As you begin to read this I will likely be in a dark room littered with Red Bulls and staring at a computer screen editing my second independently produced feature film Man Up. I will share more about my second film with you at a later date, but the journey was similar to that of Hang Loose and my co-conspirators (Justin Chon, Kinetic Films) were involved again. I will say that producing Hang Loose felt more like bootcamp compared to the Man Up production which ran a lot smoother, which is what you would expect the second time around.

When I agreed to make Hang Loose in late 2011, I did not fully realize how incredibly difficult making a feature film was going to be, especially with little to no budget – let’s just say that feature film production is way more daunting than the 3-5 minute videos I produce for my YouTube channel. Creating a film from concept to completion requires focus and you need to have the right group of people (crew, director, actors) for it to work, all of which you cannot truly appreciate until the film has been completed. That is when you start to see how all the pieces came together to make it all possible.

I am humbled by the Hang Loose experience but also invigorated by the production to want to create even more films. It is hard to know what to expect from the release of Hang Loose. My only hope is that people will be entertained by the film, whether they connect with the characters or a scene, it’s not meant to be taken serious, it’s meant to make you laugh. The film in many ways is an experiment. I want YOU to know that if my friends and I were able to write, shoot, and distribute a feature film entirely by ourselves, then so can YOU. If Hang Loose can make people laugh or inspire them to create, then it is all worth it.

Hang Loose was filmed on location in O’ahu (as was Man Up). I had so much nervous energy when I showed up in Hawaii two days before production began. This is a film that I conceived and was starring in, and I put a lot of pressure on myself. I was able to calm my nerves when we started shooting because I was able to work along side veteran actors that helped ease me into my role. Justin Chon and Dante Basco are both personal friends of mine, and they did a great job of making me feel comfortable on set. When you are lucky enough to work on set with pros, it makes you instantly sharper as an actor.

Dante Basco wrote Hang Loose with me, and we play the main characters in the film. We based scenes from the film on our actual relationship as friends. When I first moved to LA, Dante served as a mentor to me. I have always looked up to him as if he were my cooler older brother and our relationship in Hang Loose is similar. In the film, Dante plays my soon to be brother-in-law that I meet for the first time but quickly takes me under his wing. Not every scene in the film mirrors real life though; in the film we jump off cliffs, get in trouble with gangsters, and almost get our balls blown off by firecrackers. My life isn’t that exciting.

It was Dante who introduced me to Kinetic Films, a production company in Hawaii that was interested in producing independent films, and it just so happened that we had the perfect film for them to work on. Also, I must say that the opportunity to shoot a film in Hawaii is as attractive of a location that you will ever find.

Our directer Ryan Kawamoto did a fantastic job of planning pre-production (you have to wear many hats on an indie!). Ryan was able to secure really great locations for the movie which you will see in scenes where we jump off cliffs, run through alleys in Chinatown, and jump off the sides of mountains on hang-glides.

Finally….

I started my career as an actor/writer/producer on YouTube and because of YouTube I have had the opportunity to expand my creative skill sets to television and film. Early on YouTube provided me a platform to create content that was relevant to my life while appealing to a wide audience. Over the years, I have come to realize that a lot of the KevJumba appeal comes from content and performances that are honest, relatable, and entertaining to my viewers. Of course, some of the subject matter in my videos speak specifically to my experiences as an Asian-American, but most of the time those are also experiences that transcend race.

YouTube has allowed me to develop a diverse audience by learning from my audience. Because of the immediacy of the medium, I can post a video or status update online and get immediate feedback from my audience, and incorporate their suggestions into how I approach the production of my YouTube videos moving forward. Engagement is the key component to digital media and I want to explore how the Internet can play an innovative role in re-defining the distribution of indie films.

Thank you for reading this, let me know what you think of Hang Loose and if you have any questions about the production of the film, leave your comments below and I will do a follow-up post answering your questions.

Visit this link to purchase the film: http://hangloosemovie.com/

Thanks for all of your support!

Mahalo,

Kev

http://www.facebook.com/KevinWuKW

&

http://t.qq.com/kevinwu

Love,
Kevin

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
GOOD SENSE OF HUMOR
Experience with various stages of film production
Familiarity with online publishing tools (primarily WordPress)
Proficiency with social media tools (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc)
Strong writing and editing abilities
Ability to work independently and meet deadlines

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
Must be 18 years of age or over.
Must reside in Southern California, Los Angeles area preferable
 

Above all else, we are looking for responsible, hard working, and energetic individuals who are detail oriented and committed with their work.

Please email your resume along with a BRIEF cover letter that address why you are interested in the internship and what unique skills you can bring to the table to:
interns [at] kevjumba.com

Kevin: Hey Eddo! Thanks for finding the time to sit down with us. Could you talk a bit about what The Supply does?
Eddo: The Supply (@thesupply) builds community secondary schools in urban slums to promote development and renewal. We also work to empower the slum children to ignite transformation within their slums through a human rights/service learning program called SLUMS (Student Leaders Understanding My Slums).

What is happening on the ground in these urban slum areas that makes development work like yours so pressing?
The reality is that cities are growing and as a result, urban slums are also growing.  Currently 1.5 billion people live in urban slums, and that number is expected to double by 2030.  These slums dwellers are denied access to basic human rights including clean water, health, sanitation, and education.  Public schools are too removed and private schools are too expensive, so low-cost community schools are the preferred choice but not as widely available at the secondary level.

So grassroots empowerment and development from within the community?
Yup! We believe secondary schools and civic education are so important because secondary school degrees are the basic requirement for any local or state government position. As urban slums continue to grow, there is a need for local representation that will stand up for the slum dweller’s rights and combat the current inequitable government structure.

Sounds like you do the work of superheroes. Who’s your alter-ego and what does your costume look like? Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.
Haha, I’m definitely not a superhero. If I were though, I’d probably be Burrito-Man.  I’d just wear a burrito costume covered in cilantro-goodness. As a proud native SoCal boy, I could probably eat burritos for every meal.  But yea, I’m just a regular dude who eats way too many burritos and stays up way too late to catch Lakers and Dodgers games (games end around 1:30 in the morning in the east coast).

What process do you and your staff go through with each project?
Slums are a complex area to do effective work, and we are fanatical about research, needs assessments, and evaluations. There is limited census data available in urban slums, so one of the first things we do is try to gather door-to-door household data.  We investigate the psycho/socio/emotional development of a slum child, and because of the early exposure to alcoholism, sex, death, etc, we realize that these students bring with them many unique challenges when they enter the classroom so we’re constantly thinking about what type of education is effective. Lastly, once we decide on an area, we have a long vetting process to ensure that the community and school leaders are committed to long-term excellence.

What was the inspiration behind The Supply?
My motivation has been constantly evolving.  Initially, it was the emotional draw from the suffering that I witnessed and the stories that I heard. However, the deeper I understood the slum crisis the more motivated I have become to seek systemic change. A few years back on my initial visit to Nairobi I met Muscort, director of the primary school in the Lenana slums. He was one of the lucky few to receive a sponsorship to college and instead of going off to the city after he graduated, he returned to his slum to open their first primary school. His story resonated with me and I was challenged to take up the same call to action. It’s been over two years now that I’ve been championing for this cause.

So, with all this work…do you ever sleep? Or will I soon have to worry about you becoming a zombie?
I’m afraid you’ll see me as a zombie within the next couple years (but hopefully a nice zombie).  Working in the nonprofit space, we’re just wired to work non-stop.  At the same time, the great thing about this type of work is that work never seems like work.  It’s a lot of fun (I promise!) But yea, I’m still learning to balance work with my personal time.

Working with The Supply was a very special and unforgettable experience for me. What was it like for you to partner with JumbaFund?
Dude, it was awesome.  I mean the basic concept itself was so revolutionary: raise money by watching entertaining videos.  But, what was even cooler was the fact that our organization was able to forge such a strong relationship with you on both a professional and personal level.  You truly became a partner and an ambassador for us in the work that we do. JumbaFund brought new life to our organization as we witnessed young people all over the world connecting with our slum children in Lenana, learning more about an issue, and most importantly, taking action.

How do you see YouTube and social media outlets playing a role in education and development work here in the US and internationally?
They are a blessing and a curse. We always need to be very cautious, making sure that philanthropy or development work never becomes a fad or the “cool” thing to do and we don’t see ourselves as the “saviors” of the world’s problems. There are too many sustainability issues at risk, and we can’t forget that it’s real people and children that we’re working with.

At the same time, YouTube and social media can play a powerful role in exposing injustices around this world that may not receive attention in mainstream media, giving people a voice, and connecting people to become educated on the pressing issues and problems of our time.

What’s next for The Supply?
Through your support, we were able to finish the secondary school project in the Lenana slums (Jumba Lenana Academy). We are moving to our second phase: training and development for our S.L.U.M.S. Program in Lenana.  We will also be starting the first phase of construction for the very first secondary school in a different slum in Nairobi called Matopeni.

What do you suggest to young people out there who want to get involved in or start a non-profit and make an impact in the world?
Two words: DO IT!  Today’s culture reeks of “to-become.” We gloss over the urgency of today and cling to the optimism of tomorrow. Giving, getting involved in nonprofits, and making an impact in the world is no exception. Our implicit logic screams at us: “I don’t make six-figures yet, but when I do one day, I’m going to give. OR, I have this crazy idea that’s going to end global poverty one day, but I have to establish myself first, so for now I’ll keep it in my side pocket.” We need to shift our “to become” thinking to “to be.”  I want to challenge young people to see giving as a re-identification of who we are today, acting as a critical component of defining how we shape our world instead of diminishing giving and making impact as a potential and possibility sometime in the future.  I think JumbaFund represents this “to be” idea pretty well, that our actions today, whether small or big, can make a huge impact.

Who’s your favorite comedian of all time?
KevJumba. Hands down.  Dave Chappelle is a close second.

There you have it! Eddo is a superhero, I beat Dave Chapelle for best comedian, and you guys have left a legacy through the Jumba Lenana Academy!

-Kevin

Eddo Kim (@eddokim) is the founder and president of The Supply (www.thesupply.org), a nonprofit organization that is building low-cost private secondary schools in slums worldwide and designing an innovative human rights service-learning curriculum to empower the slum children to fight for their citizen’s rights and to understand their democratic responsibilities in correcting their community’s plights. The Supply, headquartered in NYC, is currently conducting work in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya. Combining passion with a thirst for research, Eddo holds steadfastly onto the belief that these informal settlements have the potential to be thriving urban spaces in the 21st Century. Eddo, a native Southern Californian, received his bachelors from the University of Pennsylvania, M.A. in Education Leadership at Columbia University, and Ed.M. in International Education Policy from Harvard. At the age of 28, Eddo is recognized as one of today’s leading, young social designers.

Founded by Wong Fu Productions and Far East Movement, ISA TV now has its sights set on becoming an all-encompassing entertainment portal that now features original content from the popular YouTube personality and comedian, Kevin Wu.

Join Kevin and his good friends and stylists, Justin Chon and Laura Fama, as they embark on an epic journey to give Kevin style and fashion advice on The Most Awesomest Fashion Show.

Check out the pilot episode where Kevin and co. visit Orisue and Dimepiece Designs:

-Team Jumba

In the meanwhile, who knew that one banana could be this powerful:

If this is something you’d be interested in, you can email us at ManUpMovie@gmail.com

Here’s how you can help! Mainly we could use some locations and Casting. We’d be thankful if you could help in any way.

LOCATIONS:
-Yogurt shop
-Yoga Studio
-Shack/hut/run-down house
-Suggestions for scenic locations (Parks)
-2 story middle-class house
-1 story middle-class house
-Arcade
-Hospital
-Party House
-Baby Store

Casting/Extras
-Babies
-5 YR old kids
-Mom and Dad
-Homeless guy
-Lamaze people – Pregnant ladies
-College party people

If you just want to be behind the scenes and a part of the production, we would love to welcome you as well! You are MORE than welcome actually.

Come by and hang out with me and Justin Chon as we shoot our first movie :)

Email us!!

“HANG LOOSE” TOUR WITH KEVIN WU
Laugh and learn how to produce and distribute an independent comedy film online.

Join star/writer/producer Kevin Wu (KevJumba) as he screens his film “Hang Loose” and discusses his strategy to successfully releasing a feature film online.

With 2.3 million subscribers on Youtube and 263,667,471 views to his channel, Kevin is planning on releasing even more features online in the future. Learn about the business model Kevin is employing for “Hang Loose”, how he intends to market the film via social media, his inspiration for the film and how he built a large audience on Youtube.

If your college club or university is interested in hosting a “Hang Loose” screening with Kevin, send an email to hangloosetour@gmail.com for more information.

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-KevJumba

I will be going back to Kenya in July to open the school and visit the people there. I can not wait. Thanks to the Supply Education group and you guys for making this happen. Let’s leave a legacy together.

-Kevin