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Ilustrado: a movie made for TV
Continuing its tradition of creating original and groundbreaking drama series for Philippine TV, GMA News and Public Affairs offers a new historical docudrama—Ilustrado. Ilustrado follows Jose Rizal’s family, love life as well as the intrigues and controversies thrown at him. Following ‘Bayan Ko’, ‘Titser’ and ‘Katipunan’, GMA’s first ‘bayaniserye’ embarks to set new standards in the production of drama series for TV with its cinematic approach.
High-end Film Cameras
In an interview, Ilustrado’s director King Mark Baco said that the series would be shot using Alexa cameras equipped with ultra prime lenses. He said these were only used in creating films. This will be the first time in Philippine television that film cameras will be used to shoot a TV series. “Although [other TV producers] gumagamit na sila ng C300 cameras, pero still it’s not at par with Alexa. Right now its the top of the line camera in film making. Mas madali din kasi siyang kulayan sa editing kasi mas mataas ang resolution ng Alexa cameras so ma-a-achieve mo ‘yung video na gusto mo,” Direk King said.
“Sanib-pwersang istilo ng pelikula at telebisyon ang makikita sa Ilustrado. Mahirap gumawa ng isang period drama, pero bibigyan ng cinematic experience ng Ilustrado ang mga manonood sa pamamagitan ng magandang visuals at cinematography na tangkang higitan pa ang napanood sa Katipunan [noon],” Executive Producer Jayson Santos added.
If Ilustrado is a historical drama for TV, why is it being produced like a film?
I want it to look like a film. I want Ilustrado to achieve a 100 % film look. Film is the standard. Bago pa nagka-TV, film is the standard. Cinema is the status quo. Film is more classic, nostalgic which makes it more suitable for Ilustrado,” Direk King said.
Set Extensions
Film cameras. Ultra prime lens. High-def camera resolution. When you combine these three factors, you’ll get videos of world-class quality; but Ilustrado has one more trick under its sleeve—set extensions.
Aside from having Alexa cameras for shooting, Ilustrado will also invest in its visual effects for post-production. They will make use of green screens or ‘chroma’ to create computer-generated settings and images. “Since this is a period film which involves setting in the 20th century, we will be using set extensions which are highly used in Hollywood and European cinema,” Direk King said. This technology is used in the famous American series “Game of Thrones”.
“We will create [certain] environments through 3D (three-dimensional) graphics extension to achieve a genuine period look. We will recreate Intramuros, Binan, Calamba, Manila and Binondo,” Direk King said. The actors and viewers will be instantly transported to France and Barcelona without even flying there.
“Marami kasi sa mga gusaling napuntahan ni Rizal at ng ilang tauhan sa Ilustrado ay wala na. Kaya’t ire-recreate o bubuuin ulit ang mga ito sa pamamagitan ng set extensions,” Santos said.
Aside from the film look, what else can the viewers expect from Ilustrado?
“De kalidad na produksyon na tatak GMA News and Public Affairs,” Santos said.
Ilustrado is an original concept of GMA News TV Head Nessa Valdellon and former GMA News Online Editor-in-Chief Howie Severino. Catch Ilustrado daily, 9:20 PM on GMA-7. — Gerald Vista/NB, GMA News
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