Rico Gutierrez has his director’s eye on these books

Rico Gutierrez, in another life, would have led a totally different career had he chosen — right after high school in the United States — to accept a scholarship at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. His interest in the physical sciences was outweighed by his love for the arts, and he instead accepted a painting scholarship at the Otis/Parsons School of Design in Los Angeles. 

In a personal mission to reconnect with his roots, Rico then returned to the Philippines and studied theater arts at the University of the Philippines, Diliman. 

He is now best known for his outstanding contributions to the development and popularization of different television genres: musical shows, horror, game shows, entertainment talk shows, and music video programming. 

Presently, he directs several shows for GMA-7, including the new game show Picture! Picture!

I asked direk Rico to share his favorite books.

1. What is your Dangerous Idea? by John Brockman. “It’s about today’s thinkers on the unthinkable. Insightful, inspiring and sometimes frightening.”

2. Made to Stick (Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die) by Chip and Dan Heath. “Marketing styles for everyone. Guess VSR was and still is a marketing genius!” 

3. Cinematography for Directors by Jaqueline B. Frost. “A guide for creative collaboration. Explains the artistic relationship of a director and cinematographer.”

4. Directors Tell the Story by Bethany Roony and Mary Lou Belli. “A little bit of theater wisdom for television storytelling.” 

5. Universal Principles of Design by William Lidwell, Kritina Holeden and Jill Butler. “Make better design decisions and enhance your knowledge in design.”

6. Onedotzero Motion Blur 2. “Directors and their works are explained frame by frame.”

7. Hidden Messages in Water by Dr Emoto “An amazing experiment that led to life-changing results.”

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Most of these books should be available at National Book Store or Powerbooks.

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For your questions and suggestions please email me at gr.rodis@gmail.com.