Aspiring director Alden Richards on directorial debut, how to use tech in filmmaking

MANILA, Philippines — Alden Richards has already finished his directorial feature starring Heaven Peralejo, praising his lead star for her brilliance in the film that is set to be released on a streaming platform this year. 

"Working with Heaven is magaan. She's brilliant. She knows what she wants. She's very much a good listener. I think that's one of the key factors of a brilliant actor. You listen to your director, to your co-actor, and Heaven has that," said the actor to Philstar.com in an exclusive interview at his meet-and-greet held in Vivo's concept store in SM Megamall. 

Alden is looking forward to working with the actress after working with her in their movie with the working title "Out of Order," produced under Viva. 

The bedimpled actor also shared a little about his directorial debut, and how technology has helped him finish his first film. 

A good quality camera, the aspiring director said, makes any project look better. It is one of the key essentials for a director, and he made it a point that he had one, even a handy one on set. 

"Nung first time ko kasi mag-direct after directing the film that I finished, importante kasi na maganda 'yung quality ng camera so that you can angle... That's one of the obligations of a director e. You tell your people where to place the cameras depending on the shots that you want to see at depende per set up," Alden said.

"I think camera is really a necessity for directors. Of course with Vivo right now, which is powered by Zeiss, maganda 'yung quality ng registration ng mga locations. It's what we call in directing, we call it vista. The vista is the first thing that you see on the screen. So I think, a really good camera, which Vivo has, is one of the key essentials of a director, especially to a starting one like me," he said. 

Alden said he did use the technology on set, gushing about it further when he took shots per scene and the breakdown of each scene. 

"Per scene kailangan sine-set up mo 'yan depending sa location. Kailangan 'yung coverage, it's properly covered by the shots that you made and at the same time, 'yung angles, kasi minsan kasi, like this room right now, mahirap kasi siyang tingnan as is e. Pero 'pag tiningnan mo siya through the lens of a camera, a quality camera, makikita mo ah ito pwede ito, with proper lighting. Magwo-work ito, especially pag malalaki ang locations, exterior locations, exterior shots. 'Yun 'yung crucial," Alden said.

"So of course, as a director, as the captain of the ship, you need to tell your people what shots you need to set up para mas malinaw sa kanila," he explained. 

Alden, like most people these days, have relied on smartphones in their everyday lives. Moreso, in his case since his daily schedule is jampacked not just an actor, but also a director and an owner of a production company. 

Thus, besides a good quality camera, the battery life and charging features of a phone matters. This is where he is appreciative of Vivo, a brand he has been endorsing since 2022. 

He shared an instance where his battery was at only 30%, but with the brand's fast-charging features, he had his unit charged at almost 100% in just 15 minutes. 

"So I think that's one of the features na talagang sumasabay sa lifestyle natin, especially in my line of work. Well, we can't live without smartphones. Nandoon ang work, communication. So Vivo has been improving the features of the phone to adjust, to be our partner in  our everyday lives," he added. — Video by Kathleen A. Llemit, editing by EC Toledo

RELATED: Heaven Peralejo impressed with Alden Richards' directing, acting