Los Angeles, CA – Niche.LA Video Art presents the 2nd episode of “Songs in the Key of Los Angeles: The Bedrock Sessions” featuring musician Aloe Blacc on KCET’s award-winning transmedia arts and culture journalism series, Artbound.

A project of the Library Foundation of Los Angeles, this video is a companion to the article “Songs in the Key of Los Angeles: Aloe Blacc” by Josh Kun.

Directed by Eric Heights and produced by Nic Cha Kim, “Songs in the Key of Los Angeles: The Bedrock Sessions” is a music series presented by KCET’s Artbound featuring contemporary Los Angeles based musicians recording personal interpretations of archived sheet music found in the songbook collection located inside the Central Library.

Participating artists in this video series include Aloe Blacc, I See Hawks in L.A., Julia Holter, Petrojvic Blasting Company, and La Santa Cecilia.

click pic to view video

Los Angeles, CA – Niche.LA Video Art is proud to present the online premiere of the street art documentary Art Battle L.A. on SnagFilms. The movie is now available to stream free worldwide on your computer, iPad, iPhone, Android, XBox, Kindle Fire, and many internet enabled televisions and blu-ray players.

click pic to watch movie free on SnagFilms

Directed by Eric Heights, Art Battle L.A. is a 52 min documentary that chronicles four graffiti artists as they “battle” in a BritWeek sponsored competition judged by Jaguar and Christopher Guy Designs. Follow along as Mear One, Man One, Inkie, and Eine spend a week together painting murals all over Los Angeles under the direction of LA Freewalls to support Hollywood Arts, a nonprofit dedicated to helping emancipated foster children living in the streets by teaching them employable arts skills.

“I wanted this documentary to reflect the new generation of artists emerging through graffiti art culture with a compassionate narrative structure that brings exclusive discussions on modern street art to a new audience,” says Director Eric Heights.

“We wanted to showcase a misunderstood art form in a more positive light.  These are talented artists that do a lot for charities.  We should recognize their contributions and support their work,” says Executive Producer Nic Cha Kim.

Art Battle LA originally premiered August 30, 2012 in a television broadcast on KCET in the Southern California area.

MAIN CAST
Mear One
MEAR ONE (Kalen Ockerman, b. 1971, Santa Cruz, CA) is a contemporary American artist based in Los Angeles. He began his career in 1986 as a graffiti artist living in Los Angeles and has been labeled as “The Michelangelo of Graffiti” and “The Salvador Dali of Hip-Hop.” He is considered by many to be Los Angeles’ most prolific graffiti artist because of the way he revolutionized graffiti with his fine-art realism, breaking out of traditional 2D letter forms, and using perspective to develop complex characters with dynamic backgrounds in epic scale.  MEAR ONE’s work is inspired by ancient technology, science, philosophy, mythology and mysticism, along with political and cultural revolution, and notions of the apocalypse.

Man One
MAN ONE (Alejandro Poli Jr., b. 1971, Los Angeles, CA) is an artist, teacher, and entrepreneur.  He believes art gives mankind an essential and irreplaceable cultural language in which to express and know itself. Over the years, Man One has worked with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Disease Control, The Mexican Consulate in the U.S., and most recently received a Speaker and Specialist Grant by the U.S. State Department to work with the U.S. Embassy in Panama. There he demonstrated to Panamanian children and teenagers how art could build self-esteem and self-respect to help you overcome any situation. Man One’s art is comprised of his trademark bold, colorful art strokes and has been featured in ten solo shows, countless group exhibitions, and curated well over a hundred.

Inkie
INKIE (Tom Bingle, b.1970, Bristol, UK) is one of the most notorious and prolific graffiti writers in UK history to emerge out of the 80’s Bristol scene. Denounced as “Banksy’s right hand man” by The Daily Mail while simultaneously lauded by The Times, his trademark beauty, typically created on large-scale pieces, flows from diverse inspirations – Mayan architecture, William Morris, Mouse & Kelly, Alphons Mucha and Islamic geometry. The artist has exhibited worldwide with recent exhibitions in London, Barcelona, Los Angeles, Ibiza, Warsaw and Lisbon.

Eine
EINE (Ben Flynn, b. 1970, London, UK) shot to international fame when David Cameron presented one of his works to President Obama as a gift on his first official state visit.  Originally a writer, he started his career over twenty five years ago as a vandal leaving his first tag all over London before eventually developing a distinct typographic style. He specializes in producing huge letters on shop fronts and his bright, colorful letters have transformed streets in cities around the world, including LA, San Francisco, Mexico City, Miami, Paris, Dublin, Tokyo, Stockholm and his home city of London.

MAIN CREW
Eric Heights
Director / DP / Editor / Producer
Eric Heights is a director born and living in Los Angeles, California. At age 13, he transplanted to Colorado where he developed a strong appreciation for film, photography, and music. Since his return, Eric has directed and produced over 50 music videos for numerous artists including Dumbfoundead, Aceyalone, and Silkk the Shocker where he developed his cinematic style and was voted Best Music Video Director by Denver Westword Magazine. Eric previously directed two graffiti documentaries, Feel Mode 1 (2007) and the sequel Feel Mode 2 (2009), which has been exhibited worldwide. Art Battle LA is Eric’s third documentary showcasing urban street art. For more information: www.ericheights.com.

Nic Cha Kim
Executive Producer / Writer / Producer / Interviewer
Nic Cha Kim is a writer, video artist, and cultural activist. His plays Trapezoid, RE:verse, Rise Up, Point, and Hyperbola have been produced by Lodestone Theatre Ensemble and Company of Angels and received workshop readings from East West Players, Asian American Theatre Company, and Mu Performing Arts. Artistic Director of Niche.LA Video Art, Nic has produced feature movies, music videos, and commercials.  Nic is also Founder of Gallery Row (www.galleryrow.org), an arts and culture district along Main and Spring between 2nd and 9th in Downtown Los Angeles. Through his leadership, Nic helped transform a blighted neighborhood into a thriving, pedestrian-friendly, and culturally-abundant community. For more information: www.nicchakim.com.

FILM CREDITS

Art Battle LA

Directed by Eric Heights
Written by Nic Cha Kim

Featuring:
Eine
Inkie
Man One
Mear One

Additional Interviews In Order of Appearance:
Vestalia Chilton, CLProjects
Candice Kay Lee, BritWeek
Bob Peirce, BritWeek
Christopher Guy, Christopher Guy Designs
Stuart Schorr, Jaguar
Daniel Lahoda, LA Freewalls
Tom Gilmore, Gilmore Associates
Rachel Romanski, Hollywood Arts
Peter Mays, Los Angeles Art Association

Produced by Nic Cha Kim & Eric Heights

Edited by Eric Heights

Executive Producer
Nic Cha Kim

Co-Producers
Candice Kay Lee & Vestalia Chilton

Director of Photography
Eric Heights

Assistant Director
Norberto Briceno

Production Manager
Andrew Sanchez

Camera Operators
Isabel Avila, Roger Griffith, Andrew Sanchez, David Womack

Time-Lapse Photographer
Roger Griffith

Camera Assistants
Yuki Kawahara & William Diaz

Sound Recorder / Boom Operator
Norberto Briceno

Production Assistants
Yuki Kawahara & William Diaz

Assistant Editors
Norberto Briceno & Kristina Paszkiewicz

Trailer Edited by Melvin Benson

Post-Production Assistant
Norberto Briceno

Audio Engineer
Adam Klumpp

SOUNDTRACK
“Los Angelinos”
Written by K. Wilson & J. Dominguez
Performed by Foci
Produced by Science
theJTCollective (ASCAP) / J. Dominguez (BMI)

“Travelin’”
Written By Colin Palmer
Performed By Versis
Produced By T. Hemingway
Thisisversis (ASCAP)

“Gone With The Wind/Rick James”
Written By K. Wilson & J. Dominguez
Performed By Foci
Produced by Science
theJTCollective (ASCAP) / J. Dominguez (BMI)

“Barista”
Written by Colin Palmer
Performed by Versis
Produced by Bagir-Ba
Thisisversis (ASCAP)

“Love Pronounced”
Produced by Trey Hemingway for Analog Division

“Cowboy Where You Runnin?”
Written and Performed By Catch Lungs
Produced By MR.Fulton
John Morse (BMI) MR.Fulton (ASCAP)

“Tala at Twilight”
Written, Performed and Produced by Low Leaf

“Monday Thief”
Written, Performed and Produced by Low Leaf

“GOD”
Written, Performed and Produced by DECA

“Just Friends”
Written, Performed and Produced by Cynic One

“Blo”
Written, Performed and Produced by DECA

“XXX”
Written, Performed and Produced by DECA

“Fowndayshun”
Written, Performed and Produced by DECA

“Then Again”
Written and Produced by Nathan Allen

“Keys to the City”
Written and Performed by JNaturaL ft. Abstract Rude & Aceyalone
Produced by Jeff Dojillo
Janelle Corpuz (ASCAP) Jeff Dojillo (ASCAP)

“Walter Rand Center for Transportation”
Written and Produced by Mndsgn

“Light Years”
Written and Performed by Tony Sans
Produced by Captain

“Kicks”
Written and Performed by JNaturaL
Produced by Jeff Dojillo
Janelle Corpuz (ASCAP) Jeff Dojillo (ASCAP)

“The Moment”
Written and Performed by Kay Cola ft. Skeme
Produced by K. Roosevelt
Musixmy1stluv (ASCAP)

Special Thanks:
BritWeek
Gallery Row Organization
Reko Moreno & Robert Renderos, Best Bet Camera
Tom Gilmore & LaTanya Rene, Gilmore Associates
Robert Reynolds & Gemma Sonego, Robert Reynolds Gallery
Daniel Lahoda, LA Freewalls & LALA Gallery
Meera-Michelle Rana, Hollywood Arts
Joe Moller & Qathryn Brehm, Downtown Art Walk

This program was produced by Niche.LA Video Art, which is solely responsible for its content.

© 2012 Niche.LA Video Art.
All Rights Reserved.

Los Angeles, CA – Niche.LA Video Art is proud to present a new video promoting “Art of the West,” an exhibit at the Autry National Center that showcases the dynamic and evolving world of art that springs from the cultural practices of some of the many peoples who have shaped the American West.

“Art of the West is a fresh visual retelling of the narrative of the American West that strikes a new path for interpreting the Autry’s rich collections,” says W. Richard West, Jr., President and CEO of the Autry National Center. This exhibition is the first of its kind to explore how shared values and interests have inspired artists from different cultures and times to create distinctive, powerful works that speak to their experience of the West as both a destination and a home.

Directed by Eric Heights and produced by Nic Cha Kim, the “Art of the West” video features a time-lapse of the museum installation and interviews with Marilyn B. and Calvin B. Gross Curator of Visual Arts, Amy Scott, PhD, and Occidental College Professor of Art History, Amy Lyford, PhD.

click pic to view video

Los Angeles, CA – Niche.LA Video Art presents the premiere of “Songs in the Key of Los Angeles: The Bedrock Sessions” featuring I See Hawks in L.A. on KCET’s award-winning transmedia arts and culture journalism series, Artbound. This segment will appear online as well as be included in the broadcast (Artbound Season 2, Episode 2) on May 30, 2013 at 9:00PM on Channel 28.1.

A project of the Library Foundation of Los Angeles, this video is a companion to the article “Songs in the Key of Los Angeles: A Prelude” by Josh Kun.

Directed by Eric Heights and produced by Nic Cha Kim, “Songs in the Key of Los Angeles: The Bedrock Sessions” is a music series presented by KCET’s Artbound featuring contemporary Los Angeles based musicians recording personal interpretations of archived sheet music found in the songbook collection located inside the Central Library.

click pic to view video

Los Angeles, CA – Niche.LA Video Art presents the premiere of short documentary “Thank You For Coming” on KCET’s award-winning transmedia arts and culture journalism series, Artbound. Available April 8th online on the KCET website, the video is based on the article “Thank You For Coming: Building Community with Art and Food” by Carol Cheh.

Directed by Eric Heights and produced by Nic Cha Kim, “Thank You For Coming” is about a restaurant that is also an artist residency space that encompasses the worlds of sustainable farming, cooperative living, community-based activism, fine art, and design.

click pic to view video

First, we started with Facebook… Then added Twitter. Most recently, we’ve been using Tumblr which allows us to push out to both Facebook and Twitter. Tumblr is like halfway between Facebook and Twitter, but a lot more artistic and without the advertising.

Anyway, our Niche.LA Tumblr Blog was just included in the Art Spotlight and we’re getting lots of new followers…

Thank you Tumblr! This has only motivated us to curate better video art news more consistently all day long.

Gallery Row Art Walk – Art Walks Around the World
Hosted by Nic Cha Kim

Produced by Niche.LA Video Art

Written, Executive Produced & Edited by Nic Cha Kim

Cinematographer
Eric Heights

Sound Recorder / Boom Operator
Norberto Briceno

Camera Operators
Ryan Pohanic, Norberto Briceno, Andrew Sanchez, Nicolei Gupit, Nic Cha Kim

Audio Engineer
Adam Klumpp

Music by Dan-O at DanoSongs.com

Interviews:
Tom Gilmore – Gilmore Associates
Alex Schaefer – Artist

Special Thanks:
Maria Florio
Gretchen Bonaduce
Kjell Hagen – Gallery Row Organization
Cecil Hardy – Niche.LA Video Art
Celia Esguerra – Raw Materials
Nathan Cartwright – Hive Gallery
Marlene Dermer – Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival

Gallery Row Art Walk is produced by Niche.LA Video Art, which is solely responsible for its content.

galleryrowartwalk.com
galleryrowartwalk.tumblr.com
facebook.com/artwalks
twitter.com/artwalks

Parker Boys
“This Is Our Life”
Directed by Eric Heights
Executive Produced by Raydio Music

Produced by Niche.LA Video Art

Co-Produced by
Nic Cha Kim and Ray Parker III

Grip / Gaffer
Bill Sloggatt

Production Assistants:
Melvin Benson & Katrina Casmer

Cast:
Nathan Alexander
Nicolette Alexander
Chloe Beddows
Jace Diehl
Emily Garber
Parks Gissinger
Grace Mellor
Nika Rad
Christian Renard
Jada Rozelle

Here’s a nice interview with one of the Parker Boys, Jericho Parker on StarCam!

All Aboard
directed by Eric Heights
written by Nic Cha Kim
produced by Dogmeat

CAST
Emile… Reko Moreno
Drew… Robert Renderos
Karen… Valerie Durant

CREW
Cinematographer
Eric Heights

Editor / Graphics
Melvin Benson

Sound Recorder / Boom Operator
Norberto Briceno

Audio Engineer
Adam Klumpp

MUSIC
“Toaster”
Black Seas

“Do the Astral Plane”
Flying Lotus

Special Thanks:
Best Bet Camera
Bootstrap Entertainment
Niche.LA Video Art