@ Rahn Kim Media

Please call me Master. Master of Fine Arts, that is!

It’s been a long journey. From Seoul to Poughkeepsie to New York to San Francisco, my adult life so far has been unbelievably privileged and awesome with some spectacular places that I’ve called home. Thank you parents, thank you family, thank you my life partner. It’s all thanks to you fine folks that I’m here today. While I’m still in the process of swimming to the surface after an unreal Commencement weekend, reality is beginning to sink in. Where are the answers? Where do I go from here?

As much as I desire to be a meaningful person to someone (and I already am, aren’t I my love?), I also wish to be a meaningful existence in this world. It’s not only a personal desire but a professional one too, as a filmmaker and an artist, to maintain a conversation with the world and its people. And here I am. Now is the time to get my bearings. Now is the time to discover and/or to invent a practical outlet for my skills, one that can put tasty vegan food on my plate and fulfill my heart’s desires.

Please cheer me through the journey as I embark on this soul and job searching adventure. Here I come, new beginnings! (And why do you shake, oh hands?!?)

@ Rahn Kim Media

I can never forget who I am. I cannot forget where I am from, what color my skin is, and most of all, I can never forget—nor do I want to forget—who I love. Seven years into filmmaking, my identity as a sexual minority is something that no longer jumps right off of my work. The agitation of being the Other has subsided since my younger years. Despite being a minority of a minority, one half of an interracial and queer relationship, and a generally odd individual, I’ve never felt that the way that I love is different from anybody else. If it does stand out, it is that I’ve grown up nurturing what are almost mythical romantic ideals of love and companionship. And I’d like to think that I’ve found the kind of love that comes pretty darn close to that. Especially because I cross the boundaries of gender, literally in the way that I am perceived, perhaps I hold onto the universal nature of love as a form of self-assurance and therapy. There may be a deeper psychological drive for why and how I try to capture the experience of love in my work as a filmmaker. But most simply put, I want to share the joy that I feel from the love that I have found. It does sound idealistic and almost too broad to achieve. But l believe that this desire to discover our common threads carries on the age-old aspiration of humanity and its storytellers.

@ Rahn Kim Media

Wrap on lighting is imminent!

@ Rahn Kim Media

Almost there.
Almost.

I could say “almost” everyday. And, here’s my “almost” today. Currently working on a bit of lighting and refining the animation some more…

@ Rahn Kim Media

With graduation approaching, I’ve had to write a lot of these recently. Oh, how to master the art of 100-word bios?!

“Almost a decade ago, as an idealistic high schooler, I envisioned this future: to speak to the world, one person at a time, to communicate humanity, and to make a difference, I would become a filmmaker and a storyteller. Now half way around the world, a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, and a good dose of pragmatism later, my aspiration as a narrative filmmaker still has its roots in this dream. My faith in the power of movies and stories is fueled by my belief that we all share our humanity, and that there are stories to be told that belong to all of us.”

@ Rahn Kim Media

@ Rahn Kim Media

When I was taking a cinematography class at NYU, we heard a horrific film set story (or urban legend?) from our professor. This lighting man was setting up one of those ginormous, monstrous studio lights up on a super tall stand, when, oops, he lost grip of the stand. The stand had not yet been tightened, and it (along with the weight of the ginormous, monstrous studio light) came crashing down on the webbing of his hand between his thumb and index finger. The resulting bloody mess is up to your imagination.

On that note, here is a quick preview of the lighting that I’m working on for Otter + Lemur. As with real world lighting, lighting wide areas is so much harder than lighting small areas and close-ups. Keep on going Rahnie.

When I’m finally done with Otter + Lemur, I think my next project, in collaboration with my eternal partner Shaina Koval, will be a motion graphics 90-second personal-branding spot. Stay tuned for updates on that and the long-lost live action film, A Pre-Existing Condition, soon to be rediscovered and wrapped up!

@ Rahn Kim Media