Manni Coloma: Venturing beyond traditional TV, film

Manni Coloma, managing director of Blitz Marketing & Events Inc., is well-grounded in TV and film as traditional media. But he is one of the few directors today who have started to venture into mobile filmmaking — with some encouraging results. In 2006, Coloma was among the semi-finalists in the Nokia & Discovery Channel's Mobile Filmmaking Competition. Coloma's task was to develop a short film with the theme "My Discovery," using the latest N90 camera phone, both as camera and editing machine. In March 2007, he also made it as a finalist in the “You Make It Reel: Search for Asia's Next Video Director." Though he learned about the contest only a few days before the deadline, he found that interesting to rush draft seven ideas as to how he would do the song "Pretty in Ink" by the Texan alternative rock group Greyskull. All the contestants had to do their version of that same song. Not being familiar with the song, Coloma did some quick Internet research and sort of played it by ear. "I'm glad they found at least something they liked in my video to make me a finalist," he said, explaining that the band members were the ones who picked the finalists. In both competitions, the prizes he got were the gadgets he had used, a N90 camera phone and an N93i imaging device both from Nokia, respectively. The Nokia N90 and N93i are among Nokia's product innovations optimized for imaging. The N90 is the first mobile device that features superior Carl Zeiss Optics, a two megapixel camera with auto focus, 20x digital zoom, and high quality video capture with on-device editing capabilities. The Nokia N93i is slimmer and more compact in design, following the success of the Nokia N93. Equipped with a 2.4-inch main display of up to 16 million colors, it has a 160 degree viewing angle with an easy-to-use joystick that provides smooth video control. But for Coloma, the prizes were of seconary concern. More important was that both stints gave him the opportunity to attend a special mobile filmmaking workshop conducted by noted BBC director Ian Oliver, along with successful local independent filmmakers like Jeffrey Jeturian of the world acclaimed, Kubrador. “These experiences made me realize the power of the modern mobile phone as a tool for filmmaking, not as a mere camera to toy around and take amateur photographs with, but for a new art form," Coloma says. "And with the advances in technology, not only is filmmaking made accessible to more aspiring filmmakers, but is likewise for photographers, musicians, graphic artists, and even literary artists who can compose prose and poetry using their phone’s voice recording or note storage capability." Springboard training for TV and film Back in the summer of 1978 as a college sophomore at the Ateneo, Coloma was already interested in theater and film. He joined an experiment conducted by the then National Media Production Center to use theater as a means of effective "grassroots" communications. The video equipment then was bulky and studio-based. “In other words, it wasn't portable," Coloma recalls. "The technology of video then was still evolving to capturing images on location and seeing them immediately without waiting for the image to be processed." But he was able to work on a VTR cassette project that used portable video, and he test-ran the project with the college theater program. “As early as then, I decided I would cross over to the field at the right time," he says. Shortly after college, he found himself on the set as a unit producer and director of MVM Productions, a production company owned by director Maria Montelibano that produced documentary features for TV. At about the same time, the US-based Children's Television Workshop (CTW) was developing the local version of Sesame Street, which was to become Batibot. “I was made to decide whether I'd apprentice with Big Bird in New York to become Pong Pagong in Manila or to finally crossover to video and film," Coloma says. "Obviously, I didn't take on Big Bird's invitation. I stayed with MVM which became my launching pad to work in network TV, starting off with PTV (now NBN), RPN, IBC, GMA, and ABS-CBN." Under the wings of industry pillars As a budding TV director, Manni was fortunate to train under established media practitioners such as Orly Mercado, Raul Panares, Nanette Diyco, Fr. Bobby Ampil, and Fr. Nick Cruz. He proudly recalls his school training: “They were the pillars of the TV, film, and advertising industries. We were being exposed to actual situations in studio, on location, during production meetings and behind the scenes of award-giving organizations' deliberations, industry seminars and internships." Coloma explains what fascinated him in an art form that also requires technical expertise: “I am fascinated with the media, the techniques, achieving the results through proper application of the techniques, the tricks of the trade, improvising, and achieving unique and interesting results, delivering the message, eliciting response. Communicating in the language and getting through your audience provided a new avenue of communications aside from talking. It's being multilingual. You can be understood by different peoples in the manner you want to be understood. Expression has taken wings." Fascinated with TV and movies Coloma's traces the roots his passion for TV and film to when he was seven years old, with recollections of his favorite TV shows such as the sitcom Gilligan's Island, the sci-fi series Lost In Space, and the TV spy series, Man from U.N.C.L.E. “And the first movies I saw were the musical The Sound of Music, the sci-fi film Fantastic Voyage, and more sci-fi 2001: A Space Odyssey," he adds. He also watched documentaries about filmmaking, TV production and behind the scene features. “Generally, I wondered how they where made and became obsessed with finding out. I got hooked and wanted to know more," he explains. It was a trip one day with an uncle who was visit a friend at the old set of ABS-CBN that impressed on his young mind that he was going to work there someday. He fondly remembers: “I saw everything: The studios, the equipment, some shows being made. Soon, what I saw were the subject of drawings. I even drew equipment that at that time didn't exist or were still being developed — camera mountings for aircraft, portable cameras. I was hooked. Eventually, I did work there. The content, the technology and the art inspired me." Not routine or normal day-time job Coloma's working day does not span the normal 8 a.m.-to-5 p.m. work hours. “First, nothing about it is routine," he says. "Your day starts when the right time and circumstances to start it are there. It ends when there's nothing more to squeeze out of it and creativity is clouded by exhaustion or lack of sleep. Thus, time with the family, comes after a spell — a period of intense creativity and translating it to tape or film. So when it's time to come home and be with family, it becomes more precious and you give as much as you gave to your work. That feels good — being positively intense on both sides of your life." It's really about pushing yourself as far as you can, he says: “It's just like in the Bible's Genesis book. God created and saw 'it was good' so He kept going for six days. Of course, that's not humanly possible, but as long as it's there, you push yourself to the limit and pick up as soon as you can." Asked about his thoughts on where the TV and film industries are going, he candidly shares: “Nowhere, unless the politics, influence, patronage, and discrimination within and around the industry stop and the art, technique, and talents are nurtured without favor or bias. Our international recognition comes from excelling personalities, not directly from the product of the industry but from allied arts like theatre." If he had the power to change or improve the industry, he would recommend this: “A more favorable climate for expression that is open to all." His advice for rookies who are thinking of entering TV or film: “Tread with caution and be wary of opportunists. When the opportunity to express comes, seize the moment." Coloma is also quick to add that “asking clients to take the gamble to trust your concept, your budget and winning it" are one of the most positive aspects of the profession. On the other hand, he considers the most typical and difficult challenges in his field are “low budgets, distrusting elements within the client, those with hidden agendas, and preparation time constraints."