Filming in Indonesia: how this film maker created our videos

For our current T-shirt collection we have worked together with the kids from the SDN 1 Senggig school on Lombok. When we collaborated with them, film maker Wouter Coomans from Studio BiB joined us to film all the action. As we truly love the films he had made in the past, we were very proud he voluntarily joined us to film our trip to Lombok. Curious about how he created our video content? Read on!

Face This: Why did you decide to take this assignment?

Wouter Coomans: I work a lot with non-profit organisations and I think the Face-this story is one of the most power-full ones I have come across. The goal of face this makes sense on so many levels. First of all there is the individual level. You give kids the tool of creation and a way to have a positive influence on their own future at a very young age by just handig out a piece of paper and a pencil. Secondly there is this global partnership by connecting them to well-known artists. Which is off course also marketing wise quite smart. Thirdly I believe that if you want to make a change. You have to start with education. Education is key. Fourthly, I am inspired by the story of the founder. He has been adopted from Indonesia when he was a baby and is raised in the Netherlands. By starting Face-this he found a way to give back. And finally, the T-shirts are just awesome.

Filmed by: Wouter Coomans/Studio Bib

FT: As a filmmaker, what was your biggest challenge?

Wouter: The biggest challenge filming in the tropics is the heat. Don’t forget sunscreen. One day I forgot to bring sunscreen and I could feel the sun burning through my skin. It was quite painful. Fortunately, a father of one of the kids could drive me to the nearest shop to buy some.And bring enough water. It feels like you are loosing buckets a day. Fortunately the Ocean was often close to take a refreshing dive in between and sometimes during the filmshoots.

FT: When you packed your back, what gear did you bring?

Wouter: I try to be packed as light as possible. However I still managed to bring a drone, two GH 5’s, a variety of lenses and variable ND filters a travel tripod and a gimbal.

FT: Is shooting in the tropics different from shooting in Holland?

Wouter: The biggest difference is the light. The sun shoots up and falls down in an hour. So the light, most time of the day is very hard. ND filters to block a part of the light a a must.

FT: You have a long standing experience in film making. However, it was your first time shooting in Indonesia. Do you still learn as a filmmaker when you go to completely different settings?

Wouter: In the Netherlands I do a lot of promotional filmmaking for high school. So I am used to work with teenagers. In the Netherlands I choose to do the interviews with the kids alone with my interviewer. In this we can make them feel as comfortable as possible. Most of the time when other kids are around they become shy or don;t dare to speak freely. In Lombok, it took me a while to realise that those kids feel more comfortable have their friends around them. It must be the cultural difference between a highly individualised and competitive society and a communal one.