The Ninja Experience by Joyce Marayag
Our topic for the final project is Corruption with the styles and movements of Italian Neorealism, French Surrealism and Japanese Horror. It took us time to form a story that would make the viewers think, understand and realize that corruption lies behind every mask of a person. Each one of us shared different ideas on what story we should come up with. In the end, we were able to connect our thoughts and came up with a story that deconstructs the idea of corruption about being money and politics.
It was kind of frustrating to schedule our shoot because it was finals week back then and we still had tons of paper works to do. Good thing, we had no classes from Monday to Wednesday so we had our time to brainstorm and to start for the shoot.
Our first stop was in Quiapo, Manila. It was my first time to go there and it was a bit tiring because we had a long walk finding for the right mask and place that would perfectly fit in this project. The Quiapo aura was also a bit scary because people didn’t look friendly. On the other hand, there was also this guard who asked us to leave immediately while filming because he said we were loitering along the foot bridge. We didn’t argue with him anymore and left right away. Then, we went to Quaipo Bridge to film once again. We were so happy because there were a number of people who had a protest on that day which is a significant scene for the film.
Our second shoot day was on a Saturday around South of Metro. We went to Charis’ house to shoot our creepy scene there. Suddenly, the lights cooperated with us and started to “blink”. Honestly, I creeped out when the lights went that way but I was so amazed though because it would be useful to add some scary effects for the video. Meanwhile, we also went to Alabang Town Center to shoot there the whole afternoon. We were also a bit scared because someone might reprimand us for filming in the mall so we had to be extra careful and be a ninja.
In the end, what I actually learned from this project is that, this is what I truly wanted. Though it was honestly frustrating, I enjoyed every moment of it from brainstorming, shooting, up to editing. It has been a fun way of learning especially because I was doing this with my closest friends who made this experience less stressful than what I thought. This project serves as an eye opener for me; there are a lot of stories out there that remained to be untold and need to be heard. It made me realized to appreciate more of this course that I am taking, that through this field, you can tell story that can make a change. In the same way, I also learned to appreciate the people behind every camera. It was not easy job. Cooperation and teamwork are essential in a production. Making a film requires a lot of hard work and patience and at the same time, it requires a dedicated heart that will make it a beautiful and fruitful piece of art.
Here's the fruit of our hardwork. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgaHZxVvmkg&feature=youtu.be
