I am Freddie Wong. I make YouTube videos. AMA!

Are you so wong you're right?

/ you can use that.

I have a brother. Two wongs don't make a right.

If you could change one thing about YouTube what would it be?

Threaded comments.

They are threaded now right?

Poorly.

Do you ever just wake up and think how great it is you woke up without an alarm, and that now you're heading to the fridge for some food, and then maybe you'll check your mail, and then later in the morning you'll shoot a video, and then at night you'll check some more mail, look over some editing footage, and goto bed.

While you're doing that I'm working an 8 hour job where I'm trapped, clock watching until I can leave, only to be woken abruptly by an alarm that I want to destroy to drag myself through to a shower that will feebly wake me up only to cycle to a job I dislike to earn money I can spend on things I don't need.

Going off a bit there. You're awesome, keep up the good work.

Did I mention the sun is never out in Scotland, fuck you L.A :[

Believe me, yes. I used to work those 8 hour gigs. I would take many tea breaks. And I biked to work for one of them!

Are you still awesome at Guitar Hero?

Yes. Dirty secret - I never practiced.

Stress level?

Brandon: "Absolute zero."

Hi Freddie! How much does it cost on average to make the videos?

Assuming you don't count what we would pay ourselves if we weren't doing those jobs ourselves, or factoring cost of equipment/electricity/etc. (i.e. raw production costs) anywhere from $0 (shot on our alley) to $1000 or so (Medal of Honor cat - cat trainer was expensive). This is our typical weekly YouTube video costs.

Not to get personal or anything but how much does Youtube actually pay you?

Can't answer that - NDA'd by the Google

I don't have question... I just want to let you know how much of an inspiration you are to young, independent film makers such as myself. Thank you so very very much, Freddie. :)

You're welcome! Pay me back by working on what you love

Call of Duty or Battlefield?

Battlefield. I played BF2 forever and the first Modern Warfare is the only one I liked multiplayer-wise. All the newer ones turned into camp-fests that actively discouraged movement.

How did you decide, who was going to be the "main character" of the channel? in other words: why did you name the channel "freddiew" and not "brandonL"?

Actually, I remember them explaining that once. If I remember right they said it was because they thought to get started, they really needed ONE face for the channel so people would have an easy time remembering it etc. And since Freddie enjoyed being on camera more than Brandon (who more prefers shooting and what not) they just named it after him. But I don't think it really had to do with it being his idea. They are pretty equal partners.

Bingo

The 'Over 9000' Video

What do you think of it now?

I still love it. FUNimation saw it and invited us to the US premiere of the Full Metal Alchemist movie. And despite the massive dislikes on it, it is one of the MOST favorited videos we've ever made. The people who like it... LOVE it.

We saw you there, in the back in the VIP Section, I was back there too but didn't want to go fangirl over you. Are you a big anime fan? What are your favorite series?

Also Ghibli stuff of course

I'm an atypical anime fan, I think. Not into most of it, but really enjoyed Kino's Journey.

What did you want to do before you decided "film was the way to go"?

I was on track to do computer science. I was a programming nerd in high school, total tech geek. Making movies was just more fun in the end.

Why did you almost never talk in your videos when you first started making them? Also, what is your favorite song right now?

1. Language - more international viewers if I keep my mouth shut. Also I'm not a good actor.

2. Favorite song is hard. Been listening to a lot of Wilco's new album recently.

For someone looking to get into the same field as you (I want to be an editor and do alot of VFX) what tips, wisdom and guidance do you have to make that a reality?

You have no excuse now - cameras are ridiculously cheap, all the equipment and software is attainable. Take whatever ideas you have and practice practice practice and do what it takes to find like-minded people to work with.

Why are there Canadian flags on some of the camo in Video Game High School?

Side-note: If you come to Toronto I have access to enough airsoft guns and camo to make a kickass video :D

The joke is that it's Mexico vs. Canada the two most unlikely nations to ever get into a war with each other.

No question, just want to say that your "Aimbot" video was what turned me onto your videos. Probably watched it at least 10 times before I stopped laughing at the jumping guy.

That was me and that was straight from my CS days

Which are your favorite youtube videos of all-time?

Mentos the Freshmaker - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdnJxDmJNmA Genki Sudo - World Order - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGdyaDnnrLM Kitty Corliss Grinding the Crack - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Veg63B8ofnQ

Too many to list here!

What were your test scores/GPA/classes in high school, what schools did you apply to, and how did you get accepted to USC?

SAT (this was pre essay) - 1580 GPA - 3.65 or so, which was REALLY GOOD for that school High School - I went to Lakeside School in Seattle. Bill Gates and Adam West's alma mater!

Schools - USC, NYU Tisch, FSU, CalArts, Chapman, Loyola Marymount. Got into all of them except CalArts. Not artsy enough apparently!

Hey Freddie. How much do all your guns cost total?

Evike.com was kind enough to donate a BOATLOAD to VGHS, so the number is probably staggering - none of them work now though after being kicked around so much

Why didn't you ride Tatsu at roller coaster day?

Tatsu makes me queasy :(

Can I have a hug?

No.

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The opportunity to do VGHS with almost full creative control, and we got to do the stuff with Jon Favreau and a host of other random celebs. Seriously the best thing a creative can have right now is a strong audience - it gives you unbelievable leverage to do what you want.

What would you say is the best way of getting in to VFX? I don't exactly have thousands to invest in Adobe's entire creative suite.

Trial versions, educational versions, "whatever it takes" to get your hands on it.

To start off though, do easier VFX - do stuff where you combine footage together to achieve an effect. The danger is just jumping into Video Copilot tutorials without developing the eye. If you have a good eye - if you can judge an image and see what's wrong and what needs to fix for it to read as "real" then you will be way ahead.

How fun was it working on the set of Chuck? I loved your cameo on there! :D

Oh and I just hit 25k subs. Can I get a high five? :D

high five It was super fun and SUPER easy I had my own trailer and everything!

I know you're busy with VGHS, but when will the podcasts start up again?

We want to do them in a few weeks or so. Definitely high on the lists of things to get started again. For now, you can download old eps at rocketjump.com

VGHS is looking pretty sweet so far, but the episodes are so short! Just as it gets going it's already over. If it succeeds will you be moving on to even longer/larger projects? I remember you were involved in some film about a bear - is a full length Freddiew film a legitimate possibility?

We were talking about that 10 minute length and I think you're right - you get into it and then it's done! Later eps are 15-20 minutes long and we're curious if that will still be the case.

We are talking about feature length contiguous projects, but at the moment we have very little interest in putting those out in theaters. Internet is the way to go, man. We got some crazy ideas though.

What's your gamer juice (fuel)?

Coca-Cola fiend, and also been doing a lot of the no-carb Monster.

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Originally, I was working on a script called "Hellstorm" with my friends Chris (making the Protomen documentary) and Will (one of the writers). They mentioned VGHS as a side idea during a break from one of our meetings, and Matt (showrunner, co-writer) and I just riffed on it and went. Originally it was much more about arcade cabinets vs. pinball, and had a Mr. Miyagi type of character in a janitor, etc. etc. Some of those elements may return in later seasons.

Freddie - When you got to work with John Favreau on your cowboys video, how awesome did you feel inside?

Brandon - You are hilarious. That is all.

Incredibly so. Even more so knowing that he had been watching our stuff with his kid for a year already.

Love your videos, and it shows that you truly love your craft. What kinda guns do you own (non replica/airsoft)? Do you shoot recreationally?

Usually just rent at the range. Friends have Glocks, and I have always liked the Springfield XD and the Sig P226 with the E2 grips.

What else do you guys do in your spare time?

I... hmm. Hmm.

What type of shampoo and conditioner do you use for your silky smooth hair? haha

He answered this in a BTS video once. I believe he said a generic cosco brand

Costco baby

Hey Freddie, would you ever want to be a guest at a nerdy convention like MAGFest? What would it take to see you at ANY convention...other than time of course?

Hahaha time - I have literally never been to Comiccon despite it being so close. I'd love to though, assuming it's not always in the middle of some project.

What do you think of Youtubers like Ray William Johnson? You know...the ones people like to hate.

The sit down in front of the camera, quick cut, punners.

I think they didn't get to where they are for no reason. Decry lack of talent or whatever all you want - the fact is they made something that appeals to a massive amount of people.

The greater philosophical discussion of truly populist media versus video as an artform always threw me off as just dudes caring too much about too much.

Hey Freddie, big fan! Just a quick question. What would you say was the hardest/ most time-consuming video you've produced so far?

Entirety of VGHS has been six months non-stop WHILE juggling the weekly videos (our rate of weekly has suffered a touch because of it). In terms of sheer time consumption, Light Warfare took the longest to shoot (two consecutive nights) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SWfPoITlP8

What is your favorite and least favorite video that you've made?

Favorite - Probably Hypnotism with Kevin Pollack. That was two months of just the most fun times ever hypnotizing our friend to test the concept out. That and Chrono Trigger.

Least favorite - Hard to say. Some of the earlier stuff just seems so immature now haha.

Hey Freddie, You and the guys should do a Dark Souls inspired video, how many medieval style deaths can you guys perform in 1 minute?

1. Slowly.

What is your favourite rollercoaster?

Goliath at Magic Mountain. Still need to make it to Cedar Point though

You guys should do more American Ninja Challenge.

Secret - they only film that 3 days a year.

do you have any other projects in mind after VGHS??

Many - that's what's cool about the road we're on - we can do almost anything! Definitely a series more action heavy story-lite very soon...

I swear I've seen you on the t.v. show "Chuck" more than once, can you confirm this?

Only once, in Chuck vs. The Hack-Off as the Hacker. Fun fact - they changed the character name to just be "Freddie" I wish I was just credited as "himself"

Man I love your videos and have a question - Would you feel it necessary for someone to have a background in video-making/directing to make the sorts of videos you do? Is a passion for doing it in your spare time enough or will you NEED that techincal know-how that comes from a degree or proffesion.

It used to be that directors could just sit around and know ONLY directing. What I see is that EVERY department and every job needs to know more and more technical knowledge to function and get hired. DPs never used to care about anything beyond light and their film stock, and now they have to know about codecs and bitrates, etc. Concentrate on what you want to do, but learn about everything - it'll help you in the long run.

Also, anything in film can be learned by doing. A film degree is useless - it's only for the people you meet.

When are you going to release VGHS as a feature length film Freddie, love the videos and thanks for doing so many of those all nighters.

After it all comes out - we're also working on doing a feature-length premiere at E3 this year, but shh still working the details out on that.

How many Macs and PCs do you own in your office/apartment/the place where you produce videos

Brandon and I each own an iMac and a Macbook. We both co-own the world's Beastliest PC together and we make VFX and play all kinds of video games on it!

Hey Freddie, where are your parents/ancestry from?

Mom from N. China, pops from S. China.

Are you coming to NYC anytime soon? Would love to meet you and possibly be in a video of some sort. P.S. I love the series so far.

Probably not likely - but if you follow my Twitter I'll let you know!

If you could have anyone in history guest star in a video and I mean ANYONE who would it be?

Freddie: Teddy Roosevelt. Brandon: Brett Farve. Seriously, Brandon?

Which came first, the Chicken or the Egg?

The egg. Dinosaurs were laying eggs long before chickens as a species arrived on earth.

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Some ideas and plans after the full episodes all release, but yes.

What do you want to see announced at E3 2012?

Last Guardian and how about some new freaking consoles amirite