CONTENT creation may seem like an easy task for some, but it never is for the real, sensible and innovative creators.
In this age of social media, influencers and those claiming to be one, mushroomed in every corner but only a few stood out, one is Roy Phillip Te Hernandez.
He is behind the "Davao Conyo-dubbed" video clips from Filipino and foreign films that went viral in social media starting late November last year.
Some of Phillip's works are scenes from "Four Sisters and a Wedding," "Wildflower," "Labs Kita, Okay ka lang?" an MTRCB Ad Campaign, Liam Neeson's "Taken," and "One more Try."
He has gained followers (and is continuously gaining) because of his wit, creativity, and hilarious "conyo" lines relatable by both millennials and baby boomers.
"I really have the passion for content creation and making people happy. Back in 2013, I had a YouTube channel (The XD Channel) with my former partner but we took it down after we broke up. I stop doing video contents for a while and focused on my corporate job until late last year when I really felt the need to create something, so I tried doing short parodies again in Facebook," the 26-year-old social media content creator shared in an interview with SunStar Davao last January 10.
His first Facebook video was impersonating (using Davao conyo) a viral video of a Cebuano woman being interviewed. But his first video breaching the one million views mark was his dubbed film scene from "Four Sisters and A Wedding," his favorite Filipino movie.
"The plan really is to shoot myself doing that iconic scene (from Four Sisters and A Wedding) using the Davao conyo, but narealize ko iconic na gud masyado ang scene tapos feeling ko di ko mabigyan ng justice ba if I do it and I was really afraid na maybe a lot of people will say na mas gusto pa rin nila ang original kasi iconic yun eh baka macompare ako ba. So, I just recorded the scene and did the dub, eventually it turned out to be the first video hitting one million organic shares and people keep on asking for more," he shared.
Yes, he really speaks Davao conyo in real life.
At present, four of his dubbed contents reached over a million views.
Being a Davao conyo
Phillip said he decided to do his video contents using Davao conyo because he is sure that a lot of people can relate to it.
"I also want to use it positively. I want to tell them that it is okay to use Davao conyo by using it with comedic tones. Because we have this common judgment that if a person is a conyo meaning maarte, feeling mayaman and social climber agad. But with what I do now, I don't know if this is also the effect to other people but I believe they are slowly laughing about it and they would understand that it really is okay to be one," the marketing graduate student from Ateneo de Davao University said.
In making video contents
In creating video contents, Phillip said that it wasn't an easy task at all. Yes, it's fun but always challenging.
The Roderick Paulate-fan underscored that it is, somehow, an art of having a right balance of being you and considering what other people like.
"You really just have to be you, but sometimes there are stuff that appear to be funny for me but not to the audience that is why I always consider people who can relate. I always try to make it halfway. Knowing and analyzing your market is important because they are the reason why you made the content, it is not just for yourself, it is for other people, so you really have to listen to them," he said.
Most of the time, he said, it would took him a week or more to finish a two-minute content as he believes that creativity need not to be rushed.
For those aspiring influencers and content creators, Phillip humbly suggested that content should, at all times, be the center of their works.
"Don't always rely on good looks, for me it is always a plus, but you have to be creative. It is alarming for millennials to always focus on how they look, sometimes we forget the content. I am always for content, never forget that," Phillip said.
The Davao conyo personality has already worked with Viewers' Choice Philippines (for the Commuter film) and Star Cinema (for ang Dalawang Mrs. Reyes).
"Hindi pa siya super naga sink in kasi for me I was just doing it for fun. I am really here to spread good vibes. I don't want to complicate the content that I upload. I just want people to have a good laugh," he said.
The rising Dabawenyo influencer has plans to expand his works than just dubs, but for now he just wants to seize the moment and continue giving netizens a reason to laugh. A lot.