This is the mantra of Doctor Who fanboys and fangirls for the year.

Season 5 has just ended, and I still can’t come to grips with the whirlwind of a season that we were treated to. Doctor Who is for me THE BEST THING TO EVER HAPPEN ON TELEVISION.

I’m not saying that I’m a die-hard hardcore true-blooded Who girl, only having been acquainted with the series when they revived it in 2005. So in essence, I cannot relate to Who fans making references to anyone before the 9th doctor.

Having been a big fangirl of the tenth doctor, David Tennant, and the EP Russel T. Davies, any Who fan can understand the anxiety felt for the 2010 run. Tennant was quitting, Davies was leaving, and they’re casting some 27-year-old that looked like a mango and seemed to be their answer to Edward fang-lovin’ tweeners out there.

Thank Moffat I was wrong!

Season 5 has ended, and I haven’t had my fill of the new Doctor and his new companion. The season seemed to have poured all their budget towards quality actors, excellent directors, and superb writers. We didn’t get to leave Planet Earth as much, but this season centered so much on humanity and the Doctor being re-acquainted with it. It was breathtaking.

Here’s the Doctor Who S05 teaser. What a ride that was.

One thing though, I expect a PROPER DALEK NEXT YEAR! None of those stupid candy-colored Power Ranger trash bins.

So is M&M’s sponsoring the Daleks, is that it?

It’s quite hard to portray boxy, paper-spitting electronic devices as sexy, foxy things. That was the challenge that was posed by client, Canon Pixma.

Produced through Red Balloon Productions for SKYCable, the music was provided for by Canon. Through font, color scheme, and some additional elements, Canon Pixma was given a heavy dose of sex appeal.

CANON PIXMA – BENCH
CLIENT: SKYCable
PROD HOUSE: Red Balloon Productions
PRODUCER: Sansan De Leon
MOTION GRAPHICS: Emil Guinto

2 units of P2 HD cameras were used, and a full creative team and production crew were present to mount the commercial. The challenge here was shooting all desired material without disrupting the regular flow of the event. We also didn’t have the liberty of re-takes because the celebrities were on a very tight schedule.

Here’s the first 30s TVC with Angelica Panganiban and Maricar Reyes:

Here’s the other TVC focused on the event proper:

PANTENE SWAP COMMERCIALS
CLIENT: Mediacom
AE: Angelique Malabanan
PROD HOUSE: Red Balloon Productions
PRODUCER: Sansan De Leon
DIRECTOR: Pao Abella
DOP: Arvin Viola
EDITOR: Mao Callejo / Ver Vergara

But is it just me, or is this commercial highly unappealing?

I cannot pinpoint exactly where I feel this falls flat. But it does on so many fronts:

1. The jewelry are not elegant enough.
Obviously, the ad is trying to exude high-end and sophistication. But to me they look like shackles and chains and magic rings from wizards. I think it would have worked better if they went with a medieval period parody.

2. Why are you swaying in the dark?!
Granted that they are attempting a tone of mystery and enigma. It just looks like they’re having a party during one of Meralco’s scheduled power outages.

3. What’s with all the white women?
Remember Dragon Katol? Or Players Cologne for Men? Using foreigners to make your product look “imported” is so decades ago.

4. The music kills me!
I half-expect Count Dracula to pop up.

5. Nobody uses those gaudy mirrors.
Except maybe your lola’s lola. Really, those props are god-awful.

I don’t know if this was a budget issue, or an insistent client, but I really dread it everytime this commercial comes on.

Opening videos for events are crucial for setting the mood and getting the crowd hyped up and excited. Sure you can always open with a host saying “Welcome to our event….” etc etc. But nothing beats dimming the lights, hearing a hush of anticipation fall on the crowd, then filling your widescreen with a great opening presentation.

This opening video was to establish the 5 gaming competitions for the event, plus the 13 countries that was vying for the title of Ragnarok World Champions. Music was by Cebu-based group Powerspoonz, and motion graphics by Ed Lizada.

Watch it here:

With a total of under 100,000 views so far, it’s hard to say whether Tropicana’s viral video attempt can be called a success. But it sure turned heads enough for the media to pick it up.

The music was spot-on, the shots were highly touching, the drama was perfect. Most of all for me, it was a really darn sweet gesture. So what if it was a mere marketing ploy, it got a whole town smiling that day.

As part of their “Brighter Mornings” campaign, Tropicana went to the Arctic Canadian town of Inuvik during their 30th day of no sunrise. The juice drink brand hoisted up a 36-foot-wide helium balloon lit up with 100,000 lumens of light. For the 1-minute spot, they hired a team of Canadian filmmakers to document the event. This was the result, it really made me teary:

iPad launched their commercial today, and judging from the amount of bad criticism they’ve gotten, you’d think they would’ve created a goosebumps-inducing video hype.

It just looks like their iPhone product videos.

In terms of teaser product videos, i’m a major Google fan girl.

Now THAT’S how you introduce your product.

The Call Center of Meralco wanted a corporate video that will inform the viewers about their services, and showcase their awards and recognitions.

Instead of a straight-up AVP with a presentor and interviewee, I developed a concept based on a morning talk show. Ala-Studio 23’s Breakfast. The 8-minute long AVP had a studio set-up, a “live” news break, studio interview, and VTR segment within it.

All set-ups were shot inside the Meralco compound, and the “studio” was constructed in the marketing department’s conference room. Except for the host and the call center manager, the rest of the talents are employees of the company.

MAGANDANG MORNING PILIPINAS
TRT 8:47
CLIENT: Meralco Call Center
PROD HOUSE: Red Balloon Productions
DIRECTOR and DOP: Direk Armin
PRODUCER: Sansan De Leon
CONCEPT and SCRIPT: Sansan De Leon

EDITOR: Ver Vergara
MOTION GRAPHICS: Emil Guinto
SCORING: Ditoy Aguila

To kick-start the weekend, here’s a Viral Vid for your enjoyment.

It’s another one of those “it’s so bad it’s good” videos. Within days, everyone was tweeting Edward Khil, and his video hits went from zero to hundreds of thousands.

It’s a sticky LSS-inducing tune. Best of luck!

I cannot stand watching or making videos that are stuck in the 80s. The 80s ushered in Betamax, VHS, and home video making. Unfortunately, it seems like some of those tricks from decades ago have stuck through to the digital age. If you’re guilty of having any of the following in your video, it’s high time you chuck it out.

1. You have a damn flower vase in your shot.

Unless your company is Encarnacion Bechavez, please get rid of those flowers behind your subject. Worse of all, DO NOT zoom out of the flower for heaven’s sake. That makes me want to scoop out my eyeballs.

2. It has spinning texts and neon graphics.

If you’re new on the corporate video front, it could be overwhelming to see all the neat flying effects and transitions. But please, this is only OK if your target market are all in assisted living retirement homes. Even then, spare them from potential psychedelic eyesore.

3. You’re all singing the company jingle.

A company actually asked me to produce a videoke version of their company jingle, complete with employees lip-syncing and moving highlights on text. If you happen to have a company jingle – break the CD in half and burn the lyrics. Only exception to this would be if Bono composed it especially for you. Otherwise, for heaven’s sake your company does not need to have a jingle.

If you really really insist on holding on to that jingle. DO NOT MAKE A MUSIC VIDEO. Or risk being forever ridiculed.

4. You used every available transition on Premiere.

Or whatever editing software you’re using. Those transitions were placed there for the benefit of sub-par editors who want to wow overly excited mothers of debutantes.

If you DO happen to be working on a debutante video, at least copy edit your title card and don’t put “The 18th Debut”. One debut video should be excruciating enough.

5. Your musical score has “inspirational” in its title.

If your t-shirt printing business is often mistaken for The 700 Club, then you’ve gone overboard with your voice over and scoring. In this fast-paced digital age where graphic design is at its most creative, no one is going to sit through your sunrise time lapse and slow-motion silhouette shots. For me this would only be acceptable if you’re UNICEF or WWF. Or if you are indeed The 700 Club.

If you want to make your video worse, put some hazy cloud around the frame. Make it seem like God is talking to the viewers.