Syne’s 47th from Jepster Togle on Vimeo.

A night to remember due to the wonderful ambience and the amazing taste of Chinese Lumpia. 

The serene yet lively party surely is a great experience and one that I will never forget. The location is such a wonderful place to shoot some shots and the lighting is truly spectacular.

Special thanks to the So family especially to Mrs. Syne So for inviting me to cover such a wonderful event.

Home Made Glide Track and Steadicam Tests from Jepster Togle on Vimeo.

Shots taken using a Poorman’s Steadicam design and my own version of a home made Glidetrack made using spare aluminum bars lying around the house.

Shots taken using Canon HV40 with WDH-43 Wide Lens

Edited in Adobe Premiere CS4

Slow from Jepster Togle on Vimeo.

An idea shot on the spot. I’ve been dying to test out some slow motion post production techniques using my Canon HV40 using a fight scene. I had a brainstorm session with some of my students and there was so much energy to shoot that the ideas seem to be endless.

One idea led to another, and here is the result. Inspired by Michael Bay and John Woo, this is one short action film you can’t miss!

Title: Slow

Actors:
Gio Lazo
Nicolo Javier

Director:
Jepster Togle

Produced by:
SlapDash Productions
Arcane Animations

Tough Love from Jepster Togle on Vimeo.

A short film I made in less than an hour using only one camera. Shot using a Canon HV40.

Sometimes people consider the smallest of things the largest of moments of love.

Cast:
Jacqueline Avalon
Lawrence Virina

I decided to take one more semester and see what happens next. Trust me, when you start teaching, it’s so hard to get out. Especially, if there around only 2 teachers these kids run to and one of them was you. Anyway, before we get to the next semester, the transition from January to February was total chaos. Every other day, something tragic happens. It started on the Wednesday of the last week of January. And here are the things that happened every other day.

1. Our puppy called Adam was confined at the hospital because he was starting to get too weak. He was diagnosed with Parvo. A deadly canine virus. The veterinarian said he had a 50/50 chance of surviving.

2. The day after that, my grandmother (my Mom’s um, Mom.) had a stroke. Her stroke resulted in her having speech problem leading her to dementia.

3. My brother got into a car accident. He was alright, thank goodness.

4. My mother tripped on a whole on the ground while walking home. She fell face first and we had to bring her to the hospital.

All that happened within one week.

It was hard for our family. We’re not used to all of this happening all at once. In fact, we’re not used to all of this happening all in one year.

Anyway, my Mom recovered well and she still looks as loving as she always was. Our dog was a miracle. He recovered 100% and was barking at the other dogs beside him. In fact, he became quite fat afterwards. Although, my Lola wasn’t recovering much. As the months went by her condition got worse and she was getting worse.

My grandmother passed away May 2009. She died of another stroke and pneumonia complications.

Summer vacation for me was quite more of a time of reflection and a retreat to myself. I was thinking that life indeed is so short especially that during these times, the whole A(H1N1) scare was rampant. I was already thinking of what I really wanted to do with my life.

I’ve always thought of getting into film making as a director. The greatest achievement I’d possibly want to get is to make a full length feature film. But to reach that I have to either 1) Learn film making or 2) Earn money to fund my own project. I decided to stick with plan number one. But I needed to earn money to get into film making school and that’s of course, not as cheap as it sounds.

So, the plan was that the upcoming semester would be my last. I would start looking for work then I would start saving up for film school. The problem is, as much as there many people looking for a simple graphic artist or 3D animator, I realized that I’ll just go back to square one. But I put all that in the back of my head and tried to focus on school work and looking for a good job.

Before the academic year started, a shocking event happened in the music industry. The King of Pop, Michael Jackson, passed away. When I returned to the Philippines after residing as a child in Dubai, Michael Jackson’s music was the first music I listened to here in the Philippines.  I even remembered performing a dance number in our village.

So, the school year started and I was finally introduced to the new batch of freshmen of the course I’m teaching in. Now, my opinions on them will be between me and myself, but I’ve got to say, they’ve got potential. That is if they put their heart and minds in the right place. This year, it was the time I managed the first ever College Film Festival in the school complete with an Awards night. So, there was the Media Arts and Mass Communication Night and the Awarding ceremonies were incorporated within it.

Me and a fellow co-teacher monitored the performances for the night. I’m glad I was part of it. Making the night a lot more special than I expected it to be.

Then there was the Cinemalaya conferences. I met a few directors but I got to have a long conversation with Mr. Mark Espina. He was a really great guy and he introduced me to the real way the industry works. I got a lot of advice from him and I myself was pretty inspired to follow my dream.

The MA-MC night came and the event was success. I wouldn’t call it an extreme success because it could have been a LOT better. But based on testimonials from former students of the school and people who actually attended last year’s MA-MC night and previous nights (it’s an annual thing), it was the best so far.

The recent things going on really made me feel better than the recent months. So, I was slowly deciding whether I was really ready to leave the kids behind.

A few weeks later, my brother got into another car accident. Our SUV, the Toyota Revo was a wreck. Whoever saw the condition of the car kept wondering if the driver/owner of the car was okay. Thank goodness my brother only got a few bruises and scratches. Seeing the wreck was a total shock for me. It was a miracle that anyone could have survived the driver’s side of that wreckage. That’s one true reason to believe that there is a God.

Weeks later, the Philippines was hit by a typhoon. It didn’t have high wind speeds but it sure brought a whole lot of rain. A lot of people died and lost their homes. Cities were sunk and were rubbed off the map. A lot of people lived on their roofs for days and some weren’t lucky enough to survive the tragedy. It was so devastating that the entire world was also shocked at what happened. I couldn’t resist just doing nothing. I had to volunteer and donate some goods for those in need. I hope those goods got to them and saved their lives and helped them through these tiring times.

As the first semester was coming to an end, I decided to stay for another semester and just see what happens next. I also decided that if I was going back to working on my field, I wouldn’t have the delicious thirteen month pay or even a little bonus if I got a new job around the third quarter of the year. So, I decided to think of a business. What’s the next thing related to film making? Well, I decided I wanted to do video coverage services. I wanted to start with Birthdays, but I really want to try do weddings.

So I decided to get a new video camera. Problem is the camera I wanted to get was so hard to find. Thank goodness I found one but the sales lady told me it was made to order. In fact, they told me that it would take two months before it came. I didn’t think twice. They had the lowest price and it was the surest store to get a unit.

Two weeks later, the shop called me and said the camera came earlier than expected. I couldn’t help but jump for joy. It was the most awesome feeling I had in years.

I’ve been having fun with the camera so much and see the videos I made using it in my video coverage samples section of this website. In fact, I’ve been doing some short films (check out my facebook ) and I really think the camera was a good investment. I have done some pro-bono (free of charge services) video coverage but they all lack something or don’t look that good for me to be hired. I realized that my hand shakes too much when using the camera.

Anyway, so the second semester starts and the General Assembly was pretty much not as good as I expected it to be. Honestly, I don’t want to light myself on fire just to be successful. You didn’t get that do you? Read between the lines and you’ll understand what I’m trying to say or what was told to us faculty and students.

Later on, there are a lot of policies being implemented and they don’t seem to agree well with my status as a College Instructor. I won’t go into details but let’s just say the new policies aren’t really going to help me achieve the plans I’m going through or the plans I envision for the kids that I am teaching.

Later during the year, around November to early December, a terrible tragedy in Maguindanao happened. More than 58 people were massacred due to political rivalries. The Maguindanao Massacre was the worst political massacre in the history of the Philippines. Worst of all, a lot the victims were from the media. This made the Philippines the most dangerous country for the Philippines.

Also in December, one of the greatest film director’s of Hollywood returns. James Cameron came back with Avatar. Watching it in 3D wasn’t just watching a movie, it was an experience.

Let’s move on to Christmas vacation since the start of the second semester was pretty much a lackluster experience except for my classes. Christmas vacation felt more like my New Year. I tried new things and spend the entire time trying to improve my videos. Color correction, Color Grading, Depth of Field control and many more. I’ve been doing research from day to night. And then during our family reunion, I asked my cousin who was into the wedding video industry if I could come along and watch what he does during the wedding coverage. He said yes and he said he had a coverage the next Monday which was only two days away. He even told me that I could bring my camera to get some shots if I wanted to. The catch though was that the call time was 5AM. I live in Paranaque and the venue was in Manila Hotel. I had to wake up 3AM just to reach the call time. I came earlier than expected and all I can say is that the experience of being part of a team doing a video coverage was exhilarating. I learned what equipment was needed what kind of shots would look good and what shots were required. I also saw how on-site videos were edited. It woke me up to the fact that doing these videos wasn’t only an exciting thing to do but an excellent social activity. A huge part of me was awakened. I slowly realized that I wasn’t meant to be a role-model teacher. I was meant to go behind the camera, shoot, and then edit. I’ve been a video editor since the age of VHS recording. I already edited videos in a linear fashion using the VHS and an old school video-camera. I love the feel of shooting videos,editing them and viewing it as a whole.

2009 woke me up, slapped me in the face and told me to get on my feet, do what you were meant to do since you consciousness as a child was awakened in front of the television screen. Shoot and Edit. I didn’t like it much just being an editor. It’s boring and not too satisfying to edit footage that you have no idea why and how those were shot.

I’m still going to teach probably but only for a few days a week. If it’s possible maybe only once a week. I’ve decided to only teach the subjects that I have specialized in. Then, I’m going to assemble a team from my students if any of them wants to be part of the dream.

2010 came. I can’t wait to cover an event.

Heck, I started off by dismantling the treadmill and use the parts for a Do-It-Yourself version of a glide track. Recently, I’m working on the Do-It-Yourself design of a steadicam.

It’s my time. My time is today. My year wasn’t 2009 (Some people told me that it was my year because I was born during the year of the rat). My year is 2010.

Hello 2010, I’m going to kick some butt.

Things that changed for me from 2008-2009:

- Almost no Toy Purchases for the entire year. I think I didn’t purchase anything at all.

- Got a new Computer to work with and yeah, play games with.

- Went back to concentrate on Comic Book collecting.

- Reduced my facebook gaming. By November, I stopped playing facebook games. They ate a lot of my time.

- Was more open to meeting new people.

Things to do in 2010

- Still won’t purchase toys. Probably just an Avatar figurine.

- Lessen the playing of PC games. A PS3 might be the best solution. Expensive games = Less Games, Less Games = Less Gaming.

- Prioritize expenses for improvement of video coverage business.

- Go back to my roots. The Corporate look is totally NOT my thing. Only unless called for.

- Sell more action figures!

- Start writing my script.

- Go out more. Teaching requires me to be a role model. I’m tired of being one. I want to be an American Idol. Haha!

- Yes, I probably have to search for a girlfriend now. I’ve been quite single for too long. Besides, having a girlfriend inspires me to work harder.

In the words of Michael Jackson, This is it!

The concept of this video is a more behind the scenes look of the wedding and the coverage itself. So, there are shots of the videographers and the photographers who covered the event.

Thanks to Chug Cadiogan for letting me shoot during the event.

Song: Closer by Rico Blanco

Avatar is what going to the movies is all about. Cinema was created to entertain audiences, express one’s self, and escape from reality. Avatar does all three in just 163 minutes. As most Science Fiction films try so hard to be grounded in reality, Cameron lifts you up in the air and glides you through an unbelievable yet beautiful world of Pandora. Describing Pandora is like describing the Garden of Eden to a blind man. You’d have to see the film to truly appreciate its beauty. James Cameron wasn’t lying or exaggerating when he said “you’ve never seen anything like this before”. Pandora’s world isn’t only just full of color and pretty creatures, it’s full of life, soul and in some way love. There’s something about Pandora that feels so unifying that if you yourself were there, you’d never want to leave.

The best part about Cameron’s world of Pandora is not only the visual spectacle that everyone is talking about. Cameron created a world in so much detail that not only do you “see” it, but you actually “feel” it. A world filled with personality, the film also introduces us to a lot of culture. Cameron introduces us to a new form of culture not seen in humans but in a new species of beings called the Na’vi. The Na’vi aren’t just a species in the film, they’re a unified entity that makes the film such a joy to watch. Avatar introduces us to a new world, makes us fall in love with it to the point that we want to fight for it and let no evil dare abuse it in any way.  Cameron shows us his world not through a series of narration but through the eyes of the main characters but most especially in the eyes of the main character, Jake Sully.

Now, everyone’s waiting for opinions on Avatar’s visual effects. It may sound like I’m exaggerating but to be honest, this is the most realistic use of visual effects I have ever seen. Mixing live-action with CGI has never been so perfect. The visuals of an entirely CGI planet has never looked so real in my entire life. The only effects that I can think of that could come close to the visual effects in Avatar is the third Lord of the Rings film, Return of the King. Yes, Avatar beats LOTR:ROK in terms of visual effects. James Cameron’s perfectionism shows in Avatar because as of now, I couldn’t find a flaw with the visual effects of the film.

As for the storyline, there’s nothing shocking or spectacular about it but it doesn’t matter. Avatar will make you fall in love. The story isn’t about shocking you or making you feel excited for a battle. It’s a story of a stranger falling in love with a world that is new to him in every way but makes him feel at home. Instead of just telling a “boy meets girl” story, we get a “Boy meets World” story which makes it more interesting because his lover is part of the world making the planet, Pandora, his true love.

Performances from the actors aren’t spectacular but mostly necessary at best. Some actors go beyond what’s needed just to get that Academy Award Nomination but in Avatar, it’s not entirely necessary. The script isn’t deep nor is it anything worth noting but like I said, it’s not necessary. Avatar is a visual story. Even watching it without dialogue would still make it an amazing experience. The world of Pandora is already a story. The gestures of the computer generated creatures already tell a story. The actors themselves merely seem to be there for the human essence of the story. Not that I’m saying they’re not needed, all I’m saying is that the humans in the film were mostly necessary rather than being the main focus of the film. That means the actors did their job well but won’t be getting any nominations soon.

Avatar is one of those films that truly remind us why we watch cinema. It’s one of those films that truly brings us to new heights and new sensations. With 3D Technology, Avatar ups the ante in Hollywood. Avatar is the type of film that doesn’t rely on gimmicks but uses new technology to tell a wonderful story. Unlike most films that rely on CGI or the latest technology in film making just to shock or play around with the audience’s senses, James Cameron uses technology to express himself through telling a story that brings us to a new world that we have never seen before. Avatar isn’t just a film, it’s an experience. An experience that only a fool would miss on the big screen.

Rating: Rating: 5 out of 5 stars