Two Filipinos were able to enter the reality show HP Space, which was shot for two months in Singapore. Filmmaker Raffy Francisco reached the Top Three of this reality show, which was aired on Star World and Channel V. The grand prize of the show was US$50,000 and the chance to work on the remake of the film Bubblegum Crisis.
Performer Adrienne Vergara (left) and filmmaker Raffy Francisco were among the 16 finalists who were chosen from the hundreds who auditioned for this reality show. They were given weekly challenges with a new creative task, ranging from multimedia and visual art to product
design, music, fashion, and publishing.
Even though Raffy lost to fellow HP Space contender David Tang, he was offered a job as the second unit director of Bubblegum Crisis.
Rafael "Raffy" Francisco is a prolific music video director who has worked with a lot of Philippine stars. His latest project was Sarah Geronimo's "Right Here Waiting." He wants to direct a music video for Madonna in the future. Raffy is also thinking about hosting a travel show wherein he will spend a few days in the homes of Filipinos in different parts of the world.
Adrienne Vergara used to work as a performer for the Golden Mickeys of Hong Kong Disneyland. When she learned that she was accepted in HP Space, she quit her job in Disneyland. She has been dubbed "Lady Gaga" by her fellow contestants since she won in a contest that allowed her to meet the female singer herself.
(From left) Raffy Francisco, Lora Lee of China and David Tang of Australia were the Top 3 finalists of HP Space. Their last challenge was to conceptualize, produce, direct and edit a music video for an AMP band. The judges unanimously chose the work of David as the best one.
Paula Ali interviews David Tang moments before he is named the winner of HP Space. According to the art director who is currently living and working in Singapore, his first time to shoot and edit a video was for his audition tape in HP Space.
Adrienne (second from right) brought her digital camera during the taping of the finale and even asked a fellow contestant to take her photo with HP Space host Paula Ali.
Relatives of the Top Three finalists were invited to watch the finale in Singapore. When David was announced as the winner,
he jumped down the stage and hugged his family
members who were present at the auditorium of La Salle College of the Arts.
HP Space was
aired on Star World and Channel V. The show was seen in the Philippines, India, Hong Kong,
India, Taiwan, South Korea, and the Middle East.
During the general presscon,
Adrienne candidly revealed how they would tease each other while shooting this reality show. "We kind of embraced these
so-called clichés when it comes to race. We call [Korean] Uni as kimchi and
[Indians] as curry. We make fun of accents of people but we enjoyed it a lot."
HP Space host Paula Ali interviewed the people behind the unique reality show. These included the judges entrepreneur Ban Yinh Jheow (wearing glasses) and advertising veteran Sean Cummins (second from right). They were also joined by HP Space executive producer David Searl (third from left) and Hewlett-Packard vice-president and general manager Dennis Mark.
Since HP Space was a pan-Asian reality show, members of the press asked the contestants how they dealt with preconceived notions about other races. Raffy Francisco pointed out, "I speak for everyone when I say that we viewed ourselves beyond race here. Coz actually, we viewed ourselves as creative individuals. In this show, everyone was equal."
David has been quoted as saying about his experience during the show: "One of the greatest things about HP Space is that it has opened my eyes to what I can do. Up until this point, I have always seen myself as just as a graphic designer or comic artist. Now I have designed a hotel room, worked on anime, put together a music video and designed for DKNY. This experience has shown me that maybe I can be much more."
According to the organizers of HP Space, they decided to hold the taping of the finals at La Salle since it was an art school and it had a function room that they could use.
When Raffy was asked to give his final message before the announcement of the winner, he declared: "Reality is destiny revealed." He later told PEP that it might not have been his destiny to win in the contest but it certainly gave him the opportunity to achieve his dream—to work on an international film. He is slated to work in Australia as second unit director of Bubblegum Crisis.
Marketing executive Heng Weiwei (left) and Senior Marketing executive Shirene Menon (right) facilitated the interviews of Adrienne and Raffy with members of the Philippine press who went to Singapore last December 16-17, 2009.
The HP Space finalists and members of the press were billeted at Gallery Hotel located at Nanson Road. One of the fire exits of the hotel was decorated with the logo of the reality show.
The Merlion is a mythical creature with the head of a lion and the body of a fish. It has become the symbol of Singapore since the city-state's creation in 1972.
According to historians, Prince Nila Utama of the SriVijaya
Empire
named the island Singapura, which is the compound Sanskrit
word for Lion (Singa) and City (Pura). This eventually became the basis of the country's name Singapore.
