The World of Doug Ing (Page 1)

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The World of Doug Ing

By I.H. Kuniyuki

Doug Ing is not your average Asian American guy. He’s this really eccentric and creative person, who can be a bit "much" for the average Asian American female. Most people can’t stand large doses of him, but he’s a REALLY nice guy, you just gotta get used to him.

He says he went to the University of Washington and was around the photo department when I was there, at that time I was oblivious when it came to noticing other people...I was really into my work and getting as much out of my time in a wonderful darkroom.

Eight years later, I kept seeing this wacky Asian dude at just about every Asian and art event around town, and asked people, "Who was that guy with the white spot on his head?" (He has this albino white spot on the top) I finally asked Alan Lau, the local guru of Asian American arts, he told me, "Oh, that’s Doug Ing." In 1996, my video titled "Splayd Molecular Time" got accepted at the NAATA film festival in SF, mine played in the lobby monitor at the Kabuki Theater. I watched the videos. There was Castle by Doug Ing...that guy again. Later, at one of the receptions, I officially met him. So, sporadically over the past 4 years, my path has crossed many times with Doug.

Artists with that much energy and creativity are few and far between here in Seattle, so I’ve always checked out Doug’s films. Filmmakers often look down upon his work; it’s that whole MFA vs. BFA thing (I’ve always been told by MFAs that I couldn’t get my films/videos shown because I was lacking the "degree in IT, meaning filmmaking.")

So, here goes my interview with Doug Ing, filmmaker:

IHK: Where were you born?

DI: I was born in Honolulu, Hawaii.

What are your signs?

Western Astrological sign - Leo, Asian Zodiac – Dragon.

Where’d you attend school?

University of Washington: B.A. General Art, BA Chinese Language and Literature, UW Extension certificate in Film and Video.

How did you get into super8 filmmaking?

I've never shot super 8. I first got into 16mm filmmaking after I took a course in basic motion picture production from Jack Driscoll. This was a course taught in the education dept. Years ago, UW had a film production degree. Jack Driscoll, an Education professor who taught the class, was one of the first graduating students from UCLA film school.

I've always enjoyed watching movies and since I had an artistic bent, I decided, wouldn't it be fun to make films. I also had just quit in my pursuit of becoming an industrial designer. I wanted to do something else creative.

Do you have a "regular job" or is this what you do full-time?

I'm currently a full-time filmmaker and have been accepted and am deciding whether to attend graduate school this fall to help solidify my future. Graduate school gives you the opportunity to teach.

Any awards or grants?

Just a small one from the Seattle Asian American Film Festival-Best NW film. My friend joked that I can call myself an award winning filmmaker. A full color article about me in Seattle Magazine May 1997. A one man retrospective at 911 Media Arts Center, May 1997.

Tell me your filmography in chronological order. The years that the films were made -- not necessarily the year they were released. An interesting note: Castle sat on the shelf for three years. It had been rejected from SIFF. In my naïveté I assumed this meant it was no good. Bill Blauvelt (of the Seattle Asian American Film Festival) took a chance in programming this film and since then it has played 8 festivals. I quit submitting the film when I realized I didn't have music rights.

Films:
Castle 1992
Masked Man 1994
Doug Is The One 1996/1997 (re-edit)
Leslie 1996
You Look Marvelous 1998
David Ishii Bookseller 2000

Castle: How many drawings did u do for that, did u Xerox them and then hand color or did u hand-draw all? What inspired u to do this animated piece?

I've must have done at least thirty drawings for Castle. I did a lot of Xeroxing and coloring. The coloring and animating process took almost a solid summer of work. I came home from my telemarketing job in the afternoon and colored all afternoon five days a week. I colored an average of four hours a day. I was inspired to make Castle by thinking about what my ideal home would look like. Castle was a painting that hung in one of the rooms. I thought about seeing paintings in the museum and thought that each painting only showed the moment that the artist chose to depict. Wouldn't it be great to see a painting that showed you this moment and what happened next?

Castle has a lot of inside jokes. The windows for the book publishing company are shaped in the form of letters. They read: We publish fine books for all. I also was inspired by competition. I met Leslie Thyagarajan, an incredibly talented artist now living in Laguna Beach Niguel CA. He and I both made animated films that summer. We would share rolls of film on the animation stand. In animation, you shoot frames of film. A hundred-foot load can take forever to finish by yourself. Sharing rolls of film allowed us to get work processed quicker. Leslie would shoot his animation and then I would shoot mine. And then he would shoot his. Castle was my first 16mm film.

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