here is an interview Jake and I did for the Western front: (quotations aren't quite correct)
When rapper Jay-Z released his song "Empire State of Mind," he probably never thought Nathan Cox and Rashawn Scott, two local artists in Bellingham, would parody his song.
Their video, "Bellingham State of Mind," has gone viral on YouTube with more than 130,000 views since its release on Sept. 12.
Knapp Brothers Entertainment, an independent film company in Bellingham, has recorded a response parody to "Bellingham State of Mind" titled "Edward Gibbs' State of Mind." Their version will be released Oct. 4.
Brothers Jake Knapp, 27, and Micah Knapp, 23, are the main creative minds behind Knapp Brothers Entertainment, but their brothers Marcus Knapp, 25, and
Jared Knapp, 29, are sometimes featured in their videos.
Jake Knapp stars in their upcoming parody as Edward Gibbs, a recurring nerdy character in their films, who likes to protest against anything.
"He is a likeable character, but he also likes to get a reaction," Jake said. "Gibbs is a character that we created out of things we see in everyday life. A lot of our characters are based off real experiences."
The brothers wanted to bridge the gap between their character, Gibbs, and the Bellingham way of life.
"We saw Cox's video and we've lived in Bellingham our whole lives and we wanted to do a crossover video," Micah said.
The brothers said their company is not trying to outdo Cox and Scott.
"We are definitely trying to do this for fun, there are a lot more shout outs to local bands and underground things in Bellingham than what appeared in Cox's video," Micah said.
On their first day of filming, the brothers saw Cox and Scott drive by and drove after them.
"Nathan and Rashawn are actually in our video," Micah said. "They took the role that Ryan Stiles played in theirs."
Stiles is a local celebrity who, in Cox's video, is recorded standing and looking at Cox and not doing much of anything else.
Another local musician, Jenni Potts, takes Scott's backup vocal role in the Knapp Brothers Entertainment's production.
Knapp Brothers Entertainment's genre ranges from digital shorts to full-length movies and even wedding cinematography. The two brothers have been making movies for the last 15 years.
"Micah saved up and bought his first video camera when he was eight [years-old,]" Jake said. "In 2001, when our dad realized how serious this was to us, he took out a loan and bought us a digital camera and a computer with iMovie on it."
Micah said filmmaking is something the two brothers have always wanted to do and is part of who they are.
"We try to do a broad spectrum of content," Jake said. "We usually do all original content, but with the 'Bellingham State of Mind' parody video, we didn't."
The two brothers have completely different styles: Jake is the drill sergeant, while Micah is laid-back.
"For us, it's all about chemistry. Everything seems to click," Jake said. "We bounce ideas off each other and we are both good at different aspects."
Their upcoming release of "Edward Gibbs' State of Mind," is not the only movie in the works for the brothers. They are releasing a movie titled "Fantastic Stan Goes to Hell" in early 2011.
"'Fantastic Stan Goes to Hell' had a budget of practically nothing," Micah said. "We want to take it to film festival and say 'Hey, this is what we can do with no budget."'
Jake said "Fantastic Stan Goes to Hell" is the first time they have tried to actively promote a film.
"By the way, we are bigger than Jesus," Micah said jokingly. "I hope we won't get shot for saying that."
(Read directly on the Western Front homepage).
No comments:
Post a Comment