this was my first time to work with pokwang and she was very nice, even ordered lechon all the way from cebu (sabrosa) for the staff and crew. the costumes were care of ien beltran, a stylist friend who worked with us in brillante mendoza’s up coming movie, prey. in saying this, im glad i only had to do props and set here because we only had about 2 days to prepare. doing the costumes with everything else would have been crazy so im glad they got ien to handle all of costuming. jeorge agcaoili was directing and so i had the privilege to work with him and the fun people at provil again.
originally the director’s board featured a dark banquet hall and we decided to push the style a bit. i pulled inspiration from black swan’s production design. i liked the woods backdrop in the dance hall and the modern design in the ballet director’s house (not pictured here– i dont normally put everything out in the pegs presentation because sometimes it doesnt work, and when it does it becomes a pleasant surprise)
wanted black, white and glass in the design with elements of twigs and small flowers.
however, we were later on informed that client wanted french or victorian so we had to drop black swan and went for something traditional. although i loved my original design, i had to go with the higher echelons so i compromised and gave them this new set of pegs.
probably one of the most fun shoots we did this year was working on the currently airing lola techie commercial for bayanDSL. lyle sacris directed all tvcs for bayanDSL’s lola techie ads and this would be my first working on this campaign with him. i had to recreate every detail of continuity from the previous commercials but the bedroom and kitchen were new ground so i was able to play around with it. it helped a lot that the location we shot in was amazing, with authentic vintage 70s furniture and gorgeous detailed work on ceiling and wall panels.
had to introduce a few more elements to the house to push the lolatechi-ness in the design. i always love playing up the 70s feel in my designs and this was another opportunity to do so 🙂 i always get inspiration from amelie (directed by jean-pierre jeunet, design by aline bonetto (art director) and marie-laure valla (set decorator), and of course top photographer erwin olaf. a lot of the toys in lola techie’s house are from direk lyle’s own collection, including worlds of warcraft and the matrix’s sentinel (which we wanted to put on her bed’s headboard but was taken out eventually).
on american idol season 10: the season started off promising with steve tyler in the judges’ seat and jennifer lopez in impeccable makeup. we had our early favorites, especially casey abrams (crazy performance on “nature boy”) and the toothy paul mcdonald. in fact, this batch actually had a lot of good ones, including james durbin (who could have won the whole thing), haley reinhart (love her raspy voice) and naima adedapo (such a colorful personality). thia megia, who also tried out in america’s got talent, was another jasmine trias, cute and lots of potential but didnt progress much. i dont mind scotty mccreery in the finals but i am appalled lauren alaina made it to top 2. she should have been eliminated in the 1st week of the live show. didnt bother watching the finals. as it goes in recent years, it pays to be runner-up (chris daughtry, jennifer hudson, adam lambert, etc).
on rupaul’s drag race season 3: love love love manila luzon! if you still don’t know her, you’re missing a lot. and it’s no surprise, and yet frustrating at the same time, that manila luzon, a filipino-american drag queen, is making waves on the show but is not covered by local tv. is it because gay men who dress up are deemed bad role models? come on! here’s a fan-made compilation of all of manila luzon’s looks on the show:
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on food: there’s this crazy resto called stoops on malugay st makati that serves to-die-for bagnet. cholesterol-ridden bagnet! i cant explain further, you just gotta try it. a plate of bagnet with rice and sidings cost less than $2 and you can order by the kilo as well.
on the sing-off season 2: the season has wrapped up long ago but i havent written about it. it’s a live glee competition and we just love it! the runner up from last season comprises the warblers on glee. we tried watching a few episodes of season 1 and i couldnt finish it though. the talents on season 2 is way off the charts, the top 4 groups are just a-mazing! watch their “american idiot” version of “21 guns” featuring all the remaining groups on episode 3:
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on the RH Bill: im all for it. the filipino catholic church is defensive and being archaic without looking at the real issue. truth is, education and information is a right for every citizen and the filipinos need to know about health and sex and have choices on reproduction. why is it such a bad thing? why keep brandishing the abortion issue when it’s not even about that? i do think this bill will be passed despite the stubborness of some.
on stupid TV shows for the sake of airtime: i seldom watch TV and when i do, it’s because other people are watching and im in the same room. tonight i chanced upon GMA’s mind master and it was f***ed up. his so-called telekinetic powers are really just static energy. talking to the dead seemed bogus and the bereaved family are being played on badly on national tv. c’mon!
on fringe season 3: faux olivia was fun but i think i loved season 1 better. there is less walter bishop-ing this season than in the previous, and it lessens his chances of picking up a nomination. we always wonder why he is being overlooked during awards season. the finale is almost here and we’re still about 3 episodes short off our viewing list. gotta catch up!
on glee season 2: was a bit underwhelming but we followed it nevertheless. it was great in about the first four episodes, got boring (really boring), and then picked up in possibly the last 3 episodes. charice’s appearance in the 1st episode was exciting but her song selection in eps17 is frustrating only because “all by myself” is done to death by her and numerous contestants on american idol. and i long for the day she sings “out here on my way” from fame. favorite songs this season include “tik tok (by ke-dollar sign-ha), “unpretty,” “river deep mountain high (or all the santana songs),” all the rocky horror songs except “whatever happened to saturday night,” and all the barbra streisand songs especially the last one, “my man” from funny girl. ok, im still a big fan. kill me
posting the original video of “my man” from the film:
and here’s lea michelle’s version from glee episode 21:
on smash: a new tv show on nbc from steven spielberg. the production values in this film is great but i hope it doesnt turn into “burlesque.” im excited megan hilty is in the cast, she was fantastic as glinda in wicked (after kristin chenoweth, who went on to star in glee). christian borle from the original cast of “legally blonde the musical” is also part of the show and im looking forward to this. casting katherine mcphee is interesting but we’ll see if she succeeds in stealing megan’s spotlight. i highly doubt she can. still, will be watching. the more musical shows, the better.
on the rapture: thank you Lord for postponing because X-Men First Class is opening in a week’s time and the 8th Harry Potter movie is showing in a month. awesome!
ive mentioned before that im currently going through high stress in relation to my work. about the same time last year i was also dealing with anxiety and questioning why i still allowed myself all this stress. i used to enjoy the work, the stress accompanying it was healthy and pushed me to do better. nowadays anxiety prior to a shoot just eats me up. it has become taxing to my health and my sanity. what happened?
im thankful though for the focus the cafe we’ve put up has given me. i can channel all my stress to positive physical tension in waiting on our customers. it’s been fun actually but more about that later.
hopefully the shoot-related stress wash cycle will be over soon so i can move on. still got a few more shoot projects up my sleeve to accomplish before i run off to mindanao. i have to pull myself out of this rut im in. time for more dirty laundry to do.
was enthralled by EXIT THROUGH THE GIFTSHOP, a documentary on the lines and rules separating graffiti, street art and commercial art. directed by the highly regaled street artist, banksy, who himself questioned the popularity of his works in the art world. he asks videographer thierry gueta to released his extensive video footage on graffiti and really show that “it’s not about the money.” rules are made to be broken, especially for these artists who ply their trade in the night but one guy really turned the whole thing around.
the film is hilarious and inspiring, the twists very smart and in the end you dont really know who or what you are rooting for. what defines an artist? who says you are one? the art world? yourself? his peers? this documentary is just awesome! in parts i began to question my own brand of art and then the film peels through another layer of the complexities and im taken into another roller coaster ride. critics questioned its authenticity, noting that thierry’s mr. brainwash was also banksy’s own makings. either way, it made for great entertainment and understanding that most of it is real. maybe.
the film received a nomination for best documentary at this year’s academy awards. im posting the trailer here:
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after this movie, we then watched CATFISH, another documentary whose review i stumbled upon in the new york times. i got intrigued and didnt bother reading the rest of the writeup. words with “facebook” and “better than” got me at hello. it started off pretty decent, introducing us to nev, a hairy photographer, whose photos became inspiration for a young girl artist. his correspondence with this girl and her siblings on facebook became some sort of relationship with the whole family. whatever else happened afterwards i will not be telling you because you gotta see this for yourself. rollercoaster ride! awesome movie, watch!
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*** a bit of a spoiler here, but, read on if you like.
it was serendipity, i guess, that we chanced upon GIFTSHOP and CATFISH one after the other. for CATFISH, we are introduced to an artist who lived in a small town hidden away from the world. no hope of leaving, no opportunities for recognition and fortune. it’s not really fame we are after, artists just need a little bit of acknowledgement for our existence and expression. i guess the same goes for every human being on the planet. im currently in my anxiety-ridden phase on whether i should be changing careers again, stop doing production design, wanting to do other stuff, finding myself yet again. for somebody who is actually doing what he was supposed to do, im ungrateful. here’s this suburban artist who never had the opportunity to study art school or pursue dreams then starts to create an online dream life to escape from her reality. that should slap me out of my whining!
bianca balbuena and i got to talking about this world we live in. there is a big difference between career and jobs. my ancestors took awhile before they appreciated my foray to fine arts instead of pursuing a professional course in college like architecture or engineering. we dont have jobs, we have careers. it’s not perfect but we earn a living and we dont have to slave off in offices 9-5 everyday. and we dont have uniforms!
for banksy, his art got the whole world buzzing enough to raise prices on street art and elevate it from just being graffiti. do more and it becomes kitsch, as what thierry has done. but these artists had found ways to do their art and be heard, in relation to the small-time dreamer artist from CATFISH who’s missing out a lot.
art is subjective, and the art world is political. heidi klum says it best, “one day you’re in, and the next day you’re out.”
it’s the holy week. titatems left for cdo so carlo and i are left with the dogs at home. i guess that also gives us time to finish whatever it is we are so busy with these days. my design work for erik matti’s next film needs to be revised and im behind schedule as it is. and im currently bombarded with images of inspiration for blog entries that i cant write about yet. or artworks that i cant take time to do. i need to mop the floors now.
getting restless again. i can’t decipher the pattern of my anxiety attacks any more since it has become very random and unpredictable. i want to do something else besides prod design! i still find myself doing it though only because it’s my default day job. talk about career longevity, i wonder how them guys go 20-30 years doing the same thing over and over? heaven help me
i havent blogged in a while. preparations for our film project in january is unfortunately overtaking my holiday vacation haha the schedule is anticipated but it’s crazy. ive already set my christmas vacation to 5 days only but if only this month were about 20 days longer, id get all my work done AND have a real yuletide break.
nevertheless, work continues. have a fantastic break to all. hoping to drop in when im in mindanao. cheers!
early this week carlo and i headed to van gogh is bipolar to drop off some floral teas for jetro. it was around 9pm and since carlo and i havent had dinner, we decided to eat there. cuzin tricie was with us and would have joined us but had to attend to the mother so she left early. there were very few diners that night so it was a treat to find jetro relaxed and had time to sit and talk to us. it’s been a while since we were able to just sit and talk.
we tried his 3-course meal that night: virginia vegetable soup with pieces of shredded chicken and some beans, norwegian salmon belly with bowls of cabbage leaves filled with sting’s spicy marble potatoes (we opted for this instead of rice) and a slice of orange, mel gibson’s darkest sin and a refreshing cucumber tea with sprigs of tarragon and mint (see photo on left). a better lighted photo is posted below but we already dove into the drink, enjoying it like kids who picked on flowers and leaves from the backyard and mixed it up for a dare. sorry for the quality of the photos, had i known we were going back to van gogh and staying longer i would have brought my dslr (photos were taken with my phone cam).
we were already in high spirits finishing the soup when the main course arrived. it was overwhelming and i thought the only way i could deal with it was by eating with my fingers. and so i started picking on the cabbage leaves, the lettuce et. al. the downside to this was carlo and i werent speaking to each other because we were so engrossed with the food and the experience of eating it (we’re normally engaged in conversation while eating), though not entirely bad because we savored every aspect of the meal. and kudos to the well-cooked salmon belly, superb. there might be some truth in jetro’s diet since we were left heady and clearly stoked.
it’s no surprise we are fans of mel gibson’s darkest sin. jetro tells us he tweaked it since then but we still enjoyed it immensely– mel gibson’s darkest sin is a jägermeister shot with a chocolate bottom and finished off by a walnut. call it crazy, we call it love.
winding down, jetro mixed us a tea concoction and pulled out all the stops to setup the bed out in his garden with candles and lace table covers. we then chilled out under the stars and talked until midnight. we could live like this forever 🙂 jetro was kind enough to offer us a suggestion for our bluementritt cafe we couldnt resist. we’ll keep you guys posted. i marveled at the dill flowers blooming in jetro’s garden and asked for a few to bring home to mindanao for mom before we left the cafe.
van gogh remains a large part, jetro’s home and it really was just visiting an old friend and enjoying dinner with him. but more than anything, van gogh will always be that moment where life stands still long enough for you to reflect on it. this universe is always worth visiting, a necessary trip to discovering what you might just need to do and unravel things about yourself. over tea, childhood drinks and cabbage leaves.
on american idol season 10: the season started off promising with steve tyler in the judges’ seat and jennifer lopez in impeccable makeup. we had our early favorites, especially casey abrams (crazy performance on “nature boy”) and the toothy paul mcdonald. in fact, this batch actually had a lot of good ones, including james durbin (who could have won the whole thing), haley reinhart (love her raspy voice) and naima adedapo (such a colorful personality). thia megia, who also tried out in america’s got talent, was another jasmine trias, cute and lots of potential but didnt progress much. i dont mind scotty mccreery in the finals but i am appalled lauren alaina made it to top 2. she should have been eliminated in the 1st week of the live show. didnt bother watching the finals. as it goes in recent years, it pays to be runner-up (chris daughtry, jennifer hudson, adam lambert, etc).
benjamin padero 