• by Bleau & Ryder Aquino • It was that time of the year again. Where all collectible, anime, and comic enthusiasts gather to celebrate their passion. Whether you're a hardcore geek or a casual fan, there's always something wonderful in store for you at the 7th Annual Philippine Toy Convention. With rare toys, gorgeous statues, fun games, and quirky cosplayers abound, ToyCon delivers an experience unlike any other. The beauty of this event is that so much of the spectacle is provided for by the participants... from the countless hours a cosplayer spends in crafting their outfit, to the sleepless nights a hobbyist endures in sculpting his custom action figure - the passion of creating something that will touch so many others is a wonderful feeling.
My brother and I wanted to be a part of that... to share our passion for toys in the most kick ass fashion our talents can provide. Cosplay? Let's leave that to the young-uns. Custom Action Figure/Diorama? Let's leave that to the sculptors. The contest that we think we are most capable of joining could be the ToyClicks Photography competition. Being a part of it always leads to me and my bro getting closer by working for a common goal. Learning from last year's mistakes, we strived hard to make our entries for this year's contest be the best they possibly could.
From the selection of figures, the creation of props, the search for perfect locations, and the overall concept of the shots, we poured our hearts into this labor of love. Now, the only thing missing? A serviceable DSLR camera! Thank goodness for friends because my brother's office-mates were kind enough to lend their lovely Canon EOS 450Ds to us. The other problem? We had no idea how to use it! After a hands-on crash course in apertures, shutterspeeds, ISOs and countless trials and errors with test shots, we finally got the groove and quality output we were happy with.
For our entry "The Last Stand", we tried to replicate the feel of X-Men 3 by situating a Real Action Heroes 1:6 Scale figure of Wolverine in an Alcatrax-looking environment, and posing him to look as if he's ready to take on all comers. Unlike the Batman entry, we shot Wolvie in the controlled confines of our dining room. This shot required a heavy amount of props to pull-off- we used a meshed magazine rack as a scaled prison fence, self-made hand-twisted chicken wires to make scaled barbed wire (ouch!), a bunch of metal pans (which we stole from our mom's kitchen) to simulate crates, soil from our garden pots, and various Marvel Legends accessories for junk metal.
Click on the video below for a behind the scenes featurette for "The Last Stand":
For our Takara Batman entry, "Why So Serious?", we tried to capture the Dark Knight in his pursuit of the Joker in Gotham City. Using a 1:6 Scale GenX Core Batman Begins figure by Takara, we built a scaled gothic building diorama using wood trimmings, galvanized iron sheets, paper maché, and Spider-Man 1 gargoyle accessories and shot it at the roofdeck of the Oriental Garden Condominium in Makati to capture that Gotham-esque skyline. Further accents include a scaled miniature joker card and a bat-signal made from a headlamp. Being an on-location shoot, Batman was extremely tough to capture because of environmental conditions like wind and rainfall-danger that a rooftop shot entails. Nevertheless, we persisted and strived to find the perfect shot.
Click on the video below for a behind the scenes featurette for "Why So Serious?":
For CosplayClicks, my brother submitted an entry entitled "The Killing Joke", wherein he used one of the lomography shots of his friend at their company Christmas party from last year when he dressed up as the Joker. I was pleasantly surprised that he submitted the shot since I knew he was initially hesitant to enter a candid photo. But the multiple exposure on color splash lomo spectacularly captred the essence of Joker and I'm really happy that a lot of people appreciated it as well.
Going into the event, we were excited to share the results of our collaboration to the world. Just seeing a fan come up to the gallery and appreciate the photos we shot was deeply rewarding for us, but it was a wonderful feeling when they announced that our entires got awarded in their respective categories. Wolverine (The Last Stand) and the Batman (Why So Serious?) entries finished 1st and 3rd respectively at ToyClicks , while my brother's Joker (The Killing Joke) lomo photo by Francis Inton bagged 2nd place at CosplayClicks. We were truly blessed and thankful that all our hard work had paid off. We'll cherish this memory and swing for the fences next year as well.
None of these would be possible without the support of the following people: Ryder Aquino, it is with great pride that I share this entire experience with you. Aste Gutierrez and Kulas Abrenilla for lending their EOS, shooting location, and DSLR expertise. Francis Inton for his awesomeness at lomography. Edsel Adoremos for helping out with props and lights. Valerie Aquino, Moppet Aquino, Junnis Martinez, Ogie Ramos, Leo Sinio, Raldeen Padrigon, and Franc Pineda for their support. Azrael Coladilla for always organizing a successful convention (it won't be the same without you man)
'Til next ToyCon. Godspeed!
Click on the photo below to view our photos of the event:
It's been a year since I last felt the excitement of making toys come to life. Last year, me and my brother Ryder joined the ToyClicks Photography Contest at the 6th Annual Toy Convention. Overall, it was a great experience for us to bond and have fun, as we both shared the passion for toy collecting and creating digital art. Though we lost the competition last year, the merging of our interests and the chance to squeeze our creative inclinations made the whole experience memorable and worthwhile. My brother and I have so much fun joining Toyclicks as it always turns out to be a great opportunity to learn new things from your fellow-competitors as well as we get to discover a couple of new tricks & artistic techniques that help expand your creative potential.
Our entry for this year revolves around everyone's all-time favorite, super-detective ...Batman. Entitled "Why So Serious?"....the concept for this photograph is to depict the scene that comes after Sgt. James Gordon (Gary Oldman) hands Batman (Christian Bale) a playing card which was purportedly left behind by a psychotic criminal on th loose...leaving us fans in Über anticipation of the introduction of the Joker (Heath Ledger) in the sequel. Think of this scene as the moment in between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, wherein we catch a glimpse of our detective hero seriously contemplating the evidence in hand.
The subject used is the 1:6 Scale Takara GenX Core: Batman Begins action figure which, in my opinion, is the best rendition I've ever seen of this iconic character. The suit is made of a rubber material that pretty much replicates the look in the movie and comes with an alternate Bruce Wyane head. With "The Dark Knight" movie being the theme of Toy Con this year...I'm hoping that this photo will find favor especially with the Bat-Mania going around.
With my brother acting as Style Consultant...we then proceeded and constructed a gothic building diorama with a sculpted gargoyle design in reverence to the look and feel of the classic Jim Lee artwork. But despite the countless hours spent on the diorama, we still had the dilemma of finding the perfect location to photograph the figure since my initial planned condo venue (courtesy of my friends Jake & Cyl Pena) just did not pan out well due to some artistic problems we had with having the Makati buildings too far away to match the look that we wanted to achieve. Thank goodness to my brother's friend, we were able to scout the perfect location to shoot the figure with a nice Gotham-City-Like skyline view of Ayala Avenue from the roof-deck of the Oriental Gardens Condominium in Makati.
If you wanna know what's written in the card that Batman's holding...I suggest you take a look at the behind-the-scenes video I made below and watch until the end credits. =)
Shoutout raves of thanks goes to my partner Ryder Aquino (could not have done this without you), Kulas Abrenilla and Aste Gutierrez (for lending a nice DSLR and providing a Shooting Location), and Edsel Adoremos (for helping me carry all my gear to the 32nd Floor of Oriental Garden Condominium).
As I predicted, a lot of the entries for ToyClicks 2008 are awesome and inspiring. I bet it's gonna be a tough and exciting competition to win but at the end of the day...I feel that its the fun of the entire experience that counts.
“I am not alone at all, I thought. I was never alone at all. And that, of course, is the message of Christmas. We are never alone. Not when the night is darkest, the wind coldest, the world seemingly most indifferent. For this is still the time God chooses.”
“A Merry Christmas to everybody! A Happy New Year to all the World!”
Chanced upon a post of my friend Dave Quitoriano about the what a Blog really means in today's society. If you're a blogger who wants people to understand why you have a blog and how it works, this video is for you.
Below is a brief explanation how "Social Networking" sites work and why they are so popular in today's generation.
It may also be helpful to know the power of social bookmarking and how it works to make web pages easier to remember, organize and share.
All videos were made by CommonCraft Productions who makes different types of short explanatory video clips covering topics like social media, social bookmarking and lately even zombies.
As I logged-on to Multiply today, I noticed that the Global Navigation Menu changed. Instead of the usual "My Multiply" tab, I now see an "Inbox" tab which got me quite confused at first. After figuring out that it's not an inbox for Personal Messages, I saw a post from my online buddy Bindra about some changes he noticed as follows:
Re-arrangement of global navigation
New default theme for newly created user (also available for old users)
Additional themes for selection (polled from group)
Recipes and Market are back!
New default posting option (Everyone, Network, etc.)
More options on Custom Filter
Some hardcoded styles in HTML are removed (good news for theme designers)
Multimedia reply, WOW!!! (look at the right hand of comment entry)
Faster loading multimedia (reported from user)
It's nice that there is now a multimedia response section but do you really think that it'll pick-up? Similar to Cellphone calls vs. 3G Video Calls vs. Text/MMS...this is what Multiply offers to us now... except of course everything is free! I believe that a good portion of Pinoy users will still choose to make text responses rather than place an audio or video message 'coz it seems to be more exciting and gives you more time to think about what you want to say. I also think that a level of excitement arises from the mystery effect you get when you write behind a cool user name with a quirky avatar headshot. Plus of course there is the hassle of setting up a mic & webcam and making sure you look good on video.
I'm kinda curious to see which kind of response option will really be predominant at Multiply. Hope you could take time out to answer the poll question!
If you see this picture moving CLOCKWISE, that means you're using the RIGHT PART of your brain more; that which governs intuitive, holistic, and random processes and is more visual and creative. You see the whole picture first then focus on the details after.
If you see the woman rotating COUNTER-CLOCKWISE, that means you're more LEFT-BRAINED: logical, analytical, and sequential. You tend to see the details first, then put them together to form a bigger picture.
The first time I saw this image, it was turning counter-clockwise and it lasted for a few seconds then shifted to a clockwise rotation. This is so baffling. I thought it was a hoax 'coz it kept shifting from my point of view. But the ultimate test is to have another person view it with you simultaneously. I tried it with my wife and we kept viewing it differently. I guess that only goes to show that we complement each other in our way of thinking.
Talk about geeky-ness to the max! Apparently two guys went trick or treating around Florida in their iPhone...actually it's politically correct to say that they were iPhone's that day. The thickness makes them look more like 80s phones but if they were going for geekiest Halloween costume ever, they nailed it. Btw, these guy's score another point for the LCD screens....you just have to love the screens on those costumes..hmmm. I wonder if they're touch screens?
Thanks to my brother's constant web surfing, I was able to see this post from Superhero Hype! It has been reported that Best Buy, Target and Circuit City will be offering their own exclusive freebies along with the Transformers DVD on October 16 in the U.S.
I still don't know if any of these will be made available here in Manila. But what I do know is that a lot of local fans are excited for the release of this movie on DVD... but before deciding to get a Pirated Copy in Quiapo, take a look at the goodies which are in store for each DVD Exclusive Package.
We'll start with Best Buy, which will include two toys in a gift set. The toys below were made exclusively for Best Buy:
Next up are images of Target's transforming DVD package. This DVD is definitely more than meets the eye! Not only does this Collector's Pack contain the mega-blockbuster live action Transformers movie by Michael Bay, but the packaging can be transformed into a 15" tall Optimus Prime! What better way to celebrate the arrival on DVD of this epic sci-fi adventure than by transforming it into your very own Autobot!
And finally, here is Circuit City's gift card it will offer along with the DVD which includes about 15 minutes of exclusive online content.
This is an Update of My Previous Blog Entry. I finally bought one for myself.
Go see the Bebot MTV I made below featuring my Beatmix Bumblebee.
The Transformers movie has hit the theaters and the endless pimping of merchandise has begun. That having been said, get a load of the Beatmix Bumblebee.
The Transformers Electronic Beatmix Bumblebee Figure is coming from another planet to interface with your iPods and MP3 players, and when he does, there will be plenty of dancing! This little guy will remix your music and get down to the beat, transforming your tunes into a mad remix that would make a DJ proud. (Or at least, a very young DJ proud.) Why settle for non-dancing toys when this one is going to make your day all the more fun.
I thought the Autobots came to Earth to wage war against the Decepticons. Apparently they just wanted to pop and lock on the dance floor.
I finally got the chance to get my hands on one and I decided to make this MTV just for kicks. I just can't let the latest star of my desk space go unnoticed. I'm such a sucker for toys & gadgets!
Btw, the speaker's aren't that great. There's no treble or bass control and you can only change the volume levels from your music device. It's also battery operated only without any AC to DC adapter socket option. So don't expect to spend countless hours listening to you MP3 player on this. However, what I find really cool is the manufacturer's attention to detail and the toy's paint job. Personally, despite the Mascot-Sized head proportions, I think this is the most movie-accurate toy version of Bumblebee. The sound recording and mixing is a pretty cool feature in addition to the toys dancing capability. If you're looking to impress your friends with a nice Desk Space Display...you'd probably wanna check this out!
Have you seen the 2007 Transformers movie ? I've seen it twice but I was still at a loss trying to figure out how Optimus Prime transformed from Truck to Robot mode. It's a good thing my brother chanced upon Ben Procter's site which I have featured in my links page. Ben Procter happens to be the lead designer commissioned to bring to life the Transformers robots we have learned to love way back in 1984. I was very resistant to his designs when I first saw them on the web...I guess I was stuck in being a fan-boy obsessed with the original robot designs. Later on, I eventually learned to appreciate the intricacies of Ben Procter's designs . His website is getting a lot of hits lately and often exceeds its bandwidth limit. There are also browser issues that prevents Mozilla and Safari users from accessing interesting embeded Quicktime and JPEG Test shots of the Transformers. I've posted below the various CGI test shots that have been downloaded from his website. If you want to see the Transformers Concept Art click here.
If Shia LaBeouf's (Spike Witwicky) character in the Transformers movie went to the used car dealer at the other side of the street....he could've gotten this Autobot instead! =)
I saw these two video posts at YouTube and I found them way too cool... so i decided to share it with you. The best part is that i that the first video not only rolls out but it also walks! Notice how the robot poses in a fighting stance towards the end. Nice Touch! I wish Michael Bay had a bigger version of this for the movie. Wouldn't it be great if the robot looked like anyone of the Autobots in Transformers G1. =)
The second video features a Spider-like Robot that could transform to a Humanoid form and do splits. Check it out and see for yourself!
I accidentally discovered the "My Heritage" site fin one of my friend's testimonial over at Friendster. Some local artists like Jericho Rosales, Christian Bautista, Eric Santos, Rachelle Anne Go, etc. are included in their database. The funny thing is, when I tried uploading photos of Eric Santos & Christian Bautista, no matches to their database photos were found. I guess it's really not that accurate. However, I did have a lot of fun playing around with the faces of my friends and family. See for yourself ! =)
Moppet ChecheOgieBleau J. MartinGoldFrankEspieRomulusLeo Ryder Edsel Tita Flor
My brother Ryder and I had a blast the past two weeks preparing for our two entries to the Toy Clicks Photography Contest for the 6th Annual Philippine Toy Convention held at the Megatrade Hall from June 16 to 17, 2007.
We decided to work on capturing a realistic take on two of the most famous robots in the Philippines namely Voltes V and Optimus Prime. We chose these two robot characters primarily for the appeal they have to many local fans whose age segment spans across both our generations. Born in a CGI-less time, our childhood years were spent dreaming of seeing these two robots in a live-action setting. Despite the upcoming Transformers movie (which I believe has nicely rendered & very cool CGI robots), we opted to make our childhood dreams into reality by joining this contest and make our toys come into life.
We basically went thru four stages in getting our final artwork entries done. First we had to choose the poses we wanted for the toy robots. After which, we had to execute the actual photo shoot amaking sure that we have the perfect lighting. Next we had to search for the appropriate background sources and elements that would match the angles and light sources of the photos taken. And finally we had to do extensive Photoshop manipulations not only to make the toys look like they’re in the background environment but also to render most of the plastic parts to look visually enticing and photo-realistic by adding grime, oil stains, chipped paint, bullet holes, ambient refelections, and metal textures. After a lot of trial(s) and error(s) and after several Gigabytes of hard drive space, we were able to achieve a realistic take on Optimus Prime’s classic transformation sequence as well as an awesome “What If Voltes V was in a real battle in the city” scenario. We never expected that we could achieve the final rendering we were able to create but everything just fell into place without my brother and I ever getting into an argument on creative takes. I guess, we just clicked as team and complimented each other in terms of technical acumen and creative style. Overall, it was a great learning experience for both of us and we enjoyed spending a lot of time collaborating with each other. Although we did not win the contest, we both feel that the time and effort spent was well worth it. Thru this experience I have gained profound respect for my brother’s talent and I just can’t wait to work with him again in future endeavors.
Credit is due to Jervy Santiago for helping us photograph some of the subject references, Jose Lieban for the city background and ILM for the missiles, grime and metal texture effects we used. Posted are the ‘before and after’ manipulation takes on our final entries.
Click here to view the Mulitply album for the alternate versions of our final designs.
Click here to view other entries to the Toyclicks Photography Contest of the 6th Annual Philippine Toy Convention .
Reflections
