allOrange Films

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2009-05-19T10:00:00.001+10:00

@allorange.

That is all.

2009-03-25T23:09:00.003+11:00

Alright then, The Last One is off to the races. Today I filled out seven film festival forms, sent them off, then leaned back in my office chair and slowly wept as I saw the total amount debited from my credit card.

And so begins the cycle of press kits and entry forms, of filling out director bios and daily trips to the post office . Submitting to film festivals almost feels like gambling to me- you hurl a massive amount of cash on the table and see if the cards go your way. As much as I'd be happy to just manually burn DVDs and hand them out to friends, common sense (as well as my inner producer) always whacks me on the head on that one. Why take great pains to make a film if you don't make the same effort to show it to the world? Granted, there are a lot of films out there that should never leave the safe circle of biased friends and blinded family. As a former festival director myself I have been subjected to the good, the bad, and the what the fuck were they thinking?

I'd like to think my film is good. Definitely not bad. And even if it was shot more than a year ago, I still think I knew what I was doing. To be honest, I've seen the cut so many times I don't know what to think of it anymore. That's when I knew it was time to just stop over-analyzing, and just get the damn thing out and while people are leaving the theatre and debating amongst themselves whether they liked it or not, I've moved on to the next one. And yes, I do have a next one...and a two...even a three. You always gotta have a 'so what's next?' answer up your sleeve. And I'm pleased to say I have 'em.

Modern Filmmaker Battleplan- use the web more than ever to promote your film. It's cheap (mostly free), and extends to the far reaches of the planet. On occasion some cool site will gladly spare some bandwidth for you. Like so.

*Thanks to Simon de Bruyn from Inside Film for bugging Enzo to make this happen.

So naturally all TLO-related web presence begins with this blog. Hopefully as good news (and what the hell, even the bad, I shouldn't discriminate) trickles in, I shall crow about it here.

Enzo has been bugging me to get on Twitter. To that I say Aaaaaarghhh...is Facebook not enough? I mean, I've just barely completed The Last One's MySpace page and already it's yesterday's news. Or, "so Friendster" as a workmate would say. Yes, everyone in my office is tweeting too. At some point I know I probably will because I'm too much of a techy bandwagon slut to not jump on. But at the moment it's just another thing to get cross-eyed with on my iPhone while I'm riding the train. And it's so much more filmmaker-y to look around, observe people, their looks, their mannerisms, their...goddammit they're all Twittering.

2009-01-26T23:17:00.002+11:00

I wish there were more three-day weekends. Then there wouldn't be that looming sense of doom on Sunday to go back to work the following day, and Mondays wouldn't be as reviled as it usually is on a normal work week.

I unleashed my inner jock this Australia Day weekend. Played 27 holes of golf, did some laps in the pool, hiked the Spit-to-Manly trail (half of it at least), went fishing and lost all my bait to the annoying juvenile nibbler fish that were too small to hook, and played some tennis.

After waking up for two straight days at the crack of dawn to play golf (a newfound addiction which probably merits its own entry soon), I slept in today and woke up feeling more aligned then I've ever been this year. I felt good. Rested.

Refuse to Lose.

2009-01-23T13:02:00.006+11:00

I refuse to succumb to all this Mercury-is-in-retrograde stuff. Granted, 2009 does seem to be starting a little sluggishly- from a mental and emotional standpoint I don't seem as sharp as I was last year, and the fact that I've been waking up with a stiff neck every morning doesn't help (but I'll blame that on spinal rather than planetary misalignment).

I could choose to accept this cosmic imbalance and make it the perfect excuse to just coast through till Mercury behaves again (which coincidentally, is on Valentine's Day). But thankfully I've been ignoring that urge and adjusting my psyche on a daily basis.

If I wake up feeling particularly chipper I'll go on a limb and give myself a lot of things to do that day and set about finishing them all. If I wake up feeling lazy and slow I'll start off by setting smaller goals for myself, while still aiming towards the bigger picture.

An example:

Good Mood Day - Goals: Write 5 pages of script, finish edits one hour earlier, do the laundry.

Shitty-Ass Day - Goals: Remember to eat breakfast, write something- anything, and do the laundry.

The lesson? You will have good days and you will have bad days, but you will always need clean underwear.

One of the things that helps me at the start of each day as well is to give a quick non-verbal thanks to things and persons I am fortunate to have. Being grateful for the things I already have makes me realize that whatever troubles me on that particular day isn't as grave as I might think.

Here is how my thought process usually goes, whilst riding the 8:30 shuttle that takes me to Strathfield Station:

Problem thought: "Goddamn, I hate taking this trip. I'm sitting next to the guy with B.O. again. Now his smell might permeate onto me and I'll get to work and my workmates might think I have B.O. and I'll never get my permanent visa sponsored now on the basis that I have B.O."

Grateful thought: "I'm grateful for the fact that I have a job, one that is cool enough to allow me to wear my B.A. Baracus 'I Pity The Fool' T-shirt to work."

So, B.A. over B.O. anyday.

Another:

Problem thought: "My car window won't open again. Plus there's birdshit smeared all over it."

Grateful thought: "That same birdshit-smeared electronic-malfunctioning car worked well enough to haul you and your crew to the beach last weekend."

And finally:

Problem: "I look like crap today."

Grateful: "You just said bye to your girlfriend who is hot enough for the both of you. Now quit whingeing and get your day happening."

So for those of you who've been waking up feeling the side-effects of this cosmic crunch, I say refuse to lose. Battle through doubt, wake up with your proverbial guns blazing, scull down a glass of water, and get through the day by being grateful that you're alive.

Happy Two Thousand and Mine everyone.

I know, I know...

2008-10-16T23:38:00.002+11:00

Nearly four months without a single post. Shameful.

Lots coming soon. I promise.

How cryptic!

2008-06-30T00:08:00.003+10:00

Just came back from a film-scoring session with Anthony, our composer for The Last One. Anthony lives far from Sydney, in a lovely farm house surrounded by acres and acres of shrubbery (Anthony bluntly calls them 'weeds'). We had a very effective session despite me getting lost and taking two hours to get to the place. The music is shaping up very nicely. We are trying our best to veer away from the typical orchestral Hollywood score and I think Anthony's accomplishing that.

After our session ended I entered my car and realized that there was not a single light around. Not for at least a mile. As a result, the night sky was amazingly clear, I'd never seen so many stars in my life. I swear I would've stayed and stared longer, but the cold was seeping quickly through my hoodie and the growing fog around my feet conjured up images of a faceless lady running dementedly towards me.

The drive home was pretty quick.

Behind The Scenes, Part 1.

2008-06-03T10:20:00.002+10:00

Producer Luke Torrevillas speaks:

Stay tuned for more behind-the-scenes videos.

BMX Bandit

2008-05-24T21:51:00.003+10:00

Greetings from Mount Beauty, Victoria. Whoever named this place Mount Beauty was stating the obvious because the place is just that- a small valley town (population 2,300 says the Welcome sign) nestled amidst a mountain range. The number of ski shops indicate snow action in the winter and I would love to come here again when that happens.

I'm here covering the Red Bull Dirt Pipe event, and while the 20-hour shoot-then-edit-onsite days have been grueling, it's a welcome change from the usual corporate talking head stuff I usually do. Doing this shoot has taken me back to both my BMX childhood and my Gameplan producer days and I find myself wishing I had been fortunate enough to have filmed these BMX riders then because these guys are just sick- launching themselves off of dirt jumps and doing stuff I've only seen in my old Betamax copy of Rad. Yes, they do get that high up there. It's insane. Some screen grabs:

The past two days have been the practice runs and tomorrow is the actual event. According to one of the organisers, the riders have been "holding back" and "wait till you see the shit they're gonna be doing tomorrow." Can't wait.

Made the Grade

2008-05-08T23:17:00.004+10:00

After what's been quite an arduous slog, the colour grade for The Last One is finally done. When i was writing the film I was very set on how I wanted the film to look. I wanted to avoid Matrix green since that palette's been pretty much done to death and instead I opted to rely mainly on two primary light sources- street lamps and moonlight. As a result the film is both amber and blue, punctuated with high contrast daytime scenes to further emphasize the difference between the scenes set in the present and the flashbacks. I'd like to take more credit for how lovely the shots look, but really, it's Fung's mad skills with the camera that got the film looking the way it does.

Some screen caps:

Many thanks to Yoomin Lee from The Lab for doing the grade and making Fung's shots look even better.

Almost there, almost there!

Me Wiki

2008-05-07T23:24:00.002+10:00

How bizarre! For some reason I'm on Wikipedia and whoever put me on there got my birthday wrong. Don't they know that there is no way I would ever allow myself to be born so close to Christmas and therefore run the risk of receiving two-in-one gifts from people? Never!

2008-04-29T19:45:00.004+10:00

Here's me killing time at the office, waiting for Cat and Ger to pick me up after their dance class...

Had a 12-hour shoot today shooting several corpies in front of a green screen. It's always a trip doing green screen work although it's something I don't think I will ever hang my hat on as a filmmaker. Put it this way, which is far more impressive: the CGI backgrounds of The Phantom Menace, or the intricate hand-built sets of Empire Strikes Back?

In between takes I rolled down the blinds and stared out at the view of Darling Harbour and beyond. After weeks and weeks spending hours squinting at a computer screen, it felt good to train my eyes to see 'far' again.

Why is Sydney so mind-numbingly cold? In April?

I need a new coat, but currently cannot afford it. Will depend on Gabbi's generous offer to buy me one.

It does pay to blog about your birthday wishlist! Last Monday (my birthday), my ever so loyal friends got me a shitload of stuff- tools for my car mainly and most especially, a bad ass flashlight. It was so bad ass I actually crawled underneath my car and shone the light on the chassis, just because I could.

I love how my current barkada situation almost feels like an episode of How I Met Your Mother.

It's really pathetic that my only source of NBA action is via Gamecast on ESPN. Seriously, nobody in Australia cares about the tantalizing possibility of a Lakers - Celtics Final. No one.

Apparently I ate someone else's cereal at the office, which I thought was mine. Whoops.

Showed Cat a cut of The Last One last night, and she liked it. But then again, girlfriends are supposed to, right? Looked down at my hands this morning and discovered that my left thumbnail had been totally chewed out. If I was that nervous showing my film in front of one person, I can only imagine my mental state when I finally screen it to everyone.

Every year I've had a constant tradition of teaching myself a new physical skill- I've gone from rock climbing to downhill mountain biking to Ultimate frisbee. For 2008, it's been poi. It's good fun and an awesome arm workout. Once you get past the initial stage of getting smacked in the nuts and eventually find your groove, it's incredibly addicting. Who knows, I may someday get good enough to do it- drumroll please...shirtless. Wooh.

(It helps that I have a good teacher by the way.)

Some portraits I've taken recently...

2008-04-27T19:46:00.002+10:00

Inaki

Ala

Cat

My Birthday Wishlist

2008-04-18T10:32:00.008+10:00

There was a point in my life where I stopped wanting things for my birthday. Or at least, stopped publicly declaring that I wanted things. I guess my conscience deemed the act too selfish, too materialistic, and despite my best efforts to shoo those thoughts away, they always prevailed.

As a result, I hardly ever got gifts. I became known as The Guy You Don't Have To Get A Present For Because A Simple Text Makes Him Happy.

Well screw that. As I inch towards my mid-30s this year, I realize that I am slowly sailing towards the Realm of Old Age, and it's a proven fact that old people don't get gifts at all. I think this is because old people prefer to forget their birthdays because they think acknowledging it validates how old they really are, and that's a depressing thing.

You see it's like this- when we're young, we can't wait to get older: "Man, I can't wait to turn 18 so I can drink and smoke and be as cool as Corey Haim in License To Drive."

And then it's "Man, I can't wait to be in my twenties so that I can stay out all night and have my own place and not have to have sex in a parked car anymore."

As a result, we eagerly look forward to our birthdays, celebrating each bash with style and aplomb, possibly even throwing in a few costume parties in between. What better way to announce to the world that we're young, hot, and paychecked than by ledge dancing in a toga outfit in front of 300 of our closest friends?

Then we hit 25 and suddenly we're like "Waaaaitaminute. In five years I'll be THIRTY? SHIT." The panic that ensues results in us spending our birthdays "quietly", usually an "intimate dinner" with 2 of our closest friends (who are often the same age and thus feel our pain). It's almost as if by celebrating quietly, the world won't notice and will always remember the legendary 24-year old toga-clad ledge dancing you.

I used to have this mentality till I spent my 30th birthday on a plane. Alone, en route back to Manila to deal with some very sad news. On that trip, I thought about how trivial my birthday was that day in the current scheme of things. It was, at that moment, just another day and I didn't mind at all if people forgot to greet me.

But when I got home, I was immediately approached by my family with a hug and a "happy birthday Carl." While I did not receive a single present that day, the best gift was being in the presence of people I loved. Despite all the turmoil that clouded that entire week, I still had people who remembered me on the day I was born.

Ironically, it took the passing of someone to make me really value the importance of celebrating my day of birth, and celebrating life as a whole. As we get older, we are so afraid of aging that we forget to live, and it doesn't have to be that way.

And so, on the year I turn 33 (look how fearless I've said it), I choose to spend the day with the people closest to me. I want it to be a good day, and I know it will be regardless of what the weather outside is like. Typhoon Milenyo could suddenly appear over Homebush Bay and it wouldn't matter because I will be with people who value me and put up with my jokes and love me enough to tell me that my lamb roast rocked even if it really didn't.

And, with fingers crossed, here's what I am hoping they will get me, because I now believe that once a year, it's perfectly okay to be selfish:

1) A pair of sunnies, since I lost mine in a cab recently. That stung because it is extremely difficult to find shades that match my abnormally small elf-like face.

2) Jeans. Two pairs of dark, nice-fitting jeans. No skinny jeans please, as I am too bow-legged and too happy to look emo.

3) A nice pair of leather shoes. Because I think that maybe if I wear them with item number 2, I might finally look decent enough to get into some proper clubs.

4) A new lens for my camera. My 18-200mm is currently out of commission thanks to a large dose of Port Stephens sand.

5) A new winter coat- I have been using the same coat for so long that it was in fashion, went out of fashion, and is now back in style again. Nevertheless, I think I need a new one.

6) A Wii- What better way to emphasize my alpha male status at home than by punishing my housemates repeatedly in Wii Tennis?

7) An iPhone. I don't really need one, but as a Mac whore, this is my current default lust gadget.

8) Things for my car. Ah yes. My new (second hand) car, who I have affectionately named Tonks (short for Tonka). I never used to be a "car guy" but in a karmic twist of fate I am now as obsessed with my ride as much as the gearheads I used to ridicule. It must be the novelty of finally owning a car again after four long years. In any case, I like being a Car Guy. And so for Tonks I would like:

A pair of subwoofers, and I need this ASAP, while the Boots With The Furrrr song is still relevant.

A GPS- because the sound of a robotic female voice telling you where to go is kinda hot.

A lifetime supply of Hungry Hippos- It's no joke getting a 17-year old car smelling like new again. After countless hours vacuuming and spraying and scrubbing, I've finally gotten Tonks to not smell like a damp foot, and I have every intention of keeping it that way. So, those fantastic odour eaters would be a very welcome gift.

Tools- every man's car needs a tool kit. We may not ever know the purpose of a 3/4" Sprocket Wrench, but at least we have that peace of mind driving down the highway that in the back seat, we do have a 3/4" Sprocket Wrench.

A bad ass flashlight- The uses of a flashlight in a man's car are infinite. We can search for things that we've dropped under the seats, signal to other drivers to let us know we've stalled, but most importantly, we can use the flashlight to make it seem like we actually know what we're doing when we open the hood and try to figure out what's wrong. Whether or not we can fix it doesn't matter, because by then we would have impressed the girls enough. An example:

An empty cold desert highway. Night. Carl is driving Tonks when suddenly, it stalls noisily and comes to a complete stop. Carl and Bryan step out, looking concerned. Bryan pops the hood and smoke billows out. In the distance, a dingo howls.

Monica (from the back seat): Oh no, we're miles away from the nearest town. What are we going to do?

Cat: Relax Mon. The guys have got it covered.

Monica: What makes you say that?

Cat: Because they've got...flashlights.

On cue, Carl and Bry switch on their flashlights and begin pointing at random stuff.

Carl: So what do we do?

Bry: I dunno man. Just keep pointing.

Carl: Okay. (Pause) So do you think we need the 3/4" Sprocket Wrench?

The End.

So this is how I spent my Easter weekend...

2008-03-31T22:44:00.006+11:00

No amount of words can describe the experience so I'll let some pictures do the talking:

Fire.

Sky.

Warmth.

Friends.

Love.

With all that, you could pretty much say we saw the Light. :)

Random thoughts on a Friday night

2008-03-07T20:22:00.004+11:00

I'm sitting on the living room couch, listening to Marley fill the room, the reggae perfectly matching the fried bangus Migs is cooking in the kitchen. It's pouring outside now, and for the first time in a long time I don't curse the weather because the rain gods have blessed me with enough sunny days in the past couple of weeks and made them days that really mattered.

Trips to Bondi. Barbies galore. Camping at The Basin. Good times all around.

I have officially settled in my new place with Pete and Migs. The house has long lost its fresh carpet shampoo scent and has taken on a fragrant mix of food, laundry soap, and sweaty tennis shoes. By no means are we living in a sty, but finally the place looks and feels lived in.

Haven't had much work the past two weeks but it almost feels like it's a sign telling me that it's okay to slow down once in awhile. As a result, stepping back from my corporate job has allowed me to allot more mental energy into my personal stuff, and as a result the proverbial ideas bank has been filling up. I always knew 2008 was going to be good year for me, but I didn't know it was going to be this good.

Bottom line, I am the happiest I've been in a long long time and what's scary is that it just seems like it's going to get better. :)

Yes, that was a smiley face. That's how happy I am goddammit.

2008-02-19T23:03:00.005+11:00

The time has come for me to finally get a car. Nothing flash, although for a time I had a Honda Type R Civic as my desktop wallpaper. Since I used to live in the city I needed a tiny, squat car that could fit into the smallest of spaces. Now that I'm out West (although not quite the fooly sick West), I can afford to get something bigger. Something that harkens back to my Bacolod years. Something that will fit my rapidly growing entourage and all our sporting paraphernalia. Something that's beauty and beast rolled in one, a multi-tasking mobile that can haul a film crew up a mountain one day and rock me and my date up to the Hilton the next.

Who am I kidding, give me something that won't die on me in the M4 in the middle of the night and I'm a happy man.

Am hitting the used car dealerships this weekend and it should be interesting to see if these salesmen are exactly the same as those clichéd characters you see in movies- loud suits, dripping pomade and charm. Since I can't haggle for shit and pretty much know nothing about cars, I'll get Pete to come along with me to inspect and bargain. The problem is, he drives a Mercedes, which would quite possibly give the impression that we were rolling in dough. So, I'll take Miguel too, in his more subtle looking RAV 4, and he can lean on the bonnet and look intimidating and hopefully scare the dealer to giving us 50% off. If those tactics don't work then I can always bring along Ala and Cat to bat their eyelashes and smile a little bit.

I wonder what car will "choose me?"

2008-02-18T23:57:00.003+11:00

Afternoon rush hour. On the train, watching people.

How great would it be to get paid to do a job you actually love doing? To not have to settle and be status quo?

I look at the slumped figures all around me, how grey their skin looks and how they purposely avoid eye contact with each other, their brows furrowed as they shuffle their iPods or tuck into a game of sudoku . I wonder why they (me) do this. Are we so burnt out from dealing and wheeling and answering and asking in the previous 8 hours that we can't manage to hold a conversation with a random stranger anymore?

How great would it be to have a job that makes you so happy that you're still smiling on the train ride home?

Moving Out And Moving On.

2008-02-12T23:57:00.000+11:00

For the very first time in my life I am co-existing with two housemates, in a 3-bedroom apartment in Homebush Bay, totally contradicting my sworn oath to never live outside the City. I can’t really fault myself much, after all, it was the rising rent of my old flat that drove me out West.

I am sad to have left the City, especially the area which I lived in which was right smack in the center of Potts Point and King’s Cross, the most curious example of the posh and dodgy coexisting peacefully within meters of each other. For the past three years and a half I have called that place home and while I had my gripes about it, most especially living right next to a homeless shelter and all its loud, bickering tenants, I can truly say that the warm memories far outweigh the horrible ones. And thinking hard about it, I find myself missing things I didn’t expect I would.

I’ll miss the random, familiar faces of people who’s names I never bothered to learn: the Thai hooker who used to actually be cute but is now toothless and drugged out, the biker dudes who have coffee in the tiny café along the strip, the warring bouncers who shout insults at each other and brag about how their strippers are hotter than the others.

I’ll miss the smell of the fresh waffle cones from the ice cream shop.

I’ll miss being so close to the train station. Because of it, I never had the need for a car. Now, it seems a foregone conclusion that some wheels are in order.

I still haven’t figured out where I am going to get a haircut because Jenny, the Chinese lady who knew how to cut my thick-ass Asian hair, is all the way back there. As a result I wonder about Mr. Gosling, the crusty old barber who could care less about race and would literally just butcher me with a Number 5 razor each time. Nevertheless, he was part of the inspiration behind my film The Haircut.

I’ll especially miss Rushcutter’s Bay Park, where every afternoon Mel and I would go for a run and a throw and watch in envy as the people with dogs would arrive at 4pm and we would get our dog fix by trying to pet them.

I’ll miss the feeling of belonging, even in a place as slummy as the Cross. I liked the fact that as time wore on I could make my way home with nary an ounce of caution, simply because as I had recognised the Cross’ inhabitants, I’m sure they in turn had recognised me, not by name, but by face, the dark-haired kid whizzing past on his scooter or walking home at midnight every Thursday lugging muddy football cleats. In my years in the Cross I have never been mugged, beat up, or harassed; the closest thing to danger I ever got was being propositioned by Sally the 60-year old prostitute.

And so I find myself writing this now, in an apartment an hour away from the hustle and bustle of what I used to call my neighbourhood, and while I am loving the fresh air and clear skies and the blissful silence I get every night, I know I will find myself longing for the madness of the city every once in awhile, especially now more than ever, when the possibility of new memories await.

1:52 AM...

2008-01-24T01:51:00.000+11:00

I'm looking out my window and for the first time in two weeks, I see stars.

2008-01-19T00:35:00.000+11:00

2008 will be a year of balance. Change. More good times than bad.

And hopefully a lot less fucking rain.

2007-12-24T01:32:00.000+11:00

Been in Manila for over a week now and it's been grand seeing old friends, bonding with new members of my family (my 2 month old niece), and generally testing the limits of my liver by drinking a fair bit. My attempts at trying to stay in shape have been futile, and I'm dreading going back to League next month and getting killed by everyone on the field.

I'll make this blog entry short as I have some serious catching up sleep to do. For those of you who've been asking about the Nike My Game DVD, head on over to your local Nike store and get one for FREE.

The surefire place to get 'em would be the massive Nike store at Serendra in the Fort. I entered there today and was surprised to see my film playing on the plasma, and kilig that most of the shoppers had stopped what they were doing and were watching it.

So go get the DVD while supplies last!

2007-11-29T00:12:00.000+11:00

What music comes to mind when you see the picture above?

Picture's locked off, now on to music and sound, then grading. Man I've been on this project for ages now.

2007-11-17T09:44:00.001+11:00

Hey guys, if you are in Australia please catch 'Gabriel' - an action drama about angels fighting for purgatory. It's a very cool film, and what amazes me is that it was made on a shoestring budget and it's an inspiration for indie filmmakers everywhere that it managed to secure distribution from Sony Pictures. But, for Sony to distribute it worldwide, the film needs to have a strong opening weekend so do support the film if you can.

http://www.gabrielmovie.com/

Now THIS is a corporate video

2007-11-16T11:49:00.000+11:00

Tell me you wouldn't wanna work for this company!

Lip Dub - Flagpole Sitta by Harvey Danger from amandalynferri on Vimeo.

Bleary-eyed boy

2007-11-01T01:38:00.000+11:00

Yes, that is me. Stumbling home at ungodly hours every night for the past two weeks. We are thisclose to picture lock for the film and it's feeling really good. I'm so glad I'm past the cringy rough cut stage, as Enzo has really outdone himself and served the story well. The closer I am to finishing this film the less tired I get, simply because the next phase is underway and it fills me up with that awesome feeling of progress. That trumps day-job fatigue any day.

Just so much going on, and physically it's taking its toll I suspect. Thank God it's Ulty season once again so at least I can still stay in reasonable shape despite my predilection for staying up till 3 or 4 in the morning.

I don't know why I even bother- trying to maintain a normal person's hours when my peak times are really when everyone else is asleep. I've tried so many times to write during afternoons but I simply can't because the afternoon sun blasts in my face taunting me to go out and play.

Living right next to King's Cross doesn't help either- I live right above a homeless shelter and for some reason they're always pissed off at one another. The main argument always seems to be who stole who's cigarettes: "OI YEW STOWL ME FUCKIN SIGRETS YA CAHNT!" is a sound that frequently punctuates the air.

There is also the neighbour who always seems to be repairing something in his flat. With a drill. A bloody loud one. He must have the world's largest collection of picture frames to hang because I kid you not the bastard just drills every damn day.

And finally, there is the tenant directly below me who loves waking up in the morning to Michael Jackson's Greatest Hits CD. Now, anyone who knows me well knows I'm down with MJ as I used to do a fair bit of moonwalking when I was a young lad who didn't know any better. Truth be told, when the lady kicks off with the Off The Wall and Thriller stuff it's all good. It's when she ventures into Dangerous territory that's when I tune out.

And so does the rest of the building. One day, the CD was cranking: "And the whole world has to answer right now just tell you once again...WHO'S BAD??"

"Your fucking music, now shut the fuck up!" Was my neighbour's cheery reply. It was 8am on a Sunday morning.

And so you can see (and hear) why I prefer to do most of my work (if you call writing that) at night- weekends aside, the Cross is eerily silent during these hours and there's just a stillness about it that makes me feel so wide awake. This is when I'm on, and if I must suffer the health consequences and run the risk of being late for work everyday, then so be it. So long as I manage to do what I'm really meant to do, then it's all worth it.

2007-10-22T12:50:00.000+10:00

It always feels good when people like what you do.

Thanks to everyone who braved the traffic, bomb scares, and all out Manila mayhem to watch My Game. :) Stay tuned for the DVD, coming very soon!

First Survey Ever.

2007-10-21T22:48:00.000+10:00

Got these questions from a video interview series I shot for a client. I've been avoiding surveys but what the hell, there's only so much about film one can talk about right.

Name: The most common name in the Philippines, and for the life of me Australians can't seem to remember that it's Carlo not Carlos.

Age: Fine wine.

Religion: Devout carnivore.

What are you passionate about: Films, and the process of making them.

Favorite movie this year: Still preaching the gospel of Superbad, it's Supergood.

Most played songs on iPod: That would be my Jogging playlist, which boasts of such classics like Marky Mark's 'Feel The Vibration', Quiet Riot's 'Cmon Feel The Noise', and Kenny Loggins' 'Playing With The Boys.' Why am I admitting this?

Hero: Michael Jordan. He just had that mindset to always be the best. That is the mindset I strive to have everyday.

Best quality about me: I'm driven.

The worst: I'm driven.

Do you have direction? I'm a director aren't I?

Last semi-sensible purchase: A kickboard scooter. My company moved to an office building closer to my apartment and on my way to work I realized that the path there was mostly downhill. So now I'm flying to work in less than ten minutes, dodging pedestrians in their leather shoes and I know they're secretly thinking of doing the same thing.

If you could buy one thing right now it would be: A dog. A low maintenance, apartment-friendly, self poop-cleaning dog. That cooks a lamb roast.

Beach or mountains: Beach. Have you ever seen bikini-clad girls on top of a mountain? There you go.

Sport: I play the following with a Rudy-esque approach- all heart, so-so talent: Ultimate Frisbee, basketball, and soccer. When I was in Gameplan I was totally in love with mountain biking and sport climbing. I will forever be a sports junkie.

Movie that makes me cry: Sports movies. I'm such a sucker for predictable underdog stories. All together now: Quack...quack...quack...

Apart from what you're doing now, what would be your dream job: A rock star because it's a sad fact that musicians get more action than filmmakers. We're at the bottom of the food chain, right next to mail room clerks and Ultimate Frisbee players. Wait, 2 out of 3 for me? I'm so screwed. Or in this case, not.

Temptation you have successfully avoided thus far: Facebook.

Temptation you have succumbed to recently: Doing this survey.

The one thing you can never be: A vegan.

The one thing you strive to be: A virgin.

The one thing you struggle with the most: Insomnia. And endless 'what-if?' thoughts.

The most beautiful woman you've ever seen: My mom.

The best thing your mom taught you: Manners.

The best thing your dad taught you: We only have one planet.

The thing you surprisingly enjoy doing: The dishes.

Last time you kissed someone: I don't kiss and tell.

What turns you on: Drive, smarts, kindness.

What turns you off: VPL's. I'm serious. If you're wearing leggings or a tight skirt, slap on a thong for Christ's sake. That and hairy legs.

Most pointless thing a girl can buy: Liposuction. Skin-whitening cream.

Best thing a girl can buy: Dear God, thank you for bringing leggings/ stockings/ tights back in style. May you never get rid of them ever again. Amen.

Favorite sound: A girl's singing voice. But it's gotta be the right voice, not the "my boyfriend broke up with me now I'm so tortured so watch as I smear lipstick all over my face" type.

Worst sound: Knocking.

Favorite swear word: Fuck

When no one's looking I like to: Let all my facial hair grow and try to connect the mustache area to my beard to form a Pirates goatee. Just when I think I'm getting there, Monday comes and I have to shave it all off to go to work.

What would the movie of your life be called: Dude, Where's My Wallet?

What is the most ironic thing about yourself: that I take my work way too seriously but I can take myself not too seriously at all.

What do you like most about yourself: I have a highly buoyant sense of self esteem and I can laugh at myself. Just the other day I slammed my face into a glass wall in Rockwell in full view of people and while lesser mortals may have ran from the scene weeping, I proceeded to slam my face into the glass repeatedly, yelling 'look at me look at me!'

Kidding. I just blushed, shrugged it off, and bought a nice leather belt.

What do you hate most about yourself: I wish I could make up my mind already.

One thing you will never be: A politician.

Issue most important to you: The environment, and the "Where Will Carlo Get Funding to Make His Next Movie" Fund.

What is the bravest thing you've done: conquered my fear of heights by rock climbing and eventually, sky diving. Awesome.

What is the one brave thing you've still yet to do: Cage dive with Great White sharks. Get married. Same thing.

What's food for your soul? Photography.

If you were to enter heaven, what would you like to hear at the pearly gates: "Hi Carl. Tita Pam's over there waiting."

2007-10-13T01:37:00.000+10:00

I'm currently the featured filmmaker on Australian MySpace! Very cool. Please click and help me savour my 15 minutes of cyberspace fame. In less than a week of posting, The Haircut has reached over 3,000 hits. Power of the internet people! It works.

Speaking of which, thank you Ala for directing your vast legion of fans to my site. Let me return the favour and lead all four of mine to yours.

---

My friend Pierra sent me this funny photo, taken from a shoot three years ago:

How very Facebook Funwall don't you think?

Bye, Jai

2007-10-10T02:17:00.000+10:00

The Last One's lead actor, Jai Koutrae, is off to the States this week to pursue a Hollywood career which no doubt he will achieve. He's too good, too talented, and too interestingly scarred to not make it as a hybrid leading man/ character actor/ likeable villain/ badass motherfucker. Jai was the consummate professional during my shoot and I can only wish that I work with actors who are as bloody good as him as my career progresses. I'm writing all these praises in the event some studio exec Googles him. Yes you, Weinstein minion. Hire him.

All the best Jai, and hopefully I shall be crashing at your L.A. pad sooner than later.

Now THIS is a film about a Haircut.

2007-10-05T14:32:00.000+10:00

Hotel Chevalier

2007-10-03T00:25:00.000+10:00

I am totally relating to this film right now.

Trailer's up!

2007-09-29T17:31:00.000+10:00

Click here to get your Last One fix. Lemme know what you guys think!

Credit Envy

2007-09-24T22:26:00.000+10:00

"Mate you gotta get yourself on IMDB. Every filmmaker that wants to be taken seriously needs to be on IMDB" a friend of mine said. And so I got on IMDB. Me and my measly short film director's credit. Not quite as many credits as say, this guy, but I guess it's a start.

Okay I'm on IMDB, what happens now? Can I poke people?

2007-09-22T17:56:00.000+10:00

It's always a good thing for a director when members of your crew share the same enthusiasm for your film. Here's editor Enzo's take on how the cut for The Last One is shaping up so far.

Going down with some girls

2007-09-14T01:18:00.000+10:00

For those of you who love your horror movies with a good dose of claustrophobia and a decent amount of female hysterics, watch The Descent. Rented it at Blockbuster for a random pizza night and was pleasantly surprised to find myself actually scared.

It's about a group of six women who go on a caving expedition to help one of them get over the loss of her husband. Because you know, there's really no better therapy for dealing with a loved one's death by putting yourself in a dark, wet place that could be possibly inhabited by creatures that leave the bones of animals they've eaten all over the cavern floor.

What I liked about the film, apart from the fact that I really dig chicks that can rock-climb, was that it takes its sweet time revealing the monsters and instead makes the characters deal with a far more treacherous villain- the cave itself, and the effect it has on each of them. Bonds are tested, kitty claws come out, sorority hugs are replaced by bitching when everything goes to shit. Good performances all around too, especially from Filipina-Aussie Natalie Mendoza, who is perfect as the ambiguous villain/ hero who hides her real intentions behind her tough extreme athlete facade. And she rocks the dirty bangs quite well don't you think?

Can you say teaser?

2007-09-08T02:23:00.000+10:00

The first The Last One pic is out. That was a weird sentence. Anyhow, the shot above was my little homage to William Friedkin's The Exorcist. Watch this space for more photos as the cut takes shape.

A doco script to write and a short film to edit. I'm not sleeping much these days, but I've always felt sleep is for Sundays anyway. Have a relatively light Viocorp week ahead so I shall use the time to gather my thoughts, work on my showreel and portfolio, walk around and acquaint myself with my new Nikon, and maybe start writing again. There's a box of unused Super 16mm film in my freezer, I'm gonna have to do something about that.

This is shaping up to be my busiest year so far and I just keep wishing for it to get busier. There's so much more I can do.

People keep bugging me to sign up for Facebook already. I just can't be bothered by yet another time-sucking social networking site right now. Besides, hurling sheep is much more fun in real life.

Getting excited...

2007-08-30T22:30:00.000+10:00

The more I throw myself into this script the more I feel my heart thumping a little faster than usual. After a whole month and a half of just shooting tape after tape and not really being sure whether I had enough material for a film, sitting down in my desk here in Sydney and watching the rushes and reading the interview transcripts has given me some sense of calm. I think I have a story here.

Nike has pulled out all the stops by advertising the hell out of this thing- press releases, online marketing, and tv spots are on the way. Very cool. Apart from being very excited for this film to come out, I also feel very thankful that this presented me an opportunity to not just go back home and touch on my roots, but rekindle my love for basketball. Before Ultimate, mountainbiking, rock-climbing, and all the other crazy ass sports I got myself into during my fitter years, I was a wannabe 5-foot-nothing basketball player first, skipping ROTC with my friends Quito and Monto so we could play some village ball.

My goal for this documentary is to show the world the way Pinoys play the game- with pride and unparalleled joy. I have no intention of making audiences feel sorry for us because of our third world status, rather, I want them to see that despite all our hardships, we find happiness in the simple things in life, and what's simpler than shooting a ball through a hoop?

Pictures up

2007-08-27T01:49:00.000+10:00

Been extremely busy the past month, spending some time with my family in Manila and shooting a little documentary for Nike. Being the frugal and practical person that I am, I promptly blew my paycheck from that gig on a lovely new Nikon. Balanced it out by selling my old D70 to my tito and to honour its passing of ownership I've fired up a new photo gallery that showcases my favourite snaps. Hopefully my new camera and I will find just as many good ones in the future.

I'm currently in the process of beefing up my portraits gallery. If you live in or near the Sydney area and wish to have your pictures taken, gimme a shout and let's go nuts. It's free of charge (for now), so hurry before I go all Testino on your asses.

The best car commercial ever.

2007-07-05T02:14:00.000+10:00

Thanks to everyone who's viewed this blog! Don't be shy, say hi, and stay tuned because my life is about to get interesting in the next couple of months. :)

And that's a wrap.

2007-07-01T16:44:00.000+10:00

After two weeks of being besieged by rains, we've managed to complete principal photography for my short The Last One. Now it's over to the next half of the process. Unless it mysteriously rains inside Enzo's studio, I think I'll have a much more comfortable (and dryer) time over the next few weeks.

More pics from the shoot to pop up in my website very soon! In the meantime here's a picture of Jai, either looking really tired or gunning down ants. It was 5 in the morning when we shot this so I don't really remember anymore...

When it rains...

2007-06-17T23:57:00.000+10:00

How wonderfully cliché that my film shoot be marred by torrential rains after five whole months of pre-production without a single drop. As one of the guys said to me while we were running for shelter- "You know you're shooting a real film when it starts to rain."

Mother Nature has therefore left us with three unfinished scenes which we have to reschedule sometime this week. We can only pray that she is kind enough to grant us a lull before Saturday, which is when Matt, one of the actors, has to leave for the States, where he will be based for seven weeks.

Force majeure incidents aside, we have been shooting some pretty good material. I spent all day today viewing the rushes and they look wonderful. Our first two days were spent at the shipyards at Botany Bay, and we just had a grand time rigging lights and running in and out of the steel containers. I kept thinking how cool it was that I finally had my own Lito Lapid movie set.

Wednesday was even cooler, as we drove around the streets in a low loader truck. Our grip Dave, who is just a legend, whipped up all these crazy camera rigs that enabled us to get the shots that I wanted.

It's been an incredibly challenging week but I was expecting it anyways, so I'm not too stressed out by all the changes and adjustments we constantly have to make on the fly. Filmmaking is all about problem solving and the one thing I am learning more than ever in this shoot is how to roll with the punches. When rain starts hitting you in the face horizontally, you gotta pack up the cables and geni and send everyone home. At the end of the day, the crew's safety comes first, and no one really works well when they're electrocuted in shin-high floods anyways.

I'm just glad I have a great producer in Luke and a very skilled crew that's just getting it done. Three more dry days! That's all I need Lord.

----

To everyone that's been sending their kind words about The Haircut/ Short Film Corner thing, thank you so much. =) Contrary to what Mel says about the director getting all the credit, the film wouldn't have happened if not for her producing skills and therefore most of the praise must be pointed her way as well. The win at Cannes was a great momentum builder for me going into this next short film, and I can't wait to get this done and see what everyone thinks of it. It's totally different from The Haircut, which just confirms the path I am trying to take, which is to do as many films of all genres. I'm already thinking about doing a creepy little horror flick next...

American Gangster

2007-06-10T01:39:00.000+10:00

Now this should settle the "Who should've won the Best Actor Oscar during the 73rd and 74th Academy Awards" debate.

Russell? Denzel? Directed by Ridley Scott? Heyl yeyz.

2007-06-04T03:45:00.000+10:00

I just staggered home after 48 hours of storyboard meetings with Fung my cinematographer and Jen my first AD. Lots of beer and tea, ciggies and chocolate, and me acting out scenes from the film as I describe how I want a shot to look like and bumping my head on the walls in the process. I haven't bathed in two days which doesn't really matter as it is officially winter and thus I am sweat free and still lemony fresh.

Smiling now...

2 days later

We have six shooting days to complete a 22-page, 30-minute film. 5pm till sunrise all throughout. Filming on a low loader truck as we cross a major city tunnel. Gunfights and shit blowing up. I really don't know how we are going to pull it all off, but I just have to arm myself with the fact that in the end, things will always work one way or the other.

Seven days to go. Bring it on.

Unreal...

2007-05-26T00:59:00.000+10:00

...is the word that best describes the past two days. Life is really funny sometimes, peaks and valleys to the hilt. And when it peaks, it sure peaks.

Woohoo.

If I Cannes Do It, So Cannes You.

2007-04-27T22:15:00.000+10:00

The Haircut will be screening at the Short Film Corner at the Cannes Film Festival! The Short Film Corner is a new event at Cannes, wherein short films from all over the world are screened for prospective distributors. And my little film is one of them. I'm just psyched by the idea of my film reaching French shores. Viva Le Coupe!

Now that is what you call mystique.

2007-04-25T00:25:00.000+10:00

"Chris Marker lives in Paris and does not grant interviews. When asked for a picture of himself, he usually offers a photograph of a cat instead. His cat is named Guillaume."

Emo Joker

2007-04-23T22:36:00.000+10:00

2007-04-21T10:42:00.000+10:00

It's my birthday today and I find myself wishing that I had a date I could just hang out all day in the beach with. But since I do not I shall go anyhoo, and partake in the Bondi surf one last time before winter hits and the water gets too cold to swim in.

Still deciding whether or not I want to get drunk tonight.

Seeing Red.

2007-04-19T16:00:00.000+10:00

I am really anxious to see whether or not this camera lives up to the hype and will change the face of filmmaking as we know it. Is this really the digital camera that finally puts film to rest?

Shoots 4K images, totally expandable, costs a reasonable $17,000+. And geez, would you just look at it??

"It looks like Darth Vader's dick." -Aint It Cool.com reader

And of course, none other than Peter Jackson gets to play with it first. Based on said footage, the reviews are glowing.

Kodak must be stressing out...

Storyboarding

2007-04-13T01:48:00.000+10:00

I've been storyboarding with more detail than I ever have for The Last One. In my previous films I'd been perfectly content with basic sketches on a notebook. For this particular film I need the boards to help convey the tone and mood I want to the crew. I find that I can only talk and flail my arms around for so much before they all start to space out. But once I whip out the boards and show them, their eyes light up and they all oooh in amazement. Bottom line, storyboards are a great motivational tool. Use them and save your saliva! Hopefully you'll be lucky enough to work with someone like Tam Morris, who is the bloke who has taken on the challenge of turning this:

To this:

To quote a crew member: "Mate, you should just scan these, chuck 'em into Final Cut, put some dialogue and music, boom. There's your film."

And then he took it back when he realized that option would have left him jobless.

2007-04-12T12:04:00.000+10:00

The Haircut has reached over 10,000 views on Nice Shorts. The internet's such a great tool for filmmakers to get their work out there.

Jumper

2007-04-08T13:17:00.000+10:00

Ever since I was a kid and watched the very underrated (in my eyes) movie Point Break, I've always wanted to skydive. That film had such a terrific skydive sequence that it almost made you forget all about Keanu's "I. Am. An. F.B.I. Agent!" acting.

All throughout my Gameplan years I kept my fingers crossed, wishing for the day to come wherein I would get The Call- Top Gun music playing in the background, producer's voice sounding totally Tom Skerrit: "Gear up Carlo. You're jumping off a plane today."

But it never happened, probably because we couldn't afford it, or there was never really an option in the Philippines that was safe enough (case in point, the plane full of skydivers that crashed recently). And as my term in Gameplan ended, I left with two regrets- 1) that I was unable to dive with Great White sharks, and 2) that I never got to skydive.

Fast forward three years later and I finally got my chance. Of course I had to pay for it by myself (400 big ones), but what's a chunk of change for something that lasts forever? I'm speaking figuratively, as the actual jump lasts for about 10 minutes.

Three days after the jump I am still gurgling at the mouth with overflowing adrenaline and thus lacking in words how to describe it so instead I will let YouTube do the talking:

So there you go. Jumping off a plane 14,000 feet high may seem crazy, but I would do it again in a second. The 45 seconds of freefall is the most amazing feeling, and I'm guessing it's the closest to flying you will ever get.

Now bring on those Great Whites!

The Pigeon Playa

2007-04-03T14:16:00.000+10:00

I just saw the funniest thing today. On the rooftop of the building across mine, a male pigeon was trying to get his freak on with an unwilling female pigeon. After several minutes of prancing, preening, and feather puffing, the female relented and let the male climb on her back and mount her. Just as he did, another female pigeon landed on the roof next to them. The male, having spotted her, abandoned his conquest in mid- thrust and promptly began prancing, preening, and puffing for the other female!

Reminds me of some people I know.

Panda Porn

2007-03-28T00:37:00.001+10:00

In today's rapidly changing times the news just gets stranger and stranger each day. This one made me laugh out loud:

Zoo Hopes Porn Will Help Pandas Mate.

CHIANG MAI, Thailand - Chuang Chuang the panda has been spending his days in front of a big screen television watching panda porn.

Authorities at the Chiang Mai Zoo in northern Thailand hope the images will encourage him to mate with his partner, Lin Hui, and serve as an instructional lesson in how to do it right.

That's just awesome. Imagine waking up and being the designated guy who plays the DVD for Chuang Chuang to watch everyday. Now that's a job! Not quite as horrible as being one of the zoo hands dressing up in a panda suit and dry humping with another similarly dressed keeper while being videotaped. Would you even be able to look that other person in the eye after work? I think not.

2007-03-23T01:12:00.000+11:00

Loved the original, can't wait for this one.

2007-03-06T01:30:00.000+11:00

Eight weeks to go till shooting starts. Eight weeks may seem like a lot of time, especially when you see it as two whole months. But really, that's not much. So many things to look for, the first being locations. The Last One is a film that is set in several places- it is about a man who needs to get from one place to the other- so the whole film is in perpetual motion. He's moving, moving, moving all the time.

One of the reasons why I chose to deal with that problem is because if you look at most short films, especially low budget ones, they often take place within the confines of one or two locations. That's totally fine, but I guess after watching way too many JJ Abrams and Michael Mann stuff I was itching to really get out there and do something that bucked that norm. And besides, my last film was set in a barbershop and I still remember how numb my ass felt after sitting in one corner for the whole weekend. I want to keep moving, moving, moving with this one.

So yes, locations. Hugh our location scout found a fantastic run-down hotel in the outskirts of the city that has a perfect second floor. Hugh works as a motorcycle courier during the day and he stumbled upon this location while delivering something to the owner. Happy accident number one!

Much to our delight, the owners agreed to let us use it and I am salivating at the prospect of having our armourer go nuts with his blanks and squibs and whatever he has in his arsenal in there. I need to make sure the Michael Bay in me doesn't emerge and I end up deciding to blow the whole place up. Nah, the action in The Last One will be a perfect example of 'less is more.' Gunshots won't be excessive to the point that the viewer becomes numb to them. Every single gunshot in this film will matter.

2007-02-27T00:28:00.000+11:00

Had secound round of 'Abbie' auditions today. I'm very impressed with the girls we've called back. Each one brings a different approach and it's almost tempting to just cast all of them and rewrite the script to fit everyone in somehow. After auditions some members of the crew stayed behind and we watched the Oscars on TV. My favourite moment by far was Martin Scorcese finally winning, and not so much by his acceptance speech, but by the fact that Coppola, Spielberg, and Lucas were brought on as presenters. 30+ years of legendary careers right there. Loved their scripted banter as well-

Lucas (referring to being the only one on stage to not win an Oscar): "I've always believed it's better to give then receive."

Spielberg and Coppola: "No it's NOT."

---

Doing The Last One is definitely becoming the learning experience I've hoped for.

"You got a lot to learn if you want to start playing with the big boys" is my quote of the day, given to me by an actor's agent. She couldn't be more right.

8 in a row!

2007-02-16T20:15:00.000+11:00

The Haircut has made it to its 8th straight festival, the In The Realm Of The Senses Short Film Festival. It will be screening alongside some brilliant short films such as Brother (which features Jai Koutrae, who just so happens to be playing the lead in The Last One), and the Academy Award nominated The Saviour. I for one, am personally content mooching off the sloppy seconds the accolades these films will be garnering. Here's a trailer of the festival:

Add to My Profile | More Videos

More info on the festival here.

It's on.

2007-02-08T23:46:00.000+11:00

I am officially in pre-production for my latest short film The Last One. From hereon, I will try my best to chronicle the entire process in the hopes that indie filmmakers out there may pick up some valuable lessons from my shoot, most likely of the "what NOT to do" kind. I'm jinxing myself I know. No. This shoot will be awesome, flawless, and worth every bit of blood, sweat, and beers I put into it. That was a faint attempt at positive thinking. Who am I kidding? Everyone who's been in a shoot knows that the entire process is the perfect embodiment of Murphy's Law. The challenge is overcoming all the shit that comes your way. And therein lies secret number one:

Gaffer tape. Always have gaffer tape.

...

I am casting for 'Abbie' this Saturday and I'm looking forward to seeing what all the actresses bring to the plate. It's the first round and they'll be doing a semi-cold read of a scene from the film. I'm conditioning myself to not think of a specific 'type' of Abbie I want in my head, rather I'll look at each actress and see what they could bring to the character in their own way. You have a cookie cutter image of a character in your noggin, you possibly miss out out on little gems and nuances that each individual has.

All I'm really hoping for is that nobody comes to the audition all made up. The role is for a recovering meth junkie!

...

This is the first film I'm doing wherein I have the luxury of a concept artist. I think it's important to have one because the concept art helps sell your vision to the cast and crew. The Last One is a somber, moving piece and my palette is heavily motivated by the amber street lamps which dot the Sydney landscape. I was lucky enough to meet and become friends with this talented little immigrant, who was kind enough to do a few pieces for me for a relatively cheap rate. Had I paid for her meal in the Chinese restaurant I had my first lunch with her and her siblings in, I probably could've gotten her to do it for free dammit.

But lo, here's one of the pieces- it's Abbie and Alex in their apartment. I'm saving the rest for when the film comes out, but I guess this is a nice enough teaser.

How would you feel if you lost me?

The Feet of Reason

2007-01-28T19:35:00.000+11:00

I just got invited to play for Manly in this year's Nationals. It's going to be my first all men's tournament (at the Nationals level no less) and I was pretty stoked to be selected for the team. So of course instead of promptly doing sprints around the park to start training, I did what every true-blue Filipino frisbee player does.

I went shopping.

Finally, an excuse for me to go to Rebel Sport and peruse the latest range of cleats (or footy boots as they're called here). Nevermind if my holiday in Manila left me wanting in cash. I needed to replace my worn out Total 90's ASAP.

It took me a whole hour to decide which shoe to get and it came down to two choices-

a) A nice comfy pair of Asics. Australian Podiatric Society recommended. Simple, yet utilitarian.

b) A nice white pair of Nike Tiempo Mystics. White in a "you can't guard me" sort of way. Flashy, yet understated.

No contest really.

Say hello to my leetle friends.

Anyways, the thing I realized about this trip is that men are not that far from women and their legendary lust for footwear after all. Material desire exists in all of us, even if some choose to deny it (or even develop meditation techniques to block it out). It's times like this that make me realize I am no different from all the girls I have gone out with who froth at the mouth whenever Nine West goes on sale. In those situations I have always found myself to be the voice of reason, the dispenser of logic convincing them that spending a month's salary on a pair of heels really isn't a good idea. One of the few instances in life where a man makes perfect sense.

Today, in Rebel Sport Testosterone Land, it was the other way around for a young couple, who were taking their son to be fitted for some cleats. The father and son immediately spotted the latest pair of Adidas shoes, which looked like some sort of alien weaponry. They came in special hard plastic boxes, and a picture of David Beckham was etched on the front, smirking in a manner that pretty much said "buy these shoes mate, and at least look like the bottom half of me." They also cost about 300 dollars, but that's not the point.

"Erhm." The mommy coughed. She motioned for the son to come over where she was. Above her was a sign- "Discount Bin- All Crappy Unwanted Shoes In This Box Must Go." Ok fine, it didn't say that, but that's what the son must've interpreted as he begrudgingly walked over to his mother, shooting over one last "why'd she have to come along" look to his dad, who could only shrug helplessly.

The mom had her boy try on different cleats- all functional, all in good working order, but were as unstylish as me in a room full of Manila socialites. You could see this boy's enthusiasm slowly ebbing away. What's the bloody point of me playing soccer if I'm wearing cleats that look like they were worn by the German Army in 1945? he was probably thinking. The mom looked awfully pleased with herself as she spied a pair she thought was perfect.

"But it's two sizes too big." The son moaned.

"That's perfect, you'll grow into them."

Cue ominous Amadeus music. Son is in near tears. Mother cheerily whips out the wallet. And as she pays, father and son are left scratching their heads wondering what the hell just happened. Because in this one particular day, the voice of feminine reason stood out, a voice that quickly errupted into squeals of delight as she spied a store nearby with a sign that said Jimmy Choo, New Line Out Now! And off she went, miserable family in tow.

No contest really.

Blinding Again

2007-01-24T00:42:00.000+11:00

Decided to check on my website and watch some of my older stuff, some of which I hadn't seen in months. I watched an old film of mine called Blinding, and for some reason, it affected me somewhat differently than before.

As a filmmaker I sometimes find it hard to get emotionally attached to a film I've done, mainly because I spend hours and hours watching it over and over while editing. It's tough to get a read on how people will react to your film because your own view of it is somewhat conditioned to it already.

Having said that, I realize it's good to take some time off from your work, step back, and forget all your impressions of it. And that's what I did tonight. And it felt strange. Okay fine. I got senti and nearly cried. Bloody dust in the flat got in my eyes. Honest.

Watching the film took me back to a certain time in my life which was very melancholic. I had just lost someone very dear to me and I ended up dedicating the film to her. Blinding is about loss, how we appreciate the little things in life only once we've lost them. I find this lesson a recurring theme in my life sadly.

What also made me sad was the fact that I did not shoot a short film in 2006. Sure, there were the countless videos for work, but that's work. I didn't get to do anything for myself, and for that I am deeply regretful. I blame it on the constant haze that festered in my head for most of last year. I lost my focus, and this year it's time to get it back.

So if you haven't seen it yet, have a look at Blinding. It's far from perfect, and of course watching it now I can see 10 different things I would've done differently, but it is a nice little reminder of who I was back in 2005. This film seems to be a family-and-friends favourite, and I enjoy playing it on my laptop when I want to make my sisters cry. Be very patient with the download, as I refuse to post it as a low-quality stream. Watch it in a dark room with some earphones. That's what I did, and may be the reason why I got so...emotional.

Damn dusty flat.

Ants Marching

2007-01-18T14:31:00.000+11:00

Just got back from a month long vacation in Manila and was immediately greeted by familiar friends- roaches, who no doubt have been capitalizing on my absence to breed at will. They've been joined by a gang of black ants, who don't seem to mind the fact that I'm home. A few of them have even brazenly crawled up my leg, as if to ask who the hell I am. Needless to say, it's Mortein time once again.

It's a bit strange entering my apartment and seeing things exactly the way they were. Don't get me wrong, it's a sight I would much rather prefer than seeing the flat totally cleaned out by burglars. What makes the whole thing strange are the signs of how I seemed to be in such a hurry to leave-

Dishes washed and dried. Not too well. A stack of unopened bills on the counter, to which I put aside with the thought "I'll pay them when I get back." My renewed lease, which I was supposed to mail out, but postponed, again with the same mindset as the bills. Laundry which was supposed to be washed, all tied up in a large towel and surprisingly still odorless.

Was I in that much of a hurry to get home? I suppose I was. Eager to stop working and spend the rest of my unpredictable 2006 in the company of friends, family, and some false killer whales. I needed a break from my life and I needed it to happen ASAP.

That said, my month in Manila was just what I needed. I feel recharged now, and thanks to certain events that have transpired, I feel like my life has a bit more direction again. My 2007 begins now.

(And it starts by paying the bills.)

Homeward bound

2006-12-10T21:22:00.000+11:00

Things I am looking forward to when I get back:

1) The food. As much as my culinary skills have improved ever since living alone (I actually use the oven to roast assorted animals- lamb being my favorite), I am kind of weary of my own cooking and look forward to devouring inasal, Tapa King, Magoos, Dencio's, and anything that's inappropriately fried and involves vinegar.

2) Being able to curse as loudly as I want on the field. Australian Ultimate tends to be too polite sometimes. I miss good old Tagalog cussing, or good-naturedly trash talking with opponents after I've just scored on them (I need to savor those moments, as I am getting old and they don't happen very often anymore). Can't wait to hit Cuenca and see everyone again. Let the "C'mon, keep up old man" comments begin. Bring it on.

3) Being techy with my family. As of this writing, both my sisters have acquired their own Mac laptops. Gabbi has even gone so far as to getting our whole house WIFI'd. For some reason I can imagine the four of us sitting together in our sala, our Macs switched on, exchanging tips and sharing files and doing other similar crazy fun ass things. Dorky! But in a bonding way!

4) Swimming with the dolphins. Kai is now working at the marine park in Subic and I look forward to a free tour wherein I can hopefully share a swim with a Flipper or two. I stress the word free.

5) Writing more. I'm 100% positive that going back home for 3 weeks and not being faced with the perils of my 9 to 5 job will allow me to get cracking on the final draft for my new short film. It's just been so crazy at work lately that when I get home I usually pass out on the couch, too tired to flip open my laptop, let alone string a bunch of coherent words together.

6) Watching NBA every morning. Lack of basketball coverage in this part of the world has been a constant source of frustration for me ever since I moved here two years ago. I had to go to some obscure cafe a few months ago just to watch the Heat-Mavs finals and even then I had to beg the owner not to change the channel (he wanted to watch cricket).

I really don't get cricket. First of all, a match lasts five months (or seems like it), all the players wear white, making the two competing teams completely indistinguishable from one another, and the scoring system is as easy to pick up as say, oh I don't know, calculus. Now how can a game that boring possibly take up more newspaper space than a Cavs-Suns game? The only time I found cricket riveting was when I watched the brilliant Bollywood film Lagaan, and even then, I'm convinced it was probably because the cricket players in that film broke into song every half hour or so. Now see, if that happened in real life, then maybe cricket would be slightly more enjoyable.

7) Catching up on local films. I've been hearing so much about the digital revolution that's taken Manila by storm and I am excited to see what Pinoy filmmakers have been up to.

8) Watching my first moonset.

Basket 'O Beer

2006-12-05T22:07:00.000+11:00

What a nice way to head towards the new year. The Haircut won Best Original Score at the Bondi Short Film Festival. My film's composer, Sebastian, wasn't around so I had to go up and mumble a speech in his behalf.

"Mumble mumble..."

Before the event all the filmmakers had to arrive early to pose for some photos in front of the banner of the festival's main sponsor, Stella Artois, which in my opinion is the world's coolest beer only because it's obvious that the company's head honchos are film buffs. God bless you fellas.

And the award for Best Bowlegged Filmmaker goes to...

My prize for the evening was a lovely plaque (which technically belongs to Seb) and a huge basket of wine, beer, DVDs, and swag. Not being able to find a cab at Bondi Beach at midnight, I had to resort to carrying said basket on a bus, then a train, then on a walk along King's Cross, having to endure requests from drunken teens to throw some beer their way. Winning awards is fun only if you have a car to carry your prizes home.

Can't wait to finish this year strong. Can't wait to go home and face what I consider to be my actual reality. Should be interesting.

Short Film Of The Week - Stalled

2006-11-15T23:51:00.000+11:00

Every week I will be posting a link to a new film on Nice Shorts (the website I currently handle) which I think deserves special mention and should be seen by the people who read this blog.

This week's film is called 'Stalled.' Abandoned by his partner and desperate, a hapless crook prepares for an armed robbery in a shopping mall public toilet. Things take a turn for the worst when a bullet rolls into the next cubicle and a police officer starts asking questions…

I personally like this one because it's a film that's just solid across the board- a simple story well told, terrific acting, accomplished cinematography, and excellent editing and sound. The film is directed by Stuart Moulds and you can check go check out his website.

But first, watch the film.

2006-11-12T20:33:00.000+11:00

More lovely festival news- The Haircut has been accepted into another fest, The Bondi Short Film Festival. I'm psyched because my film's one of only two Sydney based entries that made it, and the winning filmmaker gets flown to the Sundance Film Festival! This, on the heels of The Haircut's 3rd Place win at The Communities For Communities Short Film Festival a few weeks ago, is enough to make me forget the stress of work. Almost.

"You're a heavyweight? I'm beating your ass with a hundred ten pound Filipino!"

-Turtle from Entourage talking smack on a Playstation. Best line of the show thus far.

Well alrighty then.

2006-11-05T04:36:00.000+11:00

Been blogless for the past month and a half probably due to a combination of the following factors- my Mac was in the shop for some long overdue lovin', and my 9 to 5 job has been keeping me so busy that I just haven't had the time to do anything remotely interesting.

But. I've gotten my ass in gear and am finally working on a new short film. Observe the little banner-teaser thingy, which is hardly any indication of what the film is about but I just wanted to whip up a little something to stare at on my desktop to keep me motivated. Hey, whatever works.

What's it about? Well, it's a love story in the guise of an action film. That's all I'll say for now. It's a far departure from the short films I've made so far, and purposely so. I wanted to challenge myself by going a bit bigger and seeing if I can direct things on a slightly larger scale. Meaning some guns go off and cars come crashing. Sweet. But I'm not going all Michael Bay on my filmmaking philosophies, whatever action that happens in this film will only serve to drive the story forward. Honest!

Right now the film's in the script stage, I'm currently in the process of molding it into something worth dangling in front of investors. Hopefully they'll bite. And hopefully I will then have something interesting to blog about again.

Animal cruelty

2006-09-24T14:31:00.000+10:00

I'm wary of people who dress up their pets. It's one thing to buy your dog gourmet bones from France, but really, what is the point of dressing up your Bichon Frise in a Santa outfit?

Dressing up your pet is only a few notches below flogging them to death with a two-by-four on the animal cruelty scale. Have you seen how miserable dogs get the minute you place a knitted sweater on them? Their ears flatten and they have this angry, constipated look. Trust me, they KNOW they look ridiculous. Dogs have feelings too you know. I think they'd much rather be flayed to death by lumber than have to deal with the embarrassment.

Having said that, here is one outfit I would purchase for my dog George in a second:

2006-09-17T22:09:00.000+10:00

Just a little career update...two of my short films- Love Your Thumbs and The Haircut - have been accepted into the 2006 In The Bin Short Film Festival. Pretty cool considering they had over 500+ submissions, and both my films made it to the festival program. Or to say it more collonially- programme.

This turn of events should get me to loosen my pockets and enter my films in more festivals. It's just that all these film fests cost so damn much, especially the foreign ones. I have to convert to NTSC, pay for the entry fee, seal the films in some bombproof airtight packaging, pay the exorbitant shipping costs, and before I know it, I've racked up a two hundred dollar bill on my credit card for something that isn't even sure of getting accepted! I really wish I earned more so that I could set aside a festival budget and just send my films to each and every festival that counts.

Speaking of trailers...

2006-09-03T11:26:00.000+10:00

Talk about perfect timing. Just when I post the entry about trailers below, my friend Avid finally released the teaser for Saving Sally, the film I wrote for him and Charlene Sawit, whose short story I based the script on. Please spread the word by passing this trailer around:

And you know a person's serious about something when he gets an official .com address for it. Check out www.savingsally.com Do check out the photos page and wet yourself at how awesome this film looks.

In a world...where one man...

2006-09-02T04:15:00.000+10:00

I'm a sucker for trailers. When I was young I remember always wanting to go to the cinema fifteen minutes early because I wanted to catch the all the upcoming films (or 'extras' as my yaya would call them). I remember watching the trailer for E.T., bristling with excitement, and feeling a sudden craving for Reese's Pieces (I am the perfect patsy for product placement).

To this day my fascination with trailers lives on. I can spend a large chunk of my day on Apple Movies, wasting time and bandwidth watching spots for films that, in majority, will most likely suck. I know watching trailers is hardly a clear indication of how the actual film is going to be, but I've always approached them as separate entities to the films themselves. And it really pisses me off when I go to the cinema early and they show fast food and public service ads instead.

"In a world where (fill in the scenario)...one (man/woman/hero/pig) will (fill in highly implausible course of action to be taken)."

Of course, where would trailers be without the ubiquitous Trailer Voice?

I love the Trailer Voice. He's been a part of my moviegoing experience all my life, and he's not so much a cliche' as he is an institution. I saw a documentary on him once, and the dude is MADE. A limo picks him up, he shows up at a recording studio, records for a couple of minutes, limo takes him back home. You gotta love someone who rakes in six figures for speaking a couple of lines. As a former voiceover talent myself, I can only wish that I got paid remotely close to that...

Oh and by the way, the Trailer Man's real name is Don La Fontaine. Although there are several others like him whose voices we know so well yet probably never recognize if we bump into them in the streets. So let's give props shall we?

Here's the classic trailer from Seinfeld's The Comedian, featuring voiceover artist Hal Douglas:

Here's a great clip that features five of the very best:

I don't think I can stress the importance of a trailer enough. It's a one minute chance at getting people to sit up, lean over, and pay attention. You have one minute to intrigue them, sucker them into a sense of belief that your film is worth shelling out some hard earned dinero for. Audiences nowadays are all too aware and jaded when it comes to watching movie spots- they've grown tired of the usual fade-in/ fade out montage set to hyperkinetic bullet time set to a rap song by today's sellout rapper of the month. For a trailer to really hook today's savvy audience, it's gotta throw out all the cliches and present something different.

That said, check out this trailer for the new Kate Winslet film Little Children. I have no idea whether it will be good or not, but I'm pretty sure it will be since I pretty much love Kate Winslet in anything. What I like about it is the total absence of the classic trailer templates- foreboding soundtrack, the omnipresent "whooshing" sound effects, and Mr. La Fontaine and company are nowhere to be heard. Instead, it cleverly makes use of a chugging train, and uses the imagery of a child playing with toy trains as he eventually brings them together to collide. Brilliant. I'm there.

Photo of the day...

2006-08-19T11:08:00.000+10:00

Town Hall Station, 18th August.

At last. My website!

2006-08-09T19:30:00.000+10:00

Finally got around to building a work website. I've got all my films on there, plus photos, biography, contact details, and more. I wanted to keep it simple and minimalist (similar to this blog), which means you won't be assaulted by glittery MySpace-type fonts. It's a work in progress and I hope for it to continuously evolve until I'm rich and famous enough to hire super techies to Flash it up. Just a little bit.

Add www.allorangefilms.com to your daily dose of 'Net now!

2006-07-09T03:57:00.000+10:00

There are few things in life harder than typing at 4 in the morning with the window open and the winter air threatening to give my fingers frostbite. And so ends my shortest blog entry ever.

Winter Smoke...

2006-06-29T22:46:00.000+10:00

Balcony Smoker. Taken from my rooftop, 29 July.

I, Podcaster.

2006-06-17T13:53:00.000+10:00

Maybe it's because I keep on watching other people's short films on my video iPod, even if I can very well watch them on a TV back home. Maybe it's because I'm liking the idea of people downloading my films and watching them on their gadgets. I already have this recurring fantasy of me riding the train and some bloke is sitting next to me watching a video on his iPod and I'll lean over and it'll be -gasp!- my film!

There's something hypnotic about the Lean-In Cinema revolution ('Lean In' meaning one has to lean in to fully focus because the screens on iPods, PSPs, and Media Players are so tiny), how one can now watch pretty much anything, anywhere, anytime. It's awesome! Cornea-damaging, but awesome!

So with that in mind, I've made some of my films available as a downloadable podcast for everyone's enjoyment (or torture, however you wanna look at it)...Feel free to chuck on to your laptops, iPods, PSPs, or phones. And if you see me on the subway, make my day by nudging me and showing me you've got my film on your screen. I just might come over and smooch you in full gadget whore ecstacy!

Click here to download the films.

Hey ho, new photos...

2006-06-13T11:31:00.000+10:00

Flatlands

T-Stop

Canberra National Museum

Twilight. Shot this on a hill overlooking Canberra. Freezing beyond belief.

Feet on Street

Beach Kids. This was taken in Punta Bulata a few months back. This photo makes me wish I could be a kid again.

To see more new photos, click here.

2006-05-16T18:43:00.000+10:00

Here's a trailer I cut up for the Nice Shorts site.

And, pictures from our manic drunken launch party here! Debauchery I say, debauchery!

And for all you My Space users, I no longer think you are skanky...add up the Nice Shorts profile to your list.

Nice Shorts!

2006-05-05T12:06:00.000+10:00

After months of prepping, our short film website, Nice Shorts, is finally up.

A brief history as to how this puppy came about- myself and my officemates, most of whom are fellow filmmakers and musicians, had always toyed with the idea of starting an Atom Films-type site here in Australia. The idea came to fruition when our boss Ian decided to go with the idea and do it for real. So now here it is...hopefully this site becomes the springboard for all those young and hungry filmmakers out there who want to get their work seen.

Log on and watch short films from up and coming filmmakers from all over the world. If you're a filmmaker yourself, get yer skates on (my boss' favorite phrase) and send us your film!

Oh and those of you who have been pestering me endlessly to get my films online, here they are! Here'r The Haircut, Blinding, and Love Your Thumbs. Hope you guys like 'em. =)

2006-04-21T19:04:00.000+10:00

I hate horoscopes. Really. I refuse to allow my entire day to be governed by what some phony newspaper psychic says, not even if she guarantees a future of wealth and happiness if I heed the alignment of Saturn and Uranus. That said, I scrolled down my friendster page today and saw my horoscope:

"You're getting a growing understanding of your situation. Clarity is imminent. You're always interested in questions of how what you're doing fits into a larger context. You might wonder about your work's impact on the environment, your work's impact on your community, or your work's impact on society at large. Right now, you'll be particularly interested in these sorts of questions, and you could well get some very interesting -- and perhaps even spiritually satisfying -- answers. So how do you fit into the grand scheme of things?"

How do I fit in the grand scheme of things? How do we all? Interesting question...

Maybe I'm just extra pensive because it's my birthday today.

I want your shorts...bad.

2006-04-11T17:47:00.000+10:00

I just had this disturbing vision of some random stalker getting all goosebumpy after reading the title above. But yeah, if you are a stalker who happens to be a filmmaker with some short films under your belt, why not put them online for the world to see? Me and some people are in the middle of launching NICE SHORTS, a short film website. Everyone and their mother is watching videos on the web now thanks to ridiculously fast broadband, so why not give your mini-masterpieces an audience?

We are launching the site in May and are currently looking for films of all genres. I've managed to garner the interest of some Filipino directors and I'm hoping to find some more. So if you're interested and need more info, check out the site here.

2006-03-28T01:18:00.000+11:00

Here's something I wrote last month...I don't know why I'm just posting it now:

~0~

February something, 2006
Late night, my flat
Sydney

I have this theory that roughly 80% of bloggers all over the world are insomniac.

Outside my window I see buildings in silhouette, their black walls speckled with the occasional lit window. Hello fellow insomniacs. I wonder if they’re looking over here and thinking the same thing. I wave to no one in particular.

I’m somewhat bummed out because I just got word this morning that my short film The Haircut didn’t make it to the final selection for Tropfest. What a letdown, because a couple of days earlier I was told it had made the short list out of over 700 entries. Life can be such a cocktease. I know my film professor John would say that Tropfest is a crass gag film festival and that it's not worth feeling bad over, but fuck, it’s a crass gag film festival that’s watched by over 100,00 audience members. It’s like a rock concert for film geeks. So yes, I would have taken it thank you very much. I consider myself as artsy as the next film snob but at the same time it would have been nice to have been seen by an audience apart from my family. For just one night it would have been nice to have been a rock star in my own way. But no, not meant to be. For now. So many things not meant for us in this lifetime. The religious would immediately say, “God closes a door, he opens a window…” If so, please let it be a huge ass window. With a great view.

But I’m stupidly resilient. I will continue to trudge along and make my little movies in hopes that they will someday set me up for bigger and better things. There are a lot of other film fests out there, and all it takes is one studio exec (preferably stoned out of his mind) delirious enough to notice my work and take a chance on me.

I have a couple of short film ideas fermenting in my head as we speak. Some inspired, some silly, and most of them have a great beginning but don't have an end. I actually haven’t been disciplined enough to chain myself to my laptop to properly write. Whenever I get down to it I usually end up surfing the net, chatting with friends, or downloading songs and listening to them while I air guitar. Yes I have a guitar again. And I air guitar something fierce. If there was an air guitar tournament I’d be champion.

~0~

March 30
Sydney

I just found out The Haircut will be screened as part of Tropfest's 'Best Of The Rest' program. I'm psyched because it will screen in an honest to goodness cinema and already I am preparing diapers knowing I will wet myself when I see my film up on screen.

And since this entry looks like it's evolving into a Carlo's Career Update, here's another thing I'm looking forward to... a moonset! Like so:

That's a photo from a film called Saving Sally, the screenplay of which I wrote and is directed by the freakishly talented Avid Liongoren. How would I describe it? It's a typical Filipino teen love story, except that it's mostly in English and there are monsters and robots and purple skies and a villain that looks like a dick. So I guess it's not that typical.

Check out the film's trailer/music video here. I admit to getting dime-sized goosebumps, either from kilig or from the fact that stuff I wrote has actually been shot, or maybe both.

Avid tells me he is in the thick of post production, and he estimates the film to be finished 8 months from now. So please, visit his site and tell him to hurry the hell up because we all wanna see it already.

MOOD: Fiendish
MUSIC: Bloc Party- "So Here We Are"
FILM: A History Of Violence. Wives everywhere, follow what Maria Bello does for her man, and the world will be a much better place.
TV: Scrubs. The best show with the best lines: "I love this moment so much I want to make love to it."

Journalistic Tendencies

2006-02-27T22:12:00.000+11:00

I have this ritual that I've been doing for the last few years now. Every January (or in this case, March) I go into a book store and search for the perfect notebook-slash-organizer that will be my planner/journal/sketchbook for the rest of the year. In this era of Blackberries and PDAs and considering the fact that I'm such a gadget whore I am still remarkably reliant on good old pen and paper.

choices, choices...

In a sense I’m really picky when it comes to planners, so much that I’ve even developed a set of prerequisites:

a) It has to have thick paper because I dont like it when ink seeps to the other side thus rendering the page useless.

b) It can't be too intrically designed or fancy. I’ve been given heaps of journals with shells and glass beads and soft sheepskin leatherbound covers and for some reason I could never write anything on them. Maybe it’s because they were so pretty I wanted to cuddle in bed with them instead. My best journals have been 15-peso Cattleya notebook fillers. Those I gladly impale with my perverted thoughts…

c) Pages have to be blank and without any self-help inspirational quotes printed in between random pages. These annoy me, maybe because I feel like some unseen being is preaching and telling me how to lead my life. I can smile and be kind to others without anyone telling me to.

d) Most importantly, it has to have a monthly calendar. I’ve tried my best to really work with a daily calendar but I get lost somehow. Seeing my entire month laid out in one page allows me to see just how many more days I can procrastinate.

Once I’ve found what I want, then comes the tedious task of transferring all my data, business numbers, appointments, ideas, and other things that need to be carried over from my old planner (which at this point has gone from sheer black leather to something that resembles a mangled tongue) to my new one.

So what’s in my planner?

-To Do Lists. Somehow I think that if I make a list of things I need to do for the week I will achieve them faster. Which of course never works. To this day items like "Fix Working Visa" and "Make One Million Dollars" remain unchecked.

-I love drawing but unfortunately, drawing doesn’t love me. So my journal is full of stick figure people, dodgy storyboards of the short films and videos I did for the year, and really really pathetic attempts at calligraphy.

(If I had a wish right now it would be to draw well. Like this bastard. I really believe drawing is one of the most underrated talents.)

-Cool Movie Titles. I have this growing checklist of titles which I would love to use in my films someday. They’re not attached to any plots or stories just yet, but I just think they sound cool. Like “Sushi For Cowards.”

-I write down observations of people. This usually happens when I’m waiting for the train or bus to come. I love it when people pick their nose and they think no one sees them. I like it when I see really old couples help each other up the bus. And it never fails to cheer me up when Pinoys sit next to me and start talking to each other in Tagalog. There’s something immensely soothing about hearing your native language in a foreign land, even if the topic of discussion is something about the Starstruck Finalists coming to Sydney and performing in Town Hall.

-Really bad poetry. So bad that if you were to read it, you’d vomit and laugh at the same time. Think about how painful that would be.

-I have little lightbulb icons drawn on some pages and next to that are little ideas that spring to mind- film ideas, cool character names, and short stories.

Writing this entry suddenly made me think about how our planners and journals have evolved in such a short span of time. Like, does anyone still use a filofax? I remember how everyone used to carry one around bought from Fino (sosyal) or Tickles (uhm, cute) and they'd have little plastic ziplock pages which contained graduation pictures of friends and during breaks at Mcdo in La Salle small talk between classmates would be: “Patingin ng filo…” and the reply would be “Sure, basta, sulat ka ng dedication ha?” while pointing to the back section where people would write stuff like “Hey I’m so glad you’re my blockmate" followed by senti song lyrics from the ex-singer of Journey and Rick Price. Yes, kids, this was how life was before Friendster.

And don't get me started on those Trapper Keepers.

Today we have blogs of course. I used to think people with blogs were insecure losers silently clamoring for attention. Then I got one and now I think all bloggers are edgy artists speaking their minds. Haha.

As much as I enjoy blogging for all its quasi therapeutic benefits, in a way it’s also kind of embarrasing. Sometimes I bump into old acquaintances who are like “Dude! I read your blog!” followed by a wide undecipherable grin and I suddenly feel sheepish. At the same time I read other people’s blogs and then I see them out at some bar and I think “Shit, I know how depressed she was last week because her and her boyfriend fought because he told his friends that he found her best friend hot...”

So why do we do it? Why have we allowed our thoughts to trickle on to the world wide web for people to read, judge, and possibly mock? I really don’t know. Maybe it’s because deep down we are all kulang sa pansin and we think that by posting our opinions on a public space we are all making some sort of contribution to society and gaining some measure of immortality. And getting judged and mocked in the process.

So I compromise. I write stuff online, but I still write stuff for me and me alone. I keep them in my head because there are just some things that are better left unwritten. So next time you bump into me and say “Dude, nice blog” , realize that you don’t know me completely, just an edited, watered-down version. However, if you sit with me, buy me my favorite Aussie beer, and talk to me, I may just tell you my secrets. Because nothing still beats a really good conversation.
..........

MOOD: In dire need of a VB
MUSIC: Joy Division, 'Love Will Tear Us Apart'
MOVIE: Napoleon Dynamite. Can't wait for Nacho Libre...
TV SHOW: Amazing Race. I could so win this.

Still my ultimate fantasy date...

2006-02-16T17:44:00.000+11:00

A boy. A girl. A train ride through Vienna. A proposal. She says yes.

Daydream delusion
Limousine Eyelash
Oh, baby with your pretty face
Drop a tear in my wineglass
Look at those big eyes
See what you mean to me
Sweet cakes and MILKSHAKES
I am a delusion angel
I am a fantasy parade
I want you to know what I think
Don't want you to guess anymore
You have no idea where I came from
We have no idea where we're going
Launched in life
Like branches in the river
Flowing downstream
Caught in the current
I'll carry you. You'll carry me
That's how it could be
Don't you know me
Don't you know me by now

My favorite scenes from the film:

Uuy. Pa-simple.

Playing the phone game.

2006-02-11T16:19:00.000+11:00

Some portraits I took of some friends recently...

Inaki

Felix

More of my portraits here...

The Last Wave

2006-01-29T04:21:00.000+11:00

Went body boarding today at Bondi. As soon as I dove in the ice water instantly gave me brain freeze. Bondi Beach's way of saying "welcome back, tropical native boy."

I know it's annoyingly cliche for surfers (pros and wannabes alike) to wax poetic about being one with nature and feeling the rush when the waves scoop up your board and all that but based on whatever little experience I've had so far, it's true. Granted, I've spent more time being underwater than above, but even being submerged and spun around like laundry provides moments of clarity. Like: "God I hope nobody laughs at me when I surface."

My favourite part is definitely the waiting. You're sitting on your board, legs dangling underneath you, waves gently rocking you back and forth as you patiently wait for the right one to come along. It's here where I find myself thinking of things I normally wouldn't. Like: "If a Great White swam underneath me, would it go for my legs first since they are as of the moment the easiest bits to reach? Or would it go for the board since by presumption it would appear to be the meatier part of the meal? Or would it perhaps ignore me and instead go for the fat swimmer a few meters away because from my clouded perspective, he does somewhat resemble a pregnant walrus?"

Paddling away far from the noisy middle aged beach goers and their urinating children, I pass on wave after wave, content on just floating and enjoying the afternoon sun. Ordinarily I'd be aggressive and try to catch every wave I can but today I decide not to. If the perfect wave's there she'll come. Maybe I'll catch her and maybe I won't. For now I'm perfectly content floating. And thinking of things other than getting mauled by a 30 foot shark...

What would have happened if I had stayed and not flown home? Where exactly is home anyway? Whenever I'm in Manila and my friends ask me when I'm leaving I always say "I'm going home in a few days." And when I'm in Sydney and my dad asks me when I'm flying back I always say "I'll be home on December." I think I currently live in two places at the same time. My mind and my body are still playing catch up to each other, and when they finally merge, I wonder where I will find myself at.

I look across the water and see the real surfers passing the time. They look out towards the horizon like I do. I wonder if in some far away beach, other people are staring out and if so, would it be possible to see them if I paddled out a little further? I have dorky little bodyboarding fins on, of course I could. How hard could it be?

Finally the perfect wave comes and I catch her perfectly, riding her all the way back to shore. The ride is crisp, perfect, and like all good rides I really don't want it to end. But like everything else, it does and I find myself back on the beach, sand up my shorts and a smile on my face. The water is freezing but it somehow just reminds me of how great it is to be alive. This will do. For now.

2006-01-27T02:06:00.000+11:00

Just like that. Back in Sydney. One minute I'm packing my bags (last minute again, as always), the next I'm UN-packing them in my flat. There's a roach problem, so I've been killing the fuckers with orange-scented Mortein. There's something gleefully macabre about seeing insects writhe and die while your nostrils are being flooded with the scent of Tang.

I am so damn jet-lagged even if I have no reason to be (Sydney is a mere 3 hours ahead). But when you've been sleeping at 5am Manila time for the last couple of days, then going to bed 8am when you have to be at work at 9am is going to be a problem.

It's so strange to suddenly be the darkest skinned person walking in the streets again. Even more so now because I have the closest thing to what I can call a tan. I should try my best to keep it.

It's also strange riding a bus once more because for awhile there I was really beginning to enjoy driving my car again. Rest in peace baby black Civic. May you go to an owner who'll love you, cherish you, and give you a good Tire Black once a week. Smell nice for him and keep the CD player working, because it's the sound of music that hides those squeaks and creaks which betray your age. Give him kick ass dates that last till sunrise and don't overheat or blow a tire, especially when the spare's flat too, because girls don't like being stranded in the middle of nowhere. Maybe three years from now when I'm finally home I'll be driving down South Super in my BMW X5 (I'll afford it by then) and I'll see FDM 234 a couple of lanes ahead and I'll gladly speed and cut my way just to see who's driving you. Hopefully he'll have replaced your eroding rubber steering wheel with a nice wooden Momo and I hope to God there are no fur dice hanging from your rearview mirror. Don't be jealous when you see me in my new pimped out ride because even if I've moved on, the memories I've had with you will stay (and how). I'll honk my horn and wave at the driver and he'll probably think I'm some gay wanker trying to pick him up but then I'll just smile and speed off, him totally not knowing the history you and I once had. Peace bro. Been nice driving you. I really wish I had a name for you now...

I realize I just wrote a farewell letter. For my car. I need to sleep.

New pics

2006-01-11T04:45:00.000+11:00

One of my resolutions for 2006 is to not just shoot pictures but to post them. So here you go, first batch of random images for the year:

Harbour Bridge by night.

Mural

Pool of Light.

Footprints, Port Macquarrie.

Bus stop (taken from the hip).

Opera House

Punta Bulata sunset.

But is it really?

It's in the blood

2006-01-10T17:41:00.000+11:00

Kaila just got her own Nikon D70 and has been putting it to good use. Check out her online gallery here.

Boxes

2006-01-04T21:57:00.000+11:00

One of the first things I did this year was help my dad clean out 10 years worth of junk from our house in Bacolod. Boxes and boxes like you wouldn't believe. I think it's because as a family we are a bunch of pack rats who can't seem to let go of anything even after we're done with it. I am a notorious receipt hoarder, even ones from McDonalds, because I have this recurring fantasy in my head that someday I just might bite into a McNugget with a cockroach leg embedded in it and I'll need the receipt to sue.

I've been improving though. I am trying to apply my scriptwriting professor's philosophy ("Be mercenary. If it's not absolutely needed, get rid of it) into my swag hoarding world. Moving into a smaller flat in Sydney has helped in a way. I used to have little nooks and crannies to tuck away shoeboxes worth of junk. Now my tiny closet threatens to burst each time I attempt to stick in one more ATM transaction slip.

So back to my dad's house. Kaila and I dug into a couple of boxes and were amazed at the number of things that we found: a veritable time capsule of our personal histories. Oh, and a TIME back issue:

Pre-couch jumping days.

We dug up some Jurassic Archie Comics. And if there's one thing you never throw away, it's comics. Especially if a photo of your younger sister's high school sweetheart is taped to one of the covers...

Kaila looks like she is nine years old. And is that an arm grazing her boob?? Grr...

Also unearthed was an old cassette tape of mine circa 1991:

Bel Biv Devoe. I know. I apologize.

But the find of the day had to be an autograph book owned by my other sister Gabbi.

Why she kept an autograph book and got members of her own family to sign it I never figured out. I guess it's one of those Sweet Valley High/ My Little Pony collecting-secrets-thing that only pre-pubescent girls understand. But of course I signed it anyway. Read on and see how cool I was at ten years of age:

1) I obviously wasn't born in 1985, so I have no idea why my birthdate says so.
2) Bacolod used to have just 5 digit telephone numbers. My friends envied mine because it ended with 007.
3) Despite being an avid member of the Philatelic (stamp collecting) Club, I never got beat up in school.
4) "Taxidermy and shooting"- I used to enjoy shooting small creatures then stuffing them with cotton. You can imagine the horror of my environmentalist dad.
5) Who didn't like We Are The World?? Our entire class would get together during recess and sing this song with matching invisible earphones held up to our ears and we would argue who would get to sing who. The cool guys always got to do the Michael Jackson parts, the potentially gay ones did Cyndi Lauper. I think I was Kenny Loggins.
6) Okay, Drew Barrymore in E.T. and Firestarter. Yes. Brookie in Blue Lagoon. Of course. But Gretchen Barretto? What was I thinking? I think it was because she was the Heart Evangelista of her time just before she did all those classy Seiko skin flicks. Whatever. My taste has evolved since then.
7) "Dance: Break." Yesss. My signature move? The headspin. No one in grade school could touch me. Come to think of it, this is probably why no one ever beat me up. You don't mess with a stamp collecting breakdancer.

And of course, no autograph book would be complete without a LOVE portion:

1) "Have you ever been in love?" In retrospect that answer should have been No. But when I was ten I thought Jamie from Voltes V was THE ONE. And she was a cartoon.
2) Notice how my secret crush is so TOP SECRET that I couldn't just write it, I had to draw a STAMP of it.
3) "How did you MET?" They must have printed out this book from the same factory as Hello Kitty merchandise.
4) "Pretty, Blonde, Funny." I really have no recollection as to who this is. Maybe it's because it was so Top Secret I erased it from my mind. With a stamp.
5) Notice how I answered "do you believe in long engagements?" with a confident "Of course." I probably didn't even know what an engagement was.
6) "Love is loving someone and someone loving you." Ah, if it were only that simple.

By afternoon's end we had succeeded in throwing out a sugarcane truck's worth of trash, but not without stumbling on a few other gems:

Faded childhood photos. Looking at the massive smile on my face as I swam and frolicked in the beaches and farms and mountains, I'm really glad I grew up in Bacolod and not in Manila.

(I wonder, in this digital age where pictures never fade, will people still get as sentimental when they look at them 20 years from now?)

National Geographic back issues. Like comics, you just can't throw these away. My dad's National Geographic magazines were my inspiration for taking up photography. Then later on in life I stumbled across his OTHER magazines. Which is a different blog entry altogether...

I came across an old high school notebook and I couldn't answer any of the trigonometry problems that were in it.

I came across my mom's old letters and I remembered how beautiful her handwriting was.

So I started the day with the intention of throwing out trash and ended up walking down memory lane. Sometimes it's a really great place to visit. And doing it at the start of 2006 somehow makes it more poignant. To completely move forward you gotta go backwards. And smile and say goodbye and chuck 'em all in a cardboard box.

2006-01-02T23:29:00.000+11:00

My token fireworks shot for the year.

2006 is MINE. I know it.

Have a good year everyone. Hello to people who've been kind enough to drop me a message.

2005-12-15T18:37:00.000+11:00

For those of you who've been complaining that the films over at my site take too long to load, I've tweaked em a bit and they should play fine now. So quick, go watch 'em here.

2005-12-14T16:22:00.000+11:00

Some grabbed stills from my film...

And a trailer too!

My Film Shoot Dissected...

2005-12-03T01:01:00.000+11:00

So yeah, my latest short film. As I mentioned below, it's called The Haircut and it's about a lonely old barber who suddenly finds himself having to entertain a bald guy- who insists on having a haircut. It's a surreal comedy about how some people take "the customer is always right" credo a little too seriously. For this semester I wanted to achieve two things- first to do a light hearted piece because my last film Blinding made my sisters cry and I still feel guilty about that. Second, I wanted to shoot on Super 16mm film, despite my Uni's insistence that I shoot on DV. They claim that "Digital is the future, so you shouldn't be bothering with film anymore." Which is really a nice way of saying "we can't afford to give you any film stock and we have no decent 16mm cameras available so go shoot on our MiniDV cameras instead." My view was: "if I'm in what you call FILM school, then I'm gonna go and shoot something on film before I graduate." And so off I went. Such a rebel.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm all for the digital revolution. I'm convinced it's only a matter of time before HD finally achieves the same luster and latitude that film has, and that it should eventually become available on even the simplest of cameras and laptops. A lot of people scoff at Robert Rodriguez's claim that "film is dead" but I'm not one of them. I truly believe that digital is opening the door for a slew of hungry young filmmakers who would never have been able to shoot on a medium as expensive as film. But at the same time there's just something magical about negative stock, the realness of it, that I appreciate. While I love how Peter Jackson uses digital tech to create Middle Earth, I'm also a huge fan of the Jim Henson live action puppetry in Labyrinth. And for all it's worth, watch the Hoth and Dagobah planet scenes in Empire Strikes Back or the Daily Planet sequences in the original Superman movie. I've still yet to see CG backgrounds that can match the textures of those hand built sets.

Okay enough fence sitting. Here's how I shot my very first Super 16 film:

Knowing the insane costs of film stock these days I set out to write a story that wouldn't be too complicated, something set in one location, with minimal setups and just a couple of actors. I know it sucks developing a story based on available resources but that's how indies go. So instead of writing a film that takes place on top of the Harbour Bridge with dozens of sweet helicopter 360 shots of the hero waving the Aussie flag, I chose to set the story in a barbershop. Mel then gave me the idea: "What if a bald guy just walked in, asked for a haircut, and left?" Perfect.

(Mel is really great at coming up with scenarios for short films. She'll come up with a cool concept, then lets me sweat and lactate in excitement as I develop the idea into a script. She then does the things I hate the most- looks for money, makes phone calls, books gear- while I do the things she hates- audition actors, work on the script, brood in a corner exploring pretentious themes which eventually get edited out.)

With the script set, we set out to find a barbershop, which, looking back was I think the frickin' toughest part of the production. We scoured Sydney trying to find that one perfect barbershop that had a nostalgic feel to it with the red swirly poles, the paisley wallpaper, the wooden panels and checkered floors. We mostly found hairdressing salons with interiors still set in 1989, complete with posters of models laquered in Aquanet.

(Seriously though, why is that? Most salons always have photos of outdated hairstyles on their walls. Do the owners think that kids today will enter, sit on the stool, point up at Rob Lowe's St. Elmo's Fire mullet and say: "Just like that."?)

It took two weeks to find Sam's Hairdressers, which was located up in Dee Why, a couple of blocks next to La Mesa, a Pinoy restaurant that serves crispy pata sent down from heaven. More on that later. God bless Sam and his willingness to let us use his lovely barbershop for our shoot. Granted, he had a few 80's posters tacked up, but my brilliant production designer Leonie told me not to worry and that she'd cover them up with wallpaper.

Tomorrow: CAST and CREW.

2005-11-25T13:07:00.000+11:00

FINALLY. Some time to frickin' blog. How time flies when you're not having fun. Been running around the continent the last two months shooting one corporate video after the next. One day I'm in Brisbane, the next I'm in Adelaide. Just yesterday I was in Perth. It's gotten so frequent that all the suits I've shot are starting to look the same. My jetsetting commute is quite similar to Edward Norton's character in Fight Club. I swear I'm starting to see split second frames of my Tyler Durden flickering in front of me everytime I wait for the baggage conveyor to spew out my gear. I always remind myself though that this beats working the phones in some desk any time. And once in awhile, a few interesting shoots sprout up amidst all the talking heads stuff- a wine tasting session (for Hardys wine), viral ads involving giant boxing gloves, sex dolls, and electrocution (for MitchelLake), and just today I filmed the first ever gay wedding in Australia. That's right! It was a bit of a shock to discover that in Australia's entire history there has never been a legit gay marriage. Well today there was one and I was there to document it. My hetero contribution to Aussie gay culture!

I've also been donating my precious free time to shoot some films for two of my friends. The first was a film called "For Sale" about a cheeky real estate agent who pulls homeless people off the street and attempts to sell "property" to them- a street corner, an alleyway, a park bench. Very un-PC, but funny in the South Park vein:

The second was a surreal comedy called "Turnabout" which is set in a nightclub where the male roles are played by females and the female roles are played by males. It's a play on sexual power and a study as to how roles in society shift when genders trade places.

The highlight of the shoot was being given the role of "boob inspector" meaning that as a straight guy I got to judge whether the silicon on the guy actors' chests looked realistic enough. I almost took this job as seriously as I did my cinematographer duties.

All my charity work, while racking me up good karma points, almost totally set me back from the real task at hand which was to shoot my own damn film! And fortunately, I remembered just in time.

It's called "The Haircut." It's about a barber who finds himself servicing a most unusual customer.

Snip snip snip...

2005-10-19T02:27:00.000+10:00

Jesus!

Entry long overdue. I am in the process of writing one long-ass summary of what I have been doing the last month. It involves bling, breast grabbing, and barbershops. And no I am not starring in an Ice Cube movie. Stay tuned...

2005-09-08T00:20:00.000+10:00

I looked down today and saw that both my knees were skinned raw. Which only means one thing:

I'm playing some Ultimate again. Sweet.

Love Your Thumbs!

2005-08-27T15:43:00.000+10:00

Sony Australia recently had a short film contest where participants were asked to submit a 1-3 minute video with the final content suitable to be uploadable to a Sony Playstation Portable. I saw the notice 2 days before the deadline, rounded up my beautiful girlfriend/ badass producer Mel and my actor friend/ officemate Nick, and shot a mockumentary about people who love their thumbs. It was run and gun filmmaking all the way- I literally wrote the script while we were setting up lights, edited till sunrise, and groggily hand-delivered it an hour before the deadline. I think it turned out pretty okay. And Sony must've thought so because it made it to the finals and will be available for download from their site next week! If you've read my blog you know how bad I've been lusting after a PSP and now here's a chance for me to win one. Keeping my fingers (or rather thumbs) crossed...

2005-08-12T13:00:00.000+10:00

My short films page is back online. I'll be constantly updating it, so click on it from time to time. Will post my short film trailers, web adverts, music videos, and more. In the meantime, check out the Blinding trailer.

2005-07-27T13:23:00.000+10:00

The Great Raid, featuring Cesar Montano, is hitting theaters soon. Note that I said "featuring" and not "starring" because based on the miniscule screen time Cesar had on the trailer compared to Benjamin Bratt and Joseph "I still can't believe I did Killing Me Softly" Fiennes, it looks like Machete takes a back seat to Will Shakespeare and Julia Roberts' ex. Here's hoping Cesar pulls a Ken Wattanabe on unsuspecting Hollywood.