Advice for filming in Malaysia

[Thomas Leong]

hi Armand,

Apologies for the late reply. Haven’t visited here in a while…and this might come a bit late. In any case, late January is not a good time for talents as the Chinese New Year week long holidays starts from the 26th, with most leaving for their home town on 22-25.

Then there is type (read: race) of talent you would want to represent a Malaysian. As we are a multi-racial society, generally any one of the 3 main races (Malays, Chinese and Indians) will do, though to be frank, the last would be a challenge to light properly. The govt (and maybe you) would prefer a Malay. They have some Polynesian features, and can be fair to mid-dark-skinned. Talent agencies here mostly have neutral-looking types…sort of from mixed parentage. An agency that recently contacted me is https://www.outloudtalents.com Contact name is Ivy Tan ivy at outloud dot com dot my.

As for spoken English for communication purposes, generally this should not be a problem. But finding a talent who sounds good speaking into a mic and a major problem. There are only two persons here I know who speak excellent Queen’s English. Both are voice talents who do voice recording for adverts, etc.

One is now an actor also (one role he played was as a judge in the remake of ‘The King and I’ starring Chow Yeng Fatt from Hong Kong and Jodie Foster, years ago). But do not shoot him walking. He has a limp from polio in his younger days. Good friend of mine. Racial features are Chinese; age about mine at 60, but we always look younger than we are! Excellent rich voice quality for recording.

The other is an Eurasian (meaning European-Asian)…maybe Portuguese background…not sure. Also an oft-used voice talent for English recordings here, like the other.

Your client here (if it is Shell) would know both by name: Patrick Teoh and Geoffrey Nicolson. Patrick would in all likelyhood be celebrating Chinese New Year during that period, and apart from being expensive, perhaps Geoff is the better choice as he probably will not be celebrating CNY except for visits to friends houses, etc. He is not a Malay, but should be ok for corporate work. Age is about 50+. Rich voice. Anyway, both the guys own their own recording studio or have a share with others, and you can spice up any recordings and/or video work there.

Let me know soon via email: tleong49 at streamyx dot com.

FYI, I shall be travelling from Feb 2-8 and won’t be able to help during those days.

cheers,
Thomas Leong

[Bahman Tirgan]

Hello Thomas,

Would you happened to know a nice reliable fixer in Malaysia for a Documentary work?
Need some one to take care of permits and act as a guide & driver!
I know I’m asking for too much but have met and worked with people like that before.
We are a crew of 5 shooting on 5D.
I truly apreciate if you help me out on this.

Best,

Bahman

Pixel Media Group

[Thomas Leong]

I’ll ask around and come back to you on this.

Thomas

[Thomas Leong]

Bahman,

I have found someone experienced who is willing to discuss your needs further. Please give me your email so that she may contact you.

thomas[dot]leong1atgmail[dot]com

[Bahman Tirgan]

Dear Thomas,

First let me thank you for your kind nature.
My email is: bahman_ tirgan@yahoo.com

I hope by the time I come to KL we could arrange sometime to see each other.
For a drink or two?!

Cheers,

Bahman

Pixel Media Group

[Thomas Leong]

Ok, have forwarded it on to my friend. You should get an email from her and you two can take it from there. Her name is Keng, with about 20+ years in the producer business organizing shoots, etc for the advertising agencies she has worked for. Now free-lancing.

As for the drink together, yes, please ask Keng to contact me when you are here. If I’m in the country, we’ll definitely get together.

Thomas

[Kenny Zai]

Hey guys..i was surveying via net, attempting to find some guides and advises about filming in Malaysia. And yes, I’m a local and I’m only 19 years old. Had some experiences in the past for shooting short videos but now me and my crews are planning on something big. Something like making a movie.

Lets assume that we have enough equipment to do so, but what worries us is that what kind of licence do we need? Do we really have to pay a lot? Is it possible that we film the whole movie without paying a cent? We are planning on getting this movie to the cinema. Yeah is crazy but we would like to try.

Do anyone know what kind of licence do we need to apply in Malaysia?Is it possible that we can avoid paying anything?

Urgent 🙁

[Kenny Zai]

Hello. I’m a local in Malaysia but do i need to apply any licence for shooting? My crew and I are planning on gaining fiance via our production and we really hope that our movie can be shown in the public cinema one day.

But what concerns us is that, do we need to apply any licence for that?And is it possible that we can avoid paying or paying less ?

PLz e-mail me as soon as possible, urgent 🙁

banevengeance@yahoo.com

[Thomas Leong]

My understanding is that you must have a licence and a Censorship certificate in order to screen your movie in the cinemas. You should contact FINAS, the body that governs filming in Malaysia who should be able to clarify every aspect required in order not to fall foul of the laws here –

https://www.finas.gov.my/index.php?mod=finas&sub=pengenalan

There is a tab at the site for Licencing with a download form to fill and submit. Hope your Bahasa Malay is better than mine!

For a censorship cert, there are preliminaries to submit before you should start your shoot. In my earlier days, a script and storyboard had to be submitted before production could even start. I don’t think this has changed, but ask FINAS. Essentially they don’t want you to include topics (audio and visual) that are sensitive to the “culture and traditions” of the country (You know what I mean). Saying you won’t is one thing. They want it in writing – by approving your script and storyboard on which your final Censorship Cert will be based when compared with the final edit.

[Olivia Rideal]

Hi Thomas,

Myself and a friend are travelling to Sabah, Malaysia and plan to document our holiday and some wildlife on Sony HD Video Cameras, two DSLR’s and some small mics. We are cautious as to whether to get a permit but all the information we’ve found is for larger scale commercial filming. Our holiday takes us to the city (KK), Mt Kinabalu and rainforests. We will also be carrying a tripod and a monopod. Any advice as to what documents (if any) we may need to ensure there isn’t a problem with us filming?

Many thanks,
Olivia