Ahree Lee talks "Me"

09.26 - Posted by Editor

In August, Ahree Lee's short film "Me" -- consisting of snapshots Lee took of herself every day since November 2001 -- debuted at AtomFilms.com. Almost immediately, a pirated version became a runaway hit at YouTube.com, garnering over a million views in a few days. Lee talks with AsianAmericanFilm.com editor Greg Pak about the YouTube phenomenon, the making of "Me," and what comes next.

Asian American Film: Congratulations on the runaway success of “Me”!  Tell us a little about how the film became such a big hit at AtomFilms and YouTube.

Ahree Lee: The film was originally released on AtomFilms.com on August 8th. That morning I was going to switch out the earlier, shorter version of the film that had been on my website for the url to the new one on Atom, but had to go to a dentist appointment and planned to do it when I got back. By the time I got back, someone had swiped the older version and put it on YouTube. At first I ignored it because it wasn't getting that many hits, but by the end of the next day it was the number one video and featured on YouTube's home page. At first I was really angry that someone who had stolen my film from me was getting so much attention by posting my film, but after talking to a few friends and colleagues about the situation I began to think it might not be such a bad thing. In the end I had YouTube take down the pirated version, and posted my own version -- a slightly shorter one that would act as a kind of trailer for the full version on Atom.

AAF: So in the end, are you glad that the film was pirated for a while?  How do you recommend other independent artists deal with the intellectual property issue in this, the year of YouTube?

AL: I would never say I was glad my film was pirated, but the experience did open my eyes to how many people YouTube reaches. It's been very difficult to keep all the pirating at bay. It's like that game of whack-a-mole you see at amusement parks and boardwalks -- each time I shut down one pirated copy I find another popping up somewhere else.

I don't know if I have any good advice for other filmmakers because this is all so new to me myself. On the one hand, when people start pirating your work you know that it's gotten popular enough to make it attractive to piraters in the first place. On the other hand, when those illegal copies are taking views away from a site like Atom which pays filmmakers royalties or being sold on a DVD from which the filmmaker sees no revenue, it means the filmmaker isn't able to capitalize on that attention and try to make a living from their work. I like to think that by putting a version of my film on YouTube myself I have more control over how my work is viewed, but it's hard to really know.

AAF: Where did the idea come from and what inspired you to start?

AL: I had made a similar piece when I was in graduate school for graphic design in which I took photos of other people and put them together in a film. I then started to wonder what it would look like if I used photos of myself... and three years later I had this film.

AAF: Did you set aside a special room or place to photograph yourself?  And what kind of rules did you give yourself?

AL: I used the same spot every day -- a blank spot on my wall -- and tried to keep the lighting conditions the same. I decided not to take a daily photo when I was away from home because I wouldn't be able to keep the same background in the photo, but now I do it anyway and in future versions of the film you'll be able to see the background change when I travel.

AAF: Did you ever miss a day of photographing yourself?

AL: I tried to build the daily photo into my routine so I wouldn't forget to take it every day, but I'm human and occasionally I still forgot. Now after 3+ years it's as much a habit as brushing my teeth in the morning.

AAF: Folks have commented that you seem to get a lot of haircuts.  What have you learned about yourself from watching the film and seeing the thousands of comments people have posted?

AL: When putting together the photos to make the film I have to stare at a lot of really bad pictures of myself. Consequently I've learned that no matter how much hair product I use, every day is a bad hair day.

As far as the comments go, I've learned that there are some really dumb and obnoxious people out there, and there are some really insightful, sensitive people out there -- and they're all writing comments! I've learned over the years that it's important to separate yourself from your work when you're listening to critiques, so no matter how obnoxious a comment someone writes I realize that this person is only responding to my film, not me as a person. On the other hand, for each mean comment I get there always seems to be someone sticking up for me, telling me to ignore all the jerks out there and keep making my work. On the whole, the comments have been incredibly positive and encouraging and have made me see how much of an audience there actually is for short experimental work like mine.

AAF: Are you still photographing yourself?  Would you ever do it again?

AL: Yes! I'm still taking a photo every day and plan to keep going forever.

AAF: What’s been the result of these millions of hits?  And what’s next for you?

AL: So far I've seen my name and film pop up on countless blogs around the world, and I keep hearing about appearances my film has made on TV, like the Today Show, City News in Canada, and the BBC Evening News. I talked to a Swiss reporter last week, and even had a film crew from Inside Edition at my studio! At the other end of the spectrum, I've had a cable access programmer in Western Kentucky and the coordinator of a local experimental film night in Leeds, England ask if they can show my film in their venues. My hope is that all this exposure is raising the profile of experimental short film, and making people who think they don't like art think twice.

As the hype starts to die down, I plan to keep working at my job as a graphic designer and continue progress on my next film, another experimental short. I don't have any expectations as to how popular the next film may be -- I know it's unlikely for lightning to strike twice -- but perhaps the popularity of my current film will have paved the way somewhat for audiences around the world to watch more experimental film, whether it's from me or another filmmaker about to be the next internet hit.

Click here to view "Me" at AtomFilms.com. And click here for the official "Me" website.