Hello! My name is Alex Chen, and I am a first-year senior student at Freestyle Academy. As a film student of Mr.Taylor, I have learned and acquired a lot of knowledge that has helped me develop and hone my filmmaking skills. Throughout my time in this program, I have created a versatile art portfolio consisting of digital media, English, and film work. Before being a film student, I was an avid film watcher who watched all types of movies, ranging from Indonesian and Chinese dramas, modern-day thrillers, and even romantic comedies. My favorite movies are classic action sci-fi, Inception, and an Indonesian action movie, The Raid. My obsession with film continued to grow the more I watched which led me to wanting to become a filmmaker. Watching a wide variety of films throughout my life has kept me consistently engaged with the medium. As I gained exposure to more films, I became cognizant of things like suspense and mood development. Subtle shifts in sound and manipulation of lighting can evoke vastly different emotions from the viewer’s perspective, something I quickly discovered after watching horror movies like Jigsaw. There are a multitude of elements that come together to form a finished piece, film is unique compared to other art forms in that, rather than solely visual experiences, film integrates music and sound, acting, lighting, storytelling, and camera work into one large viewer experience. Film is not limited by anything other than the eye of the director, and its power to move the viewer is likewise unlimited. By engaging the sense of the viewers and manipulating factors such as suspense and dramatic irony, film turns the storyline to the viewer’s reality, plunging them into the world of the director’s creation.
Outside of Freestyle, I help my brothers with his entertainment x block chain startup called Reality Tunnel. Reality Tunnel is currently building an NFT project called Chibi Club. Chibi Club uses on-chain voting to gives token holders the ability to vote on creative-decisions that characters make within films, introducing the birth of interactive media on the blockchain. Not only being the community manager, i’ve also been a part of the marketing run as well, helping create motion graphics that attract audiences in social media. My efforts have resulted in over 10 thousand followers on twitter and discord as we continue to build this brand. Alongside my knowledge of web3, Reality Tunnel and Chibi Club is still a media company that focuses on the content creation of short films. We have created two short films on professional film sets with a budget of $10,000 for each short. I was an assistant director and VFX assistant on these films and was able to work closely with some of the biggest VFX producers in the industry.
Other than work, I love to listen to music, workout, be around my brothers and friends, and making small videos just for fun.
Project
For my Showcase, I have decided to present two film videos that I have created during my time at freestyle. I did both of these films myself, and they are projects that I am proud of. My focus for both of these shorts was the cinematography alongside the editing. Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to review my work. These projects are something that I am proud of and I am happy to have you critique and give feedback.
The Photo
A young man opens his mailbox to discover a photo, but it seems he doesn’t have the bigger picture.
A young man, Jeff, makes his daily coffee and comes across a picture of a beautiful girl holding up a peace sign sitting on the counter. Getting a message from his mailing service saying his package has arrived, he joyfully makes his way to his mailbox. Excited to finally open it, he finds the photo of the same beautiful girl. However, he comes across an old man that creepily stares with a smile and holds up the peace sign. Jeff fearfully walks away and makes his way to his car in hopes that the mailing store is still open to find out where his package went. As he continues to walk to his car he looks into the photo and feels a hypnotizing sensation. He slowly smiles as his hands come up and form a peace sign but before he could fully put up his hands, a huge car crash sound comes from the other side of the garage. Jeff snaps out of the trance and rushes over to find the same man from the mailroom unconscious from a hit-and-run accident. In distress, Jeff calls 911 and searches for identification later to pull out a photo from his wallet. Realizing it is the same girl from the previous photos but now has three fingers held up, showing that she has found her third victim.
Mechanic
A father struggles to take care of his sick daughter but comes across an opportunity that could change his life.
A man, Steve, sits in the car waiting for his night shift at the autobody shop to start. He sits and ponders on how he could make money to provide for his struggling family. As he makes his way to the clock in for work, he notices that the shop is deathly silent; he walks down the hall and turns into a room full of dead bodies caused by a shootout. As he walks towards the room to look at what happened, he hears an alive man reach for a gun. Steve runs over to stop the man from getting his weapon but notices a duffle bag full of cash sitting on his lap. Steve struggles to make the decision and has an internal battle about the right thing to do. He could either save the Mafia boss or leave the man to die and take the money for himself to save his own daughter.