Calling The Shots

Gerald Santos

Director Kahel House Video Production, Inc.

In 1995, a young, wideeyed creative embarked on a career in the production industry. He began, like countless other dreamers in his trade, as a production assistant. To maneuver his way up the rungs, he toiled away ceaselessly in various roles: producer, executive producer, and production head, among others. This persistence eventually earned him the title of production manager. By most indications, professional endeavors at this point were smooth sailing. Until the work stopped coming in.

“It came to a point where there were no more projects, no production manager jobs for me, completely nothing at all, as if there was no other path set out for me,” he recalls.

The period was a crucial test of his mettle. But it was dogged determination that set Gerald B. Santos apart from the rest. Unfazed by difficulty, he met with a colleague from another production outfit and asked, despite his inexperience, if he could put his editing chops to use for their team. To his surprise, the outfit reached out to him and offered him editing projects.

And yet again, it was a resolve to learn that charged Santos to deliver on his tasks with panache and proficiency.

Santos later mustered the courage to fulfill a lifelong dream—become a director. He took apprentice work with various directors, studied basic lighting, and picked the brains of different cinematographers. “I learned that this was what I loved to do most and there is nothing else I’d rather spend my life doing,” Santos shares.

And then opportunity came knocking: two gigs as a television commercial director. Santos knew immediately that this was his moment.