By: Raye Sanchez
Photo from Jeremy Guinid
Another gain once again for the Institute of Communication (ICOMM) as Communication majors brought home an award at the Indie Un-Film Festival last July 21 in the Br. Andrew Gonzales Hall, De La Salle University.
‘Bakal Productions’ was awarded the ‘Best Sound Design – Documentary Category’ for their documentary ‘Si Baste’ last Saturday.
The director of ‘Si Baste’, Jeremy Guinid, said he was very happy for his team.
“It was really a group effort. Each one of us contributed to the production of Si Baste, and I am just happy na ‘onti ‘onti, nagpay off ‘yung hardwork and sacrifices namin.” Guinid told The LANCE.
Creating their musical scores was a dual effort from both the documentary’s sound director Xamantha Asdisen and director of photography/editor Paul Sugano.
When asked about that matter, Asdisen stated, “S’yempre natuwa ako na tinawag ‘yung pangalan ko pero naisip ko din na mas okay sana kung pati si Paul Sugano narecognize din. Kasi hindi lang naman ako ‘yung gumawa sa sound ng Si Baste. Paul's behind the sound design of the documentary while I composed and arranged the soundtrack.”
Concurrently, Sugano humbly stated, “Para sa akin ‘yung definition ng sound design ay ‘yung paggawa ng kanta, sfx, at foley sa film. Sa pagkakaalala ko wala akong ginawang ganu’n sa docu namin; si Xam ang gumawa nu’n. I just assisted her in the selection of foley, sfx, and royalty music bed.”
Asdisen also explained how tough it was for her in producing music for their documentary because they had other academic responsibilities.
“There’s a lot going on sa school; may thesis and TV production kami that time. So medyo nahirapan ako kumuha ng inspiration to write a song about San Sebastian [Church]. But then our director Jeremy Guinid, inexplain niya sa’kin yung essence ng docu namin. Sabi niya sa’kin na gusto niyang marinig at mafeel sa kanta kung gaano kaganda at kamajestic ‘yung San Sebastian and na kailangan ‘to maalagaan. Then ‘yun, nabuo ko ‘yung song,” she stated.
Meanwhile, Sugano described how they had ephemeral time in doing and producing their documentary and originally, they had something different planned.
“Our team originally planned to create a documentary about Baybayin. However, in the middle of our pre-production, when all things are prepared, we discovered about the permit of National Commission for Indigenous People. Securing a permit from the NCIP takes several months. Our director Jeremy Guinid presented the risk of pushing through our documentary about Baybayin. In the end, he suggested to us about the peculiar story of San Sebastian [Church] Restoration.”
Despite having challenges and unplanned changes during the production process, the team is thankful to the ICOMM gurus as well as their families and friends.
“Without their knowledge and guidance, this documentary wouldn't be orchestrated in a beautiful manner,” Sugano stated.
Indie Un-film Festival is an intercollegiate digital film festival organized by the DLSU Green Media Group which celebrates film by showcasing finalists and a plenary talk involving the country’s renowned filmmakers.
‘Si Baste’ was an entry to Sulyap Documentaries 2018.