Media coordinator and iTunes visual designer by trade; kick-ass filmmakers by passion. Bay Area martial artists and filmmakers, Ed Kahana and Ken Quitugua, were generous enough to take some time and talk to us about life, passion and the possibility of them turning this awesome trailer into a feature-length flick.

Guamology: List your names, ages and professions.

Ed: Edward Kahana Jr., 25, Interactive Media Coordinator

Ken: Kenneth Mendoza Quitugua, 28, Visual Designer for iTunes.

Guamology: Are you both from Guam? Where were you born/raised?

Ed: My parents both grew up in Guam, my father’s from Tamuning and my Mom is from Sinajana, but my Dad joined the Navy so I actually was born in Texas, moved to Japan, Hawaii, and then eventually back to Guam during high school. Basically, I spent most of my upbringing in the islands.

Ken: My Father is Chamorro but was raised as an Army brat. My Grandfather ended his military career in Bremerton, Washington which is where I was born and raised. Its a little Navy town about an hour from Seattle.

Guamology: Between the two of you, you’ve been doing everything from producing to directing, acting, shooting, animating and choreographing tons of short DIY projects over the years. At what point did you both decide to fuse your passion for martial arts with your passion for filmmaking?

Ed: I had to learned the basics of video production since elementary-school days and I always found it fun to tell stories using video. I was also big into creating skate videos so I would be taping and editing for that. Towards the end of my high school years, after being exposed to the more fantastic display of martial arts in films like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, the Matrix, and discovering Jet Li, I became inspired to do films that featured martial arts action. My first big project was a 35 minute short film in that I put together during my Senior year of high school called “Ring of Fighters”. I think it might still be out on Youtube somewhere, haha. Back then I didn’t really know anyone who was trying to put together fight scenes that mimicked Hong Kong style fight choreography and action but then when I went to school at SFSU, I miraculously bumped into some people that were all about that.

Ken: I grew up watching Bruce Lee. My Dad being a huge Lee enthusiast turned me onto it immediately. I’d spend hours kicking, punching, and shuffling around in front of the TV, mimicking Bruce’s mannerisms. I eventually ran across Jackie Chan and couldn’t believe my eyes. The stunts and choreography were like nothing I’ve seen before and knew that this was what I wanted to do.

Guamology: Out of all the pieces you’ve done, which is your most memorable and why?

Ed: From 2005 to 2006 I worked on The Stunt People’s feature film, “Contour”. It was memorable for several reasons. One, I had sustained an injury in the beginning of shooting, trained to recover for my role in the film and then suffered the same injury while filming but somehow managed to complete the film (including the majority of the fighting) with a torn ACL in my right knee. Two, it was a big role for me, and I did a lot of great work for the film including the intro animation. And finally, it was great working with the other Stunt People. All the memories of long shoot days, Powerbars for breakfast, and the Chinese medicinal herb-smelling warehouse will never leave me, haha.

Ken: In 2006 I was part of a short film called Bookie. Never before have I felt such professionalism from all aspects of the cast and crew. It really solidified my passion for all things related to film and filmmaking. It was an unforgettable collaboration.

Equally as notable was making An Act Of Revenge. It was the first movie that I directed, produced, edited, acted in, choreographed, sound designed, graphic designed, you name it. That was my baby and I think I did everything in my power to make it the best that I could with limited resources. Even though it took close to 4 years to complete it was one of my life’s most creatively challenging experiences teaching me a lot about independent filmmaking.

Guamology: How long have you both been involved with martial arts? Where did the passion come from?

Ed: I first started training wushu about six years ago or so. Before, I was always what you would call a “backyard Samurai”, trying to do martial arts techniques like spinning kicks or kung fu forms without any proper training or sense of what I was actually doing. The passion came from the fact that stuff like that martial arts, especially the flashy moves, just looked cool. However, when Jackie Chan’s stuff started coming out, and then the Matrix and Crouching Tiger, I definitely admired what I saw on screen and tried to imitate it. Then Jet Li came along and I discovered his films and wushu. Wushu’s flashiness totally hooked me. In the best of times, when you do these flashy moves, it feels like you’re on a rollercoaster, and to some degree, I was always an adrenaline-junkie.

Ken: I started training Shaolin Kung Fu at the age of 11. Most of my passion stemmed from Bruce Lee, and Jackie Chan but over the years I opened up to new styles, practitioners and teachers expanding to Wushu, Capoeira, Muay Thai, and most recently Brazilain Jiu Jitsu.

Guamology: Tell us about “The Stunt People”.

Ed: The Stunt People was basically this small crew of guys from Redding, California that initially started posting videos of themselves doing “Jackass”-styled stunts, hence the name “The Stunt People”. Then, one of the guys, Eric Jacobus became inspired by Jackie Chan’s “Drunken Master” film and set out to emulate Hong Kong fight choreography and make videos of it. After a lot of really bad videos, the crew honed the art of camera angles, choreography, stunts, etc. and the action in their short films really began to rival stuff from Hong Kong action movies. What attracted me and a bunch of others to the group was that we all shared a passion for martial arts films and, more importantly, making them.

Guamology: When I first came across the Guahan Promo Scene on Vimeo, I was totally blown away! The action and continuity is so on point, the camera work is very fluid and the adr/foley is bad-ass! When I saw it, I was so impressed because it reminded me of one of my favorite movie series, The Bourne Trilogy – except with a Chamorro Jason Bourne! Please tell us that plans are in the works into making this promo scene a full-on feature-length film! What’s the status?

Ed: The promo scene was used to test my DIY 35mm lens adapter and see what the potential look would be for a full trailer. We have this idea that if we put together a promo-trailer that pumps up the film as a cool, swash-buckling action-adventure film we might get some small investors to help us with the production costs for a film like that. Unfortunately, both Ken and I have been a little side-tracked. Ken suffered a knee injury and I’ve been training for a bunch of wushu competitions, but come July, he and I plan to get back on the wagon. In the meantime, Ken and I have been writing the screenplay for the film we’re a little over halfway done with that. We want to shoot the actual promo trailer to test the look that we want for the film during the summer and we want to start shooting the actual feature later this year.

Guamology: What led to your decisions of making the project Guam-related?

Ed: It’s funny how that project came about. I first met Ken at a practice for Zero Gravity. Zero Gravity was another group similar to The Stunt People in terms of making indie short films featuring martial arts action and posting them online. A couple years passed and Ken started working more with us through Dennis Ruel (also in the Guahan scene) and as we started hanging out I realized he might be my cousin because my Mom is a Quitugua (found out later that we were indeed cousins). So we were talking online one day and I was lamenting about trying to come up with ideas for a feature film that I wanted to start devoting my energy to and he half-jokingly suggested a buddy action film featuring the two of us with a sort of action-adventure feel to it, like Goonies. It really goes to show how much he and I think alike because I was completely hooked by the idea. So we started brainstorming how the movie would look, how it would feel, what kind of characters would be in it, etc.

I would honestly say that having the support of a fellow Chamorro someone that shares the same appreciation for the lifestyle, culture, etc., really helps a lot. The film is a cool opportunity to reference and feature Chamorro culture, and also tell a story that all people, especially people from Guam would enjoy. Granted, neither of us completely spent our lives growing up on Guam but what we’ve experienced from our family and from our time living there, we feel strongly about it and want to show more people what Guam is. Stuff like Guam history, legends, the strong sense of family and loyalty, things like that are what we really hope we can bring out in the film.

Guamology: How long did it take for you guys to produce the promo scene (from conception to choreography, to production to post?)

Ed: The conception was pretty easy since it was essentially a spin-off from an eventual fight scene that would happen in the script between Ken’s character, and one of the main villains played by Dennis. For the actual shoot, we went out to a public bridge walkway that I had seen before and I thought it would be cool to shoot there. We often choreograph during shooting, but we ended up spending a good four hours or so there that day because it rained a bit, my dolly track failed, and we had to break for shooting to let people pass through the bridge, haha. I did a rough edit in Premiere a few days later then I posted it online once I figured out the best compression settings for it.

Guamology: Ken, you’ve graduated from the Academy of Art with a major in Graphic Design. Ed, you’ve graduated from San Francisco State with a major in broadcasting. Since you’ve both been approaching filmmaking from a DIY standpoint, how relevant would you say your actual education in the arts has been during your DIY filmmaking?

Ken: Graphic/New Media Design allows me to envision the overall presentation of my projects. From studying design, I approach all projects like a long drawn out marketing campaign. And the movie is the product we’re trying to sell. What’s the imagery and cinematography going to look like? The costume design. Tone of characters and their style of dialogue. It has given me the ability to more clearly identify my visual goals within each production.

Ed: I actually got into studying Broadcasting under a misguided notion that I would have a better chance at a job in the “industry” because I thought Broadcasting was more “technical” than cinema. To me, after going through the program, I realized that the broadcasting industry can be vastly different than the film industry in so many ways. Because we approach filmmaking form a DIY standpoint, you have a constant attitude that if you want to accomplish something, you have to figure out how to do it, often by any means available to you. My education in broadcasting was more useful in learning how to market content and distribute it, but in terms of actually going out and creating the content, that I learned from my previous experiences making short films and just researching stuff on the Internet.

Guamology: Filmmaking or anything art-related is hardly ever traditional in terms of making a living and it could get real tough at times just to put food on the table. Is filmmaking your full-time gig? If so, how do you balance it all? If not, do you ever plan on making it an actual career?

Ken: For now filmmaking will remain an afterwork and weekend passion. Although several times a day, I dream up new fight and stunt sequences that get jotted down and dropped in the queue.

Ed: Filmmaking isn’t my full-time gig, yet! I think in the back of our minds we definitely would like to make it an actual career. It’s a bit daunting because the whole industry is pretty mysterious and you’re not quite sure where exactly you could make a career. Regardless, I definitely plan to continue producing indie films and seek professional distribution for those projects. We’ll see where it leads.

Guamology: With as many shorts that you guys have already produced/assisted, etc. what keeps you guys motivated to do more?

Ken: It gets better and better with each try. The acting, the choreography, the editing. But most of all, its so much fun! Hanging out on set with friends, making inside jokes, and often times getting a good workout, filming is one of my most productive activities.

Ed: Like Ken said, it’s definitely fun to hang out with friends and then sit back and see what you put together. Also, the more you read, the more movies you watch, etc. the more you want to put your own spin on it and share it with other people. I would also say that since there are a lot of films with not-so-great martial arts action, it is very motivating to contribute good martial arts action, haha.

Guamology: What advice would you give to those budding filmmakers contemplating going to film school?

Ed: Definitely do your research and decide what you want to achieve by going to film school. Film school isn’t cheap, and you really have to decide for yourself whether or not a particular film school is going to help you achieve your goals. If you’re a “budding filmmaker”, then you probably already have made some films and going to film school would be useful for a couple things: exposure to other filmmakers and the industry, exposure to higher-end industrial equipment, and exposure to the industry-way of film production. If you’re more of an “aspiring filmmaker” with little to no experience, if you can comfortably afford it, film school might be an okay choice, otherwise, you could learn so much online and by the experience of actually picking up a consumer video camera and making a couple short films on your own.

Guamology: What’s the best piece of advice you can give to an aspiring filmmaker?

Ed: Go out and make films by any means necessary! With all the digital equipment out the means to make a “film” is extremely accessible. When you go out and make your films and show them to people you learn why you like to make films, what you’re good at, what you need to improve on, and how to communicate your ideas through moving pictures. Use the web a lot, especially web forums because there you can find a lot of people with the same interests as you. You can learn a lot from other people’s mistakes or experiences.

Guamology: Is there anything at all that you’d like to add? Any special thanks or acknowledgements to anyone?

Ken: I thank everyone who has ever supported what we do, namely familia. It means the world to know your friends and family are proud of you.

Ed: Definitely my family and friends. Oh, and shout out to all the other artists on Guam sharing their visions with the world. We need more of that!

And finally, our remix of James Lipton’s/Bernard Pivo Questions that we ask in all interviews (one word, or short answers please):

Guamology: What does being Chamorro mean to you?

Ed: A strong sense of family, respect for others, and pride.

Ken: Heritage, culture, and familia.

Guamology: Who’s your favorite local (Chamorro) artist?

Ed: Johnny Sablan.

Ken: Johnny Sablan.

Guamology: Do you speak Chamorro?

Ed: I only know a few words, mostly offensive.

Ken: A few words here and there. And like Ed, mostly offensive.

Guamology: As a person, what turns you on?

Ed: Adventure, immediacy, a sense of brotherhood!

Ken: Creative Collaboration

Guamology: What turns you off?

Ed: People not working together. Really selfish people. Being unproductive.

Ken: Wannabe tough-guys

Guamology: What’s your favorite curse word?

Ed: Fuck.

Ken: Shit!

Guamology: What sound or noise do you love?

Ed: The sound of one hand clapping.

Ken: The laughter of friends and family

Guamology: What sound or noise do you hate?

Ed: That high-pitch buzzing sound when EVERYTHING else is quiet. I read somewhere that it’s the sound of ear cells dying. Bummer.

Ken: The broken rhythm of a dog barking in the middle of the night.

Guamology: What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

Ed: Contractor, one specializing in home construction.

Ken: Uhm, a full-time filmmaker

Guamology: What profession would you not like to attempt?

Ed: Professional sales.

Ken: Crime Scene Investigator

Guamology: If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?

Ed: “Your hard work paid off”.

Ken: “Well done, Kenneth.”< >< >< ><-->