In the summer of 2005, my barkada and I decided to make a short film project. Consisting of six, fifteen-minute episodes, SCRAMBLE was originally supposed to be a group effort. Sarge, Danny, David, Michael, Justin, and me, and a few others whose names I have to dig up were the team for this.
My high school savings by then was a whopping $300, and we used that as the budget for the film. $100 to costumes, $100 to props, and $100 to set construction in my dad’s backyard. I had a digital camera with video function, and a computer for basic editing. Each of us friends was supposed to write an episode. I’d make costumes and Michael or Justin would make props, and Danny would build the set.
It did not go according to plan.
Michael disappeared early into the summer. We’d later learn he moved three states away. Communications were limited back then. It was 2005. I was forced to buy and design props.
Costumes went swimmingly well. I measured my friends, and drew patterns using an autumn coat as base for five different trench coats in different styles and colors, some based on anime we loved. I’d only made fleece ponchos before that. My work astonished my seamstress grandmother who, with both pride and consternation, quickly re-stitched a few crooked seams on the sewing machine a few months later
Props were fun enough. I made a ‘rocket launcher’ out of pineapple cans, cardboard, and a ton of duct tape. A later mischief maker would mistake the grey tube for a real spud cannon. Swords and bo staves were fun to design and craft and practice fight choreography with.
Danny had… a problem. It was the cheap, rotting wood in my backyard. We had a few panels of it and some 2x4s and we tried to make structures but… It didn’t work out.
Oh, and the script, the wondrous script.
I ended up writing it all, based in the story universe I created in 2000. It was a raging adventure, with sword fights and explosions and experimental alien monsters and more. And the mechanical umbrella that I designed… I spent weeks testing different mechanisms for it! What a delight.
While it was fun to write, and sew, and craft, and create… We never were able to all meet and rehearse and film it back then.
Recently friends in the Philippines asked me to dig up my scripts. This was one finished project they wanted to see on screen someday. And even if we can’t gather together the barkada again as teenagers, we can try to animate it instead.
So just give me a bit of time while I figure out how to start a gofundme to animate SCRAMBLE. 🙂 We’re gonna have a roarin’ fun time.
Translating Filipino:
Barkada: A group, circle, or gang of friends.