My message in a bottle

A Christmas Promise fulfilled (Part 3)

We arranged a wrap party for the crew who worked on the video and this was the first time we got to see the first edit of the video. 

When I arrived at the party, Michael was telling me that some were already "touched" with the first edit. This surprised me because I wasn't expecting a touching video. I was just expecting a proper video we can show to the community. He added that the video made them (referring to some random friends he had shown the video to) CRY! 

What?! I didn't understand. Until I came face to face with the video. 

We all sat down in the entertainment room of Michael's sister's house where the party was held. I had goosebumps while the video played...goosebumps because the story we conceptualized was now on screen and it WAS beautiful. Maybe it was the song, or the shots, or the actors, I don't know! I just knew we did something special. 

This was the same feeling we had with our first story-driven Christmas video, Ang Awit Ko, back in 2011.

All the stories came together and all reached an effective climax which can make the hardest of hearts soften up especially with Christmas coming around. 

The scene where different sectors of the Letran Bataan community were holding up messages of hope for survivors of recent calamities were executed well. It didn't look "put on" and "celebrity"-ish. (We used streamers and not the modern tarpaulins for it which showed how simple everything was production design-wise). 

The final cut of the video was done on the Sunday before the week it was launched. We readied the teasers, crew interviews and the video by then. But we weren't ready with the reaction we got.

A formal launching was organized on November 25, 2013 for the Letan Bataan community to see the video. 

The AVR was jam-packed and I felt I was going to throw up. I wasn't sure if they would appreciate the video or let alone understand the story in the video. 

Fr. Auckhs Enjaynes helped us introduce the video by explaining the rationale behind the production, emphasizing how this can move people to action especially these trying times. 

After the video was shown, some of the audience members had tears in their eyes and people congratulating us were wiping their tears. This was a good sign. 

The launch at the AVR was simultaneous with the YouTube release of the video. 
Collectively, netizens who watched the video had positive reviews and even took the time to share it. Many Twitter accounts and FB pages were sharing the video. This was through Marlon whom we assigned to market the video through different social media sites apart from our own personal campaigns. 

We also got a positive feedback from film and TV director, Joey Reyes, whom Michael contacted through Twitter. That was amazing. 

Friends from different parts of the Philippines and even my relatives were congratulating me and really appreciated Pangako ng Pasko. I couldn't believe it, honestly. 

I was so proud of the video and so happy that Letran Bataan will be associated with it. We wouldn't have done it without the love for the craft and for Letran. 

One showing of the video was special to me. This was when we showed it among Hacienda Elementary School pupils, the extras we used for the performance scenes at the auditorium. They sang the song as they watched the video. I swear I was in tears by the end of the video. I'm such a crybaby!

The icing on the cake was that the city government of Balanga agreed to show the video during the switching-on of the Christmas lights at the Plaza de Mayor de Balanga on December 6, 2013. 

This was attended by thousands of people. We nearly fainted when the video came on. I was with Neslie, Marlon and some of our colleagues and we gauged the audience's reaction. No one said a word while the video played. A good sign. Normally, people would dismiss the video instantly by saying harsh words or mockery. But they were silent, seemingly immersed with what they were seeing. By the last chorus, they were hooked with the story. They loved it! 

So that's how everything came together. And how everything was fulfilled. 

Would there still be a 2014 Christmas video? We've always approached every project as if it were our last. I even said last year that I can't keep on doing these types of projects especially with so much else that we need to prioritize in the school. But I guess there's just something that pushes us to carry on. And as long as that "something" is there, a Christmas video is always bound to materialize. 

So I'm just going to leave it at that. 

This is one of my fondest memories for 2013. And it's a good thing I can always look back and watch it on YouTube or listen to the song. And it still makes me tear up once in a while.

(End)

A Christmas promise fulfilled (Part 2)

When the song was finally mixed, I approached several students including Arli and the crew who would be working with on the video. 

We conducted several story conferences. These were challenging meetings because we always ran out of ideas or often hit a wall with a certain storyline or concept we were developing. 

Also at this time of story development, the Philippines were hit by natural disasters (the earthquake in Bohol and the Typhoon Yolanda) and many political issues that were causing discord all over the country. This made us appreciate the project even more.

All the stories were there but nothing was final. I was almost ready to scrap the whole concept (of having a story) and settle with performance shots alone because I was afraid we might offend certain groups or come across as irrelevant given the circumstances the country was facing.

Why would we still make a Christmas video and when we can just donate the money?!

This was when everyone agreed that all expenses be kept to a minimum and all professional fees were waived. I knew more than ever that the heart for this project was the love we had for the message we wanted to send across.

For the final sequence treatment, Neslie Ramirez, my friend in the Admissions Office of Letran, sat down with Michael Mateo, the director and Photography instructor, in a coffeeshop in Balanga. 

Together, they pieced the scattered characters and storylines we developed during the story conferences. Finally, the stories in the video started to emerge more clearly.

I wouldn't have said "Go" to the project if not for their firmness and confidence with the substance of the script they held in their hand. Maybe it's because I valued their vision and trusted their instincts.

Although what they wrote was very close to the final story of the video, I had to put my hand on the sequences they wrote as I finalized the sequence breakdown which would work side by side with the lyrics. 

I also suggested how the three storylines (Old man/Father & son, Widower and Happy Family) would 'end' or be concluded in the video.

This meant the song had to be extended for us to really be able to tell the story.

Remember that these stories were inspired by real events told to us by students and the crew.

This was when the buzz really started to kick in among us because we knew we had an authentic and great story to tell.

I think it would be very revealing for me to mention which student or crew member reflected the scenes in the video in their real lives. (Hint: one crew member really had a make shift Christmas tree in their home. Plus, it isn't that rare that our students find it difficult to connect with their busy parents.)

I was also very excited to be working with MJ Bermudez, a Letran alumnus whom Michael approached. 

MJ didn't think twice about going onboard with the project. He really was a pleasure to work with and I also appreciated his creative input.

So the sequences were laid down and it was time to do the casting.

I think it helped that while we were writing the story, the team had characters who had real-life counterparts in our school.

Michael and Neslie really had an eye for casting so I trusted their picks. 

Michael suggested we put BJ Banzon, a former Letran instructor and friend, to play the dad of the ignored son. We also had screen tests for the son's character which we ended up giving to the 'risky' choice because Napoleon had no acting experience whatsoever. Only his expressive and misty eyes. And that was enough for us to stick to our decision. 

That has always been what guided us in choosing the main characters even in the first video in 2011. We really have to pick those with the most expressive faces because this was a music video. There was no dialogue and the screen time for characters were very short. They have to connect instantly to the viewer, thus, they had to have that certain quality.

Marlon came up with the idea of having greetings in the Visayan language for us to make a connection with the disaster survivors there. We also knew we had to feature trending nationalistic hashtags found in various social media. 

This was a way for us to address the country's collective stand which was: "we will be able to rise above all these!"

The shoot went on for seven days and the schedule allowed us to finish by 9pm. Sometimes we finished earlier which gave us time to bond with the crew. 

Each sequence that we shot took us to many locations. These were scouted days before the actual shooting and I remember us always going for our gut instinct. 

This proved helpful in choosing the old man's terrace. It was again a risky choice because the place was unfamiliar to us. I even questioned how an old man can put a Christmas tree there. But there was just something about that place. It also helped that it was timeless and had a homey feel to it. 

The shooting took place for seven days which ended on early nights except for the scenes we did in the "House" of the father and son. There many scenes we shot there which ended up on the cutting room floor. (Luckily, Mr. Mateo was able to put together an alternate edit of the video released weeks after the full video was launched.)

I remember our shooting in Bario Campo where the house of the happy family were shot. It was such a clear day in terms of the sun and we finished right on schedule. It helped that we had Michael and MJ collaborating intuitively with the camera work and Neslie doing most of the acting coaching. 

Another highlight is when we shot the community scenes at the Auditorium. Good thing Marla Santos and Maien Chiuco were there to conduct games for the kids as they waited in between shots which took three hours. 

I smiled inside as the kids learned the song and sang their heart out during takes. That was a special moment.

(To be continued)

A Christmas Promise fulfilled (part 1)

One of the highlights of my job in Letran Bataan's Center for Public Affairs & Media Development is the production of our Christmas music videos.

It is in this type of project I work with a team driven to come up with a video which will make Christmas time more special for the community. 

The purpose behind it is the belief that works of art can move people to action, sort of like an inspiration for them to tap into the selflessness in themselves... 

We thought we, as a nation, needed this 'selflessness' more than ever. 

This is the story of how Pangako ng Pasko came about.

THE SONG

The lyrics to this year's song was written by Arli Atienza, a 3rd year Education student. I asked my colleague and friend Marlon Holgado to approach him, as Arli was a student of his, with the concept of Christmas promises. (Arli actually submitted song lyrics to me before during the KantArriba songwriting competition and was impressed by his style. Therefore I thought, 'Why not make him the writer for this year's song?')

He submitted the lyrics to me the next day in a yellow sheet of paper, handwritten. This was early October. 

I was impressed with the words he came up with. With just a little tweaking and additional lines here and there, I put the melody line with Arli's lyrics, working on nights after office hours with the keyboard in my room at my house. The melodies were composed separately for the songs different parts as shown in the recordings I put on my iPhone (so I won't forget the tunes.) Look at how on different days the song came about.

The recording process was one of the longest I've ever done because there were many ideas in my head on how the song should sound. The song's instruments were recorded in my studio.

The first demo which was recorded by Carmella Servera (one of the Letran Bataan All-stars singers) and faculty member Jayson Viray, was quite a slow version of the song. 

I had to acknowledge Carmella for helping me improve the melody lines to make it more 'pop'-sounding. (Side note: Her demo vocals for the bridge, "Lumbay ay para bang napawi..." were the ones used in the final mix of the song because everyone just loved that take when they heard the demo. By everyone, I meant all my friends and colleagues who previewed the track.)

I remember playing the demo to some Communication students who would be working on the video with us. I think I remember them saying it was "OK". That wasn't the response I wanted especially coming from them. I got a bit paranoid thinking that the song wasn't good. 

Then I went back to the studio to do the final arrangement for the song which will be the version used by the students and the one which will be released.

This took about a week and a weekend because I wasn't happy with the mix I was coming up with. One version sounded so 90's, while the other sounded just terrible. Our song had to be "very good" and not just "OK"!

It was a good thing that it was just October then. I had plently of time. 

Then I decided, the rhythm should be patterned to "Ang Awit Ko (Ngayong Pasko)", our first Christmas song back in 2011. Everyone liked that touch. I also put in a lot of string and horn sections reminiscent of "Star ng Pasko" of ABS-CBN. 

So from there, the final backing track of the song emerged. It was still melancholy, but the beat was strong and solid enough for young adult listeners to embrace. (Marlon kept on inisisting bells and chimes throughout the song which is why the track has this sparkly quality all throughout.)

For the vocal recording, it was two-days me on standby at the recording booth of Letran Bataan as I await possible soloists. 

I decided to stick with the usual vocalists we had for the past two Christmas songs but I remember asking Marlon to get me some new talents. I also remember approaching Limuel (of Limuel and Frienda band) in the hallway to invite him to be part of the song.

I didn't excuse students from their classes so I just had to wait for their free time so then they could put down their vocals. This extended the recording period, I guess.

I think it was 20 minutes per vocalist and it was just one line or so that we would be recording.

As a producer, it was important that I heard what was their best vocal take. Repeat repeat repeat until the singer was in his or her element for that line. So that took about two days. 

(There were some more extra days because Jeanne Gabaya was not in school so I think I recorded her vocals separately.)

This picture shows the high school students doing the chorus part. 

 

Eventually, after mixing the tracks for several days, the song's final mix came about and it was time to sit down with the team to do the storyboard for the video.

(To be continued...)

Check out Eleven Zones Cafe Lounge

There are some nights when you just want to kill yourself because of boredom or probably you're going through a rough patch.

Whatever the case, this new bar in my city made me smile. Probably it's because the hostess was so very nice.

She introduced herself and asked how my day has been. This took me by surprise. I ended up telling her that I slept all day and stuff. 

She made sure my friends and I were well fed and even said we can stay as long as we wanted to although they were supposed to close at 9pm (because they had a function during the day which led to her and brother doing almost everything that night. No servers. No chefs. I dismissed it immediately as a lame bar until this hostess/owner won us over with her rapport).

This was a stark contrast from the usual arrogance or indifference I get from the places I frequently go to.

This got me thinking. Connection. That's what's lacking. We need it. So that we somehow feel alive...

Let's enjoy the night!

Cold-hearted

This is a point in my life when I feel I'm being redundant. Irrelevant. 

I feel no one is interested with what I have to say about something anymore. 

So i just shut up and keep it all to myself.

What is it really that I want? Am I already there? Where am I going?

Have I reached the summit already and this is the descent? Wait. That sounded arrogant.

Did I turn into a conceited, arrogant prick? 

Maybe I've always been...and this is just me peeling off my sugary layer because I've grown tired with people's bullshit. 

I have little energy for people's bullshit that's why I cut people out of my life. That's much easier than dealing with their drama.

Yet this is a cold place.

Just like the weather.

Updating My Sound

So I'm downloading some compilation albums over at the iTunes store just so I am still attuned to the "now" sound.

As a producer, I've always made it a point that the music I come up with is current, so that I would stay current. The worst approach to pop music production for me is building a track using decade-old sensibilities (like 90's pop groups dragging their sound to the teen market with their comebacks). 

Although the mixing of 70's/80's sound sometimes work (e.g. Bruno Mars's song "Treasure"), I think I prefer to dabble with the kick-heavy, synth-filled sound I hear today. 

They ask, what training to you go through to come up with these sounds? I say, listen. Listen. That's how I've always learned.