Movie Score(s) A Day

I don't know how this entry would be totally related to my blog, but I have to take some time out tonight to write about one of my favorite elements in production: the score. Music is art as well, right? :-)

I can't remember the exact moment when I decided to actually look up composers and find out what kind of work they'd done, but I was always taken aback by music that helped stories be told. My favorite scores have to include Gladiator (Hans Zimmer is definitely in my top 5), The Dark Knight (which I watched just earlier tonight and remembered how good it was), Star Wars Episode II (John Williams' love theme for Padme and Anakin hehehe), The Holiday (which interestingly is a movie about a composer!), The Island (which sounds like Gladiator's!! But I can't complain. The scene where the clones finally escaped was made beautiful and moving not only because of trademark Michael Bay sunset shots, but because of an amazing score at its backdrop), Transformers (Steve Jablonsky and only the first one -- they completely drowned it out in the second one with the awful Linkin Park instrumental), Atonement, and Pride and Prejudice (these last two by Dario Marianelli, whose scores I also love but only when he works with director Joe Wright).

My sister referred a tumblr website to me a couple of days ago -- a site called Movie Score(s) A Day. I browsed through, and recommend it to anyone who loves scores as well! Or to anyone who is just curious. :-) I just added it to my Daily Reads list --->.

In this website, I was able to catch up with my number one favorite composer: Clint Mansell. I first came across his work when I watched The Fountain. It was one of the first times I googled who wrote the music upon getting home from the movie. Since then, there have been many nights of my staying home and youtube-ing his scores instead of listening to my regular iTunes list. I've even watched his movies just to listen to his work (which was the case when I watched Smokin' Aces -- I was so confused at its ending, but at the same time, I also thought it was some awesome revelation because the background music was so bad ass). If I'm not mistaken, his most popular composition is the score for Requiem for a Dream, and I admit, I've heard it in a lot of trailers too.

Movie Score(s) A Day had a sample of his latest work, the score to Moon, a movie I'm not familiar with, but will definitely look for soon. I would have to recommend the listen for the ambience the music creates is definitely of another world. Here are some samples of his other scores as well. Enjoy!

Welcome to Lunar Industries by Clint Mansell

Moon (2009)

Together We Will Live Forever by Clint Mansell

The Fountain (2006)

Dead Reckoning by Clint Mansell

Smokin' Aces (2006)

Lux Aeterna by Clint Mansell

Requiem for A Dream (2000)

For more information, you can refer to Clint Mansell's IMDB page. And don't forget: http://moviescore.tumblr.com. :-)

2010 Calendar

Some pictures of the 2010 Desk Calendar I gave my mom, brother, lola, titos and titas this Christmas. I finished it right on time!

Personally, my favorite design has to be for the month of March. I really can't draw, so I just doodle what I think looks presentable enough! Hahaha! :-)

Happy Christmas!!

Some of my favorite things about Christmas are that:

there is an excuse to put pandas

and moose! in malls,

everything seems to turn into presents,

and it's the only time of year I'll ever get to go into

a candy cane village!

I also love how

serenades help relax from the mall rush,

personal twists are added to home decor to feel the Christmas cheer,

and magic moments come from these photo opportunities

with Christmas villages in giant proportions

and small sizes alike.

And lastly, I love that moment when the mall rush fades,

and I find a minute or two

to capture my own snapshot of the season.

Happy Christmas everyone! :-) It has always been one of my ambitions to help everyone feel the Christmas spirit by contributing to mall decorations for the season. In my opinion, these are the better of the decor I've seen this year. The Rockwell Christmas trees have always been a personal favorite! Seeing the red and green and lights always make me feel the sparkle of the season. I hope to one day be able to help others feel the same way. :-)

Inspiration at the End of a Working Day

Today, I was inspired by

patterns that I want to try out myself,

sculptures that combine function and beauty,

art disguised as furniture,

and craft ideas that I saw online once,

and bump into in real life...

And I'm inspired even when I find out it's a hoax!

Hahaha! This really surprised me! I felt so fooled! Hahaha!

But most of all, I was inspired to do a good job

by a new toy I was given a few weeks back...

I now feel like a real make-up artist! Thank you Marco!

I can't wait to pursue more of it in 2010,

especially now that I'm looking more and more like a pro! :-)

Painting Video on Walls

This is just so amazing that I had to re-post and share with the 7 people that read this blog hahaha! I'm so amazed by this: Painting Videos on Walls! An art duo named Sweat Shoppe has taken it upon themselves to advance the video medium even further by PAINTING IT ON WALLS. Oh my god. Maybe I'm so amazed because I really do not understand how on earth they did this, but in case you might, here's the video explaining how:

Amazing! All photos and story from Flavorwire.

It's Christmas time!

I worked on one winter-themed project this season, but can't really show anything from it yet... I can't wait until it comes out! For now, here's a little glimpse of the shoot waiting to be published! Don't you wish it were chilly here in Manila as well?

It Feels Like Love Tonight

About a month ago, one of my friends from production asked me to style for a music video he was going to direct. Wincy, the friend-director, had made a lot of music videos when I was still studying, and since I started in production, had worked in another job. This was his first music video in a long time, and my first time working with him.

I'm always nervous working for the first time with a director, but Wincy made it a comfortable environment by saying he wanted us all to have fun and be creative in our own ways! He even handled the props and sets himself. As much as he gave me a lot of ideas about the characters in his story (he really characterized them and thought of their personalities and what kind of outfits they would wear very specifically!), he also asked me a lot about what I thought would be exciting to create on screen. A really fun collaboration, I have to say! It was stressful also -- I spent almost a whole week prepping for everything. But at the same time, like he wanted - fun!

Here are some of the costumes from the shoot:

The video is about a couple meeting and getting together, a simple enough love story.

The girl, played by Dawn Balagot, is a comic-loving free spirit, dressing in brightly-colored

clothing, while the boy, played by Gio Gahol, is shy and keeps to himself,

one that dresses in grandpa-inspired sweaters and neutral-colored prints.

They flirt with each other by passing messages,

and sharing smiles and stolen glaces.

He dreams of her joining his taxidermy hobbies, and dressing as old school as he does.

She dreams of him as Batman, coming to her Catwoman rescue.

(I do not have a picture of Gio as Batman!! Well, I have one, but it's SO blurry! Ugh.

Anyway, you'll see it in the video!)

What an amazing set by Wincy Ong. :-)

Somewhere in his concept, Wincy also fit the idea of "Post It People." I totally forgot how

this made sense to me in preprod... but it fits!

And in the end, as you might have guessed, they both feel the love. :-)

So finally, here's the video! By the way, the band the video is for is Sugarfree. :-)

Silver Shoes

I am obsessed with oxfords. I love how they can turn any girly outfit into a cute and boyish one. During our trip to Spain, my mom complained I bought too many pairs and that I wouldn't even wear them all the time (which is true hehe :P). Then, in my Who What Wear Daily email update a couple of weeks ago, I saw this particular pair and couldn't stop thinking about it!

Photo and info from Who What Wear Daily
Worn by Whitney Port

So of course, I had to make a way to have my own pair! Hehehe ;P I saw a pair of shoes in Topshop that were made of stretchable cloth-like material. I thought that would be easy to sew beads or studs on, so I used them, and here's what I got:

I LOVE beading. Sometimes it gets depressing because it takes a really long time to finish a project (one bead at a time!). But with short projects like these shoes, I find it so therapeutic to sew beads on one by one, placing them carefully in their respective spots. Now, I'm itching to find another project to sew!

Wala Kang Katulad

I remember hearing about this video's concept for the first time, and being excited. And then planning the outfits, and being completely terrified! And now when I watch it, I remember when we finished, and being very satisfied after! Here it is so you can understand why:

Sponge Cola - Wala Kang Katulad Music Video from King Palisoc on Vimeo.

Wala Kang Katulad - Spongecola
Directed by King Palisoc, DOP: Mackie Galvez, PD: Marco Ortiga, Art Director: Gino Nacianceno
PM: Mara Andres, Stylist: Victoria Velasco AND THE GREAT STYLING TEAM OF Mon Sebial, Kabbie Rodriguez, Nicole Ang, Karen Ramos and Anna Lou Lagman! =D

This project was probably one of the harder of my styling jobs, but in the end, the team did really well. =D Not just the styling team, but everyone, of course! Life in reverse looks beautiful, and being locked in that circular set for some time was worth it. =D

Styling team! <3>

Don't be a Halloweenie!

Happy Halloween!!! I think we can all agree that Halloween is a lot more fun when you have a great costume idea, and when all your friends are just as excited as you are about dressing up. This year, my friends and I kept talking about our costumes, and even helped each other get ready! For mine, I found this very old looking red dress among my props and costume stocks:

I added these:

and got this!:

Woohoo! My Queen of Hearts Costume! =)
I had the time of my life shouting, "Off with her head!"
the entire night! Hahaha! =)

Here are two of my other friends in their own DIY costumes:

Melsy as a Milk Carton
The most RANDOM costume ever! I have no idea
how she even thought of it! She even stuck Nutrition Facts
and a Missing Person ad at the sides of her box!


Mia as a Kissing Booth
Another RANDOM costume! Mia came over two nights ago,
and we worked on her costume together! We made the box smaller,
and painted her box red, and even added the lip prints!
The red pumps were a perfect final touch!

Again, HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!
With more of our friends: Gege as Spiderman (I'm sure, a hit with the geeks!),
Christel as a Hooters Girl, and Ida as a Penguin! =)

Can't wait for next year!! =D

Untitled Track 06

We were making a music video for class, and we played an untitled tracks cd the entire shoot. It was a cd our groupmate Mia got from her producer-friend Pat (Mia sings in a band called Wake Up Your Seatmate, Pat plays guitar for a band called arch1pelago. Sometimes he also makes beats and calls himself Soaked in Scissors!). We played the cd during the shoot, and only in editing did we (well, not me. THEY!) decide to use Track 06.

At 4am one Saturday morning, we arrived at the location (Cosa Nostra, White Plains, now known as Leona), and people were still drunk and partying from the Friday night before. In the first couple of shots, passed out bodies were only a few inches from being seen. Sometimes, we woke someone who was sleeping on a couch, asking if we could borrow it for a scene. Little by little, We were able to shoot this:

PleasePlease Productions 2007
Regina Aquino, Vanessa Balao, Nicole Ignacio,
Isabel Tanedo, Mia Tengco, Victoria Velasco

This was my first job/stint/try/ANYTHING as production designer. No real roles were agreed upon from us six group members, but I was just always the one that ended up fixing the flowers and adding other random things I brought. I guess you could say I naturally gravitated towards that role; I always loved crafts and decorating when the occasion called for it. You could also say I ended up being PD because I DEFINITELY WASN'T directing, I couldn't place a light to save myself, nor operate a camera besides press the red button so... that's what I did to contribute: fix the flowers. I have to say, I still really like it. =D

'Kada Kwento Shoot Day 2

Whenever I'm in charge of costumes for a shoot, I'm usually a lot more relaxed than when I'm handling props and sets. I handle smaller items when I style - clothes, accessories, maybe a bag, sewing kit, pins. But for 'Kada Kwento Day 2, I couldn't escape dealing with bigger things - spray paint, rubber, tin sheets, rugby. We had to make a Tin Man - the next character from the Wizard of Oz that Jackie imagines appearing to her at a party. With a LOT of help from Marco (he practically took charge!), we were able to come up with the costume using rubber fthat shoes and slipper parts are made of.

This is Gino, modeling the first phase of the costume
for us. It's still black at this point. It seems to fit! Yay!


Using a LOT of spray paint (and I mean a LOT! I think
I used almost 10 cans!), we were able to turn it into this!
This is Marco having fun and imagining himself as Iron Man.


We stuck some nuts (with no bolts) as buttons, and gave him a bowtie,
and on shooting day, we had all the parts ready!


We had every kind of adhesive with us - double-sided mounting tape, blu tac, mighty bond, rugby -- everything that we thought we would need to keep the costume together!
In picture: Marco putting the costume on Gee, the talent, and Nicole, a PA who helped us spray paint and put it all together!


Yay!
I also had to add the silver mask, funnel, silver gloves, pants and
long-sleeved top to complete the look.


And now putting the legs part...


Jackie meets the Tin Man!
I think this is our most complete whole body picture of the Tin Man costume.
We totally forgot to take him with the entire thing!

After around 30 minutes of waiting, the Tin Man could finally do his scene. Gee, the talent who stepped into the role, was a great sport! He was patient with us as we put the costume on him piece by piece, and didn't freak out when I explained that the spray paint would inevitably leave traces on his skin. We even painted his face (again, a great job by Carmie, the make up artist!), and he wore the silver mask and hat the whole time, but he was still in high spirits as we ended his segment. The 15 or so minutes that he was on set were some of the most tense I've ever been as stylist. Looks like even when I'm handling clothes, I still can't escape art dept. activities!

Watch the 'Kada Kwento episode where the Tin Man makes his appearance here. =D

Two Months Later, an Art Room Aftermath

Finally, an entry two months later! I've been gone because I went on a trip (will post about that another time), and because I haven't been able to do anything post-worthy lately. My house had flooded after the typhoon Ondoy (or Ketsana) passed the Philippines leaving thousands more not only affected, but also displaced from their own homes. Little by little, our country tries to pick up the pieces, and personally, my family is trying to do the same as well. Though this was what our house looked like after the storm, we were already so lucky. Almost two weeks later, our house is almost completely dry! And though I had to throw away a LOT of props, costumes, materials and unfinished projects (like the tinysaurs! =(), some things can still be saved. =)

Drying out the paints!


I turned my room into a temporary sanctuary
for clean and laundered costumes and cloth. =)

For now, I wait for the prop room to dry, and see how I can work with what was saved. This country does the same as well. =)

Plug! My friends set up a website where you can see (and even POST!) pictures of what happened during the typhoon, and what is being done about it today. Check it out, it's a great site and you can even join in and include your experience in photos: www.ondoyphotos.com =)