Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Toxic.

Arrive at Suvarnabhumi airport, then straight to post-house.

Whole day post work for three projects, late check-in at hotel.

Work on pending projects in hotel room, follow-up music arrangers on music revisions.
Discover that arrangers have not received texts and therefore have not done revisions.
Flurry of text updates on pending projects, shot and to be shot.

Fly back home, 4 a.m. call-time for next day's shooting.
Series of meetings day after shoot, another shooting after that.
Pre-production meeting for next 3 projects the day after shoot.
Final workshop, costume fitting, offline interlocks for two pending projects the next day.
Shooting next day.
Discover that music arranger is stuck in Paris due to ashfall from Icelandic volcano.
Long, late meeting with new clients for big product launch.

Presentation of 3 new storyboards for existing clients after that.
Offline presentation next day.
Shoot preps for next shoot.
Back home to prepare two storyboards for presentation day after tomorrow.


Long shooting day, then at 9:00 p.m., a call for further revisions by agency creatives on two projects already viewed and approved by client.
Give Account Executive an earful.

Two hours later, client informs me the two concept boards they had vetoed three days earlier were now a go.



For next morning's presentation.



So right after pack-up, home to do two new storyboards from scratch for presentation early the next day.


Early morning, after an hour's fitful sleep, client wakes me up to say presentation has been moved up by two hours.
Right after that, bank calls to tell me to deposit funds in checking account or two large checks will bounce in three hours.


Spend hour smoking, waiting for service.
Thankfully, no line at bank.
Traffic to client.


Two project presentations; fortunately, both approved for production.
Rebriefing on three pending projects right afterward because initial concepts disapproved.
Briefing on new project after that.
Packaging revision on long-pending project.
Revision on long-pending print project.
Argue with client over new timetables.

Back to Makati for scoring and voice-overs for four projects for Monday interlock.
At 8 p.m., animation house calls to present treatment board for pending project.
Endure traffic back to New Manila.

Internal finishes at 10:30 p.m.
First meal of the day.

Back home to finish two Bid Specs for new projects.

Early flight again tomorrow back to Bangkok.







I am a whirling dervish, and this is my so-called life.
A series of overlapping events for fleeting things that will only be seen for 30 seconds.

11 comments:

  1. but you love it, so that's fine.

    otherwise you have been gone a long time ago, eh.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Me? I've walked away from that life. Twice. =)

    ReplyDelete
  3. goodlord help me.

    i can't get the imae out of my head.

    of you whirling while holding your light saber lolz

    ReplyDelete
  4. ano ba yan?work pa ba yan or punishment!LOL

    maybe u like it that way gaya ng sabi ng iba or else matagal mo ng iniwan yan work na yan,hehe

    ReplyDelete
  5. @ Mac : I am perfectly happy being idle. It's just that indolence doesn't pay the bills.

    @ Ternie : I'm the one who needs help here.

    @ Joel : You know how brutal this industry's pace can be. And over and above that, I have to beat competitors off with a stick.

    I envy you. I walked unceremoniously out of my first agency, and dramatically out of my last one.

    Unsure how this will all play out. Till then, I ride this tornado.

    @ engel : Oh, love? Love spelled backwards is evol.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh my, and i thought I am busy...

    can i say sorrY?

    hehehehe....
    damn, too bad i give good massage, you deserve one...
    lol.

    ReplyDelete
  7. i can imagine your life as a credit card ad. everythings blurry and hurried and wild violins play in the background. but then i'm still waiting for you to talk about the peaceful moment you spent at home and how it's all worth it and shit.. which makes me wonder..

    is it?

    ReplyDelete
  8. @ Von Draye : It's not that I feel sorry for myself, not by a long shot. All I need do to put things in perspective is think of the set men and crew who spend more hours on a shoot than I do, and get paid far less.

    What did I just remark to a colleague the other day? Ah, yes: "There are no permanent heavens on this earth. The most we can do is choose the lesser purgatories and hells."

    @ Nyl : How very meta: the commercial-maker's life as a commercial.

    I get very few and brief moments of introspection in this business, before pending events need my full attention again. I guess all I can tell you is what I tell other people: "There's plenty of time to sleep when you're dead."

    ReplyDelete
  9. my god higad! And I thought my workload was toxic!

    ReplyDelete
  10. i find that a little sad. i guess i value my free time too much. probably why i've been stagnant for close to two years now. haha

    ReplyDelete