Portfolio - Written Portion.

I've been stuck working on my school's Film Portfolio and I just finished submitting it yesterday. Here's the short answer questions they asked me.

1) In the area of literature, name your favorite writer or book. Write a few sentences defending your choice.

In the field of Literature I have grown respect for the writer Hunter S. Thompson for his style of “gonzo” journalism, which puts the reporter themselves into the very stories they cover. His blunt language and gusto personality makes for a very engaging read as you can feel his characters bleed towards you from the page. His reoccurring themes in his novels of rebellion, rejection of the law, drug abuse, the fall of the American dream, and politics help bring out an understanding of the major changes the United States have went through in the past half century from such major historical events as the Civil Rights movement of the 60’s and of the acid/hippie wave of the 70’s. I’m also quite interested in his choice of the theme of the death of the American Dream because it shares similarities with one of my favorite novels “The Great Gatsby” in which F. Scott Fitzgerald discusses the dying of the dream and America’s decadent lifestyles.

2) In the area of fine arts, name your favorite artist or work. Write a few sentences defending your choice.

An artist of significance to me is Leonid Afremov. His paintings of city streets and rainy days bring such a mellow yet nostalgic feeling of similar cold nights in my life. His choice of vivid colors and their mirroring distorted images on the wet glossy concrete pavements give his paintings an almost dream like value. His paintings are definitely an inspiration to me bringing out a calm and creative collective.

3) In your opinion, what is the most important historical event of the 20th Century and why?

The most important historical event of 20th century to me is the collective events of World War II. This war was the starting domino that lead to a series of important changes in the world such as the US becoming a world super power, a flourish of new creativity in the art world, and the significant change of human culture in the decades to come. The tragedies of the war opened up the minds of many and even cracked open the repressed thoughts of humanity leading to a burst of many philosophical movements such as Existentialism.

4) What is your favorite movie? In a few sentences state why this film appeals to you.

I have a list of favorite movies of all time, but a current leader is the film “Akira” directed by Katsuhiro Otomo. This movie was ground breaking in its new techniques in animation and for its status as one of the flagships films to bringing animation from Japan to North American audiences. The film discusses the future of youth culture, the human psyche, and the resulting consequences of a post third World War. Subtle yet deep themes like these add a rich viewing experience to this film both visually and mentally. Lastly, this film is also a good role model of what a loose adaptation should be in the movie world. It’s keeping of its main themes, characters and events, and fitting them into the medium of film from graphic novel is quite the feat to accomplish without butchering the story or ruining characters. The film adaptation brings a fresh perspective in its movie format and can even carry on its own sometimes receiving more praise than its original graphic novel counterpart.

5) Would someone who knows you well say that you work best as an individual or in a group setting? Discuss.

From past experiences I have proven to work well in groups. I have worked creatively with a collective of students back when I was in high school to go to Plains, Georgia, hometown of former President Jimmy Carter, to shoot and edit a student documentary on the life of the former politician and his rise from a small town farm boy to Presidency. During our stay there I have followed the orders of my director and fellow team members and even stepped in to help navigate the team in the technical fields I excelled in such as camera work and editing. When it comes to accomplishing a project like this, it was essential we had a fluid team full of specialists and your few jack-of-all-trades. Everyone was able to execute their role in an excellent manner and it allowed me to better understand the workflow and character of the team. This allowed me to flow better as a part of the bigger machine that was the production, which without them, would make such a task impossible to work on alone.

6) You arrive at a warehouse location an hour before crew and trucks arrive and the building is padlocked. What do you do?

If I were to arrive and hour early before a scheduled day of shooting I would first reassure that I have whatever equipment or materials I am responsible of bringing. Second, I would try to see if I am able to help in any way possible before the crew and trucks arrive and give my supervisor a call to see if I am able to be put to use since I am on location early.

7) Your best friend wants to DP on your film and you don’t think they’re the best candidate. What would you do? How would you handle the situation?

If my best friend was to DP a film with me and wasn’t performing up to the standards of the team, I would tell him/her in a proper and professional manner that their skills in the production should be put to use somewhere else to increase the efficiency of the team. I would explain that a different workflow of a much more experienced or comfortable DP would help benefit the team more and that my friend’s assistance is still essential to the production, just not in the form of a DP.

8) Your best friend is your editor and is not doing a good job – not putting in the hours, not taking full responsibility. What would you do? How would you handle the situation? 

If my best friend was assigned as my team’s editor and wasn’t putting in the time or work I would first tell him/her of their poor performance as an editor, who’s job is heavily relied upon in the postproduction period as an important part of the completion of the project. I would then give them an ultimatum to improve or be relieved of their duty as editor. If his/her performance continues to suffer then I would have to agree in finding an editor who better suits our needs for the production. I would then tell my friend that my decision wasn’t anything based on a personal matter and that when it comes to the completion of a project that I have to be unbiased despite social relationships.

9) You are the producer of a senior project and one of the group members is argumentative during meetings and creates tension in the group. Privately, group members complain to you about this person – some feel threatened by this person’s behavior. The group needs this person’s financial contribution to make the film. What would you do? How would you handle the situation?

If approached as a producer about a problem regarding an uncooperative team member who’s financial contribution is a vital part of the completion of the film, I would have to console the disgruntled team member in reminding him that a film is a collaborative project and that he cannot accomplish anything without us, and we without him. I would then attempt to make compromises that still reach reasonable grounds between the needs of the group and the argumentative individual and respect each member’s creative input despite disagreements.

10) What primary skill area did you choose? What are your personal strengths that make you a good candidate for this skill area? Describe. 

The primary skill area I have chosen is editing. I have been editing projects in high school from the curious days of Windows Movie Maker, to the intermediate user interface of Sony Vegas, and now to the high end systems of Final Cut Pro and Adobe After Effects. I have worked as a collaborative from countless projects, always giving in my creative output and respecting others. I am able to operate and function within a team, and deliver material on time when needed. I have put in countless hours in different variations of editing from color correcting, compositing, and of course general cutting. Even on days when editors are not vital, such as preproduction and production, I still try to find myself useful in helping the team be it from working the slate to being a grip. I have never found myself to be an on camera personality, but found my niche behind the camera making the talent look good.

11) Do you have any entertainment industry background or related work experience? Describe.

I have worked freelance projects with Capitol/EMI records on several occasions editing promotional videos for artists such as Katy Perry. I worked editing kinetic typographies for artists and their upcoming singles on After Effects for full-length songs and within a window of completion in 2 weeks. I have also helped edit an introduction for a web series for a media correspondent from EMI Records who I have collaborated with from the creative community of Vimeo. To this day, I still work freelance editing with the projects I can and within my availability due to my hectic school/work schedule.

12) Outside of school, what group or individual activities do you participate in on a regular basis? Are you accomplished in any creative areas, e.g., music, art, writing?

Outside of school, I like to dabble and teach myself more in the art of design, motion graphics, and typography. I like to keep myself preoccupied by learning new aspects of After Effects and doing small video projects here and there with my digital SLR, my Canon T2I. Practicing with a DSLR with video allows me to get a better understanding of how the much more sophisticated cameras work with things such as aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. They also allow me to get hands on experience for practicing different variations of depth of field, lighting, focusing, and other aspects of cameras.

13) List and briefly describe your career goals.

My career goals aren’t too much to ask for. All I look forward to are editing projects that I find interesting and compelling which will make me much more devoted to the job. I would like to have under my belt a few feature length editing jobs, and even specialize in compositing or special effects for a postproduction house. I just want to find a company that can take me in, challenge me creatively, and provide me enough time and money to live comfortably. “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life” is a quote by Confucius which I stand by and which I believe holds true.

And after much deliberation, I've decided to do my 1 pager on my 19th Birthday "Trip" in San Francisco back in '09. The prompt was to recall a life changing moment in my life that helped form who I am today. 


            The room was blanketed with a red light that emitted from a lamp in the corner. As I laid on the floor, immobilized and staring at the ceiling, I wasn’t too sure what I’d gotten myself into. My friends were slowly slouching to the ground, spewing out words I couldn’t clearly understand. I replied back with a vomit of incoherent speech. I felt like an animal, uncivilized and incapable of communicating.

            I’ve experimented with psychedelics before and have had phenomenal experiences, but this time I couldn’t help but keep yelling, “Are these bad mushrooms?!” Bizarre events transpired throughout the night; sounds of crying, the room breathing, that red light taunting us, broken glass, and cursing the nothingness. Homesickness set in. I was over 370 miles away from home, my 19th birthday only five hours away. I continued to look at the ceiling. It began to slowly creep to a rise. What was I doing at this apartment in the Tenderloin of San Francisco? I started to become scared, frightened even. Horrible thoughts plagued my psyche. My stomach was battered by a twisting and unsettling motion but I felt it unnecessary to vomit.

            Exactly a year ago, I was in San Francisco celebrating my 18th birthday. Back then I was in a childlike state of euphoria, trekking through the city with my friends, excited for our years to come in our journey through college. Back then I held my head up high with the ambition to major and excel in what I love to do: film. That night my friends and I all promised we’d continue to pursue what we love to do and support each other in the bright futures we all aspired for. All of us freshmen, so strong, young, and vibrant, were full of dreams and hopes.

            All those thoughts from exactly one year ago spun through my mind. What transpired from then to now wasn’t at all what we had expected. People left, dropped out of college, gave up on their dreams, did poorly in school, fell into depression or spiraled into drugs. I myself was guilty of neglecting my academic career and nurturing a deplorable level of sobriety. This wasn’t what our adventure through college was supposed to be.

            I came to San Francisco to relive what happened 1 year ago from that day and instead found myself at the complete opposite end of the spectrum. What happened to me? What happened to the young man with such high spirits and excitement for the future? Why did I stay undecided instead of declaring my major? Where did it all go wrong? Between the cigarette butts on the carpet and the scattered stained bed sheets, I found myself. I suddenly came to the realization that I had lost the youth I once was. I had strayed far from the morals and dreams that I had set for myself. And what about my parents? This couldn’t be what they wanted for me after their years of struggling to reach the United States from the Philippines. Questions kept pummeling my mind throughout the night until I finally escaped to my sleep.

            Despite my plans to stay in the city for 2 more days binging in celebration of my birthday, I packed up and left the next morning. The 6 hour drive home was silent as my friends and I reflected on the monsters we became in the moments before the sun rose. We all felt as if we had just battled the demons we kept in hiding for so long and had finally come to terms with ourselves. As I drove down the Grapevine, I felt myself getting back on track. That night will forever traumatize me, but I was grateful to receive such a rude awakening as my first step. It’s similar to that feeling of your foot’s first plunge into the burning sands of a beach, but with each step you adjust to the pain and travel closer to that beautiful deep blue.

            After that weekend ended I went to school Monday morning, straight into the Cinema and Television Arts Office and finally declared my major in film for Pre-CTVA. I walked out of that office knowing that I was going to continue to pursue my aspirations with the utmost passion and fervor and have never slipped back into the terrible habits that kept me away from my dreams for so long.


Thanks everyone for helping me finish up the portfolio. Thanks to Jay helping me formulate answers and giving me guidelines for making the portfolio, Jess for helping me with the one pager and moral support, and Miguel, Ross, and Erwin for helping me do the Photo Essay/Visual Aspect of the portfolio. (I'll be sure to upload this on a future post)


I couldn't have gotten through it without you guys, or even muster up the courage to finally do so.


Now let's just hope I'll be hearing good news by April 28.
I know I'll be hearing good news by April 28.