I'm happy to tell you that All My Life is doing very well at the box-office. They say its opening day gross is bigger than Milan so that's definitely good news. I just hope the huge profits equate to "bonus" fees for us staff and crew. LOL! :D
Something to look forward to while watching the movie are blink and you'll miss appearances by yours truly (hehe) :
1. At the photo gallery scene, I was the guy with the orange jacket behind Aga.
2. Art director Riza and I were behind Aga and Kristine when they climbed down the ship for Langkawi. I was wearing a yellow shirt and my prized Survivor buff.
Loud colors, indeed. :)
Showing posts with label All My Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label All My Life. Show all posts
May 27, 2004
May 24, 2004
Rate Me
Yahoo!:) I got a 1.25 in my Film 100 class. I mean, wow. I’m so happy!:) I’m a certified geek! I’m so Tracy Flick in Election! Or I’m so Neri of Star Circle Quest. LOL! :) I love you Ma’am Gigi Alfonso! I’m all ready to enroll now for next semester! Wow. Can I say that again? Wow. :)
***
Argh! I don’t like it when I’m too happy. After hearing the good news, I don’t know what got into me, but I bought seven (that’s 7!) 99-peso hardbound novels on sale in National Bookstore! To think I don’t even have time to read these novels. In fact, my good friend Sanda has been texting me to return her novel Prague which I borrowed last year and which I still haven’t read. The novels are all good though (rated A by the book critics of EW) and the fact that they’re on sale made the situation more irresistible.
I bought the following books:
1. The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
2. Austerlitz by W.G. Sebald
3. Carter Beats the Devil by Glen David Gold
4. Random Family (Love, Drugs, Trouble and Coming of Age in the Bronx) by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc
5. The Crimson Petal and the White by Michael Faber
6. Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
7. Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs
I just hope they live up to the good reviews coz’ they pretty much are what I’ll be reading for the rest of the year. Actually, I’m encouraging you to check the on-sale books in National Bookstore. There are really lots of good ones like Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones, Jonathan Franzen’s The Corrections, Joseph Kanon’s The Good German and Carl Hiaasen’s Basket Case - all for 99 pesos only. Hardbound too.
After the impulse buying, I proceeded to watch Shrek 2. The movie’s “two thumbs up” for me. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It has good visuals but more importantly, it has a very smart screenplay which subtly critiques societal stereotypes and faux definition of happiness. Whew! :) I also like the tongue-in-cheek humor of the movie.
***
All My Life didn’t get any rating from the Film Ratings Board. I’m so sad. I still don’t know why it didn’t get any rating. (I’m going to research tomorrow). Nevertheless, I’m also beginning to be even more proud with My First Romance. LOL. :)
***
My brief appearance in The Making of All My Life special in Cinema 1 is not doing me any good. Many people actually believe that I’m so rich now because I was the movie’s assistant director. God, how I wish their assumption is true. I’m as poor as a rat. The money left in my bank account can’t even afford me a plane ticket back home. I’m not exaggerating. And I wanna go home. I miss home. I miss my family. Huhuhuhu! :)
***
Argh! I don’t like it when I’m too happy. After hearing the good news, I don’t know what got into me, but I bought seven (that’s 7!) 99-peso hardbound novels on sale in National Bookstore! To think I don’t even have time to read these novels. In fact, my good friend Sanda has been texting me to return her novel Prague which I borrowed last year and which I still haven’t read. The novels are all good though (rated A by the book critics of EW) and the fact that they’re on sale made the situation more irresistible.
I bought the following books:
1. The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
2. Austerlitz by W.G. Sebald
3. Carter Beats the Devil by Glen David Gold
4. Random Family (Love, Drugs, Trouble and Coming of Age in the Bronx) by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc
5. The Crimson Petal and the White by Michael Faber
6. Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
7. Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs
I just hope they live up to the good reviews coz’ they pretty much are what I’ll be reading for the rest of the year. Actually, I’m encouraging you to check the on-sale books in National Bookstore. There are really lots of good ones like Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones, Jonathan Franzen’s The Corrections, Joseph Kanon’s The Good German and Carl Hiaasen’s Basket Case - all for 99 pesos only. Hardbound too.
After the impulse buying, I proceeded to watch Shrek 2. The movie’s “two thumbs up” for me. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It has good visuals but more importantly, it has a very smart screenplay which subtly critiques societal stereotypes and faux definition of happiness. Whew! :) I also like the tongue-in-cheek humor of the movie.
***
All My Life didn’t get any rating from the Film Ratings Board. I’m so sad. I still don’t know why it didn’t get any rating. (I’m going to research tomorrow). Nevertheless, I’m also beginning to be even more proud with My First Romance. LOL. :)
***
My brief appearance in The Making of All My Life special in Cinema 1 is not doing me any good. Many people actually believe that I’m so rich now because I was the movie’s assistant director. God, how I wish their assumption is true. I’m as poor as a rat. The money left in my bank account can’t even afford me a plane ticket back home. I’m not exaggerating. And I wanna go home. I miss home. I miss my family. Huhuhuhu! :)
May 19, 2004
Shameless Plugging Deux
Please watch All My Life, the movie starring Aga Muhlach and Kristine Hermosa. Opening day is on May 26. We have a special screening on the 25th in ABS-CBN's Studio 1. Lauren Dyogi of Star Circle Quest fame directed the movie. I worked as the (ahem :D) assistant director. I need the "bonus" so please watch! :)
May 14, 2004
Wrapping Up Again
AAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!! It’s a wrap! We finally finished shooting the movie. I’m so relieved! I actually survived my first AD job (not counting the AD trainee job in Till There Was You and interrupted AD job in the shelved My First Romance project)! Definitely, this was the most difficult shoot I’ve ever had. I mean, Dekada '70 had a more stressful environment but I was just one of the lowly people there so I had no direct responsibility to the on-set troubles. Being the assistant director this time was different. The responsibility was so huge, the pressure was so high, and I had to dodge all the bullets thrown at me. Yet I came out unscathed. I remained strong and didn’t cry (to the frustration of my director :) ) Penniless maybe (I consumed all my savings during the six-month shoot) but I’m still in one piece, thank God. Whew!
But let’s not dwell on the negative. The following are what makes the ALL MY LIFE shoot (yep!) a memorable one for me.
- Working with THE Aga Muhlach was certainly an honor. I now understand why stars like him and Vilma Santos (whom I’ve also got the chance to work with in Dekada ’70) are still on top of the business. They respect their work and their co-workers.
- The staff members who are all hardworking and easy to work with, specifically Grace (script continuity), Danica (PA), Miss Nancy (Production Designer), Miss Riza (art director), make up artist Adore, crowd directors Irene and Aye and interns Sunshine and Joan.
- Miss Elma, my favorite line producer of Star Cinema!
- Direk Lauren, even if he doesn’t want to admit it, is one of the kindest directors I’ve worked with. I will forever be grateful for the opportunity.
- Dimples Romana and Miss Ces Quesada who are both professional and intelligent actors. I thoroughly enjoyed working with them.
- The topsy-turvy one-week Star Cruise shoot, properly documented somewhere in the archives.
Let me say that I will surely miss movie production as I’m going back to writing for my next job (though I’m having doubts with that decision now but more on that later). Haay... You win Direk! I’m now teary eyed.
But let’s not dwell on the negative. The following are what makes the ALL MY LIFE shoot (yep!) a memorable one for me.
- Working with THE Aga Muhlach was certainly an honor. I now understand why stars like him and Vilma Santos (whom I’ve also got the chance to work with in Dekada ’70) are still on top of the business. They respect their work and their co-workers.
- The staff members who are all hardworking and easy to work with, specifically Grace (script continuity), Danica (PA), Miss Nancy (Production Designer), Miss Riza (art director), make up artist Adore, crowd directors Irene and Aye and interns Sunshine and Joan.
- Miss Elma, my favorite line producer of Star Cinema!
- Direk Lauren, even if he doesn’t want to admit it, is one of the kindest directors I’ve worked with. I will forever be grateful for the opportunity.
- Dimples Romana and Miss Ces Quesada who are both professional and intelligent actors. I thoroughly enjoyed working with them.
- The topsy-turvy one-week Star Cruise shoot, properly documented somewhere in the archives.
Let me say that I will surely miss movie production as I’m going back to writing for my next job (though I’m having doubts with that decision now but more on that later). Haay... You win Direk! I’m now teary eyed.
March 11, 2004
2nd of 2 Parts
(As you can read, this is the 2nd part. If you haven’t read the 1st part, just click here. Or if you’re not lazy enough to scroll down, just look for the predictably titled 1st of 2 Parts post.)
Wednesday, February 25
We would shoot the remaining sequences on the cruise ship. This basically meant that the shoot would be less tiring than the first 3 days. So far, we had only slept an average of 5 hours a night so the 3 sequences (only!) that’s scheduled for the day was a welcome respite.
The breakfast sequence was finished early and since the next shoot was still timed at 1 in the afternoon, me, Promo girl Vanessa, and Grace joined the crew in touring the ship while, of course, taking pics of ourselves. We were picture-happy fools, to say the least. We still had enough time after so we decided to eat in another resto for lunch, rather than the usual Mediterranean Buffet. Alas, Bella Vista was kinda “sosi” (read: slow) with its lunch served in sets (appetizer, main course, dessert); we ended up being late for the next shoot. Expectedly, I was reprimanded by my EP. :(
The afternoon shoot was a heavy one for the actors since it’s an emotional scene that would lead to a kiss. Tension was definitely flying around. Emotional scenes are hard to direct because you shouldn’t exhaust your actors’ emotions too much. There was also the pressure of having to finish by 6pm since the ship would dock in Singapore by that time to let out the passengers who only availed of the 4 days 3 nights schedule. Our director refused to compromise by giving up some shots. I, the AD, was caught in the middle. Still, God was on my side. We finished the whole sequence with all shots intact just in time.
There was a change in schedule for the night shoot. Logistics dictated that we couldn’t shoot the emotional deck scene in the evening since the ship will be docked till midnight. It would be obvious that the ship’s not moving. I had to decide to shoot the pool scene instead. I was definitely nervous in making the decision since our EP didn’t know of it yet. She went down to Singapore to have the films processed. Direk was also getting slightly irritated because of the changes in schedule. The pool scene was a movie highlight since it’s the first time our lead actress dons a two-piece swimsuit in a movie. We still shot the pool scene anyway and surprisingly, it went on smoothly. Well, Grace, friendly Pinay staff Mitzi, and I controlled the crowd traffic with slight difficulty (most Chinese don’t understand English, you have to use some sort of a sign language to communicate with them) but slight lang. The fact that there were only 10 new Filipino passengers onboard also helped. There was less distraction, in other words.
Thursday, February 26
The crew was late and slow for the morning sequence. Direk was fuming mad. He scolded me. Stress and me became one and the same. I told the crew about it and they felt slighted. They began to make parinig na hirit during shooting (of course, pertaining to me since they’d be nuts to offend Direk.) I understood both sides so I kept quiet instead. In normal shootings, I would have said my piece but as I had stated, there’s no need for drama in this kind of shoots. The drama wouldn’t serve any purpose. Poor me, I know. :) I understood Direk since there’s a pressure on him to finish all the sequences. I also understood the crew (six-person crew, to be specific) since they’re the most exhausted among us all. They’re the ones who carried all these heavy camera and lighting equipment and it’s only during meal breaks that they got to rest.
We eventually finished all the day sequences. Direk apologized to me for the outburst but I understood so it was no big deal.
Then came the emotional deck scene postponed from the night prior. The down mood during the day carried me to the night. I felt so drained and tired. But as the cliché goes, the show must go on, kaya hala, kayod! :) We finished shooting 3 in the morning. We were all worn out but still felt ecstatic coz it meant we only had 3 sequences to go before we wrap shooting. Little did I know the biggest blow would still come.
DOP approached me after shoot and told me pointblank that “in all honesty, wag ka nang mag-AD!” Whew! I definitely didn’t know where he’s coming from. He really felt I was useless, I guess. In fairness to him, he continued by saying that the cruise shoot has abeen an eye-opener on his part. He realized he wasn’t made for cinema but for commercials only. (I wouldn’t elaborate on why he said that but I know.) With a comment like that, who wouldn’t get depressed? It got me into thinking that maybe the others are just being too nice to me. Or, you know, just because I survived 4 movies in production doesn’t mean I’m also good in production work. Hurtful as it seemed, it got me into thinking about my career path so no hard feelings.
Friday, February 27
It’s a wrap!!!! Direk screamed “I survived Ted!”, while I just screamed “I survived!” Heh.
Off we checked in to our Singapore Hotel. EP and I would stay until Sunday for we still had to wait for the processed films. There was really no need for me to stay, but what the heck, I also deserved to enjoy Singapore after all that I’d gone through.
After checking in, EP, Grace and I went to the laboratory to bring in the new set of film rolls. I played the happy tourist role to the max. Man, their taxicabs have television! And they give receipts! Wee!
Nighttime, whole staff and crew toured Singapore. Went to Chinatown to buy pasalubong. (I didn’t bring money, so no shopping for me.:)) Went to Clarke Quay also. Abdul, Grace’s friend who lives in Singapore was with us and treated us with food and beer. I told Grace and Vanessa about what DOP told me. They comforted me by saying he has no right to judge me because it was also his first mainstream movie job. Nevertheless, I reiterated my say that his points are all well taken.
Had a great time, actually.
Saturday, February 28
EP accompanied cast, staff and crew to the airport. I was left alone. EP gave me pocket money to get my new plane ticket in the PAL office. I was feeling “Amazing Race”. (Incidentally "The Amazing Race" fans, the new season is really shooting in Palawan. DOP told me that his friend was asked to produce the Philippines segment). I got a map from the hotel lobby and began my adventure. I rode the MRT. It was fun! :) I got lost at some street (the map made the distance seems longer) but aside from that, I got to the destination just fine.
While waiting for EP back in the hotel after, I got to talk with Singaporean receptionist Linda who is a fan of Pangako sa 'Yo. The fact that I was talking to a foreigner fan felt really weird but obviously, I was also very happy. It just felt goooood to be appreciated!!! (FYI, Pangako sa ‘Yo is subtitled, not dubbed, in Malaysia).
The rest of the day, EP and I toured their mall district, The Orchard (I was ecstatic when I saw Donita’s face in a billboard! Haha :)), then watched Something’s Gotta Give (Singapore audience are noticeably loud). Observing the people, we thought Singaporeans are fashionable but stiff (if there’s such a term.) And riding the MRT back, we also got to smell the unique aroma of some race. Bad!!! In other words, we missed the Philippines badly.
Sunday, February 29
Zzzzzzz…… I woke up and I was back in the third world.
Wednesday, February 25
We would shoot the remaining sequences on the cruise ship. This basically meant that the shoot would be less tiring than the first 3 days. So far, we had only slept an average of 5 hours a night so the 3 sequences (only!) that’s scheduled for the day was a welcome respite.
The breakfast sequence was finished early and since the next shoot was still timed at 1 in the afternoon, me, Promo girl Vanessa, and Grace joined the crew in touring the ship while, of course, taking pics of ourselves. We were picture-happy fools, to say the least. We still had enough time after so we decided to eat in another resto for lunch, rather than the usual Mediterranean Buffet. Alas, Bella Vista was kinda “sosi” (read: slow) with its lunch served in sets (appetizer, main course, dessert); we ended up being late for the next shoot. Expectedly, I was reprimanded by my EP. :(
The afternoon shoot was a heavy one for the actors since it’s an emotional scene that would lead to a kiss. Tension was definitely flying around. Emotional scenes are hard to direct because you shouldn’t exhaust your actors’ emotions too much. There was also the pressure of having to finish by 6pm since the ship would dock in Singapore by that time to let out the passengers who only availed of the 4 days 3 nights schedule. Our director refused to compromise by giving up some shots. I, the AD, was caught in the middle. Still, God was on my side. We finished the whole sequence with all shots intact just in time.
There was a change in schedule for the night shoot. Logistics dictated that we couldn’t shoot the emotional deck scene in the evening since the ship will be docked till midnight. It would be obvious that the ship’s not moving. I had to decide to shoot the pool scene instead. I was definitely nervous in making the decision since our EP didn’t know of it yet. She went down to Singapore to have the films processed. Direk was also getting slightly irritated because of the changes in schedule. The pool scene was a movie highlight since it’s the first time our lead actress dons a two-piece swimsuit in a movie. We still shot the pool scene anyway and surprisingly, it went on smoothly. Well, Grace, friendly Pinay staff Mitzi, and I controlled the crowd traffic with slight difficulty (most Chinese don’t understand English, you have to use some sort of a sign language to communicate with them) but slight lang. The fact that there were only 10 new Filipino passengers onboard also helped. There was less distraction, in other words.
Thursday, February 26
The crew was late and slow for the morning sequence. Direk was fuming mad. He scolded me. Stress and me became one and the same. I told the crew about it and they felt slighted. They began to make parinig na hirit during shooting (of course, pertaining to me since they’d be nuts to offend Direk.) I understood both sides so I kept quiet instead. In normal shootings, I would have said my piece but as I had stated, there’s no need for drama in this kind of shoots. The drama wouldn’t serve any purpose. Poor me, I know. :) I understood Direk since there’s a pressure on him to finish all the sequences. I also understood the crew (six-person crew, to be specific) since they’re the most exhausted among us all. They’re the ones who carried all these heavy camera and lighting equipment and it’s only during meal breaks that they got to rest.
We eventually finished all the day sequences. Direk apologized to me for the outburst but I understood so it was no big deal.
Then came the emotional deck scene postponed from the night prior. The down mood during the day carried me to the night. I felt so drained and tired. But as the cliché goes, the show must go on, kaya hala, kayod! :) We finished shooting 3 in the morning. We were all worn out but still felt ecstatic coz it meant we only had 3 sequences to go before we wrap shooting. Little did I know the biggest blow would still come.
DOP approached me after shoot and told me pointblank that “in all honesty, wag ka nang mag-AD!” Whew! I definitely didn’t know where he’s coming from. He really felt I was useless, I guess. In fairness to him, he continued by saying that the cruise shoot has abeen an eye-opener on his part. He realized he wasn’t made for cinema but for commercials only. (I wouldn’t elaborate on why he said that but I know.) With a comment like that, who wouldn’t get depressed? It got me into thinking that maybe the others are just being too nice to me. Or, you know, just because I survived 4 movies in production doesn’t mean I’m also good in production work. Hurtful as it seemed, it got me into thinking about my career path so no hard feelings.
Friday, February 27
It’s a wrap!!!! Direk screamed “I survived Ted!”, while I just screamed “I survived!” Heh.
Off we checked in to our Singapore Hotel. EP and I would stay until Sunday for we still had to wait for the processed films. There was really no need for me to stay, but what the heck, I also deserved to enjoy Singapore after all that I’d gone through.
After checking in, EP, Grace and I went to the laboratory to bring in the new set of film rolls. I played the happy tourist role to the max. Man, their taxicabs have television! And they give receipts! Wee!
Nighttime, whole staff and crew toured Singapore. Went to Chinatown to buy pasalubong. (I didn’t bring money, so no shopping for me.:)) Went to Clarke Quay also. Abdul, Grace’s friend who lives in Singapore was with us and treated us with food and beer. I told Grace and Vanessa about what DOP told me. They comforted me by saying he has no right to judge me because it was also his first mainstream movie job. Nevertheless, I reiterated my say that his points are all well taken.
Had a great time, actually.
Saturday, February 28
EP accompanied cast, staff and crew to the airport. I was left alone. EP gave me pocket money to get my new plane ticket in the PAL office. I was feeling “Amazing Race”. (Incidentally "The Amazing Race" fans, the new season is really shooting in Palawan. DOP told me that his friend was asked to produce the Philippines segment). I got a map from the hotel lobby and began my adventure. I rode the MRT. It was fun! :) I got lost at some street (the map made the distance seems longer) but aside from that, I got to the destination just fine.
While waiting for EP back in the hotel after, I got to talk with Singaporean receptionist Linda who is a fan of Pangako sa 'Yo. The fact that I was talking to a foreigner fan felt really weird but obviously, I was also very happy. It just felt goooood to be appreciated!!! (FYI, Pangako sa ‘Yo is subtitled, not dubbed, in Malaysia).
The rest of the day, EP and I toured their mall district, The Orchard (I was ecstatic when I saw Donita’s face in a billboard! Haha :)), then watched Something’s Gotta Give (Singapore audience are noticeably loud). Observing the people, we thought Singaporeans are fashionable but stiff (if there’s such a term.) And riding the MRT back, we also got to smell the unique aroma of some race. Bad!!! In other words, we missed the Philippines badly.
Sunday, February 29
Zzzzzzz…… I woke up and I was back in the third world.
March 06, 2004
1st of 2 Parts
I'm freakin' back! :) I just got back last Sunday from a one-week out-of-the-country shoot and I freakin' survived! Aaaaaaah! Thank you Jesus!!! It was definitely one hell of a shoot. Man, it was topsy-turvy! I was ecstatic that I was able to go to these amazing countries (Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand) for the first time. But you know what, we didn't go there for vacation. We went there for work. And when you're understaffed, overworked and working for a limited amount of time in foreign conditions, chances are conflicts and troubles will definitely arise. (Cue in Survivor theme). And I wasn't spared from these being the assistant director and script continuity for that shoot. Whew!
Saturday, February 21
I went to the airport slightly not feeling well. No, it wasn't a case of anxiety attack (like what one of our lead actors felt when she almost had the shoot packed up) but really more of a feeling of not having much energy. It was probably because I was just bumming around the house the week prior. (We had no shoot because of script revisions.)
Since we had excess, and I mean excess baggage (camera and stuff), we were the last to let in. We actually caused the flight's delay, would you believe?!? When the pilot apologized to the passengers pointing out the excess baggage as the main reason behind the delay, I couldn't help but smile to myself.
The flight was pretty much uneventful. I slept through the film showing of "Intolerable Cruelty". Three hours after, we arrived at Singapore's Changi Airport. Our PA Grace stated the obvious that we're already in a foreign land when she said something like, "we're seem to be in a subtitled movie." And she was right - with people everywhere speaking in different accents and languages.
After the tour guide briefed us about Singapore, we proceeded to check in our hotel, ate at a Chinese "carinderia" nearby, and then went to bed early to prepare for the following day's shoot. (Well, at least I did, since I eventually found out the others went to Clarke Quay, Singapore's version of Libis, and gimmicked.)
Sunday, February 22
Aaaaah! The first day of shoot! My nerves were killing me. The producers are shelling millions for this, there's no excuse to screw up. I was so tensed.
Direk, our DOP and another crewmember left early to shoot the establishing scenes of Singapore. The rest of us would proceed to The Harbourfront to check in our pieces of luggage for the cruise ship. (We would shoot the cabin room scenes after.) We got at the pier way too early so our EP sent our actors to the nearby mall to relax first. Unfortunately for Grace and me, the rest of the staff followed. And when Direk arrived to shoot the establishing shots of the cruise ship, the remaining crew also went with him. It ended with me, Grace and our EP carrying ALL the heavy pieces of luggage and unused camera equipment to the Check-In Area. Our EP was obviously fuming mad for the lack of help by other staff and crew but I kept my cool. I was also frustrated and tired, yes, but I didn't think having an outburst would alleviate the situation. In my mind, I was just hoping the others would notice the work that we did (this is foreshadowing) and you know, do my work as quietly as possible. In shoots like this, there's no time for drama. Or so I thought.
Monday, February 23
This was definitely the hardest day for us as we had to shoot multiple sequences over a 5-hour stop in Langkawi, Malaysia. We started the day having a hard time controlling the crowd. It seemed that aside from the many Filipinos who were part of the liner’s staff and crew, there were also several Filipino passengers onboard. We also got the surprise of our lives when we found out that one of our actors has fans from Brunei, Singapore and Malaysia, thanks to her soap opera being shown and very popular in those countries. And all of them, as in all of them, want to have their pics taken with our actors!
The next blow came when our transpo coordinator had a miscommunication with our EP. The transpo waited downtown instead of fetching us in the pier. And when they arrived, we soon found out that we couldn’t bring packed lunch to our first location – the cable car station. We were so freakin’ hungry but we had no choice but to shoot since time’s running out. What more, we had to ride the cable cars whose final destination’s so high, it drained all my energy. What can you expect, me having phobia in almost everything. (It was an experience, to be fair.)
By the time we went to our next location (The Anna and The King movie set), we were all exhausted, hungry, thirsty, and tensed. (I was all those, most certainly.) And claws definitely came out from some staff and crew because of the situation. Having watched Survivor a hundred times, I remained to play under the radar. (Stay away from the drama Teddy, stay away from the drama!) Finally, and thank God, we were able to eat lunch after that shoot. (Some "chili" pansit).
We went to The Viewpoint next (just near the Pier) where again, I had difficult time controlling the crowds. Argh! (“No! Don’t Look! Camera, don’t look!” “No flashes! No camera flashes!” “Don’t look, actors! Actors, no!”) :) Nevertheless, we were able to shoot all of our Langkawi scenes in the day (even if there’s a minor blooper involving one of the actor’s parent being left by the bus in The Viewpoint). LOL!
The biggest blow on my part came dinnertime. I thought I was doing well. Not ruffling feathers and everything. I was obviously mistaken. My under the radar strategy didn’t work. I was noticed. Our DOP (who’s of the same age as me, but verrrry rich) approached me and told me what Direk told him about me. He said that Direk’s drained just by looking at my forever stressed face. He also said that there’s something wrong with the way I command (I forgot to ask him to expound). And then he also said that sometimes I’m just standing on the set doing nothing. I would like to protest on that last one but I controlled my emotions. Foremost, being a first timer that he is, he probably didn’t understand that I was not only working as assistant director in that trip, I was also the script continuity and doing crowd control. When he said “nakatunganga lang ako”, I was observing the actors movement and dialogue for continuity purposes so I’d rather not argue with him on that coz it’s definitely not true. Overall, it all boiled down to me always having the depressed look which drains Direk and me not stepping up a notch to play the leader role. He said those to me pointblank and I was surely taken aback. I mean, I understand about that facial expression thingy draining the energy out of Direk coz I’m the transparent kind. What you see is what you get. If I’m tired, I look tired. If I’m stressed, I look stressed. About the leader role, I’m not the EP, I’m the assistant director. I wasn’t the one who coordinated all these location stuff. Still, I put every comment in mind. The roles are clearly not delineated in this shoot so I guess I really have to step up and play some sort of a leader role. After some angst sharing with my PA Grace who was also pointed out (Man, she’s in charge of the film rolls, equipment and stuff! Just because we are silently working, doesn’t mean we’re not working. We had been working ever since we carried all the pieces of luggage in the Check-In Counter but of course they didn't notice), I put on my game face. You want me to be perky?! Okay, fine! I’ll be perky. I donned my orange jacket and plastered a smile on my face during the remaining evening shoot. I worked loudly this time (turning up my volume even if there’s no need to) because that’s what they wanted. I became so suddenly happy and energetic, I think I appeared like, I’m high on ecstasy.
Tuesday, February 24
My perkiness continued and it paid off, actually. The Phuket, Thailand shoot was just so amazing, we actually had a great time. I had a great time! I loooved the people in Phuket coz’ they find me cute. LOL! :D I stepped up the location manager role by talking to our tour guides and coordinators about the logistics. Whew! But I think my biggest achievement in that shoot was persuading some Norwegian tourists to act as extras during the Elephant Show sequence. I don’t know how the sequence will appear on screen but I just like the fact that the movie has some sort of “international” appeal because of those white tourists. Heh.
Dinnertime, Grace and DOP told me separately that Direk noticed my sudden burst of energy. Good for me. Heh.
Then came the Captain’s Ball evening shoot inside the cruise ship. It was a very challenging shoot coz we will just “steal” the shots. The problem was, the crowd went gaga upon seeing the actors. They didn’t even mind the captain who was speaking at the podium. It was crazy!!! And that's also the way to describe the shoot so far.
To be continued...
Saturday, February 21
I went to the airport slightly not feeling well. No, it wasn't a case of anxiety attack (like what one of our lead actors felt when she almost had the shoot packed up) but really more of a feeling of not having much energy. It was probably because I was just bumming around the house the week prior. (We had no shoot because of script revisions.)
Since we had excess, and I mean excess baggage (camera and stuff), we were the last to let in. We actually caused the flight's delay, would you believe?!? When the pilot apologized to the passengers pointing out the excess baggage as the main reason behind the delay, I couldn't help but smile to myself.
The flight was pretty much uneventful. I slept through the film showing of "Intolerable Cruelty". Three hours after, we arrived at Singapore's Changi Airport. Our PA Grace stated the obvious that we're already in a foreign land when she said something like, "we're seem to be in a subtitled movie." And she was right - with people everywhere speaking in different accents and languages.
After the tour guide briefed us about Singapore, we proceeded to check in our hotel, ate at a Chinese "carinderia" nearby, and then went to bed early to prepare for the following day's shoot. (Well, at least I did, since I eventually found out the others went to Clarke Quay, Singapore's version of Libis, and gimmicked.)
Sunday, February 22
Aaaaah! The first day of shoot! My nerves were killing me. The producers are shelling millions for this, there's no excuse to screw up. I was so tensed.
Direk, our DOP and another crewmember left early to shoot the establishing scenes of Singapore. The rest of us would proceed to The Harbourfront to check in our pieces of luggage for the cruise ship. (We would shoot the cabin room scenes after.) We got at the pier way too early so our EP sent our actors to the nearby mall to relax first. Unfortunately for Grace and me, the rest of the staff followed. And when Direk arrived to shoot the establishing shots of the cruise ship, the remaining crew also went with him. It ended with me, Grace and our EP carrying ALL the heavy pieces of luggage and unused camera equipment to the Check-In Area. Our EP was obviously fuming mad for the lack of help by other staff and crew but I kept my cool. I was also frustrated and tired, yes, but I didn't think having an outburst would alleviate the situation. In my mind, I was just hoping the others would notice the work that we did (this is foreshadowing) and you know, do my work as quietly as possible. In shoots like this, there's no time for drama. Or so I thought.
Monday, February 23
This was definitely the hardest day for us as we had to shoot multiple sequences over a 5-hour stop in Langkawi, Malaysia. We started the day having a hard time controlling the crowd. It seemed that aside from the many Filipinos who were part of the liner’s staff and crew, there were also several Filipino passengers onboard. We also got the surprise of our lives when we found out that one of our actors has fans from Brunei, Singapore and Malaysia, thanks to her soap opera being shown and very popular in those countries. And all of them, as in all of them, want to have their pics taken with our actors!
The next blow came when our transpo coordinator had a miscommunication with our EP. The transpo waited downtown instead of fetching us in the pier. And when they arrived, we soon found out that we couldn’t bring packed lunch to our first location – the cable car station. We were so freakin’ hungry but we had no choice but to shoot since time’s running out. What more, we had to ride the cable cars whose final destination’s so high, it drained all my energy. What can you expect, me having phobia in almost everything. (It was an experience, to be fair.)
By the time we went to our next location (The Anna and The King movie set), we were all exhausted, hungry, thirsty, and tensed. (I was all those, most certainly.) And claws definitely came out from some staff and crew because of the situation. Having watched Survivor a hundred times, I remained to play under the radar. (Stay away from the drama Teddy, stay away from the drama!) Finally, and thank God, we were able to eat lunch after that shoot. (Some "chili" pansit).
We went to The Viewpoint next (just near the Pier) where again, I had difficult time controlling the crowds. Argh! (“No! Don’t Look! Camera, don’t look!” “No flashes! No camera flashes!” “Don’t look, actors! Actors, no!”) :) Nevertheless, we were able to shoot all of our Langkawi scenes in the day (even if there’s a minor blooper involving one of the actor’s parent being left by the bus in The Viewpoint). LOL!
The biggest blow on my part came dinnertime. I thought I was doing well. Not ruffling feathers and everything. I was obviously mistaken. My under the radar strategy didn’t work. I was noticed. Our DOP (who’s of the same age as me, but verrrry rich) approached me and told me what Direk told him about me. He said that Direk’s drained just by looking at my forever stressed face. He also said that there’s something wrong with the way I command (I forgot to ask him to expound). And then he also said that sometimes I’m just standing on the set doing nothing. I would like to protest on that last one but I controlled my emotions. Foremost, being a first timer that he is, he probably didn’t understand that I was not only working as assistant director in that trip, I was also the script continuity and doing crowd control. When he said “nakatunganga lang ako”, I was observing the actors movement and dialogue for continuity purposes so I’d rather not argue with him on that coz it’s definitely not true. Overall, it all boiled down to me always having the depressed look which drains Direk and me not stepping up a notch to play the leader role. He said those to me pointblank and I was surely taken aback. I mean, I understand about that facial expression thingy draining the energy out of Direk coz I’m the transparent kind. What you see is what you get. If I’m tired, I look tired. If I’m stressed, I look stressed. About the leader role, I’m not the EP, I’m the assistant director. I wasn’t the one who coordinated all these location stuff. Still, I put every comment in mind. The roles are clearly not delineated in this shoot so I guess I really have to step up and play some sort of a leader role. After some angst sharing with my PA Grace who was also pointed out (Man, she’s in charge of the film rolls, equipment and stuff! Just because we are silently working, doesn’t mean we’re not working. We had been working ever since we carried all the pieces of luggage in the Check-In Counter but of course they didn't notice), I put on my game face. You want me to be perky?! Okay, fine! I’ll be perky. I donned my orange jacket and plastered a smile on my face during the remaining evening shoot. I worked loudly this time (turning up my volume even if there’s no need to) because that’s what they wanted. I became so suddenly happy and energetic, I think I appeared like, I’m high on ecstasy.
Tuesday, February 24
My perkiness continued and it paid off, actually. The Phuket, Thailand shoot was just so amazing, we actually had a great time. I had a great time! I loooved the people in Phuket coz’ they find me cute. LOL! :D I stepped up the location manager role by talking to our tour guides and coordinators about the logistics. Whew! But I think my biggest achievement in that shoot was persuading some Norwegian tourists to act as extras during the Elephant Show sequence. I don’t know how the sequence will appear on screen but I just like the fact that the movie has some sort of “international” appeal because of those white tourists. Heh.
Dinnertime, Grace and DOP told me separately that Direk noticed my sudden burst of energy. Good for me. Heh.
Then came the Captain’s Ball evening shoot inside the cruise ship. It was a very challenging shoot coz we will just “steal” the shots. The problem was, the crowd went gaga upon seeing the actors. They didn’t even mind the captain who was speaking at the podium. It was crazy!!! And that's also the way to describe the shoot so far.
To be continued...
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