opened gateway

when i was a student, i kept on wondering when could i possibly put into good use the things that i was learning that time. 

a lot of times, those learnings (plus the additional ones) were used naman. 

but the wedding at supposedly-pagsan-only-but-actually-in-lucban-quezon provided the ultimate (so far) test site for my lesson in video. 

march 23, we went to laguna, er, lucban in quezon. since i was with my digicon family it was a joy ride. had it been otherwise, i would have opened the car door and jump. it was a loooooooooooooong (much longer than that) ride. 

patio rizal, where we stayed was a decent place to live for our less than 48 hours stay at lucban. unfortunately, we couldn't stay much longer in the hotel. we arrived past 12MN, and we had to be prepared around 4 in the morning. the wedding was at 8 in the morning. as the official photo and video coverage, we had to capture all the details starting from the preparation (including the trivialities).

when we were all set for the big day, the nerves started to take me by storm. after i took a quick shower, and when everyone was on the other room taking photos and video of the bride while she prepared, the "nerve troop" started to march from my heart and slowly invading the entir body–paralyzing it.

i didn't know what i was feeling then. and why i was feeling that way.

i remember saying these words: "Lord, we all know how important this day to the couple. We know the big task of capturing every moment of today. Inasmuch as I want to just enjoy the day, i can't help but to feel the weight of my responsibility as the video man. In spite of whatever we're feeling now, i'm asking you to grant us a strong spirit, a courageous heart, and an artistic eye as we fulfill whatever it is that we ought to do today…"

i walked aimlessly inside the room. mommy ria saw me in action. she knew i was feeling odd at that moment. she gave me a push. it helped, a bit. then, the nerve troop continued its quest. 

as i looked at the ceiling (plus the encouraging words from my group) thinking of the enormous task ahead, i kept on saying, "You've waited for this moment. This is the perfect moment to try other things than writing the script. If i made this great, i could say to myself that i'm capable of doing other things." it was like a mantra that i kept on saying to myself.

it's true. i've waited for the moment to do other task than writing the scripts and guiding the hosts during events. now, that it finally arrived, all i could think of was to give the best. 

although i've had video projects in the past and actually did videography for a wedding, i knew that shooting video is one of my achilles' heels. i'd rather get the slr and take pictures. i prefer still than moving. i enjoy composing shots through the lens of an slr. i'm more comfortable with that medium. 

anyway, when crunch time rolled, i felt great. i guess, it was my para-troopers–the adrenalin special unit–that conquered the nerve troop.  

it was a loooooong wedding as looooooong as the trip itself.

that's why when we hit the road back to manila, the four of us were in a deep sleep.

but it's all worth it.

*sparkles!