A Competitive Documentary

"Those who produce TV news and documentaries hold the keys to considerable power and influence. "


Last August 13, 2011, the UC documentary team and other representatives of the Mass Comm department went down to Manila to witness the International Center for Communication Studies (ICCS) where different documentaries from different Universities around the country compete to prove their best and apply what they know about producing a realistic documentary.

The UC documentary came 4th out of 16 participants from different Universities around the country. The documentary is entitled "Pagbangon Mula Sa Putik" which was documented in Little Kibungan.

The first placer was the "Bato-Bato Pick" of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila followed by the "Kahon" of CEU and "Sigaw ng Marilao" by the Sacred Heart College in Lucena, Quezon.

The ICCS Award for Best Documentary Making is one of this year’s confab highlights. It aims to persuade students to come up with a comprehensive documentary that will showcase their journalism skills and hearten their ability to develop persuasive analysis on their chosen material. The jurors would also like to see how they can impressively develop a solution on the current problems affecting our society. The produced material shall adhere to the accepted journalism ethical standards.

Also invited to partake of the said seminar are distinguished lecturers from ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs, GMA News and Public Affairs, Philippine Daily Inquirer and DZMM-ABS-CBN to discuss the ethical standards they follow in their respective news organizations. This will give the participants the opportunity to ask the resource speakers about perceived ethical violations in different areas of journalism.

Future Animation of Mass Communication Students

The animation industry consists of a workforce that stretches across many of the sectors in the creative media industries. You will find animated content on television, in feature films, commercials, websites and computer or video games.

Animation is a relatively small sector that is growing in success and popularity. More flexible scheduling by broadcasters has increased opportunities for animators and the internet provides another platform for short and experimental work.

There are a wide range of freelance, some contract, and some more permanent jobs in animation. These can be found at small production companies, larger studios, computer generated post production facility houses and at computer games developers or interactive media designers. These are some of the careers related to Animation: Broadcast, DesignGame Design, CD-ROM Design, Web Design, Simulations, CD-ROMs, Film Effects, Characters & Props, Television Effects, Characters & Props.

Animation is extremely costly to make. Labor-intensive and time-consuming, it can take up to two years to produce just 30 minutes of animation. This has placed a heavy emphasis on good project management and good teamwork; the skills shortages in this sector reflect the need for people who can adapt to busy production schedules.

But balanced against this is the popularity of animation and the fact that it can easily be translated into other languages, for worldwide sales. Budgets for animated features may be in excess of $60 million, but the sale of products, such as books and toys, plus the potential for high box office returns, can usually more than compensate for the initial investment.

The UK has an excellent reputation for creativity and technology, but high production costs mean that less than 5% of the animation currently seen on our TV screens originated here. But unlike some other sectors in the creative media industries, animation has a number of distinct and highly successful centers of excellence outside London; including Bristol, Manchester and Dundee.

Most of the money spent on animation is associated with the advertising industry and competition for commissions is fierce.

Other products include: feature films, children’s programmes, games, music promos, titles and idents, CD-Roms (for educational purposes), adult comedy and drama

"State of the Nation Address"

After one year of service in the country, President Benigno Aquino III or P'noy as his "bosses" call him, he successfully delivered his State of the Nation Address or SONA last July 25, 2011. Together with his SONA are different comments, reactions, and other concerns of the citizens of the Philippines. Right after his deliberation, he received lots of reactions especially negative comments because of his topic in the SONA. Some said he only concentrated about the "wangwang" which is true and some said his SONA was not enough or it's lacking.

What he said maybe true but the thing is, he only emphasized on the "wangwang" thing when in fact, he should include in his topic the things he accomplished in his 1st year of service.

Malacañang promised that this year’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) will present instead of motherhood statements. President Benigno S. Aquino III did use a lot of numbers in his SONA speech to underscore the supposed economic gains of the past year. But there were still motherhood statements and the usual “walang wangwang” rhetoric. The figures, meanwhile, are still disputable, carelessly used by his speech writers in an attempt to paint a bright picture of the present state and direction of the economy.

Less than a week before the second State of the Nation Address (SONA) of P'noy, oil firms again jacked up their pump prices. The Aquino administration can, of course, pin the blame on rising global oil prices and claim that it is beyond its control. But precisely because of this helpless and defeatist attitude that oil companies are able to aggravate the plight of the people as they continue to profiteer from rising oil prices.

All in all, there have already been 27 rounds of diesel price hikes since Aquino was sworn in as President last June 30, 2010, 16 rounds of which happened this year. Similarly, there have been 28 rounds of unleaded gasoline price hikes during the same period, 17 of which happened in 2011.

The common price of diesel in Metro Manila is now pegged at P45.60 per liter from P34.25 when Aquino was inaugurated, or a total increase of P11.35 per liter. The common price of unleaded gasoline, meanwhile, went up from P44 per liter to P56.95 today, or an increase of P12.95 per liter.

Instead of marshaling his allies in Congress to work for the repeal of RA 8479 and support proposals like House Bill 4355, filed by the progressive bloc of partylist groups at the House of Representatives, Aquino implemented the Pantawid Pasada. Not only is this seriously lacking as a relief measure, it also underscores Aquino’s lack of interest in implementing fundamental reforms in the economy to address longstanding problems like exorbitant oil prices, energy insecurity, and abusive practices by foreign cartels.

Oil price hikes could have been mitigated by cancelling the Arroyo-era 12% value-added tax (VAT) on petroleum. But even this was rejected by Aquino because it might turn off the foreign creditors and credit rating agencies. The Aquino administration today is collecting a VAT of around P5.47 a liter on diesel and around P6.83 on unleaded gasoline. When Arroyo stepped down, the VAT on diesel then was only about P4.11 per liter and unleaded gasoline, P5.28.

Aquino’s supporters often dismiss critics of the administration as simply impatient. It has only been one year, they point out. Change is not an overnight process, they say. To be sure, no one’s asking the President to change the country in one year. But it must be also recognized that the problems facing our people are urgent, requiring immediate and decisive action from Aquino.

Oil prices, as mentioned, have risen by P11 to 12 a liter via 27 to 28 rounds of oil price hikes in just a year while oil firms continue to overprice their products. In just one year, jeepney drivers saw their income being eroded by more than P340 a day due to unabated oil price increases. The same thing is true for millions of farmers, fishers, households, etc that rely on petroleum products on a daily basis.