Day 60. First cuts

First cuts of both shorts came in today. I had both my editors do their own versions of the story, with my input later on.

Connie came first. Lawrence Ang, editor of Tribu and eventual editor of my full-length Baby Angelo did Connie. Strangely enough I was nervous. Had to take two shots of brandy which were somewhere in the back of the office before I sat down to watch, and again after watching the cut. The cut was 20 minutes, longer than I wanted it to be. Lawrence did a good job. Did brash cuts that I would’ve otherwise not been able to do, including excising an entire scene in an already short movie. The cut was based on his understanding on the script; though he did a great job I felt that the Connie character got a bit diluted. A quick explanation though and he got it right away. Love that guy.

Still nervous when Mario Cornejo, director and editor of Big Time, came with his cut of Sammy and Felipe. Mario even put in music. The cut was great as well; the guy knows how to tell a story (syempre). I even liked the music. As with Connie some fine-tuning needed to be done, but otherwise, fantastic.

This was a good day. I loved both movies. I felt I succeeded in telling two very different stories stemming from one encounter. Yehey.

Day 41 and 43. Connie shoot

Connie is the spin-off story, based on a few passages in the original Dalisay story. I wanted the two films to be completely different from each other. I hired a different creative staff, and insisted that they not read the Sammy and Felipe script, or look at the rushes. As a result there were major differences in treatment; even some of the details such as costume and location.

Connie is reminiscent of my first (or third, depending on how you look at it) short film Mansyon, in that it deals with a woman protagonist occupying 100% of the film, of her sorting herself out; or in this film, avoiding it. Lui, the lead, brought a quaking stillness to her character; many times it looks like she’d lose it but she doesn’t. The film is all about the walls we build around ourselves, huge high ones that seem impenetrable, but can at any given moment come crashing down.

Both days turned out to be 24-hour days. Day 1 was at Connie’s house, which was at the basement level of a huge, abandoned house supplied by my producer’s friend. I thought the strange architecture added to the claustrophobic feel of the movie; it being a basement the ceilings were much lower than usual.

Connie and Julie (played by Sigrid, doubling as AD)

We did good time, I thought; but we ended up at 7 am anyway. And the last scene of the day was the most difficult: the opening sequence which required us to be locked up in the bathroom, Lui’s howls echoing in the small, cramped room.

a different mood for Connie

Day 2 was back at the funeral parlor. 70% of the film happens here. mostly with Connie bouncing around the empty parlor. We spent most of our time doing the scenes wherein the three characters finally meet.

Lui, Paulken and Randy essentially acted the same scene with a different staff; the same lines with the point of view of Connie.

DOP Alma dela Pena, my frequent collaborator …

…and her butt.

Shooting at a funeral parlor had its drawbacks. Luckily in our entire floor only one other chapel was occupied. At around 11 pm, one of the mourners banged his head, then his body against a sliding door, insisting he could see his dead grandmother. Paulken started shaking. I had to convince him that the guy was high, unfortunately he didn’t understand what that meant.

Lounging around.

Lanterns are back. Cristina our PD in the foreground.

Paulken finally gave out an hour before his scene wrapped, who could blame him, he’d been shooting for us for four days and he’s eleven years old. DOLE would burn our office down. Randy was also dead, it was 2 am and he couldn’t keep the red out of his eyes; good thing that the scene he was shooting actually happened at 2 in the morning.

lasponggol!

The cast and crew of Connie. Well those who were up anyway.

Despite all efforts we packed up at 7 am again. Now it’s off to the editors, Mario Cornejo for Sammy and Lawrence Ang for Connie.

Day 36. Shooting Day 3

Pivotal moment: our three main characters come crashing into each other. This is the last day of the Sammy story. The next two shooting days will be the spinoff story Connie.

We’re shooting the one common scene both shorts have today. The team(s) decided to act independently of each other, I told both art departments to have their own rendition of the scene. Hence, the funeral parlor scene in Sammy is brighter, and the Connie character, not so grave.

Lanterns go a long way

Because we were working on a shoestring budget, our main lights were Japanese lanterns. Neil the DOP was very fast and worked well with the lights.

Niv, D and Mai

The “big” scene in the film is the gamblers outside the funeral parlor, which we populated with bored mourners from the neighboring chapels and friends, like the three above.

My attempt at storyboarding

Paulken as Sammy

Day 34. Workshop, part 2

Another workshop today, this time to do the pivotal scene between our heroes and the eccentric old lady they meet: Connie.

Connie is played by the great actor Lui Manansala, and her audition blew me away. Connie is a supporting character in Sammy and Felipe, but is the star in her own short. Ten minutes, all on her. It’s a lot like Mansyon in some ways, but I assure you it’s different.

Lui is beautiful. Her skin is soft and betrays none of her age, which will remain a secret. Connie the character is not that old but the years have been unkind to her, which is a minor problem with this beautiful woman portraying her. But her performance, even in the little workshop that we did- astounding.

I love women. So complex, with deep wells inside them that no man, or person, can’t fathom. For me they’re a puzzle; though I’m surrounded by them, I will never figure them out. For the rest of my career, I think my films will be about them. And the effect they have in the men in their lives. That includes me.

Lui doesn’t want to overthink her role, she wants to feel it. Exactly the way I want it. A brief explanation of the story and the character was enough for her. I can’t wait til we start shooting.

Meanwhile, my AD Bombi had to quit for personal reasons and Sig Bernardo has graciously stepped up to the role. She also plays a minor character in Connie, which is a plus. Paulken and Randy rehearse their scene with Lui, and though Lui says only a few lines, she grounds the scene, anchors it deep into the ground from a place of respect, love, and not a little bit of pain.

You’ll understand more when you see the movie. I for one, can’t wait til Saturday, when we finish the first short and begin the second.

A vacation from my vacation

Too much partying happened this season. I really wanted to just lay in bed, watch one Kim Ki Duk and the two Apichatpongs I was able to find, and just absorb. Instead, I was either drunk or recovering from being drunk for most of the days.

Now it’s back to work and I’m still tired.

Tamaaaaad.

Tamaaaad.

Tamaaad.

The only exciting thing that happened today is the workshop we did for the shorts.