April Fools

While almost half of the metro was busy ogling over Vic and Jerry of F4 fame last Saturday, I was in a small Kamias church shooting for April Boy Regino’s latest music video. Yep. From one jologs phenomenon to another, and I wasn’t involved in production this time. I was a crowd extra. I’m serious.

While admittedly I have innate desire to act in front of the camera, that wasn’t the main motivation why I did that (okay, fine!) invincible stint. I did it for some reasons. Foremost, the director Yam is my friend and she needed talents to play extra. More importantly, I really just wanted to experience the guerilla kind of shoot. The “indie” feel so to speak. The song maybe produced by Star Records, but the staff and crew of the music video were all “indie” peeps and April Boy financed the project himself. (Sssh!)

The concept’s actually cute (sans the April Boy part.:)) The music video would be like one big scene in a wedding but would be played backwards starting from the exit of the entourage and ending with the wedding march. April Boy would play different wedding characters (choirboy, photographer, etc.) until he becomes the groom in the end. Creative idea, I say.

Then there’s the prestige part. No! I don’t mean working for April Boy but working for Yam, a very promising filmmaker who has won countless awards including an elusive Brussels (is a Cannes coming soon?!?) for her short film Binyag. Actually, this last reason alone made me do the project even without pay. Besides, I’d only be an extra, right?

Wrong.

I came to the set thinking that I’d play one of the groomsmen. I brought my barong with me but the wardrobe peeps told me that I’d be wearing a tux instead. Being a certified jologs geek, it was actually my first time to wear one and I thought ‘twas cool. I looked so formal, I like it! :) I thought I would be just like that all throughout but when the crew started setting up for the “April Boy as choir singer” scene, Yam asked me to change costume. I asked her why. She told me that I would also play as one of April Boy’s back-up singers. Uh-oh. :) I wanted to run towards the exit but didn’t have the heart to do so. They lacked “extras” and they obviously counted on my presence. Without a choice, I did what they asked me to do. I had to do those standard April Boy moves, which April Boy instantaneously taught us. Man, he was so damn serious, while I am/was so embarrassed! :)

I survived the scene thankfully but no, it didn’t end there! Yam wanted the crowd to sing along to the song and she had a panning shot of us (and since I was at the front, inevitably a close-up of me.) Aaaaaah! I think I just killed my career. :)

Other than the humiliation, the shoot was more than fine. The staff was obviously pressured to shoot all scenes within the day and there was lack of equipment (like radio or wailer for example) which could have made the crowd direction easier. Still, the nervous mood was definitely nothing compared to the tension-filled set of mainstream moviemaking. I also like the fact that Yam had creative control over her material. (No feeling of big bosses bossing around!) It was alrighty!

They say the music video (“Ikaw Lamang Mahal”) will premiere anytime this week and while I still haven’t seen the final cut, just prepare for the unexpected my dear friends! Be nice, okay?! :) I’m just hoping my close-up shots were edited out. Harshly.