On Sunday afternoon, Fisk Hall was overflowing with about 400 students, eagerly waiting not for Hollywood movie stars or chart-topping musicians, but for YouTube sensation Wong Fu Productions, Chinese Students Association’s fall speaker.
Wong Fu Productions is an Asian American trio based in California consisting of Wesley Chan, Ted Fu, and Philip Wang, who met each other at University of California in San Diego in the early 2000s. The group has a dynamic portfolio of shorts, web series, sketches, and feature films, usually focused around romantic and comedic themes with positive messages. The group also tends to focus on Asian American issues and usually features Asian American artists.
“[Wong Fu Productions is] really good at bringing issues to everyone’s attention in not a lecture-like, serious way, but in a funny, comedic way, while still talking about the issues that are involved,” said Weinberg sophomore Sue Chuang, one of CSA’s social chairs.
The group quickly rose to fame after their first feature film, A Moment With You, garnered heavy attention after its premiere at UCSD. The film, which features two friends dealing with their own respective relationships, allowed the group to embark on their first college tour.
“It was the first time we actually got to see people’s faces for the first time,” Wang said. That was when the members realized the full potential of Wong Fu Productions and began to take the project seriously, explained Wang.
In pursuit of keeping Wong Fu alive, the group began taking up freelance client work in addition to making more videos. In one of their series, Just a Nice Guy, Wang wore a shirt designed by Chan. Fans began inquiring about the shirt, and the “Nice Guy” brand was established, allowing the group to finally have financial freedom and focus on making videos.
Since then, the group has gone on several college tours. “We want to give [the fans] a deeper look into what we do, who we are aside from just what they see online,” Chan said.
After the switch to YouTube, the group soon gained a fan base of thousands, making Wong Fu Productions one of the most subscribed channels on the site. “YouTube has changed everything,” Wang said. “It’s helped our exposure.”
YouTube is also valuable for its instant response, Fu adds.
Chan describes the group’s use of online media as new media, as opposed to traditional filmmaking. “New media is a new avenue that hasn’t been explored,” he said. “We’re taking that challenge.”
Wang also comments on the negative connotation people usually have of YouTube videos. Wong Fu Productions tries to prove to the public that a YouTube video doesn’t have to be low-quality or meaningless.
Being taken seriously is important to the group as they try to break the stereotype of Asian Americans in media. “We try our best to represent as best as we can,” Wang said. “We do get a lot of comments like ‘Why’s everyone Asian?’ The thing is: why not?”
In this vein, the group created the International Secret Agents concerts, which showcases Asian American talent to bring new artists to the surface of attention.
On Sunday evening, the trio showed some clips of their latest client work, including music videos for up-and-coming Asian American artists, such as David Choi and Alyssa Bernal, the latter of which was their first collaboration with a large record label, Interscope.
The group also showcased a variety of other videos including a Cantonese short filmed in Hong Kong, as well as a preview of an upcoming mini-movie made in collaboration with Ryan Higa, the man behind NigaHiga, the number one most subscribed channel on YouTube.
“I think when people see that when we work with other YouTubers, it makes the audience think that it’s overall positive image,” Wang commented. In terms of collaborations, Wong Fu Productions has a long list to their name, including acclaimed dance group Far East Movement and top YouTuber KevJumba.
Looking to the future, the group plans to push forward with Wong Fu Productions. The group is looking forward to more collaborations and bigger projects.
“Also, we hope to diversify our audience,” Wang said. “The goal is that everyone can first see [our] work and say, ‘Hey, this is a good story’ and then the fact that we’re Asian be something after that.”
The CSA event on Sunday closed with a meet and greet as hundreds of fans lined up for photos and autographs.
“We have so much support and this is kind of our way to give back, to show [the fans] that we care,” Wang said of the college tour. “Hopefully something we say might be able to spark some inspiration for them to pursue their own passions.”