So you want to make movies?!
Lyle Sacris can be an imposing figure. For one, in person, the guy’s literally huge. The fact that his dress sense is unconventional to say the least also adds to the impression that he’s larger than life. (Curiously, he once worked at a production house called Larger Than Life where he’d pad around in Simpsons footwear.) Of course there’s also the fact that his work as a director precedes him.
In the late 1990s, he came to prominence doing music videos for the likes of Rivermaya, Slapshock, The Teeth, and Chicosci (albeit when they were still known as Chico Science). His visual aesthetic came as a sort of a “shock of the new” and perfectly complemented the sound of the bands he was making videos for. Being a musician himself, he matched the jagged rhythms, off-kilter hooks, and lyrical free-association of the music with images seemingly culled from underground cinema, cartoons and conceptual art. His video for R&B singer Kyla for her debut single, Hanggang Ngayon, bagged the MTV Music Video Award for Asia. In it, he played up the grotesque, even to the point of submerging Slapshock’s Jamir in a bathtub full of fetid water. He’s since won every award for music video direction in the country.
In the 2000s he directed two feature films, several experimental shorts, and commercial advertising. He’s also done work as a cinematographer for directors like Quark Henares, Joel Lamangan and Erik Matti. He’s won awards for that, too.
In short, he somehow did what he wanted to do and (without meaning to) made a career out of it.
He’s started teaching at the University of the Philippines’ College of Mass Communication as a way of giving back. Many of his students are now working professionally as filmmakers. On his teaching methods, he’s always stressed the importance of actually working on film sets. He usually asks his students to work with him on professional shoots but makes sure that they put in work and not just stand around.
“They have to be there the moment I step on the set and they don’t leave until I do,” he says. Lyle shares that seeing his students getting hired is as gratifying as making a film. “Well, almost, but it’s really rewarding for me.”
When Fully Booked asked him to put together film workshops, he jumped at the chance. He threw himself into the planning and choosing the instructors for every class. “I wanted people who were working professionals,” he said. “It makes it all credible and also practical.” He cites that being a filmmaker in the Philippines is different from anywhere else. “To be able to succeed, it’s essential that they know how things are done here as well as the problems that you’ll regularly encounter,” says Lyle.
Among the workshops being offered are the following: Production Design with Richard Somes and Jun Sabayton on April 16, Dave Hukom of Post Manila for post-production, Joel Lamangan and Jerrold Tarog for film direction, Raymond Red for cinematography, Philbert Dy and Oggs Cruz on film appreciation and criticism, and Cherie Gil, Mark Gil and Joel Torre on screen acting.
Workshops are open to anybody 18 years old and above with limited slots available. Interested parties must pre-register by emailing their name, address and contact number to marketing@fullybookedonline.com with the name of the class/es they would like to sign up for as the subject heading.
“The only way to know how to make a film is to make one,” was an old motto in Mowelfund. Although Lyle believes in this, he thinks that it would be better if they knew what they were getting into first. He’s put together these classes with that in mind. He says, “After, you’ll know.”
Big words from a big man.
