Kayan beauties captured in HD

High-definition (HD) production continues to sweep across the world setting the standard for entertainment. The influence is so pervasive that even a production house in land-locked Myanmar has caught up.

Recently, Myanmar’s most renowned director, Aung Ko Latt turned his focus on Padaung women for a feature film aimed at foreign audiences. To this end, he purchased a Sony HDW-F900R HD camera, which he took with him to Demorso, Pan Pet village in Kayar district to shoot the film. Shooting with the CineAlta system, Aung tried to get the film look at the same time forging a 21st century digital profile for the Indochina production community.

Aung followed the lives of four La Whay tribeswomen, one of four tribes in the Padaung area, whose necks adorned with brass rings fascinate foreign tourists. Three languages are spoken in the feature film - Padaung, Pay Oh and Myanmar - and it will include English subtitles.

Aung and his crew traveled to some remote areas to capture the beauty of the hillside Kayan locations. “The F900R is light in weight and small in size, so it’s easy and convenient to carry anywhere. We were able to use a range of lenses with this camera and using it with the Steadicam, makes even more convenient,” he told Sony’s Scan e-newsletter.

“There’s no need to use a lot of lighting with the F900R, so most of the time, we just used natural light. The Low Key Saturation in the Paint Menu can improve the darkness and detail if you need.

“When we had time on our hands, we manually changed the settings in the Menu, otherwise we just used the default settings, because we can make adjustments in post. But the most important thing was that we knew the right frame frequency to convert to Telecine.”

“I wanted to show the world our culture by filming the women’s daily adventures,” said Aung speaking to the local press. “Tourists enjoy taking photos of Padaung women with brass rings around their necks, so this will be for those curious to learn about their culture.”

“I am also making this is because I want the world to know that this tradition comes from a Myanmar tribe, not our neighbouring country Thailand, which claims that the Padaung is a Thai tribe.”

Note: Aung Ko Latt expects to release Kayan Beauties in the United States and in some parts of Europe and Asia by July. ASIAIMAGE

Kayan Beauties Director: Aung Ko Latt Producer : Aung Ko Latt & Hector Carosso Story by Aung Ko Latt Screenplay by Hector Carosso