Making Your First Short Film - 
Tips and Strategies for the First Time Filmmaker

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With the 2012 72 Hour Film Shootout soon approaching, writer/director J.P. Chan will share his thoughts and experiences on getting your first short film off the ground. This audience-led event will answer your questions (and then some) on how to get started and will include a screening of some of J.P.‘s short films. This evening is geared towards those with little or no previous filmmaking experience and will provide an overview of the filmmaking process. 

J.P. Chan (http://www.jpchan.com) is a self-taught filmmaker and playwright living in New York City. J.P.‘s award-winning short films have screened at film festivals around the world including Slamdance, SXSW, Tribeca, and Comic-Con. He also teaches DON’T QUIT YOUR DAY JOB, a popular filmmaking workshop based on his experiences making films while holding down full-time employment. J.P. holds a graduate degree in urban planning from NYU and was born in New Jersey to working-class immigrant parents.

Date: Thursday, April 12, 2012

Time: 7:00pm until 9:00pm

Location: The Azure Lounge, 333 E 91 St., New York, NY

Seating will be limited. RSVP to industryspotlight@aafilmlab.org

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Thanks to everyone who participated in our previous events.  Connect and reconnect with those you met at our previous meetings at our Facebook Profile Page and our Facebook Event Invite: Past Events!

The AAFilmLab is a not-for-profit organization committed to challenging our membership to continually strive to be better.  If you found our programs helpful or were able to find or utilize resources from AAFILMLAB meetings to improve your film, we kindly ask for an appropriate credit.  Thanks!

http://www.AAFilmLab.org

Congratulations to all participants and winners of this year’s 72 Hour Film Shootout!

We are uploading shootout entries and awards ceremony montage and lead-in nominee videos daily at www.youtube.com/72hourfilmshootout

Pictures from the Awards Ceremony and afterparty on Facebook

Top Ten 2011:
Team Floating Heads - Terra Cotta (Grand Prize Winner)
Team Blue Core - Subject 47 (1st Runner Up)
Team See Yoo Wu - The Assistant and Her Lovely Magician (2nd Runner Up)
Team Fish Grenade - Blue Monster
Team Lee Kim - A Letter From The Yearbook
Team Imua! Theater + Film Company - Dead End
Team Twelve One Studios - Truth*
Team KIS,S - Keen Study
Team MeetUp - The Mark
Team Soy Sauce Chicken - Sawaru

Best Actor & Actress Nominees Video
Best Actor: Tyler Ham Pong, Team Soy Sauce Chicken - Sawaru
Best Actress: Carla Ching, Team Floating Heads, Terra Cotta
Best Editor & Cinematography Nominees Video
Best Editing: Derek Shimoda, Team Fish Grenade - Blue Monster
Best Cinematography: Derek Shimoda, Team Fish Grenade - Blue Monster
Most Original, Best Director & Top Ten Lead-Ins Video
Most Original - Team Urban Mystics - Boxes
Best Director: Yasmine Gomez, Team Floating Heads - Terra Cotta
2nd Chance Award - KS Stevens, Team KS Stevens Productions - Katie & Kaden
Story Award: Team See Yoo Wu - The Assistant and Her Lovely Magician

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Upcoming Asian American FilmLab Schedule (1st Thursday & 2nd Half of the Month):
Thursday, Sept. 1st - Unfinished Works

The Asian American FilmLab is a not-for-profit organization committed to challenging our membership to continually strive to be better.  If you find our programs helpful or were able to find or utilize resources from Asian American FILMLAB meetings to improve your film, we kindly ask for an appropriate credit.  Thanks!

AAFilmLab

The AAFilmLab would like to invite you to a Reading/Workshop of Myra Sito Velasquez’s THE SOLDIER, a black comedy set in 1930’s Japanese military bootcamp, to take place on Wednesday, Nov. 17th from 6PM to 9PM, Co-Hosted by the AAFilmLab

The AAFilmLab will be co-hosting a free reading to workshop “The Soldier” by Myra Sito Velasquez, a finished screenplay in the midst of transformation into a multi-media theatre piece.  There will be audience feedback/Q&A, and reception.

Wednesday, November 17th
Doors Open 6PM
Reading begins PROMPTLY at 6:30PM

The reading is approx. 1 hr 20 mins.  FREE admission including reception, wine, beer and tasty bites!

The Richmond Shepard Theatre
309 East 26th Street
(b/w 1st and 2nd Ave)

THE SOLDIER was originally conceived as a feature screenplay—@ 60 pages—Myra now plans to transform it into a powerful multi-media theatre piece.  This public reading is her first step towards making this happen.  Like our regular “Unfinished Works” Meetings, we will be workshopping this piece with audience feedback, and Q&A.

With the assistance of Wayne Chang of WC Casting, Myra has brought together a group of talented cast: Sandi Carroll, Ai Kiyono, Yoshiro Kono, Whitney Kam Lee,  Jan Mizushima, Jun Naito, Koji Nishiyama, Eileen Rivera, David Shih, and Brian Walters.
 
Please RSVP with your name, & # of persons to (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

The AAFilmLab is a not-for-profit organization committed to challenging our membership to continually strive to be better.  If you found this program helpful or were able to find or utilize resources from AAFILMLAB meetings to improve your film, we kindly ask for an appropriate credit.  Thanks!

The AAFilmLab partnered with MOCA and APEX to provide a mentor who could guide a high school student's endeavor at creating their first short film. "Reminiscence" is one of the films completed. This film is now part of MOCA's Chinatown Film Project YouTube Channel.

The synopsis:
A young girl celebrates her grandmother's birthday as they reminisce about the grandfather who has recently passed away. We travel back in memory to 1965 - the grandparents, as a young couple, overcome what looks to be the end of their burgeoning relationship when the grandfather returns to China to tend to his sick mother.

Credits:
Written & Directed By
XIAOQIAN CHEN

CAST
Grandma
KIT FONG LEE

Granddaughter
DEANNA ZHU

Michelle (Grandma as a Young Woman)
DANIELLE YU

Lin (Grandpa as a Young Man)
HAI NINH

Cousin John
HARTMAN WONG

CREW
Producer
ISABELLA IP

Cinematographer
MATTE CHI

Editors
MATTE CHI
XIAOQIAN CHEN
ISABELLA IP

Sound
HYUNSUK KIM

Key Grip
HYUNSUK KIM

Costumes
CONNIE CHOW

PA
DASH

Music Composed and Performed By
VINCENT IP

THANKS GOES TO
Museum of Chinese in America
APEX
Asian American Film Lab
Tings Co.
City Hall Senior Center

Holly Chee and her mother, Danny Chen, Karin Chien, Amanda Ing

SPECIAL THANKS GOES TO
Xiaoqian Chen's family for their loving support

The Directors (Simon Ko, Hyunsuk Kim, Matte Chi, Peter Chin) are finished with principal photography and are all currently working on their cuts and will be finished with their Rough / Fine Cuts by June 29, 2009. After which, we will be able to schedule any pickups if necessary and move on to finish our films.

Follow our Tumblr here: http://relay09.tumblr.com/

The AAFilmLab is proud to announce that we are partnering with MOCA and APEX on a 3-month filmmaking mentorship program for Asian American High School students. APEX, a nonprofit in New York City dedicated to providing mentoring and educational services to Asian American youths, will provide a mentor and a student to work with a filmmaker from the AAFilmLab. The AAFimLab and APEX mentors will guide the student through the process of creating a 3-7 minute short film from inception of story to final cut. The final product will be displayed at the Museum of Chinese in America and will also be broadcast on the MOCA YouTube Channel.

The Chinatown Youth Mentorship Program had its first meeting on January 29, 2009 and will continue until May 2009, when the final short films will be presented for inclusion into the Museum of Chinese in America's opening ceremony. Peter Chin and Matte Chi from the AAFilmLab are the volunteer filmmakers who will be participating in the program. We thank MOCA's Karin Chien and APEX's Amanda Ing for the opportunity to work with these bright young students.

MOCA - http://www.mocanyc.org/
APEX - http://www.apex-ny.org

THE BEACHHEAD: APA SHORTS MAKE THEIR LANDING

The AAFilmLab and The ImaginAsian will be screening short films created by members of the AAFilmLab as well as a new face or two this THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 2006, 7:30PM - and the filmmakers are going to be looking for some support. This is the first in a series of screenings that The ImaginAsian has graciously offered to co-sponsor in order to get these films screened and to have our voices heard and we'd love to show them just how much we want our work to be shown in this city. Buy tickets online - http://www.theimaginasian.com/nowplaying/index.php?cid=900&date=20060413#100000468 and save some money or come straight to the theater this thursday and spread the wealth. The AAFilmLab proceeds will go towards more events like these as well towards the Script Competitions we hold each year (the winner of the first competition will be showing his short).

Most importantly, all you filmmakers who'd like a chance to screen your film at New York's premier Asian American movie theater, come to the screening to catch a few Asian American shorts, chat with the filmmakers during the Q&A, then submit your work to be considered for the next screening to be held at The ImaginAsian theater. We're waiting for more work and you know you deserve to be up there too.

FILMS:
"Factory"
At first glance Factory appears to depict the daily life of a typical factory in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. When we look more closely however we don't see clothes and sneakers but instead rubber feet and steel joints. Factory shows how Cambodians are working to address their country's legacy of war, poverty and landmines amidst one of the largest amputee populations in the world. ::Sonya Rhee:: Currently a producer of ethnographic films for Ogilvy & Mather, Sonya Rhee's previous documentary, which she co-directed and co-produced, Soldados: Chicanos in Vietnam, aired nationally on PBS as part of POV's program for 2003 and 2004. The film is currently archived at the Library of Congress as part of the Veterans History Project.

"J.J."
"The first time I saw her..." An unidentified woman narrates a dreamlike encounter she has with a girl. ::Jae-Ho Chang:: Jae-Heo received a BFA in Film/Video/Animation at the Rhode Island School of Design. He is currently attending NYU Graduate film school. He lives with his cat Hans Schmoozer in Manhattan.

"Mirror, Mirror"
::Colin Justin Wan:: Hailing from Singapore, Colin has been pivotal in making events such as these at the AAFilmLab become reality. He is currently an active member in good standing.

"ManHang"
::Hyunsuk Kim:: A member of AAFilmLab's All-Star International Cast, Hyunsuk, who originally hails from Korea, guides the AAFilmLab into discovering and conquering the path where art lives.

"Paper Dogs"
::Matte Chi:: Dropped from the sky and tossed from the sea, Matte is determined to take root upon this earth. Matte was born in Korea and raised in Queens.


EVENT DETAILS
THE BEACHHEAD: APA SHORTS MAKE THEIR LANDING
THURS, APRIL 13, 2006
7:30PM
The ImaginAsian Theater
59th Street (btwn 2nd & 3rd Ave)

Last night’s script contest turned out to be a gut-wrenching, heart-breaking test of wills. The result is a testament to the power of the written word to change people’s minds and we hope, their lives.

Three contestants, each with their own distinctive styles took their turn trying to convince, seduce and reason with their peers that their script was the one which the AAFilmLab will have the pleasure of co-producing. In the end, after two dead-heat ties and some further deliberation, the democratic process, and the power of the Asian American filmmaking people prevailed.

As such, without further ado, and with unfettered pleasure, the AAFilmLab would like to announce the winner of the FALL 2005 script competition:

Jane Valentine

Congratulations goes to Jane and to the other contestants, Nelson Wang and Lawrence Wong for conceiving and completing their scripts. Finally and most of all, the AAFilmLab would like to thank everyone for letting us read their work. We hope to see everyone back at the Lab soon, because the work has only just begun.

We’re please to announced the AAFL Script Contest for Fall 2005. If you’ve got a 10 page screenplay you’ve been working on, or just need an excuse to write one here you go. We’ve made up some guidelines to help you contain that explosive talent into an actionable short film. There’s a small submission fee, and the winner gets to take it all for their budget. On top of that, the AAFilmLab will put up some funding for the film as well.

The AAFilmLab will help produce three short films this upcoming season. The script contests are designed to help us find that all too important content for the films. The point of the films is to give hands on experience to workshop members as well to create a showcase product for your work.

Contact us with any questions or come to the next meeting (8/24). The Guidelines are below:

AAFL Screenplay Contest Guidelines – Fall 2005

[IN PDF - 34MB]
Contest Overview

The Asian American Film Lab (AAFL) is producing short films to accomplish the dual purposes of providing valuable training for their members and to generate content for festival and media submissions. AAFL expects to begin preproduction on their first film in Fall 2005.

All films start with a script. AAFL has determined that to develop competitive films is to obtain the best scripts available. To that end, the AAFL is conducting a screenplay contest whereby the winning script will be produced by AAFL members.

Contest Guidelines

1. The Fall 2005 Deadline is: September 7, 2005. Bring your script into the workshop on this day. There is a submission fee of $15 per entry (one entry per person). The submission money will be added to the winning script’s production budget. Scripts should be no longer than 10 pages. Scripts must be formatted in standard screenplay format.
2. Writers may only have one winning script per season (annual).
3. Submitted scripts will be read by everyone in attendance at the workshop meeting. Writers will also be asked to present a 1 minute pitch for their script or sing a song of the president’s choosing (the 1 minute pitch is highly recommended). The winner will be selected through a democratic peer election process. The writer of the selected script has the option to direct or to choose a director.
4. Keep the budget within the range of $300 - $700. The AAFL will provide some initial funding for the winning script. We don’t expect you to know how to decipher production values for your script. However, some things to keep in mind are that period scripts, special effects laden scripts, and epic scripts (think Pearl Harbor, Titanic, Lord of the Rings or any later Spielberg film) represent high production values which means lots of money. Try to stay with New York-based locations and simple present-day stories with smaller casts.
5. Along the lines of budget considerations, please keep the production contained within one or two weekends.
6. Scripts should adhere to MPAA guidelines for PG-13 or below ratings (PG, G). We’re not trying to enforce moral standards here. However, explicit sexual content may limit our talent choices when we’re casting and explicit violence starts to affect budget – see Guideline 4. The MPAA Ratings guidelines can be found at the mpaa website: http://www.mpaa.org/movieratings/about/index.htm
7. Absolutely no scripts requiring live firearms (or firearms in public), squibs, stunts, fire marshals, explosives and other potentially dangerous safety-intensive plot devices. The legal and safety requirements associated with firearms, stunts, explosions, etc. increases the budget beyond our range. Even if we somehow stayed within budget, we cannot afford the administrative overhead.
8. No scripts requiring children. Again, the legal requirements associated with children exceed our budgetary and administrative capabilities.
9. Stay clear of animal characters and the associated headaches.
10. No copyrighted intellectual property (film, newsreels, TV shows, music, soundtrack or lyrics). Exceptions granted to those screenwriters who have obtained at MINIMUM festival rights for the intellectual property. Evidence of your rights ownership MUST BE SUBMITTED with your script.
11. No exotic locations. Public safety offices (police and fire stations), penal facilities, transit infrastructure, landmarks and public parks are all exotic locations from the budgetary and administrative perspective. Given the security requirements of our terror-inflicted world, even “free” locations such as a subway station is much more difficult to get permission to film in. But if you have the location in your pocket, then by all means use it.
12. AAFL members will be given first priority for cast and crew. Once cast and crew are selected, they are expected to attend workshop meetings to update the AAFL about the progress of the film and most importantly, to share their experiences.

 

We just finished the Film shootout Promo.  Compiled in 72 hours!...

About.

We wanted to give you guys a little taste of what is possible in 72 hours!  As soon as we compress and put up here, you can check it out!  If you are interested in being a part of other opportunities, come out to our workshops and activities!

It is only because of the AAFilmlab that I was able to produce my first short film, “Paper Dogs.” As the story goes, the AAFilmlab put together a short script contest which I was lucky enough to win by the slimmest of margins. From there we set about the task of producing the short.

This being the first script I’d written and therefore the first short I was to produce and ultimately direct, there was a lot to learn and that’s where the AAFilmlab stepped in.

Besides providing additional funding for the project, most importantly, the AAFilmlab connected me to a Director of Photography, Production Manager, Assistant Director, and Script Supervisor. With this fine cast of characters and with A LOT help from my friends, we put together a crack crew which can never in my heart be matched again.

Matte Chi