I sent a letter to Direk Jerrold Tarog a week ago, asking if my group in Film Appreciation can interview him for our final requirement. He told me that we needed to have a deal first. He will only grant an interview if we will watch his current film, Sana Dati. And so, the following day that I received that message, we went right away to the theater to watch it. I was supposed to watch it last August (Cinemalaya season) but because of the hectic sched, I only got to watch Ekstra). Sana Dati is a love story about a woman whose wedding became quite messy when a mysterious person arrives and reminds her of
the man she really loves. All I can say is that it was a heartbreaking film. And by the word 'heartbreaking', it will really tear your heart as the movie progress.The actors pull off the natural way of acting even if they are used to 'mainstream acting'. The cinematography was good, the scoring was superb. Until now, 'Indak' by Up Dharma Down is still playing in my head. After that night, I felt even more excited to meet the guy behind the films that I've liked (since I already saw Senior Year and Faculty before which were both good also).
Our interview fell on a Tuesday (Great, no classes!). We went to the address he gave us. It was too much Dora-ic because we got quite lost even if I brought a map (courtesy of google maps), though thanks to 'maskom power', we reached the destination, thirty minutes before the scheduled interview.
My group and I really felt his warm welcome upon entering his office.
But despite that 'warmness', I still felt the chills merely with the fact that I'll be having a close encounter with the man behind the critically-acclaimed films like Confessional, Mangatyanan, Senior Year and Sana Dati. The guy who multitasks -- a writer, an editor, a sound designer, a film scorer and a director all at once.
Our 30-minute interview, ran very smoothly. We were quite pressured at first but eventually, we became comfortable and we began asking random questions about filmmaking. I wasn't expecting that he would be very jolly. We actually laugh together in between questions. It
was so intimidating to ask him but he was so humble enough to
explain things in a way that we can understand it.
I would like to share with you some parts of our conversation:
Q:Bakit po kayo yung
writer, yung editor, yung scorer tapos yung director at the same time?
A:Out of necessity.
Kasi hindi naman ako nagfilm production course nung college. Panayfilm theory so paglabas ko ng college, since
wala naman akong kilalang mga prod people din. Kasi pag nagproduction course
ka, sila-sila din yung magiging katrabaho mo paglabas mo, eh. Pero yun nga,
since music yung background ko, wala naman akong pwedeng lapitan. So inaral ko
na lang siya. So, self-study talaga siya. Eh since, pag music composition ka
naman, may training ka na sa computers eh. So yung sa scoring na part, solve na
yan. Pagdating dun sa sound design, madali na siya kas konektado naman sa
music. Pagdating sa editing, hindi na siya ganung kahirap, so ayun, at least
madali na siyang aralin. And then writing tsaka directing, self-study na lang
siya. Although nagsusulat naman ako ng mga kuwento nung kahit dati pa. High
school pa.Ayun. Self-study lang siya
and it’s really more out of necessity. And then nung nagsimula na akong gumawa
ng mga full-length na pelikula, uhmm, basically, para lang din makatipid. Wala
ka na masyadong babayarang tao. Kasi kung kaya mo naming gawin ng matino, gawin
mo na kaysa magbayad ka pa ng ibang tao. Pag di mo na kaya, kumuha ka nan g
iba.
Q: Sa mga ginawa niyo po, ano po yung pinakanagustuhanniyo, sa indie or sa mainstream?
A: Mas masayang magshoot ng indie. Definitely. Kasi mas may
creative freedom ka. Eh, pag gumagawa ka naman ng pelikula, ang importante may
creative freedom ka. Pero minsan, kailangan mong rumaket so magme-mainstream
ka. Pero siyempre, you try to enjoy doing mainstream as much as possible.
Q: Ano pong advice niyo sa mga students na gusto pong maging
katulad niyo?
A: Huwag na kayong magdirect. Mahirap siya eh. Hindi, yun
nga, katulad nga ng sinabi ko. In the end, parang sarili niyo yung magiging
kalaban niyo kasi dapat nandun palagi yung passion, nandun palagi yung fire,
para gawin mo yung gusto mong gawin and kung talagang seryoso ka sa paggawa ng
pelikula, ano siya, continuous na improvement. So hindi yung porke, nakagawa ka
na ng isang pelikula na ok, kampante ka na. Ayun nay un, dire-diretso.
Actually, continuous study siya na pagnakagawa ka ng isa, aralin mo kung ano
yung pangit sa ginawa mong yun, tapos sa susunod, wag mo na uulitin. Tas yung
susunod, aralin mo ulit yung pangit dun hanggang sa gumanda ng gumanda yung
gawa mo. Well, sa’kin, ganun kasi yung naging proseso sa akin. Kasi self-study
naman ako sa wala akong production courses. So gawa ako ng gawa hanggang
eventually, may nagawa akong pelikula na hindi ako nahihiyang ipakita sa ibang
tao.
I'll post the whole video as soon as I got the chance to edit it. I'm going to put the bloopers as well. :D
I don't know what has gotten into me, but I even asked him if I could actually audition for a role in his next film. LOL. But kidding aside, I really enjoyed the whole time with him. I've learned and realized things. And he became an addition to my list of inspiration when it comes to filmmaking. He was such a humble and talented man and I do hope that one day, we'll get to work together.
We really appreciate your time and effort, Direk Jerrold. Despite your busy sched, you still chose to put us on your list. Thank you very much. :)
"Hindi ako yayaman sa ginagawa kong ito (indie films), pero ok lang kasi mas importante yung iniiwan mong legacy ay ok". -Direk Jerrold Tarog
I sent a letter to Direk Jerrold Tarog a week ago, asking if my group in Film Appreciation can interview him for our final requirement. He told me that we needed to have a deal first. He will only grant an interview if we will watch his current film, Sana Dati. And so, the following day that I received that message, we went right away to the theater to watch it. I was supposed to watch it last August (Cinemalaya season) but because of the hectic sched, I only got to watch Ekstra). Sana Dati is a love story about a woman whose wedding became quite messy when a mysterious person arrives and reminds her of
the man she really loves. All I can say is that it was a heartbreaking film. And by the word 'heartbreaking', it will really tear your heart as the movie progress.The actors pull off the natural way of acting even if they are used to 'mainstream acting'. The cinematography was good, the scoring was superb. Until now, 'Indak' by Up Dharma Down is still playing in my head. After that night, I felt even more excited to meet the guy behind the films that I've liked (since I already saw Senior Year and Faculty before which were both good also).
Our interview fell on a Tuesday (Great, no classes!). We went to the address he gave us. It was too much Dora-ic because we got quite lost even if I brought a map (courtesy of google maps), though thanks to 'maskom power', we reached the destination, thirty minutes before the scheduled interview.
My group and I really felt his warm welcome upon entering his office.
But despite that 'warmness', I still felt the chills merely with the fact that I'll be having a close encounter with the man behind the critically-acclaimed films like Confessional, Mangatyanan, Senior Year and Sana Dati. The guy who multitasks -- a writer, an editor, a sound designer, a film scorer and a director all at once.
Our 30-minute interview, ran very smoothly. We were quite pressured at first but eventually, we became comfortable and we began asking random questions about filmmaking. I wasn't expecting that he would be very jolly. We actually laugh together in between questions. It
was so intimidating to ask him but he was so humble enough to
explain things in a way that we can understand it.
I would like to share with you some parts of our conversation:
Q:Bakit po kayo yung
writer, yung editor, yung scorer tapos yung director at the same time?
A:Out of necessity.
Kasi hindi naman ako nagfilm production course nung college. Panayfilm theory so paglabas ko ng college, since
wala naman akong kilalang mga prod people din. Kasi pag nagproduction course
ka, sila-sila din yung magiging katrabaho mo paglabas mo, eh. Pero yun nga,
since music yung background ko, wala naman akong pwedeng lapitan. So inaral ko
na lang siya. So, self-study talaga siya. Eh since, pag music composition ka
naman, may training ka na sa computers eh. So yung sa scoring na part, solve na
yan. Pagdating dun sa sound design, madali na siya kas konektado naman sa
music. Pagdating sa editing, hindi na siya ganung kahirap, so ayun, at least
madali na siyang aralin. And then writing tsaka directing, self-study na lang
siya. Although nagsusulat naman ako ng mga kuwento nung kahit dati pa. High
school pa.Ayun. Self-study lang siya
and it’s really more out of necessity. And then nung nagsimula na akong gumawa
ng mga full-length na pelikula, uhmm, basically, para lang din makatipid. Wala
ka na masyadong babayarang tao. Kasi kung kaya mo naming gawin ng matino, gawin
mo na kaysa magbayad ka pa ng ibang tao. Pag di mo na kaya, kumuha ka nan g
iba.
Q: Sa mga ginawa niyo po, ano po yung pinakanagustuhanniyo, sa indie or sa mainstream?
A: Mas masayang magshoot ng indie. Definitely. Kasi mas may
creative freedom ka. Eh, pag gumagawa ka naman ng pelikula, ang importante may
creative freedom ka. Pero minsan, kailangan mong rumaket so magme-mainstream
ka. Pero siyempre, you try to enjoy doing mainstream as much as possible.
Q: Ano pong advice niyo sa mga students na gusto pong maging
katulad niyo?
A: Huwag na kayong magdirect. Mahirap siya eh. Hindi, yun
nga, katulad nga ng sinabi ko. In the end, parang sarili niyo yung magiging
kalaban niyo kasi dapat nandun palagi yung passion, nandun palagi yung fire,
para gawin mo yung gusto mong gawin and kung talagang seryoso ka sa paggawa ng
pelikula, ano siya, continuous na improvement. So hindi yung porke, nakagawa ka
na ng isang pelikula na ok, kampante ka na. Ayun nay un, dire-diretso.
Actually, continuous study siya na pagnakagawa ka ng isa, aralin mo kung ano
yung pangit sa ginawa mong yun, tapos sa susunod, wag mo na uulitin. Tas yung
susunod, aralin mo ulit yung pangit dun hanggang sa gumanda ng gumanda yung
gawa mo. Well, sa’kin, ganun kasi yung naging proseso sa akin. Kasi self-study
naman ako sa wala akong production courses. So gawa ako ng gawa hanggang
eventually, may nagawa akong pelikula na hindi ako nahihiyang ipakita sa ibang
tao.
I'll post the whole video as soon as I got the chance to edit it. I'm going to put the bloopers as well. :D
I don't know what has gotten into me, but I even asked him if I could actually audition for a role in his next film. LOL. But kidding aside, I really enjoyed the whole time with him. I've learned and realized things. And he became an addition to my list of inspiration when it comes to filmmaking. He was such a humble and talented man and I do hope that one day, we'll get to work together.
We really appreciate your time and effort, Direk Jerrold. Despite your busy sched, you still chose to put us on your list. Thank you very much. :)
"Hindi ako yayaman sa ginagawa kong ito (indie films), pero ok lang kasi mas importante yung iniiwan mong legacy ay ok". -Direk Jerrold Tarog
“For once, for once, for once, I get the feeling that I'm right where I belong .”
- Fun.
This blog was created August of 2008. Putting up an account here wasn't really on my plans. It's just that I was so crazy about Chris Tiu before and he runs a blog so I thought of creating my own as well. Years have passed, and I have grown yet I still keep my personal stuff here. Yes, things may change but one thing's for sure -- I will continue running this blog as long as I can.
