Ang Asawa Kong Si Nikulet

My student short film Ang Asawa Kong Si Nikulet will finally have its premiere tomorrow, August 21, 1pm at SM Mall of Asia Centerstage as part of SM CinExpo2010. I hope you can come and support me and my film. I will very much appreciate it.

Here's the LINK to SM CinExpo2010.



Ang Asawa Kong Si Nikulet stars Jairus Aquino, Mica dela Cruz, Cinemalaya best actress Ina Feleo, Cinemalaya Best Supporting Actor Arnold Reyes, Cinemanila best actress Angeli Bayani & former Ang TV star Farrah Florer. It is written by the Michiko Yamamoto, the writer of Magnifico & Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros.

See you tomorrow!

It's a wrap!

Maybe you're all wondering what happened to this. After what seemed like eternity (okay, 3 months exactly), I finally had my last shooting day yesterday and it's a wrap! :) I'm bangenge while writing this, actually. We shot for 24 hours and I still haven't gotten a decent sleep. I just need to thank everyone who supported me financially, spiritually, morally or by simply just working under me for free. :) In the end it was all worth it. I not only learned the art of film-making (living set!), but also the value of friendship. Yeah, that's so beauty-pageant statement. :D


Walang hanggang salamat, Team Nikulet! (picture c/o Jairus)

On a side note, I was dead tired after the shoot that I decided to check in Sogo Marikina rather than risk my safety by driving from Antipolo (the shooting location) to Quezon City. It was a weird experience checking in alone. :) I woke up from my half-sleep 3 hours later because of car coding and an after-lunch meeting. Then, I dozed off again at home. I would have wanted to sleep until tomorrow but my empty stomach woke me up. Now, I have runny nose and not feeling very well. I think I'm getting sick. :(

I'm sorry of this entry is so walang kwenta. Haha! But this is what happens when #twitterwasdown.

My short is short

It fell short of budget, that is. It's just a student film and the amount I need is only small but I haven't been exactly earning much after I resigned from regular work to study in film school. I hope you can help me out, fellow netizens! :)

Here are some of the pictures from the shoots so far.


Indie actor Arnold Reyes, former Ang TV star Farrah Florer, and Cinemanila Best Actress Angeli Bayani play parents of the lead child actors


Acclaimed scriptwriter Michiko Yamamoto wrote the script.


Cinemalaya Best Actress Ina Feleo plays a special role


Talented child actors Jairus Aquino (Super Inggo) and Mica dela Cruz (T2) portray the lead characters

Sayang naman kung di ko matapos. :(

Ang Asawa Kong Si Nikulet Day 1

Here are some of the pictures taken by my PM Yam Lacaba and her team during the first shooting day of my student short film. Whew! :)







The rest of the pictures are in My Multiply.

2 more shooting days to go! Wish me luck and pray for me please. :)

Casting Call For Student Short Film!

Hi folks! I’m currently enrolled in Marilou Diaz Abaya Film Institute and I’m looking for actors who will act in my student short film “Ang Asawa Kong Si Nikulet”.

SYNOPSIS

What will you do when you find out that your friend is dying?

This is the question posed to a nine-year old boy. Noknok is typical preteen—loves to play and hates girls. But his mother works for a well-to-do couple whose daughter, Nicole (or Nikulet as Noknok impishly calls her) is fond of her playmate and intends to marry him someday. When Noknok finds out that Nicole is dying of cancer, he has a change of heart and makes Nicole’s last days happy and memorable.

CAST

NOKNOK
- character traits: playful, intense, cute, talkative, energetic, charismatic, street smart
- auditioning 9 to 12 years old but must pass off as 9
- moreno or slightly fair but not mestizo looking, not chubby, can look lower class
- preferably with acting experience on film and television

NICOLE
- character traits: makulit, “girly” girl, romanticist, annoyingly sweet yet loveable and cute
- auditioning 9 to 12 years old but must pass off as 9
- thin, doesn’t have long hair, looks upper middle-class, fair-skinned
- preferably with acting experience on film and television

MELING
- Noknok’s mother, laundrywoman/maid, single mom
- character traits: hardworking, toughened by poverty, motherly yet can also be stern, religious
- auditioning 24-30 years old but must pass off as 27 or 28
- morena, pretty pero di na nakakapag-ayos, looks mature for her age, can look lower class

NICOLE’S DAD
- doctor
- character traits: cool on the exterior but deeply hurting inside, responsible, good father
- auditioning 28 to 35 years old but must pass off as 32 or 33
- can speak fluent English and Filipino, looks like a doctor, clean and good-looking, looks upper middle-class, 5’9” up, fit body

NICOLE’S MOM
- character traits: maternal, emotional, over-protective mother yet loving and sweet, refined
- peg: Jennifer Garner in Juno or Lucy Torres
- auditioning 25-32 years old but must pass of as 29-30
- can speak fluent English and Filipino, simple yet effortlessly beautiful, soft features, fair-skinned

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER
- Noknok’s teacher
- Character traits: repressed, conservative, napaglipasan na ng panahon, strict teacher, lonely soul, soltera
- Auditioning 30-40 years old but must pass off as 35
- Can speak fluent Filipino, chubby, morena

ESTONG
- Noknok’s best friend, anak ng isang OFW at parlorista
- character traits: pabidang bata, maangas
- auditioning 9 to 12 years old but must pass of as 9
- chubby, nouveau-riche
- preferably with acting experience on film and television


NOTE:
- Must be available within the period of last week of November to second week of December.
- Since this is a student film, actors will only be given “honorarium” but I promise a fun working environment on the set. :)

AUDITION DETAILS

DATE
November 11, Tuesday
1:00PM – 6:00 PM

VENUE
UFO Pictures Office
G/H-85 Araullo Street, Addition Hills, San Juan

(From EDSA Shaw Boulevard, take a jeep/cab going to Kalentong. Once you reach Nuever de Pebrero, turn right. Go straight until you see Araullo Street. Upon reaching Araullo, turn right again and look for brown gate number 85.)

REQUIREMENTS:
Resume with picture.
If you have acting videos on You Tube, kindly email us the link beforehand.

If interested, just post your email address in the comments section. You may also forward this ad to your friends. :)

Career Woman!

This was a school exercise last June. We had to shoot a 5-minute short in 8 hours (yep!) using classmates only as lighting director and sound recordist. Being newbies in lighting and sound, there were difficulties but we managed nevertheless. :)

Personally, I think this cut still needs some fine-tuning in edit. Sound mixing also needs to be redone. Overall though, I think it's a pretty decent first cut. :)

Thank you so much Team Career Woman! :)

A Boy Named Sue

Katatapos ko lang mag-AD para sa shoot ng final project ng classmate kong si Alan Marasigan. The short's entitled A Boy Named Sue. Nagpaka Ronwaldo Reyes si Alan dito. Siya ang writer, director at actor ng pelikula. Hehe. :)

Location shooting kami sa Taal, Batangas. Sobrang nakakapagod ang shoot as you can see in the pictures pero enjoy naman siya. Para lang kaming nag-field trip. Haha. Para sa culmination ng shoot, umakyat kami sa Mount Makulot. First time kong umakyat ng bundok kaya di naging madali sakin. 5 straight days pakong nag-gym para mapaghandaan pero wa epek, nahirapan parin ako. Hahaha. But I survived! Mabagal man pero naabot ko parin ang tuktok! Natuwa naman ako. :)

Here are some of the pics courtesy of Bea. 'Yung iba nasa Multiply.:)

Costume Party!

Had fun dressing up (but not so with designing, haha!) in Crisi Silva's Production Design class last Saturday! They say a picture paints a thousand words so feel free to add captions! :)


Nick Olanka as the Devil
Concept by: Raymond Diamzon


Arah Badayos as Taong Grasa
Concept by: Newt Gonzaga

Yours truly as a Popstar Musician
Concept by Henry Quitain


Henry Quitain as a Dying Old Man
Concept by yours truly

Vivian Velez-Groskopf as Headmistress
Concept by Dado Lumibao

More pictures in My Multiply!

LOV7 Drill!

Hahaha! Just saw this on You Tube. This is an impromptu classroom drill for line of vision for 7 persons which I directed.



Cast:
Ina Feleo
Nick Olanka
Pablo Biglang-awa
Rafa Santos
Arah Badayos
Raymund Diamzon
& Miss Vivian Velez

Crew:
Writer - Henry Quitain
DOP - Alan Marasigan
Editor - Pablo Biglang-awa
Assistant Director - Dado Lumibao
Script Continuity - Enrico Santos
PD - Veronica Velasco
Sound - Gabb Tatad

Thanks Pabs! As soon as I find my flash disk, I'll ask for a copy. :)

Ericsson!

Short film exercise on shooting protocol and character and camera. No sound. No artificial lighting. No camera movement. 4 hours shooting time. Shot last December 2007.

EDIT 1


EDIT 2

Scatterbrains!

Shoots like what happened during Dan's for his short Scatterbrain (where I played an evil doctor) make you forget how stressful school has become. :)

Thanks to G for the behind the scenes fun vids!

BTS 1


BTS 2

Open House!

Nag-open house ang school namin last December 18. Me thanksgiving mass, musical performance ng Kontragapi, dinner party at film screenings ng Endo (starring our very own Rina) and other student films. Andaming who's who na dumating. (Sa totoo lang, kating kati akong magpa-picture kay Raymund Red kaso bigla akong tinablan ng hiya. Haha!) Pero kaming mga "lungkatu", me sariling mundo. Kodakan lang sa tabi.

Heto ang ilan sa mga pictures. :) (Mas marami sa I, Multiply!)

Iggy & Jell sa reception area

Cesarina loveteam!

Kahit pagod, kodakan pa rin ang mga lungkatu!:)

Ang Pagsubok!

Sino ba naman ang makapaniwalang nag-bida ako sa short ni Danna last Sunday! "Ang Pagsubok" ang title ng short at parang pagsubok rin sa akin ang pag-arte. Haha! Sabi ni Henry, nominated na kami ni Monjam sa Razzies for Worst Actor of the Year! Hahaha! Pasensiya na Danna ha! :)

Pero kahit mahirap umarte sa harap ng kamera, oo na, di na ako magpapakaplastik, enjoy maging bida! :)

Heto ang ilan sa mga pictures na kuha sa mga camera nina Au-Au at Winnie!

Ang hirap tingnan ang sarili sa monitor!

Ang bida (ako! haha!) at ang kontrabida!

Camwhore habang break!

Mas maraming letrato sa I, Multiply! :)

Ericsson!

Here are some of the pictures from the shooting of my first short exercise "Ericsson". Thanks Ella, Au-Au and Winnie for the pics and thanks everyone for the memories! :)

Preparing the first scene

Only the best for my Video Assist and Camera!

The slate!

Ella cries!

It's A Wrap!

More pics in I, Multiply!

Being!

These are some of my pictures during our our 6-day Intro to Acting Workshop with Direk Laurice Guillen and Sir Johnny Delgado. Even if I'm not an actor, the experience was definitely unforgettable. I now understand "the craft", the importance of "being" and the shooting protocol when it comes to directing actors. More than these though, I rediscovered myself more as I've to dig varied feelings from life's memories. I also discovered a lot about my classmates (that includes our guest classmate Marc Abaya) which I never learned before and consequently, learned to trust them about certain private matters that I normally wouldn't disclose. In a way, the workshop was therapeutic for me and needless to say, it made the class bond stronger.

If you're interested to discover for yourself what I'm talking about, just regularly visit mdafi.com as Direk Laurice and Sir Johnny will offer the full Eric Morris course next year.:)

The class with Direk Laurice and Sir Johnny!

Wrong choice

Revelation si Mamaah dito! :)

More pictures in I, Multiply!

Thanks Team Ericsson!

Thank you guys! :) Words can't fully express the gratitude that I feel for all of you. Actually, hanggang ngayon, parang bangag pa rin ako. I still can't believe I'm already done and did it without major problems, and it's all because of you. (Parang kanta ng U2! Hehe :D) My friend Rose, who was also very selfless to go just to be talent, later told me na ambabait ng mga classmates ko. Of course I know that already but experiencing the goodness incessantly just makes me teary-eyed. I feel so blessed to be in this program with you.

Sigh! :) I'm already looking forward to the next shoots!

AD!

Yey! :) I'm done with my 2 assistant director jobs for our first short exercise. I assisted Direk Nick for "Waiting" and Miss V for "Red Sneakers" (yep, that's the real title of her short according to her.) Both of them finished their shoot on time which makes me more nervous. I mean, I worked as AD in shorts that did not exceed allotted shooting time of 4 hours, but what if I can't finish shooting my short within 4 hours? Ugh! Friends, please pray for me!

Right now, I'm trying to focus myself for my shoot on the 13th (I still need crowd talents. Text me please, if you're free! :D). On the 14th and 16th naman, I'm going to act for Dan and Danna's shorts (I need a separate prayer from you friends for these two! Hehe). Hopefully, it's vacation already after that!

Anyway, here are some of my pictures during the two shoots. Thanks to Mathieu duuuude and Mariami duuuudette for the pics! :)

Red Sneakers cast & crew

Duuude!

Miss Ina, ito po ang mangyayari..

More pictures in I Multiply!

Eyeball!

Flirtation drill. Line of vision. X blocking. No artificial lights. No sounds. No camera movement. Artificial location. Limited shooting time. Not more than 6 set-ups. Newbie cast and crew. Star Cinema. Tiffany. Cheezy. Squeezy. =)

Super thanks to Dess of Advance Class for editing!

Help!

Oist, are you free on December 13? I need help for an exercise I'll be doing for class. I need crowd talents. If you're free and willing, kindly send me a message . Please! :) The more, the "many-er"! Hehe.

Thanks.

Salamat, Sobra!

Hay salamat at nairaos ko rin ang first directing drill ko! Marami pang dapat matutunan pero sobra-sobrang satisfying sakin ang nangyari last Tuesday. Masaya ako, period. :)

Sobrang late na ang debriefing kaya di ko na napasalamatan lahat ng naging dahilan ng pagiging masaya ko kaya dito na lang ako magti-thank you kina...

HENRY, magaling kang AD! Laking tulong na tinulungan mo ako sa visual composition at spatial IQ. Thank you at kahit nagkasakit ka, go ka pa rin para lang maging AD ko. :)

NEWT, gusto ko ang pagiging ngarag mo na PD! I truly really like it (hehe) that you took the initiative to text me constantly regarding your concerns with the production design. Magaling ka, okay? :)

ARAH! I doubt if my shoot will be that smooth if you didn't have the "eye". You were nervous before the shoot pero hindi ako nininerbiyos for you kasi naniniwala talaga ako na you'll be a good DOP. :)

My actors YAM and ALAN, thank you for collaborating with me with regard your characters' emotions and back-stories. I believe in your acting skills sobra kaya ko kayo kinuha and you didn't let me down. YAM, don't worry about that X blocking thing. I still trust you and as you have noticed naman siguro, palagi kitang pinapa-comment sa bawat sinasubmit ko sa class kasi bilib talaga ako sa 'yo! (Awww, mean girl!)

I'm also very overwhelmed na andaming gustong maging members ng art department ko. DADO and MONJAM, alam kong pinilit ko lang kayo but really, thank you for all your inputs and for helping me with my mis-en-scene. Mean Girl #1 and Penguin, I truly really (haha) appreciate it. ISSA and MATH, thank you for being able set men. Anlaki nang itinulong n'yo sa pagdagdag ng depth of field with your ingenious recycling of props. Sobra! Siyempre, thank you to DANNA who generously helped NEWT from the start as if she's also my production designer. Words can't express my sobrang gratitude.

Ano ba, para akong nasa awards night...Hahaha!

Moving on....

NICK, sobrang pasasalamat ko sa 'yo kasi alam kong inambush lang kita para maging script con because Ina went to Nantes and yet, tinanggap mo agad without hesitation. Napaka-kalmado mong script con, di ko kaya 'yun! Hehe :)

Thank you to my grips, my co-director that day G and SIR ENRICO! G, thanks for the pechay sounds and the cool aura. Dumikit siya sakin that night and nakita mo naman na I'm less ngarag than usual. We did it, yeah! XOXO! :)

RONI & PABLO, thank you for being PDA enough to be my talents. Stunt casting 'yun! Directors ng critically acclaimed Inang Yaya at MALING AKALA, talents ko?!? San ka pa?! =)

DAN, the laptop guy, salamat! Kahit na wala akong pasalubong na film book okay lang. At least di ka late for my drill at magaling ka sa laptop! Haha! Peace, dude! :) Thank you na rin sa clapper kong si FRANCIS! :)

Hindi ko sila classmates at housemates ko lang sila pero salamat kina MICHIKO at ROSE sa pakikinig at pagbibigay sakin ng ideas for the drill. The "blind" twist was originally Michiko's kaya dapat lang na i-credit ko siya. Di pa tapos ang pangangarag ko sa inyo okay? :) Hehe.

And thank you DIREK MARILOU! Andami ko talagang natutunan sa inyo. Sobra sobra! You continually inspire and challenge me to be good, if not better. I'm feeling so blessed right now to have you as my teacher. :)

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Of course co-bloggers, this doesn't mean that the end product is or will be good. Dess of Advance Class is currently editing it and I'm still feeling frustrated that I don't have close-up shots of my actors during their final "love" scene" for lack of time. There might also be some "saliwa" LOV (might!) and I'm also not sure about the cadence and clarity of the short. Pero hello, it's only my first time to call a shot and three months pa lang ako sa film school, give me some leeway naman! Hehe! :)

Isa pa palang petty thing that frustrated me, lahat ng camwhores ay member ng staff ko kaya wala akong pictures sa drill. :( Buti na lang may mga nakuhang konti si Math. 'Yun na lang muna ang isishare ko sa inyo. :)

I think I'm explaining my shot to Arah here

Motivating Alan

Pinaka-remembrance ko na nakapag-call na ako ng shot ang clapper ID!:)

The not-so bulag bulag =)

DOP Mamaaaa!

Directing the love scene!

Alan from Alaska!

Sumisilip ang Art Dept!