dec 23 2011
since the announcement of brillante mendoza’s new film (formerly titled PREY) CAPTIVE’s inclusion in the 2012 berlin international film festival main competition and having my photos properly credited on the local news (thanks, tv patrol), i reckon it safe to repost and make public this blog article on the film, posted february 15, 2011 😉 merry christmas and enjoy!
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here’s explaining my busy schedule for the last few months. carlo and i worked on brillante mendoza’s new opus PREY (international title CAPTURED), shot in january 2011. preparations took months and since november 2010 we’ve been going around the locations and meeting a lot with the director for this film. i had to stop doing tv commercials by december so i could focus on pre-production for the movie.
mon confiado evoking shawshank redemption in mauban quezon
i had to forgo a good amount of my christmas vacation and pretty much the new year’s celebration as well to work on the film. we started to shoot PREY by january 11, starting in calatagan batangas (which ive no photos of) then moved to mauban quezon.
early this week carlo and i headed to van gogh is bipolar to drop off some floral teas for jetro. it was around 9pm and since carlo and i havent had dinner, we decided to eat there. cuzin tricie was with us and would have joined us but had to attend to the mother so she left early. there were very few diners that night so it was a treat to find jetro relaxed and had time to sit and talk to us. it’s been a while since we were able to just sit and talk.
we tried his 3-course meal that night: virginia vegetable soup with pieces of shredded chicken and some beans, norwegian salmon belly with bowls of cabbage leaves filled with sting’s spicy marble potatoes (we opted for this instead of rice) and a slice of orange, mel gibson’s darkest sin and a refreshing cucumber tea with sprigs of tarragon and mint (see photo on left). a better lighted photo is posted below but we already dove into the drink, enjoying it like kids who picked on flowers and leaves from the backyard and mixed it up for a dare. sorry for the quality of the photos, had i known we were going back to van gogh and staying longer i would have brought my dslr (photos were taken with my phone cam).
we were already in high spirits finishing the soup when the main course arrived. it was overwhelming and i thought the only way i could deal with it was by eating with my fingers. and so i started picking on the cabbage leaves, the lettuce et. al. the downside to this was carlo and i werent speaking to each other because we were so engrossed with the food and the experience of eating it (we’re normally engaged in conversation while eating), though not entirely bad because we savored every aspect of the meal. and kudos to the well-cooked salmon belly, superb. there might be some truth in jetro’s diet since we were left heady and clearly stoked.
it’s no surprise we are fans of mel gibson’s darkest sin. jetro tells us he tweaked it since then but we still enjoyed it immensely– mel gibson’s darkest sin is a jägermeister shot with a chocolate bottom and finished off by a walnut. call it crazy, we call it love.
winding down, jetro mixed us a tea concoction and pulled out all the stops to setup the bed out in his garden with candles and lace table covers. we then chilled out under the stars and talked until midnight. we could live like this forever 🙂 jetro was kind enough to offer us a suggestion for our bluementritt cafe we couldnt resist. we’ll keep you guys posted. i marveled at the dill flowers blooming in jetro’s garden and asked for a few to bring home to mindanao for mom before we left the cafe.
van gogh remains a large part, jetro’s home and it really was just visiting an old friend and enjoying dinner with him. but more than anything, van gogh will always be that moment where life stands still long enough for you to reflect on it. this universe is always worth visiting, a necessary trip to discovering what you might just need to do and unravel things about yourself. over tea, childhood drinks and cabbage leaves.
alumni of st frederick from left: rj ledesma, arnold reyes, dimples romana, ina feleo, benjamin padero and carlo tabije. char lang
the film SENIOR YEAR that we shot last may is rated A by the cinema evaluation board! that means it gets a 100% tax rebate when it is shown in local theaters. im posting below the full review of the board lifted from director jerrold tarog’s tumblr. furthermore, SENIOR YEAR is one of the independent features to be screened during this december’s MMFF (metro manila film festival). that means two of the films i worked on as production designer is featured in that festival (shake rattle and roll XII and senior year). wohoo! have a merry christmas!
pogi, official mascot of the SENIOR YEAR shoot. photo by joseph pascual
Film Development Council of the Philippines
CINEMA EVALUATION BOARD
Summation of CEB members’ comments on “SENIOR YEAR” Grade: A Digitank Studios, Inc.
“SENIOR YEAR” is a refreshing and welcome departure from both the cotton candy romcoms churned out by mainstream cinema regularly as well as from the depressing poverty porn sometimes offered by the indies.
“Because of its imaginative, insightful and well-paced direction, intriguing characters and story structure, the film merits a clear `A.’” The film is “very, very good! It is simple and honest” like the graduation speech of the valedictorian, the film is not pretentious, nor over-reaching but just sincere in its quiet little space and in its intention and execution.
Of course, most of the credit goes to Director Jerrold Tarog who also wrote and edited the film; Tarog is also responsible for the overall sound design. His direction is called “superb as he has great mastery of his subject with effortless handling of his actors.”
The script is “well structured with praiseworthy attention to characters and with admirable avoidance of artistic pretensions.” A reviewer also commented that the “dialogue and characters are very natural.”
“The film captures the essence and vagaries of high school life and gives a taste of what may happen 12 – 14 years later.” Furthermore, the “screenplay captures the spirit and fun of the senior year” as well as the uncertainty and fears that are up ahead in college.
There are the usual nerds and wannabes, the usual bullies and their victims and the latter’s defenders. They are not portrayed as obligatory stereotypes though and this is what makes the seniors in the film interesting and endearing. Their back/home stories also vividly show the milieu the seniors are forced to sink or swim in. There are the heartbreaks from teen-age break-ups, college rejections and intram defeats and there are also successful physical and emotional make-overs. There are teachers who inspire and challenge and there are classmates who support and encourage but sometimes infuriate and meddle. The kids may not be as attractive or as airbrushed as the Glee cheerleaders; they are just the pimply, gangly and giddy teen-agers in the real world.
The editing is “sharp and competent as well as brisk and disciplined” though a couple of reviewers suggested a pruning of some scenes. Except for some scenes (the blurry footage from the actual intrams), the cinematography is considered “sharp and admirably controlled.”
The production design is “compatible with the theme and period covered.” The great attention to detail” is noted and praised.
“The music, like the other elements of the film, is both understated and worth listening to.” One CEB member says that the “musical score is provocative and aids in the plot development very well.”
Finally, it is the non-acting of the young non-actors that is the crowning glory of the film. The film boasts of “impressive, excellent and memorable repertory performances.” The performers are “natural, fresh, truthful and honest.” “Together with the professional actors who portray the teachers, the students provide a palpable sense of reality.”
To sum up, the following are some concluding comments from the Board:
“Congratulations for a very well-crafted film.”
“Snatches of high school life become a colorful tapestry of young lives at the brink of adulthood and the Director succeeds in conveying this essence to the screen.”
“Kudos should go Tarog and his young producer. Their film is a quiet but impressive feat.”
“May puso ang pelikula.”
“Love it!”
director jerrold tarog showing his true colors. me (145lbs heavy) in the background. photo by joseph pascual
SENIOR YEAR is written and directed by jerrold tarog. he also edited and scored the whole thing. cinematographer mackie galvez, prod design benjamin padero, assistant director bianca balbuena, sound nicholas varela with songs by johnoy, danao, executive producer beverly tanedo, produced by franco alido.
for screening schedules, please check here. click “like,” too! yey
We shot a film in may this year with the same motley crew of MANGATYANAN. i had the most fun working with jerrold tarog and his staff that i had to do his next feature.
SENIOR YEAR coming to you soon! 🙂 btw, the poster was designed by arnold arre (mythology class, martial law babies). more on this film later. yey!
photographs salvaged from the debris of the flood were left out to dry on clothes hangers. this collage welcomed us as we made our way into the house of my aunt in cainta on wednesday afternoon. my cousins and i came to cheer up the residents with cake and palabok, also since it was tito rene’s birthday. and there, fresh from a scrub of zonrox we stayed in the house eating and listening to stories of that trying saturday night when tita nida thought she’d be meeting God if the waters reached the ceiling.
got a text last night to let me know the full version of the san marino tvc will be airing at 9pm. the dingdong-marian ad was shot on location in zambales, particularly on camara island. wish theyd air a 45-seconder as the current version seems too short in fleshing out the telenovela-ish story.
for this ad, i worked on the set design mainly, dingdong and marian had their own respective stylists. the beach bar/deli shop was a joy to look at, and it got roughly 4 seconds of screen time (lalo na yung first 2 frames of house interiors with about a second each hehe). here’s posting more photos during the shoot. kudos to the artdep lolafer, carlo, syrel, ivan and to buboy setman and his boys for a job well done. yey! more photos after the jump.
worked on this nestle milo ad a few months back. i dont know if it was screened extensively on tv. the texture is nice and i like the soundtrack 🙂 artdep were lolafer and chantel plus ivan, setman buboy. cheers!
oh yes! FINALLY a video of the gatorade propel arnis tvc we worked on is up. got the vid from effie go (makeup) who i believe got it from jem lim (producer). and now it’s on youtube courtesy of moi haha cheers and here’s to a more active life! what if you could defend your body against toxins and illnesses just by drinking water?
CLIENT: Pepsi Co Phils
AGENCY: DDB
PROD HOUSE: Revolver Studios
DIRECTOR: A/F Benaza
DOP: Odyssey Flores
PD: Benjamin Padero
COSTUME: Carlo Tabije
ARTDEPT: Fer Galindez, Harley Alcasid, Buboy Crauz (setman)
we shot a jollibee ad a few months ago for the new champ burger (1/3 pounds, bigger than a quarter pounder! haha). i asked the services of talented brothers carlo & angelo tabije to help paint a backdrop for the product. they made me 2 8′x8′ panels in jollibee orange colors all in one afternoon. this commercial featured joem bascon eating burgers in the last 5 seconds of the ad. the photo above were those prepared for him to bite into. every take, they had to replace the burger with a new one. after the shoot they were carted off… i dont know where. and i didnt even get to eat even a bit of bacon (from the bacon and cheese burger on their menu) 😦
love the set design i made for this meralco ad. this was actually a sequel to the butiki tvc meralco produced months before (see photo right). director eric matti discussed with me that he wanted the living room to be textured, a bit like amelie (that french movie that rocked the world in 2001). of course considering that this is in the pinas, i figured we’d do amelie in balara. and what an exciting combination that was 😀
benjamin padero 
