The New Surviving Sagada Video HD

It has been a long while since I created and posted my first Surviving Sagada video. Five years later after I made that short film, I came back with my Surviving Sagada HD video.  This may not be as good as the first one, but I still liked how it turned out.  For best viewing, we highly recommend that you watch the 720p version of this video.
I thought of so many reasons why would I make a new Surviving Sagada video.  One of the reasons was for me to make, if not a better video, but a clearer and more crisp video.  The camcorder that I used for the first one was a Sony Digital 8 camcorder.  Although the video was good already for viewing on DVD, when uploaded on YouTube, it does not have a 720p or 1080p resolution.  I've used a firewire cable to transfer the video digitally to the computer for editing, so the video was good and the audio was superb.

Now, with the new Surviving Sagada HD video, the colors are more vivid and the images are more real.  You just have to forgive me for some shaky clips.  I don't have an optional tripod for my iPad.  Yes, you heard me right.  I've only used an iPad to record the video and I used a professional video editing software called Sony Vegas Pro 12 for post-production.  So enough of that and I will now tell you about the scenes of my new video.

Sunrise at Kiltepan.  It was a bright sunny day in Kiltepan.  I was so lucky to witness the sunrise that day.  It was really hard to catch the sun peaking behind the mountains and most of the time, either the sun is already up or the clouds were too thick for us to see it.  But on the day of the video shoot, I witnessed the bursting of the sun while its rays were slowly caressing the sea of while fluffy clouds.  I took my workmate Julian and his brother to witness it. It was such an overwhelming sight.

Bokong Falls (aka Small Falls).  I was supposed to visit Bomod-Ok Falls and Pongas also for shooting but I had no time to visit, so I've happily settled with Bokong.  The water was so clear that day and it was freezing cold, yet I still jumped in.  I saw a farmer plowing the field with his "kalabaw" (local water buffalo) near the falls while I was on my way back to town .  I asked him if it was just okay for me to film what he was doing and he was nice enough to say yes.

Saturday Market in Town.  I eventually remembered that it was market day in town.  Everybody was busy buying and selling food, vegetables, fruits, dry goods and more.  I was able to shoot some close ups of some fresh red tomatoes, green beans, broccoli, ginger and green peppers.

Mission Compound, Church and Cemetery.  There were some kids playing basketball in town before I went to Saint Mary's Church.  Saint Mary's Church is an Anglican Church built more than 100 years ago located in the mission compound at the town proper. You may visit this place only by a minute walk from the bus terminal. I trekked for about 10 minutes and I found myself roaming the cemetery.  "Resting" in this cemetery is free and even people, not from Sagada can also be buried here. You will also notice how some of the dead are segregated. You may also see some burned pine woods on the ground. Clips were taken onlydays after the Panagapoy festival. Locals burn "saeng" or pine woods instead of lighting regular candles for their dead relatives.

Hanging Coffins at Echo Valley.  Echo Valley is one of my most favorite places in Sagada.  When there are no tourists, this place is really quiet.  You can hear the wind blowing and brushing the grass and the leaves of the pine trees.  Hanging coffins are probably the most popular and the most photographed in Sagada. Some believe, specially the elderly, that a person's spirit rises up easily when they are hanged up rather than when they are buried under the ground.  It's not an easy way down to the hanging coffins.  Trails are either too muddy or slippery.

Strawberry Farm at the back of Church.  I frequent this private strawberry farm located at the back of the church. It is managed by the owners of the Strawberry Cafe in Dagdag. So if you guys come to Sagada and would like to see strawberries grown here, just visit Strawberry Cafe and ask the owners if you can visit their farm. 

Coffins at the Burial Cave.  There you see stack and stack of old and some new coffins. This is what you will see right at the very entrance of Burial Cave. You will also see these coffins on your way to Sumaguing Cave. Most of them are more than four centuries old.

Ambasing Elementary School.  I've always wanted to show what other tourists were not able to show before and that is the people in Sagada. This small school is a good place to shoot videos of small kids playing on the school group.  Hearing their school break reminds me of my younger years at school.

Local Houses in Ambasing, Dagdag and Poblacion.  A lot of people might get curious how Sagadans build their houses.  Just like any other houses, they look pretty much the same with the houses in the lowlands.  It's just that they use pinewood mostly.  A house made of pinewood smells really fresh and comforting.  

Sunset at Mount Ampacao.  Yes, I did not trek up to Mount Ampacao but I was able to shoot it right from the back of the house where we stay.  It is a very beautiful landscape to look at and there were times when the sky turned red, orange, purple and sometimes, even pink.

Information about the video:
Length: 8 mins 4 secs
Video Editing Software: Sony Vegas Pro 12
Photo Editing Software: Adobe Photoshop CS6
Music: Composed and Lincensed by Moby Gratis (used with permission)