Asian Tigers, Burning Bright!
So after almost 3 years of keeping this under wraps, I feel that this is now a good time to share an effort I am very proud to have been involved in; the developmental pilot episode of ASIAN TIGERS.
Originally developed after an informal expression of interest from Kevin Dickie, SVP for Content at Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific, this pilot episode follows two up and coming Mixed Martial Art teams in the Philippines as they try to train and raise up champions from among the ranks of their fighters. You can check out our pilot episode here:
ASIAN TIGERS – PILOT EPISODE
In this story, there are several heroes – I’ll do my best to mention you all but if I miss anyone, please do let me know and I’ll be sure to amend the note.
First among the heroes I would like to thank are Charissa Pammit from Unitel Productions, Inc., Sol Galang from Independent Minds Productions and Javier Abola from Overwind Creatives. Without the backing of these three people and the resources and energy they brought with them, all of this would never have been possible.
At Unitel I would like to thank Maricel Royo for first seeing the initial promise in the idea and keeping it on file, Madonna Tarrayo for plucking it out of the file and agreeing to champion this program at the 2013 Asian Television Awards Super Pitch event, Cha for directing the development of the project at Unitel and Luis De Guzman for stepping in as the inexhaustible production manager for the Unitel production team that included cameraman Christian Andrew Tobias Nopia and sound man Hapse.
At Independent Minds I would like to thank Sol Galang for augmenting Unitel’s resources with his own substantial capability. Among his team I must thank his brother Mulawin Galang and cameraman Bryan Jeff Duhaylongsod Mojica, they provided essential extra camera operators and equipment for the production that helped ensure we had exciting footage and plenty of options when we got to the editing suite.
In addition to the on-site production Sol and his team produced the title credits at the beginning of the pilot, recorded the voice over with Ebong Joson and mastered the sound of the final cut. Among the troops involved in these efforts I would like to thank Anna Dollero, Mara Bernaldo, Carl Chua, Awin and Pj Martinez for their great contributions.
Like much about this pilot, the post production phase was a multi team effort. Timmy Del Rosario at Engine Room provided a strong rough cut that Javier at Overwind Creatives then used to shape the exceptional final cut the pilot that exists today. They had to wade through a lot of rushes and both did a superb job of finding the shots we needed and editing a sharp pilot. I am thankful to have had the opportunity to work with them both.
Lastly I must thank the true Asian Tigers of this story; the MMA teams, coaches and fighters that gamely shared their lives, victories and failures with us. At Fight Corps MMA I would like to thank MMA star and head coach Mark Striegl, the family behind Fight Corp, Nicho Tabora, the twins Miguel Tabora and Inigo Tabora and their fighter Ric Myler Guillermo Empil for all their assistance and access in Baguio and Manila. Back over in Manila I must thank gym owner of Ultimate Fitness Metrowalk and team captain for Submission Sport Philippines Erwin Tagle, his coaches Froilan Sarenas and Jason Townsend and their fighter Reign Sotto for giving us the access we needed to create an amazing pilot episode.
While sadly, despite our best efforts we were not able to pick up a commission for this program, I am still thankful for the interest and support we received from our colleagues Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific, including Senior Vice President for Content Kevin DIckie, President of Production and Development Vikram Channa and DNAP executive producer Emile Guertin.
It is my sincere hope that all of us can look back on and be proud of the incredible amount of work that went into the ASIAN TIGERS pilot. I feel extremely privileged to have had the chance to work with this small army of collaborators and it is my sincere hope that one day soon I will be able to properly thank everyone involved for their faith in me.
Keep burning bright, all you brave Asian Tigers. <3
