Above is the work of Stepfanie Aguilar (UCLA, Editor-in-Chief PacificTies.org), Evonne Liew (freelance), and Liberty Zabala (CSUN, KCSN news anchor, RTDNA chapter president) at the Hollywood premiere of Kung Fu Panda 2 on May 22.

AAJA-LA board member Suzanne Joe Kai, provided equipment from her company StudioLA.TV, secured press credentials and access to the red carpet, and mentored us in the planning, shooting and production of the video, print and online stories.

Liberty Zabala (CSUN, KCSN News anchor, RTDNA chapter president) at the press screening of Kung Fu Panda 2 in Hollywood. Photo by Suzanne Joe Kai.

Evonne Liew (freelance reporter/ photographer) at the Red Carpet premiere of Kung Fu Panda 2 in Hollywood. Photo by Suzanne Joe Kai.

To see additional footage/ reporting from Aguilar, Liew, and Zabala, check out AsianConnections.com.

LIBERTY ZABALA

When I was offered the chance to cover the L.A. premiere of Kung Fu Panda 2, I immediately jumped at the opportunity. Not only do I love 3D animation, I enjoy covering movies that highlight Asian-American culture and teachings. Working with a team of other reporters, Stepfanie Aguilar and Evonne Liew along with the executive producer of StudioLA.TV, Suzanne Joe Kai, was a wonderful learning experience. Suzanne and I attended the press screening the day before the red carpet premiere at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, where we got a sneak peek of the film a week before it opened.

Stepfanie shot amazing celebrity photos/ footage on the red carpet, and Evonne shot great photos/ footage all around the red carpet area.

We even got free popcorn and soda! Ah, yes, the perks of being press, I can get used to this! After the movie, I started writing a script for my stand-up and my review of the film. Suzanne had already spotted a perfect area to shoot a stand-up right out in front of the theater with a giant Kung Fu Panda 2 poster hanging in the background.

We probably shot 2 different versions of my stand-up about twenty times. I especially liked when people would walk in front of the camera and costumed superheroes would try to get into the shot! We finally got the perfect stand-up and wrapped up for the day.  Suzanne was a great mentor throughout the shoot helping me work on my voice and energy in front of the camera. I greatly appreciated her encouragement and support.

We worked separately for most of the piece.  The team shot, narrated, and produced the feature, with Stepfanie Aguilar editing the video on Final Cut Pro . Our team was very tech-savvy. We coordinated each other’s part primarily via email and phone. I gained a new appreciation for technology and the wonders it can do for young journalists who may not have such professional equipment. My review of the film also went up on AsianConnections.com. I was very happy that I was not only able to report but also write about the film and my experience covering it.

Stepfanie Aguilar (UCLA, Editor-in-Chief PacificTies.org) with AAJA-LA board member Suzanne Joe Kai, reviewing footage from the Red Carpet event. Photo by Evonne Liew.

STEPFANIE AGUILAR I have lived in Los Angeles for three years, and I had never seen a red carpet premiere until a few weeks ago. I didn’t think I’d go to my first one as a photographer.  Suzanne Joe Kai, a board member of AAJA-LA, offered students and other young journalists a chance to cover the red carpet premiere of Kung Fu Panda 2 for AsianConnections.com.
I arrived at the Kodak Theater at 8:00 a.m., waiting for Suzanne and Evonne Liew—all of us as a crew, preparing for the event coverage.

After meeting up, it was time to check-in. Although it’s good to be in front, I learned that shooting photographs would even be better when closer to the entrance.

With two DSLR cameras around my neck, I captured shots of every actor and actress, including the director Jennifer Yuh Nelson. It was tougher taking photos of more popular celebrities like Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt since they rushed down the carpet. Luckily, I did get Lucy Liu to look at my camera. I copied other photographers when they shouted out the celebrity’s name so that they could directly look at my camera also.

After everyone went inside the theater, I lingered around some more just in case anything would’ve popped up. I met with the rest of the crew, who were filming the event. After hours of exchanging photos and video clips, we all headed home. We weren’t done yet though. Post-production started the next day and lasted all week, mostly communicating through phone calls, e-mails, and Skype-chatting.

This whole experience was a thrill—nothing I’ve ever done before. Now knowing it’s possible to cover events like this one, I’m on the lookout.

(L-R) Evonne Liew, Stepfanie Aguilar and John Sakata working on their stories from Kung Fu Panda 2's Red Carpet premiere at a Hollywood diner. Photo by Suzanne Joe Kai.

5/20/2012 UPDATE by Joz Wang: AAJA-LA is pleased to announce the evolution of the Banana Conference… V3con, the V3 Digital Media Conference! Please visit V3con.com for the latest conference information!

The bloggers came out from San Francisco, New York, Canada – one blogger postponing a return trip to Japan from Mexico to stopover at the CBS parking lot— to gather at Banana 2 on February 26, the second gathering of Asian American and Pacific Islander bloggers.

In a diverse and eclectic display of passion, bloggers—some a single person in front of a computers, others like Muslim Media Watch includes 16 contributors worldwide—spoke about how they became the media coverage they did not see on mainstream media.

Many guest speakers were flown in from all parts of the United States by corporate sponsor, a showcase of the growing clout bloggers have come to now carry in a changing media landscape.

Joz Wang, secretary of AAJA-LA, organized a breakout session (Blogging 101) on behalf of AAJA-LA.  Co-presenter Michelle Woo, a former AAJA-LA Chapter board member, was a panelist speaker.

Nelson Wong of www.aarisings.com, a blog that focuses on Asian Americans in the entertainment industry, is recognized for his 22 years of blogging.

Anh Ton, a UC Berkeley student and managing editor of One Vietnam Network, a project that espouses non-profit work and last year received funding from the Ford Foundation, took a one-day break from her studies and posting to listen to a community that has largely been fragmented up til now.  Vietnam Talking Points, One Vietnam Network’s blog, has become a hub for Vietanmese youth, offering commentary and news links to hard news that can inspire reflection and greater cultural understanding.

“The old media, real journalists, can use that as a lede to find news,” Ton said.  “They can use it as a tool to develop their stories.  Develop their research and write very long and thorough researched articles.”

Uyeh Nguyen, the co-founder of One Vietnam Network, said her blog fulfills a need in the Vietnamese community that had been absent.  She said to often the voice of the older generation dominates the media.

“A majority (of Vietnamese youth) want to look past a lot of the history—not forget it—but look past a lot of the drama and the issues that may be counterproductive to our communities progress,” Nguyen said.  “To look forward, to help each other build that partnership in our community, that link—that we can grow, succeed together in whatever community we live in now.  The silent majority never had a voice before until One Vietnam came into this place.”

One Vietnam Network is an exception, but most of the bloggers said they have not monetized their sites.

The event co-chairs were Lac Su and Craig Tomiyoshi or IW Groups.  The planning committee included, Gil Asakawa, Yulree Chun, Edward Hong, Keith Kamisugi, Jason Ng, Steve Nguyen, Arthur Vong, and Joz Wang.

Read more about the bloggers below.  See real-time events by clicking on the link.

PHIL YU — ANGRYASIANMAN.COM // ASIAN AMERICAN NEWS, POLITICS, AND POP CULTURE

One of the largest and most popular blogs on Asian American news, politics, and pop culture belongs to Phil Yu, 32.  Last year, the “godfather” of bloggers received the Banana award, a recognition of blogging excellence.  His blog receives tens of thousands of hits on a daily basis.  His work continues a decade after he first started the blog.

UYEH NGUYEN, ANH TON — ONE VIETNAM NETWORK, VIETNAM TALKING POINTS

Through her work on One Vietnam Network and its corresponding blog, Vietnam Talking Point, Uyeh Nguyen, co-founder, said she’s learned a valuable lesson about young people.

“A majority (of Vietnamese youth) want to look past a lot of the history—not forget it—but look past a lot of the drama and the issues that may be counterproductive to our communities progress,” Nguyen said.

One Vietnam Network goes beyond commentary, allowing philanthropic organizations a place to convene and spread good.  Anh Ton, managing editor at One Vietnam Network, a 21-year-old college student at UC Berkeley, highlighted a commentary piece on the first Vietnamese cartoon character – “We don’t know if he’s a caricature of Vietnamese, a stereotype of Vietnamese, or if he’s really standing for something” – and a connection between Cai Luong (“traditional, esoteric Vietanmese music”) with indie rock as two interesting pieces of recent work.

Both posts mixed Vietnamese history with pop culture to engage young readers, eliciting dozens of comments.

“You can read a typical Vietnamese newspaper and get the facts, but you might not be able to digest that in a way that is relevant to you,” said Ton, who flew down from Berkeley to attend the one-day event.

What is Nguyen most excited about moving forward with this project?

“To be able to bring them together and work together as a team and create this new voice, this (voice that reflects the) new generation of Vietnamese Americans,” Nguyen said.

MARVIN GAPULTOS — BURNT LUMPIA // FILIPINO CUISINE IN THE LA AREA

Marvin Gapultos was at one time a software marketing writer. He now is the owner of a food truck, thanks to a following built via his blog.  When he went off to the Philippines a few years ago, he was surprised when restaurant owners who caught on to this work invited him to dinner

FATEMEH FAKHRAIE — MUSLIM MEDIA WATCH // MUSLIM WOMEN’S RIGHTS

“I want more coverage,” said Fatemeh Fakhraie, editor in chief of the blog Muslim Media Watch.  “I have 16 writers, I want more.  I want more parts of the world covered.  Sexism, Islamophobia… I want to expand, I want to be able to leverage this so I can make this a living for myself and my writers because right now all of this is volunteer.

At one time, Muslim Media Watch was a place where Fakhraie would go to vent about what she describes as the three stereotypes of Muslim women: the “hypersexual Muslim woman”; the “super sad oppressed”; and the “dangerous terrorist Muslim woman.”

Since first coming online in 2008, Muslim Media Watch has become a network of international voices.  Fakhraie has 16 reporters she pulled together using Facebook.  When a Muslim female was brutally battered in a case of domestic violence, she relied on the connections she had developed through her blog to coordinate with mosques nationwide to focus the Friday sermon on domestic violence.

“Through my network, I was able to reach mosques across the country,” Fakhraie said.  “We had all these mosques across the country do domestic violence sermons.  They talked about it, raised awareness about it.”

It was an early success for the blog, a show of influence she said she was “humbled” by and proud of.  Fakhraie, who works in the admissions office at the English language department at Oregon State University, was holding her breathe when she lost contact with a reporter in Egypt recently.

Through her blog, she wants to hold the media accountable on how they portray Muslim woman.

And, so, what is the Muslim woman experience?

“It’s like the Asian American performance,” she said.  “You can’t sum it up in one things.  Everyone has their own thing.  I would feel awful trying to encapsulate it.  So much of it is a American experience, it’s a Muslim experience.  You have intersecting ethnicity influences.  It differs from woman to woman, person to person.”

ERICA JOHNSON – HAPAVOICE.COM (a multi-racial upbringing)

The inspiration behind Hapa Voice came to Erica Johnson, 22, while taking an AP test in high school.

Why couldn’t she check more than one box for race?

Born from a father who is Irish, German and French, her mother Filipino, Johnson was upset.  It was this moment that helped stir the idea behind Hapa Voice.  Johnson was entry one, she talked her friends into writing an entry, and then someone on the internet took notice of her blog.

“(The first entry) was very similar structurally to a lot of the other entries that come in,” said Johnson, who recently graduated from UC Santa Barbara and now works as an editorial producer for WordPress.  “She talked about growing up and what that experience was like.  How she identifies now.  How she is proud to be Hapa.  Usually, that’s the organization how most entries follow.”

The entries Johnson receives are not only from people in the United States.  On her blog, she has an international community of contributors who share.  People of all races – Chinese, German, Irish AND Ukranian—use the blog to share their thoughts.

“What is really illuminating for me, when people outside the United States contribute, I love getting the international perspective,” said Johnson, who was flown in from New York to speak at Banana 2. “Someone who is mixed and grew up in Singapore.  I love how their difference is different and similar from someone growing up in California versus wherever else.  There’s a lot coming from outside the United States forming (their identity).”

The two milestone marks for Hapa Voice have been that first contributor and her invitation to Banana 2, Johnson said.  She looks forward to others.

“It’s virtually invisible in mainstream society,” said Johnson about bi-racial issues.  We have discussion about various Asian communities, but bi-racial and multi-racial Asian people aren’t as visible.”

Los Angelena on a Metro transit tour (HD version) from Corey Takahashi on Vimeo.

We’re looking to put on the best convention – combining both a look at our roots (LA is the birthplace for AAJA), vision for the future and to also have a little fun in the process.

So if you would like to get involved in this exciting event, please send an email to convention co-chair Darleene Powells: darleene @ gmail.com.

The preliminary convention committees set up include:

• Programming
• Fundraising
• Opening Reception
• Media Access Workshop
• Volunteers
• Silent Auction
• Scholarship Luncheon
• Social Events
• Publicity
• Marketing
• Hospitality

In your email, please indicate what area you would like to get involved in.

AAJA LA 2010 from WorldWise Productions on Vimeo.