Direk Paul on Sarah: A real joy to work with

On Friday, Nov. 15 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, and two Saturdays from now on Nov. 30 at the MOA Arena, Sarah Geronimo will mount her 10th-anniversary concerts titled Perfect 10, produced by Viva Concerts, and again at the helm is Paul Alexie Basinillo who was also behind Sarah’s 24/SG concert in 2012 which won Best Major Concert of the Year.

“That was how I started as a concert director,” said Paul, “by accident. I think Viva Concerts was trying to get other established concert directors but they were busy with other projects. When they got me, my initial reaction was, ‘I might not be able to do it because I haven’t directed concerts,’ but they told me that I could always try.”

Try Paul did — with success. That’s why Viva Concerts again hired him for Perfect 10.

“Sarah is a real joy to work with,” claimed Paul. “Before her concerts, Sarah and I have worked together on three music videos — for Record Breaker, Ikaw and Sino Nga Ba Siya? — which all won Music Video of the Year awards. Even when she was shuttling between the rehearsals and a movie she was shooting then (with John Lloyd Cruz), she was ‘game.’ She would report for work with a big smile; she’s easy to work with.”

The budget for Sarah’s concert this year is definitely bigger than that of last year’s (Sarah’s outfits and gowns alone cost more than P6M). This time, Sarah will wear designs by Rajo Laurel, so you can imagine how much Viva Concerts will sink into the wardrobe alone. But it’s worth it, judging from the sales (only very few tickets available for the Big Dome show) and the repeat on Nov. 30 (with another one scheduled in December).

“Perfect 10 is more challenging and harder to do than 24/SG,” admitted Paul. “This show has more facets. You have to rehearse and rehearse, you have to talk to a lot of people — writers, choreographers, etc. — and everything has to be done in one take. Mabusisi talaga! Well, it has to be because it’s Sarah’s 10th-anniversary in showbiz.”

With his rich background, Paul is indeed ripe to be a director, maybe initially for concerts and, why not. For bigger projects like a TV show or a movie. He started his career in advertising, as art director for J. Romero in 1996; and then as creative director for TBWA in 2001, for McCann Erickson in 2003 and for JWT in 2005. That where the likes of Peque Gallaga and Erik Matti started.

“Doing commercials is challenging because you have to put so much information into a 30-seconder TV commercial,” said Paul, a UP Fine Arts graduate, who is Viva Entertainment’s executive creative director. “It was Viva’s Boss Vic (del Rosario Jr.) who discovered me in 2001. He asked me to direct the TV shows The Weakest Link and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. I found work in entertainment exciting so I decided to take up cinematography and directing at MOWELFUND.”

A self-made man, Paul rose from the ranks, starting as a waiter at Holiday Inn Manila (1993), then as messenger/delivery boy for Buy & Sell Philippines (1994) before graduating to marketing artist at ACA Video (1995).

“I guess I’m destined to work in entertainment,” Paul said.

Last August, he directed the By Request concert of Yeng Constantino and Bamboo.

“The concept of By Request was based on social media. All the songs and production numbers came from the audience. We call it simply a concert ‘For the people, by the people’ which probably gave it the appeal. It was the first major concert of both Bamboo and Yeng at the Araneta Coliseum. And lastly, we tried to break the mold in production by coming up with a very different approach in the staging, effects and production numbers. Something that we felt every Filipino can be proud of.”

As with Sarah, working with Yeng and Bamboo was exciting.

“Like Sarah,” added Paul, “Bamboo and Yeng are high-energy performers. They are powerful, electrifying and a pure musical talent. What I love about working with these icons is their willingness to try and do something new.”

It is the work of film directors that serves as inspiration to Paul who uses a lot of visuals to add magic to his concerts.

“One of my favorite directors is Danny Boyle. Although he is well-known for his films like 28 Days Later, 127 Hours and Slumdog Millionaire, he is also a theater director. Di ba, he directed the opening ceremony of the London Olympics last year, complete with video mapping, stunts, pyro, lights and live action. I guess it’s pretty much the same as making a film.”

Asked what his dream concert could be, Paul smiled.

“Honestly, I’m already living the dream. All I wanted was to elevate my work to a certain level that is enough to challenge me every day. So being able to direct music icons like Sarah, Bamboo and Yeng is already a dream come true.”

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