The unexpected hit love team of Barbie Forteza and David Licauco once again dished out kilig feels to their fans over the weekend.
Barbie and David, fondly called BarDa by their fandom, grace the music video of the song "The Way You Look At Me," which made its debut on March 25, 2023, on the YouTube channel of Universal Records Philippines.
This revived classic ballad that made Pinoy listeners fall in love two decades ago was originally recorded by Christian Bautista, and now has a different take courtesy of the folk-pop band, Ben&Ben.
The video lives up to the hype, with the hashtag #BarDaTWYLAMMV landing on the top spot of trending topics on Twitter in the Philippines with more than 68,000 mentions as of 5 a.m. on March 26, 2023.
The making of the music video also had fun and interesting sidelights as told to PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) by those who worked closely on the project.
BEN&BEN COLLAB
Universal Records Philippines handpicked Ben&Ben to participate in a tribute project to celebrate singer Christian Bautista’s 20th anniversary in show business.
To make it happen, the record label had to ask Sony Music Philippines for permission to allow the group to take part in the project.
Said Kathleen Dy-Go, managing director of Universal Records Philippines, “We gave them [Ben&Ben] a freehand in choosing yung babagay na kanta talaga sa kanila.
“They personally picked 'The Way You Look at Me.' Sila talaga ang namili nito. Of course, we gave it to them.”
MULTIPLE CONCEPTS
In the process of tossing around various options for the story concept, the team tapped Shift Studios and Video Production Inc. to work on the song’s music video.
Jam Lucas, line producer for Universal Records Philippines, shared, “Madami talagang options and then when we also presented the project brief to Shift Studios, they also suggested another option.
“But we really end up choosing this concept talaga kasi yun talaga yung magbe-best represent nung song for us, so yun siya,” Jam smiled.
The music video tells the story of a graphic designer grieving the loss of his girlfriend.
He meets someone on a blind date arranged by a close friend.
Slowly, he begins to fall in love again, unaware that the woman he's now seeing is the recipient of his late girlfriend's corneas or eyes.
How did react Barbie and David when the final concept was presented?
Jam smiled, "Actually, yung presentation kasi is through their management, so we sent the presentation to their managers.
"And I think they presented it to David and Barbie and their reaction naman was they really like the story of the music video.”
INSPIRED BY SOUTH KOREANS
The music video was shot for almost an entire day and 10 hours in scenic Tagaytay.
Said Blasgil Tanquilut, director of the music video, “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 was impressed by Barbie and David’s professionalism, describing working with them throughout the shoot as “smooth.”
He related, “It was easy to work with David and Barbie because, number one, they already have the chemistry.
"And number two, the moment they'd hear the direction and the story, they easily portrayed the characters.
“I think that chemistry talaga went so fluid and nice during the whole shoot."
Praising his actors, he intoned, “Like I said, it was really a blessing that we could work with these talented artists.
“Because not only were they able to make the music video, the idea come to life, but then yung peg talaga natin na like Korean style [cinematography].
“Yun talaga yung challenge ko, like from the very beginning."
MINIMAL TAKES
Barbie and David, said Blasgil, were “very natural” in front of the camera.,
He remembered them to be relaxed, but very focused during the shoot, enabling them to execute their scenes to perfection.
Blasgil particularly cited the moment of truth part when David's character learns the connection of Barbie's character to his late girlfriend.
He recalled animatedly, “I will never forget the scene where yun na yung climax, wherein dun na magti-twist no, yung last part, yung last sequence.
“Very important sa akin yung sequence na yun kasi yun yung magdadala ng emotion nung buong istorya.
“Barbie and David in just one snap, when I told them what is the character, what will happen, they managed to give that emotion so pure that I really thought it was really happening in front of me, the scenario."
Even more amazing for Blasgil was how fast and efficient Barbie and David had been in every scene, allowing the production team to maximize time and effort.
He elaborated, “Since our time was very limited and we had multiple locations, I was hoping we could do everything in one to two takes, yun yung crucial dun.
“Actually, one take minsan tapos nagpapa-safety [shots] na lang si Boss Jam [Lucas].
“Pero one take, okay na ko. So that’s how I would describe their professionalism.”
A footage of the scene with Barbie and David seemingly on a restaurant date, with the cameras taking close-up shots of their faces to capture their reactions, was used as a teaser to drum up hype leading to the music video's full-length release.
The director shared, "Normally kasi, we do that on the third take. So they already give their lines para lang.
"At least maramdaman nila yung scene, and then we’re gonna do that close-up frame. Ganun lang naman yun.
"Of course, with the guidance of Boss Jam all throughout the shoot. Straightforward kasi ang idea naman talaga, and big part is Jam and the whole team.
"Vision nila iyan, e. I am just the director fulfilling that vision. I wanna make sure that they feel it every frame.
"Idu-double check ko iyan kay Jam, 'Naramdaman mo ba?' 'Nakita ba yung nakikita mo?' It's very collaborative."
DAVID DELIVERS THE FEELS
David's acting as Fidel in Maria Clara at Ibarra had impressed fans and casual viewers of the teleserye alike.
In the "The Way You Look at Me" music video, David portrays a man stuck in the past, still mourning the passing of a loved one.
According to Blasgil, David needed to convey that brokenness and brooding emotions through sad glances, blank stares, and yes, tears—and he did it effortlessly.
He said, “Actually, it’s not hard. Because the moment he knows the scenario lumabas na lang ng kusa.
“Ito ha, I’ll give you a good idea. So, sabi ko, ito na yung mangyayari.
“Ako pa yung nagpipigil sa kanya, ‘Bro, huwag mo muna ibigay. Ito na yun, but I need you to hold it.'
"Because before pa ako mag-action, naramdaman ko na [David's emotions].
“By the way, ano yun, the first take was the first angle. So, yun yung nakita mong magandang iyak. There’s another angle."
Kathleen commented, having known the actor since the time he won in a male pageant years ago, “Si David naman has always been paired with other female leads.
"I think for every project he’s done, he’s always getting close and kinikilala naman talaga niya yung mga female leads niya para rin mas maging natural yung kanilang pag-arte."
Barbie, on the other hand, was expectedly dependable, summoning emotions sure to tug at the heartstrings right on cue.
Blasgil extolled, “So imagine, in less than five minutes, they [Barbie and David] managed to regain that same emotion for another angle.
“Somehow, for me, ha, kasi I’ve worked with other artists din, minsan matagal yung gap nun so they will need to regenerate, to reimagine the scene.
“But for them it was so quick, and David, to be honest, natuwa rin ako sa iyak niya kasi very natural, very powerful.”
BARBIE IS NOT FOND OF OLIVES
On a lighter note, Jam recalled, smiling in awe, how they made Barbie eat olives, “Pero ayaw pala talaga niya ng olives. As in sobrang dami niyang kinain.
"Parang concern na kami, parang isa-isa lang, huwag mo bilisan. Pero dahil sobrang professional talaga ni Barbie, talagang todo kain din siya talaga ng olives.
“Kasi yung character niya there really likes olives, so yun.
“Pero minsan parang naduduwal na siya kasi ayaw niya talaga ng lasa.”
Backing Jam’s story, Blasgil added, “Kala ko happy siya kasi yun yung first scene namin and then nagulat na lang ako nag-excuse siya.
“Sabi niya [politely], ‘Hindi po talaga ko kumakain ng olives.’"
That experience with Barbie affirmed the actress' strong commitment to her craft, that she'd stop at nothing to bring a character and story to life.
With obvious admiration for Barbie, Blasgil said, “She’s not only professional, pero dun mo makikita yung dedication niya."
OFF-CAM MOMENTS
Much has been said about Barbie and David’s undeniable chemistry both on and off the camera.
Blasgil, for one, admitted experiencing that kilig feeling during the actual shoot and playback of the scenes for editing.
Jam attested, “Tama si direk, super present yung chemistry nung dalawa. Undeniable talaga yung kilig. Hindi talaga nawawala off-cam, on-cam, nandun talaga siya.”
As Kathleen saw it, Barbie and David working constantly together has strengthened their rapport, further enhancing the innate chemistry between them from the start.
She said, "I think they’ve really gotten close. Yes, nagbibiruan naman sila [off-cam] as what Jam also showed me sa mga behind the scenes videos nila.”