Author's Note:
This blog should have been posted
earlier but due to lack of enough time, I wasn't able to do it...
I wrote and posted this blog not because of bitterness but I would rather say because of an unfinished business.
I am now an incoming senior student of the Adamson University and currently taking Mass Communication. During my junior year, I was enrolled in the subject Broadcast Media and part of our curriculum for the said subject was to produce a documentary-film with any topic of our choice. That time, I was designated as the director. Right there and then, I called for a meeting to discuss what our topic would be. With four other members working as scriptwriter, researcher, cameraman and production assistant, we managed to talk regarding timely issues that can be documented.
Some of the topic that arose were about bisexuals, questionable farmland in some provinces, illegal drugs, night life of some students, teenage parents, relationships, and more. The topics were good but I believed that they were too broad that I suggested one which made them agreed that it can be a good topic. It was about the mystery service being offered at some of the infamous movie houses in Metro Manila.
Thus entering a topic concerning male prostitution and poverty. It was supposed to be an investigative documentary-film and since I love challenges and taking risks, I acted as the front man who experienced what it's like when you're already inside the cinema houses. Our targeted places were the ones in Avenida-Recto and we were lucky enough to look for one.
I wrote and posted this blog not because of bitterness but I would rather say because of an unfinished business.
I am now an incoming senior student of the Adamson University and currently taking Mass Communication. During my junior year, I was enrolled in the subject Broadcast Media and part of our curriculum for the said subject was to produce a documentary-film with any topic of our choice. That time, I was designated as the director. Right there and then, I called for a meeting to discuss what our topic would be. With four other members working as scriptwriter, researcher, cameraman and production assistant, we managed to talk regarding timely issues that can be documented.
Some of the topic that arose were about bisexuals, questionable farmland in some provinces, illegal drugs, night life of some students, teenage parents, relationships, and more. The topics were good but I believed that they were too broad that I suggested one which made them agreed that it can be a good topic. It was about the mystery service being offered at some of the infamous movie houses in Metro Manila.
Thus entering a topic concerning male prostitution and poverty. It was supposed to be an investigative documentary-film and since I love challenges and taking risks, I acted as the front man who experienced what it's like when you're already inside the cinema houses. Our targeted places were the ones in Avenida-Recto and we were lucky enough to look for one.
Being the front man, I experienced a lot of first time like it was my first to enter such kind of movie house and watch a totally nude film. For the first time, I also felt fear for my own life for it was truly spooky and dangerous inside. It was also my first time to speak with a guy regarding his dirty job including his sexual experiences towards his customers. I was also verbally harassed and I couldn't really fight back for I know, it was their territory.
For almost three weeks of staking out at our topic, I've been used to their opening salvo once that they approach us and it goes like this: "boss, gusto mo ba ng serbis? Php100 lang, liligaya ka na". Funny but it depicts poverty saying that just to earn money, they are willing to be involved in the said dirty act. By the way, it's a same-sex prostitution and seldom do ladies go to that place.
FYI: our topic was even televised in the ABS-CBN news show, TV Patrol, for that same day, when we were conducting our interview with one of the male prostitutes inside the cinema, the movie house adjacent to where we were actually being raided by the Manila Police Team.
I believed that it was indeed a very good topic, not thinking of the competition, but more of the exposition of the different side of prostitution or human trafficking. However, different factors lead us to failure in submitting a one-of-a-kind docu-film. Among them were corrupted audio and video files, lack of financial support and materials needed, and if I might say so, useless members who did nothing really helpful for the group. I edited our docu and as I was editing, I realized that as their director, I also committed mistakes. One of it was not being time-conscious. Actually, I thought we shall be consuming our last two terms for the production only to find out that we only had a week left to finish everything. That time, we were also busy practicing for another production class which asked us to produce a variety show. I really couldn't rush my scriptwriter for he was also a director in one of the groups in the said variety show. Although in fairness to him, he really helped a lot.
I remember that it was also my first time to enter the premises of Adamson University without really sleeping or even taking a bath, just to personally talk to my Professor that we couldn't beat his deadline. That very same day, my writer and I came from an overnight of traveling starting from AdU to Cavite to Las Piñas, then back to Cavite then to Tondo then to Adamson University again. It took us four more days before we're able to pass our work and since I'm not a pro' in video-editing, it was not good at all.
The memory of my conversation with my Professor during the AdU-RSO Awards Night was still vivid on my mind. I asked him how's our docu and he blatantly answered that it was a "trash". At first, I felt sad but I realized that it was more of a challenge that next time, I should do better.
In terms of television or film production, I would say that I excel most in documentary-film making. I can proudly say that before, with the help of some of my classmates and friends, I've been able to produce two quality docufilms and it just so happened that this time, our group faced problems which were hard to resolve.
This was just part of our busy third year academic life and as I face my senior year, I am glued to the promise that in the near future, when I am already at the field of broadcasting, I will return to my topic and produce an award-winning documentary-film not due to bitterness but just to complete my unfinished business.
By the way, congratulations to the winners and finalists of the best documentary award in the Mass Communication Society's Athena Film Festival. Glad to say that among them was my friend's team.
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