ABS-CBN Ikaw ang Lahat sa Akin Guesting

There were only pleasant surprises in store for me when I did a guesting on August 2 and 4 of 2005 at ABS-CBN’s “Ikaw ang Lahat sa Akin” (You Are Everything to Me), a teleserye or television series starring local stars Claudine Barretto and Diether Ocampo.

Professionalism of Claudine Barretto – This was the first time I ever worked with her; and I was very pleased to observe that she came prepared for each take, knowing her lines and being emotionally ready to do the scene. After each take, she would rush to the TV monitor and observe the work she had done.

And then, at the end of the last take where she was emotionally wrung out because her character remembered a traumatic rape incident in her past; Claudine was gracious enough to have a small audience with a handful of fans who braved the rains and the lateness of the hour just to see her. I can only admire the tenacity of her fans because getting to the set was no mean feat. The location was at La Mesa Dam where there was only a narrow road with no lights leading to the site, and at 1am, it can become quite daunting.

Lack of Macho Culture - The most surprising detail that I noticed was the lack of macho culture on the set that is so prevalent on most ABS-CBN shoots, the very same kind of culture that will allow remarks such as “Gusto kitang I-rape,” (“I want to rape you”) to be considered a compliment. I always had to steel myself against that kind of environment whenever I had to shoot with ABS-CBN. It was such a welcome change not to be on one’s guard against such comments.

Direk Eric Reyes’ Leadership - I would like to attribute the culture change to the leadership of Direk Eric. The set environment stems a lot from the director, and he has created a very demanding one that requires every member to focus on the work at hand and do his best. At one point, he even became enraged with the crew for becoming lackadaisical with the scene set up.

He’s also an actor’s director because he will attempt to help his actors by making sure to discuss the scene before it’s shot. And the innovative move that he has done is to play mood music before each take, aiding his actors’ emotions and motivations, and that includes even the background actors, who are usually treated dismissively.

Diether’s Kindness - The whole wonderful experience was capped by the unexpected kindness of Diether Ocampo on the way home. Realizing that I would likely get lost going out of the location, he offered to convoy with us, thus, enabling me to reach home in under 20 minutes, a span of time that could have been easily lengthened if I had been left to my own devices.

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