Comic Book Formula

Back in the days, writers used to have a formula for creating stories for comics, well, at least until early 1960's. For a rather useful look, let me share the "formula" that they are talking about.

1. The hero
2. With a female companion drawn along pretty lines
3. Frequently aided by a juvenile assistant
4. In a desperate struggle
5. In which life and heroine's honor
6. And a national or global prize is at stake
7. Against the diabolical plotting of a mater villian
8. And his gang
9. Against whom the hero has to employ all his super-talents of tossing mountains around, juggling battleships, defying gravity, and common sense
10. In a script employing: visualization, dialogue, and narration/caption.

- Robert Kanigher, How to Make Money Writing for Comics Magazine

7th Cinemalaya Film Festival

So you had your piece of french bread, french fries, and french kisses from the French Film Festival (but i think it's more of french kisses... and groping, really).

I know it's too early to have some the after-the-movie-critiquing since we are nowhere near the climax of the event yet, which by the way is due to make the curtain call on June 19. But for the film buffs who just can't get enough of prolific cinematic artistry, well you can call yourself lucky.

This time around, let us put the spotlight on the loud and proud local scene. Roll the red carpet for the 7th Cinemalaya Film Festival!

This year is going to be a slug-fest with a list of heavy weights in the indie film industry. Some of the names to watch out for are filmmakers Auraeus Solito of Busong, Joel Lamangan of Patikul, Gabriel Puyat of Immanuel, Jeffrey Jeturian of Bisperas; actors (and actresses) Marvin Agustin, Pen Medina, Bembol Roco, Jean Garcia, Glaiza de Caastro, Alessandra de Rossi, and a whole lot more!

16th French Film Festival

Allez au cinema!

Excuse my alienating language. My tongue must have got tied up with the opening of 16th French Film Festival.

Yes! The French film appreciation will kick off today June 08, 2011 at Shangri-La Mall. This year will feature more than a dozen films and auteurs from romance country. But that doesn't, in any way, mean a love story marathon.

Genres will come from different directions so make sure you got yourself covered.. errr.. or perhaps make sure you cover them all. They have action, adventure, documentary, comedy, and of course the drama.

It may not be the famous Cannes Film Fest but it's not a bad idea to give it a touch of. Film aficionados are up for a treat for the film Busong by Aureaus Solito which was screened at the Director's Fortnight in the most celebrated film fest in the world.

For more information, visit their official website.

The Final Four

As promised, I will give the final four video/film projects. But before I start enumerating them, let's have a recap of ongoing contests/festival we have so far.

1. Virgin Shorts | London | Deadline: 07 July 11

2. Interfilm Short Film Festival | Berlin | Deadline: 25 June 11

3. Kwentong Kabayanihan | Philippines | Deadline: 15 October 11

And now for the last four in our list

4. JVC So You Think You Can Contest | Philippines | Deadline: 30 June 11

5. 3rd Pandayang Lino Brocka Film Festival | Philippines | Festival: 10-11 August 11

6. Philippine Navy Independent Film Contest | Philippnes | Deadline: --

7. Smart Extraordinary Contest | Philippines | Deadline: 30 June 11

More about them really soon, just having a little prob with my connection.
For more information anyway, just link on the event's name.
Happy film making!

It's been a while!

Hello guys!

To the the very few (to none) followers of this blog site, I'm back!

It's been a while since I posted an entry here so let's make up for the lost time. Hmmm, if my math is correct, I've been away for 7 months. And because of that I'll try to come up with 7 projects that you can put your talents to the real test.

But bear with me for a few more lines here because I really have a very very very special announcement to make.

For the past few months, I've been pretty disappointed with my filming-ish desires. It was quite a struggle for me to write a script in between piles of paper and afterwork meetings.

TO cut it short, I need help.

I need people who shares the same passion in film making, who will put their hearts and efforts in making one, who will not ask for any monetary value in return ('cause i dont have anything to give anyway), who is in to honing skills in film making and all other aspects of this field.

I need you guys!

There are quite a number of chances that have slipped out. Local and international stint that may have given us chance to put our names in the circle.

Let us work together!

Which brings us to the next part -- the work (yey! -_-. sheesh..)

I will give now some projects (competition really) that you may check out.

(Pardon guys for some very short notices)

1. Interfilm 27th International Short Film Festival Berlin.
International short film festival in Berlin Germany.
>Deadline is on June 25, 2011.
>Genres include animation, experimental, fiction
>Please make sure that you send 2 Preview DVDs for each film entry
>No entrance fee.
>Must be in 35 mm, Digital Beta PAL, Quicktime 1080p (Videocodec: H.264/MPEG-4 AVC / >Audiocodec: AAC) MOV, MPEG-4, MKV formats.
>For more info, check out Interim Festival


2. Virgin Media Shorts Competition 2011
>International short film festival.
>Deadline is on July 7, 2011.
>No fee required.
>Open theme any genre.
>Must not be longer than 2 minutes and 20 secs.
>Winner will receive £30,000 funding and a chance to work with British Film Institute and Virgin Media.
>Must be in H.263, MPEG (1, 2, & 4), Motion JPEG, VP5 & VP6, or WMV / WMA formats.
For more info, check out Virgin Media Shorts]


3. KWENTONG KABAYANIHAN: THE CSC-KABAYANIHAN FOUNDATION VIDEO CONTEST
>Local video contest.
>Deadline is on October 15, 2011.
>No fee required
>With the theme “Every Filipino is a hero. Every Filipino is part of
the solution,” the contest emphasizes the CSC’s R.A.C.E. to serve—towards a Responsive, Accessible, Courteous and Effective Public Service, and Kabayanihan Foundation’s concept of being a ‘kabayani’ by showing love for country in doing small, consistent acts of heroism.
>Open to everyone.
>Should be 30-40 minutes long.
>Must be in .avi, .mpeg, .mp4, or any type that is compatible for upload in YouTube and Facebook.
>Win P20,000.
For more information CSC Kabayanihan Rules or visit Kwentong Kabayanihan Facebook account

That all for now. 4 more projects to come. I'll be back very very soon for more Pinoy Film Project! ^_^.

Save Earth, Now

The fate of our home Earth is in great peril. Hundreds of years ago, man launched campaigns that revolutionized the way people live and set standards for coming decades. In fields of science, health care and medicine, technology, territorial expansions, business processes, and everything else in between, they all created impact that shaped our society.

But in the process, it also impacted the environment, a big blow at that. The signs of change are becoming more and more evident over time. Records are set one after another and their results are truly beyond scale.

In the Philippines, in the last couple of years, a rainfall high in last 60 years was recorded in Luzon; extreme temperatures set all over the country this previous summer; and from what happened, it turned into one of the longest dry season Philippines has ever had for a long time.

The rest of the world has had their shares of spells in recent years as well. Coldest temperature set in Beijing in 2008; harsh snowstorms paralyzed key cities like Seoul, New York, Barcelona, and Rome this year; and a raging wildfire turned thousands of acres of farms into ashes in Russia just a few months ago. All these prove that nature is also capable of bringing its own revolution beyond our imagination.

With that being said, there is no better time to act and show concern to our planet than now. We don’t want to wait for the worst to happen, do we?

While the celebration for Earth Month has turned its page in our calendars, let’s not forget its lessons; that all our action, however small they may be, can contribute to the environment’s condition. We don’t need big events to be reminded of what we must to do to save our planet.

This problem is not a mere responsibility of certain groups or organizations, neither of the government alone. It is an issue that affects each one of us, thus everyone must exert efforts to manage the situation that is slowly slipping out of hand.

This year is a pivotal year in our fight to sustainable environment, now that the evidence of our negligence are already surfacing.

Every one of us has role to play in this new revolution against extreme changes in weather condition. There are countless ways to help preserve our environment and alleviate the effects of climate change.

Reduce greenhouse gas emission by turning off the lights that aren’t in use, carpooling or taking public transportation on your way to work, or using energy efficient appliances. Save forest by recycling old newspapers and proper use of office supplies. Minimize pollution by waste segregation and proper disposal of garbage.

These small yet meaningful steps are actually huge contributions in saving Mother Earth. Tomorrow may be too late so let’s make this world better – and I mean right now.

My View H2O

After a successful My View competition for climate change (which I became a finalist), Asian Development Bank has once again opened the doors for concerned individuals who want to share their views on different important matters of the society.

This year's theme is My View H20 (splash*).

My View is a micro documentary competition for anyone who wants to be seen and heard.

You make a 1 to 5 minute digital film all about water, we’ll get the world to watch it and you can win major cash prizes.

Your film can be in any digital video format – you can even use your mobile phone. We accept films in any genre, including but not limited to animation, documentary, drama, experimental, art, testimonial, etc.

Videos can be in any language, though contestants are strongly encouraged to include subtitles and a full length script in English, in order to facilitate public outreach and the contest process.

Spring into action and make your own change!

But wait! Not only you can inspire, you can also get yourself to swim to $2,500. How does that splash sounds to your ear, eh?

For complete contest rules visit Asian Development Bank My View : H2O

Deadline of Submission: 31 Jan 11