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The Fanatxt “Feel the Fun” shoot was just that: FUN. Find out what happened behind the scenes from the Production Unit Manager herself!
Twenty-two celebrities, five days, seven last minute schedule changes, one tight budget – these would seem to be the makings of a production disaster, but the Fanatxt “Feel the Fun” shoot was just that: FUN. Sure there were a couple of mishaps here and there, but the entire undertaking was as surprisingly enjoyable as it was challenging. Text by Binky M. Belardo. Photos by Mitch S. Mauricio and Connie M. Tungul. From the start, we knew that we had our work cut out for us. Twenty-two celebrities meant twenty-two video shoots, twenty-two photo shoots, twenty-two interviews, and twenty-two ringback recordings. That’s eighty-eight things for us to get done in five days. I wasn’t doubtful at all, I was flat-out petrified. Making the schedule was pretty tough. We had to make sure that the celebrities didn’t wait any longer than absolutely necessary, and that the crew didn’t to have to extend hours. It was a tall order, but we took it one step at a time. We spent meeting after meeting anticipating every possible mishap and expecting last minute schedule changes that by our first shoot day, our entire production team was on DEF CON 4. But when our buena mano artist, Gerald Santos, hit his 8 a.m. call time right on the dot, we knew that everything would pretty much fall into place. We have worked with a couple of these artists from time to time, but this was our first one time, big time shoot and in the span of five days, we’ve collected quite a bit of first-hand info about your favorite GMA celebs. PPS Teens The PPS teens were an absolute delight to work with. They followed Direk Ivan Dedicatoria’s instructions to the letter, and even provided us with free mini-concerts in between takes. Aicelle seemed a bit hesitant during the video shoot, claiming to be more comfortable with still shots. Sure enough, her photo shoot was smooth as butter as she struck pose after pose like a pro. When Gerald Santos first stepped into the photo studio, he seemed very shy and withdrawn. But after the first couple of test shots, he gamely revealed his goofy side, hamming it for the camera, and putting everyone at ease. Jonalyn and Brenan proved that singing is not their only forte. They were so comfortable on-cam that their shoots were a breeze. Mark and Marky Mark and Marky may be known as the ultimate survivors, but we discovered that they’re also Grade A sweethearts. On our second shoot day, we encountered some delays which meant a couple of hours of waiting. I worried that our artists for that day might get antsy or bored, but not Mark. He just gave us a cheerful “ayos lang!” and played World of Warcraft until we called him in. During his video shoot, Mark entertained the crew in between set-ups with goofy faces and silly dance steps, making the whole process completely enjoyable. Marky, too, brought his A game to the studio. He was enthusiastic and charming and totally won the hearts of all the girls in our office. Even our executive producer Pabsy Pabalan whispered to me “favorite ko na siya!” Iza captivates Another delightful surprise came in the form of the lovely Ms. Iza Calzado. Unsurprisingly, yet another slight scheduling mishap almost drove our production crew completely batty. We had set Iza’s shoot for the third day, and we only found out the day before that she had to leave the country. It was already 6 p.m. and I was pretty sure I was having my first stroke, when Iza asked if we could shoot her that night. She showed up at our studio 30 minutes later, made-up, smiling, and ready to go. The best phrase to describe her is “ang gaan dalhin” because as soon as she stepped in front of the camera, we all forgot how tired we were. Just watching Ms. Iza strut her stuff was nothing less than mesmerizing. Shy Boy Dennis Dennis Trillo, who is such a versatile actor, is apparently extremely shy! When we started off our photo shoot, we couldn’t get him to relax. Although he was very friendly and accommodating with the pictorial team, Dennis seemed tense and a bit on edge. Good thing our photographer Michelle Mauricio diverted his attention from the flashbulbs and clicks by drawing him into a conversation, asking him about his Top 5 books and movies and music. (He likes heavy metal). Soon enough, he warmed up to the lens and gave us his trademark boyish grin shot after shot. When he moved onto the video shoot, Dennis surprised everyone with his drum-playing. We discovered that, as soon as he gets behind the snare and high hat, he transforms from dreamy matinee idol to intense rock star with just the twirl of the drumstick! Needless to say, the ladies in our office started gravitating towards the studio and, by the end of his shoot, it looked like a full-blown concert. Marvin and Jolina Forever! Although I would like to be fair and say that I like all our celeb guests equally, I’d have to admit that I was most excited about Marvin and Jolina coming to our studio because I really am a closet fan of theirs (I don’t even mind that I’ve just admitted that on the Internet). And having met them, I didn’t think this was possible but I’m an even bigger fan now. Marvin was every bit the dashing debonair you see on TV. He was quiet and reserved between takes, but soon as direk yelled “action,” he was funny and charming and dancing. He did everything he was asked and did it perfectly. If there’s one thing I can say about Jolina, it’s that she’s consistent. The energy you see in her on Unang Hirit is the same as when she’s doing SOP, and it was the same at our shoot. She was friendly, she was bubbly, she made everyone laugh and yet she breezed right through the video shoot and pictorial. She even brought her dog Cosmo to the set with her. Dressed in an outfit that matched that of Jolina’s, he waited patiently while his master worked. If we did go overtime with her, it was only because we were all having a blast. At the end of our last shoot day, I was tired, I was stressed out, I had eye bags halfway down my cheeks but it was worth it. Don’t believe me? Check it out yourself. To feel the fun, visit www.igma.tv/fanatxt or search for "Fanatxt" in YouTube!