10 Years of Wong Fu Productions

In honor of Wong Fu Productions' 10th year Anniversary, I thought I would put together this list of top 10 videos that I've been involved with, from the perspective of which ones were popular, that I had a really wonderful time being a part of, and also the fan response to the music.

1. Yellow Fever This is an honorary position, as I wasn't involved in this project, but it was the first video that I saw of their's that made me a fan, back when YouTube had barely come into existence. it was the first time I saw a movie that had an Asian American character that I actually identified with, and saw a bit of myself in.

2. Just a Nice Guy I met the Wong Fu guys at a film festival and gave them a CD of my music, not too long after that they asked me to compose music for them on this short web series. It was also an opportunity to co-write music with my friend and amazing guitarist, Bo Han.

3. Up In Da Club One of the first times I, a classically trained composer, wrote electronic music, and I really identified with the story, since I dislike how loud clubs can be (also I'm an awkward dancer).

4. Kung Fooled In middle school, I once did the crane move pose from Karate Kid (arms and one knee up) and scared off a bully who tried to pull down my pants in the locker room. Just one pose and he never messed with me again. Lucky for him that's all it took, cause I was a purple belt in karate.

5. Shell Wesley Chan has such a poetic view in some of the films he directs, and the evocative waltz for this film has been a popular download for me.

6. These Four Walls Another Wesley Chan film that he shot on vacation in Florence, Italy. I remember Wes telling me he was going to Florence, having seen some photos I'd posted from my own trip their just a few months prior, and asking me about my experience there. But the video and story he created blew me away, and it being a silent film, I had the huge task of creating an emotional arc with music to bring the inanimate object that stars in this to life.

A big bonus was seeing one of the early comments on this video from a viewer who said: "Someone I know was contemplating suicide. When she saw this video, though, the music, the footage, and the message it sent were just so beautiful that she changed her mind." A simple message, but helps you realize that art can be a wonderful thing in people's lives.

1. 3 Steps to Self Esteem I'm a big Glee fan, so working on a project with Harry Shum Jr., as well as getting to do action music so completely over the top and ridiculous was a ton of fun!

2. Buffet Another funny short with Harry Shum Jr., I loved writing the quirky, fun, upbeat music, which is one of my favorites as well as a fan favorite. What was even better was getting to work with my talented musician friends, Dawen, Alfa, and Nathan Park. I even turned this piece into a free ringtone download, and I've had fans say they didn't even want to pick up their phones to interrupt the music!

3. Agents of Secret Stuff This was huge, I think it got 5 million views in the first weekend, which is pretty amazing, possibly better than what a lot of movies get in their opening weekend at the theater. I met Ryan Higa for the first time, and this opened me up to collaborations with a lot of other YouTubers.

Plus I always love a good spy thriller, and loved the jokes the made about the genre.

1. Strangers, Again This film really hit home for a lot of people, and to see it get shared all over social media was amazing. I had friends who had never even heard of Wong Fu or any of the other YouTubers I've collaborated with tell me that they saw this and really connected with the story, having experienced something similar first hand.

So there you have it, I can hardly believe it's been 10 years, 6 of which I've been happy to call Wong Fu my friends and collaborators. Which Wong Fu videos have been your favorite, that made you laugh, cry, remember, or think?

For a full playlist of Wong Fu videos that feature my music, including the most recent ISA! Variety Game Show featuring Wong Fu and a slew of other YouTubers, watch here:

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL97E444DB784E0F6A