A day in the set of ‘Lobo'

Being a celebrity is not as glamorous as most people would like to believe. When ABS-CBN.com visited the House of Elle set of Lobo last April 9, Angel Locsin and Dimples Romana were taping their scenes under the scorching summer sun. But as uncomfortable they may have been working in scorching temperatures, they had ready smiles and hellos as the ABS-CBN.com crew arrived.

It was already 2:30 pm when Angel finally had her lunch together with Direk Cathy Garcia-Molina and the rest of the crew. It was very much like how any average family would eat their meals: lots of kwentuhan and kulitan amongst them. But Angel ate quickly to accommodate an interview before they had to resume taping. Despite her tiring shoot, Angel managed to relax while sharing her thoughts on Lobo, love, and, life.

Around 4:30 pm, they shot the scene where Lyka confronts Trixie about her role as Lyka’s warden (aired last April 11) at House of Elle’s rooftop. Direk Cathy’s drive for perfection and precision was very much evident. Every now and then she would shout comments or give directives to improve the scene. "Hindi ko gusto ang energy," she would say to change the ambiance of the scene. To get exactly what she wanted of actress Dimples Romana, she said, "Ipakita mo yung light na Trixie pero nasaktan: ‘Di lang dahil kaibigan mo ko kaya naging close ako sa ‘yo… Higit pa ko sa kaibigan mo, ako ang tagapagbantay mo.’" At other times, Direk Cathy would make sure that the lines were delivered accurately.

Blocking the shots proved to be another challenge. This was evident during Zoe’s (Lauren Young) confrontation with Lyka at the same location. Markers were placed on the ground, but the actors who were so absorbed in their roles would lose their blocking from time to time. Artistic distractions like Zoe’s hair falling on her face were also fixed for cleaner shots. No doubt about it: Direk Cathy would never compromise production value just to be over and done with the taping.

Most of them had been working non-stop since 5 am, but none of them aired any complaints. The Lobo cast and crew were even energetic enough to gamely pose for some photos in between shoots. Even as the ABS-CBN.com crew was done for the day and ready to head home, the Lobo team were still at it, working hard to perfect each scene. For them the work day wasn’t quite over yet.