wongfuproductions

BRAND NEW REWARDS - Revamping our Tiers!

Hello Careholders! Old and new!

As you know, we hit 2 years on Patreon this month and as we've been mentioning, we wanted to completely revamp our rewards tiers. This is mainly because we really care about everyone here so we want to keep things fresh and unique for you. It's also because the past 2 years we've learned a lot from our Careholders and saw what perks y'all engaged with the most. We also saw what we could do better. So going into the next month (and next year), we've reworked what we want to offer you all for your generous contributions to maximize your experience of being part of our community!

Here are some of the biggest additions/changes!

BRONZE:
Our monthly update "Boba Break" will now be a Livestream so we can have direct/instant communication with the viewers. Making it live will also ensure that the updates are the most current.
Lunch Break Polls - We want to get our entire Careholder community involved in our weekly show. Since LB is our most consistent and frequent content, we feel you should be part of it. So we're going to often be asking you via polls on Patreon for input on guests, topics, and questions! We're almost at 250 episodes, so we could use some more ideas ;P 

SILVER
Exclusive Variety Show - For the first time we're going to create produced video content specifically for our Patreon. This is going to be our little playground to test video ideas and show you more of ourselves. The show will range, from reaction videos, gaming, challenges, and just fun around the office. Some videos might even serve as pilots, meaning, you could determine if a video idea should turn into something we release on our main public channels!
Lunch Break "Plus One" - Each week we'll choose a Silver/Gold Careholder at random to be our honorary "plus one" at the table. We'll call out a name, feature their photo, and even let them choose what we eat!
One Week Early Access - In 2020, we're planning some big videos and we want to let our Careholders feel extra special by getting certain shorts a full week in advance. While everyone else is waiting for the release date, they'll all know that Silver Careholders already have access!

GOLD
Development Sessions - We want being part of the highest tier to come with some very special privileges. The greatest, we thought, would be to have influence in our creative decisions. We will reach out to Gold Careholdres for input on our shorts, like jokes, locations, characters, and ideas.
Personal Shoutouts - We know many of our Careholders are just down for the cause and aren't really asking to be part of our process. So we thought, maybe we can offer something where we're part of your life. Personal Shoutouts will be your chance to make requests of us in the form of video messages. You can ask us for video dedications, read a message, sing happy birthday... let us know! We'll be doing 3 per month, and it will be controlled through a signup sheet, first come first serve. This will hopefully make us feel closer to you!

So those are the major changes to our Patreon! We hope you're excited for all these new rewards. We can't wait to activate them starting next month! So stick with us and we'll talk again really soon!

Thank you, as always, for your continued support!
-the Wong Fu Fam

BIG News & Ask Us Anything!

The above image is a very, very significant one. Can you guess what's going on? We'll answer that question and more in the upcoming Boba Break!

So we need your questions! Leave in the comments below OR Discord a question and we'll try to answer it in this month's Boba Break.

Also, stay tuned for information about a special Livestream on Thursday the 28th. We've been wanting to do a special "State of Wong Fu" address to share with you where WF is at these days and the exciting things to look forward to.

See you soon! Now... ask away!

-phil

1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY: Looking Back & NEW PERKS!

Hey everyone! Long post, but you'll want to read!

We're a couple days late but, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! Feb 13th was the official day we launched this Patreon page and started a new journey and relationship with you!

Thanks to you, this past year we were able to transform the way Wong Fu operates so that we could focus more on bigger projects and the future!

With your contributions, we were able to make our biggest independent series yet, "Yappie". When studios and brands said No, you were there for us! Not only could we make it, but we were able to organize a North American Tour to meet many of you in person! This was our first tour for a specific project since our movie "Everything Before Us" in 2015.

We also got to have multiple secret, private meetups at many of our tour stops around the country. It was so cool to connect with you on a more personal level!

There was also a lot of stuff that happened internally that wasn't publicized. One big step was hiring new staff members and growing our production team. More help means better content and also more opportunities for young creators who are trying to become professionals in this industry! We also started mentoring young filmmaking students. This just shows that your contributions go beyond just WF, but impact other lives as well. 

And now, looking ahead, we continue with everything we learned from the past year and seek to do even more. First up, we're already in production for our next big series, "Dating After College". This will be a pay-to-watch series like "Yappie", but all Careholders will have access to watch for FREE!

Which brings us to some exciting news! Since this page is now 1 year old, we don't want to just go through the motions and simply repeat last year. We want to keep things exciting and fun for you so that you'll hopefully see value in sticking around... which is why we're adding some new perks to your pre-existing tiers!

BRONZE & UP
BOBA! When we first launched WFForward Phil made the analogy that a $5 monthly donation was like buying us a cup of boba each month. Well, now that Phil has opened up a real-life boba cafe (yep, he did), he wants to return the favor and buy YOU a cup of boba. If you ever are able to visit Phil's cafe BOPOMOFO in San Gabriel, CA, you'll get a free drink on us for being a Careholder! (One drink per Careholder. Simply present proof of your membership.)

SCRIPTS! We will start making our scripts available for download! No one outside of WF or our actors have ever seen these! This is an exclusive look into our creative process! Each new video we'll include a download link to the script, along with a classic video script! You'll be able to see what we wrote and how it translated to screen.!

SILVER & UP
PRIVATE INSTAGRAM! While the Patreon feed and Discord are good places to connect with you, we've decided that nothing beats the convenience of Instagram. We want to be able to post more often and casually, without spamming your email inbox or forcing you to create a Discord account. So we're launching a private instagram page for Silver & Gold Members only. We'll send out a separate post with the account name and instructions for you to add us and verify your account. This instagram will be a more frequent and easy way to stay connected with us!

GOLD
HQ DOWNLOADS! Getting our videos early is nice and all, but getting the actual video file on your phone/computer is even better. We want you to have access to your favorite videos anytime, anywhere without eating up your data or waiting to buffer. Each new video we will provide you with a download link. We'll also figure out a way to send you a library of our past work so you can download your favorite WF videos right onto your device. As a Gold Careholder, you deserve to have this access!

As we head into Year #2 of our Careholder program, we're so excited for what's in store. Your generosity doesn't go unappreciated or inefficiently used. You've directly enabled WF to explore and evolve in ways that were impossible before. Thank you for this. Stay tuned for more updates about the new perks, the 1-yr Anniversary gifts, and more...

like... what's this picture about???

-wong fu

1500 Careholders!!

Thank you thank you thank you! We've hit 1500 amazing Careholders here and that means we've reached our 2nd goal: to organizing our first community workshop event. As we said when we launched Wong Fu Forward, outreach to the youth and community is an important part of this next chapter, so now we can officially begin that process. We're about to jump into a crazy schedule of production for Yappie and more tour stops, but we'll keep you posted on the progress of this special event.

In the meantime, the 2nd episode of Boba Break comes out tomorrow for everyone.
Also, Phil, Wes, and Chris were in New Jersey and Boston this past weekend speaking at a couple universities, and while they were out there they had 2 amazing secret Careholder meetups with Silver and Gold Patrons. Despite the cold, snow, and short notice, y'all came out! Thank you! We had a lot of fun getting to know you! (If you don't want to miss out on these exclusive meetings, consider upgrading your careholder tier!)

BOSTON, MA

NEWARK, NJ

Our Silver and Gold exclusive livestreams happened last week during the first table read of Yappie! We brought all the actors of the series together to read the scripts for the first time and brought you inside to meet everyone and get a sneak peek at the first episode! Hope you liked it!
On the topic of Yappie, we've also started making official public announcements about the show and the enthusiasm from the fans is extraordinary. We really hope you know that you are making this happen with your contributions and continued support.

How amazing that this community is now 1500 strong! Keep spreading the word! Thank you!! See you tomorrow!

-wong fu

Wong Fu and the Oscars

(yeah that's a prop)

This morning I woke up with a lot of thoughts about last night's Oscar ceremony. I tend to do this every year after these big award shows. I think it's because always take these as a reminder of how Asians are doing in mainstream media.. and let's be honest, judging by the nominees and presence on the red carpet, we've still got a LONG way to go. I laid it all out in a twitter thread today so take a look if you're curious about my viewpoints.

I know it sounds a little "ranty" or bleak.. but the reason why I wanted to share it here with our Careholders is because I wanted to say "Thank you." Thank you because through Wong Fu Forward we're doing our part to take those first steps toward building a new system. We're able to take risks and chances on some new ideas and bigger projects that others won't. We're able to reach out to other creators and future talent. We're able to do all the things we wish would happen, but instead of waiting, we're taking control of our own path. And your contribution is helping us do so.

Everyone plays an important part in our progress as a community. We need creators AND consumers! That means watching shows, going to theaters, subscribing to channels, and yes, supporting Patreons! Voting with your dollar because it's the only way to show that anyone actually cares about what we make! And y'all are truly living up to your name ;)

-phil

(If you have any friends who are on the fence of becoming a Careholder, share with them this post)

1st WFForward Careholder meetup was AMAZING!

This afternoon I held the first ever official Wong Fu Forward secret Careholder meetup! I'm up in the San Francisco Bay Area to visit family this weekend and I thought, why not? This is what our Patreon is here for, this is why we created WFForward! To connect and build a community!

So with just 2 days notice, Silver and Gold careholders got a message from us and those in the area came out... and it was AMAZING!

To be honest I was a bit nervous. I had no idea what to expect on such short notice (honestly I would've been happy with like 5 ppl). Thankfully it was a very manageable 15 that I ended up splitting into 2 groups. It was so special to meet these guys and girls face to face and tell them how special their contribution and support of Wong Fu over the years is to all of us. This was unlike any meet&greet we've ever done!

The meetup was only supposed to be 1 hour, but we ended up talking for over 2.5! And we got deep! I got to know everyone's background, what they're doing in life, what they hope to do. We talked about WF's history and future... and it got really intense (like a real shareholders meeting, lol). We discussed the state of Asian American representation in media, what WF is doing about it, what our stance is on a variety of issues. Wow.

This meetup was such a rewarding experience, I honestly can't wait to do it in other cities when we go on tour this Spring. Hearing your stories, your reasons for contributing and following, and your hopes... it really inspires me and gives ME hope for our future and what we're trying to do.

Thanks to this first group of careholders for making the long (and short) drives out to encourage me and prove that we are doing something right. (If you were here, please message us, or leave a comment so we can remember you!)

And if anyone wants to be a part of these meetups, you can upgrade a tier at anytime for this special perk! You won't regret it. I'm so glad that we're checking off so many goals within just 2 weeks since launching! This is all because of you!

-phil

#philatphilz

1000 Careholders! Let's get started!

In less than 3 days, one thousand generous, kind, beautiful people decided to believe in us and our new Wong Fu Forward initiatives! Thank you so much everyone who has joined to be a Careholder! We are so inspired and motivated.

This is where the work begins. This is when it becomes real! Our first goal with reaching 1000 careholders was to immediately begin production on a new series, one that I've been working on for over a year. This one is even longer than "Just Another Nice Guy" and tackles some heavier topics, so several limitations were holding us back. But now, because we know we have everyone here and their monthly contributions, we feel confident in taking on this huge project.

I'd like to introduce you to "YAPPIE". It's a series about life and love as a modern day Asian American, dealing with issues about race, family, and relationships. Definitely Wong Fu like you've never seen before. We'll have more information to come in the Silver and Gold Livestreams, as well as Boba Break for everyone!

For now, THANK YOU. Your contributions have REAL effects and we're not taking it for granted. We're getting to work right away, and it's all because of you! Talk soon!

-phil