Kings of Convenience concert

I almost didn't go, but the lovely lady in the second picture snuck me in.

Recent WSJ work: Dim Sum Masters at Work

Grease under my feet as I'm stumbling through a slippery kitchen, 3000 USD worth of equipment in my hands.

Houston Rodeo Gorging

So my brother, two of my cousins and I spent a night at the Rodeo... though we ended missing most of the actual rodeo show because we were too busy eating batter-fried bacon and other goodies soaked in fat.



We also saw a lot of life stock, which exposed me to all sorts of bacteria and potential diseases a few days before a transatlantic flight... something I'm sure border control in Hong Kong wouldn't have been too thrilled about had they known. But how can you resist an Alpaca in a petting zoo when it creeps up behind you for a cuddle or a hard push?

It's been so long since I've been to the Rodeo. The last time I went I saw a dangly Bob Dylan croak country songs, strumming his guitar on a stage where a few moments before a man rode a bull. At the time, I felt very misplaced -- I had no idea who ZZ Top was. I pronounced the number π (pi) as "pee" because that's how you said it in German. I was a European teenager who was used to having all the freedom in the world and who was suddenly confronted with cops grazing highways after midnight for underaged kids. It took a while but in time I learned to appreciate Texan life: the enormity of everything from houses and people to food portions, the way that Texans always found a way to butcher my name and the long drives at night.

Texas will always have a special place in my heart - even if just in form of hardened gew in my arteries.

The fair:





The life stock:

Beer Brewing in Brooklyn

What better way to spend your vacation than to witness the birth of a beer? Two days after my arrival in the US of A, Kieran and I strolled through Sunset Park to pay 'brothers' Mark and Jay a visit who were busy sullying a linoleum kitchen floor with brown, sweet liquid for a video. Kieran drew some sexually explicit comic versions of the two on the chalkboard cupboards while I was using my factory-perfect, little hands to cap a few dozen bottles at almost Chinese speed.

Despite my Germanness -- the passport and the 15 years spent munching on sausage and 'Bauernbrot' for breakfast -- I wouldn't really call myself an expert on beer or any liquors for that sake. But heck, even though not yet carbonated it was quite a delicious brew and made me want to damn my genes for making my body go berserk every time I drink.

In any case, the video of Mark and Jay brewing beer will soon be featured here: http://brothermarksbbq.com/

Recent WSJ work: double-decker tram through Hong Kong

Featuring my visiting friend Emily looking bored and holding my tripod while I try to stay steady, shooting on the double-decker tram.

Of gangsters, haircuts and 80 billion guys

It's been a while but mainly cause I've been slaving over the film below. It was shown together with some other films from New York and Hong Kong at the Filmshop's screening event at the Music Hall of Williamsburg!

The 3-and-a-half-minute-long bugger took two weekends to produce, two weekends to shoot and one weekend to cut. Altogether it was an interesting experience to me because I'm used to working with what I can get with the access, time and characters I'm provided as a video journalist. But when it comes to film, you gotta be one meticulous dictator. Storyboarding, acting, a lot of that is in a director's hands and takes a long time to plan out... very different from turning around a piece within a day or two. Well, in any case. Tadaa!

Bluffing from Lam Thuy Vo on Vimeo.

Cameras: 2 x Canon 5d Mark ii
Audio: Marantz PMD660

ACTORS:
Son: Joshua Wolper
Father: Andrew Ng
Gangster 1: Reggie Ho
Gangster 2: Jackie Chow
Gangster 3: Anna Li
Father's Girlfriend: Sompor Wannapat Suranant

CREW:
Directors of Photography: Darren Hayward, Nora Tejada
Sound Design: Tristan Ahtone, Emile Denichaud
Stylist and location scout: Catherine Tai
Editing: Lam Thuy Vo
Director: Lam Thuy Vo
Writers: Kieran O'Hare and Lam Thuy Vo
Producers: Lam Thuy Vo and Catherine Tai
Music: Onra
Production Assistants Thomas Derpinghaus; Steven Case
Special Thanks: Tim O'Roarke; David Chan

Please also watch some of the films and a trailer that were part of the screening and I could find on the web:


From the Hong Kong chapter:
Canned by Julian Harley, Thomas Derpinghaus, Nora Tejada and Tammie Rhee



From the New York chapter:
The Williamsburg Hair by Matt Rivera and Zachary Timm:

The Williamsburg Hair from Aligned Creative LLC on Vimeo.

A film produced by Zach Timm and Matt Rivera for the Filmshop Presents Unprotected screening about Gawker's infamous Williamsburg Hair (Chris Lancaster).

more info about the Filmshop got to: http://thefilmshop.org/

Giant Orange Head by Sean Yeaton:

"Untitled" Giant Orange Head from Sean Yeaton on Vimeo.

A short film. hi 8. based on a joke I heard and loved.

80 Billion Guys Trailer from Kieran Michael O'Hare on Vimeo.

Recent WSJ work: from banker to thespian and from engineer to photographer

A multimedia project on three people who changed their jobs (Shout out goes to Tom DiFonzo for tackling the video project in London and Nan Wu for patiently watching me fumble around with flash templates):
http://bit.ly/aaaepd