No I haven't died... hell no, I haven't dropped the project! Lots of projects been going on, in addition to Among B-Boys. Don't worry people, it is going to be done. It's been a long process and I have to tell myself to be patient sometimes myself.
Some extra things that been going on: Almost done with the Hung Dynasty the Movie: The Return of Animal Chin. Rob Nasty has taken most of the editing duties, and I'm now more of the tech/glue guy. My responsibilities are with the intro montage, the motion graphics sequences and mixdown, and then DVD menu and authoring.
should be out by Mighty4, next weekend!
if you got a chance... check out two things: the second trailer for the movie (Parental Advisory... contains adult themes)
and this next item... Underground FLow vs Bang uh Rang. An iLL battle all around. funny that I am so out of the loop on this Hella Hung sponsored Jean Claude Van Jam: Bloodsport battle!
I've been a bad blogger... but sue me... I've been busy!
I'm currently working at the Boys & Girls Club in South San Francisco as their clubhouse coordinator/technology director. Right now we're doing a lot of animation because unfortunately, a lot of our video production and audio production got jacked (before and after I got hired). This stuff includes 3 24" imac computers, 1 korg triton extreme synthesizer, 2 miniDV camcorders, and countless copies of Windows XP and various 3d software, and our OSX Adobe Design Premium installers. But On the bright side, we have a lot of our Windows installers for stuff like Adobe Web Standard and MS Office 2007.
So I've also been working slowly on getting the film together, but I recently took a big hit and didn't get a grant I applied to. It sucks, but hey, I guess I just need to do a few fundraisers. I also will keep my rights to sell it to whomever I wish (assuming there's a distributor that will be interested). But that's all to be seen later.
I've also been helping with Hella Hung and his Hung Dynasty's SOLO DVD, called "The Return of Animal Chin" Please watch it... it's the SH!#!!!
Yes! I finally got my internet back. Moved into a new place, and now I can really get down to business, and just in time to start blogging again here.
1.) if you didn't know, there's a new Among B-Boys YouTube channel that is so far compiling battles from the Among B-Boys 3 event. There's also links to that all over this website.
2.) Progress Update: currently waiting on a funding proposal... wish me luck. But I'll still be working on the rough cut of the film!
3.) I'm also recruiting soundtrack artists, check out Tou Saiko of Delicious Venom on the NY Times video blog
4.) And check out Sukie's little brother Jerry and his crew breakin in their house where Sukie used to!!!
Way to represent Fresno, way to represent, Sacramento, Merced/Winton, Bakersfield, Modesto, Stockton, wherever ya'll from! Among B-Boys 3 was an official success, and not only that, Velocity - Bboys Affex and Geo came out with a vengeance! Congrats to them for getting first place, Randum 9 for getting a close second by tiebreaker, and Undefined Styles - Oscar and Fidel, for placing 3rd.
Coming soon, DVD preorders will be available tomorrow. Order your Among B-Boys 1/2/New Years Jam DVDs available online tomorrow! Coming soon, we'll be posting Youtube clips of the jam and previews!!!
and check out this clip of Villn and Mpact as a teaser for the documentary
I'd been seeing a lot of bulletins on Myspace for donations for Frosty Freeze, but hadn't been able to figure out what they were for, until recently I started seeing RIP Frosty Freeze on people's bulletins and was like damn... so check him out, Frosty Freeze, second gen Rocksteady Crew, famously appearing in my favorite Hip Hop documentary of all time, Style Wars (filmed by another legend who passed away this year, Tony Silver). I didn't follow him much, but he was one of the most charismatic Rocksteady members I remember from Style Wars, and he was definitely respected as a pioneer who kept it up all the way to the end, to my understanding.
check out Frosty Freeze on wikipedia there's a lot more articles linked to him there that could do him more justice than I ever could to his memory.
Sorry I haven't updated in HELLA long. it's been a month. Just been caught up trying to piece together this film, ya know? The longer and longer I take, I feel like the more pressure there it is make it look good!
Also, I need help! Any volunteer graphic designers, web coders, or multimedia gurus out there? hit us up!
for now, I guess check out another Underground Flow battle. This time, vs their arch-rivals, Flex Flav!
***
in other dancing news... I know a lot of people hate those TV dance competitions, but anyone check out the JabbaWockeeZ on "America's Best Dance Crew" last night? If you don't know, JabbaWockeeZ are Hip Hop dance performance group who are pretty well respected around the B-Boy circles. I've seen them perform twice, once at one of the Battle of the Year USA comps, and another at the Culture Shock LA Decypher the Silence show.
B-Boy Villn, international man of infamy is at it again. This past weekend, our main man Villn, aka Longkue "Steven" Lor has out and about, his latest known whereabouts being "Paris, France". Good luck and safe travels, he is due to be back on Monday, Nov 26.
A UGF Day @ Clawz Out
In more news, Villn's Twin brother Mpact aka Longka "Michael" Lor tells me at a recent competition it was a "UGF Day". Please do check out this Youtube clip of Underground Flow: Villn, Mpact and Philthy wreckin it at Clawz Out held at UCLA recently.
Flew down to check out the West Coast premiere of the film "Inside the Circle", directed by Marcy Garriott, at the San Diego Film Festival on 9/27 and 9/28 (the screening we went to), where it won the audience award The film features lots of really dope B-Boys, featuring Omar, Milky, Romeo and B-Boy City! It was a great opportunity too because I brought Mpact and his roommate/crew member P-Rock. Mpact got a chance to see what the film festival experience would be like, complete with Q & A. Other noted attendees were Cros-1 of Freestyle Session/Armory Survival Gear fame, and RockSteady Crew's DJ Charlie Rock.
This meeting was especially special because Marcy Garriott is a filmmaker whom I have been corresponding with and receiving extra support and wisdom from, on top of that from our CAAM mentorship program's Vivian Kleiman. She has been not only supportive of my film and efforts, but also of the B-Boy/B-Girl scene overall. It was great to finally see her film, and I definitely wasn't disappointed. Not only was I there to see and enjoy another great Hip Hop/Breaking Documentary, but I was there to learn and see how Marcy put her story together. There's definitely some differences in how here story is put together narratively and how she approaches her character development with Omar (Jive Turkeys/Zulu Kingz), Josh (Milky, Masters of Mayhem/Mind 180) and Romeo (B-Boy City), but there are some great similarities in the multiple storylines (three, to be exact) and she does a great job of getting at the heart of their motivations for B-Boying.
A lot to think about with how mine is going to be, but thank goodness I've set a lot of the groundwork to make the process of editing I've been going through, more manageable. Which brings me to where the film's at now. It's been tough getting through all the material, making tough decisions on what to keep, what must go... how to portray certain segments, how to pace it... trying not to get too distract from the task at hand, fidgeting on the little stuff such as how the music/audio will be mixed down, sound design, etc... those can be taken care of later.
So that's it for now... I'm back dedicated to getting this first rough cut into a digestible form... I had a nice nearly week long excursion to clear my head before continuing, but I'm back refreshed, and this phase is nearly there! I'll get back to ya'll later.
At the Hollywood Film Festival:
INSIDE THE CIRCLE United States (PROGRAM TITLE = INSIDE THE CIRCLE) 5:00 p.m. Oct. 19, Friday. 102 min. ArcLight Cinemas 6360 W. Sunset Blvd Hollywood, CA 90028
Capturing the raw power and defiant creativity of a homegrown hip-hop movement, Inside the Circle charts the journey of talented b-boys Josh and Omar, best friends turned rivals, as they struggle to keep dance at the center of their lives.
The B-Boy event that we'd all been waiting for. I would say THE PREMIER Team B-Boy event in the U.S., no showcase competition, ALL day cyphers, crews from not only around the country but around the world, France, Germany, Switzerland, Japan and Korea were some I remembered. Definitely one of the most hyped B-Boy events of late (ever?) and I thought it lived up to the expectations at the very least. A late posting on some highlights of Freestyle Session - 10th Anniversary...
Some of my highlights for the weekend included, but were not limited to:
1.) All them Korean B-Boys. Everybody jocks them, everyone wants to call them out, because they do some amazing shit. Not just those amazing power moves, but how they do those moves on beat! And how lots of them can really dance too.
2.) All the B-Boys in one building gettin down, getting to see some of my favorite B-Boys and crews battle. I wish the competition could've allowed more deserving crews to get shots at getting a place in the top 16, but at least everyone got a chance to compete.
3.) Getting to see and shoot UNDERGROUND FLOW and SOUL CONTROL/CLIMAX in their respective battles. Even though neither crew advanced to the top 16, I could feel the excitement and energy from two crews in different places: one group getting their feet wet, trying to get themselves out there and establish themselves with their peers (UGF), and another group the accomplished veterans, trying to remind people that Soul Control's still representin' in the 10th anniversary! It sucked though, cause Soul Control style originator Kujo missed the battle, because he was eating and didn't hear the announcement. It would've been great to see him battle with the guys. I thought maybe he'd left early or something and wasn't battling, but he came out afterwards, and was like, wtf?
4.) The Cyphers! There were too many to keep track of. And i think i missed out on a few battles and call outs to keep track of... although I'm glad I didn't trade the main competition for cypher battles. There's a lot of talked about happenings at the Freestyle Session message board . Just watch out for the expected post event bickering shit talking.
5.) Zulu Kings (USA/Worldwide) vs Gamblerz (Korea) in the finals. One for the ages. Although I left early thinking that Gamblerz took the competition just to hear that Zulu Kings took it, but I can see how Zulu Kings could've taken it too from their perspective. It would be cool if the judges could post criteria, results, judging cards or something to help give people insight into how these events are judged and how they make their decisions. Especially considering how much money is at stake at a jam like this.
6.) The production value of the filming! Professional equipmenet and crew, no more rinky dink shit. Light kits, Quality cameras, I can't wait for the DVD to come out.
7.) Everything was not only on time, but the battles were moved along quickly, the there was good visability to the stages, spotlights for the cyphers (which kinda messed up my filming sometimes, when the B-Boys moved in and out of the spotlight, I had to keep changing the exposure.
So I got some great footage, had a great time, got to see some world class Breakin'! And the rest of my mission was accomplished as I picked up a whole mess of archival footage from Mpact and Villn's personal stocks. Really excited to see how it all works with the material we already have. That's all I got for now (it's not as fresh on my mind over a week later...) Hopefully we won't have to wait another 3 years for the next Freestyle Session.
As I've been working on this "Paper Edit" for the film (more on Paper edits, see last posting) I've been trying to draw on Parallels with the multiple storylines. One of the main themes I've been able to compare and contrast everyone with are ideas of "success" as a B-Boy. I think one of the great things this film focuses on is the growing success of the Hmong B-Boy scene.
Another way is I think I've been able to show Parallels between the generations of Hmong B-Boys. But I've will then be showing where they diverge and progress, each generation...
***This section revised 8/15 @ 12:08 AM*** Which, to take a quick excursion reminds me of my history of Marxism class I took at UCLA with professor Brenner (I think that was his name). something about the argument about how Feudalism's dissolution came about, how much of a role capitalism had in creating "democracy". Those who taught capitalism say that Feudalism was locked in a cycle of and the cyclical appearance the was interupted by Capitalism, of which would make it this ahistorical occurance that was disrupted by a foreign entity from the east... but there was actually a real historical progression, due not because of capitalism and trade from Merchants, but I think because of the destabilization of the feudal lords by the Peasant uprisings? something like that...
but this has a point!
There is a seemingly cyclical pattern of many Hmong youth who are often locked in impoverished conditions, and those who are seem trapped in this existence. Those who break the mold might be seen as having outstanding individual character and testicular fortitude (exceptional strenght and ability). But the progression and success of many of these B-Boys I see not as the result of individual meritocracy alone, but the result of a community's support and collective lessons, each one benefitting the next generation. Family members and community members use the lessons of their lives to provide mentorship and direction to those they care about.
thank you, thank you. you can award me my Ethnic Studies PhD in the mail. If only I had applied!!!
and one last thing... I found this writing tool online, it's helped me organize infinitely: Scrivener for those in need.
Currently the project is in the "preparation for post production phase". And for me that's meant transcribing interviews, getting people to help transcribe interviews (Thanks Zoe, Julia and Gen!) printing out all 200+ pages of them, putting them in a binder, tabbing them, then going through everything with a Hi-Liter.
I've recently finished the Hi-Liter deal, and now I am working on the "Paper-edit" which is pretty much trying to take everything I selected from the transcripts, and trim and arrange until they make sense! That may sound easy, but my process is constantly interupted by *gasp* thinking! I always seem to just stare off at times, trying to piece everything together in my head. How I'm going to present the story, arrange everything, how to order it so it makes sense. What's going to be the perfect order!
I did recently though, read a pretty good article in the "Total Chaos" Hip Hop Aesthetics reader, written by DJ Spooky, kept talking about arranging and remixing film as a DJ. Pretty interesting... and it got me to thinking about how I like to edit stories and present them... I like to tell stories like I DJ. Often I like to blend. Other times I just scratch it in, and drop the record in a the right time. But there's always a rhythm, a feel for it. On top of it, song selection is important, you have to juxtapose and blend the right songs with each other! Sometimes I order songs with each other because of a certain similar element in them, whether it's a certain instrument, the way the drums work together... and other times I put them together for their contrast, and the meaning that can be drawn by the two together. My film will hopefully flow and blend, stop, go, smoothly at the right places and abrupt at certain points, but always with the "feel" in mind. Just like how I like to tell stories in some of my mixes. Check them out for yourself!
It seems like production has gone on since forever. Ever since one fateful day, late 2003, probably around December, I walked into the office of Visual Communications (VC) in Los Angeles. Hungry, looking for some food, and someone to help me through the job search process, VC exectutive director Leslie Ito asked me if I wanted to submit to the Armed With a Camera (AWC) Fellowship. I submitted a proposal for a project about Hmong B-Boys.
On this Los Angeles "winter" afternoon, I had no idea where this film would take me, who I would meet, and least of all how difficult it is to make a documentary film. From Merced with Velocity, to Long Beach with Mpact and Villn, to Fresno with Vang, to Oklahoma with the new Soul Rivals, to Sacramento, and finally back to Fresno with Climax. It has been an epic journey for an epic film... one of fun, struggle, patience, eagerness, frustration, mistakes, joy, and real connections.
The past two months have been grunt work, filled with lots of transcriptions. Once that's done come editing. But before all that happened, I needed to complete my final interviews: a reshoot because of sound issues with Mpact and Villn in Sacramento and interviews with Flip and Goku (Charles) of Climax/Soul Control in Fresno and Kingsburg.
The shoot in Sacramento went even better than the first time and I'm hoping to be able to use both sets of interviews with just a little bit of sound restoration and filtering. This time, with the first round under their belt, they've had an opportunity already to think about a lot of the concepts and stories they they talked about this time around. I found their answers to be more concise and perhaps more articulate this time around. The only disappointment was this time was the lack of Horses/Donkeys/Livestock in the background of their interviews. Check out Steven looking like Villn: Masai Warrior in the picture!
In Fresno with Charles and Flip... I already had somewhat of an idea from speaking with Charles over the phone, of how much of an asset he would be to this film, as one of Fresno's stalwart B-Boys. Charismatic, big HEART, HUGE CHIP ON HIS SHOULDER. But more about that in a later posting... I'm hoping to write a complete posting on his interview soon. With this last interview on Sunday, July 15, 2007, I hope this will fill in the earlier histories of the previous generations of Hmong B-Boys, especially in Fresno. Also, get ready for some surprises too.
So there it is... that's it, IT'S A WRAP!!! And although this definitely doesn't exclude the possibility of having to get pickup shots, pickup interviews, reshots (hopefully not...), but it marks the beginning of the next part of this journey into really constructing, weaving and connecting all these stories that I've captured, together and creating a vision through them. Wish me luck on this new journey! Though I know I will miss the interview process and the experiences I've had in production (and I know RJ will too), I can't help but believe these are just the beginnings, to many new lasting friendships.
Carne Asada Fries (KAR-ney A-SA-DA Fryes) – Origin unknown, first served in the late 1990s. A native dish in San Diego, the base is Shoestring French Fries, stacked with Guacamole, Carne Asada, topped with Cheese. Variations of this dish include refried beans, Pico De Gallo, Sour Cream. Carne Asada Fries are Popular with high school youth, and 20-somethings coming from a night of fun.
Carne Asada Fries. Along with my family, it’s the only thing I truly miss about San Diego. Ever since I’ve moved up to the bay, I’ve been disappointed with the Mexican food. My fiance and myself would seek out places around the bay for this dish, and were hopeful with Milpitas, but were disappointed as they used the thicker French Fries.
But we're in Oklahoma.
So... we're driving yesterday to a restaurant and my eyes land on a taco shop. Usual standard facade: bright colors, boasting authentic Mexican cuisine BUT painted on the window was CARNE ASADA FRYES $4.50. $4.50! Back in the day it was that low, actually $4.00. I was obviously shocked and made it a point to Chris that this was to be our destination for lunch. So. It's about 2 o'clock in the afternoon and we make it to Rioberto's, and Rioberto is a mustached, sombrero rocking amigo offering a taco -- we head in, and this heavy white dude is sitting with his pot-belly staring at Chris and myself. Anxieties aside, I make my way to the counter and ask, "What's in your Carne Asada Fries?"
I asked just to make sure there ain't no beans in it -- and she says in her fresh Mexican accent, "Dere's fryes, Guacamole, Sour Cream, Cheese, Carne Asada..."
Perfect.
I wait for Chris and he asks if that's all I'm having - damn skippie it's all I'm having -- so he asks politely if he could try some, I say yes and he proceeds to place his order -- two lame chicken tacos. He orders a Sangria Soda, I get a small Horchata and we sit and await our order. We set up the camera obviously to record such a momentous event, when she says, "It's ready."
I hop to it, obtain the small half carton of a styrofoam treasure box - half, not the full that we're all familiar with - so that's one point off, but go figure right it was only $4.50...
I do a little strut on the way back to the table where Chris is recording and I give a little background to the mystere of Carne Asada Fries and I claim my expertise on it... I open it up and to my minor dismay they've used the big fries, not the small skinny ones - but it's got everything else!
The meat... on point. So I have some, and Chris has some -- and I eat and eat and eat.... and it's gone. All gone -- it was a lukewarm success, but that's another life experience I can add to eating Balut in the Philippines and streetside tacos outside of Ensenada - Carne Asada Fries in Tulsa, Oklahoma --- Go Globalism!
