Philippine Film, Photography, and Advertising Art (PDF)

# Hit the Road Part 1 ## Philippine Film Today Digital photography is one of the coolest additions to Filipino photographers today. In the new world, photographers catch memories easier—share, print, and even edit images. They have new ways to express their art, new means to explore, and play with...

# Hit the Road Part 1 ## Philippine Film Today Digital photography is one of the coolest additions to Filipino photographers today. In the new world, photographers catch memories easier—share, print, and even edit images. They have new ways to express their art, new means to explore, and play with light and colors. They have more photos of themselves and their loved ones; maximizing the power of photography to hold on to the moments in time that can never be brought back. Nonprofessionals now have more chances to level the playing field. Today's cameras have evolved with features that attract more people to go into photography, considering the fact that Filipinos are among the world's highest social media users where they can post photos. Today, a camera is like having a studio in the palm of their hand. ## Filipino Photographers and Their Subjects Gifted with nature's blessings and welcoming people, our country has always been considered a tourist destination by many foreigners. Philippine digital photography clearly displays our country's amazing traits, our people's charm, our landscapes, and seascapes' wonders, and other funny, unusual, or memorable moments. Here are some samples of Filipino photographers and their works, according to the subject: ### Self-Expression Using the power of the lens in expressing one's self through unique and creative techniques is one way to go viral. ### Documentation A photo can serve as proof of almost anything we value in life. It can document our norms and practices. It aids us to catch special moments that, if not documented in time, are lost for life. ### Communication A picture paints a thousand words. It can speak emotions to viewers. Like music or words, we can communicate through photographs. Digital photography's high image resolutions help convey messages more clearly. This is true when taking pictures of food, fashion photography, and travel. ## Food Photography If a restaurant or culinary magazine wants a dish to look yummy, professional food photographers know what is needed to make it sell—make food look tasty, prepared, served, and packaged well. In addition, the food photographer should be able to make studio lights not too soft and not too harsh so as to make the food wilt, melt, or sag. ## Fashion Photography A model does not need to always look at the camera. In fact, the projection of a person is stronger when looking somewhere else. A fashion photographer takes over a photo shoot of models showcasing clothes or accessories, edits them, and markets the work to a print or broadcasting agency. ## Travel Photography Travel is an exciting way to live life. The photographer brings home images of places, people, and cultures to share with the world online. As travel became easier and cameras became handy, images taken from all over the world are shared every day, either with business in mind or simply for personal consumption. ## Photojournalism A photograph shows us a moment always fading into the past. What exists now may not exist later. This realization motivates photographers to capture images for newspapers, magazines, TV networks, and news websites. Many pictures of photojournalists are melodramatic, if not disturbing, such as death, destruction, chaos, or socio-political issues. What are your interpretations of the photos below? ## Who are some outstanding **Filipino photographers?** Inherently creative and passionate, many Filipinos have received international awards in photography. Two photographers stand out: - **George Tapan** is a Travel photographer and National Geographic Photo Contest Winner. He expresses emotions and stirs reality to create a subjective attitude and ambience. - **John K. Chua** is an Adventure and advertising photographer who is best identified for his technical superiority and knack for extremely challenging and dangerous photo shoots. ## Philippine Cinema Today Photography and Cinema are two intertwined art forms; there will be no Cinema without photography. Before digital videos were invented, motion pictures evolved from moving shots through a series of photos called film. Photography and Cinema share many similar concepts, theories, and mechanisms. The elements of visual and performing arts are both applied in these two fields, as well. ## Art in Advertising **Advertising Art** refers to the graphic design used to advertise and promote. It can be in the form of photography, digital art, illustrations, and others. Its goal is to persuade consumers or convey a message. Hence, advertising art requires the utmost creativity, as it is often used to communicate thoughts and ideas that mere words cannot convey. As the common cliché says, a picture is worth a thousand words. The dangerous part of advertising is that it is powerful and sometimes deceiving. Words, images, and music can easily influence how people think or behave, eventually shaping societies and history. All our cultural traditions have been influenced by the media around us: what we eat, what we wear, how we work, and even how we treat other people. ## Images affect you deeply before you even process the ad strategy. Brands even use music to produce jingles for their commercials. By channeling the power of different art forms, advertising can connect people with passions and thoughts. However, unlike art, advertising is not meant to have many interpretations but is intended to give a clear message for a specific outcome. ## Who are the key personnel in Advertising Art? In modern advertising practice, the head of art department collaborates with the copywriter to design each project, giving emphasis to the theme, layout, and visual appeal. The copywriter's role is to provide the words and concepts to the advertising art. ## How are comic books created? Comic book artists should not only be good at drawing but storytelling as well. Creating a comic book goes through many steps and can involve a lot of people. Here is the process of comic book creation: 1. **Ideas inception** - A comic book artist usually starts with incoherent ideas that come and go. - Ideas are first imagined, visualized, and played around with before finalizing. - Concepts are always open to new ideas that may improve the story at any time. 2. **Script/Story-writing** - A writer describes the action in each panel and writes the captions, dialogue, and sound effects. - Often, the writer tells familiar scenes, such as stories about family, friends, home, or work, where humorous possibilities are infinite. 3. **Pencil/Layout rendering** - This is when the story is layout through sketches and drawings. - A pencil renderer uses a pencil to draw the panels, using soft, light pencils and smooth paper, as they are easier to keep clean and erase. 4. **Ink rendering** - The final art is the inked pages. - The ink rendered takes the penciled pages and turns them into their final form. - Using a paintbrush or pen, thick lines against thin lines and textures make up the materials and elements. - All ink renderers consider details seriously. - Their goal is to do pages that have the loose energy of the sketches without losing the drawing. 5. **Coloring** - The colorist makes the artwork attractive and dramatic. - He/She sets the mood or tone, separates the figures from the backgrounds, and makes them stand out with clarity. 6. **Letter renderer** - The last big step of producing a comic book is lettering the actual pages with all the words, captions, titles, sound effects, and talk balloons within the borders of each panel. - A letter rendered adjusts the position and arrangement of figures to fit all elements in. - The timing or speed at which the reader reads the comic page is decided by the letter renderer. ## Who are some of the Philippines' well-known product and industrial designers? 1. **Kenneth Cobonpue** is a Cebu-based industrial designer. He is known locally and internationally for his use of natural fibers and materials, such as rattan, buri, bamboo, and abaca. Interior design firms, furniture stores and dealers, and even famous Hollywood celebrities like Tom Cruise and Oprah are some of his clients. 2. **Dita Sandico-Ong** is well-known in the fashion world as the "Wrap Artist" of the Philippines and is recognized for her promotion and creative use of local fabric: Inabel from Ilocos Sur and Piñalino or pineapple fibers with Irish linen for clothes and accessories. 3. **Aze Ong's** art consists of Filipino-inspired crochets turned into clothes, handbags, hand-made jewelry, and other decorative and functional objects. 4. **Rajo Laurel** developed his sense and eye for fashion from hard-earned experiences and education at Central Saint Martin's in London and New York's Fashion Institute of Technology. He received local and international awards and recognitions for his designs and entrepreneurial skills. He is also credited to have given birth to other designers' lines and have truly revolutionized social enterprise in the Philippine fashion industry. ## Fashion Design Like other types of designers, fashion design considers function, form, and structure. This includes material, cost, appearance, and comfort. Clothing types may vary from casual/day wear, formal/evening attire, kids, teens, sports, and specific performance attires and costumes. Runway models are usually slim because they dress, as their bodies have less variance, and the skinny models as the fabric naturally drapes on a skinny frame. A thin woman lets the material look better. Most designers look for models with a slim figure which distracts the audience.