“Dayo sa Mundo ng Elementalia,” the Philippines’ first all-digital, full-length animated film entry to the 34th Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), has received a grade of A from the Cinema Evaluation Board (CEB) when it was reviewed yesterday (Dec. 18), a day prior to its red carpet premiere at SM Megamall Cinema 10. This merits a 100 percent rebate on amusement tax for the animated feature produced by Cutting Edge Productions.
The CEB, which operates under the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), grants tax rebates to well-crafted local films.
“Dayo,” which is also being endorsed by the Department of Education (DepEd) and the National Council for Children’s Television (NCCT), follows the adventure of Bubuy (voiced by Nash Aguas), an 11-year-old boy from Antipolo, who takes on a journey to save his beloved grandparents abducted into Elementalia—a fantasy land thriving with strange flora and fauna and home to several enchanted creatures of Philippine mythology.
Bubuy meets Anna (voiced by Katrina Legaspi), a young and energetic manananggal (a winged creature that can separate her torso from her lower body) with a special fondness for all things human, except to eat them. The two live out an adventure full of wild, will-testing and comical experiences all over Elementalia—from an enormous lake heaving with gravity-defying merfolk to the breathtaking crystal cave dwelled by colorful alitubi (a cross between a firefly and dragonfly) to a magnificent old tree that is home to a motherly kapre (a sort of big ogre who lives on trees and smokes cigars) and finally to a majestic mountain protected by a big pack of hungry aswangs (shape-shifting creatures).
"Dayo" is a hybrid product of combining 2D and 3D animation, powered by Toon Boom using Macintosh and Linux platforms. 2D animation is used for the characters while 3D animation is used for the backgrounds especially for the big scenes.
At an estimated production budget of USD 1.3 million, “Dayo” is produced in Dolby 7.1 surround sound. The team behind “Dayo,” led by its executive producer Jessie Lasaten and director Robert Quilao, has collaborated with Technicolor in Thailand for its post- production.
The soundtrack of “Dayo” highlights the world-renowned Filipino performer Lea Salonga of her rendition of the movie theme song “Lipad.” Her performance and the entire musical score by Lasaten were recorded together with the FILharmoniKA under the baton of Gerard Salonga.
Apart from Aguas and Legaspi, the film features the voices of Pokwang (Vicky), Michael V (Narsi), Noel Trinidad (Lolo Meong), Nova Villa (Lola Nita), Johnny Delgado (Carpio), Peque Gallaga (Nano), Laurice Guillen (Diwata/Bruha), Gabe Mercado (Jo) and Pocholo Gonzales (Toti). Temi Abad, Jr. and Eric Cabahug team up for its screenplay.
The film is rated G or GP (General Patronage) by the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB).
“Dayo” supports the Cancer Warrior Foundation as its beneficiary.
For more information, log on to www.dayomovie.com
“Dayo sa Mundo ng Elementalia,” an official entry to the 34th MMFF, is co-presented by Frootees, Purefoods Tender Juicy Hotdog and Mister Donut. The film is also supported by Ascorbic Acid Ceelin, Crispy Fry Breading Mix, Enervon Bright Brand, Timezone, FUJI YKL, Inquirer.net, Yehey.com, ClicktheCity.com, MTV Philippines, Animation Council of the Philippines, Toon Boom, Wacom, Woodpecker Studio, iAcademy and New Media.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Grade A for “Dayo sa Mundo ng Elementalia” by the Cinema Evaluation Board!♥ =]
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
Dayo OST in stores now! =]
‘Dayo’ OST in stores now
Even before “Dayo sa Mundo ng Elementalia” hits the cinemas on December 25, it has already registered a lot of firsts for the Philippine movie industry. “Dayo” has been brave in meeting heads on with films under proven box office formulas. But not only it is brave, it proves to be daring as it introduces another first in filmmaking, that of releasing its musical score recorded in full orchestra. “Dayo” is poised not only as a feast to the eyes but will seek to establish a deeper connection with the audience through its music.
Jessie Lasaten, multi-awarded film music composer and executive producer of “Dayo,” weaves magic this time complementing the digital animated film with an ensemble of an all-Filipino musical talent and the use of indigenous instruments. Providing for a multi-sensorial treat to audiences of all ages, “Dayo’s” soundtrack highlights the rendition of world-renowned performer Lea Salonga of the movie’s theme song, “Lipad.” Her version of “Lipad” and the whole film score were recorded together with the FILharmoniKA under the baton of Gerard Salonga.
It will be recalled that Lea had already lent her singing voice to Mulan and Princess Jasmine, both from Disney’s animated films. Lea’s track will accompany the first flight of Bubuy and Anna manananggirl. “Lipad is a song about believing in dreams and making them come true,” explains Jessie who collaborated with Temi Abad, Jr. in
writing the lyrics. “Kaya mong lumipad,” is a line from the movie’s theme song. It speaks of an aspiration to soar and at the same time, talks about the readiness to reach new heights.
Aside from Lea’s inspirational version, upcoming band Roots of Nature sang an upbeat version of “Lipad.” This is currently released on the airwaves under the Sony BMG label.
Several notable artists also rendered their artistry for the completion of “Dayo’s” sound. Among them was Moymoy Palaboy singing "Kapit," a song about friendship. New band Juan Lunar performed "Daybreak," a song about being there for someone when they need you most.
“We have music that combines full orchestral instrumentation with the ethnic instruments of Joey Ayala. I've composed new themes for the major characters. In terms of scoring the scenes, I've combined orchestral score with Filipino ethnic instruments especially when Bubuy enters Elementalia. We asked Joey to sing the Elementalia Dayo song as well as have him perform his "hegalong " a two-string lute instrument. He also played kubing (jaw harp), kulintang (ethnic gong), and nose flute which added texture to the score in the Elementalia scenes,” narrates Jessie about the extent of his team’s efforts in coming up with the movie’s full soundtrack. This multi-faceted musical scoring will guarantee to carry the viewers from one scene to the next, bridging animation and real life.
Despite Jessie’s proven track record in garnering awards, he has something else in mind when it comes to “Dayo’s” music. “I'd choose Dayo to be commercially popular. I guess instrumental albums, much less an original score for a movie are rarely released nowadays. I would want the public to know that we can still come up with original instrumental music for orchestra,” stresses Jessie on the direction he’d want to head in.
“Dayo’s” original soundtrack recording is in stores now. It is released through Sony BMG.
For more details about the movie, log on to www.dayomovie.com.
“Dayo sa Mundo ng Elementalia,” an official entry to the 2008 Metro
Dayo Sa Mundo Ng Elementalia =]
Meet the voices behind ‘Dayo’
Cutting Edge Productions, the local studio behind the first full-length paperless animated feature “Dayo sa Mundo ng Elementalia,” brings together the finest voice actors in the Philippine entertainment industry to jazz up and add zest to the film’s animated characters.
“Dayo” is a heartwarming story of overcoming one's fear and triumphing over adversity. It centers on the 11-year-old Bubuy (voiced by Nash Aguas) who is out to save his abducted grandparents in the land of Elementalia, a magical and mystical world that houses many of the Philippines' mythical creatures and other enchanted elements. Along the way, Bubuy meets Anna (voiced by Katrina Legaspi), a teen manananggal (a winged creature that can separate her torso from her lower body) who befriends and helps Bubuy in his quest to rescue his beloved grandparents.
This is Nash and Katrina's first animation voicing experience and it certainly spelled fun for them. "I really enjoyed doing the voice of Bubuy," says Nash gleefully. "I was very happy when I learned that I got the part, because it was different from what I usually do on TV. My favorite part is when I met Anna for the first time and she brought me to Elementalia." Nash adds that he felt as if he was just playing in the recording studio and he did not have any difficulty recording his parts.
On the other hand, Hopia, as Katrina is fondly called, loves the scene where she was introducing the beautiful underworld of Elementalia to Bubuy. "It felt like I was just welcoming Bubuy to my house," she expresses. "I also like the flying scene because I've always dreamt of flying. I'm so excited to see the whole movie already."
Even though the cast did not have any visual support during the recording, director Robert Quilao was there to visualize for them. "With the screenplay on hand, the actors are called in the studio to record their respective dialogues," Robert describes. "This is when I briefed them on the mood and tone of the scene and directed them as to how the dialogues are to be delivered. The challenge for me as the director is to paint a vivid picture of what's happening in the scene for the actors to act and deliver their lines accordingly."
Robert also did not have a hard time directing the voice talents since almost all of them are seasoned actors and directors. "There was practically no need for a workshop," he continues. "The most we were able to do was brief them about the story and the characters that they will be playing on the day that they were called to record in the studio. Even Nash and Hopia did not have a hard time internalizing their characters."
Since schedule is a major concern for many of the voice artists, the creative team had to work around their availability. More so, it's not really possible to gather all of them together to record the scenes that would require them to interact. In such situations, Robert would feed the lines of the other characters during the recording session to create a natural flow in the conversation. "Although later on, we just played back the good takes of the characters that we had previously recorded for the one that we are currently recording," Robert explains. "These recordings are then edited together to create a cohesive dialogue."
Adding more color and amusement to “Dayo” are its supporting cast.
Even before the controversial Pokwang was labeled as an aswang (ghoul or vampire) look-alike, the “Dayo” team already pegged her for the role of Vicky, the nanny manananggal of Anna, hence the character sketch is loosely based on her. "I didn't have to do any major voice adjustments for the role," says Pokwang. "I didn't have to lower or make my voice higher. I think I was just being my cool 'kalog' self that's why I had so much fun arguing with the role of Toti in Dayo."
Cutting Edge originally had news anchor Mike Enriquez to do the voice of Toti, one of Anna's bodyguards. But the team had to get someone who can mimic the famous newsman instead, and the best choice for this is veteran voice actor Pocholo Gonzales.
Anna's second bodyguard who has an unusual hearing impairment is named Jo and voiced by famed comedian Gabe Mercado.
Perhaps one of the most challenging character portrayals would be the role of Narsi, the narcissistic cool rocker tikbalang (the underworld creature with the head of a horse and the body of a human). There is no better versatile actor to do this than Michael V. "I prepare for every role that I play," Michael V states. "Even if I had previously done a horse voice for Enteng Kabisote 3, my role here is totally different.”
Playing the role of Lolo Nano, the cute resident sage of Elementalia, is no other than multi-awarded actor and director Peque Gallaga.
“Dayo” also features the voices of Noel Trinidad. He plays the role of Lolo Meong, Bubuy's grandfather who shares the kid's penchant for flying. Nova Villa is Lola Nita, Bubuy's caring grandmother who nags Lolo Meong a lot. Johnny Delgado joins in as Carpio, Anna's dad who is Elementalia's head guardian. And completing “Dayo's” dream cast is distinguished actor and director Laurice Guillen playing a dual role of the kapre (the motherly cigar-smoking giant), and the Diwata/Bruha, the enchanting fairy with an evil alter ego.
“Dayo sa Mundo ng Elementalia” is an official entry to the 2008 Metro
For more information, visit the official movie web site at www.dayomovie.com.