Two Pinoys remain intact at the HP Space Competition

Still nine contestants are on their way to getting a dream job and US$50,000 in the new pan-Asian reality television series HP Space after a surprise twist in the latest episode save the day for three contestants, including the two Filipino bets in the show.

The total 16 contestants at the beginning of the show were down to nine, with the Filipino pair still intact, coming in to episode four of this new exciting series shown every Wednesday at 9 pm on Star World. Another elimination is up, and three more candidates will need to pack up their belongings and return home at the end of the episode from Singapore, where this two-month show is staged.

Filipinos Raffy Francisco, a filmmaker, and 25-year-old performer Adrienne Vergara, along with their teammate Lora Lee, a design student from China, landed at the bottom of the three teams this week, which means they will be eliminated. However, the contestants were in for a big surprise: episode four was a non-elimination round, and the three were given a second chance to prove their worth.

The Filipinos survived the elimination – thanks to luck – but not without valuable lessons learned, especially for Francisco who was the only thorn among the two roses. He said being at the bottom and almost got eliminated made him realize that he must assert himself at every challenge.

For this episode, each team was asked to convert a confined hotel room into a modern, sleek and chic living space. The challenge was to redesign a bare room by incorporating Singapore iconography with a contemporary feel using textures with sleek and modern lines for the living space, and also, to show how HP personal computers can be an attractive entertainment center.

The week’s mentor Douglas Young, creator of G.O.D., took the contestants to Chinatown, Little India, and Geylang in search of design motives and iconography that they will translate into the modern design that pays homage to their Asian heritage.

The concept and room design of Singaporean art director David Tang, Korean motion graphic designer Uni Lee, and Indian photographer Rohit Ferriera impressed the judges most.

Graphic designer Note Kunprasop from Thailand and illustrator Admira Pustika from Indonesia, struggled with Indian visual artist Sawan Singh, and the team suffered some “unforgivable” misses with their room design. But in the end, the team impressed the mentor by taking the risk of embracing the clichés.

Francisco, Vergara, and Lee’s design was a disaster, with another contestant commenting the room looked like a porn studio. Francisco made a short video presentation of their idea and somehow made the judges appreciate their concept. However, it wasn’t enough to save them from falling to the bottom.

HP Space, the latest platform for Asia’s aspiring talents to cultivate, nurture, and showcase their passion for creativity and the arts, is an entertaining new television series to watch on Star World. The show is a welcome breather on a Wednesday night, the middle of a work week. And with two Pinoys with strong chances of making it to the last man or woman standing, Filipinos have more reasons to enjoy this new Asian hit.

The show gets more exciting with each episode and the challenges more demanding of creativity and talent. Episode five looks to be another blockbuster with the contestants strutting their stuff in fashion. Be sure to catch it every Wednesday at 9 pm on Star World.

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