Of mascots and music videos

You know you’re watching a Pancho Esguerra music video if the band members are all dressed like
Tenenbaums – sailor shirts, corduroys and all. Or if a trinket from a half-forgotten era (from the top of my head: say, a Pez dispenser or an Evel Knievel action figure) graces the fringes of the screen. Or if the concept involves a mascot.

Kooky, maverick, art-house, singular, or whatever label you care to slap on the young director’s oeuvre of music videos, there is nothing on your local music channel that comes close to his signature style. Consider his take on Chubibo’s Patawad, a video that tells of a peg-legged girl who the band accidentally runs over with a Buick. Or Sandwich’s Walang Kadaladala, where frontman Raimund Marasigan transforms into the mascot-hero of an Atari-like, side-scrolling game world. Or the Itchyworms’ Motobus, where the fun-loving band members hitchhike through the archipelago à la The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour. Hey, these aren’t your garden-variety, band-performing-in-the-rain music videos.

Heavily inspired by Wes Anderson and his growing cult of similarly color-palette-loving directors such as Mike Mills (Thumbsucker) and Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite, Nacho Libre), Esguerra and his trappings are a visual entity all their own. Though the Pinoy music video is rapidly growing as an art form, sadly, there are still a number of works that are derivative, overly sentimental or just plain baduy. Esguerra’s works are never boring and are always done in good taste: no cheesy fonts, no accidental product placements, no spoofs of whatever’s hip to spoof at the moment.

Says Esguerra on how he ended up behind the camera: "I really had no idea that I’d be directing music videos. I was busy playing basketball and drawing when I was growing up. I used to always doodle on my notebooks in class instead of taking notes. I got into comic books for a while. Directing sort of landed in my lap during college, during our production classes where we had to make our own music videos."

After graduating with a communication arts degree from the Ateneo de Manila in 2000, the illustrator in him led to a second degree in fine arts at the University of the Philippines, where he took up painting. "I guess, visually, my fine arts degree has helped me in my music video work. In terms of shot composition and choosing the color palette for my videos, I learned a lot from my professors."

Notorious in the music video industry for his frequent one-man crew approach, where he directs, handles finance, scouts locations, decorates sets, designs costumes, edits and Photoshops in visual effects, directors like him can become one of two things: an Orson Welles or an Ed Wood. An Orson Welles if he is a jack-of-all-trades because of talent; an Ed Wood if he is a jack-of-all-trades out of necessity. In the case of Esguerra, it’s a little of both. "Usually, it’s been more of a necessity because there often is no budget for music videos so I end up having to do some things myself, but I guess after working for TV, I was used to having to do everything myself because that’s the way we were trained. But now I’m learning how to work with a team. It’s an adjustment but it makes my job easier and makes the shoots run a lot smoother."

Directing music videos is a challenging job that comes with small paychecks, packed lunches and limited location choices (abandoned warehouse, anyone?). Imagination without financial backing can only get you so far. But it looks like Esguerra is someone who has managed his way through the limitations of this one-horse industry. "It is very challenging and stressful. Working sometimes with small and even non-existent budgets really limits you in terms of what you can shoot. But it is fun. Having the privilege to do a video for such a good song by bands you love is great."

As for future plans, he is hoping that he can tell a story through either a short film or a full-length feature. "Eventually I hope it does happen. I want to have something substantial to say. My girlfriend and I will start working on a script sometime soon."