Pangilinan (left) as Deib and Mariano as Max.
It was the product of our blood, sweat and tears,” said actress Belle Mariano, referring to the emotionally charged confrontation scene that she shot under the rain with leading man Donny Pangilinan for the second season of the hit romantic comedy series “He’s Into Her.”
Donny and Belle, collectively known as DonBelle, agreed that the “rain scene” was the “heaviest” one they had to shoot for the entire series.
“You can ask Direk (Chad Vidanes) about the challenges we had to go through just for that scene. After seeing and reviewing the whole thing, I can say it was worth it,” Belle told reporters during a recent media gathering to promote the series.
“Shooting that scene was no joke,” added Donny. “Because it was raining, we can only do one take. We had to practice throwing our lines beforehand because whatever we will say in front of the camera, we can no longer change. We had to make sure the scene was OK.”
Donny said there were a lot of preparations made just for the rain scene, especially in relation to the technical aspect of shooting it.
“We made use of two handheld cameras. Belle and I had to practice our movements beforehand to make sure we hit our markers. We can’t go beyond them because we would disappear from the frame. You are able to watch the scene but aren’t aware that there were a lot of technical considerations to that,” he explained.
Efficient system
In terms of their working relationship, Donny said he and Belle had already managed to develop an efficient system.
“We both have our way of achieving the emotion needed for a scene. When we get to the set, that’s when we release it,” added Donny. “After the scene, we comfort each other. We make each other feel that it’s just for that particular scene.”
Belle said it helped that even director Chad would sometimes try to feel the emotions of the characters.
“I try to discover what makes them tick, what their personalities are, and whether or not they have the same personality as their characters. If so, we try to use this. If not, we find a different way,” said Chad.
“For this season, we have so many emotional scenes. Poor DonBelle—they got really drained. There were times when we still had to work on heavy scenes even late at night. We were all exhausted but we pushed through. For me, the rain scene was the hardest we did for this season,” the director added. “Kudos to DonBelle. They didn’t give up. The shooting condition was tough. We were on top of a mountain and Belle felt really cold. She was already shivering and so we had to make her wear a sauna suit. We carried on with our setup but at the same time prioritized her health.”
In “He’s Into Her” Season 2, former-enemies-turned-lovers Deib (Donny) and Max (Belle) are officially the newest power couple in Benison International school. Their relationship seems to be smooth sailing until problems from their past begin to haunt them and unanswered questions start to resurface.
When asked about the Season 2’s views of the Z Generation on topics like bullying, love, and trust issues, Donny said: “I think it shows that love isn’t just sunshine and rainbows. It’s a roller-coaster ride, which you have to choose to go through together. It’s the same with life—it’s your choice on what perspective to look at it.”
The much-talked-about rain scene in “He’s Into Her” Season 2
Contribute to goodness
When it comes to bullying, Belle replied: “Obviously, we should not tolerate it. We should avoid it as much as possible. It’s true that, during these times, what we need is love and care. Instead of bullying, we should stand up, rise, and lift each other.”
Donny observed that “there’s already so much hatred in the world. There’s so much going on already that we should just contribute to the goodness, to the positivity. We will make mistakes from time to time because we’re humans, but the most important thing is that we acknowledge these mistakes and move forward. With Deib, he knows he has to face the consequences of his actions.”
“He’s Into Her” writer Vanessa Valdez said the inclusion of more dramatic scenes in the series had been “intentional.”
She explained: “The story required it. I also think it’s already time to challenge Donny and Belle. The only way to do that was to also level up the material. A lot were shocked by the Season 1 ending. It was something serious and dramatic. Definitely, the tone of this season has shifted. Of course, there’s still kilig. After all, it’s a love story. Season 1 was more like a fantasy. In real life, if a guy bullies a girl, it would be very difficult to believe that she would fall in love with him.”
“It’s just that Max saw the goodness in Deib because she’s the type who would look for that in a person,” added Vanessa. “Now, we explore the depth of their love. We would ask, ‘Aren’t you just looking at the person with rose-colored glasses? If you discover that there are awful things about the person you love, things you cannot change anymore, will you still be willing to accept this person?’ Since they’re in high school, we needed to calibrate those feelings. We made the show relatable even to those who aren’t high schoolers anymore.”
The series will premiere first on iWantTFC on April 20 for premium users outside of the Philippines, and all iWantTFC users in the Philippines and Indonesia can watch it for free on April 22.