina finally gave us her final decision, that she couldn’t join us as cameraperson, because she was pregnant. Instead, she was willing to lend us her PD 170 camera as a backup camera).

We finally got the second camera (HDV x1) from our friend Iwan, who was willing to lend it free of charge (he usually charges Rp 200,000 a day). Iwan’s camera became the first camera, Lexy’s camera the second. What was actually most crucial was the issue of batteries. With a 24 hour shoot, we automatically needed batteries to stand by for 24 hours as well. Lexy’s camera got 2 backup batteries from the DV CAM owned by Okka’s Dad. The HDVx1 received battery power from the PD 170 camera’s stock (both were large lithium ion types), and two batteries from Lexy. In total, we had 11 batteries, with 3 charges. Enough ammunition for a 24-hour shoot. We prepared 35 mini DV cassettes (upgraded to HDV). There were two tripods (It turns out that it was absolutely necessary to have two tripods).

All set? Not quite. We only had one boom mic, which was only compatible with the second camera. The first camera (HDV X1) didn’t have any mic (let alone a boom mic). The jack wasn’t even XLR, but a regular audio jack. We finally swiped the mic off Rovina’s camera (PD 170) by modifying the end of the XLR, by connecting it to a regular audio jack on its other end. (Nobody sold this cable specifically. We finally made it in an electronics store, Kosambi Store in Bandung!)

We finally took off with one major incident. The second cameraman (Taufik) didn’t arrive on D-day. We finally decided to leave him with the risk that the team would fall apart. “Let’s just use what we have there…” I told Rian. “Yeah.. let’s sort it out again in Garut,” I told Rian. Our goal of having 3 teams was in the dust. Not to mention our worries about how cooperative the production team would be, a team that really only met in full that day.

The entire team that took off was:
Car one:
1. Okka
2. Ratih
Car two:
1. Riva
Car three:
1. Rian
2. Endah
3. Truli
4. Wonk
5. Edsa

The first thing we had to do as soon as we reached the location was a field survey to Dadah’s plot, using the path she took on foot. This was important. We would need it to calculate the duration of the journey, terrain difficulties, weather, etc.

(Right before we left, Yufik, who was originally supposed to be the third cameraperson, came from Bandung.) The five of us (me, Rian, Ratih, Yufik, and Wong) then left for Dadah’s filed, following Igud [Dadah’s husband] as trail guide. [During this time, Okka, Truly, and Edsa were in the town of Garut, shopping for supplies].

And as it turned out.. the terrain was really difficult. This was because it was continuously uphill and muddy in several places, and there was even a dirt path, that was sure to be slippery after rain. With such terrain, the team on shoot duty couldn’t possibly follow the subject, while the second team couldn’t possibly chase them when it would be time to switch. Rian finally suggested that the second team should be waiting at the peak of the ‘steep climb of love’ (the most difficult climb, with an angle of 60 degrees and on a dirt path). While the first shooting team should only go as far as the foot of the steep incline. This would be done by chasing the other team with a motorcycle, going parallel to Dadah’s route.

This transition was discussed and plotted out neatly on paper, during a briefing several hours before the shoot, which began at 24.00. And it seemed highly possible.

Also included in the briefing was the division of working hours into two-hour shifts, from 24.00 to 04.00 hours, when Dadah wakes up and prepares to go to the field. At that time, all team members understood their individual roles, and agreed to this system of shooting. We also received a backup camera from Yufik, who as it turned out brought an HDV camera of the same type as Lexy’s. This camera became our third camera (a backup that the director must always carry, in case there was trouble during the shoot, such as running out of batteries, jams, sticky heads, etc. while the second camera wasn’t in proximity).

It was also agreed that the second camera had to be on standby when the tape in the first camera was about to end, which was when the timecode showed minute 50. Then on minute 55, camera 2 would be switched on, and on minute 60, camera one would be switched off, and this system would continue for 24 hours. This all had to be recorded in a logbook, taken care of by scene-jotter Edsa.

The first turn was me and Ratih’s. That night it rained heavily all night. At that time, Dadah and her family had fallen asleep (the five of them in one 2mx1.5m room). It wasn’t difficult to shoot them asleep, as the camera was static. Both cameras were placed on their tripods. This meant that our duties only covered switching cassettes at the appointed times. I then noticed that the second team, Rian and Yufik, were awake as well. They should have been asleep, and at 2.00am they took over our shift. It turned out that even when it was time for Ratih and I to rest, we couldn’t sleep – only resting. As a result, none of the teams slept that night.

The system ran smoothly until morning. The chaos began when not a single motorcycle driver agreed to climb uphill. This was because of the rain the night before, which made the path very slippery. Nonetheless, finally there were willing drivers, though they came a bit late. They should have left 1 hour earlier than the first shooting team (me, Yufik, Wonk and Edsa), who followed Dadah and Igud from their home on foot. And as we reached the foot of the ‘steep climb of love’, the second team still hadn’t arrived, and weren’t even reachable by walkie-talkie.

We found out later that the second team was lost. Jeeeez. This was what we hadn’t taken into account beforehand. It turns out that Rian had forgotten his way, and the motorcycle driver didn’t know where to stop. Despite us stalling for time, we still weren’t able to meet up with the second team. So we continued to the peak of the first hill, until we finally met them.

For the rest of the time, until evening the shooting went well. A lack of discipline in changing tapes and batteries in an ‘off’ camera only happened once (this was because the entire team was so tired due to lack of sleep). Even that was helped by the backup camera (the third HDV camera). Outside of that incident, the filming was continuous. Besides that, switching shifts between teams, supplying food to the team when they were far from residences, charging batteries, etc. ran smoothly. And most importantly: the team stuck together. This was what became a strength when it came to problem solving, every time, that the entire team looked out for and supported each other.

After going home from the field, at around 14.00, Dadah didn’t do a lot of activities. She only showered, ate, cooked, prayed, read the Qur’an, watched TV and slept. This was a bonus for the production teams, who felt like veterans coming home from war, whose bodies were just exhausted. The tripod was used a lot here, with lots of shot varieties (before, we used mostly traveling shots, as we followed Dadah walking).

To sum up, despite being completely taxing physically, we were very happy and satisfied with this GLP shoot. Particularly with the new experiences we got out of it.