FEB 22
All Grade 12 students of O.B. Montessori Center (OBMC) attended a workshop series with film industry expert to help prepare them for the 6th CineSophia Short Film Festival. This annual April event exhibits films using applied philosophical theories on contemporary social issues. This year, the CineSophia carries the theme, “Contra Mundum: To fight and liberate. Together, discover the role of wisdom against crooked reasoning. Transform the world and philosophize as a collective.” Gearing Up Before the Cameras Roll with Producer Charyl De Guzman Producer Charyl De Guzman was the speaker at the Production Management Workshop held online last November 21, 2023. She discussed why pre-production is the crucial foundation of the filmmaking process. An efficient pre-production can save money and time—the two limited resources in filmmaking. Charyl De Guzman has worked as a line producer and associate producer for twenty-four years. Keeping the Script’s Continuity with Director Floy Quintos
Director and Playwright Floy Quintos led the month-long Scriptwriting Workshop last October 2023. With scheduled visits to each campus, he worked with small groups of Grade 12 students. He gave feedback on their storylines and sequence treatment in the scripts the students submitted beforehand. He stressed the importance of maintaining continuity in scriptwriting to avoid contradictions in the scenes. Floy Quintos has written stage plays, which continue to be performed by theater companies and university-based organizations. Creating a World with Production Designer Mitoy Sta. Ana
The remaining workshops were held at the Maria Montessori Hall in Greenhills last January 6, 2024. Mitoy Sta. Ana was the first speaker to discuss Production Design, a part as crucial as directing and acting because it sets the mood and supports the character’s personality. Mitoy Sta. Ana is well-known in the advertising and film industry for his set and costume designs. Interpreting a Character with Actress Frances Makil-Ignacio
Versatile actress Francis Makil-Ignacio was the speaker at the Acting Workshop, having appeared in several stage plays, films, and series, including her role as Lorelei Mumar in Cattleya Killer (2023) and VLG in Replacing Chef Chico (2023). According to Makil-Ignacio, actors must study their scripts. They should be able to create a history and purpose for why a character exists in the story. Though they are free to interpret, actors should work closely with the director and co-actors. Making Consistent Takes with Director Dustin Celestino
Director Dustin Celestino taught the fundamentals of filmmaking by assigning five representatives from each campus. These selected students were given roles in a production team. Direk Dustin guided the students with the cameras as the actors reenacted a scene from the romance anthology Luv Is: Caught in His Arms. He emphasized the importance of camera framing to portray the timeline of a character’s transformation or change of behavior. Dustin Celestino directed Ang Duyan ng Magiting, which bagged two special jury awards in Cinemalaya 2023. With a deeper understanding of filmmaking, the Grade 12 students are in the production phase of their short films for the 6th CineSophia Short Film Festival in March 2024. Know more about O.B. Montessori Center’s events by clicking here!
