Life after Graffiti: an Interview with 705

by David S. Lee

The three members of 705 drove out from various locations in Orange, San Bernardino, and Los Angeles Counties to downtown Los Angeles on a Monday evening to sit down and talk about their short films “Space Time Destroyers” and “Three Card Studs”, premiering at this year’s Visual Communications Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film and Video Festival (VC Filmfest 2003).

705’s members include Roman Cortez, Chito Arellano, and Tracy Tubero. They started off as graffiti artists, and then transitioned into the world of freelance design. The boisterous trio originally began making movies as a hobby. The first movie they made was in 1993, when they borrowed a friend’s videocamera and went into Ralph’s at 3AM and decided to shoot an impromptu video called “Killer Shopping Cart”. They showed the video to their friends, who all enjoyed it. Enjoying the attention and enthusiastic reception, Roman, Chito, and Tracy continued to make movies on their own time, making use of minimal budgets and themselves as actors.

Throughout the interview, Roman, Chito, and Tracy showed how close they are as friends, not just creative collaborators. They would answer questions for each other, and every question was answered by all three members in rapid fire succession. Roman said their motivation behind making movies is “peace and unity,” while Tracy said it was “to get girls,” and Chito said “they just want to make people laugh.” They all agreed that they enjoyed watching funny movies, and they want to do the same by entertaining others. The 80’s films they all watched during their childhood influenced them greatly. Everything they saw in those films translated into part of their filmmaking style.

Their film “Space Time Destroyers” mixes hip hop and science fiction influences with several hilarious pop culture references. “Three Card Studs” is a backyard poker game turned into a martial arts and special effects display of 705’s unique physical and comedic gifts. Infused in all of their films is a sense of whacky slapstick comedy that takes the viewer on seemingly random and illogical story turns but in the end becomes something hilarious and oddly satisfying.

Eventually, 705 wants to move out of small films. “We want to become a big production group,” says Roman. The film festival circuit is a step towards reaching a larger audience. “This is our first year really playing at film festivals,” says Chito, “where we originally just showed them at parties to our drunk friends.” They are excited about VC Filmfest 2003, because “people are going out to watch our movies, and have, hopefully, respect for what we do,” according to Roman. “Even if everyone is drunk. In fact, being drunk enhances the experience of watching our movies,” adds Tracy, jokingly.

705’s youthful and energetic nature belies the fact that they have a great deal of experience under their belt. They have completed twenty one films, most of them between five and ten minutes, the longest being twenty minutes. Their next project is a feature length film, which they hope will push their filmmaking and comedic abilities even further.
Finally, 705 revealed what they enjoyed most about the filmmaking process. “I enjoy having, from beginning to end, control over the entire process, controlling the comedy,” says Roman. “We can’t afford hiring the actors, so we cast ourselves.” Chito finds greater rewards in the post-production process. “I like doing the editing, special effects,” he says. Tracy enjoys the acting process. “We have a loose improvisational style, just like how we act normally,” he explains.

Indeed, the comedic essence of 705 in real life is translated capably and creatively into each of their films. Watch out for their films in the upcoming VC Filmfest 2003, opening Thursday May 1, 2003.