I officially started my so-called TV production career with MTV Asia (my first job was with Channel [V] Philippines but I was working as a PR Associate back then). I would have to say that I was “lucky” to have worked with what I personally think the last generation of the BEST VJs. I’m saying “lucky” because believe me once you get used to working with the best, everybody else that comes after just fails in comparison, and that could be excruciatingly frustrating and stressful. I’ll explain later.
The term VJ has obviously evolved. Gone were the days when a VJ would just strictly introduce music videos. As the MTV format changed, we saw how the local channels’ mainstream youth programming followed suit. For years, MTV has become the measuring tape for “cool”. We all know that. As the art of introducing music videos came to wane, side by side with the growing changes and trends of the TV show formats, the term VJ soon grew out of its original meaning. Now, when we think of an emcee for a young, upbeat show that focuses on pop culture and music, we immediately qualify that the hosting skills should that be of a VJ. Hence, for easy reference, we call these young hosts VJs even if they don’t necessarily introduce music videos anymore.
So what exactly is the required HQ or Hosting Quotient for a VJ?
Before I became part of MTV (Asia & Phil), my favorite VJs were Mike Kasem, Nadya Hutagalung, and Danny McGill. Ooh, remember him? Hot guy! Oops I’m married na pala. (Hehe, behave Jill). And by the way Danny’s now also married to former VJ Kamal Sidhu, remember her show “Kamal Sutra?” Anyway, Mike and Nadya hosted “MTV Most Wanted” while Danny McGill did “Headbangers Ball” and later on “Alternative Nation.” Mike was the typical playful jack-ass of the show. Nadya was that chick who, I think, made looking hot and being hilarious a legitimate combination. And Danny was the cool rock dude. Although it may seem that they have fallen perfectly into stereotypical molds, the good thing about it is that – those were their real personalities. In short, they were just being themselves. No acting. No pretensions. Walang pa-cool na eklat. For me, that’s what being a VJ was all about.
Back then, they really knew music. They lived the lifestyle. Even the VJs that followed them carried their own wit, spunk and personality. MTV Asia in the 90s had the best VJs to boot: Sonia Couling, Jamie Aditya, Sarah Sechan to name some of the more popular ones. And of course, you should count in our very own Regine Tolentino & G Toengi as part of that Honor Roll.
We should also not forget their Channel [V] counterparts Joey Mead and Asha Gill. They weren’t trying hard. They were all just naturally “fun”. They made their jobs look glamorous and for the lack of a better word “cool”. We all wanted to be like them. Kids wanted their jobs. After all, where else can you find a job that pays you to love music, be yourself, hang out and party with big celebrities?
Although I didn’t get the chance to work with the ones mentioned above, I was fortunate to have worked with what I believe the last generation of the best Pinoy VJs – KC Montero, Belinda Panelo and Sarah Meier. You could probably include Donita Rose, though I only got to work with her whenever I was sent to Singapore or whenever she was sent over here in Manila. And that was rare. For me however Donita was a “special” case. Let me explain that later too.Since I started working for MTV, I have seen four waves of VJ Hunts and though most of the winners were able to cross over to more successful albeit different career paths, none of them was really able to capture what being a VJ was all about. There was always something missing… and worse, the hosting skills and discipline were just downright problematic. I have only worked with the MYX VJs during the MYX Music Awards, and based on what I’ve seen from them LIVE and on television, I still feel that there was something missing… and at the same time there was too much of “something”. Hmmm…
A normal taping day at the MTV studios would be shooting continuity spiels or “links” as we call it in MTV Asia jargon. These were for the normal “chroma” shows. Chroma key by the way is a technical term for a digital compositing technique where the host stands in front of a large green or blue background, on which the graphics are keyed in. A regular episode of let’s say “Classic MTV” has 5 links. Each link can run from 20 sec to a minute or two. It depends on the content of the script and the ability of the VJ to spew out the spiels. NOTE that our Pinoy VJs here on MTV Phil didn’t ever use a TELEPROMPTER. The VJs read the script, digest it and then deliver it. Sounds easy? Well if you’re KC, Sarah or Belinda that should be a breeze. And that’s exactly what I love about these hosts. Unfortunately, in my entire working history, the other VJs that came our way always fell flat on the face when it came to owning the script.
Let’s face it. Technically, when a writer makes a script, let’s say when I make a script for an MTV show and other MTV-ish ones, there’s a certain process that I am conscious about. There are three voices that I am working with. I have always called it the Holy Trinity, hehe. I must… 1) write in MTV language, 2) using my own set of vocabulary and semantics of course, 3) with the VJ’s personality and skill in mind. What’s supposed to happen is this… When the VJ receives the script, she’s supposed to not just read it or worse memorize it, but UNDERSTAND it more importantly. It is only when a VJ comprehends what the scenario is all about; what the interview was all about; what the darn music video is all about, that she can really deliver a seamless spiel.
Okay, it is flattering when a VJ makes an effort to memorize the script verbatim. That’s also a
form of respecting the specific punch line which the writer intended. Donita read from a teleprompter in Singapore but I would have to say that when she was out working here at our local studio, she was really good in memorizing scripts, even to the point of rehearsing her adlibs, hehe =) Well, let’s just say she’s simply doing her job. And to give her credit, even though she may not be the most musically-intelligent VJ ever to come around the block, she was definitely charming from head to foot. Of course, she didn’t become the icon of cool for nothing. She didn’t land on the cover of Time Magazine just like that. Hosting skills aside, Donita had what MOST of the new VJs don’t have now – that IT FACTOR! That missing link. She has it. Period. And that makes her a formidable VJ prototype.Buuut… really personally, I would rather have a VJ put her own twist on the material. That’s where ingenuity and innate humor become golden assets. That’s what makes KC Montero, Sarah Meier and Belinda Panelo, and their predecessors a league of their own. Spontaneity has become scarce among the new breeds of “VJs”. Believe me, except for KC hehehe, Sarah and Belinda could also memorize a whole 3-5 page script word for word. The wonderful thing about it is that they wouldn’t even make it look like it was scripted at all. In some way, they always managed to make it their own even if those were my words. But generally, I have always encouraged them to say it their own way. Just get the gist of the script. Still use the punch line. But deliver it in their most natural manner. KC almost never needed a script, unless there were important facts that were required in the segment. All I ever did was just instruct him on what the set-up was all about and he was always ready to roll.
I miss working with such talents. I don’t know… maybe I’m just biased. We really had more than just good working relations back then… we also became good friends. Nevertheless, I have made friendships with recent VJs too but even though some of them have gotten good, they just didn’t become at par. *sigh*
Nowadays, I observed that most of the really new VJs or young hosts don’t seem to have personalities at all. Even if they have one in real life, they can’t seem to translate it on cam. They couldn’t deliver their own voice. It was quite puzzling. How come? Another theory was that, maybe their voices and personalities aren’t just large enough. I mean, most of them could really benefit from training but I always say that a real VJ is actually born.
A good VJ would be able to drive an interview which has gotten off track several miles already back to the finish line right on cue. Most young hosts nowadays even forget that they’re doing the interview for TV. Hello, there’s a camera right in front of you. This is not just a coffee house chat! You have got to end it RIGHT. Unfortunately, the new VJs now just get entangled in their own interviews and repartees, and they usually do not know how to make smooth segues to the next segment. The skill for that can be acquired but the ability to turn messed-up segments into golden funny TV moments rather than make humiliating TV history is instinctive.
The young hosts today certainly lack talent and the personality. And it seems that the bar has gone down. If you switch on to the music channels nowadays, it looks like anybody can be a VJ now. I don’t know if my standards have been raised or if it’s really true that qualifications for VJs have become less rigid.
With my new show now, though it’s not exactly MTV, but with the aspiration thereof, I feel frustrated that kids today just don’t have that “It Factor” anymore. I hate it when they just read from the teleprompter, and worse, they really sounded like they were actually reading. Eeep! Ideally, the script is just supposed to be a guide. Even film actors make improvisations of their scenes and characters. The script is there as a backbone and not a cage. Good VJs/Hosts play around. Adlibs are encouraged but they should never ever be the culprit for missing the next cue. Just don’t get into the habit of practicing your adlibs, okay? =)
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Here are some really old snapshots...
That's Belinda & Sarah during our Batangas shoot circa 2002. That gnarly looking MTV logo was supposed to be a coral substitute. Just one of our duties to promote marine conservation.
One of my visits to the Singapore studio circa 2001. That's Donita peeking behind Utt.
New York 2003. Meeting Sarah and his beau Banjo. Disclaimer: I ate a lot of burgers that time.And below is Sarah's goodbye note to me on my resignation day, written on one of the pages of the MTV Singapore Tourism coffee book. Click to enlarge photo, and read her hilarious but sweet ala nursery rhyme message.
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