Production designers have always been vital to the success of live events, and within the last five years or so, the audience has become more aware of the behind-the-scenes work that they do.
Recently, the legendary K-pop group SEVENTEEN just wrapped yet another sold-out concert. Chants filled the air, and the group’s performance was magnified even further by the outstanding floor displays.
But do we know who’s behind this spectacular prod design?
In a Facebook post last January 15, 2024, Mr. Gil Bien, principal designer, and innovator at Oneofone Builders Inc. and designer at Hotset Design Corp, shared some of the photos of their project for Seventeen’s ‘Follow’ tour in Bulacan. Many people on social media commented on it, complimenting their incredible effort.
In an exclusive interview with POP!, Mr. Bien shared some of the experiences they encountered during the creation of the project
Delivering satisfaction to clients is Bien and his team’s goal after sealing the deal for the tour. “Ang palagi pong goal ay ma-i-deliver ang client satisfaction. Kung sakaling may iba kaming projects na nagawa na kagaya ‘non, meron pa rin kaming ibang ginagawa para mas mahigitan namin ‘yon. With this project, ayon po ‘yung goal namin [Our goal is to always deliver client satisfaction. If there are similar projects to what we did before, we make sure that we’ll do something even better. That is our goal with this project],” he said.
Moreover, he acknowledged that he cannot take all the credit for the project’s success.
“Dahil hindi naman ito managed only by the Filipino team, ‘yung Korean production team, meron na silang template, hindi ko makukuha lahat ng credits dahil some of them are galing talaga sa kanila, and a few of them, kami na lang ang nagdevelop [Because it’s not managed only by the Filipino team, the Korean production team already have templates. So, I can’t get all the credits because some are actually from them, and we just enhanced it],” he noted.
Despite the project’s success, obstacles and challenges are inevitable. “With obstacles and challenges, marami po like ‘yung mga on the spot changes. ‘Yung pinaka-challenge is yung dalawang araw na lang may mga kailangan pang palitan [There are a lot of obstacles and challenges like the on the spot changes. The biggest challenge is that with only two days left, there are still things we need to replace,” he said. Nevertheless, even with short notice, the team was able to accommodate the adjustments.
Above all, Bien and his team expressed their gratitude as many people appreciate their work and wish to extend their heartfelt thanks to everyone who paved the way for them to be known.
With over 30 years of experience in the field, Bien and his team have handled other major projects, including the Miss Universe, Binibining Pilipinas, APEC, ASEAN, and other notable events in the Philippines. Even so, the company still caters to small projects since their vision is to provide quality visuals and designs for everyone.
The prominence of designers has increased due to the lighting and media extravaganza that performance demands. While rock/R&B bands are a show unto themselves, rappers have hype men, pop performers have backing dancers, and DJ sets usually revolve around one person, the accompanying production substantially makes up for the gap in visual interest.
So, kudos to all the unseen production designers! Thank you for adding a spark to our event experiences.
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