Week 1: "GOOD MORNday ABS-CBN!"

"Call time...four o'clock a.m!" "Ooo...kay. Hmmm...."

Good Mornday! From my home in Bulacan, I arrived at 3:30 in the morning, at the ABS-CBN loop studio at ELJ building. I came in while everyone was preparing the cameras, lights, and props for the set of the ABS-CBN news and current affairs morning show, Umagang kay Ganda (UKG). I first observed and talked to the staff while waiting for my bosses.

Past 4 a.m., I met with my first boss, Mr. Jaime Haroa Bolok, the executive producer of UKG Infotainment Division. Then, past 5 a.m., I met with my immediate head, Mr. Dondie Garcia, the executive producer of UKG News Division.

During the show, I had to coordinate with the resource speakers / government officials, the executive producer, and, floor director for a segment of the show, Punto por Punto, hosted by radio and television news commentary personality, Anthony Taberna. Actually, I felt proud rubbing elbows with such high-profile officials.

After the show, I was asked to attend the meeting of the executive producers and associate producers. I was really excited and happy being with them and learning how they discuss what went wrong during the show - the technical and inevitable problems encountered. What was emphasized was the late arrival of some significant personalities, which negatively affected the flow of the show. This time, it just reminded me that being on or ahead of time is really the most important factor in the success of a production particularly in a live show like UKG. In this case, I told myself to always remain alert and proactive to help the production team.

Next, by 11:30 a.m., I was instructed to do a phone interview with Mr. Jerry Yu, a businessman, for a Wednesday segment. After lunch, I encoded all the details of my interview. I felt it was quite difficult for me to stay this long in the UKG office and assure a quality output because I was already awake for almost 12 hours. My headache was stubborn that time. Though, I know I must be the one to adjust to such environment, wherein my sleeping habit would have to suddenly change and that could affect my performance. But of course, I did not let it happen. I presented the details of my interview and my boss expressed great satisfaction.

By the end of my internship day, I was asked by Ms. Yvonne Cabrega, UKG segment producer, to scout for talents and location for a shoot of an advertisement to be aired next week. I found this exciting and challenging because I had to convince certain talents to act without talent fees and use their houses without rental fees (considering that they would have to act for a segment on ABS-CBN and then no talent fees would be given? Hmmm.... Quite embarrassing. Whoa!). Fortunately, I successfully confirmed the participation of certain talents for the shoot scheduled on Wednesday! Yeah! Whew!