The trailer of Barcelona: A Love Untold showcased two heavy drama scenes between the characters of Daniel Padilla and Kathryn Bernardo.
According to Daniel, it’s just a glimpse of how film director Olivia Lamasan taught them the discipline behind their craft.
“Dalawa pa lang yun sa mabibigat na eksena. Meron kaming 300 na mabibigat na eksena. Hindi joke lang,” Daniel said at the grand presscon of Barcelona: A Love Untold.
He was speaking of his confrontation scene with Kathryn wherein his character angrily said, “Move on from what? Stop acting like you know my pain! Stop like acting you own it. Hindi ikaw si Celine. And you will never be Celine!”
Asked about how he prepared for that scene, Daniel admitted that it actually took him a whole day to be ready for it.
“Hindi talaga siya naging madali. Hindi siya basta dumating sa set, tapos dala mo yung lines mo, bato mo. Hindi puwede. Talagang buong araw hindi kami mag-uusap.
“Kasi mawawala ka, e, kapag kunwari may mabigat kayong eksena tapos nagtawanan kayo. Alam mo yun? Hindi mo iniisip yung set.
“Pagdating sa set, wala, hindi mo alam yung gagawin mo. Hindi mo maramdaman yung bigat.”
Daniel revealed that he and Kathryn would meet with Direk Olive (or Inang as she is fondly called by close colleagues) first in order to achieve what needs to be done for a dramatic scene.
“Ang galing ni Inang… Ang laking blessing ni Inang kasi kapag may eksena kaming ganun ang dami niyang binibigay na tools para makatulong na malabas yung emosyon namin.
“Nandiyan yung music para maramdaman mo lalo [yung emotions ng character].
“Nandiyan yung magbibigay sila ni Carmi [Raymundo] sa amin ni Kathryn na letter. Yun ang inner monologue mo.
“I-memorize mo yun. Yun ang sasabihin mo sa utak mo. Na kunwari kapag titignan mo si Kathryn, before the scene yun yung nasa loob ng damdamin mo.
“Nandun pa yung moral support niya sa mikroponong malupet.”
Looking back, Daniel said that he really treasures the lessons that he learned from Direk Olivia.
“Ang sarap ng ganun. Ang laking tulong… Ang sarap ng ganung director dahil hindi lahat ng director matutulungan ka.”
Kathryn, for her part, has her fair share of showcasing her dramatic prowess.
As seen in the trailer, one of her much-anticipated shining moment was when she dramatically told Daniel’s character, “Huwag mo ako mahalin dahil mahal kita. Mahalin mo ako dahil mahal mo ako. Because that is what I deserve.”
Kathryn, for her part, learned to motivate herself for a particularly heavy scene by internalizing a night before shooting day.
“Hindi ito yung preparation na few minutes before mag-action. Kung kinakailangan yung preparation [ginagawa ko] night before taking that scene. Yun talaga [ang] nag-work for me.
“Sa una, akala ko kaya kong mag-prepare kapag ‘andyan na, ‘andyan na yung eksena. Kapag may music...
“Pero natutunan ko sa kanya yung ginagawa namin ni DJ kunwari may isang heavy scene like the one you mention po, whole day naming pina-depress yung sarili namin.”
She added that having an “inner monologue” while delivering dramatic lines make the scene more real.
“Parang napakatotoo sa lahat ng eksena yung mga emosyon. Yun talaga yung parating sinasabi nila na dapat maging totoo kayo.”
Kathryn even said they consider every good take as an “achievement unlocked” for the whole team behind Barcelona: A Love Untold.
“After namin i-take yung isang scene, pumapalakpak kami, tapos magha-hug kami nila Ate Carmi kasi ang saya namin sa nangyari sa eksena.”