Camera flashes light up the Adamson Theater as students from all college levels, sing and wave along to an acoustic hugot song being performed on stage, mirroring the flicker of inspiration that the Communication Department’s Media Summit 2019 sparked within the young minds of the COMMunity members—forever shaping the path that they may choose in life.
Held last October 17, 2019, this year’s Media Summit with the theme, “BTS: Hailing the Heroes Behind the Media Content” provided a glance of what’s behind the scenes in terms of the different facets of media content, ranging from filmmaking and producing, event planning, record and stage production, to perhaps the most underrated media aspect of all, voice acting. With the theater jam-packed with various students coming from different departments and universities, all of whom are oozing with excitement and curiosity, the atmosphere inside the theater indicated that it was going to be a successful event.
Starting the occasion off with the first speaker of the day, Arjanmar Rebeta, a filmmaker who, with his charming and warm accent, gets nostalgic recounting his journey in the film industry, with his humble beginnings from editing his low budget short films using Windows Movie Maker, to his success with his various nominations and awards from his productions. He ends his talk with an inspiring quote, certainly proving that what you’re provided with, no matter how much or how little it may be, is of no use if you do not keep moving and create the things you are passionate about.
Following him was Alvin Palmiano, a film producer who started his presentation with a game of story generating using a set of specific words, in which various members of the audience went and pitched their stories which ultimately proved to be too complicated as per the words of the producer, “Hindi naman natin kailangan mag paligoy-ligoy pa para lang maintindihan yung story natin… hindi naman natin kailangan mag start sa malalim.” Nevertheless, this activity showcased the creativity and talent of the students of the university.
Coming from the underappreciated field of voice acting, Bryan Allan Encarnacion starts off the second half of the event with an inspiring and funny presentation. He impresses the audience with a sample of his various voice acting roles, from robotic monotone to ones that mimic those of princes from fairy tales. He appeals to the audience through his sympathetic beginnings as a bullied, repeater student, trekking on to his way of becoming a successful man in both his field and personal life.
Succeeding him was Kathryn Kim Torres who went on to share her stressful experiences as an event planner, going as far as sharing personal anecdotes from hellish clients, earning laughter and amazement from the audience. On stage, aside from looking amazing, she oozes confidence, expertise and contentment in her field, characteristics that one might identify as the “Ultimate Girl Boss”, clearly showing that women can have their cake, and eat it too.
Serving as the fifth presenter of the day was music producer Robert Javier, known for his work as producer for numerous OPM icons such as Parokya ni Edgar, Gloc-9, and Ely Buendia. He humbly boasts his proficiency in sound engineering, providing examples of the differences in various reinforcement of sounds, and how it affects the way listeners perceive songs, leaving the audience with a different, and perhaps even a better appreciation of music.
The last presenter, theater production manager, Goldie Soon’s presentation garnered questions from numerous students, all of whom aspiring to work in theater as she proceeds to enlighten the audience with the fast-paced work of theater, explaining the tasks that each and every troupe member must know and easily adapt to, showcasing the versatile skills of a theater personnel. She also goes on to list the struggles of being in a field that is not appreciated by many, such as budget limitations and various restrictions. Her talk served as a good ending note to the event, proving that despite being a track that may be uncharted by many, theater is an exhilarating and satisfying form of art.
Aside from bringing various speakers to inspire and encourage the students, Media Summit also proves to be a platform for Communication students to showcase their talents with intermissions presented by the department’s dance troupe, GCDT, along with their subsequent Disney-themed medley matinee performance, G-Singers, with songs from various Disney franchises that spoke to every Generation Z’s childhood , as well as a flooring Lady Gaga-themed performance from the gender inclusive G-Queens, all of which undeniably hyped the students inside the theater, with some even standing up just to capture a piece of the moment.
The Creative Communicators Society of Adamson University, who brought to life and made Media Summit possible, took the chance to announce and award the winners from their contest, Pin Pen Talks, an arts and letters contest that aimed to showcase the talents and works of Communication students in different categories. 2nd year students win out starting with Leo Pacis, for his work entitled “Daan Patungong Kalayaan Ave.” for the short story category. Nitz Marie Tan for her work entitled “Let’s Talk R-18” for the spoken word poetry category and Ria Mae Baniqued, with her work, “Musmos” for the visual art category of the contest.
Senior communication students are not one to be left behind as well as the Malaya Film production gets teary eyed as they are congratulated for their short film, “The Lost Sitty”, an entry for this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) Student Short Film Category, which will be shown alongside the full length film entries in the festival.
True to its word, this year’s Media Summit did not fail to show what’s lurking behind the scenes of various media content, may it have been the glitz and glamour of a success story or the nastiness and hardships behind the curtains of a production. It continues to inspire the students, providing them options on what track they may choose to take, ensuring that no student from the Communication department of Adamson University is ill-equipped and left high and dry after graduation. It’s a no brainer as to why it’s an event that is greatly anticipated every school year.
