The filming for the music video of Ben&Ben’s version of “The Way You Look at Me” took ten hours and an entire day to shoot.
This was revealed to PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) by director and Shift Studios CEO, Blasgil Tanquilut, who, at the time of this virtual interview on Wednesday, was going through the music video for last-minute edits.
The music video features the hit love team of Kapuso stars Barbie Forteza and David Licauco from the critically acclaimed GMA-7 primetime series, Maria Clara at Ibarra.
Recalled Blasgil, “We started a little bit late because I think galing pa yata sa shoot or project sila Barbie or David, kaya ramdam na ramdam ko na pagod sila.
“But they were so professional the whole time. Honestly, it was so smooth.
"It was easy to work with David and Barbie because number one, they already have the chemistry, and number two, the moment they hear the direction and the story, they easily portrayed the characters.”
“The Way You Look At Me” music video will premiere tomorrow evening, Saturday, March 25, 2023, at 7:00 p.m., on the official YouTube channel of Universal Records Philippines.
CHOOSING BARBIE AND DAVID
Penned by American songwriters Andrew Fromm and Keith Follese, “The Way You Look At Me” catapulted Christian Bautista to fame when the song first hit the airwaves in 2004.
The song’s popularity even reached Indonesia, where Christian, to this day, enjoys a huge following among music fans there.
This year marks Christian’s 20th anniversary in show business.
Said Kathleen Dy-Go, managing director for Universal Records Philippines, “As of last year, we started working on a tribute album for him; and siyempre, part of this is his biggest song, ‘The Way You Look At Me.’
“Ang napili talaga namin na kumanta nito is Ben&Ben. We worked with Sony [Music Philippines, Ben&Ben’s record label] to make sure na mangyayari ito.”
Then there’s the accompanying music video to go with the song.
Amidst the conceptualization stage, the onscreen tandem of Barbie and David in Maria Clara at Ibarra was creating buzz and charming viewers, young and old.
Could their magic work this time in a music video?
Smiled Kathleen, “We had a long time figuring out who would be the best love team to do this music video.
"And nagkataon talaga na, I don’t know, siguro in God’s time, yung Barbie and David talaga ang napili namin.
“We’ve known kasi David Licauco ever since he won in a male pageant during his early years, so I’m familiar with him.
“Then he was paired na with Julie Anne San Jose for a project [Heartful Café] with GMA and I’m really good friends with Arnold Vegafria [David’s manager], so hiningi ko talaga si David and si Barbie from GMA.
“I guess the show [Maria Clara at Ibarra] rin was such a huge success. We wanted to, of course, come up with a follow-up din with their tandem, si David and si Barbie.”
barbie forteza and david licauco's "UNDENIABLE CHEMISTRY"
Blasgil picked Tagaytay as the setting for the music video, citing the location’s romantic vibe as perfect for a love story.
He reasoned, “The concept kasi when we finalized the idea, sabi ko dapat ito sweet. Dapat it’s a place or a location where you know you can feel that romance.
“So the first thing that came to our minds was Tagaytay.”
Blasgil had nothing but raves for the ability of Barbie and David to adapt to every scene and situation required in the script with minimal takes.
“In terms of skill, there’s no doubt that both of them are good artists. But one thing that I really noticed is the chemistry.”
He extolled, amazed that Barbie and David are not even a couple in real life, “Kasi I worked with other artista rin, couples, and even talents, but it’s hard to have that chemistry.
“Yung tingin pa lang, yung smile pa lang, and yung capability for you to connect – that is something that I felt very genuine.
“Kinilig ako during the shoot, kinilig ako.”
Present also during the shoot was Jam Lucas, line producer for Universal Records Philippines.
Beamed Jam, “Actually, they’re both easy to work with. As in sasabihin lang namin sa kanila yung scene and then yun na, tapos na kaagad, sobrang bilis.
“Tama si direk, super present yung chemistry nung dalawa. Undeniable talaga yung kilig. Hindi talaga nawawala off-cam, on-cam, nandun talaga siya.”
Kathleen also viewed the music video as the perfect answer to the growing demand of fans to see more of Barbie and David’s onscreen tandem after Maria Clara at Ibarra, and currently, their Daig Kayo ng Lola Ko stint.
She said, “I think it’s more of giving more to the fans because they’re craving for more. They’re really hungry for more of both of them, di ba?
“I hope everyone will like the long-form music video, is what we call it. Kasi may mga dialogues din in between.”
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