Tag Archives: set design

filmmaking, food trip, laundry therapy, musings, travel

it’s 2023

i havent been able to blog on anything since 2020. the pandemic happened and COVID-19 beat the hell out of me and everyone. while we survived, the government did a shitty job handling the whole thing. and the elections happened and we all know how things went down south. my mental health went batshit and it’s been a slow climb back out of 2022. in 2023, events surrounding us were still crazy so im just trying to keep afloat really.

so let’s just fill ourselves with some personal updates via photos from early 2022 to now. while we all know a picture is worth a thousand words, we still need 140 characters or so to defend their posting. ive been keeping a 25 foot distance from facebook since 2021 and elon is killing twitter so looks like i might blog for a bit.

got involved in a production designers group since 2020. although the movement basically started 201, the prod designers only got to convene during the pandemic. it’s been a generally slow burn kind of thing pero i guess that’s the only way we can work our way around still doing full time shoots and organizing a guild kind of thing. since the pandemic, everybody has been extremely busy hence no more time for org work but we recognize it doesnt mean theyre deadma na to the goals of the group. birthing pains for sure.

we made it to sagrada familia in barcelona. the unfinished church is indeed a masterpiece, created by people who have a vision for the future. that came along with planning how barcelona itself was built. we want that kind of vision for the Philippines. it was tricky staying in our conqueror’s place. we suffered 300 years under them but also basically learned nothing from them. choz.

ive spoken on twitter about what was one of the things that made me realize i was gay. in my young life, my only access to things were underwear packages in department stores. i didnt understand it then, i was 5 years old after all but those pictures of torsos in their briefs made me all tingly inside. this magazine ad of fruit of the loom in his beautiful teal briefs cemented the realization that i liked men. and undies. and penises hidden behind teal briefs. like, i was 10 at that time. so yes, madlang people. bakla na ako bago ko pa nalaman ano ang bakla.

there’s also a photo of me with a superman poster in our family bedroom. again, as a kid i couldnt explain it but those red briefs were my kryptonite. and also whatever was hidden behind those red briefs. lol

how are we so far? ive begun to loathe toxic positivity during the pandemic and facebook is so full of it. trying to live life off social media because of that. outside work, ive been keeping myself with film guild stuff and laundry. if we had money, carlo and i would be traveling all the time haha but also just thankful we’ve been able to see dipolog, madrid, barcelona, and jeollanam-do korea this year because of work.

ive always been a vampire fan, esp with stoker and rice’s vampire lore. the tv series for anne rice’s interivew with the vampire was amazing and thrilling and sensual like it was in the books. this is the definitive vampire chronicles.

im happy our condo community has a recycling program wherein we surrender clean and washed waste to B.E.S.T. im made a habit out of washing all dirty plastics before segregating, and trying to keep paper clean too. i send the stuff every 4 weeks. this august 2022 trash is an accumulation of i think 2 or 3 months (coz we were shooting and i didnt have time to bring them down). here’s how much trash ive set aside not going to the payatas landfill.

we survived shooting a film (IN MY MOTHER’S SKIN, dir kenneth dagatan) in the gaston house in bacolod city in june 2022. the house was also used as location for peque gallaga’s oro, plata, mata, in 1981. as per the owners, the house was used as shoot location very few times (peque used it twice, and then law fajardo, and then one more local filmmaker) before us.

we had the wonderful experience and privilege to film in this complex. the house owner, monsignor gaston, and his staff, headed by yaya francis, and the monsignor’s family were very welcoming. we were able to ask yaya francis not to cut grass for 2 months and boy did all the weeds grow. wonderful! haha

looking back at all these pictures, my year was colorful din naman. experience was enough to say, it had its moments. and some not so good ones. looking forward to other things because there is no way to go but up, right?

cheers everyone! #LAVANLUNGS

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art & design, interior design, set design

happy enervon users

this series of tv ads just came out featuring celebrities michael v., carmina villaroel, and anne curtis. i had the pleasure of working with gian mawo, under straight shooters, and legendary producer dante nora with the over the moon ad agency on this campaign. the brief was originally a talking head against some chroma limbo background. the director, however, wanted to situate the tv personalities in their private spaces, some sort of comfort zone where they can easily take us on a journey to their past by way of pictures on walls or on albums, etc.  their personalities are reflected in that room, complementing the “interview” and the take aways of the photos. i especially loved bitoy’s set only because im partial to interiors with bare cement walls and i wouldnt mind living in that space.

these were the set pegs and the initial designs i prepared. we had to scale down bitoy’s set, making it more intimate.

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set design for bitoy

set design for bitoy

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set design for carmina

set design for carmina

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set design for anne curtis

set design for anne curtis

i eventually reworked my sets into google sketchup nearing the construction phase. while the sets were all of the same dimensions, the sketchup output also served as a guide for my set decorator once we got to dressing up the rooms in the studio. btw, it was our first time shooting at the shooting gallery and wow, awesome studio.

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proj spread carmina with door panel

proj spread anne copy

the director and the creative team of the ad agency were generally happy with the sets so i was thrilled. it was tricky setting up bitoy’s photos as well as i had to configure the sizes of all photos prior to printing them on cintra boards. here is a screencap of the layout i made on a 10 feet x 20 feet wall. i had to eventually take out the photos that showed bitoy’s family as there were ad rules prohibiting us from doing so, i forgot what rule basta ayun.

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and here are the full ads. woot woot!

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art & design, laundry therapy, set design

random drawing

drew a kitchen set design that was eventually cut out from the director’s treatment of that particular tv commercial project. playing on blacks and neutral colors (cappuccino maybe) and brushed aluminum steel for the appliances, plus bright vintage acrylic lamps in orange for a pop of color.

in reality i wouldnt put the oven right next to the refrigerator but sometimes for a commercial, one has to employ creative license and in a second or two, establish the whole kitchen in a wide shot and in the succeeding frame show why the oven had to be positioned at the back of the talent standing behind the counter.

posting that drawing here. drawn via app on the ipad using paper by 53.

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art & design, costume design, filmmaking, interior design, movies, musings, set design

ABOVE THE CLOUDS BEHIND THE SCENES: Production Design

during the shoot of pepe diokno’s 2nd full length feature, ABOVE THE CLOUDS, last year, bradley liew, a malaysian filmmaker, was tasked to create short featurettes for the film’s behind the scenes. bradley and pepe were able to release the first two featurettes that discussed the director’s vision and our 2 lead actors even before we finished shooting the whole thing. the 4th episode in this series, released just a few weeks ago, was about the production design and featured us 😉 as much as the requirements on paper seemed simple enough, it is not. whether you are designing for 2 actors on screen or 500, all film projects require careful planning and attention to detail. watch this vid and see if we actually made sense. the shoot of ABOVE THE CLOUDS took almost a year to do so my hair also went into different lengths and feels haha. cheers!

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art & design, filmmaking, movies, set design

ABOVE THE CLOUDS Production Diary #2

the next installment to the behind the scenes videos for ABOVE THE CLOUDS was released a few days ago. here it is:


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the 1st video is posted here.

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art & design, costume design, musings, set design

expert lagundi

this is a super delayed blog post, especially since the tvc has almost stopped airing.

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worked with direk lyle sacris and cinematographer j.a. tadena on this tvc for ritemed lagundi (production house abracadabra, agency mccann worldwide). the requirement was to setup for 4 different period vignettes for a 1-day shoot. 2 of the vignettes were aided with CG backgrounds but i still had to setup a forest floor for my china set and some elements for the UP manila part. the thailand and europe vignettes were full studio dressups, the latter being the most challenging in terms of proppings.

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sketched this forest scene (above) to give clients an idea of what i would be setting up (below).

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here, our chinese actor (below) is putting a lagundi plant into one of tita tem’s old baskets i pulled out from our living room.

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art & design, costume design, filmmaking, food trip, interior design, movies, set design

i am love (io sono l’amore)

one of the most gorgeous films ive seen in recent years is practically unknown on this side of the world and i wonder why. tilda swinton stars in I Am Love (2009), a sweeping melodrama directed by luca guadagnino, production design by francesca balestra di mottola, set decoration by monica sironi, costume design by antonella cannarozzi, cinematography by yorick le saux and features previously produced music by john adams.  this film is just exquisite, from the opening titles that evoked classical italian cinema to the magnificent modernist interiors of villa necchi and the impeccable tailored costumes by fendi (sylvia venturini fendi is an associate producer) and jil sander (with raf simons) plus the elegant plating and emotion of carlo cracco’s culinary masterpieces.

the deliciously stylish film, set in milan in the year 2000, follows a haute bourgeoisie family through changing times and fortunes, and its disruption by the force of passion. the title is taken from a line from the aria La mamma morta, which is explored in the film philadelphia (starring tom hanks and denzel washington), a scene of which emma is watching while in bed with her husband, during the film. wiki source

the detail that went into the film is beyond words. it was a beautiful showcase of family, tradition and the unmaking of it. every frame of this film is a masterpiece and every scene just breathtaking.  i love the real time take on the opening sequence where the whole family arrives and sits for lunch while swinton, gorgeous in a burgundy dress, orchestrates the household serving the perfect meal from her seat.

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the opening titles had me at hello. it is reminiscent of many old films by visconti, hitchcock and the like

much of the film was set at the villa necchi campiglio in milan, which is a character in itself. the interiors, reckoned the producers, were a wonderful mix of home, museum and prison.  i marveled that the director highlighted the house by showing us not just the main rooms of the villa but also its kitchen, staircases, sitting rooms, entryways and even the househelp’s private quarters.

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“I wrote a script that called for a cube of marble with a big staircase and sharp surfaces,” Guadagnino says. “I was banging my head trying to find a home that suggested great wealth but also a restrained sensibility.” After searching for years, he saw Villa Necchi in a book and immediately knew that it was the one. “It shows the obsession with perfection and details that the Milanese bourgeoisie have,” he says. “Old money always comes with great charm. Their real success is making others believe that money doesn’t exist — and luxury, as most people perceive it, doesn’t really exist in this house. It’s very severe, and feels almost unmovable, like a piece of rock.” source

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art & design, costume design, filmmaking, interior design, movies, musings, set design

60s love on the x-men

i was excited when teaser clips of this film were circulated.  what’s not to love? a younger batch of x-men in the 60s? it’s like porn. and rightly so, with the magnetic chemistry and undeniable bromance between professor charles x xavier and erik lehnsherr, played by james mcavoy and michael fassbender.

this may be the best x-men film out there for me. the pacing was right and fassbenber’s performance is just killer. he owned the film actually.  online reviews reflect a more mixed feedback but im all for this film. weak link was probably january jones, playing the white queen, because she doesnt seem to know how to act.  she always had this blank stare and looked like she’s eternally bored and it’s not a very convincing bored look in the first place!

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but the biggest selling point for me with this film is the 60s look. i thought it was an obvious route for director matthew vaughn to take this movie to that era because he also did the 60s advertising tv series, mad men.  i apparently have mistaken him for matthew weiner haha.  vaughn, a totally different guy, produced lock stock and two smoking barrels with director guy ritchie (ex-mr.madonna) before he went on to direct stardust and kick-ass, among others.

credit for the gorgeous set design go to the production designer chris seagers and his team of art directors led by john king and dawn swiderski plus set decoration by erin boyd and sonja klaus. costume design is by sammy sheldon. i just love anything 60s-70s.  they’re so much fun to look at and do.  full info at imdb.com.  i do not take credit for the photos below.  details on the photos were taken from architectural digest.  im just a fan  🙂

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more after the jump.

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set design porn

found this posted so im reblogging because it’s friggin awesome! this is set design porn at its best!

A selection of some of the most awesome Behind-the-scenes shots I’ve seen from some famous movies. Back when set designs were huge and hand made, when special effects where mechanical and photographic and film stars were risking their lives on the set.

SEE THIS GALLERY HERE: BEST OF BTS  –reposting the photos below

source: Ain’t It Cool News specifically here and here


A self portrait of Stanley Kubrick with his daughter, Jack Nicholson and the crew @ the set of The Shining. Production Design by Roy Walker. Art Direction by Leslie Tomkins, Costume Design by Milena Canonero. Source


On the set of Fritz Lang’s Metropolis — the actress inside the Maria robot taking a breather.


The Empire Strikes Back – filming the Crawl.


darth vader and director Irvin Kershner. i love empire strikes back more than star wars and return of the jedi. it was a much fuller story and direction was so much better. Production Design by Norman Reynolds. Art Direction by Leslie Dilley, Harry Lange, Alan Tomkins. Set Decoration by Michael Ford. Costume Design by John Mollo. Source


the swamp where luke first meets yoda.


Rebel Without A Cause — James Dean, Natalie Wood and director Nicholas Ray.


Sesame Street


Requiem for a Dream — Jennifer Connelly strapped into a SnorriCam. Directed by Darren Aronofsky, Cinematography by pinoy Matthew Libatique. Production Design by James Chinlund, Art Direction by Judy Rhee, Set Decoration by Ondine Karady


The Gate (1987) — Giant special effect set. © Craig Reardon


The Birds (1961) — Tippi Hedren with Hitchcock.


set of Alien. nominated at the oscars for art direction. Directed by Ridley Scott. the alien itself was designed by H.R. Giger. Production Design by Michael Seymour, Roger Christian (uncredited), Art Direction by Roger Christian, Leslie Dilley. Set Decoration by Ian Whittaker, Costume Design by John Mollo. source


h.r. giger on set. winnneeeeerrrrrrrr *drool*


stan winston working on the queen in Aliens. Directed by James Cameron. Production Design by Peter Lamont. Art Direction by Terry Ackland-Snow (supervising art director), Ken Court, Bert Davey, Fred Hole, Michael Lamont. Set Decoration by Crispian Sallis. Source


Private Vasquez (Jenette Goldstein) on the set of Aliens. idol ko sha!  she also worked with cameron on Terminator 2 as furlong’s foster mom and Titanic as that mother with the 2 kids.  source


marshmallow man in 1984’s Ghostbusters


Superman seems flying on the set.


on the set of Mothra (1961) – special effects director Tsuburaya Eiji


Dr. Strangelove — Sellers & Kubrick. Production Design by Ken Adam, Art Direction by Peter Murton.


Tron (1982) — David Warner and Bruce Boxleitner fuck around in costume. Production Design by Dean Edward Mitzner, Art Direction by John B. Mansbridge, Al Roelofs. Set Decoration by Roger M. Shook, Costume Design by Eloise Jensson, Rosanna Norton. source


Nosferatu (1922) — only Max Schreck “lounged” like that.


on the set of Faust.


Godfather — fish-line bullet holes.


Sean Connery sleeping on the set. awaaaard source


King Kong (1933)


on the spaceship set of 2001: A Space Odyssey. *drool* love this movie. won the academy award for best art direction. Production Design by Ernest Archer, Harry Lange, Anthony (Tony) Masters. Art Direction by John Hoesli, Set Decoration by Robert Cartwright (uncredited) source imdb

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like!

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.

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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).

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