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    Ingrid Ignacio, the woman behind TNC’s stunning roster videos

    "Sa Season 12, walang ligtas. Yung mga nasa taas pwede kayong mababa. Kaming mga nasa baba kaya din namin mapunta sa trono."
    Aug 14, 2023
    Ingrid Ignacio
    PHOTO: Mario Alvaro Limos

    Ingrid Ignacio, TNC Pro Team’s operations manager, is also TNC’s secret weapon when it comes to the team’s stunning roster reveal videos. Not many people know that it was Ingrid Ignacio who wrote and directed TNC’s viral roster reveal videos.

    TNC Pro Team shocked the MPL community in Season 11 when they released what looked like a highly produced video, “Biyaheng Tagumpay.” But after finishing bottom in that season, nearly everyone was ready to dismiss TNC, anticipating that TNC would scale down their production.

    Ingrid Ignacio, TNC Pro Team's Operations Manager and Director of the Team's Roster Reveal Videos

    Ingrid Ignacio

    “Akala nila, magla-lie low kami, pero hindi,” said Ignacio, who directed TNC Pro Team’s viral Season 12 roster reveal video, titled “Rise From the Dead,” which took nearly 12 hours to shoot. Production house Wonderlast, in which Ignacio is director, did a masterful job on color grading, editing, and adding CGI.

    Ignacio graduated with a degree in Advertising Management and briefly worked in the advertising industry, where she honed her craft in production.

    “Sa advertising kasi, before talagang nagpi-pitch kami ng mga ganyan. Kung mapapansin niyo, yung roster reveal namin, walang dull moment. Every second counts kasi sa advertisin, kaya ganoon din yung style of directing ko, ayaw ko na mayroong dull moment. Every second has to have something that will catch the attention of the viewers,” Ignacio told SPIN.ph.

    On the side, Ignacio also directs and produces music videos for some of the country’s best-selling musical artists.

    Biyaheng Tagumpay Roster Reveal

    Biyaheng Tagumpay was the theme for TNC Pro Team’s Season 11 run. It symbolically centered on a traditional jeepney. The idea was inspired by former TNC Pro Team roamer Jomearie “Escalera” Santos, who is a former jeepney driver.

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    “Noong binubuo po iyong idea ng roster reveal namin, sabi ko gusto ko maging jeepney driver sa video. Hindi ko akalaing seseryosohin nila!” Escalera told SPIN.ph’s Abo Limos in a March 2022 interview.

    “Biro-biro lang naman, eh iyong boss namin may isang salita, pag tinoyo siya, tuloy-tuloy at gagawin iyong gusto niyang gawin. Kaya nabuo ang ganoong setup at sobrang ganda ng kinalabasan ng roster reveal.”

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    Ignacio took that idea and executed what would be MPL Season 11’s most viewed roster reveal video.

    “For Biyahing Tagumpay, it was really inspired by Escalera's history. Na-inspire ako na gumawa roster reveal na nagpapakita ng Filipino side ng TNC, kasi TNC is a fully Filipino-owned company,” Ignacio said.

    “And for the past ilang seasons, palaging dark yung mga theme namin. Since it's summer naman at that time, we wanted to add a fresh, warm look for TNC.”

    “We also had so many fresh rookies last season including Hesu, Goyo, K1ngKong, so we wanted the roster reveal to have that fresh idea."

    But just as fresh and hopeful was that viral roster reveal video, TNC’s Season 11 run was as dismal, finishing back-to-back bottom places since Season 10.

    “The past two seasons were tragic, back-to-back top 8 kami, at walang organization ang gustong mangyari iyon sa kanila.

    So TNC 'burned' the jeepney.

    It was a heartbreaking scene: Escalera’s Biyaheng Tagumpay Jeepney burning in the background as Manjean Faldas delivers his grim lines: “Isang nakakalungkot na trahedya ang naganap sa Biyaheng Tagumpay ng TNC Pro Team. Ayon sa mga awtoridad, hindi pa alam kung ilan o kung sino-sino ang mga nakaligtas.”

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    “We want to burn our past,” said Ignacio. “Kailangan namin siyang ibaon sa lupa. Ganun talaga yung naramdaman namin na lahat ng mga pagkakamali namin before, lahat ng mga pagpapabaya, lahat kasama na yung mga mistakes na nagawa namin last season, they deserved to be burned.”

    But the fire can symbolize both destruction and renewal.

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    Ingrid Ignacio

    “Nakakalungkot siya, but then nalaman naman na namin kung ano yung mga dapat gawin. Matagal kami nag-reflect, ang tagal namin, ang dami namin ginawa to come up with this roster and with the new roles ng mga players namin,” Ignacio added.

    The roster reveal video, titled Rise From the Dead, is MPL Philippines’ most successful roster reveal video in Season 12, garnering nearly 600,000 views a week after its premiere. According to Ignacio, the video is also an homage to K-Pop artist Jackson Wang.

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    Ignacio spent days looking for the right score for their Rise From the Dead roster reveal video. When she finally found it, it fit perfectly with TNC’s ravenous appetite for a win this season. The background music is “Nobody’s Safe,” by St. Society (featuring Mr. Chantilly). It encapsulates TNC’s determination to be on top.

    “NOBODY'S SAFE. What's above must come down, what's below must rise up! Together with the Phoenix Army, we will Rise from the Dead!” The team wrote in the caption of their Season 12 roster reveal video.

    Below is part of the lyrics of “Nobody’s Safe.”

    Nobody's safe. As soon as we step out the cage, we raising all of the stakes, make no mistake. Either you stay in your place or we putting you on a plate. Look at our face, we put the fear in the dirt. We had to struggle for change. Pick up the pace. We put in infinite work, that's why we stay getting paid.

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    ‘Bakit palong-palo pa rin ang TNC sa roster videos?’

    “People are wondering, bakit palong-palo pa rin ang TNC sa roster videos? Ang daming nagtatanong sa akin at nagsasabi na ‘Grabe yung management niyo, bakit pinapayagan pa rin kayong gumastos ng ganyan?” said Ignacio. “Bakit hinahayaan pa rin nila na maging special ang roster reveal ninyo?”

    It was Ben Maglaque, aka BenThings, who eloquently expressed his thoughts about those same questions. “Nagpapasalamat ako talaga sa mga boss namin na hindi ipinaramdam sa amin na talunan kami o wala kaming kwenta. Sobra-sobrang suporta lang ang natatanggap namin mula sa kanila,” he told the private audience during the premiere night of TNC Pro Team’s Season 12 roster reveal at Cinema 76 in Quezon City.

    “Na-touch din ako doon sinabi niya, kasi ayaw namin iparamdam sa kanila na kulelat lang kayo, wala tayong karapatan mag-ganto, mag-ganyan. Kasi ang gusto namin i-emphasize, what do we do after failing? Kasi yun yung mahalaga, yung comeback. Doon tayo magpo-focus,” said Ignacio. “Hindi tayo pwede magpaka-sad boy, sad girl, professional tayo.”

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    Ingrid Ignacio: ‘Darating din yung time na tayo naman yung nasa taas.’

    A phoenix’s rise is meaningless if it has not died. For TNC, that “rise from the dead” means representing the country in the M5 World Championship, which will be hosted by the Philippines.

    “Patay na patay na kami. Baon na baon na kami sa hukay. We don't want people to forget about TNC kasi maganda yung run namin sa DOTA team. Baka mamaya ilibing na lang ng mga tao yung TNC sa utak nila na wala itong mga to, kulelat, ganyan. Darating din yung time na tayo naman ang nasa taas. And we all hope this season will be that time,” said Ignacio.

    Ignacio was referring to TNC’s dominance in the Dota scene. Seven years ago, TNC shocked the Dota world with its miraculous Cinderella run by ousting OG in TI6.

    “We will rise from the dead state of our previous disappointments. Yun yung mismo nilagay ko sa pitch ko noon sa mga boss. We will rise from the dead state of our previous disappointments,” said Ignacio.

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    “Coming into September 12, walang ligtas. Yung mga nasa taas pwede kayong mababa. Kaming mga nasa baba kaya din namin mapunta sa trono.”

    Ingrid Ignacio


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    PHOTO: Mario Alvaro Limos
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