LISTEN: BACOLOD MASSKARA FESTIVAL 2023 Theme Song (with lyrics)

Hear ye! It's the time of the year when,  every October, the streets of Bacolod, the capital of Negros Occidental, becomes alive again with reverie and people start to feel the happy vibes in the air during the BER Months (not becaiuse of Christmas season) but because of the Masskara themes are being displayed everywhere from malls to the streets.
Many already knew how this 3-week long festival started but for those who heard this festival for the first time, Masskara was created because of very sad events. In the 80s, Bacolod suffered many setbacks in its sugar industry thanks to the world p. That event back then caused havoc to the life of Negrenses and Bacolodnons because sugar was the lifeblood of the island. The sinking of the Negros Navigation MV Don Juan taht caused many deaths and missing people added to the injury to the economy. Thus the festival was born out of these sad events. Local artists convened to created a long-lasting event that will influence people to smile again in the midst of hardships. Smiling dancers with masks competed along the streets of the downtown area and people from all walks of life were attracted to the colorful costumes that were truly memorable, fun and creative. For years, its success gradually revitalized the economy and the spirit of Bacolodnons.  Under the leadership of Mayor Albee Benitez, MassKara came back after some years of hiatus due to the Pandemic.  On 2022, BALIK YUHUM (SMILES RETURN) becomes the battlecry theme of the post-pandemic Masskara.  
Fort the year 2023  on Mayor Albee's 2nd term, MassKara has a new theme called Sinadya sa Bacolod and it also comes with a THEME SONG performed by: Kyle Echarri, Janeena Chan and  Anthony Rosaldo . of the 2023 MASSKARA FESTIVAL (WITH LYRICS)  This is Released by Bacolod Yuhum Foundation | 

 

Mother Nature's Balance (The Elemental Machine Photomanipulation)

Model Photography, Photoshop Manipulation and concept by George Pontino Jr

Model:Apple of Manapla

Here's THE ELEMENTAL, an image inspired by the Mayan "End of the World" brouhaha which suggests that our dear Earth will face it's impending doom based on a ancient calendar the Mayan used.  But 12.21.12.  came but nothing happened. We are still here..alive and kicking. Environmental factors and ecological imbalance also inspired some of its final theme output.

This photomanipulation work doesn't reflect my usual favorite apocalyptic forces like a quakes, tsunamis, zombies and meteor showers to name a few. But this time, I like to show a thematic image of how to "Save the Earth from Doom." The image is a fantasy and mechanical theme utilizing my photography that I took of a model posing on a real machine that was used to grind sugar before the large milling companies in our islands were built.

ADDITIONAL NOTE: My photo edit connects with atomic matter, Mother Nature and its elements that are powerful symbols. This doesn't reflect the "Saving the Earth" concept directly but I wanted to portray that somewhere, somehow Mother Nature is real and she balances Earth using  her elemental machine, saving it from an impending doom. Hope you like this... (CHECK OUT THE STEP BY STEP IMAGE BELOW)

(Click to Enlarge images) 

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Tame Your Sound: Alien Invasion Photomanipulation

Photoshop Manipulation and concept by George Pontino Jr.
Model Photo Provided by the model



*See The Making below...

Tools: Photoshop CS5 I Mac OSX Lion I Wacom pen and tablet

My intro will be lesser this time for i wanted to highlight the final and behind the scenes images. This photomanipulation was borne out of a request. Thanks to Ralph Ledesma (a beatboxer) and his photo taken by Fiel Efenio that I was able to come up with another challenging yet satisfying photomanipulation that is both mysterious and cute, in a sense. Inspired by the Japanese cute culture called Kawaii and robotics, I gathered some juice of creativity for a taming scene (Think the How to Tame Your Dragon scene where the young Hiccup tamed Toothless. You get the Idea) Now, think of a robo bulldog alien that seems fierce but made of speakers and headset, but if you look closely, it is an adorable bot creature that's just want to invade our planet with its beatboxing sounds. Check out below for the step by step image

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THE MAKING...

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Pre-Nuptial Photomanipulation for Jun and Che's Wedding (A Fantasy)

Photos and Text by: George Pontino Jr.

Weddings are undeniably special. That's why it takes months to prepare a wedding. Couples encounter a massive amount of information overload and decision-making like, for example, in choosing the theme of their once-in-a-lifetime wedding day.
And for couple Jun and Che, they have chosen a fairy-tale-inspired theme and specifically that of Rapunzel. Challenging to realize bu,t of course, it has the magical and lasting appeal not only to the couples  but to the guests as well. 

BTS SCREENSHOT. One of the author's pre-nuptial 
photomanipulations for the couple

And to realize that imagined magical world, we went to a secret island -- 4 hours away from the capital city of Bacolod in the Philippines by private car and another 30-minutes by pump boat. Upon arriving, the secret island was kind of abandoned and eerie specially when night time comes though there are modern amenities that are waiting for us there for us to use as background locations. 

We had exclusive adventures that of course paved ways to great photography, videos and photomanipulation concepts.

(See our adventure in a secret island for a Pre-nuptial photo and video session)

AQUA ADVENTURE. Boat ride to the Secret island. Oh that branches are so eerie.

FANTASTIC PLACE. One of my shots of the couple. 

The secret island is really a sight to behold.

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SERENE SANDBAR. Photography and Videography sessions during sunset

(Shown are photographer Iyo Gaudite and videographer Edgar Pama)

Che, as Rapunzel, for a  photography session by the beach. 
The bride's make-up done by Carlos Durana

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UNLEASH THE DRAGON IN YOU: Bruce Lee Machine 2011 and 2012 versions

Model Photoraphy, Photomanipulation and concept by George Pontino Jr.
Model: Christian Aldana as Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee turned 71 on Oct. 27 2011 and as a fitting tribute, I planned for something unusual that will commemorate this great cultural and pop icon. I decided to do a Steam Punk-inspired re-evolution machine that generates a young Bruce Lee. Using my friend as a model, I put him inside using a crude-looking machine with a glass capsule. This image is also inspired by the story of Dr. Frankenstein who brought a monster into life. But this one though is different. It's like a cloning machine that  brings back people using the cloning technology.
I hope, through my photomanipulation, Bruce Lee's spirit is here to stay and his legacy will live on through the years and influence more people.

2012 Version of my Bruce Lee Machine (See 2011 version below)

1. 

Additonal Notes: To complete the images, I added "cameo roles".  First, another good friend Jimm Malvar acts as the journalist/photographer here.  There's ShuffleBot (a fun robo costume created by Skippy Gustilo who's US based YouTuber whom  I met  in Bacolod during MassKara Festival). The bot appears as the cloning machine operator. For the effects, I manually used lightning and smoke to give life to the industrial and crude look. And for the glass case, I used a drinking glass photo in which I added some bubbles to create an illusion of a capsule with water and bubbles inside of it.

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Zombie Attack on Apocalyptic Day

Selfie Photomanipulation and concept by George Pontino Jr
Model: Me and and My Hands...haha :D

The late Director and the Father of Zombie film George Romero's apocalyptic vision changed the landscape of horror movies. Everything started with his 1968 flick Night of the Living Dead and came a lot of zombie films, tv series like AMC's The Walking Dead and even a computer game Plants and Zombies. They an are obviously homage to his creations that could possibly happen in real life (just google the zombie ants: Camponotini ant tribe infected by fungus O. unilateralis. They are the closest zombies the real life could offer). There's even a comedy movie called the Shaun of Dead. So, to pay homage to my namesake, here's my personal version and original music"

AFTER. THE FINAL IMAGE done by the Author for his Profile Pic

With the advent of Iphone apps like Instagram, the film look was revived to a new generation of photo enthusiasts when IG introduced aged filters. With Photoshop, you can do filters using a lot of tools. In my part,  I changed and used that mood entirely here using textures and corroded film. I also added scratches. I'm happy with the final image but I'm still planning to keep the "realistic" one.. See below.  :)

BEFORE. Come to me my dear zombie!

So this is the colorful "Before" Image. As a zombie movie fanatic, making a zombie photomanipulation is one image editing work I always planned to do. There's this apocalyptic image in my head that somehow echoes everytime I look at my "Doc" photo which was shot by a friend. For the attacking zombie hands, I took my phone and shot each hand until I have both pictures ready to cut and paste. I placed in on a strategic place on my main image as if acting an attacking zombie is close at hand. Inspired by The Walking Dead's intro anthem color, I was able transform colored images into a dark and somber apocalyptic era where Zombie reigns. (see AFTER image above)

WATCH the author's song about Apocalypse and the undead in this video:

Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE to my MUSIC DEMO GUY Youtube channel

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"Mind your Own Business, Coz Business is Good Up Here" (The Living Anime part 2)

Photography, Photoshop Manipulation and Concept by George Pontino Jr. 
Model: Sheila Guerrero

Ahhh! Taking photos of Cosplayers is mind-numbing as you want to search the best angle that will give justice to the costume the cosplayer decided to wear.  When I saw Sheila walking along the entrance of the 888 Chinatown Square mall, I was getting ready to take a photo but somehow, something stopped me. I saw how she acts realistically as if she's a living anime. It was during MassKara Festival in Bacolod and many people are going to and fro photographing cosplayers strutting their own stuff. But it was Sheila who caught my fancy, so I decided to use a wide-angle lens and shot her using a bird's eye viewpoint. The result of the photo was engaging specially her eyes are so dramatic as well as how she holds her cigar. When it's time to photo edit this photo, I decided a contemporary background instead of a traditional Japanese theme. I looked for tall buildings that can create illusions of heights and, of course, I was happy with the result. (See the step by step image of how I manipulated her photo on this fear of heights-inducing image)

Click Images to enlarge





For more photomanipulation, you may check out my Zombie Apocalypse photomanipulation (Click here)

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