Become a World Class Talent at STAR MAGIC's School for the Creative and Performing Arts

If it's about stars getting workshops, there's no other reliable organization to do that in the Philippines and in some parts of the world than Star Magic Workshops. This year, there's going to be a huge change because they've gone the mile, made it even BIGGER... and now call it STAR MAGIC SCHOOL FOR THE CREATIVE & PERFORMING ARTS. This means they'll be catering to folks, kids to adults and hone them in multiple disciplines, including acting, singing, dance and more. 

 What I've learned from the press conference is that they've managed to already do good in the workshops, but wanted to improve and grow. This is why they made sure to get different subject matter experts so that they wouldn't be boxed up in just the ABSCBN grounds. They wanted folks who are excellent in their fields and have them instruct in the workshops too including master classes, character building, music production, and train more directors for live events too. The launch was graced by Star Magic and Production Head Direk Lauren Dyogi, Business Unit Head Raymund Dizon, acting coaches HB Benitez III, Alecx Lorica and Marcel David, theater coach Meann Espinosa, ABSCBN Show Director Jon Moll, Kirby Balagtas, Dale Recina, Troi Bautista who are producers from You Me Us MNL, plus veteran Voice Coach Julie Anne Reyes. They also had coaches of BGYO and BINI Anna Graham, Jerwin Nicomedes, plus dance coaches Mickey Perz, Reden Blanquera, Matthew Almodovar, Aennon Tabungar and Josh Junio. They also had the very talented Talia Concio, BGYO perform on stage so we could have a taste of  what could happen if we have undergone their workshops. It was a sight for sore eyes!

If you want to be part of this, they have onsite enrollment on March 29 and 30, April 5 and 6. Just fill up the form at this website forms.abs-cbn.com/starmagicscpa and follow the directions. You may also follow their social channels at facebook.com/starmagicscpa or @starmagicscpa on IG. Come prove your talent is world class by joining one or more of their classes. Information about the courses are also there. I'm so interested in the Music Production and the Directors course.

ASUS Releases New Zenbook S14, Teases VivoBook S14 and ExpertBook P5

Growing a line of products and innovating at the same time must be hard for others, but not ASUS! Today we ventured to Silver city in Pasig as they showcased the newest version of ASUS ZenBook S14 and teased a few more like the ASUS VivoBook S14 and the ExpertBook P5.

ASUS SEA Regional Director Jimmy Lin says "We will lead innovation with ASUS Lumina OLED touchscreen. We have won awards and excellence over our competitors. This year, we had the first CoPilot PC's, and today we are launching the ASUS ZenBook 14. This is the most advanced AI PC and the most stylish too. Perfect for users on the go with the Ceraluminum material and premium look. This utilizes AI, and the newest generation of Intel processors apt for the laptop."

This is a new standard for AI innovation and design. Rachelle Lozares of ASUS Consumer PC adds "The ASUS ZenBook S14 is our most elegant AI powered machine, available in Zumaia Gray that mimics thin rock layers and crafted with Ceraluminum. It's very hard, tough, but very lightweight and designed timelessly. This would be a good choice for a long time investment. ZenBook's are not created the same, it's one of our thinnest at 1.1 cm., and weighs 1.2 kg with the best I/o inputs in the market. This is ultra portable but last up to 27 hours. It can also be charged 60 percent in a few minutes, using your power bank. This also utilizes Intel Core Ultra 7, very efficient and can perform with 32GB RAM because who doesn't want to multi task. It's stylish and professional, a dedicated AI chip and ASUS apps so you can have more time to do other things "

The ZenBook has a dedicated CoPilot key so you can easily access its features, faster and better than ever before. You can simply ask for things, like recall, Co Creator, Live Captions and Studio Effects. It also has Automatic Super Resolution for better graphics when you need to render or do games in your off times.

The ASUS Vivobook S14 on the other hand is more portable, made even slimmer, has advanced cooling, more I/o ports and made for productivity. It uses proprietary Ice Cool Technology, RGB keyboards and looks so stylish.

The ASUS ExpertBook P5 is designed for professionals who needs more of everything. It can make you work smarter, faster, in an aluminum body. With an Intel Core Ultra Processor, it can be powerful for all those apps and functions you need to do simultaneously. This uses Copilot PC, the most intelligent Windows PC ever. This has an immersive AI Expert Meet which can do meetings across all ExpertBook P5 devices in your network, this is the future of meeting technology in this category.

The new ASUS ZenBook S14 is priced at Php 109,995 , while the ASUS Vivobook S14 and the ASUS ExpertBook P5 price is going to be announced separately late this year. This comes with warranty, Microsoft 365 subscription and Windows office.

Though it looks pricey, you must count the inclusions and the trust you get from owning a unit from ASUS. It's an investment and certainly, a good one you could utilize for school, work or creativity. The thin profile, bigger workload it could do is well worth it! 

Impressive Vivobook S15 S5507 Out with Copilot+

ASUS Philippines just made "creativity" easier with their newest Vivobook S15 S5507. This is different than my S15 made a couple years ago because this one not only has hardware upgrades, but has Copilot+ in it. It's an AI feature on the OS that can help you get information, create unique content fast because it helps you do things in a jiffy.

Harrison Cheng the new Business Development Manager of ASUS says "We always have something up our sleeve because we have 35 incredible years of innovation. The new Vivobook S15 is your first ASUS Copilot+ PC. We have worked with Microsoft for years and we have a broader mission to be in the forefront of AI and Copilot + PC category. This will redefine the way you use your pc. It utilizes Snapdragon X Elite Processor, which empowers you and turn ideas into where magic happens. It turns dreams into reality, it is intelligent computing, the power of Snapdragon."

The Vivobook embodies creativity and it has grown to match any lifestyle. From their Vivobook Go, Vivobook S and Vivobook Pro, the newest one is the Vivobook S15 S5507. It is slimmer, strong and sophisticated. It is also tougher than the rest, unprecedented performance and efficiency, faster in multi core tasks. It's also got a huge battery life, you get 18 hours battery life. You also get OLED Display, gives you a dynamic audio and immersive experience. You can also personalize your rgb keyboard, and can work smoothly even without the help of your mouse. They also have full io ports, and ASUS AI Apps plus Copilot PC+ Microsoft Windows 11 AI features you need for daily work.

The Vivobook S15 S5507 costs Php 84,995 and is part of their Cool for School Promo. You can get a Php 15,990 worth merch together with the laptop if you purchase and register before August 15th. It's a workhorse, something you can use for work, school and play. AI certainly has changed the landscape of laptop computers. If you are looking for one, ASUS has lots of them in stores and authorized retailers.

Proving Acting Chops: Sylvia Sanchez Wins Best Actress in a Supporting Role

It wasn't luck, but sheer determination, hard work, and powerful acting that made Ms. Sylvia Sanchez a worthy national winner as Best Actress in a Supporting Role Category at the Asian Academy Creative Awards 2021.

She's played countless roles, pivotal for most projects and til now, she's one of the most critically acclaimed actresses in the country. The one that she won on the national level of the 2021 Asian Academy Creative Awards was her role as Barang in hit series "Huwag Ka Nang Mangamba". This was adjudged by industry leaders in entertainment and will qualify her to represent the country in the 2021 Asian Academy Creatives Awards versus other artists from Australia, New Zealand and other countries in Asia. This will happen on December 2 which is just a couple months away.

If you remember, Arjo Atayde won Best Actor for Bagman in 2020 in the same award giving body. In his speech, he attributed his success to his folks and actors from the country. He was hoping it wouldn't be the last time someone from the Philippines would win it. With that in mind, wouldn't it be amazing to see Ms. Sylvia getting that for the country? If that happens, a mother and son would win in the prestigious award giving body. That surely will be etched in history!

Arjo by the way is also set to star in the international project "The Rebirth of the Cattleya Killer" under ABS-CBN International Production and Co-Production Division. He's also going to have two more that'll be announced soon. His success has also lead to establish his very own production company called Feelmaking Productions Inc. and you'll see their first project Hey Joe early next year.

Photo Credits on this article belong to BEAUTeDERM (which she also endorses)

 

Ms. Sylvia says "I am truly proud of what my son has accomplished especially in the Asian Academy Creative Awards. Like him, I wish it wouldn't be the last for Filipino artists. His dedication for the craft is insurmountable. I am also grateful and humbled that the jury in the Philippines loved my work in "Huwag Ka Nang Mangamba", I fervently hope the same would happen in the international Asian Academy Creative Awards, I give it all up to God!"

If you want to know more about Ms. Sylvia Sanchez projects and updates about the awards, you may follow Sylvia Sanchez on social channels like FB, Twitter, IG and YouTube. Congratulations Ms. Sylvia! 

 

I am so happy about your recent accomplishments, I dare say, it's about time!

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Cut! Print. Podcast Network Starts POD CON 2021

Just got off the POD CON 2021 this morning and I'm really excited about this. I've been listening to a few throughout the years and I've seen some of them in this joint. Cut! Print. PodCast Network is the brain child of Cut! Print. Productions who are the same people behind the acclaimed short film NAKAW.

Jett Pangan hosted the show and according to Patsy Ferrer the PodMother "We bring in creators and independent talents so we can help them produce. I've talked to Jett Pangan initially and after that, we got several independent podcasters to help them produce content and create their original shows. Now we have 22 of them, all went through our incubation program and some of them will be in the panel later. It's been a good year even under the pandemic, but podcasts now have more reach because people started listening more during the period. We just concluded our event last month and released new shows from our incubator programs. We help them organize their content and put them on trainings, more like a school for podcasters. We have POP Emergency which is a pop culture show, Earpods Pro talks about mental health, Covert Operations which is about slight of hand magic, Chubby Cheeka is about body positivity and women, Kumaretalk Podcast is about current events and topics that matter, Sa San Isidro is about radio drama, Geeks and Gamers Getting By is about how gaming can help you in your daily lives, The Undertaker is about a paranormal raido drama, Now Open is about sex ed and discourse on sexuality, Blogtalk Hollywood is about Hollywood news, Ang Atty Co is about legal matters done in layman terms, Thirsty and Thirty talks about smarter love, The Design Pod is about visual and graphic design and a whole lot more in store for you soon."

Bonnie Pequeña of The Round Table says "Podcasting has not been maximized yet in the Philippines but there's an exciting future for it. Now people are consuming audio content, it's progressing. I've been doing speaking engagements now with schools to talk about young relationships."

Lucena based Jeck Jaca who does Jeck Does Tech "I started this podcast a long time ago, and didn't have the courage to post it. I was initially making it for myself, it gathered listeners so I went really serious about it. I was happy to have been able to do talks in Cultural Center of the Philippines, it brings comfort to have been able to do that and it gave me confidence doing things later on. We have a lot of things in the pipeline, please watch out for that, you'll love this thing we're cooking."

Juan Timay of Nays Juan Sessions says "Based in Mindanao, I first started doing this because I didn't love editing vlogs. Podcasting had a lot of similarities so I just made it as an audio journal which was for personal consumption. I used Binisaya because I could express more, not just in the region, but elsewhere in the world. I made use of that because, why not? Cut! Print. Podcast Network taught me editing and recording, a whole lot about podcasting. I'm currently in the network, and their support is nothing but phenomenal, I felt it is the podcast network for me and for everyone. Soon, we're going to have negosyo sessions, we'll also have collaboration with really nice stories to share."

Shawntel Nieto of Sustainarumble says "I'm excited to be here. I'm a sustainability advocate, and we met last year while I was talking about my movement. We started to formulate the idea of having a podcast that discusses solutions for sustainability for the ordinary joe. We believe podcasting is slowly growing, a lot of people can benefit, be knowlegeable, easy to comprehend our efforts and have a cool place to talk about this topic. Because of this, we received The Diana Award (yes the Princess Diana!). It's quite an achievement more so to be the first Filipina to have it. I've been active in sustainable development in communities, provide food in our cities, and do efforts for our frontliners, partner with restaurants and businesses here in Cainta and nearby towns as well. It's about making it a conversation, about making it not data heavy, explain it casually so people in the community feel they're part of it and easily understand things. We also ask experts we invite, so anyone who listens to it can learn from Sustainarumble."

As a Dungeons and Dragongs based podcast it's not that easy to make it into a show. Jethro Parolan and Dan Areola of You Have Six Seconds says "I've had the pleasure to do this initially on our own and the content was more role playing, and when creating conecpts, it had to be structured. We will try to have our content be right with the holidays of the year, soon, we're going to release this like one shots, a non canonical story. So you'll have horror, more holiday inspired story lines."

Taryn Navarro and Angela Tiotangco-Alvarez of Career Mo 'Te "It's an advocacy for women empowerment, with a multimedia platform posting about it on social media. Now we're producing our own show thanks to Cut! Print. Podcast Network. We're just starting and we can't wait to have more episodes released soon on our podcasts."

Issa Litton hosted the second part of the press conference. She introduced an ASMR podcaster Joshua Von Drake, GMA Network's voice George Boone, Marites for all season and Tiktok Superstar Justine Luzares, actor and The Dawn frontman Jett Pangan, and top voice actor Inka Magnaye. They are part of the talent roster of Cut! Print. Podcast Network.

Patsy says "We manage talents too. It's a lot different on podcasters, talents are the ones we manage. Inka already got a Hollywood stint, we want to see them move forward.

Joshua Von Drake plays the role of the perfect virtual "boyfriend on demand" and will have a collaboration with Inka Magnaye in a future show. They will also be doing ASMR which I'd love to see in a future episode. In the show, Joshua says "It is me, just a little bit unfiltered." George Boone is also doing a Masterclass on his podcast, the legendary voice of GMA is willing to share his expertise in voice acting and the different facets of it. Trending with a total of 10 accents is Justine Luzares and he's glad to have been able to work with Cut! Print. and manage his new found niche. Jett Pangan on the other hand touched on efforts they've been doing with Congress to help the music and creative industry, saying "Governments change but the creative people will stay the same. We hope you check out CreativeIndustriesPH for that cause."

Inka Magnaye has been with the podcast network for over a year. She says "It was an interesting experience to be able to work in this industry and I felt nervous judging there, they work so fast in Eat Bulaga. I needed to step up and observe, learn how to banter and I love every bit of it. The Hollywood film "Surprise!" happened when the producer messaged me on Instagram. Matt Marlowe asked if they wanted me to be part of it and it was an interesting thing that TikTok talents were part of it. We were like their dream cast, they were happy about it because they had to shoot from different countries. South Africa, LA, Manila, we were checking with each others schedules and every time we shot we were like awake in the wee hours of the morning. It makes the world so much smaller. It was shot entirely on zoom. The film is around 10 minutes, I'm so happy about that!"

 

I asked Inka and Joshua about creeps who message them and Inka says "I get a lot of creeps all the time, how do I handle it? I fight them, when they're really bad it feels more like swatting a fly, an aggressive response." while Joshua on the other hand says "I don't really get a lot but I do get some in my socials and email. I respond to them professionally."

Podcasts still have a long way to grow in the country but these people are flourishing. Faster internet, access to it will become easier in the coming years and it's such a nice moment to be in the first POD CON 2021, hearing from these success stories, I'm optimistic that the future for it is bright! Thanks to Cut! Print. Podcast Network for inviting us on their first salvo. Hope there will be more of this soon, if not next year!

How I wish I could start my own podcast no?

INNOVLABS by Synergy88 Digital

If you're a budding technology and programming enthusiast, you better listen in. As you may have already learned on our first article, Synergy88 Digital has already been able to achieve a lot in the past few years and has pegged itself as a world class company that delivers digital creative solutions with exceptional quality. That in itself is a feat, harnessing triple A talents from the country to produce extraordinary game and app concepts, development, 2D and 3D art and animation. Now all that didn't come easy as they had to face a little known problem in the industry, the goal to find talented workers. 

As you may understand, the work they do might have to have had divine intervention but most of it has got to do with the talented individuals doing magic behind computer screens. The difficult task of finding the right person to press those keys and scribble those pens is daunting as it requires the same quality of skill set to match the world class things they produce. The hard task must have brought out the best in them because they didn't even think of putting up INNOVATION LABS. It suddenly became an opportunity to help the Filipino skilled workers  get to the level they were expecting and needed. It was but natural for them to take part in an initiative to share their expertise to partner schools and have them experience, learn and take part of what made Synergy88 Digital successful all these years. 

We got to interview the Senior Manager for Business Development and head of INNOVLABS operations Miker Rivera about the program  and here's what he's got to say:

To add to that, we also had a chat with Ms. Geraldine Yumul, Synergy88 Digital's Corporate Representative on Industry and Government Alliances. Here's what she had to say:

Learning to do those skills in a bigger setting, to get your feet wet, to get those young minds realize their ideas in a the real world, that was set in stone and interpreted to a chartered map. It was also one of the opportunities to see and identify promising and talented individuals that could eventually be part of their teams. All of these would come from proposed theses in these partner schools, they'll help them to make it, train with appropriate workshops and have them use the resources as accorded by their agreements. This will also be properly screened for candidates, expecting the same professional work they churn out in these offices. They have a lot of success stories, but this had an arm dipped in a willing corporate social responsibility too to help uplift the kind of education people get from the universities and colleges they partnered with, teaching not just the theoretical and technical legwork that comes with the territory, but the necessary work ethic on a level that is expected of a triple A level professional.

Currently, they are receiving a lot of interested parties, schools and government agencies because this is absolutely seen as an industry with BIG potential. Imagine how this would disrupt the current business worldwide when we witness the full capabilities of Filipino artists, programmers and individuals who would undergo INNOVLABS in the long run. We know how we're being sought after by people in the same industry around the world, and imagine how convenient it would be for families to stay together because this division is going to be based here in our own country. Nobody would have the thinking of leaving the Philippines anymore because we're capable, we have the studios and armaments to do it in our own turf. That's probably going to happen in the near future, imagine the possibilities. Just think of the countless students and schools that INNOVLABS could help with this program. Thousands of lives would be changed and I'm excited as it holds a lot of promise.

To get to know more about INNOVLABS and Synergy88 Digital, please find their contact details via their official website www.synergy88digital.com.