At Exposure.ph, we’ve been fortunate to work with some incredible artists, but this one holds a special place in our hearts. Recently, we were fortunate enough to film Olivia Rodrigo’s first ever trip to the Philippines with her father and her special”Guts” World Tour show at the Philippines Arena for American Express. Not only did we film the electrifying energy of the sold-out show, but we also got to film Olivia’s first boodle fight and her trip to the historic walled city of Intramuros.
It all started from cold email from Michael W. Abbott the man behind Move films. He asked if I was available for a video call to discuss a potential project and so early one morning we had a long talk about music and bands and concerts. He has worked with some of my favourite artists and had so many stories about people I idolise. I am a huge fan of music, but living in the Philippines I haven’t been to or watched many live shows. The prices here for live music are expensive and often people can fly to Singapore and get tickets for a similar price for the Manila show. Anyway, I sent him some photos of our coverage of Kayne West and Wiz Khalifa performing at Paradise Music Festival and after a few emails I signed and NDA and he revealed that we’d be filming branded content of Olivia Rodrigo’s trip to the Philippines. I didn’t know much of Olivia’s music (I did know Drivers License) but I did know she’s one of the biggest pop stars on the planet. Excited, we got on with planning and putting together some options as there was going to be two videos, one travel based and the other more concert focused.
For the travel video we started to make list of the best Filipino restaurants in Manila. Shout out to my friend and incredible photographer Sonny Thakur for some help with the restaurant recommendations. We sent a list of options from fine dining to more casual options and thankfully they went with my strong recommendation of Sarsa and Chef JP Anglo. JP is really pushing Filipino Food Forward and is really passionate about sharing Filipino food to a global audience. He also really wanted to do a big boodle fight, which would look great on camera and is a really great way of eating Filipino food. In terms of where to take Olivia, there was only one real option and that’s Intramuros. It’s somewhere I recommend to everyone that visits Manila or for clients that want general views of “iconic” locations in Manila. It’s the old Spanish walled city and ever since going on one of Carlos Celdran’s (Rest in Power) walking tours, it’s always held a special place in my heart. Also the Intramuros Administration has done a great job in making the permit and payment process digital so it’s actually a relatively easy place to secure filming permits in Manila. After everything was approved we waited until the dates were announced and we could start the pre-production ball rolling for real.
From Stage Lights to Halo-Halo:
Our journey began before the concert even started. The first shoot day we went out in search of some of the billboards advertising the Guts show and also filmed some B-roll of the iconic Jeepneys before heading to Manila bay but the weather wasn’t on our side and a thunderstorm came rolling in. The crew then split up with half the crew heading to the airport to film Olivia’s arrival and the other half to he hotel. After filming her arrival we met up with Hunter the director for the shoot and Olivia’s security to discuss logistics for the shoot and prep for the following day which was the big day for us, in terms of filming and moving around the city.
The day started early as we had to be ready to be part of Olivia’s security convoy to travel to Intramuros. First stop was Casa Manila to pick up the bamboo bikes and film in the beautiful courtyard. We joined Olivia and her Father on a bamboo bike tour of Intramuros, the historic walled city in Manila. The cobbled streets and centuries-old architecture provided a beautiful backdrop for Olivia to experience of her Filipino roots. They cycled to San Diego Gardens to look at the ruins of one of the old towers, walk on the old wall and to see the huge Filipino flag flying in Rizal Park. A few lucky fans were shocked to see Olivia and got some very cool selfies. Worrying about crowds we quickly moved on to our last location in Intramuros the beautiful Puerta Real Gardens. Here we did a quick interview with Olivia away from the crowds where she shared how excited she was to visit the Philippines for the first time and to perform here.
Giving Back with Guts:
From Intramuros we headed to Jhpiego, an NGO where the proceeds from the concert were being donated. For me this really did speak volumes about the kind of person Olivia is. The concert prices for her Manila show were capped at the very low price of 1500 PHP roughly 25 USD. Not only did this mean that the ticket prices were affordable, but all the money from this show was being donated to the NGO Jhpiego, who work tirelessly for women’s and girls health and well being here in the Philippines. Olivia met with the staff who shared the projects they are working on and we went upstairs to the roof deck where there was a local artists singing and Olivia got to meet many of the women and children who are beneficiaries of Jhpiego’s projects. It was a moving experience to see Olivia have such an impact on these people’s lives.
By this time people were getting hungry and so we headed to Sarsa in Makati, a fantastic Filipino restaurant run by Chef JP Anglo and his team. Chef JP himself welcomed Olivia and treated her to a unique Filipino dining experience – a “boodle fight.” Inside the restaurant there was a whole fiesta type vibe with staff wearing custom designed Olivia Rodrigo T-shirts, a boodle fight and a halo-halo stand! This was the first time for Olivia to try a boodle fight a traditional way of eating during fiestas and celebrations. It involves everyone digging into a feast of seafood, meat, and vegetables laid out on banana leaves.
Olivia, embraced the spirit of the boodle fight and dug right in, even enjoying a refreshing halo-halo for dessert. After the late lunch we did have plans to film at a rooftop bar in Poblacion but the weather again didn’t cooperate with another thunderstorm washing out our final location.
More Than Just a Concert:
The last day was show day. We travelled to the venue mid morning with Olivia’s convoy headed to the Philippine Arena. Traffic was bad on the way, and even with an escort it took almost an hour as so many fans were on the road en route to the concert. At the arena was no different and we filmed the access roads to the arena as fans were lined up two or three deep waiting for Olivia’s arrival. This was the first realisation of just how important Olivia was to these mainly teenage and young adults. After unloading our gear we had a quick meeting to make sure we were all on the same page of what we needed to film show wise and then we headed out to film the fans. I was blown away by the passion and love that every single person we met, had for Olivia. Not only that, but just how important a role Olivia and her music had played in their lives. The love and connection the fans had for Olivia was just something I wasn’t prepared for.
I consider myself lucky growing up up without social media and the constant need to present your life in a certain way I’m convinced it’s much harder to grow up now than it was for me simply due to social media and camera phones recording everything. To have a an artist write and sing about relatable issues must be such a relief for many teenagers and adults going through difficult times and it was plain to see just how much Olivia and her music had impacted many of the people at the concert. After a quick dinner and some sunset drone shots we headed into to record the concert and what a show!
Olivia was superb and put on an incredible show. By the end of the night, both the fans and Olivia were in tears which is testament as to just how much of a bond Olivia and her fans share. As soon as the show was over we had to grab our gear and sprint to our van to make sure we managed to be part of the convoy back to the hotel. Luckily we just made it and thankfully it was a quick 30 minute journey back into the city. Fortunately we had some down time to decompress what had been a hectic week preparing and filming whilst I had to back up 3 cameras and audio. Just to top it all off, we had a couple of drinks at the hotel bar and even got a selfie with Olivia who was hanging out with her band after the show.
Filming these two videos for American Express was so much more than capturing a concert. It was about witnessing Olivia embrace her Filipino roots, indulge in the rich culture, and support a cause close to her heart. The energy of the fans, the beauty of Intramuros, the delicious Filipino food – it all came together to create a truly unforgettable experience. Thank you to our amazing crew, Saxby, Elie, Ari and Manny and most of all to the man who made it all happen, Michael.
Check out the final videos to see Olivia’s “Guts” live in Manila and her day trip around Manila. Mabuhay, Olivia!
