Summer is finally here and it’s that time of the year to start my yearly blog series chronicling whatever seems to be off interested this hot-na-hot season.

As far as getting something to do, I thought of hitting it up a notch. Deciding to build up my resume, I joined The Farm, a training program from 99.5RT that aims to train young minds with the know’s and the how’s when it comes to radio.

In the past radio-related entries I’ve made for the past years, there’s nothing as quite as unique with my relationship with RT, having known the station just enough for me to developed an emotional attachment to it (and this in a way traces back to its Campus 99.5 days).

Prior to joining The Farm, I was already working as an intern for one of the shows in the station, the RT30, for at least two months before I was dismissed due to conflicts with my academics. Having been exposed with the way radio works via the show, having been involved with research, scriptwriting, among other things.

I was relieved that being dismissed from my first OJT-venture did not affect with me being part of The Farm as I was assured of my place there as well as continuing my internship instead.

So far so good, the past two seminars have been enlightening but it would have been nice if I get to actually attend all the meetings if only the school year in CSB was already done and over with. Fortunately, it won’t be much of a case in a matter of a few more days from now.

Koji Moralez, or what I grew up knowing him as Joe Spinner, is one of the driving forces of the program along with several jocks form the RT crew: Winner, Slyde, Ron, Inka and THE Jeremiah Junior/Sir Gerry Magnaye. I’ve heard a lot of good things about him, especially from the mouth of one of RT’s top former honcho Mr. Mike Pedero. He had shared a lot of stories about Sir Gerry, and I actually had to witness it myself when, lo and behold, his presence feels greater that even my knees is feeling numb because of his awesomeness.

Lucky is me when I found out that I’ll be placed under Sir Gerry’s wing for The Farm’s production module. Hardcore is what I’m expecting but for sure, it is worth it.

But what’s important is that all of us get to have a good time: meeting new people, establishing friendships, re-establishing old ones, and forging a bond that we hope could last a lifetime.

Who would ever thought that from the moment I first sat foot on the RT Booth last September 1, 2008 (a day after my 18th birthday) that  I’ll end up coming back to it for the next three years.

It really makes me feel alright,,,,

“Got relieved from my job…I’ll make kuwento later”-James
“Shucks. Bad?”-Mommy
“I don’t know. Di pa nagsisink-in sa’kin eh.”-James
“Okay”-Mommy

Ooh, this is quite ironic. Just the other day I was talking to Ian how I got my internship for a radio program and the next day, I told him I got laid off. Just only now am I starting to have that sinking feeling of failure and disappointment. It just gets to me with brute force and now I’m taking all my disappointment out of this entry in order for to  get some heat off from my system.

I never seen this coming although there were signs right under my nose but I never expected the outcome of me getting “relieved from [my] duties”. It was all sudden, and I don’t know how I would react to such news. It was indeed a tragic and grim ending for an otherwise productive and supposedly-fulfilled Thursday the 22nd.

I started working as part of the production team of 99.5 RT’s RT30 Countdown last February were originally I signed up on writing scripts for the weekly Friday show. Eventually my qualifications as a design student landed me with the task of producing a logo that will identify the show and eventually expand to designing its website among other things. This was a significant factor that led to what became of my tenure in that station.

First and foremost, I decided to pursue my internship in advanced in the hopes of starting off early before taking my formal OJT class this May (brought by circumstances beyodn the school’s control). It was quite the coincidence that the RT30 team are looking for interns so I tooked the opportunity to inquire and eventually apply for the job.

Even if it’s not a paying job, the experience of working for radio further widened my horizons and made me appreciate the medium even more. As a listener since the station’s “re-inception” back in September 2008, it was really a big honor for me to work for a legendary entity that has been around for the past 3 decades.

One of the jocks who used to work for RT was my professor last year and he was the one who suggested that I could apply in the station as an intern. And even before, I was able to learn more about RT’s history thanks in part of several former and current RT personalities who always keep in touch at the RT thread in Pinoy Exchange. It made me even more determined of finding a way to land myself a job there.

It finally came into fruition a year later when I booked one at the station. I enjoyed the rollercoaster ride, having met such a wonderful set of people in the team: Jose, Inka, Carla, Clarisa, Alven, Claude, Jessica and the rest of the RT crew. Despite the difficulty of the work given, I always try to put on a smile and at least have fun working. It makes the job a lot lighter to carry.

So when I got the news that I’m not going to be a part of RT30 anymore rendered my speechless, as in REALLY speechless. My mouth was like spitting out a thought bubble that looks like this: “…”. My mind was finding it difficult to process every single word into my brain. My ears were turning read and my eyes widened in total disbelief.

It pains me that my efforts did not reap results that the team wanted to see. On the one-hand, how will all of these factor for my OJT? Assuming that the works I produced under RT30 are considered properties of the show, how will I get compensated in a way that they will honor my contributions as a member of the team? How likely will they use my designs as a basis for future revisions if the task is given to my replacement? Not much explanation was given as far as my on-the-job training is concerned and I’m still waiting for them to reply about my queries. My parents even suggested that I should do my internship at the Philippine Information Agency but I have other things in mind.

 As I’ve mentioned back then, my top goal is to finish school no matter what. I know there are bigger and better things ahead, and my firing will not be a hindrance but will serve as a motivation for me to continue dreaming big.

In addition, my relationship with RT may not stop there, as it turns out. I’m still officially a part of the station’s training program, The Farm and I’ll be training under its Production module. Although the program’s first few weeks might conflict with my academics, I’m happy to say that the school year will officially end in 9 working days.

As unfortunate as how sudden my run was cut short, I know that there’s always be a light coming at the end of the dark tunnel.

I know it’s been a while and I felt like it has been ages since I last wrote my last entry under TCSBE3. As with a lot of people at this stage in their college years: it’s been tight, it’s been  hectic, we are all busy, and when we mean “busy”, we mean it!

A defense for a thesis proposal, an interactive game CD, a 30-second 3d demo reel, a fully animated Flash cartoon, a website, among others. That’s how busy a lot of us have been in this past quarter of the year.  What’s worse, we won’t be getting the long summer break we all deserve to have as the school screwed us with a suspension announced too late and the rest of us who were doing fine then now had to wait a trimester longer before we ultimately face the harsh realities of life.

Screw the system, screw all of you…

Nah, kidding…hehehehe.

But still, despite the stress and sleepless nights we had to endure, I’m very optimistic with what is to come for the coming school year a several weeks away from now. Just a few moments to go before the last drop of sand falls down in the hourglass to finally get this heck of a junior year a proper and much-awaited close.

This is not the schedule I chose to take because someone made the deed for me without me knowing. Although convenient, it would’ve been nice if I do it on my own accord.

Thankful yes but a line has just been crossed.

The movie “Lords of Dogtown” gives us an inside look to the early days of the phenomenon that is skateboarding as well as the people who were a part of it. The film is not exactly the typical based-on-a-true-story type where the main characters are all portrayed as good-hearted people who think everything is possible for them. It is a coming-of-age story containing real characters with real depth and emotion.

Despite being a period movie, it doesn’t make itself look like one so it’s easier for younger viewers to appreciate the film as it is. However, “Lords of Dogtown” makes use of different filming styles, most especially with scenes that involves skateboarding and surfing. Some scenes were shot as if they were taken from an old 1970’s home video camera while there those that are taken from a camera’s point of view from a rolling skateboard, something that is commonly seen on televised skating competitions such as the X-Games.
Such a way of using two vastly different styles of shooting such scenes seems to mesh perfectly as it sort of balanced out the story.
The color effects give out a cooling mood when watching the movie. Despite being set at a sunny happy California location, the cinematography shows it as bluish and moody. These traits are found to be very complimentary with the kind of storytelling the movie is presenting to the audience: dark yet refreshing, light yet effective.

Music is a central part of the film as they give a representation of the different moods and mindsets of the characters in the movie. The movie don’t seem to rely much on music played during the 1970’s but their choice of alternative/pop-rock songs seems well-fit to the over-all premise of the movie. Many of the songs featured have this certain feel-good vibe, being played whenever the movie is showing the lighter moments of the characters, shown to be at the peak of their youth, where their friendship is at their strongest, and careless innocence remaining intact.

Even as the film came to a close, it left with a positive feel good song continuing to play at the closing seconds of the final scene. Never was there a “sunken feeling” even if not all of the characters were given happy endings, there is always the implication with the way the movie ended that life continues on with these characters as off-screen, they continue to face challenges and triumphs in their lives.

The people behind Lords of Dogtown succeeded on doing a new contemporary take on doing a 1970’s period movie. Never does it feel in its entirety as such nor does it try to be one. The movie succeeded on making a story that took place more than 30 years ago fresh and accessible for many to enjoy watching.

I detest being placed on the hot seat. I was never comfortable answering such personal questions so it’s always better for me just let them go unanswered.

It’s not that I want to lie nor deny but really, it’s really something that I don’t wanna talk much less talking about in public. Don’t try to say that it’s the freakin’ 21st Century already and that today’s generation are liberated and are free to talk about things that weren’t much of a central conversation back when our grandparents were teenagers.

As in any case, I just want to stray away from it because I’m not too keen on being open about it. Don’t say I’m such a killjoy, I only prefer to be it that way.

Not talking about it does not make me less of a man, nor talking such does not make me any more either. If you wanna talk what you wanna talk about then fine, I’ll just sit right there blending in the background.

Cheers! 🙂

Can I just say how happy and speechless I am now knowing that I was able to grab a chance to work for a radio station which have been considered as a living piece of history the industry? Even if it’s been more than a week now since I got “hired”, I still feel the shivering excitement knowing that I will be having my practicum in the legendary 99.5 RT.

Although I’m not exactly working for the station itself, I made myself part of the production team on one of their shows, RT’s flagship chart show the RT30 (short for the RT Top 30). The team is composed of the Inka, the show’s host, her producer, Jose, and her minions of interns (including me).

I don’t exactly know the names of all my other co-interns but I managed to hang on to a couple of names: Clarisa, and Carla (a fellow Benildean). They introduced me to the kind of works they’re engaged in to bring about a good show to present every Friday.

With the nature that my job requires, I have to listen to Top 40 radio  every so often to keep myself updated on everything that’s about music. Doing research about the artists and the songs that are charting on the countdown as well as trying to come up with a script for a 3-hour show that otehr than being informative, must also be set in the language of the station’s target market, the youth (which makes up a majority of RT’s listenership).

Have I mentioned that majority of the production team, including Inka and our producer, are from DLSP schools? (Animo La Salle!)

Although no job is easy. We are in strict compliance with what the station is trying to maintain. Being a station that gets to play potential breakout hits in pop music ahead of the other stations (like Astro Nut’s “As Strong as the Sun”, Owl City’s “Fireflies”, Calvin Harris’ “I’m Not Alone”, to name a few), we are sworn not to reveal to anyone else outside the station the identity of the majority of songs they’re playing. Same goes with having insider knowledge with current chart positions of songs in the RT30 days before the show itself airs.

By this point, I have to really dedicate myself on this line of work. Although the MMA-OJT program calls me to produce an output in time, I’m hoping the higher ups would count the scripts that I’ll be making with the rest of the interns since it is a collective effort coming from all of us.

And I’m hoping I could manage to pick-up what I’ve learned right away.

(Writer’s note: This piece was written way back couple of months ago with the intention of having it published at a later time. A follow-up entry will be put up ASAP)

I’m currently on my ninth term. Since I’m going to push stay to one more trimester, I might graduate on the first term of 2011-2012. 😀