'Gameboys' director reveals the pilot was shot five times

"Gameboys," the Philippines' first-ever BL (boys love) series, was one of the earliest local productions that were safely and successfully completed within the limitations of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite all the setbacks brought by a health crisis the world has never seen before, director Ivan Payawal and his team knew how important it was to get it just right.

"We shot the pilot episode of Season 1 five times, just to get the right flavor and the right frame, the right everything," Ivan said in the latest episode of "The Howie Severino Podcast."

"So parang napakahirap po noong unang salang po namin (So we had a very difficult start)," he added.

With physical gatherings off the table, "Gameboys" began with a series of pre-production meetings done remotely over Zoom.

These included rehearsals with the actors, which Ivan was more comfortable doing in person.

"Nire-rehearse ko sila Elijah at saka si Kokoy via Zoom. So, nag-i-instruct ako sa kanila, nagre-rehearse kami online," Ivan said.

"So, it's kind of hard din sa akin dahil sanay akong very personal 'yung approach ko with my actors and, this time, hindi ko sila mahawakan, ni hindi ko mabulungan... in terms of motivation and all," he added. "So, it was also a big adjustment sa akin kasi baka mayroon akong hindi naico-communicate online."

("I rehearsed with Elijah and Kokoy via Zoom. So I gave instructions and we rehearsed online. So it's kind of hard for me too, because I'm used to a very personal approach with my actors. This time, I couldn't even touch them, or even give them a whisper in terms of motivation and all. So it was a big adjustment for me because what if I fail to communicate online.")

Strict quarantine protocols also narrowed their options for filming locations, which is why Elijah ended up filming "Gameboys" using his own house as the set.

To make it all possible, their production designer Nestor Abrogena sent Elijah four large crates of material which the actor learned how to set up himself.

"Tapos naka-Zoom lang siya tapos inutus-utusan niya lang ako. 'Okay. Diyan mo ilagay. Ganito 'yan para ayusin. Ganito 'yan' ang setup. Kaya you know, learning experience talaga siya and then magiging grounded ka talaga as an actor," Elijah said.

"But at the end of the day, sobrang proud and fulfilling experience po siya," he added.

("He was on Zoom and just told me what to do. 'Okay, put that there, fix this in this way, you can set this up that way. This is the setup' That's why this was, you know, a learning experience and you really become grounded as an actor. But at the end of the day, [I felt] so proud and it was a fulfilling experience.")

After all the "pangangapa," "Gameboys" was born, and the reception for the final product was beyond what they expected.

"We just really wanted to work and provide a good content and 'yun 'yung main goal. Tapos bigla siyang, all of a sudden, bigla siyang ganito sumabog," Ivan said.

("We just really wanted to work and provide good content. That was the main goal. And suddenly, it blew up.")

Elijah also underscored that ”nobody held back” while making the series.

"Hindi dahil nasa bahay lang kami, hindi dahil may pandemic, nag-hold back kami lahat. Hindi dahil may restrictions, hindi dahil unfamiliar territories sa amin ito lahat na may nag-hold back. We really gave it our all, pinagpuyatan namin siya, iniiyakan namin siya, kung anu-ano na pong pinagdaanan namin while making it and it really paid off for everybody," he said.

"Now we have a movie, now there's a second season coming, and we don't know where else Gameboys will lead us. But it's all close to our hearts now," he added.

("We didn't hold back just because we were just at home, just because we had a pandemic. We didn't hold back just because there were restrictions or because there were unfamiliar territories for us. We really gave it our all, we lost sleep over it, cried over it, and went through all kinds of stuff while making it and it really paid off for everybody.")

For those who haven't seen it, “Gameboys” follows two livestream gamers who are rivals online but are a match in the game of love. The two find connection as they beat both digital and personal dilemmas.

In “Gameboys: The Movie,” which was released last month, the couple questioned the future of their relationship as a family member puts their love to the test.

The release of Season 2 is yet to be announced, but all 13 episodes of its first season can be streamed on YouTube through The IdeaFirst Company’s channel. —Margaret Claire Layug/JCB, GMA News