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Today, I'll spill. I can't guarantee cohesion though, with my writing.
You know how people say that there are certain big junctions in life, and what we path we eventually pick will resonate over time, so we better choose correctly? The thing is, I didn't count on encountering those junctions so often. Sometimes it even trickles down to that moment right after I wake up, and I'm staring at the white ceiling, my face bathed in sunlight streaming in from the window...and I wonder, "Is today a good day?" Maybe it's just me, but on some days, it all boils down to that one moment. Sometimes I wake up and I just know it won't be a good day. But on most days, it's a choice. I wish I could say that I always try to wake up on the good side of the bed, but sometimes it's tiring make that effort to breathe life into hours when I'm awake. Getting up from bed is the tiniest junction there is, but there is so much resting on your disposition the moment you start your day... I keep on thinking if I've spent too many days starting mine being grumpy and not wanting to face the world.
The past week has been so crazy. THESIS 24/7!!!!! But I can proudly say that our film is slowly transitioning from pre-production to filming...finally. Last Friday, Kim and I held a casting call at the Television Production lab in Miguel. I think we finally found our Perry, the lead character in our film, in JV Canta, who's from U.P. and who does theater. I just realized how hard it is to perfectly put together a cast for a film. As in mahirap! An actor's resume, background, and experience count, of course, but it's that certain magical quality that cinches it, an affinity with the character being auditioned for, and potential chemistry with the other actors. And as the director, I found myself being very picky during the casting call, looking at their faces, the very etches in their eyes, the way they open their mouths... Kim and I created the screenplay with love, as with all the characters. Right now we're consumed with finding the perfect actors who can breathe life into the story we've put so much thought to. I think we're lucky to find JV.
In connection with that, Kim and I met up with Borgy Torre last Friday in Greenbelt. If you're not much into local films, Borgy Torre's an up and coming filmmaker who graduated from DLSU some years ago. He directed Bonsai, which was a short featured in this year's Cinemalaya.
A little nugget of wisdom from the sexiest sage on the planet, Jason Mraz. (I love boys who can write)
Photo taken in Baguio, on the way home. The trees and along with the electric lines just seemed so mundane.
But then I just had to press that button.
You know how people say that there are certain big junctions in life, and what we path we eventually pick will resonate over time, so we better choose correctly? The thing is, I didn't count on encountering those junctions so often. Sometimes it even trickles down to that moment right after I wake up, and I'm staring at the white ceiling, my face bathed in sunlight streaming in from the window...and I wonder, "Is today a good day?" Maybe it's just me, but on some days, it all boils down to that one moment. Sometimes I wake up and I just know it won't be a good day. But on most days, it's a choice. I wish I could say that I always try to wake up on the good side of the bed, but sometimes it's tiring make that effort to breathe life into hours when I'm awake. Getting up from bed is the tiniest junction there is, but there is so much resting on your disposition the moment you start your day... I keep on thinking if I've spent too many days starting mine being grumpy and not wanting to face the world.
The past week has been so crazy. THESIS 24/7!!!!! But I can proudly say that our film is slowly transitioning from pre-production to filming...finally. Last Friday, Kim and I held a casting call at the Television Production lab in Miguel. I think we finally found our Perry, the lead character in our film, in JV Canta, who's from U.P. and who does theater. I just realized how hard it is to perfectly put together a cast for a film. As in mahirap! An actor's resume, background, and experience count, of course, but it's that certain magical quality that cinches it, an affinity with the character being auditioned for, and potential chemistry with the other actors. And as the director, I found myself being very picky during the casting call, looking at their faces, the very etches in their eyes, the way they open their mouths... Kim and I created the screenplay with love, as with all the characters. Right now we're consumed with finding the perfect actors who can breathe life into the story we've put so much thought to. I think we're lucky to find JV.
In connection with that, Kim and I met up with Borgy Torre last Friday in Greenbelt. If you're not much into local films, Borgy Torre's an up and coming filmmaker who graduated from DLSU some years ago. He directed Bonsai, which was a short featured in this year's Cinemalaya.
His collegiate thesis film, De Mano, won outstanding thesis in DLSU, a feat that Kim and I are super amazed at. (And I've always loved De Mano out of all the outstanding thesis films the profs show us as an example for a thesis project.) Anyway, we met up in Starbucks. I got there first, I was wondering how I would recognize him pag dating niya. Then he texted, "I'm here na, big guy na may bigote." Kim and I were seated in the inside, wanting to be considerate to him, and of course it was a "meeting" right? But when he entered, (big guy na may bigote indeed) I waved to him, he motioned for us to follow him outside. "Para maka-yosi." Yowwwn. Alam ko nang we'll get along ko from that. Hahaha!
The conversation was pretty smooth flowing; he was candid and funny, and it was all pronounced by his accent. (I think he's from Bacolod.) He told us what we should keep in mind when we shot our thesis film, he told me the nuances I should be sensitive to since I'm the director, and I should take hold of and create those nuances... Like how every visual element contributes to the story. We told him na we were thinking of casting Jao Mapa as George, the older brother in our screenplay, since he auditioned for us and he did pretty well. Naghohold back lang kami kasi ang mahal! 5K per shooting day....not exactly student film-budget friendly. To this, Borgy says, "Drop niyo na yun! Sakit lang ng ulo. Has-been pa!" HAHAHAHA. Sabi niya get Sid Lucero daw, he's good at roles like George's daw. Or Joel Ruiz daw, to give him a reprieve from directing. Kung pwede lang!!! But I think I'd just melt and be mute around him. I tend to have said reaction around sheer palpable hotness. ("hot" is an adjective we'd readily associate with The Joel, right?) ANYWAY. Borgy also made kwento about his recent trip to Korea because he got to show his film there, and how fun it was to meet directors and filmmakers from all over the world. He was so passionate about everything, asking about who the film profs were in DLSU right now and if they were any good, if we had batchmates that were sincerely pursuing film after grad, he made some suggestions pa about the lights we should use for our shoot. All that in between puffs of smoke. Coffee, cigarettes, film talk - me likey. It was an eye opener on what awaits after graduation, if ever I soldier on and pursue film in earnest. Sounds like a ride. I hate how I'm really falling more and more in love with the whole process of making films. Dangerous love affair to get involved in.
Anyway, he's offering to take me and Kim in for his next film, to do the menial stuff like location hunting, among other things. He mentioned that our first task was to find a visually pleasing yet decrepit hillside cemetery. I won't spill about the plot, but it sounds exciting. And he's so nice, he says he'll sign our papers so that our apprenticeship work could count as our practicum for this term. I love!
So...that's that. To get back to my initial point, I wish I woke up on the good side of the bed more often. Because there's so much that I have to do and can do!
The conversation was pretty smooth flowing; he was candid and funny, and it was all pronounced by his accent. (I think he's from Bacolod.) He told us what we should keep in mind when we shot our thesis film, he told me the nuances I should be sensitive to since I'm the director, and I should take hold of and create those nuances... Like how every visual element contributes to the story. We told him na we were thinking of casting Jao Mapa as George, the older brother in our screenplay, since he auditioned for us and he did pretty well. Naghohold back lang kami kasi ang mahal! 5K per shooting day....not exactly student film-budget friendly. To this, Borgy says, "Drop niyo na yun! Sakit lang ng ulo. Has-been pa!" HAHAHAHA. Sabi niya get Sid Lucero daw, he's good at roles like George's daw. Or Joel Ruiz daw, to give him a reprieve from directing. Kung pwede lang!!! But I think I'd just melt and be mute around him. I tend to have said reaction around sheer palpable hotness. ("hot" is an adjective we'd readily associate with The Joel, right?) ANYWAY. Borgy also made kwento about his recent trip to Korea because he got to show his film there, and how fun it was to meet directors and filmmakers from all over the world. He was so passionate about everything, asking about who the film profs were in DLSU right now and if they were any good, if we had batchmates that were sincerely pursuing film after grad, he made some suggestions pa about the lights we should use for our shoot. All that in between puffs of smoke. Coffee, cigarettes, film talk - me likey. It was an eye opener on what awaits after graduation, if ever I soldier on and pursue film in earnest. Sounds like a ride. I hate how I'm really falling more and more in love with the whole process of making films. Dangerous love affair to get involved in.
Anyway, he's offering to take me and Kim in for his next film, to do the menial stuff like location hunting, among other things. He mentioned that our first task was to find a visually pleasing yet decrepit hillside cemetery. I won't spill about the plot, but it sounds exciting. And he's so nice, he says he'll sign our papers so that our apprenticeship work could count as our practicum for this term. I love!
So...that's that. To get back to my initial point, I wish I woke up on the good side of the bed more often. Because there's so much that I have to do and can do!
- - - - -
A little nugget of wisdom from the sexiest sage on the planet, Jason Mraz. (I love boys who can write)
Transformation is my favorite game and in my experience, anger and frustration are the result of you not being authentic somewhere in your life or with someone in your life. Being fake about anything creates a block inside of you. Life can’t work for you if you don’t show up as you. It’ll weigh heavy in your stomach when you sense something isn’t being said. It eventually turns itself into stress, which unattended explodes in the form of anger. Many people ignore themselves in a situation and look for other people and circumstances to blame, but anger and frustration form within. Your thoughts, speech, beliefs, actions and attitudes create the picture of your life. Draw it well.
Photo taken in Baguio, on the way home. The trees and along with the electric lines just seemed so mundane.
But then I just had to press that button.
