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
It's that time of the year again -- the Cinemalaya season! And as a communication student who supports indie films, I took part in the said film festival. I watched Ekstra. I chose it not because I'm a Vilma Santos fan nor a fan of the other actors who cameoed in the film. I chose it because of its interesting theme and its funny trailer.
I asked my high school classmates, Patty and Eli to come with me since I know they're also interested in it because they too, are communication students. We were supposed to catch the 11 am screening but we found out that it was already sold-out so we just got the 6:30 pm. Since there's still a lot of time to kill, we first played at Time Zone and we also attended our former classmate's birthday. (Happy birthday Mary! :D) It's actually fun catching up with them.
Now, back to the movie, Ekstra. If you would ask me to rate it from 1-10, I'll be giving it an 8. It exceeded my expectations. It was a light film with a comedic genre. It's basically about the life of a bit player and the happenings on an actual set of a shooting/taping. The thing I liked most about it was the humor. Unlike other mainstream comedy films, this one's the bomb. They nailed all the punch lines big time! The jokes that they used were pretty similar to everyday jokes we hear from friends that's why it's so catchy. Vilma Santos played her role as an 'ekstra' so well. She made the audience feel that in the movie, she is a bit player. I was really at awe with her acting skills and I suddenly became an instant fan! Her portrayal was just so effective there's nothing more I can say. Hands down to the whole team who worked hard in putting up such a nice film, which, for once, gave importance to the role of ekstras.
Then yesterday, after school, I watched Bakit Hindi Ka Crush ng Crush Mo with my blockmates. It's a typical Star Cinema RomCom feel-good movie. I really liked all the scenes of Ramon Bautista which just takes the 20% of the whole film. I hope Ramon will be given a bigger break. Hihibrr.
First of all, I would like to welcome myself back to blogging! Since classes are suspended today, I have time to relax and to blog. :)
Yes, it`s been a while since I last posted here due to different reasons. One of these is that college life has been eating all my time. My freshmen year was not this busy that's why I was surprised to get bombarded with A LOT of school works. We had some reports, quizzes and a 50-page narrative for Writing for TV. I barely have time to relax but nonetheless, at least I'm learning a lot and I'm getting good grades. :)
But despite the tiring days of school, I still got the chance to attend the 8th Cinemalaya at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. I had planned to go after watching several trailers of the films that are part of the festival. I chose to watch Sta. Niña since my mom likes Coco Martin and its trailer made me curious what it's all about. So since I don't have classes during Fridays, I marked July 27 as one of my ultimate vacay day. :D After we went to PhilHealth and DFA for some agenda, we went straight to CCP. When I was about to buy tickets at the Box Office, I found out that Sta. Niña which will be shown that night was already sold-out. So we bought tickets for the following day's showing. I was really sick that Saturday but I still urged to attend my first class. I took the LRT 2 & LRT 1 and rode an orange jeep in Vito Cruz. When we were about to go inside the theater, I saw my former classmate Ranne. She was with her dad. The movie was great. If you like mainstream movies which is about love and other dragging topics, then this is not something that you would like. You might find it boring and all. But in my perception, I really liked it. The story was original. It was about a man who found his dead child (ten years later) whose coffin had been carried away by the lahar. But what's surprising about it was that baby girl still looks as if she died just days ago. That man kept his child in their house. Days later, there have been some visitors who visit Marikit (the child). They have been praying to the child to make them free from their diseases. In the succeeding days, they have thanked Pol (the father of the baby, played by Coco Martin) for the miracle that his child had brought them. When the mother of the baby (Madel, the cousin of Pol, played by Alessandra de Rossi) saw that their child had been found, she went to Pol's house. They had some arguments because Madel wants to bury the child and make her rest in peace but Pol insists to keep the child because of the alleged miracle it has been doing. And I think I have been spoiling you too much so I'll end my summary here. :) I think it will still be shown in UP Film Institute this week. :D Anyway, before I got out of CCP, I saw RAIMUND MARASIGAN. Yes, one of the members of the epic band, Eraserheads. I was literally just a few centimeters from him. \m/
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
It's that time of the year again -- the Cinemalaya season! And as a communication student who supports indie films, I took part in the said film festival. I watched Ekstra. I chose it not because I'm a Vilma Santos fan nor a fan of the other actors who cameoed in the film. I chose it because of its interesting theme and its funny trailer.
I asked my high school classmates, Patty and Eli to come with me since I know they're also interested in it because they too, are communication students. We were supposed to catch the 11 am screening but we found out that it was already sold-out so we just got the 6:30 pm. Since there's still a lot of time to kill, we first played at Time Zone and we also attended our former classmate's birthday. (Happy birthday Mary! :D) It's actually fun catching up with them.
Now, back to the movie, Ekstra. If you would ask me to rate it from 1-10, I'll be giving it an 8. It exceeded my expectations. It was a light film with a comedic genre. It's basically about the life of a bit player and the happenings on an actual set of a shooting/taping. The thing I liked most about it was the humor. Unlike other mainstream comedy films, this one's the bomb. They nailed all the punch lines big time! The jokes that they used were pretty similar to everyday jokes we hear from friends that's why it's so catchy. Vilma Santos played her role as an 'ekstra' so well. She made the audience feel that in the movie, she is a bit player. I was really at awe with her acting skills and I suddenly became an instant fan! Her portrayal was just so effective there's nothing more I can say. Hands down to the whole team who worked hard in putting up such a nice film, which, for once, gave importance to the role of ekstras.
Then yesterday, after school, I watched Bakit Hindi Ka Crush ng Crush Mo with my blockmates. It's a typical Star Cinema RomCom feel-good movie. I really liked all the scenes of Ramon Bautista which just takes the 20% of the whole film. I hope Ramon will be given a bigger break. Hihibrr.
First of all, I would like to welcome myself back to blogging! Since classes are suspended today, I have time to relax and to blog. :)
Yes, it`s been a while since I last posted here due to different reasons. One of these is that college life has been eating all my time. My freshmen year was not this busy that's why I was surprised to get bombarded with A LOT of school works. We had some reports, quizzes and a 50-page narrative for Writing for TV. I barely have time to relax but nonetheless, at least I'm learning a lot and I'm getting good grades. :)
But despite the tiring days of school, I still got the chance to attend the 8th Cinemalaya at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. I had planned to go after watching several trailers of the films that are part of the festival. I chose to watch Sta. Niña since my mom likes Coco Martin and its trailer made me curious what it's all about. So since I don't have classes during Fridays, I marked July 27 as one of my ultimate vacay day. :D After we went to PhilHealth and DFA for some agenda, we went straight to CCP. When I was about to buy tickets at the Box Office, I found out that Sta. Niña which will be shown that night was already sold-out. So we bought tickets for the following day's showing. I was really sick that Saturday but I still urged to attend my first class. I took the LRT 2 & LRT 1 and rode an orange jeep in Vito Cruz. When we were about to go inside the theater, I saw my former classmate Ranne. She was with her dad. The movie was great. If you like mainstream movies which is about love and other dragging topics, then this is not something that you would like. You might find it boring and all. But in my perception, I really liked it. The story was original. It was about a man who found his dead child (ten years later) whose coffin had been carried away by the lahar. But what's surprising about it was that baby girl still looks as if she died just days ago. That man kept his child in their house. Days later, there have been some visitors who visit Marikit (the child). They have been praying to the child to make them free from their diseases. In the succeeding days, they have thanked Pol (the father of the baby, played by Coco Martin) for the miracle that his child had brought them. When the mother of the baby (Madel, the cousin of Pol, played by Alessandra de Rossi) saw that their child had been found, she went to Pol's house. They had some arguments because Madel wants to bury the child and make her rest in peace but Pol insists to keep the child because of the alleged miracle it has been doing. And I think I have been spoiling you too much so I'll end my summary here. :) I think it will still be shown in UP Film Institute this week. :D Anyway, before I got out of CCP, I saw RAIMUND MARASIGAN. Yes, one of the members of the epic band, Eraserheads. I was literally just a few centimeters from him. \m/
“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.
If you like mainstream movies which is about love and other dragging topics, then this is not something that you would like. You might find it boring and all. But in my perception, I really liked it. The story was original. It was about a man who found his dead child (ten years later) whose coffin had been carried away by the lahar. But what's surprising about it was that baby girl still looks as if she died just days ago. That man kept his child in their house. Days later, there have been some visitors who visit Marikit (the child). They have been praying to the child to make them free from their diseases. In the succeeding days, they have thanked Pol (the father of the baby, played by Coco Martin) for the miracle that his child had brought them. When the mother of the baby (Madel, the cousin of Pol, played by Alessandra de Rossi) saw that their child had been found, she went to Pol's house. They had some arguments because Madel wants to bury the child and make her rest in peace but Pol insists to keep the child because of the alleged miracle it has been doing. And I think I have been spoiling you too much so I'll end my summary here. :) I think it will still be shown in UP Film Institute this week. :D Anyway, before I got out of CCP, I saw RAIMUND MARASIGAN. Yes, one of the members of the epic band, Eraserheads. I was literally just a few centimeters from him. \m/