My Turf

I read somewhere that people should try to learn at least one new skill every year. Since then, I’ve been consciously keeping a close check on new abilities I’ve acquired at the end of each year. I realize that most things I know now are mere results of the necessities of the jobs I’ve had since I graduated in ’01 and not really out of a conscious desire to learn.

For example, prior to my Technical Writer job at Ulead, I knew zero about software programs (except for MS Word, which is the only program I actually needed back in college). There was this one time I stupidly asked my officemate if an entire program installer could be saved on one floppy diskette. Our Tech guy answered, “Kasya naman siguro sa diskette, pero siguro kelangan mo ng siyam!” Boy, did I get the teasing of my life after that.

After computers, research skills followed. Thanks to small freelance writing assignments I got from some magazine publications. The projects weren’t many, but they helped sharpen my ability at putting two and two together.

Then I got a semi-regular job at an NGO. This is where my journalistic skills were really honed. I was sent out to conduct interviews which I found terrifying at first, but gradually developed confidence in as I went along. In FMA, I happily wrote and wrote and wrote. And I think my style was more suited to the kind of writing that that particular job required. One of my main frustrations when I did magazine articles in the past is that I am not the “You go, girl!” kind of writer. First of all, I do not write funny. I do not find myself witty or amusing; at least not in the “Girl power!” kind of way. I admire those who are great at that because, for a reason I couldn’t quite place, their articles really do feel like “girlfriend to girlfriend” chat. That’s not how it is with mine. Somehow, I sense the sham, the pretense of it all reeking from my own work. It is like what Rey always says: You can discern the author’s sincerity and alam mo as a reader kung pilit ang pagka-sulat. A fashion magazine EIC who interviewed me eons ago said that I couldn’t have the job I was applying for because my writing is “not Pink.” Weirdly, I wasn’t sure whether to feel bad or flattered by that comment.

After “research paper” writing, I got immersed in video scriptwriting. I first got a break when I stumbled upon the Abbott Philippines account in 2003 where, together with Rey and Ronnie, we did an instructional AVP (which I believe Abbott is still using ‘til now). This got me started as a member of the DV Sharks team. Freelance writer/ production manager, project after project…and so the rest is history. Oh and in case you’re curious, yeah, I’m still part of DV Sharks. We’re currently doing a really interesting project for the Japan Foundation which I will tell you about in a separate entry.

DV Sharks was also the link that connected me to where I work now, Pilipinas International Marketing Services (haba, ‘no?!). PIMS had a need for a production team that could make a couple of TVCs for them. Of course as PM, Ronnie asked me to meet up with the Marketing bosses. After two meetings with then Marketing Manager, Reena, I soon got a job offer which I immediately accepted without second thought.

In this job, I had to do so many things I never in my life imagined doing. My first weeks were spent making TVCs by my lonesome. I wrote the scripts, did the layouts, and edited the videos myself (with Premiere and Photoshop running on my pitiful Windows ’98 PC). What I know about Premiere and Photoshop, I only got by watching Ronnie edit. Pero syempre, I am not exactly the most attentive person in the world and my retention is not really that reliable. So how were the first TVCs I made? Of course they sucked! The bosses were fine with them, but I would be the first to admit they were appalling. Plus, prior to airing, I was responsible for preparing the Media Plans for all the ads as well. Before December 2005 ended, I was begging and begging that they hire an editor because I simply couldn’t balance planning, writing, and editing all at the same time. I know multi-tasking, but I also know the bounds of my capacity.

Fortunately, Avi and Wendell were hired early last year. Avi took on copywriting for print ads and Wendell became our video editor. Then, the Marketing Department was split into two, Corporate Development and Creative Services. Before the separation was formalized, the General Manager spoke with me and asked me to choose between Sales/ Marketing and Creatives. He told me that he saw my potential in developing marketing strategies and that with training, it could be a great move for my career. He went on to explain that creative work was something I could always practice some other time anyway, but an offer such as the one he was presenting does not come too often . I said, no thanks, but I’d rather do creative work. “I think you’re making a mistake,” he bluntly told me. Unworried, I shrugged my shoulders and answered, “That’s okay.” 

Turns out it wasn’t at all a mistake. Shortly after, the Tokyo office realized the big earning potential in TV ads. We started with making commercials for our own merchandise and, as our production skills improved, Japanese companies that provide services to Filipinos began advertising with us too. Since most of them do not have their own materials yet, it is our team here in the Philippines that creates their commercials for them: from pre-prod all the way to post. Hence, with constant practice, I gradually learned to direct and Wendell got better and better at lighting and editing.

It is true that the best way to learn is by application. You learn more about the skill or the craft as you go along. You develop your own style; you come up with your strategy at making things flow better. Sometimes, you wouldn’t know what you’re good at until you’ve actually had the chance to try it. You might even be surprised at how nicely you could do a thing you never paid any mind to before. We at our team are no experts in the field, and I would even be the first to claim that what we’ve made so far are still a far, far cry from what other professional production houses come up with. However, given the many limitations, I remain proud of all that we’ve done. I am even more excited about what we could probably produce after we get more formal training. There’s a standing offer to take up a course on directing, but there are just too many things to do in the office that we haven’t really sat down to research about a good school to enroll in. 

Now I see 2007 as the year to go to a school and formally study something. More than directing, I first want to learn photography. I find this expertise all-encompassing—lighting, shot composition, angling…skills that could also be applied in shooting videos. What I do whenever I direct is based on mere gut feel of what looks fine to me (this shot seems nice, this might work, yadayada), but we all know that even creative tasks need at least some basic guidelines. Hindi ka lang basta arya ng arya. First know the rules before you break them, ika nga. How can I exercise creative freedom when I know nothing about what have been proven to work in the first place? Besides, with all the new places and experiences I’ve been exposed to in the past couple of months, my desire to study photography grows more and more. So there. If all things go as planned, I’ll be taking Photography within the year’s first quarter (at baka kaklase ko pa si Adrian. ‘Di ba, Aids?)

I also plan to study Nihongo. My recent trip to Japan less than two weeks ago further made me realize the urgency of this need. My learning to speak, read, and write Japanese would make communication between us here and the folks in Tokyo more efficient and a whole lot easier. Modesty aside, I feel like I somehow have a natural proficiency at learning language. I remember doing well at my foreign language classes back in UP. I took up 6 units of Spanish and 3 units each of Italian and Portuguese. But as with anything, the absence of practice just inevitably caused me to forget all that I was taught almost soon after the end of each course.

Will I be able to learn photography and Nihongo this year? I certainly do hope so. They sure top my “new skills to learn this year” list.

 

Nope, I’m no professional–that SLR’s set to Auto Focus the entire time!