Dancing with the Pandemic!

Don’t believe them when they say it will be normal again, because we all know that it will never be the same again. But, we “dance” with the enemy, this pandemic that has tried to stop us all. We have to adjust with the times and not complain too much because all we need to be is grateful that we have another chance to make it right.

I am not in a hurry, if it ain’t safe, I won’t do it. At the onset of the pandemic, most of our work were post-production and animation work which is good. But I honestly hope that one day we can travel again for work. That’s just my wish.

Here are snapshots of our slowly but surely (and safely) recent filming and other work activities:

Chef Reggie’s Advocacy Video for the Butandings for WWF

Chef Reggie’s Advocacy Video for the Butandings (Whalesharks) in Sorsogon

UNICEF Youth in Climate Action Workshops

Stella Maris Seafarers Center

It’s More Fun in Tower C Video

ASEAN Safe and Fair Migration Videos

This Thing Called Pandemic

The Year was 2020 when we first came face-to-face with the pandemic. We never thought we would ever experience it in this lifetime, or even in the next. It was like a chapter off of a sci-fi novel or a film under the science/futuristic/ or even horror category. Whatever it is, whatever it was or will be, it will be a very unforgettable moment in the world’s history and certainly one that has taught us so much and will be teaching us even more in the days and years to come.

I have not written in our company’s blog for more than 2 years. So much has been happening now that I cannot even begin to write down my thoughts. If this were a word to describe this phase, it would be madness. But we aim to survive and to get out of this in better shape and form, with more wisdom and compassion, with more love in our hearts, with more humility.

While we have been blessed to be able to work and continue what we do, I look at my heart and say, what is this all for? Why do we need to do so much when there is something greater, far and beyond that we must aspire for? Those thoughts are indeed madness sometimes but in the midst of confusion we pray and believe. We look inside ourselves and feel assured that we will pass through this deep dungeon and get out of it at the right time in a season of springtime where hope is strong, where each day is a promise of something better than it was.

I just wanted to exhale, to feel what is in my soul and I can feel that it is longing and looking ahead for better days to come. Imagic continues to do what it is meant to do and that is to serve and help the country in its development journey. We will be 25 years old next year- tougher, stronger and ready to take on, more and more, every challenge, adventure and task that is given us.

Thank you for all who have made our 24 going 25 possible. Thank you Lord for keeping us and making us believe that we are here for a reason! Be blessed everyone!

When Work has taught me to Play

My work has opened up so many avenues that I’ve never seen before.  It is amazing, to say the least. I am in awe at the privilege being in this field has opened up for me and my life, the way I see the world, the way I think and feel and even the direction by which I move. Nothing of this sort has been planned to be this way. I am not a planner at all. I go where the road takes me, I listen to my heart, to my intuition and I always listen to what my mind will say. If you know me, you will see that I seem to take things easy, to take things lightly. I don’t analyze and I use my gut feel a lot. I am different, I guess. And this is not your typical 9-5 job. I see my work, although it is also my job,  as my passion, my service, my gift from God.

When you move through the second decade of the work you do, you begin to see things differently. You know that nothing is forever but Imagic turning 22 years old this year gives me this sense of permanence, although nothing is permanent, but you feel just right about it. You no longer have thoughts that it will just end soon because the roots have grown stronger. Time has made you stronger. When you love something or someone for this long a time, you know that its ‘for keeps’ already. You know its in your heart. You know there is a sense of forever somewhere along the way.

And because you love your work, it has become play to you. You feel joyful doing what you do. It is natural. When somebody asks you to make a framework of your concept or idea, you just don’t or can’t. Because it flows from within. But of course you still end up doing so because your client has asked for it. There are things that you will find so hard to explain because when your work transcends what’s inside your mind, it goes beyond all words. You just feel it. You just do what’s inside your heart, mind and soul combined.

I pray that I will never lose the fire that burns inside me everyday because I feel that my work has created a lot of meaning in my life. I am fortunate to have found my calling early in my life, the moment Imagic Productions came into being. Maybe that is why I called you Imagic. Sometimes I wonder why I did. Now I know, it was truly a magic that you were born.

Photographing Mt. Kitanglad Range Natural Park

 

The very first time I heard about Mt. Kitanglad was in the mid 2000s, from my friend Anna Gonzales. She is an avid birdwatcher who has been passionately following the Philippine Eagle that soars in the range. Apart from this, she is dedicated to the cause of the cultural groups, who are a very important part of Mt. Kitanglad and Bukidnon, as a province.  I have never been there before and perhaps the closest I ever got to the range was my trip to Malaybalay with my family in the mid 90s.

Fastforward to 2017. I was elated to know that one whole chapter of the BMB book would be devoted to Mt. Kitanglad as it is an ASEAN Heritage Park and one of the outstanding practices in protected areas in the country. By then, I have heard so much about this mountain from many of my friends, especially in the birding community. This is like a Mecca to them, visits after visit, hoping to even catch a glimpse of the endangered Philippine Eagle.

And here I was, not knowing how I should feel being there- should I secretly try to look for the Eagle or should I stick to doing my job and manage the team in the field? Of course, the job goes first but somewhere in the midst of our visit to the mystical Cinchona Forest, or right before it, we met a man named Blackie (no last name that I was able to gather) who was the lookout man for the Eagle. He asked if I was willing to wait for 2 days. My eyes lit and sparkled at the idea! But no. I had to do my homework first.

 

I shall be back on day to see you Mr. Eagle! I will wait, even if it takes a week. And so I share my behind-the-scene photos of our encounter with this beautiful, majestic mountain whose spirits are cared for by the indigenous peoples- whose hearts and minds are revered by the lowlanders of Bukidnon.

 

Travelling to Protected Areas in the Philippines: Mists, Myths and Mysteries

In 2017, Imagic Productions was given the great privilege of publishing a book (yes a book, not a video) for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources- Biodiversity Management Bureau. I always thank Him for pouring all these blessings upon us, a video production company that is being entrusted to write a book. But in all things, we must only believe and have faith that everything given your way has a purpose. And with such a big task you have no where to go but deliver…and deliver it the best that you can.

I put together a ‘dream team’ as I call it- my writer Leah Eriguel, who was my classmate and friend in Maryknoll during our high school days and became a batchmate also at the UP College of Mass Communication. She is a prolific writer and (purposely) not very technical in her style but writing with a heart. Whatever she writes, she weaves the words so beautifully! And even a technical story ends up so inspiring. Then another equally important member of the team is our photographer Tina Gamez-Tovar Dias. She is my cousin and I have admired her photographs since I can remember. Not only are we very close to each other but we have the same views of the world, same interests and same outlook in life. She lives in Florida but when I asked her to be my photographer for this book, she came home hurriedly. Many thanks to her dear husband Glenn’s support for his wife’s craft. And of course, not to forget, our great assistant Felix Basa. Without him, everything will be heavier and climbs up the mountains more difficult. He assists us with everything, and in my case as the field production manager, he helps me up when we are climbing mountains or waterfalls. Thank God for young people!

We were tasked (oh boy, what an assignment!) to go to 7 protected areas in the Philippines from North to South. As their name defines, protected areas are categorized by our government and the communities who live around them so that they can be given special care. They are endowed with much beauty and these need to be protected and conserved. I can go on and on to speak about our adventures here but what do I really want to say, that our work is a great blessing because not only are we able to reach the corners of our islands which we may not see otherwise but we are able to bring their stories to people who will be reading this book one day…and perhaps plan a trip to get there. Each journey was an epiphany of sorts, an eye opener, an expansion of our imagination. The stories are priceless and too many to tell, I wish I had blogged each time we came home from a trip.

 

Our Work and the (I)magic it brings

I have not written in a long while, way too long, I must say. It is sad when there is so much to tell but we can’t seem to find the hour of the day to put them into words, words that can find its way in the minds and in the hearts of those who read them. Just like you. This quiet, sunny Saturday afternoon where the world seems to be more laid back than the week that was, I find myself in a contemplative mood. A time to look back, to chew, to discern, to laugh, to cry, to make sense of the world and its intricate weave of events.

Imagic will be 22 years old this year. It’s as if I have raised a grown up, an adult, ready to take on the world. It also means that perhaps in the realm of existence, we must have done something right to still be here. Business is not easy and this particular kind is no ordinary- it is arts, science, sociology, anthropology, women and children’s studies and even engineering combined with craft. We interpret what others do, where others have decided to make a difference, where help becomes mainstreamed into a partnership, where love transcends war. Our work, as advocative video documentarians, is a reflection of good things that are being done in this world. When all that we see combined can make this world a better place indeed.

It took me a while to fully grasp what we do and what we are accountable for. But through the years, my clients who have become my friends, teachers, mentors and all, have taught me where to go and I, in turn, have given them the visual materials that aid them in their calling. I feel that this work is a dream come true for me. I have always wanted to make meaning in this world, no matter how small. I hope to be able to write more and to share more with you our delightful stories. I don’t even know where and how to begin, but I will. I will, that’s a promise!

Coming back home to Escolta, Manila’s Queen of Streets

I had the privilege of joining a very interesting walking tour of Escolta this Sunday morning. My friend Mike, of pure Chinese descent, is part of a heritage group whose goal is to trace, rekindle and strengthen the interest of the Chinese community about their own history in Manila. Together with Chinese friends, they are starting to have tours around the city, specifically in the Binondo and Escolta areas, an advocacy which leads them to discover and learn more and more. I was fortunate to be invited in this ‘by invitation only’ tour, something they just started this year and hope to continue in the coming months. I have always been so interested with the history of Manila, its joys and pains, the glory of its past and yes…inevitably, I have also been drawn to know more about the dark years of the Battle of Manila that followed its grandeur. It is the most painful episode of the city  that many do not even know about or choose to forget.

Sharing snapshots of this morning’s ride down the past, a glimpse of the colonial structures and artifacts that bear witness to all things beautiful and grand…and an emotional look at how some of these landmarks have grown old with time.

And of course, the day will not be complete without capping it with one of the best Chinese meals that any tour can provide— lunch at the 128 year-old Toho Restaurant along T. Pinpin street. The restaurant that your family may have gone to even during the time of your grandparents’ parents. It felt good to be back in the heart of the city that the whole world knows by the name Manila. And wishing that it’s soul will be full of life again as it was before.

The First photographs

If a photo could launch a thousand ships, this perhaps can launch a thousand thoughts, a round of emotions, a stretch of speculations, a ribbon of hopes. Our country, in the past month has been set a-sail for a new journey somewhere, with new ships and a wind that has pledged to carry them far on to a better place.  Somewhere, wishfully, where you and I have never gone before, beyond our dreams, a beautiful place where there is peace, love, harmony, prosperity.

I see this photo and I think about what it went through to make it happen. The very intense and highly-electric elections…I see many political parties, candidates who have unleashed a lot of anger especially among their followers. I see presidential and vice-presidential debates that somehow took a new turn and determined for many Filipinos whom they should and should not vote for. And finally, I see election protests. One of which is currently still happening now. Yes, what’s in a photograph. A whole lot of stories, feelings and promises.

This to me is beautiful picture to see. Our two highest leaders, side-by-side, coming from different political colors but nevertheless, now seated next to each other discussing matters of national and even international importance. Photos that came before this showed them still ‘getting to know each other’, one reaching out and the other— happy to be reached out to. In some sense, a courtship of trust that was very important not just for both the President and the Vice President but for the whole country as well. There are actually many who feel that not only is change coming, but love is coming. Not the romantic kind, I hope. But love that sets aside politics and puts to the helm the love of country, the desire to bring peace and unity, development and progress, the end to all the wrong things that have happened in the past. A love strong enough to move mountains, seas and even the heavens above.

I write this piece to remind each of us, whether we make news or consume it, that in this very volatile and fragile society we have right now, each photograph of our new leaders have spoken by far what words do not have to say. It is beautiful because in many ways our leaders have the same goals for this country, they emerged from parallel backgrounds and they have personalities different but same in many ways. Pictures like these have allowed the ‘clouds to blow over’ as the expression goes and have kept many of our countrymen inspired, happy, assured that we are sailing the right seas. Whether it is social media or the traditional sources of news that bring these to us, we await for more of them, for they become the window to the world we excitedly await each new day to see.

(Photo credits: Office of the Vice President via Twitter)

Filming for Government

Nineteen years. Has it really been that long? If I had a child, that would mean she would be in college and graduating in a few years. Yes 19 years is a journey but it didn’t seem a long one. Each day is an adventure for us here in Imagic. Waking up in different places, sometimes having to think “What province am I in again?” and having to look out the window to make sure it’s the right one in my mind. I am just so blessed that the work I do each day is exactly the one I would like to do over and over again.

Some of my best projects are those done for the Philippine government. Yes, you read it right. Although some may think otherwise or not believe me for saying this, I have lived and breathed projects done for the government and enjoyed them to the fullest! I heard someone from the NGO sector say that the government is the laboratory for very good ideas. And from that time on, I was conscious in observing and truly I am convinced that this is true. My projects with them are also some of the most exciting! I once did a project for the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and it took me many months and many travels to the beautiful waters all across almost all the regions in the country. It was hard work, traversing land, sea, mangrove forests, coral reefs and all that and yes…I will do that over again. The project showed how the fisherfolk were taught how to manage their resources so that the seas would not be overfished and there would be time to make the oceans lush again.

Just last year, we did the institutional video for the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) and we all had an amazing time. We know very little about research being done in the Philippines especially pertaining to the medical profession. Here in this institution, there were so many surprises. The state of the art equipment, the impressive laboratories and research areas but most importantly, the best doctors in the field who have perhaps given up a more lucrative practice in private medicine just to be able to help find cure and solution to tropical infectious diseases.

Very recently, I have been told by many friends that they would like to work for this new government and it made me very happy. Many people want to serve this government because they want to be part of the solution and help in the change that we all clamor to have. That would not be heard of before. And I, who may have already taken it for granted that I do work for projects with government, feel so proud and happy that I am here, able to do my fair share in being part of work that is done by the government sector— migration, health, housing and urban development, social welfare and development, energy, local governments, Philippine police, the museums, environment and many more. May we be able to use the God-given skills that we have to help in the development of our nation, even just one film at a time.

Reflections on being part of this change

These are truly different times. As I sat and watched the new President’s State of the Nation Address yesterday, I felt that inner peace in seeing that this man, the man I did not vote for, had some serious plans to bring real change to the country. And I say that objectively with a firm belief that if we can only give him a chance to prove his passion to serve, then he will. Dim the lights first on all his critics because we all want this change right? We can be critical of him along the way but first allow the light on him to shine.

What made me suddenly reflect on the 19 years of Imagic after witnessing one of the most unique speeches ever done by a leader? It just made me want to introspect on how I can be able to help make this change come true. When he said that he will give the Muslims and the Lumads (indigenous peoples) their own channel, I told myself this was something I never even thought about but yes, it is a beautiful gesture of wanting to bring genuine recognition to the voice of the voiceless. If this happens, we will be seeing and experiencing a side of the world that has been kept hidden from us, like a beautiful pearl that slowly reveals from a sealed oyster shell and opens after being shut off from the sea. I am excited.

There is so much of the world to see but sadly what the Filipinos only see each day are either the news that have been chosen for us by the media (its agenda setting function) and the endless entertainment either from song and dance, drama, magazine, talk programs and now, the travel shows that have allowed us to see more beauty of our country. But where are the stories that show development taking place? Where are the narratives of people who go through marginalized conditions and are now emerging to have a better life? Sadly, the real conditions happening to a big part of our country are unknown to our countrymen.

We have seen them in our work and this has been the tremendous blessing for 19 years. I do not say that what we do needs to have the center stage on television. Maybe it will come soon and I honestly hope that it would through a public broadcast system which allows programs that do not have any value to the advertiser to be shown. Advertisers will not want to buy space in shows that do not have any commercial value, or in short, that people will not watch. But how will people know that something is worth watching if they do not see this? Many, many developing nations have public broadcasting stations but not ours. Isn’t it ironic that the very programs we need to see are those that are not given to us?

Our work has allowed us front seats in seeing so much change happening already even before this new government. We see local governments and NGOs who have been providing structures for persons with disability, education on air to provide fisherfolk an alternative to extracting from the sea, a pathway to teach Muslim women, trapped in war, how to read and write. We have witnessed the rebirth of peace in Maguindanao amongst not just Muslims and Christians but also between Muslims and Muslims, Christians and Christians… personal wars among kin that we never even knew existed. Just last year, I was elated to find out that an indigenous people were given back a piece of their paradise, by the government, religious and NGOs after this famous white sand beach was taken away from them by greedy capitalists. And the list goes on and on. Change is intensifying but it has already began a long time ago but never really given the spotlight.

I am thankful for our new President and Vice-President who are champions of the poor and the marginalized. And even more thankful that they are putting it on top of their list for the whole world to see and for the media to finally put their focus on it, too. I am looking forward for development, peace and transformation to be felt by those in the margins, those that are already content to live and die poor. Now is their time to feel true change. It is their time to shine.