Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 12/26/19 – Ian Lang has been writing, producing, acting, and producing films and videos since the age of 12. His passion for film was awakened after working with a friend on a video project for their 7th Grade Foreign Language class. Since that time, Ian has produced films and videos for numerous corporate, private, church, and online media outlets. In 2015, Ian and a few friends started CD828 Studios as a fun way to release their creative energy on the YouTube community.
Though everything that they created was just “for fun”, Ian always wanted to build up to making “real” films. This hope culminated in the production of their current project “OK”, a drama centering around a partially deaf boy and his Father who move to a new town in the wake of the Mother’s death. Facing all of the challenges that come with grief and being the “new kid”, Matthew (played by Cameron Gilbertson) finds hope and encouragement as he learns that things are not always so black and white because “Everyone has a story”.
Share your background.
Ian Lang: I was raised in a pretty typical middle-class home, my sister is much older so I was pretty much an only child, constantly making things and using X-men action figures to create stories. I loved martial arts, gymnastics, parkour, and the like. I was never too big into the “traditional” sports and clubs in school but have always been big into creative endeavors and fitness.
What are your favorite genres?
Ian Lang: Genres! I love most genres in film and series, I definitely enjoy action and sci-fi, superheroes are my jam (of course, I play one lol), but many are surprised to know that my favorite film genre is a family drama. I love to study interpersonal relationships and the way that family members relate to each other in extraordinary contexts, which I think is much of the reason that our Red Hood Fan Series on YouTube focuses so heavily on the brotherhood between the Robins and how they relate to Batman. I love realism and genuineness (is that a word?) between characters. It’s the backbone of great performances.
Do you feel that film can create social change?
Ian Lang: Absolutely! Film definitely can create social change. The only problem is, it’s subtle. This is of course just a personal opinion, but I don’t think that it is ever a film’s job to change people or build something in the physical world. I believe that a film’s job is to instead, plant a seed, which can lead to the social and interpersonal change that one may be receptive to at that time. That, in turn, can lead to serious movement, even if it’s eventual.
Tell us about CD828 Studios.
Ian Lang: CD828 Studios is just simply about making cool stuff! Our whole goal is to create positive and encouraging messages through entertaining visuals and deep storylines. Our mission is to have fun and create things that speak to people in a way that makes a difference, It’s different for each project and each person that sees it but it’s always our goal to produce things that can make a positive impact on someone somewhere!
What will people notice working with you?
Ian Lang: I do everything that I can to be a pretty genuine guy. I’m pretty off the cuff. I don’t fake a whole lot. Having fun on set and creating experiences with our cast and crew is incredibly important to me. I firmly believe that if people on set are having fun, that comes through in the final product.
Tell us about the film, OK.
Ian Lang: OK is a really honest, simple film about a Father and Son that moves to a new town after the Mother/Wife passes away from cancer. It’s all about the struggle of being the new kid, dealing with grief, and the Father/Son bond that is so important in a child’s life. It’s definitely low budget, made for about 5K in 5 days. It’s available on Amazon Prime for those adventurous enough to check it out, It’s not my favorite project, we’ve absolutely made massive improvements and learned a ton about real filmmaking since then, but still fun to watch.
Tell us about Red Hood Fan Series on YouTube.
Ian Lang: We just launched a Kickstarter for our newest Season of our Web Series, Red Hood Fan Series on YouTube. It’s a really fun series about Batman and the four Robins, primarily revolving around the second Robin – Jason Todd, who has since become the anti-hero the Red Hood and his quest to save Gotham from some iconic Batman villains including the Court of Owls, and in this upcoming Season, Bane and Deathstroke. Though we aren’t officially affiliated with DC Comics, WB, and Legendary, we work super hard to make the characters as comic-accurate and three dimensional as possible. The show is action-packed, full of fun visuals, and seeks to explore the tense and often relatable relationships between the sons of Batman.
After we successfully crowdfunded our Second Season back in March, we weren’t sure how it was going to be received, but people seemed to latch onto it and we are so thankful and blessed by all of the support that we’ve received! That’s the main reason that we wanted to launch another campaign, it was so much fun getting others involved who were fans of these iconic characters like we are and want to see them brought to life. We would love for anyone who reads this and is a fan of Batman to join us in checking it out and helping us to produce the Third Season!
Check it out: http://youtube.com/redhoodfanseries
What would people be surprised to know about you?
Ian Lang: I think that people would be surprised to know that I love baking cookies, super weird, I know, but my Mom and I used to bake cookies when I was a kid and I love making them. It’s therapeutic in a lot of ways for me, whether it’s making them from a recipe or just out of the package, I enjoy it, and hey, you get some fresh cookies out of it!
Do you have any additional thoughts?
Ian Lang: It’s a crazy game that we all play trying to be at the top of our fields and working hard in the entertainment industry, it can almost feel like you’re standing still for a long while, but if we keep working, keep reaching, keep striving to be better every day (a good friend of mine always says “Be 1% better every day”), then we will always take the next step toward our ultimate goal. I hope that people go and check out our projects and gain some entertainment and encouragement from them. We’re just a group of guys with a dream, working our butts off to make it happen.
Facebook/Instagram/Twitter/Youtube: @redhoodfanseries and @cd828studios
