This was my first time grading a show set in New Zealand, and as always, it’s refreshing to work with a change in location.
Korban Part II is the first Malay drama series from Singapore set entirely in New Zealand. The story centres around Aisyah, a Singaporean chef working hard to prove herself in a new country while navigating the cultural gap between her family and that of her Maori fiance, Ari.
It was fun working with director Jeevan on creating a wide variety of looks for this series. For the kitchen scenes, I ‘dirtied up’ the lighting to give a bit more grit to the images and maintain the expectation of tension around the corner.
Other scenes had looks specifically tailored for them to highlight important emotional moments for the characters: closing the light around a boy lost in a forest for a moment of dread, pushing cool tones around Aisyah on her hiking journey to highlight the isolation of soul searching, deepening the depressing contrast of a funeral to mourn the loss of a loved one, and introducing late afternoon warmth in a moment of reconciliation between father and son.
For intense flashbacks, I took inspiration from the immediate intensity of reversal film, while for gentle flashbacks, I opted to optically emulate a softer feel to the images
It’s always great to work on stories where cultures mix (and sometimes collide!) which opens up the possibilities for what we can do in the grade.
