Hi2u world! ^_^

Remember this video circa Valentines last year?

Real Men Surprise Their Dates

Returning to the wild world of Ad Land, that little video I directed last year for Unilever Philippines via the good people at Ogilvy & Mather continues to surprise and rack up awards here in the Philippines.

Under the project title: Real Men are Made of Tough + Love’ my friends from Ogilvy last week walked away from the prestigious UA&P Tambuli Awards with a Gold Metal for CREATIVE EFFECTIVENESS, a Silver Metal for INTEGRATED BRAND CONTENT AND ENTERTAINMENT and yet another Silver Metal in the SMALL BUDGET BRAND awards categories.

Not a bad night for our small, surprising stunt video. Much <3 to Eric Yeo, Gerry Cacanindin, Ping Ronquillo and all the other great creatives at Ogilvy that dreamed up the concept, sold it to the client and helped bring it to life with myself, Wish Saliente Torres and Maricel Ticar. I am grateful I had a chance to contribute to this project as a director. Huzzah to the romantics & dreamers in us all. ^_^

Music videos are the bomb! Each time I get to step out and direct an MV, it’s a chance to create visually engaging work. I was given another opportunity to play in MTV-land with Vincent Bueno, a talented new artist here in the Philippines.

You can check out my Director’s Cut for his music video here: Vincent Bueno ft. Q-York: Explode – Director’s Cut

First and foremost, I would like to thank the brothers: Sol Galang and Mulawin Galang. This music video would not have been possible without their friendship and great spirits.

Sol is the maestro behind the wonderful cinematography and lighting you see in the MV, making everything more beautiful. Awin is the culprit behind the fast paced, playful master edit of the MV.

As an honorary part of Team Galang I would like to also thank Carl Chua for his work color grading and applying minor (but important!) VFX enhancements he added to the MV.

All the backdrops in the MV were generously provided by the good folks at Lighthouse Marina Resort. Over there I would like to thank Zed for handing to us the resources of the resort to us and for assisting us throughout the day and night. I must also thank Christoffer Dumlao for his help as a second unit cinematographer.

Here in Manila I must thank Jerome B Smooth for his invaluable help producing the music video and for recommending me to Vincent and his management. It was also great having another opportunity to be on set with Q-York, the hip hop artists he represents. I also enjoyed meeting Andrew Birol, who provided some impromptu choreography assistance to Vincent and myself.

And with the unofficial release of this MV, I would like to wish all my friends here in the Philippines & elsewhere a great summer. ^_^

♥

Thanks to the good people over at Fisher Klingenstein Films my feature length documentary Standing Up: Taking Over The War is now available on Amazon & Hulu.

HULU STREAMING:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/460948
AMAZON STREAMING:
http://www.amazon.com/Standing-Up-Taking-Over-The/dp/B006JIU9US

You can learn more about the documentary here:

http://www.facebook.com/StandingUpTheMovie?fref=ts

And here:

www.standingupthemovie.com

I remain very grateful to have had the opportunity to work on this documentary and for the help of the many people that made this film possible.

That lengthy list includes the Public Affairs Office of Combined Forces Command – Afghanistan and the officers and soldiers of Camp Alamo, including Arnold Strong, John Parsons, Lawrence Hatfield, people I am honored to consider my friends to this day.

I would also like to thank the Afghan Ministry of Defense and the Afghan officers of the Kabul Military Training Center. They gave me a surprising amount of freedom that was invaluable when it came to making this documentary possible. I would like to especially thank Sgt. Shireen from the KMTC Public Affairs Office. He made sure I was able to film whatever I needed, with little hassle.

This documentary is dedicated to the recruits of Battalion 55 of the Afghan National Army and to a better future for the Afghan people. It was on honor bearing witness to their lives and dreams.

Lastly, I would like to thank my family for their boundless support and belief in me. I could never have covered the distance I have without their love and support. Thanks Team Azimi. ♥

Over the past decade I have been deeply impressed to see games change from mere entertainment to one of the most involving art forms humanity has ever seen. The trailers meant to advertise these games have followed suit – and some of them are unbelievably beautiful and well executed.

Take Polish game developer CD Projekt; they have just released a trailer to advertise their new game: Cyberpunk 2077. Whether you are a fan of computer games or not, I think anyone can appreciate the gorgeous visuals and the creatively imagined world and characters featured in the game trailer:

Cyberpunk 2077 Trailer – CD Projekt

As a filmmaker, I continue to draw inspiration from the cinematic art that is being produced by todays computer game industry. ^_^

“To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower”

– William Blake, Auguries of Innocence
I recently chanced across some amazing microscopic photography and found the visuals so captivating that I just had to share it. The infinitesimal, writ large. ^_^

http://www.livescience.com/24194-nikon-small-world-winning-photos.html

Meanwhile! Back in the mysterious world of Ad Land…

… I completed some agitprop for Minute Maid Philippines! They’ve already been posted to MinuteMaid on Facebook but you can can check out the silly lollerskates directly via these links:

[Minute Maid Pulpy’s Improv Your Day]

Band Romance by DJs Gino, Chico and Delamar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GF1o_h6PXc

I just recently finished work on the Earthdance Manila 2012 promo videos! This was easily the most fun I have had on a film set all year! You can check them out here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLRDBq_Qu8A&feature=youtu.be

I would like to thank Carla Lalalalalalala for inviting me to design and direct the promo videos for Earthdance Manila. I would like to thank everyone Planet Zips : Poi Philippines along with Paulino Chan Servado III, Swèét Caneos and Oli Khosiking fo

My work demands that I pay attention and think about new ways of seeing the world through film. Photography leads the way and I try and keep up with great photographers around the world, both famous and obscure.

I recently discovered a new resource for my photography reference material. Your Shot is simply an amazing ongoing gallery of user submitted photographs to National Geographic.

I would encourage anybody interested in truly remarkable photography to take some time to browse through the selected photographs.

They are all stunning and serve as a reminder of the grace and beauty that surrounds our everyday lives. The gallery is updated each week. ^_^

As a director I very much enjoy the creative exercise of pre-production. Sometime earlier this year, as an exercise for myself, I put together a concept proposal for a Mother’s Day video for Dove Philippines.

Though my friends at Ogilvy were interested in my videomatic, Dove decided to forgo a video promotion in favor of radio plugs to commemorate the special day.

I have decided not to keep this videomatic under lock and key. It is true, I have precious few good ideas but sometimes something comes along that I am certain of, this was one of those occasions. Had it been commissioned I am confident it would have trended well.

I drew inspiration for this videomatic from the love my mother showered upon my sister and I growing up. This is dedicated to her. The copyright is all mine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4e5C0pndIgc

Credits:

KONY 2012
Best Job directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu
Various Ayala Land Premier AVPs directed by Christian Acuna

I would like to congratulate my friend Keith Sicat on his recent music video for [Make It Better by Alessandra De Rossi] You can watch the MTV here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeYO9HskRnQ

I would also like to congratulate both Ice Idanan for her beautiful images of the sand dunes of Laoag and Kiri Lluch Dalena for her masterful underwater photography for the MTV.

The colorist Marilen Magsaysay also deserves lots of accolades for her incredible grading of the MTV!

♥ Team Keith & Co!