Hangover

Underneath it all, above all things, first and foremost, and at the end of the day, I think we are all fans. We're fans of the music, of the videos that accompany them, of the people that pour their hearts and souls into making them. We're fans of the movies, fans of the shows, fans of the ways our idols have made, lit and written them. Fans of one another. Fans of what the other is able to think of and conjure in his or her mind.

Another thing I love (and will always!) about production: how everyone believes that what their doing matters, how everything pulls through, how everyone (well, the better half of whom I've met in it) loves what they do. Even if it's for a fleeting four minutes of just one song from a band whose had many other videos, it's still made with precision and with careful thought. After all, we are fans of the song, fans of the band, and fans of the craft.

Congratulations on the successful music video launch to Sugarfree and King!! :-)

Hangover by Sugarfree, directed by King Palisoc, assisted by Odin Fernandez. Shot by Pong Ignacio, production design by Marco Ortiga, art direction by Gino Nacianceno. Production managed by Mara Andres, and styling and make up by Christina Dy and me!

An Outtake

Last week, I attended an exhibit with work from 20 photographers and their collaborative efforts with 20 artists. My friend Kaity had some pictures on display, and I had helped out with make-up for the shoot. She projected her own photos, of streetlights and roadsides, onto a nude body, and shone some light on the only 'garment' the model was wearing: a pair of her partner-shoe designer's work. Though this picture above did not make the final cut (obviously, there are no shoes! Hahaha!), I would have to agree with Kaity that it's my favorite from what I've seen of the outcome. :-)

Sue, the model, is so beautiful here too!

Congratulations Kaity and the rest of the 39 photographers and artists that debuted work last Saturday!! :-) To be part of something you're passionate about is one thing, but to choose and pursue a life filled with love for a craft is another all together. :-)

My favorite of what made it to the walls of Outerspace Gallery.

20/20 Likhalayaan Exhibit was held in Outerspace Gallery, The Collective, Makati, Philippines on Saturday, June 19, 2010.

For more of her pictures, visit Kaity's Flickr account here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/likedeux. Hold your breath as you click and enter her realm of neon lights and windblown memories. I promise you, it's worth it!!

Yun Lang

I realized today that I really really miss shooting...

I miss being a part of a giant orchestration of elements. Toilet paper to the left! Band in, colorful outfits! Kids run around and clap! And the feeling of getting a great first shot of the day.

And getting a great last one, too!

I miss spontaneous on-set ideas that perfect even the most obscure of scenarios. Like adding a camwhoreing element to these already hipster grandparents. In a bathroom of vines, nonetheless!

I miss having a dress from the clothes I hoard from my sisters and mom perfectly fit one of the talents! It was meant to be! Hahaha! :-)

And when I actually get to shop for costumes and use them and have them just perfect for a certain scene? I miss that feeling of "being right" hahahaha! Like I made the right choice in that dress, despite all the other dresses I could have bought instead.

I miss using the most basic arts and crafts kind of way to come up with a costume... and have it work! Who would have thought that covering cloth jumpsuits with foil tape would actually pass for space suits? I know I was thinking of all the ways it would fail... but I taped and covered until the very last second! :-)

I miss (and LOVE!) seeing sets that inspire me. This set was made by Trinka Lat, one of the production designers I worked with much less that I would have liked to! What I love about working with her is that I learn a new way to use materials I've seen many other times before. Like hanging balloons upside down, instead of upright! We've all seen balloons in different scenarios, but never like this.

Though I don't know if I miss being coerced by my superiors to extra in scenes! Hahaha! Too many weird things have come from not being able to say no to the director!

I miss the collaboration!! :-) Of directors, their ideas, and my own. I miss reading concept papers and getting excited. I miss that feeling of asking the right questions and discussing the elements so everyone can get to the aesthetic scenario we are all working to create!

Some pictures of the last shoot I styled, way back in March! I can't believe it's been more than two months. What have I been up to since?!?

This video was for a band called True Faith, for their song, "Yun Lang." To introduce the concept to me, director Quark Henares gave me a list of scenarios to prepare for, all of which were very production and costume design heavy, as you can probably tell.

The shooting day was very hectic! We had a lot to shoot, not a lot of time, and a lot of hurdles to get over (like a brown out! And my double-bodying as make-up at the beginning of the day!). I could barely keep tabs on what was going on, what was being shot now, and what would be shot next! I was literally running around the entire day. I was also very lucky to have a great team -- Sarie, Therese, Karen, Gracie... I can't believe I even thought I could style this on my own! Too many baskets and suitcases of clothes to organize and keep neat! I even misplaced my camera for a huge chunk of the day; it was in one of the baskets of clothes.

I'm getting stressed just thinking about the day itself! Hahaha! But I really do miss shooting. It's really a different experience to go through, and I'm very lucky to be able to go through it with people I not only respect and admire, but also some of whom are my closest friends. :-)

I miss you guys! You know who you are!! :-)

"Yung Lang" by True Faith featuring Armi Millare. Directed by Quark Henares. DOP Pong Ignacio. Production Design by Trinka Lat. Styling by Victoria Velasco. Production Managed by Mara Andres. And we would not have gotten through the day without the most charming assistant director ever, Harold Soon! Hahahaha! :-)

All photos from this entry, save for the first, second, and second to the last, were taken by Dom Dycaico. :-) Thanks for letting me use your pictures, Dom!!

Johnoy

This is Johnoy Danao, a very very talented musician and the subject of today's shoot. With his guitar by his side, he makes beautiful beautiful music. Watch out for his solo work coming soon!!

And click on this next link for his music in his duo act, Johnoy & Kakoy: http://pelicola.tv/channels/episode_aatw.asp?video_id=54 (an episode for Pelicola.tv's Alive at the Womb that I was part of too!).

A short, sweet and steady afternoon shoot!

Photography by my good friend Pong Ignacio (who also shot the Alive at the Womb episode), shot at The Living Room Photography Studios http://www.thelivingroomphotography.com/.

Headshots

Nothing's more inspiring than seeing your heroes up close. Though I can't pretend I know much about the faces above (and below) except that they are sports legends (and maybe I know some of their names!), a lot can be deduced from every wrinkle, every freckle, every scar. A story perhaps behind them all!

Tomorrow I'll be tasked to be a make-up artist for a shoot with these headshots as pegs. And though I've consulted with other professionals more senior than myself, taken notes about how little or how much less of a face I should put on tomorrow's subject, nothing will tell his story better than his own wrinkles, his own freckles, and his own scars.

I'll just be there for back-up!

The photos above are all from The Originals, A Portfolio of 16 of the Coolest Sports Heroes of All Time, taken by Martin Schoeller for GQ Magazine November 2006 The Sports Issue. Visit the website for more inspiring faces http://www.gq.com/, though if you get a chance to see the magazine itself, I suggest you look over it too. The pictures printed differ from those online, and the close-ups of Kelly Slater and Shaun White are beautiful!

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! :-)

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. :-)

Soapdish

Some time ago, my friend Harold asked me to PD a video for him set in a magician's show. My initial idea was to hang bulbs around the stage - something I did in the Chubibo video that I've been wanting to experiment with again without being too repetitive. Harold wanted something around the bulbs, for them not to be so bare, too. Of course, I had budget constraints to consider as well.

The shoot was on a Saturday and on the Tuesday of that week, I still had no idea what I was going to do -- until I realized I never used my corrugated cardboard chandelier. I was going to use it for a shoot but I didn't end up PD-ing it anymore so... I decided to use that as my weapon of choice for this shoot.

A far-off view of the stage at one set-up.


A closer look at the black chandelier,
and me trying to multi-task and do make-up too.
I miss doing make-up everyday!


Set men setting up the curtain fall.



The lights at their feet.


A far-off view of the band performance set-up
with a LOT of those "chandeliers."


A bit closer...

I spent two whole days cutting the chandeliers (with Marco's help!!). Some are made of foam boards, others of cardboard... I didn't use corrugated cardboard anymore since it's much harder to cut than foam boards... =)

Super thanks to Ayo and Harold for the pictures! I forgot my camera in this shoot! =( And I think this is the end of me and cardboard chandeliers for PD-ing jobs! I think I'll just make them for fun now... =)

Summer Eyes

Today was my last day of make up classes! I can't believe 13 sessions went by so fast. Here are some pictures of my last two days! Fashion show make-up/Evantrail eyes! =) In summer colors! I can't believe it's June already!

CD and My First Try at Evantrail Eyes
I love summer colors and CD was very enthusiastic about them too! Yay!



Gisella and My Last Day
I just wanted to practice the last session's lesson again,
and my sister Gisella was my model! =) A young, fruity, summer look! =)

Thank you to everyone who agreed to be my model! =)

Make Up School Update

I had three new lessons since last updating about make up school: Smokey Eyes, Make Up for Black and White Photography, and Make Up for Color Photography. Here are pictures of what I did to my very willing friends who were my models!

Cathy's Smokey Eyes
I have to say that so far, this has been my favorite lesson...
And I still love green eyeshadow! Thank you Cath!




Cam's Black and White Twiggy Look
This was my most challenging try at make up, yet!
I attempted a style I never tried before, with layers of eyeliner, and everything...
It's not as neat as I would have liked it to be, but I'm happy with the result
of my experiment! Cam was a great model to work with, super game for anything,
even funky stuff like this! Her eyes look huge in the pictures, something they
are NOT in real life hehehe Love you Cam! Can't wait to try something like this again...
This is definitely the style of make up I'd most be interested in pursuing!


Christel's Natural Look
For Color Photography, we tried out a natural look, and since Christel
already has a great golden tan, I tried to bronze her up a bit more!
I think I could have blended it better, but I love how her skin color blends
so well with the shimmery eyeshadow already... =) Thanks Telly!!