WALLY WATTHEAD AND HIS LOST GLOW FROM FINLAND ALL SET TO OPEN NOV. 14

Press material

JANNE RAUDASKOSKI is one of Finland’s most radiant professional magicians.

            In addition to traditional magic, he is known for his magic theater productions that have charmed audiences both home and abroad

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            As a Finnish and Nordic champion in magic, he has worked as a professional magician since 1997. 

            Janne has created two magic theater performances:

---        The Outsider ( for adults and teenagers )

---        Wally Watthead and His Lost Glow ( for family audiences )          

            In his first solo production, Wally Watthead and His Lost Glow, Raudaskoski is researching combining the magic, theater, clownery, mime and different kinds of special effects with video.  Raudaskoski aims to create a performance which is a powerful experience for both children and adults, and that is easily translated into any language.

            Recently, he has worked in several art projects combining new circus, theatre and magic.  Raudaskoski has also played the protagonist in plays such as Werewolf (2009) in the City Theatre of Lappeenranta and Phantom of Theather (2007) in Åbo Svenska Teatern.

A Conjurer Par Excellence (Question & Answer)

Janne Raudaskoski is one of Finland’s most radiant professional magicians. In addition to traditional magic, he is known for his magic theatre productions that have charmed audiences both home and abroad.

Q: Magician Janne Raudaskoski, where can one study magic?

A: Tricks can be learned from books, magic can be learned by studying the history of magic and performing can only be learned by performing. Or if you find a good magic school you should definitely apply.

Q: Is Harry Potter your idol? If not then who is?

A: I prefer Pippi Longstocking to Harry Potter. Pippi does what she pleases, just as I do in my art. She has the right kind of attitude. I also belong to the Phantom Fan Club of Finland – my member number is 3557 if I remember it right.

Q: Why are magicians always men?

A: Is it perhaps because of Harry Potter? Well, I have also seen some very good female magicians.

Q: What do you do if one of your magic tricks fails on stage?

A: It happens very rarely because I always do my homework, but when it does happen, improvisation helps.

Q: Who pays the magician’s salary?

A: My greatest reward is captivated eyes, smiling faces, gasps and laughter – in other words the energy I get from the audience. The person who ordered the performance also pays me money.

Q: Why didn’t you become a clown if you enjoy entertaining people?

A: I did become a clown too. Both of my theatre productions, Wally Watthead and The Outsider, combine clownery, theatre and magic.

Q: What is the difference between a clown and a magician?

A: Clownery is an instrument of humor, but it can also be used to examine serious matters. It can be used to reflect on the ways of the world is a childlike way. Charles Chaplin was a clown. If a clown also knows magic, it opens up a world of new possibilities for his or her performances. Oh, but you asked about the difference? Well, the magician is usually the more boring of the two.

Q: What and where was your worst performance as a magician and why was that?

A: A professional performer must be able to finish the show no matter what the circumstances are. They have certainly been quite challenging sometimes: technical problems, the audience getting too drunk, hands freezing, things like that.

Q: Tell us something about the life of a magician that nobody knows.

A: The magician sometimes enjoys singing punk rock.

Q: Janne , do you know any magic tricks nobody else in the world knows?

A: I have conjured up two theatre productions that represent a new kind of magic. I combine magic, clownery and narrative in my performances using methods such as video, black theatre techniques and various kinds of special effects. I call it experiential theatre.

Q: Does a magician have any colleagues?

A: Sure. In theatre productions they are the director, the sound designer, the costume designer, the lighting designer, the set designer, the special effects technician, the dressmaker, the producer, the theatre manager, the technicians and the stage hands. Basically everyone I work with.

Q: What do you do most of the day on an average day in the office?

A: When I work on a new production I make plans, write, build things, rehearse, shoot rehearsals on video and make more plans. If I am performing on that day then I sit in a car or an airplane, build the show, perform, pack the show and sit in a car or an airplane. If I am not doing either them I’m usually sitting in meetings, planning new things, and answering questions like this.

Q: What was the magician supposed to become when he grew up?

A: A pilot, a magician or an actor. Now I spend my time flying on theatre stages combining magic and theatre, so I guess I got all of my dream jobs.

Q: Are magic tricks useful in everyday life?

A: When I was young I used to cheat at supermarket checkout by conjuring the money from behind the cashier’s ear. Luckily I have rid myself of that habit.

The Amazing Race Philippines Season 2 Blog Exclusive: Team Mag-Ama

Part 1 of the Amazing Race Phils. feature

Amazing Race brought in a new innovation in reality shows which patterned many team building exercises. The franchise TV5 brought in television gave the show a local flavor not to mention the sights around the country.

I finally got to meet the eight remaining teams. After watching the current episode, I interviewed each team. The first team I interviewed was the father-son tandem.

AJ and Jody Soliva are both baseball players. Jody is playing since elementary and his dad is a coach and done many sports bonding ever since until college. Jody was a fan of the show which is why he joined but his friend backed out and his dad joined him instead. A father-son team is what the show needed to make it more appealing.

In the current episode before the interview, we saw this team arguing after the last obstacle. Dad AJ explained that they were both driven to win which is natural since they are both athletes. This is still a competition and they are a team.

Their tactic: Brains, physique and luck to win.. Their weakness is the to think under pressure. For the team, the only team that may keep them from winning Matt and Phoebe(Team Dating Couple) since they are winning every obstacle they encounter.

Check out my next team feature and keep watching Amazing Race Phils. Season 2 on TV5 every weeknights at 9PM. For more updates, follow this blog or like L.E.N.S. blogs on Facebook.

Haiyan: After The Megastorm premieres Nov. 8 at Discovery

We've been hearing news about what happens in the Visayan region after Typhoon Yolanda especially in Tacloban. I got to watch a new documentary about Haiyan (International name of Yolanda) titled Haiyan: After The Megastorm.

Photo courtesy of Discovery Channel

Approximately seven months after the said typhoon, Discovery Channel visits the affected areas of Tacloban. Discovery with the help of local movie production Caelestis Productions Inc. and it took them two weeks on the set.

Most of us in the nation are shocked by what the typhoon did and no one can't comprehend the death toll so high and it took other nations to offer help in this crisis. British-Filipino VJ Trey Farley hosted to give us the first-hand view of Tacloban after Yolanda.

The story includes dialogue with mayor Alfred Romualdez; who is also a typhoon survivor himself, the remaining crew of a vessel that was swept to the shores, and other survivors. The documentary was first shown in public in Tacloban. Director Emile Guertin described to us over a phone conversation that no one in the whole venue left without being teary-eyed after watching the finished documentary.

What I like about the documentary was mentioned by Mayor Romualdez that this is a part of life and we have to move on. His house was also flooded and it was shown how they escaped the house. I knew Trey as a humorous host for a known music channel I am glad they chose him because the documentary shows his humor, limitation as a Fil-Brit mestizo. And in this time of coping up, maybe a smile and a little humor is what we just need to rehabilitate.

I also admire how Tacloban cope up with the tragedy. Especially the healing process of the children who are left as orphans. The documentary is not not a news feature that will point fingers on who to blame but it is just about the people. Mr. Guertin told me that they have a script it mind but the experiences in the documentary are very raw.

Haiyan: After The Megastorm premieres first in Discovery Asia on November 8 at 8:00 in the evening in all Southeast Asia including the Philippines and probably in other regional territories of Discovery in the future. For more updates on TV programming, follow this blog or like L.E.N.S. blogs on Facebook.

Insights from the Professional Blogging Summit

When I first heard that there’s a blogging summit, I got interested with some topics that seemed beneficial to me since I am blogging for at least five years in the business. I have high ambitions for my blog and I need to learn more from the veterans since I worked with them in the past. Ms. Janette Toral used to give me blog assignments and Sai Sayson-Montes is a long-time friend and PR who invites me to her launch events.

What I really looking forward to is about getting clients although I am already getting some for my blog but I need to learn more. I arrived late from another event but I was able to catch up with the segment of another blogger Ross Flores sharing his controversies and what it has done to him. This segment also has Azrael Colladilla which I missed but I got to hear Jay-L Aquino who is doing social media marketing for an agency that handles celebrities.

 

Jay-L Aquino

I agree with Ross when he said that no one should go in between conflicts because it may just get you in trouble. It is better to stay out of it because I had similar incident before.

After hearing the bloggers’ presentations, it is time to hear the presentation from a PR. Mr. Jeoff Solas handles marketing for the host location A-Venue. He started with a question, why are we blogging? I agreed with his answer that we all bloggers wanted to share our passion. This is a refreshing presentation after the last segment shows what we should not do; this shows what we should do.

I also agreed that it is about engaging people. One way is to do your homework before attending an event. This shows that you are interested with the client. It is similar to prospecting or profiling. It also got me to evaluate myself as a blogger about my relationship with the PRs.  In my experience, I need to behave appropriately and show my contacts that I always do my part and in the same manner, maintain a mutual relationship with the PR contacts. This way, bloggers and PRs don’t take advantage of each other.

In another insight, Online Seller Sai Sayson-Montes offers her insight on how to market online especially when you sell your products. I learn a great deal about this since I also sell online. Similar to blogging, there is also stats called insights in Facebook pages that can be useful evaluate it just like in Google stats. 

In summary, my time during the summit is not a waste of time since I also gained ideas. The next step is application for what I learned. For more updates, follow this blog or like L.E.N.S. blogs on Facebook.

Canon Photomarathon University Leg 2014

I first participated in Canon Photomarathon back in 2010. I enjoyed the experience. I just found out recently that they are having a Photomarathon for college students. Canon started the university leg last year at UST and now they are having it at De La Salle University Taft Campus.

More than 200 students from 65 universities participated and unlike the previous Photomarathon in the National Leg, they are now open to other brand users. Just like in the national leg, they are given themes which give them 2 and a half hours to think and submit their entry.

According to Andrei Hoffman; one of Canon's Ambassador of Light; what makes this students different from the participants in the national leg is they have raw imagination. Meaning they are not yet molded by technicalities unlike those who are older than them. They can think out of the box.

For more interests posts, follow this blog or like L.E.N.S. blogs on Facebook.

UPDATE!!

Canon Photomarathon 2014 is on November 8 at the High Street Bonifacio Global City.

WATTPAD PRESENTS four new stories

The internet brought new new innovations and one of it was telling stories. I read lots of published works that was discovered from online websites and online forums. When blogging first started, it also brought in many stories.

Wattpad was also instrumental about this stories. It is a venue for those who aspire to be authors but are not able to get their works published in a traditional manner. What's good about Wattpad, it is similar to forums and social networks which the reader who also opened an account will be able to interact by commenting.

Cast of batch 2's Wattpad Presents

It was also recently that some of these popular stories entered the cinematic world and TV5 was able to make four stories in their previous run of Wattpad Presents. TV5 now releases four new stories from Wattpad.

The four new stories that will come to life are The Savage Casanova, Fake Fiance, Diary Ng Hindi Malandi, and Dyepni. The selection of these stories is based on its readers stats.

The actors who will give life to its characters are Edward Mendez and Ritz Azul for Savage Casanova, Sophie Albert and Vin Abrenica for Fake Fiance, Isabelle De Leon and Edgar Allan Guzman for Diary Ng Hindi Malandi(who got 3.5 million reads), and lastly; real-life couple and newly weds Alwyn Uytingco and Jennica Garcia in their first TV project, Dyepni.

TV5 Exec Ms. Wilma Galvante(Left)

Isabelle De Leon admits that she read the Wattpad story for reference while Alwyn Uytingco has a different opinion. Alwyn just read the script and read the story after the project was finished because he does not want to compare it to the book. But the TV5 executives assured the Wattpad readers that their stories are faithful to the books. Even the authors are present to show support during the press conference.

TV5's Wattpad Presents batch 2 of stories begins October 20 on its new timeslot at 9:30 PM after Amazing Race starting with Dyepni followed by The Savage Casanova on the 27th, Fake Fiance on November 3rd and ends this batch of stories with Diary Ng Hindi Malandi: Slight Lang on the 10th.

Watch out for the announcement of the Wattpad fans' day and follow this blog for more new shows from TV5 or like L.E.N.S. blogs on Facebook.