wong fu + kevjumba video shoot:9

a couple weeks ago, philip wang (1/3 of wong fu productions) asked me to rally together a few heads from CADC (team i used to dance on) for their upcoming, top-secret video shoot with kevjumba. since current team was busy getting ready for a competition, alums decided to step in. some of us were kinda rusty in the dancing department (ok, maybe just me), but it was a good excuse to get together again and try battling through a late night in the cold like old times. we weren’t in the mesa parking structure, but being at a random warehouse in the middle of the night made me a little nostalgic. oh, how i miss college.

i didn’t make use of my camera the first night of shooting, so i’m stealing the following photos from wong fu’s post (teehee):

(find more of their sneak peek footage from the video shoot here.)

the second night of shooting took place at my parents’ donut shop in downtown los angeles. the shop’s open 24 hours, but we closed off our teeny lobby area for the shoot and even took over the parking lot of the plaza. despite it being in the middle of the night, we did have our occasional curious passerby (and a few scary creepers too), but all in all, was a fun night of shooting til 3 in the morning (tsk tsk for not keeping your 1am promises, phil… keeeding! haha).

details of the shoot are top-secret, but here are a few sneak peeks (and a few surprise faces) to keep you excited for its debut:

wong fu in action

filming in front of the donut shop

far east movement enjoying their croissants (p.s. they’re opening up for lady gaga’s tour in japan – congrats!)

trying out different job options in case wong fu doesn’t work out? haha

taking over the lobby

wong fu, far east movement, kevjumba, david choi

phil and jeri lee, with wes working his magic behind the camera

kina grannis, phil, david choi, kevjumba

…and now, rockin’ the steppie clothing:

some ninjas are sly and stealthy, while others are loud and expressive… lol.

kina grannis / david choi

wes, david, phil, kevin, me, ted, scott

ok, no more trying to play it cool: it’s no secret i’m a huge fan of all these youtube stars, so being in a room with all of them and getting the chance to speak to them one-on-one was definitely an experience. the best thing i got out of it though, was realizing just how genuine and real they were. considering before this shoot, all i did was watch them through my laptop screen, i didn’t really know how to handle myself around them… or if i’d feel awkward since i wasn’t part of the whole ‘youtube community’… but i really had nothing to worry about. they immediately made me feel comfortable, and it was easy to find commonality with each of them considering how hard they each work and how passionate they are about they do.

i talked about this briefly in my q&a snippet in my isa interview post, but being around them for those two days… and seeing other young asian-american entrepreneurs doing what they do best, loving it, and pursuing it full-time… it was the most inspired i’ve felt in a while.

a huge thank you to wong fu + kevjumba for allowing me to be apart of the video shoot, my fellow CADC alums for holding it down (even through their early work morning the next day), and all the other amazing people i got the opportunity to meet those two days. people doin’ it big, and it’s all sorts of awesome.

the official video won’t be out for a while, but a few of my faves:
+ wong fu productions: “just a nice guy” | “poser!” mockumentary
+ kevjumba: “ridiculous lyrics”
+ david choi: “won’t even start” | “won’t even start” promo
+ kina grannis: “valentine” 

Related posts:

1. ninja spotting:
2. sneak peek from tuesday's shoot!