Today’s stars need to adapt to the various trends in the entertainment industry. One of them is the emergence of micro- or vertical dramas. These are brief stories with exciting themes and plotlines. They meet viewers’ minimum expectations and also offer something new, such as an unexpected plot detour, a character arc or a new topic.
Rita Daniela, Marc Acueza and Marlo Mortel are some of the TV and movie thespians who have tried their hands and wrapped their heads around this kind of digital content.
They are starring in the micro-drama and series titled “Caught in the Act,” now streaming on Viva Movie Box and directed by Temi Cruz Abad.
“It’s challenging, and we were talking earlier, (like) you had to sustain your emotion. So, mataas (your emotion is high and intense),” said Marc about the new experience that comes with doing micro-drama in a recent group chat, also with Rita, Marlo and direk Temi. “Dapat yung manonood, ma-hook mo agad (you should hook your viewers immediately).”
That’s also part of their director’s instructions, along with having minimal movements given the contained aspect ratio in filming micro- or vertical dramas. The latter also defines the blocking of stars on set.
Besides that, what Marlo and Rita also found exciting and challenging, in a way, were the story and the project themselves.
“The story is very controversial and involves religion,” said Marlo, who had his first intimate and kissing scenes in “Caught in the Act.”
“You know what, I like it. I like it na mabilis, kasi ‘wag na nating paligoy, ligoy pa (the straightforward way the story has been done),” added he about the fast-paced nature of micro-dramas, “kung kaya naman nung artista at nung director na pabilisin yung mga ganap, why not, kasi as an actor dapat marunong kang mag-adjust kahit in a snap (especially if the actors and director can fast track things. Actors need to adapt in a snap of a finger).”
Even if the production was wrapped fast, like in a few days, the actors had time to study their characters.
“This is very exciting, and I’m happy to have done it because this is my very first-ever project with Viva,” shared Rita. “At nagkataon pa na vertical series yung gagawin ko (and it happened to be a vertical series). So, talagang, kumbaga, ako yung unang na-hook, dun sa gagawin, dun sa project (I was the first who got really hooked on it). Siyempre, yung storya kakaiba (of course, the story is different).”
A piece of information given to this paper says that the micro-drama “follows Daniel, a seminarian (played by Marlo) who undertakes his regency in a quiet provincial parish.” His vulnerability emerges when he meets and learns more about Kristin (Rita), described as “a sheltered yet restless young woman longing to escape her stagnant life.” She has a “possessive boyfriend” Gino (Marc) and a “controlling aunt.”
With that, Rita had to unlearn some of her roles, like the empowered and street-smart ones in projects such as “My Special Tatay” and “Madawag ang Landas Patungong Pag-Asa.”
Given the micro-drama’s limited space, she had to show the character’s internal struggles through her eyes and facial expressions based on what she felt.
Marlo agreed by sharing that actors need to give more emotions and catch the viewers’ attention.
That’s why the script should be well-written and clear, as one could gather from the answers of direk Temi, who had “dotted lines” on the script to identify the emotional high points that actors should be aware of. They have to tell a story and engage the viewers in one minute or two minutes per episode. That requires “intelligent” and “instinctive acting.”
Being part of a micro-drama is both enriching and enjoyable to all the creatives behind it, where Rita, Marc and Marlo have expanded their horizons, craft-wise.
“We can connect with the new medium,” said Marc. “Kaya pala namin (at) naka-pag-adjust kami. Nagawa namin (we can do it and we’ve adapted). We can connect with the new audiences… I think that’s enriching for me.”
Please watch Rita, Marc and Marlo in the Viva micro-drama, “Caught in the Act,” by downloading Viva Movie Box via Google Play Store, App Store or Huawei App Gallery.
For details, visit vivamoviebox.com.