Let's talk
← All Field Notes

A drill at Merdeka 118

By Danny Yeong, Creative Director
A medical team wheels a patient on a stretcher across the lobby of Menara Merdeka Maybank during the IHH Sky Race medical drill
The stretcher run across the lobby to the ambulance
The short answer
Plan the delivery as carefully as the shoot. At the IHH Sky Race medical drill, we followed the medical team from the stairwell to the ambulance, then handed IHH Malaysia publicity-ready photos within two hours and a short reel within three.

On 16 August, a week before The IHH Sky Race, a runner collapsed inside Merdeka 118. It was a drill, and we were there to record it for IHH Malaysia.

A drill a week before the race

IHH Malaysia is Title Partner and Official Medical Provider of The IHH Sky Race, a climb of 118 floors and 2,845 steps up Malaysia’s tallest building. This year more than 8,000 people took part, with over 200 IHH medical personnel on duty (IHH Healthcare Malaysia). Before race day, the medical team ran a scenario drill: a runner collapses on any floor, and the team brings them down to the ambulance. IHH Malaysia wanted photos and video of it for their publicity before the race.

The drill team gathers for a briefing in the lobby of Menara Merdeka Maybank before the IHH Sky Race medical drill
The briefing in the lobby before the drill

No script and no second take

A drill moves at the pace of the medical team, and nobody stops to wait for a camera. So there was no storyboard. We stayed close enough to catch each step and far enough to keep out of the way. That gave IHH Malaysia a true record of how its team works, which is what makes drill photos believable.

From the floor to the ambulance

We followed the whole response: the briefing, the carry down the stairwell and the stretcher run across the lobby. Covering every stage gave IHH Malaysia a complete story to tell, with a photo for each step from the first response to the ambulance.

Calm in a narrow stairwell

The moment that stayed with us was on the stairs. A fire stair leaves very little room to work, yet the medics stayed calm the whole way. They carried the patient up or down the stairs to the nearest exit, then on to the ambulance. That calm is what IHH Malaysia wanted people to see, so we made sure the carry was covered, including a view straight down from the landing above.

Seen from above, a medical team carries a patient down the stairwell in an orange carry sheet during the IHH Sky Race medical drill
Carrying the patient down the stairwell

There was no storyboard and no second take. We captured what happened as it happened, and IHH Malaysia had photos to share within two hours.

Danny

Photos in two hours, a reel in three

Drill photos are most useful while news of the race is building. So we chose and edited the photos straight after the drill, and handed IHH Malaysia a set of publicity-ready photos within two hours. A short reel followed within three hours. Their team could share the drill the same day, without waiting for a full edit.

Ready before race day

At a tower race, people want to know help is close on every floor. The photos and reel let IHH Malaysia show that before race day, while the event was still building up.

The medical drill team poses in front of the Menara Merdeka Maybank wall at Merdeka 118
The drill team at Menara Merdeka Maybank

If you’d like to see more, there’s another day we spent with an IHH hospital, or a look at what we do.

More from the notebook

All notes →
A Creo crew sets up lights and cameras beside the hydrotherapy pool at Prince Court Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur
On set

One shoot day, a whole library of clips

We planned lots of short moments that each work on their own, framed them to fit any screen, and added a couple of long takes that can be reels by themselves. That was our day at Prince Court Medical Centre in Kuala Lumpur.

→ read the note
22 Oct 2026
A tablet on a dark marble kitchen island showing the cover of a Creo prototype guide for the PFP Financial website, next to a coffee mug and a phone
At the desk

Two websites on our desk right now

We’re in the middle of designing two websites for sister brands in finance, where every word needs approval from several levels. With every prototype, we send a short guide, a clear list of what’s done and what needs feedback, and a checklist their team can work through.

→ read the note
19 Oct 2026
A Creo intern crouches to photograph an afternoon tea table with Sementra chairs on the lawn while another adjusts the props
On set

Four interns, one day at Sementra

We train new team members on real client work. On 15 October, four Creo interns spent a day capturing social media content at Sementra Hot Spring Nature Resort, reviewed every shot with our senior team, and the resort got a wider set of photos and footage to use.

→ read the note
15 Oct 2026