My friend Soyoun Jeong had her Gallery exhibit at Tenri Gallery in NY.
I had a chance to visit with my friend Michael and took some photos which i turned into an Aperture Slide Show. These were taken on my Canon G11 camera.

When May Ling first suggested she take a music composition I wrote and turn it into a vocal song, I had no idea how far this project would go.

And surprised I was. She not only wrote some beautiful lyrics and a haunting melody, but she sang it with such heartfelt passion, that the goosebumps were typical.
May then assembled a talented team of artists and friends to produce a magnificent and emotional short film. Director Scott Gabriel and the rest of the team, actors Shing Ka, Cheutine Fong, and the child Princess Lam, were all stars. We filmed 2 of the 3 segments in the Studio and House here at Bennett Media Studio, and it equaled some of the Network Shows shot here (Law and Order, White Collar, to name a few).
Expressing the theme of domestic abuse, the video was produced in conjuncton with the New York Asian Women’s Center, one of the largest NY area domestic violence help centers and shelters. The video became a kick off for the annual campaign for the New York Asian Women’s Center. The official screening of the video also took place at Bennett Media Studio at the annual fund raiser for the organization. At the event, May and I performed on stage as well, a song we co-wrote called “Only An Angel,” also fitting the theme of the evening.

Since then, Scott and May have been showing the film to festivals. It was a winner at the Garden State festival for the “Best Music Video,” and at the Canadian International Film Festival for the “Award of Excellence.” It was also an official selection at Palm Bay’s ’15 Minutes of Fame’ film festival as well as the upcoming SENE film festival in Rhode Island. And most recently, it was chosen as a finalist for the 2010 Las Vegas Film Festival on June 4th, 2010.

May Ling was happy to pass along some anecdotes to me about some responses:

“At both the SENE Film & Music Festival in Rhode Island and Garden State Film Festival in NJ, many of the professionals in attendance came up and personally commented on how much they enjoyed all of the production, lighting, and the acting.  I had numerous lengthy conversations with people who were truly moved by Shing and Cheutine’s performances.   Without fail audience questions immediately asked how we were able to find such amazing child actors for all of the scenes.   Of course, everyone could not imagine how we were able to get the sets to look so stunning, and realized the amazing amount of attention to detail that must have gone into creating the correct imagery for the house, basement, and shelter scenes. ”

So congrats to the entire team (see below) for this fantastic effort and I am so happy to see the momentum behind this worthwhile project continue.

CAST

May Ling…………Singer
Princess Lam……Daughter, Young Singer
Shing Ka…………Father
Cheutine Fong….Mother
Susan Finch……..Social Worker
Caleb Gitlitz……..Young Boy
Mothers: Lillian Kui, Stacey Van Gorder, Jyoti Singh, Kelly Reeves Susaye Lawson, Emma J, Denise Violante, EJ An
Children:David Kim, Maria Kim, Paige Simunovich, Avery Violante, Kiana Shell Josiah Pujols, Ryan Leung, Wesley Leung

CREW

Scott Gabriel………Director
MinhTu Van……….Executive Producer
May Ling…………..Producer, Songwriter (Lyrics & Melody)
Ed Bennett………..Exec Music Producer, Songwriter (Musical Arrangement)
Sean Nerney………Music Producer
Ryan Halasz………Assistant Director
Milan Habijanac…..Lighting Tech
Douglas Kehl & David Goldfrank….Production Assistant
Reynaldo Carter……………………..Production Designer
Josh Dowd & Curtis Rapp…………..Set Design & Prop Master
Justin Bennett………………………..Key Grip
Rachel Stawinski……………………..Hair/Make-up
Celia Au………………………………..Casting Director
Celia Au& Ha Tran……………………Set Photographer
Nari Kim………………………..Production Assistant

NYAWC Volunteers: Kiko Kitani, Louis Mendoza, Diana Lin, Qiao Gao, Lina Wu, Leana Lung, Linda Shum, Kazuko Ishida
Special Thanks:
Tony Lam & Bun Soho Restaurant

Click HERE to see the official site of the project created by May Ling

Click HERE to see director Scott Gabriel’s creative reel.

And here it is, “Someday” by May Ling Lai

NBC Universal Television is currently producing the eleventh season of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. It is a spin-off of the original hit show and stars Chris Meloni, Mariska Hargitay, Dann Florek, Richard Belzer, and Ice-T. This episode called “Saviour”, was filmed here at Bennett Media Studio. Watch for it on-air in 6 weeks.

Chris Meloni..main character on the show.

Click here to see more photos of the shoot at the Studio

We held a Talent Networking event here at the Studio. While it was a cold day, for sure, the lively conversations and entertaining speakers tended to warm us all up.

I appeared on a Radio Show tonight speaking about the Facebook campaign to bring Rage Against The Machine to number one on the UK Charts.

Rage Against the Machine has claimed the prestigious No. 1 spot on the British singles chart on the last Sunday before Christmas, marking the first time in five years the winner of Simon Cowell’s “X-Factor” has not won.
Joe McElderry’s “The Climb” came in second, beaten by a huge online swell of support for “Killing in the Name,” backed by a Facebook group with nearly 1 million members.

Esther Ku, actor and comedienne, has teamed up with her sister Po  from California to do some  stage and Web TV performances here at Bennett Media Studio. Both sisters sing as well, which beckons from their music ( and Church) Family in Chicago. I first me Esther at the filming of  the TV series ” White Collar” here at the Studio. She then introduced me to her sister, and a new duo was formed from which different artistic projects are being launched. We did a test video project, a spoof on the Tiger Woods incident. And we also had Esther and Po compete on stage at the Manhattan Monologue Slam, which is being presented here at Bennett Media Studio monthly. ( New dates are Jan. 29th, Feb. 26th, and March 26th., all fridays). Esther is very active in the Comedy Club circuit, and takes on TV roles as well. Po went on  stage for the first time on friday, December 18th, competing at the Monologue Slam against 22 others. She won although she is ostensibly the least trained.

Here’s the first spoof:

Next up is ” the interview of The head of the AAFEO by Dave Garroway.”:

This was a special day for me at Bennett Media Studio. I had the chance to host an event which featured I song I co-wrote with May Ling Lai called  ” Someday”.  Actually, the very talented May wrote the lyrics..very personal stuff, and I wrote/composed the music. However May took this song over the top by creating a short film around it, highlighting the issue of domestic violence, Here, she chose to partner with the Asian Women’s Shelter in New york City, a dedicated group which provides shelter, support and resources to Asian Women in need of help from this difficult and debilitating situation. We showcased the video, then played the Song ” Only An Angel”. The film was co-produced by Minh Tu Van, and directed by Scott Gabriel.

The Music video and song can be heard/seen here.

Here are some photos.

Here is the Flickr Photostream of the event.

As reports of the Michael Jackson incident reached a peak, Fox TV Network interviewed me live  ( Primetime)  for one of their shows.  This day the events happened quickly. I received the call at noon to come to the studio for the Prime Time Show airing at 7pm. With little time to prepare, I went off to the studio and got “wired” for sound, and then onto the set. The interview was rewarding, as I had a chance to recall my Michael Jackson Days  when I was President and CEO of VH-1, the music and lifestyle TV network.

Ed Bennett discusses Michael Jackson on Fox TV

Here’s a bootleg video of me getting wired in the studio before I went on-air.

Agnus Dei Dance piece. The song was written by myself ( Ed Bennett) and Ryland Angel. This song was produced and written here at BMS, and then released on the EMI album. It then became choreographed for a dance performance in Japan. The song features ” Latin Chants” and has a spiritual and calming influence..haunting at times. You can download the song at iTunes.

This Song was performed at the Schimmel Theater in New York City to benefit the Sichuan Earthquake Victims in China. Music and Lyrics Copyright Edward Bennett and May Ling Lai 2008. The original Slides were produced by Shi Yi Sheng and were displayed behind May Ling (vocalist) and myself ( Acoustic Guitar) as we performed on stage. As simple and elemental as the slides were, it did convey an emotional connection to the audience and enhanced the lyrics. There were 800 people who attended, and they gave to the Red Cross and other organizations who helped.  The final numbers 70,000 killed,300,000 injured and 5 million Homeless.

This video was produced/assembled by May Ling Lai.  Nice job, May!