Backspacing In Cyberspace

hello everyone!

following estelle's phone disaster my phone got smashed when it fell on the floor this a.m. i will be using the same number but i'm afraid i won't be able to ID when you text or call because some of your numbers are saved on the phone directory due to full sim memory. please email me back your numbers so i can properly identify your calls and text. thank you.

ric

Collaboration is a great thing. Here's one I'll be working with in the next couple of weeks. The Folio:Fling. Can't wait to start.

The Farm Project is launching the first in the series of interaction events and you are all invited to the opening exhibit of Creativity and Global Crisis; A showcase of Filipino creativity. Featuring artworks from Isabel Afable, Melissa Rivera & Pema Domingo-Barker. There will be talks and other activities.


Also, these limited edition shirts (more at Missy's site) are only available during the event.


Additional details on activities available at Benjo's (Vgrafiks Intern) multiply site.

Let's begin this note with a whine: While other people are blessed with friends I'm endowed with bullies whose idea of friendship is for you to come up with something “creative,” emphasizing, while briefing you, that the deadline was yesterday. This scenario, of course, instantly reduces you into adopting the EQ of Freddie Kruger.

The amazing thing is, you allow such abuse. Friendship is another synonym for insanity. Or masochism.

In this light let me help a major bully of a friend who exercised blackmail, and when that didn't work, resorted to threats of physical harm just to come up with this and post it here:


Insanity is viral.Spread the word!

Two consecutive Fridays of this month I found myself in two grueling shoots in Tanauan, Batangas. I helped art-directing a branding initiative for a client of Vgrafiks, upon the behest of Russel and Chan. The first Friday was allocated for print, billboard and collaterals production that Art Abraham photographed and the second for capabilities video, directed by Ned and Cenon. I will not enumerate the many insanely hilarious misadventures we all had. Yeah the whole ordeal was tiresome but we had great fun.

While shooting the video in the public market Missy went nuts and began chasing random kids selling stuff from crushed black pepper to crackers. She was merrily snapping pictures of vendors, beggars and kargadors with mad glee that I got infected. I borrowed her camera (technically it was Chan's camera but Missy was in charge of behind-the-scenes documentation) and decided to take snaps of curious objects I chanced upon the chaotic wet market.

No, I have no delusions of being Irving Penn. It was fun snapping pictures of stuff people were ignoring in various corners.

I posted more here.

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Hitting magazine shelves this November is the photoshoot Art did for Dana's brands of footwear in collaboration with Uno Magazine. KC styled the whole thing and Dana/KC/Art insisted I tag along as the resident kibitzer/intrimitido. It was a fun shoot and when I say fun I mean everyone's nerves were on hyperdrive due to overcaffeination. We improvised the sittings within Dana's kingdom, flanked by the Baranggay Tanod outpost and the clustered shanties of surrounding urban misfortunates. Charming neighborhood, I must say. The entire time we were busily glancing over our shoulders, half-expecting an Indian pana to sink in our necks. No, that one is not true. I'm teasing Dana!

KC has the scans from the magazine (I posted some teasers before) and I thought I'd post some of the images that didn't make it to the printed mag. (Also I desaturated the postings here)

Photography : ART ABRAHAM
Styling : KC LEYCO
Models : ISABEL DU @ Fabtrix, LANCE HOWARD @ Mercator
Make Up : DIANE DE CASTRO
Hair : RICKY DIOKNO @ KIEHL'S
Also helping us were Dana's Assistants : Chris And Jean

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World Mission Magazine won the prestigious Catholic Mass Media Awards the first time it entered the competition in 2007. (A month later we announced the win in the cover for the Nov-Dec issue. The award is right below the cover image. See above)

Just this evening WM Editor, Father Joe Rebelo sent me an SMS announcing that WM won again as 2008 Best Community Magazine and Best In Special Feature, beating the well-funded Philippine Daily Inquirer in the category.

This is an amazing accomplishment considering the magazine's nonexistent editorial budget. It relies on pro bono contributions from writers and photographers. For almost four years now, I volunteer on art-directing and co-designing it with Victor Garcia (yep, that's Victor's hands in the cover above, photographed by Marlon Lacanilao) and the collaboration gave us opportunities to exercise conceptual covers approach which will never see the light of day in a commercial, mainstream title. It is such a joy working closely with Father Joe and Father Dave Domingues, Brother Fabio and the very supportive Comboni Missionaries.

Congratulations to all the generous writers and photographers (yep, Art, that includes you) who keep on donating talent, effort and dedication to promote an independent, smart alternative voice in the sea of mediocrity crowding the newsstands!

(For more information, donation or subscription please go to WM Blog or the WM Website)

Jason of Unisilver gave us one confounding challenge: Create a very simple photography-based set of creatives for the mass-centric accessory brand using characters to be channeled by signed celebrity endorsers and make the finished images look expensive.

We scratched our heads and stared at each other. How do you visually reposition a mass brand into something that looked premium when everyone from Boronggan, Samar to Aparri to Jolo knows that in terms of price range you are dealing with something that is not exactly,uhh, Tiffany?! To top it all we will be working with mass darlings Kim Chiu, Gerald Anderson, Sam Milby and hiphop artist Jay R.

Regular mortals would have backed out from the project but we are deeply masochistic so we said Yes and sealed our doom.

No, not really.

On the contrary we had nifty time collaborating with Jason and his boss, tossing in ideas, narrowing the choices of character sketches, discarding story boards, and sorting out props to go with each layout. Also we had the most crazy fun dodging death by crossing the insane streets of Binondo during meetings. Clint, running out of time for costume pull out decided to take matters into his own hands and sew some stuff himself to be used for the shoot. Yes, he whined and moaned but saw to it that every single strand of silver chains snaking around Jay R's well-toned body and Kim's elegant neck are all seamlessly put together.


Art and Marlon also went overboard by creating more variations than what was agreed upon. All in all we had a terrific time working together except for that episode when the entire shoot was interrupted by a starlet who was shooting in the adjacent studio. She wandered in our sitting and yakked like a parrot on speed. No, I'm kidding about the parrot on speed bit, but you get the gist. :P
Since Art didn't give me the DVD containing the polished layouts I am posting here the rough iterations of Unisilver's new creatives now seen on billboards, bus wraps, in-store displays and print materials all over the country.

And no, JayR didn't catch pneumonia for being shirtless four hours straight.

Art Director and (now mad) designer Clint Catalan is looking for models for his Fabric event and subsequent campaign for his WORMS line. I will be co-conceptualizing/art directing this campaign to be shot by Art Abraham. Worms is more of a statement project rather than a commercial one so let it be established upfront that models will not be paid in cash. (All collaborators for this project will be working pro bono, myself included.) "So, can you justify why would i strip for you, losers?" you say.

Simple.

Aspiring "Models" will be guaranteed fashion exposure via Worm's segment in Fabric 2008 event to be staged in Embassy Fly on 06 November 2008.

The four outstanding picks will be the centerpiece of a conceptual photo shoot for the WORMS campaign which will be distributed in print (magazines, dailies) and viral (blogs, online networking sites, forums etc). Think high-caliber photography for your model's folio/book. You will be given top-notch creative and photography which you can use in whatever application you deem appropriate.

 WORMS is looking for edgy 'character' faces (boring boy/girl-next-door faces will be ignored. kidding.) Multi-ethnic ones preferred.

Interested parties are encouraged to send head shots (or links to your sites) via Clint's sites here and here.

Thanks. see you at the studio!