The indie rock scene in New York is a legacy that spans generations and TVTV is a part of this history.  Josh Ocean (lead singer) hit me up because of my work on AMBIENT CITY.  We clicked, we vibed and we decided to make a music video.  The first time I heard SMALLTIME, I was stoked, I never got to direct a rock video before, so I was really excited.  New York city’s back drop is amazing and really a character in itself, so with the budget we had we decided to do wat we do best and guerilla this thang.

Storywise, its always nice to have a good narrative in a music video otherwise its just guys on rapping or singing in front of cars.  We based this concept around the line “you may have money, but do you got soul” and basically that’s the artist plight of following your dreams or getting a real job.  I think this generation of young people can really connect to that.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Technically, I shot with a leica 35mm prime on Canon 7d on a Pilot Steadicam.  I have to say that this the weight of this steadicam definitely makes this process quite delicate, but I do love it.  We used minimal light to sources and ulitmately I think it worked out.

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I think we all remember that scene in Old Boy where our hero eats a live octopus. That cinematic moment is what moving pictures are all about. Images that stay with you forever.

Anyways, this is the first pilot edition of EXTREME EATS. Extreme EATS is a pilot episode that features extreme foods that you can find right here in America.
Michelle “Park” is a very old and true friend that I’ve never really had the pleasure to work with. We’ve always been in the same industry but never found a collaboration till now. I think this was a successful first round and look forward to more of this synergy.

We’ll be doing more in the coming months so that you can see more extreme foods that Michelle will eat. The Korean restaurant in Flushing, Sik Gaek is wonderful, great food and great atmosphere. It almost feels like you’re in Korea. The service is superb and everyone is having a good time. This is turning into a yelp review. And although, the live octopus is crazy, the rest of the food is quite normal and delicious. I think its just one of those things that everyone got to see for themselves.
49-11 Roosevelt Ave
Woodside, NY 11377
Neighborhood: Woodside
And of course this would probably look like garbage if we didn’t have the artistry of the infamous Jonathan Winbush. He is just flat out a professional.

production notes
Extreme Eats: OCTOPI! with Michelle Park

EXTREME EATS:OCTOPI!
with Michelle Park

Produced by MICHELLE PARK
Produced, shot, and edited by EVAN JACKSON LEONG
Motion Graphics by JONATHAN WINBUSH

Click here to view the embedded video.

Arowana CINEMA series presents : CHINATOWN CONNECTION

Lions, Rabbits, and Chinese Food by Evan Jackson Leong

I’m new to New York Chinatown and this is my beginnings of me getting to know it. Even though I’m 6th generation canto, I’ve always felt a strong cultural “connection” to Chinatowns everywhere. I think they’re awesome! Cheap food, cheap stuff, and great customer service! I make no claims to being more Chinese or less Chinese, (whatever that means) I don’t speak Chinese at all and my vocabulary probably doesn’t span more than 10 Chinese foods. Come on, I’m 6th generation. But I grew up in a household where cultural traditions were celebrated and honored. I have a lot of pride and sense of identity in my heritage and fkn proud to be a Chinese American. So, anyways that’s my “connection”!
Let’s get into how this project was inspired and what its all about.

I wanted to explore four areas that fell under the umbrella of tradition vs. contemporary around the Lunar New Year. Unfortunately I think I probably only executed about 3 and half. Borders, Preparation and Process, Year of the Rabbit, and Dance. The semi story revolves around Sheela Awe, who makes her way around New York’s Chinatown and meets another kind of dancer.

BORDERS
The concept borders came from the geographical idea that Chinatowns always exist outside of China and are bordered by the existing cultures that they land. And hence in these new cities that they are created, they are surrounded by borders of the existing culture. New York Chinatown borders Little Italy, Financial district, and the Lower East Side. But these days New York Chinatown is growing over these areas slowly but surely.

PREPARATION AND PROCESS
Preparation and Process was cooked up by the idea of food. Chinatown is a one stop shop, for raw fruits, vegetables and meat and you can eat it all there too The street markets and frozen fish are symbolic of the environment and smell of any Chinatown.

RABBIT
Year of the Rabbit, because its the Year of the Rabbit. Not too much insight there, but let me tell you shooting a rabbit in the snow with this giant rig and three cameras was not one of my easier shoots. One day I’ll get on Nat geo! Thank you Rooby!

DANCE
I’ve always loved the lion dance since I was a child. I used to have a miniature one that I could put on my head and mom even made a tail for it. But I don’t think my little brother liked playing the butt and two legs too much. But I digress, I had this vision of a whole lion dance troupe in the streets of Chinatown facing off with a hip hop dance crew, lit with giant moon balloon light! But when you have no budget and no permits, and its 10 degrees outside you make due with what you got. And what I got, I think turned out pretty dope. Sheela Awe, featured, is a professional dancer, hapa and raised in Shanghai. Check out her videos.
And the lion dance troupe is New York United Lion & Dragon Dance Troupe.

I’ve always loved Chinese New Years growing up. If you were a Chinese kid, why wouldn’t you? Free money, free candy, lots of Chinese food, and for those Chinese Americans luckier than me, a day off of school. They say that whatever you do on Chinese New Years is what you’ll be doing the rest of the year, so make this day an awesome one. HAPPY REAL NEW Year everyone that’s Chinese or Asian!

Production Creds

AROWANA FILMS
AROWANA CINEMA series
Director, Shooter, and Editor: Evan Jackson Leong
Producer: Christopher “LS” Louie
in association with A.L.L. Association
Associate Producers: Richie Cheung and Leon Wong

MUSIC
Last Emperor Soundtrack
Kid Koala remix Last Emperor Soundtrack
LION DANCE! by Adam Murphy of Hoboken Studios

Featuring:
Sheela Awe

New York Lion and Dragon Dance Troupe
“Rooby” the Rabbit
Red Egg Restaurant

Special Thanks
NORCAL
Darren Wan
Rabbit Handler: Caroline Maung
On Leong Tong Association
Tammy

and all the wonderful extras in Chinatown!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Film is a baby.
When compared to other visual and tangible disciplines, the actual art form of moving pictures is a baby.   Paintings, drawings, music, sculpture, architecture, poetry, writing, are all centuries old.  Since the beginning of the existence of mankind, many of these art forms have existed.    Moving pictures on the other hand is barely over 150 years old.  To give you a perspective, in 1867, William Lincoln patented the “wheel of life”, which spun pictures around.  Then in 1891, the Frenchman Louis Lumiere is credited for the first mobile motion camera, film processing unit, and projector all in one, called the Cinematographe.
What I’m trying to say is that the expanse of films and filmmaking is very young in its form.  And hence the process and experiencing cinema is still relatively new.  We may even have not seen the Picasso of filmmaking, nor we may have not seen the Michael Jackson of acting, and maybe we haven’t see the biggest cinema experience ever.  Filmmaking has traditionally been a privileged discipline to learn, but like many things, there is always room for evolution.
I could get into the different formats that were tried in Hollywood, (smell-o-rama, Cinerama, 3d) but who’s to say that we can’t see more?
Why does the viewing experience have to exist with one screen?  Why does the camera have to point in only one direction?  Why can’t we have 3 or 5 cameras?
I present my experiment to you, Arowana Cinema.  With the advent of new technology and the ability to experiment cheaply in HD, I find myself with no excuses other than to just shoot and TRY to see what I can do with this form.   Three DSLRS, three screens, and a steadicam rig, syncronized together to a perspective that is unattainable by the human eye.
One day when the budget allows me to have the fully immersed experience for the audience, you (and I) will get to see this how I envisioned it.  But for now, we get to watch on our desktops.

“The cinema is an invention without a future” – Louis Lumière

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Click here to view the embedded video.