Friday, January 8, 2010

rhythm.connection presents A MOMENT WITH YouTube MUSICIANS - SCOTT YOSHIMOTO

Greetings readers! Only a few days after New Years' Eve, I present the 2nd interview of 2010 with a multi-talented Californian, Scott Yoshimoto!

Scott Yoshimoto (born February 16, 1989 in Diamond Bar, CA) is a Cali-based YouTube musician and film-maker. Currently a 3'rd year student at UC Irvine, he's got quite a bit under his belt already - an accomplished musician in his own right, as well as a successful independent film company, MOVeMEDIA Productions, there's nowhere but up for this young entrepreneur to go!

How long have you been doing filming/film projects for, and are you doing it professionally or independently?
I've began doing film projects since January 2006 with a silly lip-sync video first put up on youtube on January 15,2006 with my friends Kyle Furuya & Tim Wang, and have been working professionally since June 2007.

On occasion you do some songs on your YouTube channel, how did your passion for music come about?
I have grown up around music my entire life like everybody else; the difference is the music that surrounded me was performed by my dad. My dad has been a musician his entire life and continues to play music to this day. From the days that I was a child to today, I accompany him to every job or performance he does. Being surrounded by such talent and inspiration, it was hard not to let music make a big impact on my life.

How did you first get involved in filming?
3 Words. Wong Fu Productions. Before youtube was huge, I was following them and watching their videos. Today I am proud to say they are good friends of mine and are still a major inspiration to me to this day. I’m sure they are an inspiration to many, but honestly I would not be where I am today if it wasn’t for them.

What made you decide to starting YouTubing your musical talent/film projects and whatnot?
I actually signed up for YouTube in December of 2005! Before YouTube had really exploded into what it has become today. In those days, I wasn’t even sure how legit YouTube was, what would happen to my videos once they were uploaded, and a 100mb video limit haha! At that time, I was exploring many internet video sites in order to showcase my work, and I happened to choose YouTube. What a good decision that was!

Who are your biggest musical influences?
My Father and AJ Rafael, no question.

How does it feel to be getting all this support from people for doing what you do?
It’s a great feeling to get support from anybody no matter what you’re doing. I know that if some other people were trying to pursue film or any other type of arts, that sort of profession is not usually heavily supported by parents, but I’m proud to say I have 100% from my parents and that means a lot. Support from friends is always treasured, but when you get support from people you don’t even know personally, now that is inspiring!

How do you deal with juggling schoolwork, your film company, and your social life?
Rather than juggling it all separately, I put it all into one. I’m studying film and media at the University of California, Irvine, which helps me improve my film company MOVeMEDIA Productions, which allows me to meet and make friends from all around. Of course its not that easy, but with that goal in mind I try to make it all happen.

Is there ANYONE that you would like to do a collaboration with in the future (music/film-wise)?
Too many to even count. You wouldn’t believe the amount of talented people I have been privileged to meet just in the last year, if I could collaborate with any one of them I would be honored.

What has been your most popular cover on YouTube? Your most popular original song on YouTube?
Just based on the numbers, my cover of “Down” by Jay Sean with fellow Request Line group members Casey Nishizu and Emily Yoshihara. And most popular original song is the most recent “The Gift of Music” featuring the wonderfully talented AJ Rafael, Andrew Garcia, Cathy Nguyen, Lydia Paek & Ramiele Malubay.

I imagine you have a lot of music tastes; what do you normally play on your iPod and/or when you’re at home?
Most recently, AJ Rafael’s “I Just Want You” and David Choi’s “That Girl” I heavily support my friends and a lot of the music I listen to is their original songs. Also recently, a lot of GLEE hahah.

Where’s the one place where you can go and get your creative flow going in order to write/create music?
In the car. I commute back and forth from home to Irvine in traffic everyday, and that’s a lot of time sitting around with a lot of time to think and create. That’s where “The Gift of Music” came from, and I have a few more coming your way soon!

Who is your closest musician friend, and how did you two meet?
My Father. We pretty much met the day I was born, weird huh?

What do you do in your spare time when you’re not playing music/filming?
When I’m not playing music/filming, I’m thinking of what new music or films I can create to play/make later. lol

What do you hope to accomplish while being involved in music/film?
You can never accomplish too much. Opportunities will come and go, and I will try to take advantage of every opportunity that comes my way. But eventually, a successful filmmaker in the film industry. A movie is nothing without music, a good understanding and experience in music can only help. If you can pursue both, why not?

Is there any advice you can give to people who want to pursue film-making?
The best way to learn is to just do. You can only learn so much from classes and reading books, but where you will learn the most is from experience and physically doing it yourself. The only limitation is your own imagination. Challenge yourself, try new things, don’t be scared. Your own world is waiting on the other side of the big screen.

Do you have any final words for the readers?
I can’t express my thanks enough for all the support I have received and continue to receive. You are all what keep my challenging myself and who keep the passion of creating music and film alive within me. I will do my best to continue to keep you entertained. The future is ours, lets take it over together.


!!! Thank you Scott for the interview, and until next time, peace out!

J~


Scott Yoshimoto

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