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Thursday, January 15, 2004
Yap: New age
By Januar E. Yap
Meanwhile
“To kids out there who dream of making his own movie someday, dream on!”
—Whoopie Goldberg, Oscar Night, 1998
The Digital Film Revolution (DFR) is synonymous WITH Non-linear Film Editing (NFE). But we’ll get to that.
My good friend Kris Villarino won the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ short feature film contest a few years back. His entry was originally meant in partial fulfillment for his graduation requirement at the USC College of Fine Arts. His teacher, another good friend Radel Paredes, gave him the nod, even if it was a bit out of custom. All arts, anyway, are ultimately parallel in their quest for universality.
Kris’ entry, entitled “Binaliw,” bested others that were, by their looks, backed by good financing. According to another good friend from the CCP Film Division Ed Cabagnot, the other entries were likely made by spoiled brats from the Manila universities. They may have shelled out a good sum to produce theirs. But for Kris, it was cinema on a shoestring budget. He said he only spent P1,000 for the 15-minute feature. He only treated a whole class from the Binaliw Elementary School in Talamban to an afternoon post-shooting siesta, and used the school’s editing facility. I can’t begin narrating you “Binaliw’s” details, and I have to ask Kris’ permission should you need to get his number to reach him.
Filmmaking’s dependence on giant studios is passé. If you have a camera, a personal computer, and (shhh) a pirated editing software, you can make a movie with the same quality as that of your favorite movies. The digital film revolution has democratized an erstwhile expensive venture. In a small room, you can work wonders that used to be possible only in large studio warehouses.
Like how my generation witnessed the demise of the typewriter, I also saw how video editing on large console tables filling up an entire room became extinct.
Seeing this, while video piracy is on the loose, you can also unleash a new wave of moviemaking by younger guerillas. In effect, this opens up a new vista for our younger writers who may want to try writing for screen. Welcome to the new Nickelodeon.
(e-mail: januariusmail @yahoo.com)
(January 15, 2004 issue)
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