DIGITALIS
By Issa Sebullen


Several of my students have asked me the difference between a commercial movie (in 35 mm) and a digital film. It made me realize that, being known as an officer of the Screenwriters Guild of the Philippines, people have the impression that I should know the ins and outs of movie making.

It’s ironic to think that the students have given the professor an assignment. Worse, it’s actually a research work that would take a lot of my precious time.

Fortunately, I had the opportunity to utilize my being a voter of the Film Academy of the Philippines. I focused my research work on the recent screening of nominated films for the Luna Awards at the UP Film Center. I made notes of the movies shown for a factual analysis and eventual comparison afterwards. And to make matters simple enough for the simple minds of the professor and her students, I decided on two commercial movies and two digital films for my guinea pigs.

My cinematic taste settled for Ako Legal Wife which had Zsa Zsa Padilla in the title role, who eventually emerged as the Best Actress for the Luna Awards. Another mainstream film I selected was Blue Moon with Jennylyn Mercado and Mark Herras in the lead roles, which earned the nod of the FAP voters for the Best Picture. And for the digital movies, I had randomly picked Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros and Mga Pusang Gala..

Based on my notes, the first noticeable difference was the presence of named stars in the mainstream 35 mm films. Aside from Zsa Zsa in Ako Legal Wife, her leading man was Jay Manalo and a string of supporting roles in the persons of Cherry Pie Picache and Rufa Mae Quinto plus a bevy of young stars led by John Pratts. The same goes for Blue Moon which had a heavier casting with Eddie Garcia, Christopher De Leon, Dennis Trillo and Boots Anson Roa and also young stars Pauleen Luna and Polo Ravales.

The digitals have lesser stars or maybe none at all. In Ang Pagdadalaga Ni Maximo Oliveros, all the actors were virtually unknown although Nathan Lopez, the title roler, had later on caught the imagination of the viewing public. In fact, Nathan had won the Best Actor in some award-giving bodies. That’s also true with Ping Medina who had earned several nominations already. Ricky Davao headlines Mga Pusang Gala together with Irma Adlawan. But other than Ricky and Irma, other players couldn’t be considered named stars.

The second difference I had observed was the way the storyline was written. It seemed that mainstream films had no limitations when it comes to the settings while in the digital, it was very evident that the settings were carefully selected to adapt to the limitations of the settings. Blue Moon was intricately woven with panoramic sceneries of several provincial locations as the backdrop. Ako Legal Wife had almost the same menu with the settings and the tree planting scene, it seemed to me, was plain extravagance since it was not that relevant in the story.

The makers of Ang Pagdadalaga Ni Maximo Oliveros had to content themselves with the slum area where most of the scenes were shot in a dingy room or living room. Even if there were different exterior shots, an observant eye will perceive that the entire movie was shot in just one location. Scenes in Mga Pusang Gala were centered in either the living room or bedroom of an ordinary house (it was an apartment). But the flow of the story was mostly intercut with Ricky, who played a gay novel writer, and Irma, an office girl in search of a true love.

The Production Design for the digital looked simple and very ordinary unlike in the 35 mm films where costumes or attire and especially the set look expensive. Characters in Ang Pagdadalaga Ni Maximo Oliveros were dressed in ordinary attire and the only costume required was that of the policeman’s. Mga Pusang Gala fared better with the grand setting in the initial stage of the story where Irma was soaking in a tub full of rose petals plus the sumptuous setting of the dinner table with steamed lobsters. But still, those settings would look ordinary compared to the settings of the two mainstream films.

In the aspect of the story and script, Ang Pagdadalag Ni Maximo Oliveros proved that digital films can be at par with the traditional commercial films by winning awards left and right. But sad to say, the accolades from foreign shores ignited the interest to this particular digital film. On the part of Mga Pusang Gala, I’ve heard that the film was invited in several festivals abroad and had a fairly good showing in the UP Film Center. Admittedly, Mga Pusang Gala had a short story to tell which was only stretched by the storyline.

The third and last difference in my list was the quality of cinematography. Some flaws may be attributed to editing faults but the clarity of the picture is way below expectation. I’ve heard that the process of transferring the digital to the 35 mm format still has a long way to go in converting images with 100% accuracy. But discounting the transfer, where the digital film is shown in a digital projector, I would still say that there’s something missing in the quality of the images.

To sum it up, it is apparent that the budget is the common denominator. Given an ample budget, the digital film production can go all out, from casting high-priced actors, donning complex settings, providing expensive but cinematic costumes and choosing ideal locations for shooting. But as it is, it is not practical to spend much for the digital film since only few theaters are available for exhibition. The digital film, in its original format, can only be viewed using a digital projector. As of now, of the 12 theaters in SM Megamall Cinemas, only one is equipped with a digital projector. That’s also true with other theater chains like Robinson’s.

Although it is not really the rule, digital films pale in comparison to the mainstream and commercial 35 mm films in terms of sophistication. It is like comparing a heavy metal rock music with full volume amplifiers and synthesizers versus a folk song with only a guitar for accompaniment. But in due time the folk song will be using more instruments and I’m sure it will be side by side with the 35 mm film. For the meantime, let us suffice our eyes and ears with simple settings and nameless actors. Or go for the traditional commercial film in the 35 mm format if you prefer a really nice movie, with full visual and audio effects.