The short film is something every filmmaker just does. We can't help it. It's somehow hard-wired into our system.

At Checkered Past, we love shooting short films. Not only does it help stir the creative juices, but it's also a great opportunity for us to test things out without any pressure - from technical ideas and equipment to concepts and actors - and it's a lot more fun and a lot more productive than simply doing a technical test or screen test for an actor.

'Lucky Shot', for example, was written and shot purely to test out the Canon 5D Mark II before we purchased it. 'Breaking Up Is Hard To Do', on the other hand, was shot to test out whether an improvisational comedy format could work with the pool of talents that we knew.

Often times, though, whenever we're shooting a short film it's a sure sign we're stressed out over work and simply want to shoot something fun.

 Vignes Balasingam shooting 'Lucky Shot' with the Canon 5D Mark II

'Lucky Shot' was conceived in order to test out the capabilities of the Canon 5D Mark II in early 2009. We'd seen the demo videos and clips others had shot but we wanted to test it out in a real world setting before acquiring one for our company.

The film is about a photographer who, whilst showing her portfolio to her mentor, reveals the stories of her past relationships. Thanks to the ease-of-use and portability of the camera, we shot the entire short film in one day at a number of locations from day till night.

'Lucky Shot' premiered at the FUSED screenings at the Actors Studio Lot 10 organized by WAMM.

LUCKY SHOT

Written, directed and edited by Khairil M. Bahar

Cinematography by Vignes Balasingam

Cast:

Shirin Jauhari

Nick Dorian

Anrie Too

Ariff Aris

and Michael Chen

Featuring music by:

Jap Truckers

Jurassic 5

A Girl Named Jane

Az Samad

 After a very strenuous and taxing two and a half month shoot of a TV series, Khairil M. Bahar needed to unwind. The result was 'Breaking Up Is Hard To Do', an improvised short film inspired by Judd Apatow films about a guy and a girl talking to their respective friends about their recent break-up and the disturbing secrets that are later revealed.

BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO

Directed and edited by Khairil M. Bahar

Camera operators: Michael Chen and Khairil M. Bahar

Sound: Zul Zakaria

Cast: Davina Goh, Shirin Jauhari, Johan John, Michael Chen and Khairil M. Bahar