Selene Bautista: From the Sidelines to the Shoot
Hi, welcome to AICREATIVV! In this blog we're introducing our media intern, Selene and she recommends this song, please consider giving it a listen as you read this blog entry!
Halfway through her media internship at AICREATIVV, Frances Darlene “Selene” Mendoza Bautista is discovering what happens when observing turns into doing.
Long before Frances Darlene Mendoza Bautista, better known around the office as Selene, found herself standing behind a camera, one of her earliest encounters with media happened on the other side of it. As a child, she had been talent for a school video shoot. It gave her a glimpse of what production looked like, although only from the perspective of someone waiting for the camera to point in her direction.
Years later, while studying at Cosmopolitan College of Commerce and Technology, that curiosity remained. When someone she knew who had previously interned at AICREATIVV told her about their experience with the media team, Selene saw an opportunity to explore what she affectionately calls her “media girl” side. She already knew she enjoyed films, art, music and the endless stream of creative inspiration she found through YouTube and social media. What she didn't know was how those interests translated into professional work.
Now more than halfway through her internship, the picture has become considerably bigger.
Working within video production in Brunei has introduced Selene to everything happening beyond the final frame: preparation, production roles, teamwork, quick decisions and the reality that even a carefully planned shoot can change once everyone arrives on set. More importantly, it has moved her from someone watching how the work is done to someone increasingly being trusted to help make it happen.
Watching a Project Come Together
Selene has already found herself moving between very different projects, including Spice Boys, Dear Beauty by Viv, Potato Habit, Sugar Sweet, First Emporium and AICREATIVV's internal Off Brief series.
Three stand out in particular: Dear Beauty by Viv, Spice Boys and Sugar Sweet. In each, she was able to see more than one isolated part of the production. She watched projects develop from their earlier stages and experienced how different decisions eventually connected to what was produced on set.
For Selene, that distinction matters. Learning the theory of production is one thing. Watching a project gradually take shape around you is another.
Whenever she is assigned something unfamiliar, her first instinct is to understand what she is walking into. She looks at the goal, what needs to be delivered and where she can contribute before researching the role itself. If she is suddenly told she will be a Production Assistant, for example, she will find out what that responsibility involves and ask her supervisor (Aaqilull Qhaeer) or someone who has done it before.
That habit has helped her navigate an environment where the answer isn't always waiting in a textbook.
It also prepared her for the moment she realised she was no longer there simply to observe.
Getting Her Own Screen Time
That moment came during Dear Beauty by Viv.
Selene was entrusted with what she describes as her first major role: Director of Photography (DP). For someone who takes responsibility seriously, being given a larger role immediately brought out the part of her that wanted to make sure she did more than just a good job.
It also made something else clear.
She wasn't standing on the sidelines anymore.
“It hit me that I wasn’t just observing. I was actually contributing.”
Selene describes the feeling as a little star-struck. The internship she had entered hoping to understand professional media had reached a point where she was being trusted to take part in the work itself.
It is an amusing shift considering how she first described her place at AICREATIVV. Asked what character she would be if the agency were a movie, Selene originally saw herself as one of the side characters.
Halfway through the internship, she would probably revise that description.
Not quite the main character, admittedly.
More like the main character's best friend. In Selene's words,
“I'm not in the spotlight, but I have screen time.”
It suits her. She likes observing what is happening around her, but she has become increasingly comfortable stepping into the action too. Shoots have helped with that, giving her more chances to talk, laugh and interact with teammates until the self-proclaimed quiet side character gradually turns into what everyone has been warned is an absolute yapper once she gets comfortable.
On set for Dear Beauty by Viv! With Vivien of Dear Beauty by Viv
Not Everything Has to Be Perfect
Being supervised by Deputy Media, Aaqilull Qhaeer has also challenged one of Selene's strongest habits: wanting everything to be perfect.
She describes herself as having been a “raging perfectionist,” particularly when it came to making mistakes or worrying that an output wasn't good enough. Early in the internship, that could mean questioning whether an edit looked polished enough, whether she had contributed enough during a shoot or whether there was something she should already know but didn't.
Aaqilull has helped her become more comfortable with all three.
The change hasn't been about lowering her standards. It has been about understanding that working professionally doesn't mean knowing everything before you begin or getting every decision right on the first attempt. Sometimes the edit improves through feedback. Sometimes you ask the question. Sometimes you make the mistake and know what to do differently next time.
One shoot made that especially clear. Selene had prepared beforehand, yet once she was there, she couldn't shake the feeling that she had under-prepared. Rather than treating that experience as proof that she had failed, it became a lesson in the unpredictability of production.
No amount of preparation can account for everything.
Working in video production in Brunei has therefore taught her to prepare carefully while still leaving room to adapt when something unexpected happens. Setbacks have slowly become less frightening because they give her something concrete to learn from.
For someone who once hated getting things wrong, that might be one of the most important things she takes away from the internship.
Still Exploring the Story
There is still plenty Selene wants to try before her time at AICREATIVV is over.
Production work has become one of the areas she is most curious about, alongside another opportunity to step into an Assistant Director or Director role. Each offers another perspective on how a production comes together and another chance to discover where within Media she feels most at home.
That question remains open.
What seems much clearer is that the experience hasn't discouraged her from pursuing the industry. If anything, being inside a creative agency in Brunei has made the possibilities feel more real.
Selene has wanted to create and tell stories since she was young. She still doesn't know exactly what kind of stories those will eventually be, and for now, she doesn't need to. Her internship is giving her space to experiment with roles, make mistakes, ask questions and discover what parts of the process keep pulling her back.
She came to AICREATIVV hoping to explore her “media girl” side. Halfway through, she is no longer only watching the story unfold. She has started finding her place inside it.
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