Thursday, July 31, 2008

Notes On Project Roadkill

Designers of Project Runway Philippines should all gang up and bitchslap the bejeesus out of the goshdarn producers. I am not necessarily Stephen Gan, Isabella Blow or Suzy Menkes in fashion cognition but from a production and art direction's point of view the contestants should file class action suit. Sure, there is palpable promise of talent among the contenders; Given the limitations and the frenzy surrounding time constraints and pressure to deliver I must say the show is off to a decent start. So I smack all the blame to the production and editing for a lackluster pilot.

I was not a follower of Project Runway until recently. I was however a rabid follower of Project Catwalk, something I stumbled upon reading Mich Dulce's blog a couple of years ago and got instantly hooked. (I cheered Jasper Garvida right from the start - I only knew he was Pinoy was when I saw his family during the season finale. I thought he was Chinese or Cambodian or Thai!)

None of the production values of Runway and Catwalk is visible in Runway Philippines. Sitting through the entire pilot episode just intensified my urge to sue for damages. I get the feeling that the filming and the whole production was done by interns on a deadline for the graduation thesis.

Lighting is garish. Sometimes dark. Then garish again. I thought I tuned in to a badly-filmed murder thriller. Or a documentary involving cocaine dealing bust. Colors and fabric details are washed out and large pores and pimples are gaudily highlighted.

Buko instead of Moët et Chandon for the season toast? Good thing I wasn't eating polvoron while watching it. I am all for injecting Filipino-ness to the franchise but it was a scream watching everyone raise coconuts in the air and awkwardly sipping from the straw like it's a radioactive cocktail. A handful of contestants visibly winced. The fantastic back draft of Manila's Central Post Office dissolved into a close up of striped table cloth that would sit well in either Red Ribbon or Lydia's Lechon.

Someone should tell Rajo Laurel that a bow tie looked cute on Alber Elbaz and wearing one in powder blue made him (Rajo not Alber) look like a bearded schoolboy en route to a first communion in McDonald's.

Sound editing was horrendous. Teresa Herrera came off like she inhaled helium and Jojie Lloren registered like a steel wool being dragged across the hood of a Nissan FX.

The hosts dialogs were unblushingly recycled and they deliver them like they are reading the nutritional contents of a creal box.

If you get past the tackiness of low production values and nerve-grating sound editing, it is worthwhile to mention that the choices of outdoor location showcases Manila's cosmopolitan side.

The kids however are brimming with talent, panache and guts. The kind of competitive hunger, optimism and determination that is worth applauding.

The frumpy design of the most senior competing designer was ultimately eliminated.

My vote for elimination, however, goes to the mediocre execution of the whole show.



P.S. I'm waiting for misterhubs' take on the Project Roadkill pilot episode. I am so sure it's going to be a riot. Hehe.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

sa etc channel ba ito?
wala kasi kaming cable channel
ang napapanood ko lang
americas next top model
:|

tara nga
magproduce ka
ng sarili mong show
hahaha





.xienahgirl

Anonymous said...

Philippines nga e. I heard the budget was less than half of the US version. So what can you expect from that?
Ultimately, technical glitches and lack of gloss aside, I thought it was quite entertaining and paced quite well.
It's never going to be like the original because of the obvious cultural and financial differences.

Misterhubs said...

My psyche hasn't fully recovered yet from the tv Holocaust that is Phils Next Top Model so I dont think I'll be recapping or recrapping Project Runway Phils. Though i might change my mind if crazybitch model Bambi does something cool like fashioning a belt out of Rajo's innards. Yeah the Filipinization was awkward but what got my goat was the lame judges comments.

loudcloud said...

X! let me rob a bank first to fund it! hahaha.

sideline - "Philippines nga e. I heard the budget was less than half of the US version. So what can you expect from that?"

i somehow resent that :-) we are superiorly talented than most of our asean neighbors and they can produce decent stuff way better than we do. i refuse to think that it's all the best we can do. where is creativity and the pinoy's much ballyhooed 'diskarte' method? but i get your sentiments and sighs of resignation. thanks for the comment! :-)

loudcloud said...

misterhubs - thank God i was unable to watch PNTM. hahaha. i share your pain re judges comments. go to youtube and watch project catwalk's judges shred the self-esteem of the designers.

one memorable line: "i thought i saw The Death Star approaching!"

catwalk has the most apt line:

"fashion has no mercy!"

when teresa hererra said "you just made it by the skin of your teeth" i kind of winced. i heard it said in other versions of runway, and more convincingly at that.

a sharp critique from the judges should jolt the designers out of complacency.

Anonymous said...

The Buko Juice Cocktail was so hilarious! I mean, like seriously? Buko Juice?

Did you hear the models' shoes' sounds as they walked on the runway? Kaloka!

loudcloud said...

AJ! hahahahhahaha i noticed that too but i figured i'd come off too anal to point it out.

you are a riot! thanks for the comment :-)

Anonymous said...

Sorry but I am a bit lost here since I dont know what is this show. But sounds very interesting about Buko...lols.. Have a great day to you Loudcloud
Ester's Money Journal
Concealed Mind

loudcloud said...

tey! buko is so chic! or at least that's how the brilliant people behind it would want us to think. hehe

. said...

Will.watch.project.roadkill.next.week. Hehe.

loudcloud said...

mugen! will.watch.it.too! misterhubs refuses to 're-crap' the pilot, which is a bummer because only he can come up with insane twist to the whole "fasyon" brouhaha. hehe.

ian said...

oh. the humanity. hahahaha you sat through the entire hour?! wow. i admire your devotion to your crap- err- craft =] i happened to catch the last 15minutes or so, yes beginning from the curious tok-tok-tok-tok of the lady host's shoes to the cartolina-covered windows of the holding room of the "safe" designers... then again, i have to agree- with such an... interesting... pilot, the show ought to have nowhere else to go but up =]

(i hope they prove that being a Filipino franchise isn't reason enough to be sloppy, production-wise. A Very Special Love IS Filipino and it is just almost perfect hahahaha)

loudcloud said...

ian - what can i say? i'm a full-pledged masochist :P