THROUGH THE LENS WITH EVAN DENG 

Gracie
Tell me about the process of getting to where you are now. How did this passion for creating music videos start? Why music videos? Have you thought about film, that type of thing?

Evan
Making movies has always been a dream of mine since I was really young, like maybe eight years old. I grew up in that era when YouTube was getting really popular, but the iPhone hadn’t come out yet. My parents were always working so I was kinda raised by the internet. I vividly remember the day my dad showed me YouTube on the family computer. I watched Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi" music video and fell in love immediately. I think it's cool because a lot of filmmakers I admire talk about growing up in the movie theater, or people like Quentin Tarantino and his generation, video stores. But I think we're approaching a new age of filmmakers who are inspired by things like Annoying Orange and the “Numa Numa” guy.

I remember my dad had a Canon Rebel but it was pretty off limits. He would only bring it on vacations and things like that but I always found a way to sneak it out and I started making little videos by myself. It started with stuffed animals and little skits that brought our suburban home and its trinkets to life. Eventually I roped my church friends in and we started making parody videos and really dumb things that are only entertaining if you're literally in the 5th grade.

I was raised in a Chinese Christian household so it was very strict actually. There was a very pivotal moment when my parents found all the YouTube videos and they got a lot of complaints from other Asian church parents. They told me, “you need to delete this for privacy reasons. We don't want our kids' faces on the internet.”

And so all good things must come to an end. I deleted everything and it kinda just killed my passion then and there. I was so defeated and I didn’t pick up a camera for years. I went to a business oriented high school and was convinced I’d die an accountant or something miserable. It wasn't until my freshman year in college when I would reconsider filmmaking as a career. I did a summer at USC for a cinematography course and I had my whole “wow I’m gonna move to LA” moment. I was so naïve.

After graduation, I struggled for a long time not gonna lie. Michigan doesn’t have a big film scene by any means, and it was hard to find ways to apply my skillset in the real world. I remember moving around a lot, directing no budget narrative shorts here and there, PAing on twentyonepilots sets, flying to LA to take job interviews that I never heard back from. I kept my unemployed ass busy by “studying” and watching an ungodly amount of foreign arthouse films. I’ve always been passionate about music and I started networking with a lot of local musicians. Eventually it led me into the DMs of Mei Semones, a Japanese-American fusion artist who just happened to be in town and needed a music video.

Gracie
What drives your creative process? Is there a certain vision you aim to capture before each project, or do you find more direction while in the process of filming?

Evan
What mostly drives my creative process is being able to capture something truly extraordinary through spontaneous means. I’m pretty anti-coverage and arguably even anti-shotlist. I view the filmmaking process similar to the Big Bang, a random and senseless collision of clashing particles that come together to create new life. I’m largely inspired by avant garde fashion and Lady Gaga was my biggest muse growing up. I was actually lucky enough to meet her longtime stylist, Nicola Formichetti, and I showed him my page and he was really impressed. I told him how inspirational his work has been and when he left, he wished me “good luck with everything.” That was literally the most validating thing in the world.

I love the sensation of popping rock candy, and carbonation, and I try to make videos that evoke that feeling. I grew up watching Power Rangers and its Japanese counterpart Super Sentai, which has also really shaped my aesthetic. I don't know if you’ve ever seen an episode, but it's super tacky and campy and colorful. There’s explosions everywhere and something called the “monster of the week,” which basically means, every week, every episode, there's like a new monster of sorts that our colorful heroes have to face. Like one example is this giant pig that starts a food fight during school lunch and the whole message is “don't waste food” or something like that.

Another thing that drives my creativity are dreams and the dream-like state. I view my work as Lynchian in that way, but also informed by the cinematography and editing style of French New Wave and Dogma 95. I love videos that are shot like documentaries, but like a documentary from an alternate dimension or home footage from a weird backroom or a weird nonexistent plane of reality.



Gracie
How do you go about finding people to work with, especially when seeking out Queer and BIPOC talent?

Evan
I think that's actually the toughest challenge. A lot relies on social media and it’s actually really difficult to get people to stop scrolling. What’s important to me is building a strong brand identity that champions underrepresented artists and talent, and then simultaneously following up with quality content that was made by them.

The way I go about outreach is just opening up and being transparent. Life is too short to care about how you’re perceived. There are too many people in this world to worry about who's watching. Matter of fact, nobody is watching.

Gracie
Tell me about your relationship with Mei Semones. What is your favorite part about working with them?

Evan
Y
eah, for sure! So I met Mei quite a bit ago, around the start of 2021. We were chatting for a while but no plans to shoot materialized until Thanksgiving. She went to school in Boston and just happened to be in Ann Arbor before my lease was up. Fortunately enough, she was down to shoot a music video even though it would be my first.

The song “Muchuu” means “obsession" in English and I viewed the lyrics as a meditation on this kind of obsessive, sickly puppy love. I remember being in a very miserable relationship at the time, so I related a lot to this idea of loving someone who hurts you and constantly going back to them even though it’s toxic and harmful. I immediately thought about Stockholm Syndrome and wanted to make a film that explored that.

That led me to this idea of Mei being tied up by a BDSM-like entity called Bunny. It was just one of my friends in bunny ears and a leather mask. I gave her this cake knife to run around and chase Mei with. The day of the shoot was also the first time we ever met in person because of COVID. I remember it was freezing cold, but the video turned out really cool. It was so in the moment and on the fly, and made me realize it’s actually really easy to make a music video. And so one led to another, and to another, and here we are now. We’ve actually done five videos together now. The process is always different, but typically the way it starts is I come to her with an idea and she inevitably is like, “that's too crazy, let's tone it down a little bit and then I'm there.”

Gracie
Are there any specific people you tend to work with the most? (production or talent)



Evan
I would say the people I work with the most tend to be like “hyperpop” people or hyperpop adjacent. I love how that genre started as an experiment, in a Discord server of bedroom producers that said fuck the rules of pop music and proceeded to create the most ear-numbing music known to mankind. I’m huge into DIY aesthetics and as a result, I tend to attract people who have an undying love for artistic expression, even if it's not the most “polished.”

Gracie
Any artists, creatives, or industry professionals that would be a dream to collaborate with?
 

Evan
My dream collaboration would probably be with Arca or SOPHIE. They truly are the progenitors of modern pop and I just have so much adoration for their work. I honestly feel like it’s a situation where they wouldn’t even need a director. You know what I mean? The two of them are just so iconic, but I would be in awe just to witness their creative workflow.

Gracie
How do you see Family Video Store (FVS) expanding and where do you see it heading within the next six months to a year from now?



Evan
A year from now, I want Family Video Store to be more of a creative network as opposed to a conventional production house. I’ve always loved bringing people together, whether it’s for screenings or parties, and we’re at such a unique point in time and technology where you can make new friends with your fingertips. I’m at a point where I don't really have the time to take on every artist and it'd be great to just send it off to another queer filmmaker like, “hey, do you want to take on this project?” I think what's important is building a community of like minded people who want to see change in the industry and then giving them the tools to do so.

Gracie
What have you learned behind the camera that you weren't aware of from the beginning of your journey?

Evan
The biggest thing I learned is how tough it is to find extras sometimes. When you’re not working within a big studio system, it’s hard to find people to help pursue a vision that they don't necessarily have a full material grasp on. On bigger productions you can pay everyone, but it’s a lot harder bringing people in just for beer and a good time.

Gracie
What separates FVS from other production companies?

Evan
What separates us from others is our proudly run-and-gun aesthetic and the pursuit of creating a different image. I’ve always been inspired by trendsetters and rule breakers. One thing I learned recently was that the term “avant-garde” literally means “front of the line” in French. It refers to in war when there’s a line of soldiers, the people at the front are the ones who get hit first. It really spoke to me and I determined that I would rather fail at creating something different than succeed in copying everyone else. I think our set etiquette is a lot different too. There’s no sense of hierarchy, everyone down to the PAs can and should make their voice heard.


Gracie
Ultimately, what do you want others to know about you and your passion?

Evan
I'm generally a very cheerful, happy-go-lucky person but I do have a dark side that I don’t tend to share. I’m a Sagittarius, my favorite color is blue, and my favorite animal is a shark. Family Video Store was founded on the idea of fostering a “chosen family” in response to my own parents’ struggle to accept my sexuality. I ultimately want people to feel safe and included, regardless of gender, cultural background, and identity. No one likes a gatekeeper, which perhaps adds a second definition to the name.

Family Video, Blockbuster, DVD rental stores back in the day - I think those were really cool because they almost “democratized” the moviegoing experience. Anyone could go in, rent a $2 DVD, and expose themselves to some really fascinating stuff. What’s especially cool is just how accessible international cinema became as a result. I wanted to start a music video company that similarly feels accessible and inviting towards other artists, filmmakers, and creatives in general. We have a website too, so check out www.www.familyvideostore.com. Thanks for chatting :)

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