Gotta tell, Technews was very much privileged to have a candid chat with Janice Yu and Noel Osting, both who are now two of the six finalists in the First Time Mobile Filmmakers contest.

Janice is in her early 30s and a graduate of Hotel Restaurant and Management in UST and works in the hardware business of her family in Quezon City, while Noel is in his late 30s and works as a graphics designer / artist based in Dagupan City.

Noel Osting and Janice Yu, the two finalists in the First Time Mobile FilmMakers competition, organized by Discovery Channel and Nokia.

This writer asked the two how it all started and how they feel now that they’re in the finals.

“To be honest, I’m still surprised as to how I got here in this contest, and now that I’m one of the finalists in the First Time Mobile Filmmakers, I’m pretty much in a state of shock. But, I’m happy about it and at the same time excited. I first knew about the contest on TV, about several months ago, and I said to myself, I want to win that phone (Nokia N90) and the trip to Singapore. So, I join in, and choose an “icon” that gives relevance to our society, wrote it in a 300 word essay, and sent it through email, a few minutes before the deadline of submission of entries. Believe it or not, the icon that I chose was the “Chinese Cemetery”, because it’s so distinct and unique that it plays an important part in my Chinese heritage,” Janice said.

“I first heard about the contest when I subscribed to the newsletter in the Nokia website, informing thru email about the First Time Mobile Filmmakers. What attracted me at first was the award and prizes, but latter on, it was already the prestige. From there, I sent them two 300 word essay entries, the first icon was the “Kuliglig” (Cicada), a machinery used by farmers in replacement of the carabao, and the other is the “Farmer” where it shows the life of the farmer amidst the advancement of technology. I was inspired to choose them as my “icon” because it reminds me well of my childhood experiences, and wanted it to share to the world as to how I’m proud to be a part, living in a farming community,” Noel said.

I asked them how they knew that they both made it as part of the 15 semi-finalists in the First Time Mobile Filmmakers contest and how was their experience in Singapore.

“We both got phone call from the official representative of Discovery Channel that we are part of the 15 semi-finalists in the contest. Actually, there were four (4) of us from the Philippines, including Christabella Tan and Joel Cardenas. We were all informed that we won the Nokia N90 mobile phone and the all-expenses paid trip to Singapore, and we were going to attend the basic filmmaking workshop and a seminar about the powerful features of the Nokia N90. Days before we arrived there, we were told that they were going to choose only six (6) finalists and it was quite a challenge for all of us. In Singapore, we were all given 3 hours to shoot an icon around the business park where the seminar is held, make a video that only last for 60 seconds, edit it directly on the Nokia N90, present it, and defend your work,” Janice and Noel explained.

Noel told this writer that during that time, he choose the icon “A Minute of Purpose”, while Janice choose the “Toilet” as her icon. They both explained why.

“I chose A Minute of Purpose because it shows life in general and what is our purpose in living in this world. Most of the scenes I took where nature shots that reflect the progress of a person, from childhood to adult and latter years. It also showed the daily struggles a person has undergone to, from trials and successes in life. I got the inspiration from Rick Warren’s book, A Purpose Driven Life,” Noel said.

“I chose the Toilet because we all know that Filipinos gives high regard to the toilet. It represents the personality of the person and shows that everyone is at equal when using the toilet,” Janice said.

This writer asked both of them how they felt using the Nokia N90 in shooting their video icons in the contest.

“For us, we find the Nokia N90 mobile phone a powerful tool for amateur filmmaking and video. We were satisfied with the unique features of the Nokia N90 that has a 2 MegaPixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens and video editing features that can edit video directly into the phone. We were quite pleased with it because it can shoot videos of up to 2 hours using a 512MB memory card. We somehow find the N90 as, made by mobile, not made for mobile. Because with the Nokia N90, you can film, shoot, edit, add titles and effects, directly on the phone itself, without using a laptop or editing software,” they both said.

As this writer concluded the candid interview, Janice and Noel have this to say about the finals of the First Time Mobile Filmmakers by Discovery Channel and Nokia. (By the way, the winner will go home with the grand prize of $10,000)

“We would like to ask for your prayers and support in our final entries in the First Time Mobile Filmmakers competition that will be held in Singapore on December 15. You can vote for us by logging in at the official website of the First Time Mobile Filmmakers, www.mobifilms.net, wherein you can also win a brand new Nokia N90 mobile phone. Please support us so that our country can make history, in this competition,” Janice and Noel concluded.

Technews wishes good luck to Janice Yu and Noel Osting!