Miss Earth: The Pros & Cons (2)

PRODUCTIONS

Anu-ano nga ba ang mga areas ng Miss Earth ang madalas na pinupuna ng mga fans, pageant websites at mga pageant commentators?

1. Stage Design

This is an international event so dapat lang na pagtuunan ng pansin at sapat na budget ang stage design ng Miss Earth. Miss Universe and Miss World are both outstanding in stage management. Since naungusan na ng Miss Earth ang Miss International, dapat lang na ang sinusundang standard ng Miss Earth ay ang pagpantay o paghigit sa Two Giants.

2. Finals Night Venue

In my opinion, may mas nararapat na venue para sa pagtatanghal sa Miss Earth Pageant kaysa UP Theatre. Like I said, this is an int'l event na ibini-broadcast worldwide kaya marapat lang na ang Finals Night ay isang Big Event din. Kapag nanonood tayo ng Miss Universe at Miss World at ang camera ay pumupunta (camera pan) sa audience ay siguradong malulula tayo. Di nga ba't marami ang na-impressed sa laki at lawak ng Impact Arena, ang venue ng Miss Universe 2005 sa Thailand?

3. Opening Number, Choreography, Musical Scoring, Camera Movements, Interpreters and Production Designs

Hinangaan ng marami ang unique na Opening video (Montage) ng Miss Earth, Pinaboran ang Opening Number nito noong 2004, Pinuri naman ang Musical Scoring sa kabuuan ng Miss Philippine-Earth 2002, Pinalakpakan ang Production design nito noong 2003, Habang patuloy namang pinapaboran ang mga top-notch interpreters sa Miss Earth. Katulad nga ng sabi nila:

"Filmed in the Philippines' tropical outdoors, the opening video showed each of the candidates saying a line or two in her own tongue about the environ ment. Subtitles were flashed onto the screen. The editing was seamless, the choice of musical underscoring was great, and the excitement truly built up to a magnificent crescendo... the interpreters are obviously of a higher caliber this year, and the production design is excellent. Also, the introduction and swimsuit videos are the best I've seen from ANY pageant (even better than Miss World's swimsuit video last year, which, in my opinion, was so manufactured)"
Rabbi James Gannaban
Miss Earth 2003 Finals Night Review
Missiology.org

"The opening number, featuring pulsating live percussion by a Filipino folk-rock band (the electric guitar textures gave it a nice Santana-meets-Joey-Ayala touch to the music), was particularly scorching... the 61 Miss Earth delegates gleefully hoofed it up in their pretty pastel-colored Tadashi-inspired dresses. The choreography was a little more intricate than what was usually demanded in Miss Universe or Miss World, but the ladies' aptitude and passion for dance helped them pull off this number with panache... In my opinion, it's one of the most thrilling opening numbers in recent years, and this has its grandeur despite the fact that the ladies weren't in their national costumes."
Joseph Vitug
Miss Earth 2004 Finals Night Review
MabuhayBeauties.com

"...the translators were top notch"
6th Annual Global Beauties Award
GlobalBeauties.com

"The best among the Miss Philippine-Earth and Miss Earth pageants was Miss Philippines-Earth 2002, when the musical score was superb (a local band was performing, a woman sings, at first I thought it was african but I was shocked it was in Filipino! so exotic with matching kudyapi which matched the attire of the candidates parading their evening gowns (i think)."
Eervzz (Fan)
Mabuhay Beauties Forum
MabuhayBeauties.com

Samantalang pinupuna naman ang palagiang pagkakahuli sa mga hosts off-guard sa paghihintay ng kanilang mga cues at ang mga unnecessary camera shots na ibinibigay sa mga candidates. Maging ang mga camera angles na ginagamit sa Miss Earth, isama pa ang mga technical glitches at kabuuang duration hours ng Finals Night, lahat ng ito ay pinuna:

"the camera work was subpar and sloppy, pariculary during the general Evening Gown presentation, as many women at the head of each group would be cut off during the close-up pans of each group of contestants."
6th Annual Global Beauties Award
GlobalBeauties.com

"the stage design (Miss Earth 2001) was obviously done on a shoestring budget - no fancy stuff"
Miss Earth 2001
MissEarthBeauties.com

"However, for the people at UP Theatre, the production wasn't as seamless or smooth as it seemed. First, it seem the ABS-CBN production staff have become a bit too complacent that they forgot to double check on possible glitches and seemed to organize things at last-minute. The intro, for instance, took three takes because of some technical glitches... the glitches did not end with ABS-CBN alone: STI had a problem with their network that the judges could not enter the scores on their computer terminals."
Joseph Vitug
Miss Earth 2004 Finals Night Review
MabuhayBeauties.com

"Miss Earth still needs to be more polished. The stage management needs improvement... Miss Costa Rica was caught on-cam scratching her nose, hosts are caught off-guard as to when their cues actually are."
Rabbi James Gannaban
Miss Earth 2003 Finals Night Review
Missiology.org

"Shorten the pageant night to 2 hours."
Eervzz (Fan)
Mabuhay Beauties Forum
MabuhayBeauties.com

"The live taping of the pageant (Miss Earth 2001) inside the UP Theatre was excruciatingly long. It actually started at half past 7pm and ended with the announcement of winners close to midnight."Miss Earth 2001MissEarthBeauties.com"The three-hour broadcast took a little over four hours to complete in UP Theatre."
Joseph Vitug
Miss Earth 2004 Finals Night Review
MabuhayBeauties.com

"improve the stage (with touch of nature, remember AD CONGRESS 2000? stage in Cebu? They built a hanging brigde on stage. should i say, they brought NATURE on stage!!), choreography (should be native/exotc like Joey Ayala's and others), performers, lightings (lively), musical score (lively, relevant), hosts (alive, not boring) etc. PLEASE change people involved in the areas mentioned."
Eervzz (Fan)
Mabuhay Beauties Forum
MabuhayBeauties.com

4. Hosts and Performers

Maraming favorable reviews ang ibinigay sa kapwa hosts ng Miss Earth last year na sina Marc Nelson at Sarah Meier. Samantalang patuloy namang binabatikos ang mga choice performers ng Miss Earth (Piolo Pascual, Hunks, etc.):

"...the hosting of Marc Nelson and Sarah Meier was nearly flawless- they arguably were superior to the combo of Billy Bush and Daisy Fuentes at this year's Miss Universe pageant. Not only were they capable and seemless, Marc and Sarah also arguably make better eye candy..."
Joseph Vitug
Miss Earth 2004 Finals Night Review
MabuhayBeauties.com

"Marc was calm, cool and collected, precisely because he was not even trying. He made the three-hour proceedings breeze by with his charm, confidence and congenial character. He also manifested sensitivity and an easy bond with the ladies, warmly addressing them with their first names during the semifinal and final interviews. Sarah, on the other hand, provided color commentary, as she presented the leader board for each of the segments... Sarah was commendable, as well, especially when she chitchatted with the ladies backstage."
Miss Philippines 2003
Astron¡'s Personal Notes
MabuhayBeauties.com

5. Directing

Direk Johnny Manahan, in my opinion, is a TV master but never a pageant genius. Pwede natin siyang hangaan sa mga TV projects niya sa ABS pero sa pag-handle sa Miss Earth, tila hindi sasang-ayon ang lahat."

...and once again, the direction and the handling of the camera by the ABS-CBN team need improvement. A pageant has needs specific to it. It can not be handled in the same way that noontime variety shows are handled."
Rabbi James Gannaban
Miss Earth 2003 Finals Night Review
Missiology.org

"...To be honest most of MP-E and ME productions are typical ABS-CBN productions (really? i have no idea but it seems like one) Miss Earth is one of the THREE most prestigous pageant on EARTH, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, no ASAP Mania/ Magandang Tanghali Bayan/Eesy Dancing kind-of productions, hosting, choreography please¡K May I repeat once more, PLEASE this is a major event! Sana hindi mala-ASAP Mania o Magandang Tanghali Bayan ang production..."
Eervzz (Fan)
Mabuhay Beauties Forum
MabuhayBeauties.com

Marahil ang hinahanap natin para sa Miss Earth ay ang taong may passion sa Beauty Pageant. Iyon siguro ang kulang kay Mr. Manahan - himself is no fan of beauty pageants. Actually, mula Director hanggang Production Staff, dapat ang lahat ay may passion sa pageantry, nanonood ng mga beauty pageants at alam kung ano ang beauty pageants.

Kung iisipin ay ilang years na ring hinahawakan ni Direk Manahan ang Miss Earth Pageant pati na rin ang Miss Earth Philippines, isama pa natin ang ilang edition ng Binibining Pilipinas noong 90's na hinawakan na rin niya noong ang Binibining Pilipinas ay nasa ABS-CBN pa. Marahil ang nakikitang conflict ng mga fans ay ang pagkakaroon ng 'similarity' ng Miss Earth sa mga TV Variety Shows na idinederehe rin ni Direk Manahan sa ABS-CBN.

6. Judges

Tulad ng Miss Universe, Miss World at Miss International, ang Miss Earth ay hindi rin nakakaligtas mula sa mga kritiko pagdating sa paraan ng pagpili ng mga hurado.

Ang Miss Universe ay pinapansin sa pagkakaroon ng majority of Americans at Europeans at pagkawala ng mga Asians at Africans sa panel of judges.At ang Miss World naman ay sinasabing naiimpluwensiyahan ng mismong si Mrs. Morley ang resulta ng pageant sa pamamagitan ng pag-upo nito bilang Chairman of the board.

Samantala, ang Miss International naman ay hindi nalalayo sa Miss Earth. Kung ang Miss International ay ay binabatikos sa pag-upo ng majority ng mga japanese bilang mga hurado, ang Miss Earth naman ay pinupuna sa pagkakaroon nito ng majority ng mga Filipino sa panel of judges at ang pag-upo ng mga 'sponsors' bilang mga hurado.

"... the reality exists that this is a pageant run in a third-world country. In order to survive, the organizers have to make concessions to the sponsors somehow, such as giving them the opportunity to plug their products through minor awards and countless appearances throughout Miss Earth's activities"
Rabbi James Gannaban
Miss Earth 2003 Finals Night Review
Missiology.org

"...judges must be foreigneers and NOT mostly Filipinos. pick fashion experts/consultants, former title holders, ambasadors, INVITE GREENPEACE representative!, dont pick a sponsor to judge since he/she knows nothing in choosing the proper winner..."
Eervzz (Fan)
Mabuhay Beauties Forum
MabuhayBeauties.com

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