Footprints Toward Success: Jan Xavier Pacle
“Pre, bakit tayo nag-Mass Com?” a question that Mr. Jan Xavier Pacle, a fresh graduate from Saint Louis University, asked his best friend. Boy, if only he knows what is prepared for him in the future. However, why did he pick Mass Communication in the first place? Hmmm… Let us back up a little.
Aside from being an astronaut and a pilot, the young Mr. Jan Xavier wanted to be a photojournalist because growing up in the Middle East, he was saturated with the news about the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Moreover, he wanted to capture stories as a photojournalist. As a result, Mass Communication was his chosen field at Saint Louis University.
As a “go with the flow” student, as he describes, he had many unforgettable experiences throughout his college life. He mentioned his “puyatan” moments when they have deadlines, making their first music video, forgetting all his lines and cues in broadcasting, and receiving editing jobs from their classmates and letting them stay overnight. On the other hand, he also faced challenges. As he stated, “Noong college ako, I hate writing, I hate doing research, so thesis was the most challenging part of my college years.”
After graduating, he got his first job in ABS-CBN as an editor. However, he did not stay for long at the station because he felt a lot of pressure upon him. Since his older sister was in Qatar, he decided to follow her and grab job opportunities in a foreign country. In Qatar, Mr. Pacle’s filmmaking and directing career was born. “May dalawang path to my directing career,” he stated. His first path started in 2011 by making personal short films. Despite creating many short films throughout his career, he picked one that, for him, was the best. The best film he made, according to him, was Footprints on the Moon, which was not actually finished and released to the public because of unforeseen circumstances. He mentioned that the film was his masterpiece and is very close to his heart. On the other hand, 2013 was when Mr. Pacle took the second path, directing commercials and corporate films. As he was establishing his presence in the film industry in Qatar, there were many clients, from celebrities to the BBC and CNN, that hire his team. For him, every commercial he makes is always the best than the previous one.
Moving on, a question was raised to Mr. Pacle, “What were your struggles as a filmmaker this generation and especially with the pandemic?” He stated that as the community of filmmakers is broadening and many people are mobile and DSLR filmmakers, which he considers as competition, he has to be a step ahead to show his edge to clients. Moreover, the pandemic sort of affected his career as a filmmaker because of the decrease of clients contacting his team for projects. However, for him, these struggles are always a learning curve. “You never stop learning,” his answer to a question about the best parts of his career. Experimenting, learning, and trying new things are the parts that made him mature as a professional.
Speaking of trying new things, he also made a career of writing books. Mr. Pacle stated, “Gusto ko lang i-try and then, nagustuhan ko na siya… and then, I continued.” He never realized that he would like writing, but as the pandemic started, he used lockdown time to write. Portraits of the Wind, the first book he wrote, was inspired by the frustrations and disappointments. Remember the film that he never finished, Footprints on the Moon? He revealed to us that he started making it a book. Two more ideas are currently in the process of making.
Outside of his work, Mr. Pacle stated that he has a daughter and two pet birds, whom he loves. On the other hand, he said, “Dati, I wanted to be the best at all of these fields (filmmaker, author, parenting, and cycling).” However, he realized that he has to sacrifice a thing that he likes to excel in the other as time goes by. As a result, he gave up professional cycling, though he does it as a hobby now.
To end our interview with Mr. Pacle, we asked him about his pieces of advice to Communication students and people who want to pursue Communication. “Kung maaga pa… Kung hindi niyo talaga gusto yung course na ito (Communication program), you can already start shifting para mas maaga kayong maging masaya.” Find the pursuit where you will find happiness because as we get older, you might regret your decisions. Furthermore, Mr. Pacle advised students who will stay in the program to persevere, especially when they find themselves stressed about deadlines and subjects. As he stated, “Kung talagang ito ang gusto niyo, magiging madali para sa inyo na tapusin ang course (program)… Kahit anong hirap ang dumating, babalewalain niyo lang.” Moreover, he said that Communication students should be hungry for knowledge to gain experience and be stronger in the field. Mr. Pacle ended with a note. “Kung mahal niyo ung field niyo, mag-su-survive kayo.”
