Noel Guevara - Executive director of Burnwater Design Studios; founder of and executive producer at Pelicola.tv

May 21, 2009

Noel Guevara talks about Pelicola.tv, the first internet television site in the Philippines.

Noel Guevara’s adult life centers mainly on the fulfillment of his childhood dreams.  This has also been the focal point of his career as an entrepreneur.  In 3^rd year high school, Noel delved in to the world of freelance creative work, and eventually started his first business venture, Burnwater Design Studios, in 2002 with the help of a friend. 

 

His passion for creative arts has translated to a profitable entrepreneurial endeavor.  And with the foundation of Pelicola.tv, Noel is able to work with Philippine music greats such as Wolfgang in the internet television’s Alive at the Womb channel—something that he could only imagine during his younger years when he listened to the bands’ tunes.

 

It seems that everything has been moving on the right direction for Noel, but his successes as an entrepreneur and creative artist are not without their own share of sacrifice, compromise and hardship.  But as a veritable entrepreneur, he faces the risks head on to do what he does best.

 

“Just do what you really want to do,” Noel, 26 years old, advised the younger generation.  “Dreams are not meant to be kept in your head.” 

 

“I think they should be pursued, but at the same time, don’t expect that it’s going to be easy.  Accept that it’s going to be hard.  But if you really believe in it, go for it.”

 

In this Greater Good Philippines interview, Noel talks about the important role that his family has played in molding his personality and shaping his mindset.  He shares the significance of his work through Pelicola.tv in promoting Filipino creativity, and narrates the joys and pains of founding the first internet television site in the Philippines.

 

Learn more about Noel Guevara, executive producer of Pelicola.tv and executive director of Burnwater Design Studios, and his insights on faith, learning, mentorship, entrepreneurship and pursuing one’s passion—only here on Greater Good Philippines.

Click here to listen to the interview.

Jay-R Patron:  I’m with Noel Guevara, founder of Burnwater and Pelicola.tv.  Briefly, will you tell us what you do currently?

 

Noel Guevara:  Now I’m the executive producer of Pelicola.tv, the first Internet television site here in the Philippines and at the same time, I’m also running, as executive director, Burnwater Design Studios which is a design firm.  Burnwater is all about designing for print, for web.  Sometimes it also does direct marketing campaigns but our primary strength is web and print.

 

Jay-R Patron:  Will you describe what a typical day at work is to you like?

 

Noel Guevara:  Since Pelicola is relatively new, I take the roles of more than one person in my company.  I am the executive producer so usually I try to conceptualize new shows or try to improve on the ones that we have now, or approve proposals that I get, which I usually do in the morning and then after that, I dabble with accounting.  It’s really my waterloo but I have improved quite a lot in the past year.  After that I move on to handling clients, after lunch I do sales, and then I delve in to marketing of course of Pelicola.tv.  I end my day with talking to all my partners—Fully Booked, Wombworks, Rogue Magazine.  So even though it seems I’m doing a lot of things, I also have help in executing all of them.  For example for marketing I have the help of Burnwater.  I also have the help of Burnwater in terms of designing these things, for helping with the campaigns. 

 

Jay-R Patron:  Will you talk about Burnwater and Pelicola.tv.  How did these come about?

 

Noel Guevara:  Burnwater is the older child, if I can put it that way.  I thought of it back in high school, 3^rd year in Don Bosco.  I was really in to graphic design—3D first, and then I got into video editing and then graphic design.  But the passion really started when I watched Jurassic Park.   When I saw it, I said, “This is what I want to do.”  Over the course of the following years I read manuals, I taught myself how to do 3D and edit videos.  By 3^rd year high school I was doing freelance work already.  They’re really mostly low-hanging fruits, they’re not big, but at least I got a taste of what I wanted to do.  Come college, I was already editing videos for my classmates, for other universities.  I also did one for Citibank, one for Unilever.  After that I decided, “You know what?  Let’s make this an official thing.”  So my friend and I started Burnwater Design Studies formally back in 2002.  It was like… dalawa lang kami nun eh.  But it was still mine.  My friend was just helping out.  In 2004, dumami na yung clients namin so I got most of my friends to join me.  It was like design firm/ad agency.  And then it came to a point last year that we were getting a lot of publicity.  We were featured in Computer Arts magazine and we were doing a lot of things—we were doing print, web, video.  The thing is I got tired of doing AVPs.  “There is no creative input.   I don’t want to do this anymore.  This is not really the path of being a director,” which I wanted to do.  I have to passions—graphic design and film.  Sabi ko kung magfi-film school naman ako, matatagalan ako before I can actually do it.  So I decided to remove video from Burnwater and start something new.  I wanted to do films.  I wanted to have creative control.  I wanted it to be for Pinoys to enjoy, to be pioneering, and that’s where Pelicola.tv came from.

 

Jay-R Patron:  Where does Burnwater focus now?

 

Noel Guevara:  Mostly print… print and web.  Surprisingly ever since Pelicola.tv launched lumakas yung web ng Burnwater.  I guess they got publicity also with what they’re doing for Pelicola, which… if I have to say so myself, is really good.  So dumami yung web naming although we still do print.  Rockwell is one of our clients.  We do all the work for them—all the print work and poster work.  For web, they have quite a lot.  Actually I lost track. 

 

Jay-R Patron:  Will you name some of your clients for Burnwater?

 

Noel Guevara:  We have Unilever, we had Citibank before.  We handled Goya, the packaging for that.  We handled SM and Podium.

 

Jay-R Patron:  How do you maintain your relationship with these clients?

 

Noel Guevara:  Ang mandate ko lang naman with everyone is that, within Burnwater, is that we should treat client as a partner.  Never… although technically you are a supplier, but treat them as if you really believe in the project.  You share their passion, you share their interest, you share the importance of what you’re doing, and in that way you guys can relate already.  And we work really fast.  That’s one thing we’re really proud of—we work really fast, and that’s one thing the client likes.  We maintain close friendship with our clients—it’s not just a client-supplier thing.  We try to give the something more. 

 

Jay-R Patron: According to the write-up from Fully Booked, you have this sort of “military-inspired” business strategy.  How did that come about?  Where did you get your sense of entrepreneurship?

 

Noel Guevara:  Mainly because entrepreneurship… I remember you asked me if I had a resume, the thing is I haven’t, I haven’t drafted one ever since I started, ever since I graduated.  Not that I have anything against it, but for me kasi I already put…I bet the farm eh and the kitchen sink if you may.  Sabi ko last resort ko talaga if I have to make a resume.  It’s like my measure of not achieving my goals.  In that sense, I would have to be applying for something else.  Entrepreneurship was really sparked by me wanting to do what I wanted to do, that was basically it.  Burnwater naman, I didn’t know what I was doing, to be honest.  I took up Integrated Marketing Communication so I just applied logic, common sense, and picking myself up from a lot of mistakes and errors and learning from mentors like my brother, my professors and those I know who started their own businesses.  I learned from them.  That’s where the entrepreneurial bent started.  The military thing…  I wanted to be a sundalo kasi.  If the conditions and circumstances were for it, I would have done it.  I think that’s how I do my… starting your own business is not really a very easy thing to do, especially if it’s your own money that you put in.  A lot of my fellow entrepreneurs can understand and relate to that.  The military thing really comes in to play when it seems like your fighting against a lot of odds, when it seems that you’re failing and ayaw mong umatras.  The discipline is there, the fighting spirit is there.  I think that is the most important thing.  You have to have the heart of a warrior to achieve dreams that are really really big, and you have to have the courage to know and accept the fact that big projects or big and good projects actually entail a lot of hardships.  If can’t be good if it’s not hard.

 

Jay-R Patron:  Who poses as your greatest influence in terms of your business mindset, being an entrepreneur?

 

Noel Guevara:  To be honest, it kind of changes.  As I move on the different phases of Pelicola and Burnwater, it changes.  For example, when I was in high school I already knew that I wanted to make a sort of media empire.  I wanted something on print, web, video, and my influence there is George Lucas.  I wanted his empire, Skywalker Sound, LucasArts, he had that.  And then when I became sort of a director na rin, Ridley Scott.  I can’t really think if there was one person that I can relate to or I can say that influenced me the best kasi it changes.  That’s what I love about what I do.  I have different challenges that I encounter each hour, each day, each month, each year, each decade, I have to adjust myself also. 

 

Jay-R Patron:  Where did you get that love for the visual art?  Has it always been there since childhood or pagdating mo lang nung high school that you realized that you wanted to do what you do know?

 

Noel Guevara:  No, it started when I was a kid.  I started drawing.  My mom actually encouraged me.  I remember my mom drawing houses for me to color.  I remember trying to make comic books.  If you look at my life from that standpoint, you can see that I was actually going up the artistic ladder.  I started drawing, I started making comics, I started painting, I started craypas, and then made the shift to digital arts with Microsoft Paint.  I went to the whole gamut of visual arts.  But to be honest, I’m not that… one thing I regret or one thing that I’m sad about is the fact that I was not able to master those arts.  When I got to, for example, doing comics, na-draw ko na siya, nasulat ko na yung story, when I start painting it, “You know what?  I’m tired of making comics.  I just want to go painting.”  Sayang lang.

 

Jay-R Patron:  I see that you have this unconventional way of thinking with regards for example your thoughts on democracy… you mentioned on the article that some democracies do not deserve the freedom that they’re enjoying now.  Where did you get that way of thinking?

 

Noel Guevara:  Based on observation mainly.  You can attribute that also to the fact that I look up, or I read up on empires and societies that are based on a monarchy, centered on a monarchy, or its dictatorship, I guess it’s funny that there are some societies, and I am not saying this about the Philippines alone… parang it’s abused.  I remember my professor telling me that the law is only for those who always do things wrong.  It’s only there to put you on the right.  If you compare a dictatorship and a democratic society, a democratic is a bit more loose.  However, that works given the citizens are actually well-disciplined, they know what they’re doing, they know what’s right, and they’ll do what’s right—which is the most important thing.  Considering some societies, they’re kind of stubborn, they’re lazy, they expect things to be given to them, parang hindi siya nag-swak.  Parang hindi siya bagay, and most importantly, it doesn’t seem to work.

 

Jay-R Patron:    What has been the hardest part of running and growing Burnwater and Pelicola.tv?

 

Noel Guevara:  Maintaining the belief that everything is going to work out.  That’s the most important thing.  When you have bet everything and you know that you don’t have a safety net, the thing is, I love that.  I love the fact that I go into something and do something in which I bet everything, and it really has to be me working so hard to achieve it.  Walang atrasan, that’s what I love about it… and butt maintaining that is hard especially when everything around you contradicts your thoughts, contradicts your belief.  For example, the economic crunch is there, everyone has the misconception of what you’re doing… kasi Pelicola, it’s not high-concept, well it is but I can relay it to you in five sentences.  But I have to explain it to you for that long, hindi siya medaling ma-grasp, that’s one more thing.  And we’re not exactly a progressive society in that sense.  We are but, you know, “Ah let’s see muna what happens and then if ever it works out then let’s invest.”  And then when you don’t meet your measures, that’s another thing.  But you have to be flexible, you have to understand that sometimes it’s really not about what you do or how you do it.  Sometimes it’s just really external forces working against you.

 

Jay-R Patron:  Can you cite other examples beyond business where you apply that living, over the edge or something like that?

 

Noel Guevara:  I guess my life is basically… I can say that I’m living on the edge for quite a long time.  I have never been a big fan of convention.  I’ve never been a big fan of following the rules to the letter or to the dot.  I also have different interpretations of everything.  For example, I never plan my week outside work.  If I want to do something now, I’ll do it.  I won’t have second thoughts.  For example, my friend kunwari katabi ko ngayon, “Let’s go skydive.”  And if I can, I can afford it, of course I’ll do it.   I want to enjoy and experience as much as I can before it’s too late. 

 

Jay-R Patron:  What has been the greatest experience?

 

Noel Guevara:  The greatest experience for me, in terms of…it’s funny, I’ve always dreamt… when I was starting Burnwater, when I was studying tutorials late at night, I always kept on playing two CDs.  One is Wolfgang, one is Razorback.  The greatest experience I’ve ever had is of course to work with Louie Telan and the second would be to direct Wolfgang, twice.  For me that was the biggest… parang I went full circle.

 

Jay-R Patron:  And this is Alive in the Womb?

 

Noel Guevara:  Alive at the Womb, yes.  That was the… galing sobra.  Of course to direct Karl Roy din…

 

Jay-R Patron:  How was it working with an icon like Wolfgang?

 

Noel Guevara:  I have to say at first I was… before I met them, medyo natatakot ako.  I mean these guys have been in my head, there a songs also… medyo overwhelming eh.  And then when you go there and you meet them… the thing is I’m not exactly shy so when I saw them and Louie introduced me to them, we started talking.  I talked to Mon first, the bassist.  Apparently he loves tanks, he loves World War II, so we had something to start on.  And then Basty, it’s funny nga when approached Basty, sabi ko, “You know man, I had been meaning to tell you this.  You guys… when I was starting out Burnwater, I was listening to your CD.”  “Ah really?” guman siya.  Andf then their manager comes up to us and says, “Basty, how do you feel when fans tell you that?”  Syempre napahiya ako, di ba? 

 

Jay-R Patron:  What importance do you see in what you do, in promoting Filipino creativity?

 

Noel Guevara:  It’s a bit cliché but I want to strengthen kasi Filipino pride above all.  Yeah, we have Manny Pacquiao per I don’t… that’s the thing eh, we always latch on and look up to… parang it’s always a singularity, it’s never like a broad aspect.  We had Charice and then mawawala and then Manny again and after that mawawala and then it’s someone else, then mawawala.  I want something that covers the whole spectrum.  I want music, I want human interest stories, I want documentaries.  I want something na pagkita ng isang Pinoy, whether here or overseas, “Wow, ang ganda nito!”  And then he’ll find out Pinoy pala yung gumawa.  I want something like that.  It also boils down to the subjects that we choose.  Even at Alive in the Womb, we rarely choose the sikat bands or artists.  We want to also feature, ang plano naming ni Louie is to feature yung mga tumutugtog sa restaurants.  We want that.  Yes they perform but have you seen them perform like sobrang seriously?  Syempre we have Wolfgang, we have Razorback… to bolster the show, the impression of the people get of the show para we get more new way to insert these guys who would not see the light of radio day.

 

Jay-R Patron:  How would you define Filipino creativity?  What makes us different?

 

Noel Guevara:  The fact that we can draw upon a lot of inspiration and a lot of talent.  History kasi ng Philippines is that we’re a melting pot society, we have a lot of people here.  And the fact that we have a lot of… there are a lot of Pinoy overseas also who bring talent here and then we also have our American training, our westernized training.  We can appeal to the rest of the world through our Arts.  It’s not something like Japanes that only the Japanese can understand. 

 

Jay-R Patron:  I hope you don’t mind us going in to your personal life.  How was childhood to you like?  How was it growing up?

 

Noel Guevara:  It was fun.  You know what, come to think of it, my adult life is all about fulfilling my childhood dreams, everything.  When I was a kid I wanted to buy statues of Marvel, yung mga superheroes.  I actually do that now.  I collect thanks.  I do that also.  And then, for example, to direct Wolfgang.  Yun yung mga… my childhood was very colorful.  I had the support of my family and my family loves me so much.  I grew up under the guide of my parents saying, “You can do whatever you want to do, just make sure you do it right.”  I wouldn’t say that I was also spoiled.  My family taught me to always work for what I want or at least earn what I get.  If I got a toy, that means I had to work for that in terms of my grades, or being nice.  If it wasn’t for my childhood, I wouldn’t be as child-like as I am now.  One thing I’m really proud of is that I have not been jaded, I have not been a cynic, I have not turned to a cynic.  I have not been critical of what I do because it is all about following my dreams.  It’s always about listening to my childhood inside.

 

Jay-R Patron:  How many are you in the family?

 

Noel Guevara:  There are five of us.  I am the youngest.  It’s funny also, most of my siblings are in the medical field—doctors, surgeons, pedia, OB-gyne, dentist.  When I started out Burnwater, my mom also aired her concern about the creative field.  My brother is an executive in IBM, so he is my mentor when it comes to business.  My mom is a pharmacist, my dad is a banker, real estate agent.  Ako lang yung unconventional.

 

Jay-R Patron:  What is your family’s role in shaping you to who you are now?

 

Noel Guevara:  As supporters mainly… because one they allowed me to do what I wanted to do.  Two, they pushed to do what I wanted to do.  They helped me do it.  Syempre, when I started Burnwater I had zero.  So they loaned me money, which I paid of.  Same with Pelicola, they’re partly involved in the formation of the funds.  Right now, what I love about it is that, since they support me a lot, I would have been expecting them to be on my case, “Oh what’s happening now?  Where’s our money?”  No, I don’t hear a word.  It’s like, “Oh how is it?” “It’s going to be great.  Don’t worry.”  I don’t even tell them that I have problems.  But I have a feeling that they sense it in me like when I’m having a hard time.  “Okay lang yan.  Gawin mo yan habang wala ka pang pamilya.”  It’s like that.  Sabi pa nila, “If ever it fails then we’ll find a way.”

 

Jay-R Patron:  What role does faith play in your life?  It need not be religion, faith in general.

 

Noel Guevera:  I am catholic.  The thing is, even though you can see around you that there are a lot of arguments against or disproving what you believe in… my family, you could say, is religious.  They’re all, mostly from Couples for Christ.  I myself was in YFC and my nephews and nieces also.  You can see that the faith really kept us together, and that’s one thing I’m really proud of.  There are maybe certain things about Catholicism that I don’t believe in but because of that, it makes me accept it, makes me practice it.

 

Jay-R Patron:  What role has Don Bosco played in molding you as a person?

 

Noel Guevara:    Spiritual direction… and our technical curriculum.  Since I’m doing web now, I have the basic grasp of a programmer.  I can understand the languages, I understand the function, the syntax, everything.  It does not make me a programmer per se, but it makes me understand and troubleshoot it kaagad, makes me relate well with my programmers, and my database managers also, so that’s fine.  Spiritual upbringing… it grew that point sa akin na you can’t forget your spiritual life.  Even if you’re really successful, you can’t forget it.  And one lesson that I really brought with me until now is that no matter how hard you pray, God will never give you something or do something for you that you won’t do for yourself. 

 

Jay-R Patron:  What has been your greatest challenge?

 

Noel Guevara:  Pelicola

 

Jay-R Patron:  How did you manage to put Pelicola to where it is now?

 

Noel Guevara:  I have been telling this to my friends.  The hardest challenge I’ve had in my life is Pelicola.

 

Jay-R Patron:  That’s pretty recent I suppose.

 

Noel Guevara:  Yes, it hasn’t stop.  The only way I would know if Pelicola really makes it is in three years, and siguro kapag meron na akong steady stream of clients, advertisers, shows.  Sabi ko if I can actually leave for three months and it is still there then that means that I have done my job.  But the thing is it hasn’t stopped.  My friends were asking me nga, “Why did you choose to start another company when you already went through the hardship of putting up Burnwater?  And this one is like times 10, and this one is new.  You put it up pa when we have economic crunch.  What’s with you?”   For me, I would like to look back and say that I did something really hard and I have overcome it.  Pelicola, again, is a relatively new concept.  It’s not a household concept.  Maraming facets ang Pelicola na kailangan kong i-defend, or I have to break out of, I have to get in to the market, I have to get in to the minds of my viewers and the artists that I feature and gain respect from directors, writers.  I want them to see Pelicola as not just some internet TV site.  And Pelicola naman changes everday.  Sometimes what you assume would happen in a month changes the next day.  Certain opportunities that arrive that you don’t expect, usually you have to jump on it and act on it.  How I am coping with it, I would say, is being flexible myself.  My character as a person has actually helped me to adapt, to see an opportunity and go for it, to see a threat and avoid it kaagad.  Buti na lang pala I’m like this, if not, di ba?  I change the strategy of Pelicola almost every month, not because it’s not working, but because suddenly I have an epiphany na, “Wait, this would work better pala.”  One thing I’m proud of is that we never spend for marketing.  Pelicola never spent for marketing… well except for Facebook but that’s not really an effort.  Everything that we do is usually given to us for free.  Everything that would seem expensive, we would actually get in exchange for promoting them on our site.  Of course I maintain the quality of the site pa rin. 

 

Jay-R Patron:  What has been your greatest achievement so far?

 

Noel Guevara:  Burnwater.  Burnwater was a 10-year project mainly because I didn’t know what I was doing first.  I knew the art, I had talent, I had the skill, but I didn’t know how to run the business or form it at least.  And now that it’s here… they actually… I refer to them as “they” because I don’t touch Burnwater so much.  They actually won an award for an annual report that they did, and the fact that they were featured also in Computer Arts magazine, which is a highly respected publication in London.  Those achievements palang parang ok na eh.  It gives me hope for Pelicola.  Not that I doubt it.  It‘s more of like you can never really be sure.

 

Jay-R Patron:  What is the most important lesson that you’ve learned that you live with to this day?

 

Noel Guevara:  Never ever give up.  I would have to quote, Nietzsche on that, “He who has a why to live for can overcome any how.”  There are five things that I actually live with naman, and I got them mostly from pop culture, except for Nietzsche.  Second one would be from Yoda, “There is not try.  Only do or do not.”  And then one is from Adidas, “Impossible is nothing.”  Another one is from Vigo Mortensen when he played Aragorn.  Apparently the cast was having a hard time with a particular scene and he wrote to everyone, “Adapt and overcome.”  The last one would be, “There is always a reason in the future.”  When something does not work out your way, don’t fret or punish yourself for it.  Sometimes you’ll see after a few days or after a few years, you’ll see why that actually happened.  The best example I usually give, for example you had a cat who died, don’t be so sad na, “Wala na akong kasama, wala na akong pet.”  Malay mo in a few years someone gives you a better cat, something like that.  That’s why my thinking evolved into something that’s militant because I always see myself as fighting for something.  Fighting for my beliefs would be the first.  With Burnwater I was fighting for something I wanted to do at first, and then after that, I realized that I was fighting for the artists who joined me.  For Pelicola naman I was again fighting for my dream, dream to direct, and then later I realized it was actually fighting for my partners na rin, fighting for my viewers, I have to always keep on doing something for them.  And when the project transcends the personal sphere of things and when you see that it’s bigger than you, it’s not any better, but it inspires you.

 

Jay-R Patron:  If there was one message that you would like to give to our readers and listeners, out of what has been discussed tonight, what would that message be?

 

Noel Guevara:  Just do what you really want to do.  Dreams are not meant to be kept in your head.  I think they should be pursued.  But at the same time, don’t expect that it’s going to be easy.  Accept that it’s going to be hard.  But if you really believe in it, go for it.

 

(34:07)

Jay-R Patron:  What would be your advice to the youth who has their sights towards creative arts?

 

Noel Guevara:  If there’s one thing I don’t like, actually there are two things that I don’t like, but for the first one… do not follow… actually this is quite evident in Don Bosco and in our society also, the fear to be different.  You’re forced to do what everyone else is doing, or at least follow a certain trend. 

 

Jay-R Patron:  That’s true.  I can distinctly remember yung time sa Don Bosco na naging popular yung mga Samba, mga Adidas na shoes.

 

Noel Guevara:  Yes, and I remember yung mga Nike Air.  The thing is I don’t like it.  I like LA Gear or something like that.  But for you to be different, everyone is one your case kaagad, “Ay panget, ay bulok.”  In the same sense here also.  If you’re not highly respected as an artist, or not exactly a mover, if you do something different, everyone’s like, “Ay hindi ok yan.”  My point is if you really believe in something, you want to do it, and you want to express yourself, do it.  If you have a certain style that no one seems to appreciate now, then do it.  Don’t do art for other people, do it for yourself.  Don’t be scared to go against the grain.  I mean there are some graphic design companies now who my peers and I look down on kasi they’re so commercialized.  I can name a few actually.  Parang pagnakikita naming, it never evolved na into anything else and what’s worse is that the budding artists, yung mga fresh graduates, they try to emulate it, “Ah, eto pala yung ok.  Let’s do that.”  Parang nag-plateau na, no one is doing something different.  There are others also that are really good.  Sana lang these guys stay here in the Philippines also because they move out and do something else abroad—Dubai or something like that. 

 

Jay-R Patron:  You mentioned two things, what’s the other one?

 

Noel Guevara:  It’s more of me being a purist.  I have a fascination to delve in to the arts that I believe cannot be faked.  For example, people are going to hate me for this… but it seems that everyone who has a digital camera now is a photographer, everyone who has a photoshop in his computer is suddenly a graphic designer.  That’s one thing I don’t like.  For example, in terms of music I want to play the piano because you can’t fake that.  I write also, I love writing, that’s something you can’t fake.  Third would be painting.  And this is actual painting.  You can be a graphic designer but you can’t paint.  I have great respect for painters, writers, pianists.

 

Jay-R Patron:  What can we expect from you and Pelicola.tv in the months and years to come?

 

Noel Guevara:  For Pelicola, Pelicola is really meant to be a global site.  I mean I have been saying that a lot of times na the reason why it’s spelled Pelicola and not K-U is because I wanted to have a global appeal.  I want to have something that people would think is meant for them although it’s really Pinoy.  I really want to promote Pinoy culture, but feeling ko hindi siya magkaka-effect if it was a K-U.   At first you won’t immediately see that it was Pinoy made, but if you looked at the content it’s really Pinoy.  My goal is Pelicola will have a broader audience, a bigger audience, a global audience.

 

Jay-R Patron:  Promoting Filipino creativity…

 

Noel Guevara:  Yes.  If it had to be na I put up an sg.pelicola.tv, jp.pelicola.tv, that will promote their own local culture, I’ll do it because I can interlink it with ph.pelicola.tv.  You won’t look at my stuff if I don’t promote your stuff rin eh.  When you see, kunwari you’re from the States and you see Chris Cornell and sa related videos Wolfgang, then you’d click it.  That’s what I want to do.  It’s a media empire in the making. 

 

Jay-R Patron:  Good luck on that.

 

Noel Guevara:  It’s hard.  It’s really hard because there are a lot of factors that are against it but at the same time I see a lot of factors that are for it also.

 

Jay-R Patron:  Do you have other business initiatives in mind?

 

Noel Guevara:  I do.  But they’re coming out when I finish Pelicola na.  It’s funny I try to do smaller scale projects.  I read Entrep magazine but yung mga kunwari fishball vendor, for some reason I can’t do it.  I never get to mobilize that initiative.  Even if it’s 50 thousand or a hundred thousand, I’m not saying that it’s small, but comparatively speaking it doesn’t compare, pero hindi ko siya magawa.  I tried a t-shirt business, hindi ko magawa.  I could not even register it.  Maybe the reason was I didn’t feel the same passion that I had for Pelicola and Burnwater na, “Wow, I’d be doing something that no one has ever done before.”  Parang ganun, no matter how hard I try. 

 

Jay-R Patron:  Why do you think that’s the case?

 

Noel Guevara:  Because a lot of people are doing it.  Not that it’s bad.  I mean I would love to do that kasi you don’t have to maintain it so much.  It’s a tried and tested idea.  But where’s the fun in doing something that people are already doing, and that’s something that is sure na?  May phrase ako sa friend ko eh,  I want to do something that I can tell my grandkids about.  I love the visual arts also kasi… I’m not so fond of achievements that are in numbers or in papers, “Oh this CEO achieved this much percentage of growth…” but with the arts, when you produce something, you draw something, it’s there, people will see it.

 

Jay-R Patron:  Ok.  Thank you so much.