Sunset Junction

Each year, the communities of Echo Park, Silver Lake, Los Feliz and the greater LA area join forces to put on the outdoor fair known as "Sunset Junction." The theme is "cultural diversity." It's a pretty huge event and this year proved to be no exception. There were bands, plenty of food stalls, rides, games and booths selling your typical range of arts and crafts. This year, the sun was scorching hot and it took a bit of stamina to make it through the day. Okay, I was dying out there. But I shot enough footage to put together this short video. Watch it here!
[2:51/9.2MB - QT]

Hot Caulk Sandwich Party

I like parties with a theme. But what the fuck is a "Hot Caulk Sandwich Party?" I had to drive down to Atwater Village to find out. The beer was flowing, the music was pumping and the hot caulk sandwiches were...uh, well, begging to be eaten. What you'll see is the blurry result of a fun-filled evening... and early morning. If by the end of the video you're still scratching your head, don't fret, so was I. Thanks Dawn and Alayna!

Feel the Caulk here!

[3:55/14.1MB - QT]
Update: Recompressed file. It's 8 MB smaller! And a little revised editing.

You can also see Alayna and Dawn (and their artwork) in the Art Throb post 8/15/05.

Mekanix - VJs

LA based VJs, Mekanix, take a break from their set to talk about their craft. On this night, DJ Craze was spinning and the crowd was amped. If you're a fan of drum n bass, stop by Respect on Thursday nights. Great music and great visuals. Thanks to Illya and Azariah.

Watch here!

See more of Mekanix's work here.

The Lounge - Sun Valley, CA

It was after the ReVybe event in downtown LA (see Aug. 11th post) that a couple of bboys introduced me to The U-Turn Lounge. Apparently, it is a very popular underground hip-hop venue. And even though it's located deep in the Valley, people drive from all parts of So. Cal to get there. On this particular night, two bboy crews were doing battle. Thanks to D1 (co-founder) for letting me shoot that night. (The other co-founder is the legendary "Puppet Master" from back in the day.)

Watch it here!

You can visit The Lounge on MySpace.

Kenny Does Japan

I was introduced to Kenny Ong through a friend who sent me this video clip. As soon as I watched it, I knew this kid had talent. Kenny's a 25 year old graphic artist for Up Above Records. It was shortly after that we got to meet up for lunch and talk shop. Turns out that he's only been shooting and editing for a short time. Kenny's piece is a perfect example of organic rhythm. The images flow harmoniously in sync with the music, despite the sometimes randomness of the shots. That's what I like about Kenny's style. He really knows how to mix it up. He plays with the speed, the angles, the timing and the logic. You can tell he's having fun. And by the end, you feel like you've just been taken along for a ride through his eyes.

He challenges me to take more risks with my own projects.

You'll be seeing more clips from Kenny in the near future.

In the meantime, view the clip that made me a fan.

Watch Japan 05!

**Note: It's a large file, 24mb. May take a while to download.**

Art Throb

It was during a Korean language class (yes, I want to learn how to speak Korean) that a fellow classmate invited me to see her paintings at an exhibit in Hollywood. That's when I first became aware of the artist collective known as "Cannibal Flower." The showcase was called "Art Throb" and it included various works from such local artists as Alayna Magnan, Dawn Anderson (my classmate) and Joe Ledbetter to name just a few. Great art, fun people and lots of booze.

Check it out!

Thanks to Alayna and Dawn for helping me out with the shoot.
See more of Alayna's work at www.SexyInkGirls.com.
Visit Cannibal Flower and support your local artists here!

As Real As Your Life

This weekend, Acme Game Store held a special screening of Michael Highland's documentary entitled, "As Real As Your Life." It's a movie about how videogames controlled his life and reprogrammed his brain. Cool flick. I brought my video camera along and shot a quick interview. Thanks to Jason and Jonathan for always being the most gracious of hosts. I can't believe somebody drove a car through your window.

Watch it here!

Visit Acme Game Store

Greg Simkins Interview

I was introduced to Greg through the ever-present Jon Gibson via his "I-am 8-bit" art exhibit. Together, Jon and I interviewed Greg for a dvd insert for some foreign design mag. I was completely blown away by Greg's art and his out-of-this-world imagination. He's a name to be familiar with.

Peek Here!

You can see more of Greg's work at his site

I Am Scared.com

Nortec Collective @ the santa monica pier

So here's the challenge. I shot 25 minutes of video tonight and I wanted to see how long it would take for me to edit it and post it without it looking like crap. It took me 3 hours.

Ok, so it still looks like crap. Nobody asked you. At least I got it done.

** Special appearance by Eddie Mort **

See The Results Here

ReVybe

Back in Dec. 2004, I documented a late night battle in an old building in Downtown LA. Kids from all over the city were there to show off their Bboy skills. The event was called "ReVybe."

Check it out

Post This!

So I decided to jump on the bandwagon and join the blogging community. My blog, however, will not be as much about myself as it will be about my videos. Here, I'll be posting my short video clips of the UrbanUnderground documentary series I'm developing and other frivolous shit. Fuck yeah!