You’re about to start bingeing something new.
Art School Dropouts is a small New Jersey-based YouTube channel and film production group with hilarious Jackie Chan–inspired content.
ASDO is an Asian-minority digital media group dedicated to producing original narrative-driven weekly “feel good” content to promote minorities in the indie filmmaking world. Even though none of them actually went to art school, they are skilled in action filmmaking and comedic acting. Their aim is to entertain through martial arts and comedic action, much like Jackie Chan or Charlie Chaplin, all while incorporating fresh, new ideas from cultural trends and modern-day media, from comic books to anime.
The blend is a refreshing look at nostalgic action for new and old fans of the action genre. The group produces all sorts of media, from sketches to web series and feature films for their YouTube audiences. To invite new faces into their community and to teach them how to start their own unique film group, ASDO also provides an online tutorial series for those that want to produce their own action sequences. The group also makes merchandise for their loyal audiences. The group is run by Joey Min, a.k.a. Director Senpai, and Stephanie Pham, a.k.a. “Mom.”
What separates them from all the new YouTubers we’re seeing is that they avoid making clickbait content. With a focus on storytelling and martial arts action, they are truly independent filmmakers, as their budget is close to nothing. They’re not in it just for the hype. Art School Dropouts is one of the few indie groups making original content almost weekly with a focus on martial arts action choreography. And no, they don’t produce cringy amateur videos; they do not shoot films with the “shaky cam” style to showcase the actor’s abilities and not hide behind camera manipulation.
Watching ’80s martial arts action films growing up inspired so many to learn martial arts, and that is one of their goals: to inspire more people to learn martial arts for the art and not the violence. They also want to bring back the love for martial arts with their films with a modern twist as well as shine a light on minorities in the film industry.
On June 20, 2020, ASDO is set to host a premiere called the Art School Dropouts In-House Grindhouse, a film showcase from content creators around the world. Due to the coronavirus outbreak, many businesses are struggling to stay afloat; and as part of the creative industry, they know exactly how that feels. If Hollywood and Netflix productions are being put on hold, one can only imagine the problems indie filmmakers and digital content creators are facing right now. ASDO spearheaded this initiative as an awesome way to bring to light all the amazing creators that are being put on pause right now and also as a way to bring them all together to support one another. To find out how you can support them in this initiative, you can click here.
The Art School Dropouts website can be found here. To find more perks and behind-the-scenes content, bump up the group’s budget on Patreon! To get a taste of what this talented bunch can do, check them out on YouTube here. To watch their full-length feature film, My Asian Auntie, click here.
