L.A. CHRONICLES
A coming-of-age saga.
LA Chronicles is a five-year saga that captures the adventures in and within Los Angeles. What started as simple videos set to a specific song that turned into thematic short films, the series follows my journey from adolescence to the day I turned 21.
As the years went on and the groups of people changed, the places visited stayed relatively the same, making them landmarks that preserved those moments.
The entries in LA Chronicles are split into chapters; a way to segment specific periods in my life.
The Valley Misfits
Downtown Revisited
Nights in LA County
Prelude to Melancholy
The Black & White Era
The Feel-Good Era
The End of High School
The Revival Era
The Summer Era
Life As We Know It
The Misfit Legacy
CHAPTER ONE
THE VALLEY MISFITS
WHERE IT ALL BEGAN.One winter night in 2015, a few of my friends and I decided to take the train to Downtown LA, a nice change of pace from the mundane cycle of growing up in the valley. I captured the day on video and made a little montage compilation set to a song fit for the occasion. Since that day, I have embarked on journeys from the suburbs to the city and documented my life through those adventures. This is the start of LA Chronicles.
CHAPTER TWO
DOWNTOWN REVISITED
THE JOURNEY CONTINUES.We embark on two more adventures in the city - one before summer and one after. Our map expands to more areas as we explored parts of LA we haven’t been to before.
From a Teen Night event at a contemporary museum to a rooftop view of Downtown at a parking lot.
CHAPTER THREE
NIGHTS IN L.A. COUNTY
WHEN THE SUN GOES DOWN.This chapter follows the moments that occur after hours. Starting off with a spontaneous drive to the city after a birthday party, it eventually take us beyond the metropolitan area for the first time, with one entry being set in the Valley after a football game.
As the days get shorter, the lights shine bright under the cold autumn skies.
CHAPTER FOUR
PRELUDE TO MELANCHOLY
THE CALM BEFORE.I remember this period of my life as a somewhat insignificant preamble to the rest of 2016. A transitional chapter that shows the last glimpses of color before they eventually disappear for a while.
Starting with a sunny day at Ventura Boulevard, the trio of entries conclude with one more LA day in early October.
CHAPTER FIVE
THE BLACK & WHITE ERA
NOSTALGIA IN MONOCHROME.I remember this as a formative era in my life. The last few months of 2016 were a whirlwind of emotions, as changing relationships and teen angst led me to present these entries in black & white. The song choices also shifted in mood, going for a slower, more melancholic feel.
CHAPTER SIX
THE FEEL-GOOD ERA
THE PROMISE OF A NEW YEAR.Starting off with an entry set on my 18th birthday, these five videos introduce a newfound sense of wonder. With 2016 finally ended, we step into a new year with new possibilities. It was the final semester of senior year, and the high school LA days slowly approach their conclusion.
CHAPTER SEVEN
THE END OF HIGH SCHOOL
THE ORIGINAL CONCLUSION.Initially, I planned on LA Chronicles as being a docuseries set in high school. These four entries were to be the final ones (with a fifth entry originally serving as the finale). It was a celebratory time, a chapter in which my friends and I bidded farewell to this period of our lives.
But as evident by the following chapters, this wasn’t the end just yet.
CHAPTER EIGHT
THE REVIVAL ERA
A NEW BEGINNING.Six months pass, and I decide to erase the original 30th entry that served as the final one. I remained in LA after high school, going to community college first while I figured out what I wanted to do in life. Thus, LA Chronicles continued on.
Now moving onto 2018, I consider this a soft reboot, with new and familiar faces, new and familiar places, and new directions for the series.
CHAPTER NINE
THE SUMMER ERA
A MIX OF PAST AND PRESENT.It’s now the summer once again. I never really got to do LA days around this time, so this was a nice change of pace that I took great advantage of. With entries featuring old friends reuniting and new friends exploring classic locations, this period served as the final chapter in which the titles of the videos were of songs used in them.
CHAPTER TEN
LIFE AS WE KNOW IT
INTRODUCING THEMATIC SHORT FILMS (A Prologue)
(Two segments of an LA day)
(Sadness within happiness)
(The passage of time)
(An Epilogue)
Moving into 2019, I knew it was time for one last change in the LA Chronicles saga. Realizing that a lot of the days were split into multiple videos (due to the abundance of footage collected), I transitioned into short films for this chapter. With specific themes for each one, I found it to be much more inspiring than simple music videos that preceeded this era.
FINALE
THE MISFIT LEGACY
GOODBYE TO MY YOUTH.A conclusion to five years worth of documented moments in life. A celebration of what has come and what is to come. These final entries begin with one dedicated to the sentimental beauty of photos and videos taken on LA days. Then, the final four films focus on one of the themes that have been part of LA Chronicles since its inception: Love, Happiness, Nostalgia, and Youth.