Yours etc: The journey to a dream

The above video was created by Yours Truly family and collaborator Eugene Cheung.

I remember one of the earliest conversations I had with Nate Chan was during the Crocodiles shoot at Different Fur Studio. Naturally, we started talking about who our influences in film are so I listed Cassavetes and Godard among them.  Nate responded with, “No offense but I really don’t see any of those influences in your work.”  And he knows what he’s talking about, since we’re more or less influenced by the same filmmakers.

What was surprising wasn’t that he had said it.  I value an honest critique over anything else.  What surprised me was how much I actually agreed with him, and how far I had run astray from my beliefs when I first started film.  This video brings me back to that exact moment after college when I was somewhat younger, definitely more naive, and willing to pour in everything unconditionally to make a living in film.
At 6:00AM, I’d leave Garrett’s mom’s house (THANK YOU MS. UYEMA) in Harbor City to make a trip down to this film set near LA’s Japantown where I worked as a grip.  Half-awake and shocked to find traffic on the 110 before the sun’s up, I’d put in Animal Collective’s album Feels.

So flashing foward to my conversation with Nate – how did I forget all of this again?  Who knows.  I’m just glad to be re-discovering it, piece by piece, as I’m creating films made by ___.

6:01AM – “Did You See the Words”

6:06AM – “Grass”

6:09AM – I’d skip ahead to the one track that still gives me shivers to this day: “Banshee Beat.”

Banshee Beat

Just as I’m entering the 110 northbound about to hit that first bout of traffic, I’d fight through the early morning fog and my body’s realization that I should still be in bed by completely immersing myself into the song.

“There’ll be time to fish fry for letters by yours truly.”  That’s a little ironic isn’t it?  You’ll notice that mention is purposely edited out of the video – that it’s hosted on this site is very much a completion of the lyric.  It’s not unlike how I felt when Animal Collective performed the song almost completely acappella at the Fox Theater in May.

We actually worked at a few different locations but my most memorable trips were down to this spot.  My uncanny sense of direction meant that I always found new ways to get lost – yet somehow I’d end up cutting through Skid Row every time.  Seeing it in the morning was a bit serene, not unlike driving through the Tenderloin in the morning, but only enhanced by the fact that I’d repeat “Banshee Beat” for at least the third time when I got to this point in my journey.  The song brought me to life, even as the surroundings around me would suggest otherwise.  I was in a constant state of getting lost, finding my way, then carelessly losing myself again almost on purpose.

We were all in it together.  I wasn’t the only recent college grad (undergrad, post-grad, even a few JD’s sprinkled here and there) who was offering his services pro bono for the film.  Those who quit were gone after the second day.  Those who stuck around until the end knew there was a certain sense of satisfaction in knowing that you were part of this experience.

Everyone I was around that summer had their own reasons for wanting to do film.  Mine probably wasn’t all that different from the rest.  In all honesty, it wasn’t all that different from a construction job.  There really wasn’t any art involved in covering windows with cloth and black tape on a 20 foot extendable ladder.  It’s the journey itself that shaped me.

Eugene Cheung is the man behind Yours Truly’s Exile video and has contributed camerawork to our forthcoming videos from Girls, Crocodiles and was one 1/3 of the team behind our crown jewel, the John Vanderslice and Magik Magik Orchestra sessions.

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