AVP

Behind the scenes

Making an audio visual presentation (AVP) is like making a film too, albeit a short one.

This writer recently witnessed the making of an AVP for the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) Graduate School with Business. Production lasted for four days, which consists of an interview of Dr. Alfredo Bengzon, Dean of Graduate School, shots with various ADMU infrastructures, interview of Fr. Nebres, President of ADMU. The video also included a brief segment on the life of St. Ignatius of Loyola, ADMU’s patron saint.

The Spanish-born saint is one of the most influential figures of the Catholic Reformation of the 16th century and the founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) as well. Joel Trinidad, son of Noel Trinidad, portrays St. Ignatius in this production.

Joel is a Psychology graduate of ADMU. He has appeared on TV (the GMA teleserya Kung Mawawala Ka) and film (Mumbaki) and has done Shakespeare on stage. He is also a unit manager of New Skin, so he doesn’t mind the low income he earns from acting in these productions.

Nerissa Picadizo is the director of the project. She released her first short feature film entitled Stressful X early this year and was part of the production team of Star Cinema’s Jologs. She also slaved for the Cinemanila Film Festival and helped organize the Eksperimento film festival and this year’s Urian Awards. She is also part of the planning committee of the monthly video screenings at Titus Brandsma Center (TBC) in Cubao, Quezon City.

The entire team is made up of Jaime Bengzon (executive producer and cinematographer), Alvin Santiago (production manager), Eric Jose Pancho (production designer), Elmo Redrico (art director), Manny Abanto (assistant Cameraman) and Tony Nugod (gaffer). Budget was estimated to be at P250,000. It’s no James Cameron production so it’s going take talent and inventiveness to come up with a good presentation with this amount of money.

We managed to catch the shooting at the campus of the University of the Philippines (UP)–apparently, the filmmakers deemed the UP campus, the haven of atheists or agnostics, as looking holier than Ateneo’s. It was a faintly sunny Sunday morning when Nerissa gathered her cast and crew at the Palma Hall. On schooldays, this huge edifice is teeming with students rushing to their classes, or just hanging out and being a nuisance (It’s like Baclaran on a Wednesday combined with the SM Megamall during midnight madness). But it was Sunday and the Palma Hall was deserted, eerily quiet and desolate. Today, this old building would be posing as (ahem), The Vatican.

We caught the star, Trinidad, in the Palma Hall’s men’s room, in full costume and doing a last minute touch up on his hair. He seemed eager to start filming and he behaved as if this production was as big and elaborate as a Cecil B. De Mille epic.

The segment on the saint will feature the important events of his life, such as when he meets the Pope. No dialog is required, the narrator would be doing the storytelling chores.The first shots were done in a small room. Bernard Roo­sen­­daal, Dutch Carmelite priest and TBC Director, was sweating a bit under the glaring lights. He played the Pope and the scene required Ig­natius to kiss his hand. Yet the priest remained professional and refrained from making any complaints. The scene was completed in a few takes. Nerissa instructed Joel to change his facial reaction (upon being offered the Pope’s hand) after one take.

After a quick lunch, the company walked to the UP lagoon. The sky was cloudy-luck wasn’t on their side, as trickles of rain poured down just when the shoot was about to start. The scene shows Ignatius shaking hands with a European nobleman, played by Elmo Redrico.

Shooting resumed when the drizzle stopped. Joseph Palis, assistant professor of the Department of Geography (and bonafide film buff), acted as a “sweeper” - moving around to tell vendors and passersby not to get close to the crew or else they’ll be caught by the camera (no autographs please!).

The scene required more takes here, as Nerissa tried to remind Elmo in the most tactful fashion, that his rugged demeanor doesn’t become a privileged European man of the 16th century. Eric agreed and he said that men of the 16th century, at least straight men of the 16th century, might not have worn earrings. Straight as a line Elmo stayed in character and removed the offending pieces of jewelry.

Next were shots of Ignatius wandering in a garden. Nerissa instructed Manny to take a pan shot of the lagoon while Joel changed costumes. The first scene was Joel crossing the short, walking bridge. Two curious kids approached the “set” to witness Nerissa’s crew do what it does best. They seemed star struck when Joseph explained that a movie was being shot.

Then we proceeded to the small garden fronting the Faculty Center to have another shot of the wandering Ignatius. We walked next to Beta Way, which is the shortest route from Palma Hall to Melchor Hall (College of Engineering). Joel looked striking in his costume, though had the scene had been shot in the evening, he would have been mistaken for an apparition. The campus, with all its magnificent trees and plants, look ideal as the place where St. Ignatius once roamed.

Shooting ended at around 3 a.m. It was a long day, though the resulting video, according to the director, is supposed to run for just 10 minutes! The weather had delayed things a bit, but filming would have been more complicated had there been any dialog spoken. Just shows an office job can be a breeze if compared to film­making. No star tantrums were reported and the producers don’t even have to worry about box office returns.

(First published in The Manila Times on July 28, 2003)