BEHIND THE ORIGINAL MUSIC

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I’ve always been fascinated how human emotion can be portrayed without using people or dialogue.

“These Four Walls” is about daring to explore a world that is bigger than you know. There are a lot of reasons to not do something or not feel something. Those boundaries and walls are put up by ourselves. Once we’re able to step outside of them, we can truly realize the endless possibilities the world has to offer.

TFW was made with the same sensibility as The One Days: HK shorts. I was traveling through the Tuscany area of Italy with my brother. Armed with one camera, we explored and captured the city in it’s most honest and natural form. The difficult part about making this short was figuring out how to present the story. Before leaving for the trip, I knew I would be seeing some breathtaking scenery. Shooting the scenery wouldn’t be too challenging. But how would I piece all the shots together to make sense and keep people engaged? That’s where the pinwheel came in.

I like the pinwheel because it’s something that everyone is familiar with. To me, a pinwheel always represented a kind of innocence and childlike playfulness. This personality was crucial to the short. Also, the movement of the pinwheel itself is interesting to look at. It doesn’t rely on anything except it’s surroundings to spin. And also, in terms of practicality, it’s a just simple toy that’s easy to make and transport.

I was considering writing some text that would appear throughout the short. Text that would tell viewers what the pinwheel was thinking and feeling. However, after I finished a first cut, I felt it was much stronger without the text. It felt too forceful and unnecessary to describe through words when the images and music are already full of emotion. Also, by leaving it open, the short might speak to people in more than one way.

Also, if you’ve read up to here, then thanks. Thanks for giving something like this a chance. It does take some patience to watch and it might not be everyone’s “cup of tea” but I hope you can appreciate when we mix things up a bit :]

Here’s a few fun facts about the short/trip:

• Most of the scenery is from Florence except for a few shots from Tabiano
• We took a span of 2 days to capture all the footage in the short
• There’s actually quite a bit of footage I had to leave out because the whole thing was getting long
• The opening scene of the pinwheel opening, took five hours to make (construction and filming)
• I had to spend 3 euros and ride the carousel twice by myself to get the last shot
• This was my second time being in Italy. The first time was in 2004
• The short was made with a Canon 5DII (for you geeks out there)

It’s a new year, so time for a new look. Check out the newest releases from Nice Guy Design. GUYS click here. GIRLS click here.

Attention Girls! Please read the sizing info as this is a different fit shirt. American Apparel UNISEX V-neck shirt.

“This shirt was designed to have a relaxed and loose fit.Our model is 5’6, she’s wearing a size small. If you usually wear a size small or XS this shirt will be big on you however this shirt will shrink up to a size when placed in the dryer. If you typically wear a size small to a medium a size Small (for this design) will fit you comfortably. Currently we do not carry XS in this design, we may have XS in stock in MAY/JUNE 2010.”

Trying to get y’all a nice fitting v-neck. (oh yah, recognize the girl? she’s from the “Red Light” music video)

So you might notice that this video is a bit different from our past work. This was intentional. When we were deciding on a song off the Sam’s album we had a lot to choose from. He had a lot of different moods and topics in his music. “Shots and Beer” was about old friends growing up and would have had a great story. “Sunday” was about meeting girls in church, which would have had a really funny video to match. “Dreams” as I’ve written is my favorite because it is the most thoughtful and about family.

STYLE
We ended up choosing “Red Light” because we felt that with all the other songs, we would be making a video that had similar “cute” “aww” emotions and visuals that we’ve had in past videos. We don’t have anything against that, but I guess we just wanted to try something new… and something that was a little more grown up, and a little more cool, maybe even sexy? haha. “Red Light” gave a good soundtrack for a video that could have this look and feeling. So I guess you could say this music video was our attempt to be “grown and sexy” haha. It’s still not as edgy as it could be, but hey, we have middleschoolers watching our stuff apparently. =P

CREW/LOCATIONS
This video was made with no crew. Once again, just wes, ted, and myself behind the scenes with the camera, holding bounce boards and work lights, and running all around yelling directions. Sam did find help through his friends offering locations for us, like the church where the performance shots were done (one of the nicest church settings I’ve ever seen), and the bar and apartment. The apartment we used actually belonged to the one of the bar’s managers, James Rhee, who let us use both. Super nice places.

BUDGET
There was also no budget (minus some parking and some drinks), as you just read, just pulling a lot of favors from friends. I’d say that what we created looks like it cost a lot more than $50, haha. Don’t you think?

CAST
Everyone in the video was a friend of Sam’s. We like making videos w/ friends and not necessarily actors. It’s more fun this way. The main girl in the video… that’s Sam’s girlfriend. =)

Overall this was a really great project. I’m actually very proud of this one and I hope you guys enjoy the quality and intentions behind this video. Please spread it around if you like it, and definitely check out more of Sam’s music. Thanks!

We talk about stuff…

VOTE HERE!
Voting has officially started on the JCPenney “Schooled in Style” Breakout Performer contest! I’ll be honest, when we first opened up the contest, I was a little worried we wouldn’t get enough submissions since there was only a 2 week window, but we ended up getting over 40 submissions and so many of them were just amazing. The 10 videos with the most views after that first 2 week round of viewing are now on the ballot for YOUR vote. It’s up to you to determine the Top 5, from which FarEast Movement and us will choose the grand prize winner, who will get to come to the upcoming ISA concert and perform on stage for the audience! Click on for a quick “cliffnotes” guide to the 10 video entries to help you vote.

-Clara Chung – Wow, great voice AND she plays like 5 different instruments (her pulling out the flute was pure awesomeness)

-James Ha – Probably one of the more unique videos on the ballot. Singing and using his BODY as a percussion instrument to “beatbox” along.

-James Pham – showing off his popping skills… definitely way better than me.

-Trent Ellingsen – one of 2 videos submitted involving FIRE! This one is just to crazy though. I was undeniably shocked when I saw this as a submission. Very cool, i mean, hot.

-Evan Lian – Got the nifty multi-track multi-video thang going on. Plus, I’m a sucker for Avril Lavigne’s “Complicated” haha.

-Joseph Villarroel – I gotta admit, this guy is the most G out of them all. The file of his submission was titled “dancing with no fear” and he definitely has no fear and I respect that. Plus, he really does have some good moves in various styles. Keep dancing buddy.

-Eliel Lyn Sagansay – super sweet and original song. JCPenney should definitely hire her or buy this song off her, it’s so catchy, and makes me wanna go shop at JCP.

-Jenton Lee – Requirement was to wear something bought from JCP. He chose boxers. He wins just off “cool points” to me.

-Laura Lee – beautiful singing and cool style. Makes me wanna practice piano.

-Chris Ocampo – I tweeted about this one actually. Not really magic, more like “ball handling skills” if magic were basketball. Very impressive, and unique…I didn’t even know this “talent” was really out there. A must watch.

Hope that helps guide you through. If you’re bored at work or school (which for some has started), definitely kill some time on those videos…just be sure to have your headphones on. =P

VOTE HERE. Thanks for participating!

I wish Wong Fu could take credit for it, but this amazing piece was made by Derrick Lee.

We met Derrick while we were on tour in Seattle this past April. If you watched our tour vlog episode from Seattle, he’s the one that’s playing piano and singing at the end. Yup, he’s quite the multi-talented young man. He made this whole trailer from scratch…oh did I mention he also took FM’s song “Get that Money” and remixed it himself to use as the music. Yes, our mouths dropped too. Props to Derrick…you’ll definitely be seeing more of his work in Wong Fu’s future stuff. =P right Derrick? Check out his channel from some other nifty things in there. Like the following animation that he made. Prepare to be amazed. Utada ftw.

 *To answer several inquiries about tix… if you are getting General Admission tickets, and want to wait to buy them at one of our ticket tour stops, then you should be fine. There should be some VIP tix left, but the backstage passes are most likely going to be sold out.

Oh yeah, so that’s what the real news is about. The reason for the launch of the new website is to get ready for the upcoming concert. Officially..Sunday Sept 6th! Yeah it’s a Sunday, but it’s Labor Day Weekend! That means you can make a trip out of the show if you’re from out of town!

Anyway, the lineup is going to be announced August 1st and tickets will go up the same day. All I can say for now, is that we’re bringing together some new friends, and also bringing back some awesome players from past shows. Lots more news to come. There’s also going to be a huge video talent contest, sponsored by JCPenney where you could win a flight out to LA to be part of the show! Ok, I’ve said to much. Secret Agent Phil over and out.

BIG shout out to Giggle Media (based in Australia, so all you Aussies, show them some love) for creating the website. Ann and May, you two are AMAZING. Working w/ them at 3-4am a few nights to match up with Australia’s time of 8-9pm was “heaps” of fun. Skype ftw!

After 3 months, one release a month, here is the final short off our One Days: HK DVD. It’s called “See Through” and it was written and directed by Philip and features Wes as the main character and his brother in a supporting role. The synopsis goes, “Sometimes the most personal advice can be found in complete strangers. Listening to the experiences of another can help us apply what they’ve learned into our own lives. Two travelers on different ends of a similar situation find peace and understanding through each others words and presence.”

Ready for some behind the scenes commentary?

1. This short was shot on our last day in Hong Kong. There was no chance for reshoots. Everything had to be done that day. Of course, as I was editing, and looking back, there were a few things I woulda wanted to fix or do differently. oh wellz

2. This was my first “One Days” project and I definitely felt the pressure. It was also my first time in Hong Kong.

3. Originally I wanted to shoot a “One Day” in Taipei, Taiwan, which was where we were before arriving in HK. Since I wasn’t able to deliver while we were there, I decided to shoot in HK.

4. Yes, that is Wes’ actual brother. He was traveling with us. By the time we shot this short, we had used up all our resources and friends. Since there were no other people available to act…Wes and Ted stepped up and did a great job.

4a. Wes’ brother is a genius. Literally. haha. And he’s incredibly talented artistically. He can paint, sculpt, forge his own swords, carve out an er-hu on a whim and is also world renowned for his origami. Check it out, you will be amazed. The following piece is folded from a single piece of uncut/untorn paper.
 

5. Robynn, the girl who plays Lily is a friend that we met on tour in 2007. We’ve kept in touch and she just so happened to be back in HK for the summer. She’s also a great singer! Also, unlike her character in the story she does speak Cantonese, fluently.

6. We were stopped once by a security guard while shooting near the Avenue of the Stars (where the short opens) He just told us to go a bit further down out of the way. The rest of the day, in other locations we didn’t run into any more problems.

7. I wrote the script the night before. As all the other One Days shorts were made, the translation was done as we were shooting. However, we had the hardest time translating “psychic” and some other weird lines I had written into normal and proper mandarin. We ended up having to call various aunties and moms to get help.

8. The main idea. Lily’s words and the way she speaks about her soon to be ex-boyfriend is a reflection of Tracy and how she broke up with David. David hears Lily’s closing words and realizes these are probably the same things Tracy feels about leaving him. “He will be happy again, I’m not the only person in this world for him.”

So we released the DVD in Dec 2008, but thought that for this summer, it’d be nice to release the 3 new shorts, previously only viewable on the DVD, to the public. Hope you’ve enjoyed all the new shorts over the last few months. Hopefully we’ll be able to make more while we’re on future trips, and in other countries!! =D

Here are some photos I took during another day we were just hanging out. Imagine these are from earlier in the night when Lily and David met up. Or maybe if/when they saw each other in Taiwan again!

While Wes is off enjoying his vacation (hence his quietness on Twitter and FB and blog), Ted and myself decide to take advantage. Granted, I did warn him when I asked him to leave an audio file of him saying random things before he left. Also, we had this sweet blown up poster of his face left over from his birthday. Put those together…and you get the above video. Enjoy.

(Wes is almost as interesting in 2D paper form as in real life!!) haha, i kid i kid.

Part 1: Remember the Chinese interview we had. Watch us prepare the hour prior. Also, our visit to UC Davis, our drive up to the REAL “norcal” and our most curious and strange event ever…in Humboldt.

Part 2: Seattle was a significant stop since we stayed for an extra day to do touristy things. This part is completely dedicated to the beautiful city.

Part 3 will come out later next week…maybe, thrs? ehh, we’ll see.

(heck yes this was the first entry to not open with a photo or video.)