Capsulized in One Team, One Documentary, One Production

I was walking along the red carpet. There was a photo booth where a photographer would take a picture of each attendee. I had a photo opportunity with my friends, then headed to the banquet hall. Classy stage, beautiful lights, stunning ladies, handsome men, and one big screen came into view. The ambiance was so inviting and comfy, yet nervousness was prevailing. The most awaited day had come. In my mind, "Will we go home with trophies? Or we will go home crying?"

Mass Communication students from all the campuses of CEU, were there wearing their best attire. I was looking for my teammates and saw no one. I accidentally eyed 5 reserved seats with "Sigaw ng Marilao" sticker on their backs. I sat on the second one. While waiting for my teammates, all experiences popped into my mind...


*FLASHBACK*


I could still remember our first T.V. Production class with Director Ed Villarante. After long introduction of the subject and himself, he divided us into 4 groups that filled the 4 categories at the same time. Categories were documentary, talk show, news, and feature. We would not compete with each other, but with all the MassCom juniors of CEU Makati and Mendiola. So for sure, we would be supporting each other. :-)

At first, of course, everyone wanted to be on his/her own circle of friends. But Director Ed quoted this "Hindi masaya ang production kung walang bida at kontrabida. (Production is joyless if there are no heroes and villain." He explained, in real industry, you could not choose people you want to work with. We would be dealing with different personalities, so having pigheaded colleague is inevitable.

Luckily, I was added to a group of responsible students. Here are the members:
~Pia Jeanne Teaño
~Avery De Castro
~Heart Yapcoy
~Halley Ferrer
~Annizah Camid
~Melo Del Rosario


Since day one, I never had an apprehension on their part concerning our production. Simply because I have worked with them for several times and they were able to prove their trustworthiness. They are 2-5 years older than me. In spite of being the youngest among us, they never underestimated my capability. They never made me feel that I'd be worthless due to my age and little experience. They were my big sis throughout the production.


We haply picked the documentary category. Brain storming, conceptualizing, & researching were conducted. We did our best, yet criticisms would always kick in...


Our first concept was about dwelling place of ordinary and needy people and Manila was the target. However, when the deadline was announced, we realized that we would not make it. 3-week preparation wasn't enough to finish one high quality film. And so we opted to change the concept which was easier and could be found in close vicinity. It was about the life of a street vendor. We casted around Malolos, Bulacan looking for vendors and some officials who were willing to be interviewed. Shooting and interview were scheduled.


A day after the 2-day groundwork, we went to school for class and only to hear criticisms about our concept. Well, criticisms are ubiquitous. It's up to a person how he handles it. Disappointment and hurt were felt in the beginning. Nevertheless, we took it as a challenge. We just thought, maybe they were right. We had to think of a more meaningful concept. Brainstorming was carried out again at the last minute. This time, Kuya Paolo Mariano (our classmate and a good friend) suggested the Marilao river which is the current world's 3rd dirtiest river and was added to Guinness World Records. Sounds interesting, right? We sensed that too. [insert wicked grin here] Imagine, out of all the rivers on earth, the 3rd's dirtiest one could be found in our country. We instantly said yes.


We made a research about the subject for one night, looked for interviewees and visited the river for one day, shot scenes for two days, composed the matrix for a night, and edited the film for almost 24 hours. Distressing indeed! [sighs] After which, we came up with a title "SIGAW NG MARILAO".


We passed our entry on time without an expectation of winning. What mattered most was we completed all the requirements for the competition and for our midterm.


Viewing of all entries happened within 2 days. On its first day, positive feedbacks about our documentary were heard. It is very flattering to be spoken about like that. The next day someone uttered this "It was just a high-definition film". And we didn't care. At least, we managed and afforded to create high definition motion picture. Lolz!


February 12 was the big night. Prior to that, everyone was jittery regarding the result of winners and at the same time, busy prepping outfits to be worn on the awards night. Black & White Old Hollywood was the theme.


*END OF FLASHBACK*

Suddenly, somebody nudged me. It was my teammate. Reminiscing was stopped and I came back to reality. After a while, the program started.


Invocation, opening remarks, and stuff took the lead. We wanted to hear the winners, scared and nervous though. We were like "C'mon! Announce the winners NOW." Until awarding for news category began. Documentary would be the last. We cheered for our classmates, the representatives of CEU Malolos. Sections from Mendiola and Makati were doing the same thing. Hence, the event seemed to be a SportsFest. Our classmates bagged awards and became one of the best in their particular division. 'Til our turn came...


It was funny to hear opponents screaming our documentary title. There was one guy from CEU Mendiola and from other docu team who told me Sigaw ng Marilao would hit all the awards. I humbly said no. We wouldn't want to expect because everyone did his/her best.


But he had spoken with an angel's tongue. :-) We bagged most of the awards...

• Best Host
• Best Values-Oriented award
• Best in Videography
• Best Script
• Best Director - 1st runner up
• Best Documentary - 1st runner up

And the best-est, biggest, and grandest award we received was the "BEST TV PRODUCTION". This only means out of all the films from all the categories, our film got the potential and qualification to be aired on national television. A must air on national TV! :-)

CEU Malolos got the Silver Over-all Major Award. The Gold and Bronze awards went to 3A and 3B sections of CEU Mendiola.

I also want to share this, as it can be listed on one of my unforgettable and happiest moments. I was chosen as "Female Best Dressed" while my gay friend, Rhian, had the award for male category. And I didn't expect this award because all ladies that night were so beautiful and posh. One more thing, I stumbled on stage because I accidentally stepped the long lace at the back of my rig. For real! Everyone reacted. Good thing I was able to redeem myself, stood up, and elegantly took a bow up on the stage. So who would think that I could be the best dressed? Honestly, I didn't feel embarrassed, in fact I had fun! :-) My friends even told me they considered it cute, especially after bowing like a princess. Hahaha...

After the event, we immensely felt grateful, blessed, and proud of ourselves. Tiredness, big expenses, criticisms, wakeful nights - Everything was worth it!

This experience was amazing! Not just because of the trophies and recognition we attained, but the experience itself. We learned how to apply our knowledge about broadcast media through formulating production and motion pictures. We were able to build friendship among our fellow Escolarians, not just inside our campus, but on other two campuses also. The importance of cooperation and time would stay in our minds. And love for our job grew bigger.

So from the bottom of my heart, I would like to thank these people for supporting our team...

• our videographers - Kuya Aavron, Kuya Anchito, & Mak
• classmates
• professors/advisers
• people from the municipality of Marilao
• friends
• family

And of course to Almighty Allah. Alhamdullilah! :-)