Project: Champions of LOVE
Client: Department of Tourism - Philippines
Agency: UniversalVision
Production: Impact Frame
Director & Producer: Josher Gatlabayan
Rental: Arrowhead, Red Apple Manila & Production55
Color: Vibetribe Creatives
Audio-Post: LoudBox Studios
Music: Glass Onion Production
Special Thanks: Asia Pacific Film Institute
Client: Department of Tourism - Philippines
Agency: UniversalVision
Production: Impact Frame
Director & Producer: Josher Gatlabayan
Rental: Arrowhead, Red Apple Manila & Production55
Color: Vibetribe Creatives
Audio-Post: LoudBox Studios
Music: Glass Onion Production
Special Thanks: Asia Pacific Film Institute
BEHInD-THE-SCENES
After the release of the controversial video, the agency needed a director's treatment for the first-ever commercial of the Love the Philippines campaign of the Philippine Department of Tourism. I researched heavily before I started my treatment, and since the campaign is called LOVE the Philippines I thought the focus should be on the stories of LOVE.
Development — I made a concept that features the many definitions of love, types of love, and the different love languages. Since this is a tourism ad, I also focused on diversity and the campaign's four pillars: biodiversity, environment, culture, and gastronomy.
After my treatment was selected, my writer, Kyla Romero, and I wrote 5 interconnected stories with characters from our top tourism markets. After making a few revisions and doing research backing up the rationale of our concept and story. I proceeded to make the storyboard with my storyboard artist, Ruel Enoya II.
Pre-Production — Since I was also the producer, I did all the budgeting, scheduling, and hired all the necessary crew to make this project go smoothly. I also worked with some of the top modeling agencies to get the perfect casts to play the roles.
Production — It was the longest commercial shoot my team and I did because it lasted almost more than a month. We had to cover all the regions in the Philippines, and if a region was not part of the story, we at least had to show it in aerial shots in the video. The production started during the height of the rainy season, so the constant rain was a huge hurdle. We even got stranded in Batanes for a week during our last leg because aircraft were not permitted to fly during those weather conditions. It was the time when three consecutive storms barraged the Philippines, and to get back to Manila, we had to rent a small private plane because we would have been stranded for much longer.
In Post-Production, I switched some of the few scenes because they weren't quite right, but I am happy with my decision because the surfer characters, Loloy and Oliver, became the bookends of the whole thing. I was also heavily involved in directing the color-grading of the footage, composition of the music, and the recording of the voice-over.
In late 2024, DOT released the video on social media, TV, and many digital billboards in major cities around the world—most notably in New York City's Times Square. We were very happy with the great reception we had with the video and all the positive reviews. This was a dream come true for me, and I am very proud of what we've accomplished. This time, we gave it justice, shot in the Philippines by Filipinos for Filipinos.
If you need a director/producer for your video production needs, feel free to contact me anytime. I would love to collaborate with you and make your project a reality.
