Samsung Hall was packed last Saturday for the SCOUT Creative Talks. From Federico Fanti’s Spam Karaokead campaign to Punziella’s business card and relatable memes, the speakers’ presentations and wise words floored us with inspiration for days. Have you failed to attend the event or was busy hyperfocusing on BJ Pascual’s editorials to jot notes? Don’t worry your little head about it.

To lighten the load of your FOMO on SCOUT Creative Talks this year, we have a little something for you. We’re here to lighten your load with these notes from the speakers’ talks. May they inspire you and hopefully, you learn a trick of the trade or two.

BJ Pascual on photography

Have a vision, it is what will separate you from the rest. Your vision is your ammunition.
“Maraming gustong maging photographer. Madaming photographer—period. Pero hindi lahat may vision.”

It doesn’t hurt to dream as long as you know how to follow through.
“Hindi puro dreams lang, pagtrabahuan mo yung dreams mo.

Talk to your idols.
“Guys, mag research kayo sa magazine ha? Time to know who the people behind the magazine are. Makakatulong siya.”

Talent is nothing without good work ethic.
“It’s really all about how you build your relationships, and of course, your support system also. Maraming super talented people, maraming super talented young people. But if wala yung good work ethic mo, you’re useless to them. Para saan pa yung talent mo?”

Treat your portfolio as a fashion editorial in a magazine.
“When you present your portfolio, present it as a story.”

Manage your time.
“It comes down to managing your time. If you have things to fulfill, but you do what you love on the side, you’ll make time.”

Prove yourself.
“Ganoon ‘din naman in real life kailangan palagi tayo nagpapatunay sa tao. People don’t owe use their adoration, we have to prove it to them.”

Mike Navallo on storytelling

Know your audience.
“To whom are we communicating to? We have to be able to speak to them in a language that they understand.”

Put a face to your story.
“If we are not able to put a face to that story, hindi natin nakikita kung sinu-sino ang naapektuhan.”

Provide context.
“Make the people understand what’s the background of this. People tend to dismiss [these] incidents as part of the norm, so it is important to provide context.”

Make viewers understand the impact. Localize the story.
“The fact that you can show at any given time that it could happen to you to your loved ones. It’s important to show what happened there could happen to you.”

The goal should be the truth.
“Have a real desire to know what’s going on. You have to maintain a certain distance from the case to be able to report it objectively. Balance is [when] you give both sides equal sides to the story. Fairness is to give someone a chance to respond.”

Federico Fanti on advertising

“How to be happy in a love triangle.”

RULE #1: Make them smile

RULE #2: A good partner must be able to trigger the right emotion

RULE #3: Always find the right words whatever you are telling to your partner.

RULE # 4: If you want to be the perfect partner, you must always show your good and generous soul.

RULE #5 How to turn our monologue into a fruitful dialogue?

RULE # 6 Be yourself but with a little twist.

RULE # 7 Make them feel part of the game

“You need to be optimistic, believe in what you are doing and to be a little bit relentless. Talented and relentless people can survive in the ocean of the advertising industry. You need to love what you are doing even if 95% of what you are doing is crap. But I still love the 5% of what we are doing. You need to sell your vision, be passionate, and you need to push and sell the client on what is your vision. The client must be your best partner.”

Punziella on illustrating

Draw, draw, draw
“I had no idea what kind of artist I want to be. I had no idea what I wanted to do. I just wanted to be one of them [an artist], even though I didn’t know how to do line art. My first drawing was very crappy, but that was okay. It was okay because I was still doing something.”

What makes your art style is you
“Once you find out what you like, you just go with it. The thing about art style it’s important to know what you’re comfortable with. It doesn’t matter if your style is inconsistent. It doesn’t matter what hat you’re wearing as long as you’re the one wearing it.”

Share your work
“How to get a following? It’s really simple. You just have to share your work. Don’t be afraid to post your work. Post your stuff, there’s a lot of amazing hashtags.”

Don’t take yourself too seriously
“Your design doesn’t have to be good, it just has to be memorable.”

Focus on your work
“Never compare yourself to others. Instead, look how far you’ve come. Tingnan mo lang how far you’ve grown. Just avoid it. I’m doing my own thing and some people like it.”

Tisha Ramirez on gender representation in media

Men can be allies of feminism.
“Honestly, I feel like, at this point, I’m happy that (men) they’re asking. I’d rather have them ask me than not knowing. I feel like, just tell them the truth so that they’ll learn from it.”

You are not alone.
“Women were portrayed as just one size, as skinny, and I personally felt pressured to fit into that standard because I wasn’t that. I’m sure I’m not the only girl who felt that way. I’m sure many women, even men who feel like this and it’s fine.”

Don’t be afraid to break the norm.
“If you are going into that field [tv and film], don’t be afraid to break the norm. Don’t be afraid to speak out and don’t be afraid to speak out on these issues.”

Representation is important, it exists but it’s not always correct.
“If we are able to take a stand and say to people: “hey this is wrong,” we can make the vicious cycle stop. We’re not experts, but we want to be good allies. Using the right terms. Telling it like it is. Always learning.”

Deal with the issues
“For Preen, and personally, what we do is we try to fight it. That’s the only thing we can do and educate. If we let it bring us down, nothing’s going to happen.”

Raya Martin on film

Movies are magic
“Language depicts space and time. Language is the most important element in conjuring an experience. Making movies is kind of like making magic. Language is basically magic. “Spells” is spelling and “curse” is cursing. It’s commanding the person and it puts that energy on that person, but it also creates the person.”

The most important part of being a director is the flow.
“Flow is an important part of the director life because our work is to basically manage energies. The thing that you made now will always be better than the last thing you made. Always, in essence, you are trying to better yourself, you are evolving. As a filmmaker you have to shoot, you have to make films.”

Don’t get lost, have a vision.
“You have to ask yourselves as creatives: what’s your vision? What’s the thing that binds everything? And that’s why you want to make movies and it doesn’t have to be clear straight away. Instead of obsessing in smaller details, I think of a bigger picture and it’s easier that way because you have a guide. But it’s your guide and I think if you have the vision figured out all the details will follow.”

Nothing is original, filmmaking is a process.
“You have to materialize it and get it out of your brain, not just out into the world but just in front of you. Filmmakers make films. Filmmaking is a process. It’s important to keep making films. It’s a practice of doing something. You keep on working and you keep on practicing. In essence, you try to better yourself. You’re evolving. We struggle with originality as creatives. it’s important to think that nothing is original in this world.”

Kim Cam Jones on fashion

Collaboration is a cornerstone value
“The creatives have the power to change the industry. We’re so focused on being an individual. Value the combining of minds.”

Competition is paramount to a healthy market.
“Remember that competition is inherently beneficial and paramount to a healthy industry. The creatives have the power to impact the industry. Not be afraid or intimidated by the competition.”

Fashion is a platform for diversity and inclusivity
“Only now we have started opening our eyes to what inclusivity truly means. Fashion is an amazing platform, an amazing conduit because it is inherently global. It provides a beautiful platform for elevating diversity. The cross-disciplinary idea of collaboration is something we are definitely going to work towards.”

Balancing passion with business
“There are a few creatives who can do both the business and creative side. There’s a fine line between commercial accessibility and staying true to your interest. I think it’s about how you find who you are as a creative, what you’re working towards finding, what you want to work about. At the end of the day, you’ll be spending your nights at 4 am and cramming the job of 17 people. Keep pursuing what you’re passionate about over anything else.”

Break the norms
“If you’re a pioneer in something, it’s never going to be easy. If you believe in yourself, if you remove what makes you unique, you’re just going be like everyone else. Be confident in who you are in what you want to share.”

You can always learn something new from anyone.
“It’s about how you approach collaboration. It’s an approach, maintaining expectations, merging of two or more parties. What I love most is learning from people smarter than me. At the end of the day, it comes back to collab and working through those challenges towards a single vision and goal.”

Photos by Kiara Gabriel