Below are a couple of small film and video projects that I worked on over the past few years. As you can see, most of these clips were shot using the video feature on my still digital camera, and edited with Windows Movie Maker. The 2020 version of The Broken Table was assembled on Lightworks, though I miss using Final Cut Pro. I'll use that program again...someday...
On April 29, 2013, I had the opportunity to perform a 30,000-foot tandem skydive above Whiteville, Tennessee. Known as H.A.L.O. (High-Altitude, Low-Opening), this military-style jump lasted about 9 minutes...with the free fall itself being more than 2 minutes-long and exceeding a speed of 200 MPH. The exact exit altitude from the aircraft was at 29,190 feet...while the parachute opened at 5,500 feet. Thanks to the awesome folks at HALOJumper.com, I officially became the first Filipino American to conduct the civilian version of this skydive...which is usually done by U.S. Special Forces!
On October 4, 2018, I celebrated my 39th birthday by skydiving at GoJump Oceanside in San Diego County, California! This is my fifth jump ever, and it was awesome as usual! I plan to do a sixth skydive on my 40th birthday next year...
On October 4, 2014, I celebrated my 35th birthday by once again jumping out of an aircraft...this time above Lake Elsinore in Riverside County, California. The free fall was from 12,500 feet, and lasted about a minute or so. This actually marks the fourth time I did a skydive (even though all of them have been tandems, hah), and just like the previous jumps, was freakin' awesome! Will I eventually train to become a solo skydiver, you ask? Um, uhhh... I'll have to get back to you on that one.
On May 28, 2006, I performed a 13,000-foot tandem skydive above Perris Valley in Southern California. The free fall lasted 60 seconds and reached a speed of 120 MPH. This was the second time I ever went skydiving.
I shot this brief video during the book reading by U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris (who was still the senator of California at this time) as she promoted her new publication Superheroes Are Everywhere at Barnes & Noble in L.A.'s The Grove...on January 13, 2019.
I shot this very brief, unedited video during a Mars landing viewing party held at Caltech's Beckman Auditorium in Pasadena, California...on November 26, 2018.
On August 5, 2012, around 2,000 people gathered at the Pasadena Convention Center to watch, on a large auditorium screen, live NASA TV coverage of the Curiosity rover as it arrived at Mars. This video, shot with my digital camera, covers events starting with the spacecraft entering the Martian atmosphere to the very first images sent back to Earth from the Red Planet. Bill Nye, who is the Chief Executive Officer of the Pasadena-based space advocacy group The Planetary Society, is the person talking throughout most of this video.
A quick film that I put together using smartphone footage and photos that I took of Los Angeles' newest bridge, the 6th Street Viaduct, on September 11, 2022.
I originally didn't intend to turn that footage into this video project... Otherwise, I would've filmed in landscape instead of the portrait format on my Google Pixel 4a smartphone!
A Cruise Down Sixth Street was edited on Lightworks.
The story of a lonely college geek who decides to follow other students around on a university campus just to see what makes their relationships tick. Originally shot in 2004.
A suspense thriller about a man whose simple act of fixing a damaged piece of furniture at home isn't what it appears to be. His intentions are revealed when a lovely young woman--who he long pined for--shows up one day to pay a visit. Starring Nicholas Mariano, Majdolene Abualfaraj and Martin Chang.
This version features new music tracks by composer Sir Cubworth, as well as an updated sound design.
A suspense thriller about a man whose simple act of fixing a damaged piece of furniture at home isn't what it appears to be. His intentions are revealed when a lovely young woman--who he long pined for--shows up one day to pay a visit. Starring Nicholas Mariano, Majdolene Abualfaraj and Martin Chang.
I shot this student short back when I was in film school at California State University, Long Beach. Consider it my Tarantino-esque take on a dude who's not-so-pleased that the girl of his dreams is seeing his roommate. This short was filmed using a 16mm Eclair camera. Adam is played by Sean Michael Carter, Jennifer is played by Elizabeth Fujimaki and Todd is played by Craig Thompson.
A widescreen version of the experimental short that I shot during my Spring 2002 semester at California State University, Long Beach...using a Super 8mm camera.
I attended the Formula Drift Pro Championship at Toyota Speedway in Irwindale, CA, on October 17, 2009. It was awesome...and not because there were so many crashes during the drifting matches. I shot this video using my Fujifilm still digital camera, which is why the footage isn't exactly, um...IMAX quality. Enjoy!
This music video was filmed at a loft in downtown Los Angeles in September of 2006. The song is by DJ Shadow for The Outsider album. I was the assistant cameraman on this shoot, which was directed by Dean Fernando and starred Lisa Sproul...both of them fellow co-workers of mine.
A 6 minute-long music video that I shot using my still digital camera...to the tune of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody"...which was also in the 1992 film Wayne's World. SHWING!
Shot on location in New York back in September of 2006, this brief (REALLY brief) video pays homage to the HBO hit TV series, Entourage. The two main characters are played by my high school friends...so don't expect any Oscar-winning performances by them. Haha.
Another version of the video that two of my friends and I shot in New York back in 2006. Those of you who watch HBO's Entourage will know that Queens Boulevard is the fictional film that the main character on the hit TV show is supposedly the main star of.
For the SPACE ENTHUSIAST, a 4 minute-long video comprised of actual NASA animation and CNN footage of the New Horizons spacecraft that's currently headed for Pluto. New Horizons will reach the dwarf planet in July of 2015.
To the tune of a James Horner track from the film Apollo 13, Columbia lifts off into the pre-dawn sky for a 2002 space shuttle flight. Unfortunately, I wasn't the one lucky enough to shoot this little personal video. But it sure was fun editing it!
On April 7, 2007, I got a chance to play in a basketball game that had Kobe Bryant as a guest referee. The game was part of Kobe's "24 For 24" charity event...which was held at The Point in Hollywood. I didn't get Kobe's autograph, but at least I was able to shake his hand. The Laker Girls are also featured...
On May 25, 2008, 750 people gathered at a Pasadena Hotel to watch, on a large auditorium screen, live NASA TV coverage of the Phoenix lander as it arrived on Mars. This video covers events starting with the parachute deploying to the very first images sent back to Earth from the Red Planet. Jim Bell, a scientist who works on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover project, is the person talking throughout most of this video.
On September 11, 2009, space shuttle Discovery landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California after completing a flight to the International Space Station. One of my co-workers shot this video. Keep an eye out for the white dot high in the sky in the first clip, and look for a low-flying black dot in the second. FYI, I meant to say that the shuttle "was about to be blocked by the hills" at the end of that clip. That is all.
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