Hyunmin Danny Lee
Academy of Art University
MFA Candidate in the School of Motion Pictures and
Television
Midpoint Review Book
Emphasis: Directing
Midpoint Review date and time: Oct. 6th 2009, 3pm
Tables of Contents
Cover Letter
Business Card
Resume
Publicity Photo
Autobiography
Portfolio
Thesis Details
Scene List
Cast and Crew
Academic Timeline & Directed Studies
Budget
Production Design
Production Schedule
Marketing Plan
Social Marketing & Advertising
Reference
Proofreader
Portfolio
1.
Title: Forgotten War / Genre: War drama / TRT: 12 minutes
Media: 35mm / Job Description: Producer / Date: June 2009
Logline: Lieutenant Frank Quinn, an ambitious combat
engineer with years of experience diffusing mines and bombs
with his squad of very young and inexperienced American
Soldiers are surrounded by Chinese soldiers and attempt to
escape through their own minefield which questions the
risks he’s taken and his rabid ambition.
2.
Title: Got A Green Card? / Genre: Documentary /
TRT: 25minutes / Media: DV / Job Description: Producer,
Director, Writer / Date: May 2006 /
Logline: International student Danny, who has been thinking
about trying a fake marriage to acquire a green card, has a
dilemma because he also values bona fide marriage.
3.
Title: Sources of Alternative Perspectives /
Genre: Documentary / TRT: 10minutes / Media: DV /
Job Description: Producer, Director, Writer /Date: May/2004
Logline: Korean American filmmaker Lee finds facts and the
truth in the resistance to U.S President Bush’s 2002 S tateof Union Address in which he refers to North Korea as the
Axis of Evil.
Thesis Details
Title: Outsiders at their home (working title)
Genre: Documentary
TRT: 12 minutes
Media: HD
Logline: Korean American filmmaker Lee, who is dismayed by
the creators of and stereotypical portrayals of Koreans in
Hollywood film, starts his journey to prevent further
deterioration of the Korean image worldwide.
Synopsis: Filmmaker Lee wants to know the reason of the
relentless stereotypical portrayals of Koreans in films and
wants to fix their mistreated images which define their
identity to the world. Hollywood Producer Harris, along
with other Hollywood professionals, believes such
stereotypes are an easy approach to Korean character
constructions. Lee must now find his own way to enhance the
Korean image.
Theme: Stereotyping
Scene List
EXT. SF - THEATER – NIGHT (PRESENT)
DANNY LEE, a Korean American student filmmaker watches Mark
Neveldine’s Crank and he feels uncomfortable about
stereotypical portrayals of a Korean character. This time
he faces this matter instead of running away. He feels
responsible for the matter as a Korean filmmaker, so he
decides to do something about it.
EXT. UC BERKELEY CAMPUS – DAY (FLASHBACK)
Danny avoids being identified as Korean since he is afraid
to be seen negatively as portrayed in the media.
EXT. SF - ACADEMY OF ART – DAY (FLASHBACK)
Danny receives notification that he is enlisted for two
year Korean military service. His hatred toward Korea gets
more severe since he still has to serve his country
although Korea has never been beneficial for his life.
EXT. KOREAN MILITARY – DAY (FLASHBACK)
After his two year service, he is proudly seeing himself as
a Korean.
EXT. DOWNTOWN SF - STREET – DAY (PRESENT)
Danny interviews 3 non-Asian people on the street as well
as 3 non-Asian film students at the Academy about Korean
images and any influence from stereotypical portraits of
Koreans in Hollywood films.
INT. SF - DANNY’S ROOM - DAY
Danny seeks for interviews with Hollywood professionals
regarding stereotypical portraits of Koreans in the films.
INT. SF - ACADEMY ART - OFFICE – DAY
Danny meets MPT instructors including DIANE BAKER, MICHAEL
HELMY, CURRAN ENGEL, DONNA LAEMMLEN, and STEVE ROMANKO for
help to get in touch with the Hollywood professionals.
INT. LA - STUDIO OFFICE - DAY
Danny hears the Hollywood professionals’ opinions aboutstereotypical portraits of Koreans in the films. He starts
to interview them one by one.
(Interviewees are TBD among those under the cast list)
EXT. LA – KOREA TOWN - NIGHT
Danny walks around Korea Town wondering why the Hollywood
films can’t have Korean characters with positive imageslike in the real world such as UN Secretary -General, Ban
ki-moon; Yul Kwon, the winner of CBS reality show Survivor:
Cook Islands; Nam June Paik who is called as the father of
Video Art.
INT. LA – STUDIO OFFICE – DAY
Danny continues to interview some of the professionals
including Korean American professionals.
EXT. LA - DOWNTOWN – NIGHT
Danny drives around LA downtown looking for Koreans who
have stereotypical features like ones in the films.
INT. UCLA - OFFICE – DAY
Danny interviews an anthropology professor about stereotype.
EXT. SF - ACADEMY OF ART – STREET – DAY
Danny goes back to the school and to his field, and tries
to introduce more non-stereotypical Korean characters into
films.
Production Design
Office / Lounge:
Lee interviews Hollywood professionals
Motion Pictures and Television office:
Lee meets MPT instructors for help to get in touch with
Hollywood professionals
Academy of Art University building:
Lee interviews film students
Production Schedule
Marketing Plan
Film Target Audience
In order to create the marketing plan for my film,
tentatively titled as Outsiders at their home, I should
first identify who my target audience would be. I believe
the most effective way to expose the film is to not target
the general active audience who comes to film festivals,
but by targeting the independent and the studio executives
who are interested in distributing the film.
The independent and studio executives for my documentary
would be those who have the experiences in the distribution
of short-length documentaries, Asian American related
themes, educational purpose films, and video documentaries.
Each executive obtains those particular distribution
windows such as theatrical distribution, public TV,
educational institution distribution, home entertainment
distribution, or in-flight distribution.
* Independent and studio List is attached
Film Distribution Strategy
To reach such independent and studio executives as
described above, submission to film festivals where the
executives attend is the most effective strategy. Many
film festivals as listed below are particularly specialized
in documentary films and at presenting the documentary
slate as an equal to its narrative films.
To reach the executives at broadcasting stations, the
documentary also will be submitted to the NATPE TV Festival.
Other routes to distribute the documentary include student
film contests such as the Epidemic Film Festival , demo
reels (for all creative personnel involved in the
filmmaking), local events such as cultural and immigration
issue related, and private screenings at which specific
potential funders could be invited
* Film Festival List is attached
Career Management plan
In order to manage my career as a director, I will contact
agencies and production companies that have experience in
dealing with documentary filmmakers or documentary
filmmaking. To grab their interests or get them to know who
I am as a director, I will use my thesis film as well as my
other portfolios. Since I believe that I could make our
world a better place via documentaries, I ’d like to makethem; however, I don’t limit myself to documentaries. If I
have a chance to create non-documentary films, I will
certainly take that opportunity to keep my career moving
forward.
Furthermore, meeting appropriate independent and studio
executives who are interested in films like mine at film
festivals is critical in terms of promoting myself as a
director; Since I can show my talent, passion, and ability
through my screened films and pitching my other stories.
Also, attending various film festivals is critical to
manage my career as a director because this allows the
opportunity to meet diverse filmmakers from all over the
world, and to share ideas with them.
* Agency and Production Company List s are attached