I believe all artists have an innate sense of sincerity. Creativity begins in a quiet, honest place, and if we are fortunate enough, an artist will share. David Lee– cinematographer, commercial DP, and creative director — is one such artist. I lost track of the amount of time I spent viewing David’s work; it’s entertaining in a way that’s balanced with informative material that will only make you better by paying attention to it. There’s no ulterior motive; just an artist telling his story through his lens.
AD: How did your journey of becoming a DP, cinematographer, and filmmaker begin?
DL: I’ve always been inspired by films since I was a child. As an Asian-American born in the United States, my parents would rent VHS tapes every week on Friday of very theatrical and grandiose Kkung fu movies, mostly about the older dynasties mixed in with romance, a little comedy, and, of course, the big fight scenes. On weekends, my family would make it an outing to see the big block buster movies (Jurassic Park and Forrest Gump come to mind), and each time I would leave feeling so inspired and reinvigorated with life. Through elementary school to middle school, I would spend hours in my room creating my own stories, choreographing fight scenes using GI Joe action figures and a pop-up book my uncle gave me one Christmas. I believe that was when I knew (subconsciously) that creating stories that would one day inspire others would be my true path.
Fast-forward about a decade and some change: I began training in martial arts from the age of 8 until I was 25. In my early and mid-20s, I was teaching and coaching at my original martial arts school. During this time, I wanted to showcase my own talent but also that of my fellow coaches and competition team. I borrowed an old Canon camcorder from a friend and started recording our tournaments, practices, etc., spending HOURS in iMovie learning how to edit, cutting to music, titling (the basics) and I LOVED every single second of it. A lot of the parents would see it and would tell their friends, some of whom would sign their child up for martial arts from watching the videos.
Fast forward about another decade (I’m 34 years old): I spent roughly 7 years building a career in Information Technology. Coming from immigrant parents (I love my parents very much), the only career path is one of a doctor, engineer, or lawyer. I was never good at math –odd for an Asian, right?– but I was a gear head in my teens and 20s, building computer systems with friends, and spending my weekends tweaking computers to perform at their most optimal capacity. So, I decided to pursue technology— to appease my parents, but also, [because] I never thought I could build a life around video/films/editing. I will say that I have no regrets, as I was able to work for multi-billion-dollar businesses. Traveling the world, working with marketing and sales teams to understand how businesses at the largest scale work and being part of merger and acquisition teams further broadened my scope of how “the big boys play.”
During this time, I was still creating personal projects, filming things at the gym or random little short stories on my mobile phone. No real plan or story; it was just something that felt right and gave me immense joy and happiness, being able to share something of my own with friends through Facebook and Instagram.
Truthfully, the last two years left me drained, unfulfilled, and spending my off hours playing video games (the only avenue of inspiration I had left). Some personal events, [including a] close friend committing suicide, [and] friends and mentors starting their own businesses and succeeding during those final two years of working in tech opened my eyes. I asked myself, “Is this really how you want to spend the rest of your life”? So, I left my job, saved up whatever I could, and took a giant leap of faith.
I really didn’t have a plan. All I knew was that I was going to follow my heart and stop listening to others. It took about four to five months of “figuring it out,” and I remember coming across Philip Bloom’s work, my favorite documentary filmmaker. I spent hours the next few days watching all of his documentaries. I was so inspired by his work and the stories he told that memories of editing highlight reels and creating my own stories with that pop-up book came back to me. I believe right then and there is when I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life—create documentaries and films that would inspire others to be the change they wish to see in their life.
In a very short time, I’ve been able to work with some very large brands and businesses. I’m not sure if you want to call it luck or hard work (maybe both), but all I know is I’ve just scratched the surface, and I’m very blessed to have more opportunities come my way that are inching me closer to my dream.
AD: What was the motivation behind reviewing products for your audience?
DL: YouTube is a funny thing—you can make videos about your cat playing with yarn that goes viral with 3 million views, but you can also be a photographer and create a series of tutorial videos for free that help newcomers learn the basics. I love how YouTube has created a platform for anyone around the world to speak their voice and create their own businesses passively through it. That being said, I use YouTube a lot for information and education, and when looking for something specific on a piece of gear I wanted to purchase, sometimes I couldn’t find it! After some thinking, I decided to create my own reviews based upon what I couldn’t find on YouTube in hopes that it would help someone else out.
Even for products that have a hundred reviews on them, I always make sure I present my review in a way that’s meaningful for people who want to use them for similar needs as myself. I don’t want to review anything just to review it, but if it’s something I use on a commercial or documentary then I’ll review it.
AD: What prompted you to begin the Filmic vlog series? (I love these, by the way!)
DL: Thank you for that! Truly appreciate it!
I started the vlog as a way to document my own life. I’m a big fan of Gary Vaynerchuck and his philosophy of “document vs. create.” I took that to heart but thought of putting a twist on it. Rather than document every single day or on some type of regiment, I decided to create a documentary series of my life in a filmic way; narrated and filmed in a manner that you would feel you’re watching a movie on the big screen and hopefully will feel inspired in some way at the end of it.
AD: Do you film and edit the vlog series yourself? Or is there more than just you involved?
DL: I do 100 percent of the filming and editing. However, I know in the future I’ll have other content creators featured in the vlog, using their clips and them using my clips. Collaboration is a beautiful thing.
AD: How do you come up with topics for the vlog series?
DL: Gosh, good question! I try to upload the vlog monthly. It doesn’t always happen, but I go into each month with various projects (personal or client work) that I know I need to film something of context that I can make a story out of. Towards the end of each month, I go through all of my projects and see if there’s something that all of them have in common, or if there were a few moments during that month that string together to which a theme could be built from.
The hardest part is not making each episode feel like the last one; It’s sort of the same thing with sequels: you can only hope each one gets better, but the audience is the ultimate judge of that.
AD: What was the inspiration behind the Yoga series? Do you have special connection to the practice?
DL: I do have a special connection with the practice. Yoga has helped me tremendously in my own personal development. Five years ago I went through teacher training and taught on the weekends, not to supplement my earnings, but because I loved uplifting others through the practice and motivating others to change their lives, in their own way.
I was inspired to create the series after watching Adorama’s Through the Lens series. It’s an amazing docu-series following various photographers around the world, telling their story of how they started, what their dreams are, and where they are now. As far as the production side of things with The Artist Series, Yoga is only the first season. I plan on producing multiple seasons covering various “arts” in culture and society. It’s really a part of the whole big process of inspiring others through my documentaries and films, yet in a more organized way so to speak. We’re living in a day and age where people will spend days watching episodic series (Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, etc.), and I believe documentaries have their place too.
AD: You are extremely giving and sharing in your knowledge. You are also very motivational. Is this just a part of your nature or what you set out to do in your career? –
DL: I don’t know if it’s a part of my nature. I’m no Tony Robbins or Les Brown; all I know is that I love creating stories of inspiration, and I plan on doing that for the rest of my life.
AD: You shoot events, documentaries, and commercials. Do you prefer one over another? If so, why?
DL: DEFINITELY DOCS! Narrative films are amazing, and I’ve filmed one short film already this year with another in the writing process. But documentaries are about real people with real stories. Sure, you can re-create the story such as [The] Social Network or Being John Malkovich, but there’s something unique and special when the actual person is telling their story.
On the flip side, events are great, too, because it’s how the world gets to see and experience something that perhaps they’re moved to go to the next time. Commercials can also inspire and motivate, although let’s face it—the point of it is to buy something!. There’s nothing bad about that because I’ve also bought things off of a Facebook or Instagram ad; it just is what it is.
AD: How did Legendary Media House come about?
DL: My co-founder and co-owner Tony Jakstis ([my] best friend; he’s like a brother to me) were talking one day about starting our own production company. Not just a two-man operation, but a whole crew, working for some of the biggest brands around the global to bring them value through our drive and passion—creating cinematic content and narrative story telling.
We got tired of seeing the same old ads thrown at us time and time again with no emotion or care about the customer. So, we made it a goal to be able to offer brands and businesses a different approach to an old and dying way of advertising. A lot of people disagree (A LOT), but I believe that you have to go all in on a concept you believe in with all your heart and, thus far, it’s paid off for us.
Along with that, I think it also goes back to leaving a safe and secure job to start my own businesses. A lot of people I know work [through a] union and love what they do. I could have done the same, but I’ve seen others do it themselves and told myself I can, too. I’ve been able to network with other DPs, ACs, producers, etc., which in our industry is paramount to success and growth. Filmmaking is a team effort at the end of the day, and I don’t think any of us get to where we want to be without having the right people alongside us.
Legendary Media House will continue to grow and we hope to bring as much value to new clients and also grow our own staff over time.
AD: What is one of your most memorable humanitarian projects you worked on?
DL: I’d say the documentary on human sex trafficking I filmed last year. It was my first feature length doc, but the impact was what mattered. Two organizations (Restoration Diversion Services and Antioch Missionary International) who have been supporting the relief and aid of getting girls off the street in Compton, Calif., are doing great work, but the war to end human trafficking in their neck of the woods is far from over. The sad part is the general public outside of that area of Los Angeles County has no idea human trafficking even exists; most people think it’s only prevalent in third world countries.
To be able to document their efforts was my way of bringing more awareness and ultimately more support to help their cause.
To find more inspiration, and learn more about David Lee, go to www.atdavidlee.com and www.legendarymediahouse.com.
