Director's NotesWhen I first came up with the idea of On Peak Hill, the group didn't seem to be very supportive of the idea. There were a lot to think about and budget was the biggest problem we had in this project. Somehow or rather, I got to convince the group how beautiful this short film could be if everything works. Then they started to not be so skeptical about the idea of driving 5 hours to a place just to shoot a 10 minute film. We gathered our own money from our pockets and went to Cameron Highlands with high hopes...at least I did. I was excited.But of course not everything works out the way you wanted it to be. When we got to Cameron, it was raining...everyday. And these rains would not stop for 6 hours at a time, making the mountains very foggy. I started to panic although some of my team members didn't seem to be bothered by it. Ivan was always the hyper positive one. "Don't worry brother! Can wan... Chill la..." So, we shot in between the rains, which of course went against all the planning we did back in KL. We had to think fast and smart. We had to improvise.Despite the raining, I am very proud to say that we had some pretty good shots. Although it was very difficult to get clear pictures of the scenery, we managed to capture it's essence and beauty. Lucky. When we reached the top of the mountain, I was quite disappointed at how foggy it was and to make things worse, we could barely see the sky. All we could see was a solid white wall. We shot it anyway because I told myself that the fog is better than the rain. The shoot was going pretty well until the second day when we were on the way down from the peak. My car broke down. It was dead. Ivan had to follow Sofia and the rest down to town to get a mechanic while I waited in the car, alone, up in the mountains. But of course drama is the key to excitement. It started to pour and the temperature dropped intensely. I waited there for about 2 hours before a mechanic got up. He checked the car in the rain and after a couple of minutes, he realized he didn't bring the right tools and equipment. That's when he went back down again and I had to wait there for another hour. Long story short, I had to leave my car up there in the mountains till the next day.We had a few scenes to finish up on our last day at Cameron. The shoot went pretty well. Two takes at the most. We started early in the morning and by noon time, we rapped up. Sofia and the rest went back to KL first while I waited for my car to be fixed. And long story short again, I had to stay there 2 extra nights before I could drive back to KL.When Ivan and I first saw the raw footages, we thought this film was going to be really bad even though I thought we had some good shots up there in the mountains. But of course, there's the wonder of editing. In the end, I have to say we managed to make it look good and beautiful.This trip to Cameron Highlands tested our limits and pushed us to where we haven't been before. We didn't give up. Instead, as corny as it sounds, we learned to be stronger and more experienced. On Working with Sharifah SofiaSofia was the first one who had a lot of questions before she agreed to produce for this short film, which in a good way, helped us a lot. She made me realize that it was not just about shooting the film, but a lot of other things as well, such as budgeting, scheduling, etc. As a producer, she did a great job getting things in place and making sure everything is done. As an actress, she did a wonderful job. Not too many girls would agree to carry my heavy self down the mountain, which she did. She herself has already proved the meaning of this film, which is that women can be just as strong as men when there is motivation. There were no camera tricks or special effects involved. What was shown on screen was what really happened. I have to say that she's strong and brave because of that. She also carried out the character pretty well in a very natural kind of way.On Working with Ivan and AfiqIvan and Afiq were really eager to learn things they didn't know, and they gave good ideas. Without them I don't think Sofia and I could have pulled it off. They completed the team. It was very easy to work with Ivan because he knew what I wanted instantly every time I told him my ideas. When he had ideas, I would say yes to it because he easily adapted the style I was going for. Without him, I feel the shoot wouldn't have gone as smoothly as it had, despite the rain and the fog.Director,Nick Davis

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