Budget Chinese New Year student video tells a Malaysian tale of Silent Love

COMPANIES pay upwards of RM150,000 for a 1-minute commercial. This could cover creative costs that include – concept, script, team; production; talent; along with the costs of location and staging; editing; rendering; audio; narrator; equipment; and those are just some of the basics before the cost for buying airtime. 

So, can a quality video be produced on a budget of under RM3,000? 

A group of 10 students from Xiamen University Malaysia did just that with a 3-minute video called ‘Silent Love’ that tells the poignant story of how Asian parents often express love through actions and not words, while exploring our obsession with attaining new possessions. 

The project started out as a collaboration between CompAsia and Xiamen University’s advertising students to create a campaign that invites consumers to consider preloved devices over new ones. 

‘Silent Love’ tells the familiar tale of a typical teenager trying to fit in and is saving to buy a new mobile phone to replace her lagging device but does not want to trouble her father with such an expense. Her father, a single parent struggling to make ends meet, learns of this, and shows his love by buying her a phone she can be proud of. Because it is from a second-hand one from CompAsia, it is within his means. 

The video ends with CompAsia’s 2023 Chinese New Year campaign line ‘The Best doesn’t have to be New!’

Making her debut as the lead actress was 20-year-old See Zi Hui, who also worked on the storyboards with Anthony Low Chun Hong, while the video director, Lim Xin Di’s parent played the father. Other members of the team include videographer Low Kit Chung, while wardrobe, props and staging were managed by Wong Yi Hang. Other team members who starred and assisted in the production include: Sherlyn Koay Sze Yee, Janice Tan Zhen Ee, Lee Jia Lynn, Ng Ee Wen and Atalia Lim Xian Qian. 

“We drew inspiration from Korean and Thai ads that have strong emotional appeal and we wanted to apply a similar treatment to our video; we also wanted it to communicate a sense of familiarity where many Asian parents allow their actions to speak louder than words hence the title ‘Silent Love’”, team leader Xin Di explained.

With scenes shot in an actual ‘kilang’ (factory) in Kepong, the group took five weeks to complete the video from building the storyline to post-production with voice over and colour editing. ‘Silent Love’ was produced using a number of second-hand devices from CompAsia and Adobe PR for editing. 

“We are completely blown away by the quality of the video and story telling value. The students proved what we keep telling people – you don’t need the latest gadgets or the most expensive ones to enjoy an amazing experience. This video also goes to show that second-hand devices with lower prices allow everyone access to the phone of their choice whether it is an iPhone or Samsung or any other brand,” said Julius Lim, CEO and Co-Founder of CompAsia. 

“We were initially going to run our own Chinese New Year greetings, but this video and the students deserve the exposure, so CompAsia will be sharing it on all our platforms. We also hope that this video will help people realise the value of preloved devices as a way of extending the lifespan of each item to save our planet from more e-waste,” Julius added. – The Vibes, January 16, 2023