Today we’d like to introduce you to Al Chang.
Hi Al, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Al Chang, eldest of 3. I was born and raised in Korea Town, Los Angeles. I’m a husband, a father of four, a full-time student at Chapman University pursuing my MFA with an emphasis in editing. I spent 10 years in the Army before getting out to pursue an education in film production. I got my AA, BA in film production and I’ve been working on short films outside of school. When I write everything down like that and compact my life in a few sentences, it seems like a blink of an eye. It definitely feels like it sometimes. I’m 40 now. I’ve done a lot in my life up to this point, but it feels like I’m just getting started. There are two different parts to my life, BC and AC, before children and after children. The second part of my life, the part that I cherish the most, is AC. They are my sole motivating factor and the reason I push myself so hard. How could I ever tell them to chase their dreams or fight for what they wanted out of life if I didn’t at least try. In the last year and a half, I’ve been extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to write, director and edit four of my own short films. Coming out of 2020-2021, something changed for me. Like so many people out there, coming out of that lockdown and uncertainty really put my goals into perspective. I didn’t know if pursuing a role in the entertainment industry was going to exist during that time. Everything seemed pointless. As soon as things started to return to normal, I stopped thinking about making films and I just went for it. I didn’t care about the result; I just needed to take that chance and find out. My first short film did not go as planned. I met a lot of great people on that shoot and a lot of the wrong people who had very twisted motives, and to make a long story short, it should’ve made me quit. It was a miracle and a half that I got that short film finished. But that experience threw more fuel into what started out as a spark. I needed to try one more time, but on my terms. Even before I started this journey, I knew having a proper team was going to be the factor to success or failure, since I experienced the wrong team, I knew I had to start there. The next time around, I got a few of my friends together who were already interested in filmmaking but didn’t really have an outlet to pursue it, which made it a perfect fit for us to try it together. We kept it simple, and that short film turned out better than we hoped. We proved to ourselves that we could do it. Our third short film was a thriller, and we really worked hard on that one. We poured everything we learned from the last one into that one and now our momentum has picked up speed. We just wrapped up our fourth short film, and it is by far the most difficult of everything we’ve done so far, but without the experience from the other three, we wouldn’t have made it work. Our goal is to get better with each short film; we’re interested in the process of progression and not the result. Whatever good or bad comes from, it will be a direct correlation of how hard and smart we work. Things are working right now, and we’re not stopping anytime soon.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Something that everyone else struggles with self-doubt, fear of failure, not knowing how to start. All of those things are just excuses we create in order to keep ourselves from confronting that unknown. This might sound really stupid, but I look at everything as the Schrodinger’s cat theory. For those that don’t know, my example would be that both success and failure exist at the same time and one or the other is waiting for you. All you have to do is walk through the door or open that box and find out. A lot of times, we choose to not find out because one is more terrifying than the other. I guess you can call it courage or being naive, maybe a little bit a both is required sometimes. I think you can become too comfortable with being uncomfortable; I’ve been there. I’ve justified what little I had as success because it made me happy. I’m at a point in my life now where I just get out of my own way. I don’t think about doing something “one day” anymore. I approach it as something I will do one “this day.” It’s important to say it out loud and put it into the universe. You have to hold yourself accountable. One of my favorite quotes “Without commitment, you’ll never start. But more importantly, without consistency, you’ll never finish.”― Denzel Washington You have to see it through, we only get one shot at this. I’d rather fail on my own terms, we all get old, we’ll all die one day. When that time comes, I want to be able to look back and at least be able to say that I took my shot; maybe it worked, maybe it didn’t, but that’s not the point. Everyone has the power to course correct their life, it just takes one step in that direction, then second steps gets a little easier and so on.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am, first and foremost, an editor. I love every aspect of editing. Some people can’t stand the amount of time you have to sit alone and piece together a puzzle that doesn’t exist. One thing my professor said that will forever dictate my approach to editing is that “the solution and story will always be in the footage.” You just can’t get lazy about it. You have to put the time in to finding that story or solution to the story. Hopefully, whoever you’re working with provides you with enough material that you can craft your way out of a corner. Editing is the final rewrite, a place where you can really find the body to carry the story you set out to tell. I got into writing and directing solely out of the need to edit something. I couldn’t wait around for anyone, so I just started writing. I took some writing classes, got a lot of feedback and I had a pretty good baseline to start from. I’m still learning and trying to become a better writer. Directing is a completely different skill set than writing or editing because you’re essentially the captain of the ship. Everyone is looking at you to direct the vision of the story. I have four kids, and I spent 10 years in the military; living or operating under extreme stress isn’t anything new to me. I found that I operate a lot better under those circumstances. Did I have it in me, or was it something I’ve just become accustomed to? I have no idea, but it’s there now. My style of filmmaking is from an editor’s point of view, and it has helped me tremendously. I can’t say that it would work for anyone else because everyone has their own approach to making something work. As an editor, I can pick up on shots or other things I may need as I’m shooting. I’m very confident in my knowledge of editing and I’m able to lean on that to compensate for any lack of as a writer or director. It’s been working pretty well so far but I’m always looking to evolve and find new methods to this madness.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
My team. My wife is my producer; I couldn’t do any of this without her. She helps me in so many ways that I can’t even start to list them. My good friend and DP, Roger Lee. He’s been working in videography for many years but never in the world of film. I’d always admired his attention to detail as a videographer, and I knew one day, if I had the opportunity, I’d reach out to him. I didn’t know if he’d even be interested, but he was. We’ve grown together in our respective positions, and it’s been exciting to watch this journey unfold. It’s always a good feeling to grow with someone and have a support system. All the actors I’ve had the chance to work with on multiple projects. I understand why other filmmakers always go back to a certain set of talents.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://shortfilmsmatter.com/spotlight/al-chang
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/4lcfilm/
- Other: https://vimeo.com/showcase/10640228
Image Credits
Mike Odom
