The Ilocos Roadtrip and Film Shooting - Part 1

The end of an SE meeting last week, Wednesday, was the start of yet another interesting 5-day ride up North for me!

Several weeks ago, our friend, the Riderman (Karlo), was cool enough to have his script chosen to be filmed by Cinema One as an independent movie. The last leg of the shoot was decided to be located in Ilocos and to show our support (and just to call our wanderlust), me, Arvs, and Jake joined the caravan.

Two vans, a pickup carrying Bebop (an SRV Yamaha Soulful V-Twin Special Edition vintage bike), and Telula (Jake's FX)... this has been the convoy for the rest of the Ilocos expedition comprising of casts and crew of the indie film, the bike's caretakers, and our tropa (the tag-alongs from Shak).

*****

Quick Facts:
Working Title: MotorCYCLE
Direction: Raymond Red et. al.
Casts: Jason Abalos, Kat Alano, Noni Buencamino
Production: Cinema One
Gist (for confirmation): After his father's death, a boy embarks to search for his estranged sister, bringing him back to his roots and recall long-forgotten memories.

*****

From the SE meeting in Pasay Road, I hurried home to pack my things up. I already listed the stuffs I have to bring along on my handy notepad when I was in the meeting. The small notebook also doubled as my travel journal for the trip and here goes the entries in verbatim...

Day 0.5 - Wednesday
Home, Pasay
* 11:22PM - Finished packing up.
* 11:28 - Alis bahay Gang.
(Nagpaalam lang ako sa sambahayan. Baka kasi pag balik ko, hindi na nila ako kilala. Ulet.)
* 12:16 - Shak arrival!

Day 1 - Thursday
Da Shak, Kamias
* 2:30AM - Jake arrives with Telula. Got to meet Arvin in "Classmates" in Quezon Ave... well, near it.
(The casts and crew rendezvoused on this village and here was where I got to meet most of them. One thing of note was that the film has 4 directors although it was the award-winning director, Raymond Red, that helmed the group.)

* 3:53 - We're off!
* 4:34 - Stop #1, Petron - NLEX
- film shots
(I was sleeping in between journal entries. Wala pa kong tulog e.)
* 6:07 - We moved to Shell - NLEX
- film shots
(I overheard from a conversation that we moved to Shell because people were noticing already that we were shoting.)
* 6:38 - Back on road. This trip will gonna be long!
(The plan was to film Jason riding Bebop on different locations as we go along the way to Ilocos. This will take some time so I had coffee from the local Istarbuko branch to pep me up.)

wala pang tulog
* 9:30AM - We (in Telula) stopped somewhere in Pangasinan, taking an alternate route.
- The rest of the convoy took the main road as they continue the shoot.
- It's rice paddies on both sides of the road. Pee time!
* 10:00 - Talk with locals.
- Contact Pork at da Shak to coordinate our location with the Karlo Convoy (the rest of the group)
- Off we go!
(We had a short stopover in this "short-cut" that we usually take when going to Baguio. Nakipag kwentuhan kami sa isang magsasaka tas inalok namin ng meryenda na bitbit namin. It was a nice stretch. Nawala na yung antok ko.)

* 11:17 - Agoo Church
- film shots
(Stop #2 for the crew. We were able to catch up with the Karlo Convoy. While they were shooting, we roamed around the place for a while.)
* 11:38 - Bye Agoo!
* 12:23 - Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (San Fernando, La Union)
- Pork calls.
- Jake eats... again!
- lunch break (Jo-ann's Bacolod Inasal)
Grub list: spare ribs inasal, sisig tuna, chopsuey, molo
(We had lunch ahead of the crew while they shoot. But the rain made them decide to call it off for a lunch break too. Good food for a good price!)

* 2:16PM - Trek resumes.
* 3:23 - Ilocos Sur - La Union Highway Boundary
(This time, we were ahead of the convoy so we parked beside the archway to wait for the gang. Arvin was moved to the pickup as substitute driver. Karlo has no sleep yet for two days straight. Talk about excitement for his baby project. I fell asleep too as baboy-reflext kicked in after lunch.)

* 3:55 - Met the Karlo Convoy, trip resumes.
* 4:45 - Candon City
- Pee break!
- Ice Cream (Black Forest Brew) and Pizza (Beefy Sausage) in "Ice Cream House"
(We had ice cream and pizza while we wait for Karlo. This trip has been all about food and sleep for me so far.)

* 5:01 - Off to Vigan!
- Vanessa Carlton music in iPod. Now I'm starting to love her songs just by continuous listening.
* 5:40PM - We're back in the convoy again.
* 6:27 - Vigan Heritage Park
- film shoot
(Pinagkaka-guluhan na dito si Jason. I never thought he was that big, all the people knew him except me!)
* 7:26 - Empanada fest!
- Move to hotel.
(We sampled the local deli while the shooting took place. After that, we went on to much remote places to look for a place to sleep in.)

doesn't look like a starving artist to me
* 7:45 - Arrival to Lodging #1 (Playa de Oro)
(Masyadong malayo ito. Lampas pa ng Vigan Air Strip. It was by the beach side. Ang problema sira ang water lines sa bawat rooms.)
* 8:04 - We're backing out.

* 8:33PM - Ocular inspection, Lodging #2 (Alad's Bar & Resort)
(The crew stayed here for the night. After a petty misunderstanding over room allotments, me and Jake decided to look for lodging back in Vigan proper instead.)
* 9:21 - Arrival to Vigan Heritage Hotel
(First lodging we looked on...)

* 9:44 - Checked in at Aniceto Mansion, Room #5
(We also looked at the adjoining Vigan Plaza Hotel but the rooms were too expensive. But the concierge was a hot chick, much to Jake's disagreement. He feigns taste, I say! Anyway, Aniceto Mansion was just behind the Vigan Heritage Park right beside Vigan Church and a stone-throw away the Spanish-era style Heritage Houses. Nice location.)

Aniceto Mansion morning
Day 2 - Friday
Aniceto Mansion, Vigan
* 7:30AM - Wake up for free breakfast.
(I had tocino.)
* 8:50 - I had short walks around the Heritage Houses.
(Bought some souvenir shirts for the family back home. Sabi nga ni Jake, "playing the obligations of a good son". Early morning bolahan with the Manangs in the souvenir shops.)

* 9:27 - Extras needed for the shoot.
- Off to Heritage Park again.
(After walking around the place, I went back to our lodging only to get a call from Arvin. They were already at the Heritage Park and doing the first shots of the day. Kelangan daw kami as extras so we set off again on the streets to rejoin with the crew.)

* 11:49 - Pack up.
- Did extra-works for the movie.
- Ate breakfast PART TWO!
Grub list: Igado, Chikken, Turon, Cox
(The scene went like this... Jason asked us for directions to the Munisipyo but we, being tourists, din't know the place so we asked him instead to take a picture of us. Ganun lang. After that, me, Arvs, and Jake roamed around the place again while the shooting resumed. We had ANOTHER breakfast prior to meeting the guys then we checked out of Aniceto after the logistics lady from the crew told us that there were spaces for us at Alad's.)

* 11:52 - Check out.
* 1:47PM - Shoot ends.
- Lotsa cheering students from the adjacent school (Divine Word College).
(By this time, a lot of people around the area knew of the shooting already. May scene sa kalsada sa tabi ng school at sooobrang nagkakagulo na dun. The students were jampacked up to the walls and every floors of the adjacent building! Know what was scary? May mga lalake (bading) na nagsisigawan ng "ANG GWAPO MO JASON! ILABAS NYO ANG MAHAL KO!" Bwahahaha! At buong buo yung mga boses, not the typical pa-boses babae. Laugh trip! The teachers could barely restrain them already.)

one of the scenes in Vigan
Divine Word students, waiting for the shoot to resume
* 3:21 - Shoot ends.
- Had lunch at a local eatery.
- McDo tambay with the crew.
Grub list: Tinaktakan, Bistek, Igado, Papaitan, Cox
(The shoot was delayed when Bebop the bike had some trouble. Inayos pa nila Allein and Joff. I wish I photographed the look in Karlo's face when Bebop went back to life! Very late lunch break followed. It was the second time I had "igado" during our Ilocos stay, and read out the rest of the entries... iL have more igados to eat! The crew had lunch in McDo. They would never get us to eat there. We din't haul our arses 12 hours from Manila to Ilocos just to eat effin McDo.)

* 3:29 - Set off for cemetery shoot.
* 3:54 - Back to resort (Alad's Bar and Resort)
(Hindi natuloy yung cemetery shoot for reasons that escaped me. We went back to the resort for a break.)

* 5:00 - The crew went off.
- We rest for now.
(The convoy went off to continue the shoot but me and Jake decided to stay behind to rest and play Warmachine!)
* 5:18 - Settled at Room #8.
* 8:58PM - Warmachine game ends. I win!
- Andito na ang crew, kanina pa!

ang angas na sana...
...nakatali pala! bwaha!
* 10:41 - Buffet time.
- Plans ironed out for tomorrow.
(Socialized with the crew and petiks mode for the rest of the night. Additional casts arrived from Manila and other logistics ironed out for the next day's round of shoots. Food buffet! Pero di na ko makakain sa sobrang busog. Pa-saging saging na lang ako and pa-pitik pitik ng bagnet!)

* 10:52 - Nyu-nyu land!
(Zzzz...)

*****
Days 3 and 4, to be continued...

The Ilocos Roadtrip and Film Shooting - Part 1

The end of an SE meeting last week, Wednesday, was the start of yet another interesting 5-day ride up North for me!

Several weeks ago, our friend, the Riderman (Karlo), was cool enough to have his script chosen to be filmed by Cinema One as an independent movie. The last leg of the shoot was decided to be located in Ilocos and to show our support (and just to call our wanderlust), me, Arvs, and Jake joined the caravan.

Two vans, a pickup carrying Bebop (an SRV Yamaha Soulful V-Twin Special Edition vintage bike), and Telula (Jake's FX)... this has been the convoy for the rest of the Ilocos expedition comprising of casts and crew of the indie film, the bike's caretakers, and our tropa (the tag-alongs from Shak).

*****

Quick Facts:
Working Title: MotorCYCLE
Direction: Raymond Red et. al.
Casts: Jason Abalos, Kat Alano, Noni Buencamino
Production: Cinema One
Gist (for confirmation): After his father's death, a boy embarks to search for his estranged sister, bringing him back to his roots and recall long-forgotten memories.

*****

From the SE meeting in Pasay Road, I hurried home to pack my things up. I already listed the stuffs I have to bring along on my handy notepad when I was in the meeting. The small notebook also doubled as my travel journal for the trip and here goes the entries in verbatim...

Day 0.5 - Wednesday
Home, Pasay
* 11:22PM - Finished packing up.
* 11:28 - Alis bahay Gang.
(Nagpaalam lang ako sa sambahayan. Baka kasi pag balik ko, hindi na nila ako kilala. Ulet.)
* 12:16 - Shak arrival!

Day 1 - Thursday
Da Shak, Kamias
* 2:30AM - Jake arrives with Telula. Got to meet Arvin in "Classmates" in Quezon Ave... well, near it.
(The casts and crew rendezvoused on this village and here was where I got to meet most of them. One thing of note was that the film has 4 directors although it was the award-winning director, Raymond Red, that helmed the group.)

* 3:53 - We're off!
* 4:34 - Stop #1, Petron - NLEX
- film shots
(I was sleeping in between journal entries. Wala pa kong tulog e.)
* 6:07 - We moved to Shell - NLEX
- film shots
(I overheard from a conversation that we moved to Shell because people were noticing already that we were shoting.)
* 6:38 - Back on road. This trip will gonna be long!
(The plan was to film Jason riding Bebop on different locations as we go along the way to Ilocos. This will take some time so I had coffee from the local Istarbuko branch to pep me up.)

wala pang tulog
* 9:30AM - We (in Telula) stopped somewhere in Pangasinan, taking an alternate route.
- The rest of the convoy took the main road as they continue the shoot.
- It's rice paddies on both sides of the road. Pee time!
* 10:00 - Talk with locals.
- Contact Pork at da Shak to coordinate our location with the Karlo Convoy (the rest of the group)
- Off we go!
(We had a short stopover in this "short-cut" that we usually take when going to Baguio. Nakipag kwentuhan kami sa isang magsasaka tas inalok namin ng meryenda na bitbit namin. It was a nice stretch. Nawala na yung antok ko.)

* 11:17 - Agoo Church
- film shots
(Stop #2 for the crew. We were able to catch up with the Karlo Convoy. While they were shooting, we roamed around the place for a while.)
* 11:38 - Bye Agoo!
* 12:23 - Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (San Fernando, La Union)
- Pork calls.
- Jake eats... again!
- lunch break (Jo-ann's Bacolod Inasal)
Grub list: spare ribs inasal, sisig tuna, chopsuey, molo
(We had lunch ahead of the crew while they shoot. But the rain made them decide to call it off for a lunch break too. Good food for a good price!)

* 2:16PM - Trek resumes.
* 3:23 - Ilocos Sur - La Union Highway Boundary
(This time, we were ahead of the convoy so we parked beside the archway to wait for the gang. Arvin was moved to the pickup as substitute driver. Karlo has no sleep yet for two days straight. Talk about excitement for his baby project. I fell asleep too as baboy-reflext kicked in after lunch.)

* 3:55 - Met the Karlo Convoy, trip resumes.
* 4:45 - Candon City
- Pee break!
- Ice Cream (Black Forest Brew) and Pizza (Beefy Sausage) in "Ice Cream House"
(We had ice cream and pizza while we wait for Karlo. This trip has been all about food and sleep for me so far.)

* 5:01 - Off to Vigan!
- Vanessa Carlton music in iPod. Now I'm starting to love her songs just by continuous listening.
* 5:40PM - We're back in the convoy again.
* 6:27 - Vigan Heritage Park
- film shoot
(Pinagkaka-guluhan na dito si Jason. I never thought he was that big, all the people knew him except me!)
* 7:26 - Empanada fest!
- Move to hotel.
(We sampled the local deli while the shooting took place. After that, we went on to much remote places to look for a place to sleep in.)

doesn't look like a starving artist to me
* 7:45 - Arrival to Lodging #1 (Playa de Oro)
(Masyadong malayo ito. Lampas pa ng Vigan Air Strip. It was by the beach side. Ang problema sira ang water lines sa bawat rooms.)
* 8:04 - We're backing out.

* 8:33PM - Ocular inspection, Lodging #2 (Alad's Bar & Resort)
(The crew stayed here for the night. After a petty misunderstanding over room allotments, me and Jake decided to look for lodging back in Vigan proper instead.)
* 9:21 - Arrival to Vigan Heritage Hotel
(First lodging we looked on...)

* 9:44 - Checked in at Aniceto Mansion, Room #5
(We also looked at the adjoining Vigan Plaza Hotel but the rooms were too expensive. But the concierge was a hot chick, much to Jake's disagreement. He feigns taste, I say! Anyway, Aniceto Mansion was just behind the Vigan Heritage Park right beside Vigan Church and a stone-throw away the Spanish-era style Heritage Houses. Nice location.)

Aniceto Mansion morning
Day 2 - Friday
Aniceto Mansion, Vigan
* 7:30AM - Wake up for free breakfast.
(I had tocino.)
* 8:50 - I had short walks around the Heritage Houses.
(Bought some souvenir shirts for the family back home. Sabi nga ni Jake, "playing the obligations of a good son". Early morning bolahan with the Manangs in the souvenir shops.)

* 9:27 - Extras needed for the shoot.
- Off to Heritage Park again.
(After walking around the place, I went back to our lodging only to get a call from Arvin. They were already at the Heritage Park and doing the first shots of the day. Kelangan daw kami as extras so we set off again on the streets to rejoin with the crew.)

* 11:49 - Pack up.
- Did extra-works for the movie.
- Ate breakfast PART TWO!
Grub list: Igado, Chikken, Turon, Cox
(The scene went like this... Jason asked us for directions to the Munisipyo but we, being tourists, din't know the place so we asked him instead to take a picture of us. Ganun lang. After that, me, Arvs, and Jake roamed around the place again while the shooting resumed. We had ANOTHER breakfast prior to meeting the guys then we checked out of Aniceto after the logistics lady from the crew told us that there were spaces for us at Alad's.)

* 11:52 - Check out.
* 1:47PM - Shoot ends.
- Lotsa cheering students from the adjacent school (Divine Word College).
(By this time, a lot of people around the area knew of the shooting already. May scene sa kalsada sa tabi ng school at sooobrang nagkakagulo na dun. The students were jampacked up to the walls and every floors of the adjacent building! Know what was scary? May mga lalake (bading) na nagsisigawan ng "ANG GWAPO MO JASON! ILABAS NYO ANG MAHAL KO!" Bwahahaha! At buong buo yung mga boses, not the typical pa-boses babae. Laugh trip! The teachers could barely restrain them already.)

one of the scenes in Vigan
Divine Word students, waiting for the shoot to resume
* 3:21 - Shoot ends.
- Had lunch at a local eatery.
- McDo tambay with the crew.
Grub list: Tinaktakan, Bistek, Igado, Papaitan, Cox
(The shoot was delayed when Bebop the bike had some trouble. Inayos pa nila Allein and Joff. I wish I photographed the look in Karlo's face when Bebop went back to life! Very late lunch break followed. It was the second time I had "igado" during our Ilocos stay, and read out the rest of the entries... iL have more igados to eat! The crew had lunch in McDo. They would never get us to eat there. We din't haul our arses 12 hours from Manila to Ilocos just to eat effin McDo.)

* 3:29 - Set off for cemetery shoot.
* 3:54 - Back to resort (Alad's Bar and Resort)
(Hindi natuloy yung cemetery shoot for reasons that escaped me. We went back to the resort for a break.)

* 5:00 - The crew went off.
- We rest for now.
(The convoy went off to continue the shoot but me and Jake decided to stay behind to rest and play Warmachine!)
* 5:18 - Settled at Room #8.
* 8:58PM - Warmachine game ends. I win!
- Andito na ang crew, kanina pa!

ang angas na sana...
...nakatali pala! bwaha!
* 10:41 - Buffet time.
- Plans ironed out for tomorrow.
(Socialized with the crew and petiks mode for the rest of the night. Additional casts arrived from Manila and other logistics ironed out for the next day's round of shoots. Food buffet! Pero di na ko makakain sa sobrang busog. Pa-saging saging na lang ako and pa-pitik pitik ng bagnet!)

* 10:52 - Nyu-nyu land!
(Zzzz...)

*****
Days 3 and 4, to be continued...