The Movie Magic of Freddiew

The Movie Magic of Freddiew

What if real life were a little more like a spy movie or a first person shooter? It is a question that all gamers have pondered with enthusiasm. What if light sabers, the portal gun, or the Mario fire flower were real and we could actually use them? What would we do with these weapons slash toys? Imagine the possibilities!!!!

Having once been an avid gamer, I can tell you that I myself have pondered over these questions and wondered at the possibilities. Unfortunately, with few exceptions (Ryan Wieber and Michael Scott's famous light saber battle being one), the fantasy weapons and abilities of the silver screen and the gaming realm remained forever unattainable, like a secret character that could never be unlocked.

Enter Freddie Wong and Brandon Laatsch, keymasters (yes I made a bad Matrix reference). For years fans have been making home made videos bringing fantasy to life, some more professional, like this street fighter video, others less so like this street fighter video. Freddie and Brandon (creators of the Youtube channel freddiew) seemingly made it their mission to show us what we all thought was impossible, mixing real life with gaming and with awe inspiring realism.

Since their start, the duo has continued to amaze us, most consistently with his shootout scenes complete with blood spatter, muzzle flashes, environmental damage and so on. Some of their productions could be mistaken for scenes from hollywood movies complete with the hot girl.

Yet perhaps the most unique and entertaining aspect about the duo's videos is their ability to give us what so many gamers have imagined for so long.

Freddiew brought us bullies with  light sabers, messing around with the portal gun and discovering the Mario fire flower all in videos we could relate to. In a video viewed more than 22 million times, they brought us an amazing view of what a first person shooter game converted to real life might look like complete with kill statistics, replays and tea bagging. Freddiew also payed homage to dozens of gamer tidbits including triggermashing in Time Crisis, aimbot in Counter Strike, rocket jumping in TFC, or the misery that accompanies using your friend's computer and not realizing that he likes playing with inverted controls. They also showed us what the future of gaming might look like.

First person shooter's not your thing? How about Mario Kart or Katamari? Freddiew gave us a driver seat view of a real life Mario Kart race and the terror that might accompany messing with a Katamari ball.

To top it off, the duo was hired by EA games, the makers of the Battlefield franchise, to make a commercial for the then upcoming Battlefield 3 game.

In October of 2011, freddiew also embarked on a project (no idea when it will be completed) that was close to the hearts of thousands of gamers. Called Video Game High School, it was to be a professionally produced web series depicting a world where pro-gaming is the biggest sport on earth, where gamers earned million dollar endorsements and were frequenters of morning and late night talk shows. If you are or ever were a serious gamer, you have dreamed of a world where your KD ratio or ladder ranking meant something, made you the popular kid or helped you get the girl. Well freddiew was making it a reality. Unfortunately nothing has been posted since a sneak peak at production posted in November of 2011 and I sincerely hope that the project has not gone awry. You can read a little more about the project here.

Impact:

Freddiew's subscribers alone are a testament to their accomplishments. Their channel will soon reach 3 million subscribers with over 545 million total video views. Their work has delighted and intrigued hardcore gamers and main stream society members alike. Their work has appeared on CNN, BBC and ESPN. They have had the opportunity to work with Eliza Dushku, Andy Whitfield, Kevin Pollack and Jon Favreau.Their TV appearances include their Battlefield 3 commercial, an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live and a cameo in the popular NBC TV show Chuck.

In an interview for Last Call with Carson Daly, both Freddie and Brandon talk about why they started making videos. "Every video is something that we wish was something that someone else had made but because they didn't, we thought it was our duty to make it ourselves." Brandon states. 

They also talk about the obvious influence that growing up with video games had on their productions. Check out the interview here.

As a former gamer I understand all the gaming references and influences in Freddiew videos. Their work is well done, immensely entertaining and unique. Like other up and coming artists, new media, in this case Youtube, has been key to their success and they are a model for all of us who want to do what they love as a profession (Freddiew has practically an essay on how to succeed on Youtube here). Freddiew has also broken ground on a less trodden path for production success. Instead of hitting colleges and film festivals, they have stayed on Youtube. Who knows, it could be the way of the future for production. Subscribe to freddiew and if you don't believe me, believe the 2,906,613 others who are subscribed as of February, 18th 2012. 

As for me, fanhood of freddiew can be exemplified in 1 simple short called Chrono Trigger: Short Action Scene. In it Freddie battles a couple baddies but not before calling for a time out because he isn't ready and then charging back in, dives and rolls included, and dispatching the gunmen like a boss. Everything a gamer knows and wishes for in a 2 minute clip.