Ordinaries
Los Angeles, California | Film Feature
Documentary, Comedy
How many of us wish we could be the first to do something? In this day and age, such things can be difficult. So when the opportunity arose, Amy leaped at the chance! Ordinaries is about one woman’s journey across America, her relationships, and bridging the gaps between old and new.
Ordinaries
Los Angeles, California | Film Feature
Documentary, Comedy
1 Campaigns | California, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $18,135 for post-production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
97 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
How many of us wish we could be the first to do something? In this day and age, such things can be difficult. So when the opportunity arose, Amy leaped at the chance! Ordinaries is about one woman’s journey across America, her relationships, and bridging the gaps between old and new.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
One night, while watching a movie my wife turns to me and casually says, “My cousin Amy is gonna cycle across the U.S. on one of them old high-wheel bicycles. She’s asking for advice on how to document their trip.” Instead of giving advice, I decided to tag-a-long. With only 2 months to plan I made phone calls, and asked for favors. I posted on Facebook if anybody would be willing to help me out and an old friend from undergrad, Theo, hit me up and said he just quit his job and is looking for an adventure. And so, stuffing as much as we could into a borrowed car, we set off on the adventure of a lifetime.
 copy6.jpg)
 copy2.jpg)
Ordinaries is a celebration of women and women empowerment. Though she is kind-hearted, Amy will not be controlled as shown through her confrontations with the man that hosts her daily blogs, as well as disagreements with more traditional family members.
 copy10.jpg)
 copy5.jpg)
One of the themes is the idea of “bridging gaps”. Amy travels from San Francisco to Boston. We explore the differences between generations and relationships. Amy is in her mid-20’s, while the bike that she’s riding was made in the 1890’s. Originally, women did not ride high-wheels, but Amy, a strong independent woman, decides to go above and beyond and ride one across the country.
 copy11.jpg)
On top of the general challenges Amy faces along her journey, I’m hoping that people will see this film as an invitation for political dialog. Our country is arguably the most divided it’s ever been. We keep to our bubbles, attack each other on social media, and refuse to listen. The discourse has torn apart lifelong friends and families. While traveling we spoke with many of the locals and listened to the issues they face. The documentary shows the kindness of these people, and I’m hoping that this will influence others to stay open-minded.
.jpg)
With the shift in politics, I would like to see our nation begin to heal. We need to continue speaking with each other and sharing our stories, both the good and the bad. As Gloria Vanderbilt said, “Be kind to everyone you meet, for everyone is fighting a great battle.”
 copy.jpg)
Ordinaries takes a mixed approach of interviews, archival footage, fly-on-the-wall documentary, animated scenes, and fictionalized recreations. I encouraged Amy and Randy to summarize their rides at the end of each day, not only for exposition, but to peak into their emotional and physical state.
 copy9.jpg)
 copy7.jpg)
Another important piece of information that I’m withholding is how they mount the high-wheel bicycles. I feel like this is a question that people will be asking throughout the film, so I’d like the first visual of them mounting the bike to be during a scene of a child’s curiosity. For me, this symbolizes our own sense of wonder and curiosity that we may have lost.
My father was in the Navy, so we moved often, permanently engraining travel into my DNA. Originally pursuing hip-hop music, it just wasn’t to be and I decided to go back to school to pursue film. At CSU Fullerton, after joining PASA, the Filipinx Cultural club, I met Theo. While there, I wrote, directed, and composed a musical stage play, “Love How You Do.” Afterwards, I worked various freelance jobs including film crew gigs, photographing plots for a cemetery plot broker, and flipping burgers at a Sonics Drive-In. Growing tired of coming home smelling of french fries, I applied to graduate school and was accepted into NYU TischAsia in Singapore. While there, I made the short film, “For Ofelia,” based on my grandmother. This film would go on to screen at film festivals around the world and win multiple awards.
You can watch the film here: https://vimeo.com/259548935
After film school, I decided to move back to the U.S. to fight for Filipino-American representation in the film industry.
Growing up, there were very few Filipinos on-screen. We’d often find representation where there wasn’t any, relating to the Ewoks in Return of the Jedi because their language had similar sounds to Tagalog. It felt like only we were the only ones that knew Lou Diamond Philips was Filipino while everyone else thought he was hispanic. We watched Hook countless times, imitating Dante Basco’s words and mannerisms. These were our heroes.
In today’s media, the push for diversity has seen the focus of Asian inclusion to be mostly those of East Asian descent. Filipinos are the 3rd largest Asian-American demographic in the U.S., but media exposure does not reflect that. We’re looking to change that.
The bulk of the work has been completed by the Director, but there are some things better left to those with more expertise.
Music: While Chris does have a background in music, it’s mostly hip-hop music. Instead, it would be best to find a musical composer. In addition, we would like to feature music from some of our favorite indie bands, which adds music licensing costs.
Color Grading: Most modern films are now recorded digitally. What is recorded by these “cinema” cameras is what we call a “flat” image that needs to be color graded to look it's best.
Animation: So why animation in a documentary? There is a scene where we interview one of the Wheelmen about the history of the bicycle. And while we do believe he is an interesting person, we feel his history lesson could be elevated with animated visuals. Just like how learning was so much more fun with School House Rock!
Thank you for taking the time to consider contributing to our film. We know that times are tough and though people would like to help, they may not be in a position financially to do so. But there are other ways you can help us out, even without throwing money at us! Please follow our campaign on Seed & Spark, follow updates on our socials, and share our campaign with as many people as you can! The only way for us to meet our goal is if we're able to reach people outside of our immediate networks!
Below are some templates you can copy/paste and share to your socials:
Help Fil-Am filmmaker @chrisdelasalas finish his first documentary feature film about a woman who crosses the U.S. on a high-wheel bicycle! Support AAPI filmmakers and join them @seedandspark seedandspark.com/fund/ordinaries
Looking forward to Fil-Am filmmaker @chrisdelasalas first documentary feature film! Join them and help them reach their goal @seedandspark seedandspark.com/fund/ordinaries
Thanks again, and we look forward to finally sharing our film with you!
With Much Love and Respect,
The ORDINARIES Team
The film will be dedicated to Charlie Harper who recently passed away before the launch of our crowdfunding campaign. Keep riding up there Charlie!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Color Grading
Costs $3,000
Color grading for the final project to make it look as good as it possibly can!
Sound Editing and Mixing
Costs $6,000
Sound is half the movie! So let’s make it sound good!
Festivals
Costs $1,500
Festival submission costs can range from $30-$100+. Add travel and lodging and this adds up fast!
Marketing and Promo Material
Costs $1,000
T-Shirts, Water Bottles, Postcards, Buttons, Posters, and all the things to help promote the film!
Digital Cinema Projection
Costs $1,000
This is the file format needed to watch the film on the big screen!
Share this update!
About This Team
Christopher de las Alas
Producer, Writer, Director, Cinematographer, Editor
Christopher de las Alas is an award-winning Filipino-American Writer and Director. Born to two Filipino immigrants who serendipitously met in Rome, their unlikely meet cute has inspired him to continue their extraordinary story. His father served in the U.S. Navy, and thus, their family moved often, eventually finding their way to a U.S. Naval Base in Japan. Chris became interested in music and movies at a young age, originally pursuing a hip-hop music career. He received an MFA in Film from NYU Tisch Asia in Singapore. His 2nd year film, “For Ofelia,” would go on to receive a DGA Student Award for Best Asian-American Director and Best Writer at the NBCUniversal ShortsFest. He participated as a directing fellow for Film Independent’s diversity program Project Involve. Chris is currently developing his first narrative feature film, “Wrapping Paper” a coming-of-age comedic drama set in the early 90s in a San Diego suburb. He is also in post-production for his documentary feature, “Ordinaries” which follows a woman as she attempts to be the first woman to cross the U.S. on a high-wheel bicycle.
Theodore Zuniga
Producer, Cinematographer, All-Around Life-Saver
Previously an admissions advisor, Theodore Zuniga felt stuck and unfulfilled at his job. So, he took a risk and decided to quit. Around that time, he saw Chris' post on Facebook looking for anyone willing to help shoot a roadtrip documentary. With his new found freedom, and a love for adventure and the outdoors, he volunteered. With little experience working on a film set, he dived in head first, knowing full well they'd be living out of a car for the next 2 months.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
One night, while watching a movie my wife turns to me and casually says, “My cousin Amy is gonna cycle across the U.S. on one of them old high-wheel bicycles. She’s asking for advice on how to document their trip.” Instead of giving advice, I decided to tag-a-long. With only 2 months to plan I made phone calls, and asked for favors. I posted on Facebook if anybody would be willing to help me out and an old friend from undergrad, Theo, hit me up and said he just quit his job and is looking for an adventure. And so, stuffing as much as we could into a borrowed car, we set off on the adventure of a lifetime.
Ordinaries is a celebration of women and women empowerment. Though she is kind-hearted, Amy will not be controlled as shown through her confrontations with the man that hosts her daily blogs, as well as disagreements with more traditional family members.
One of the themes is the idea of “bridging gaps”. Amy travels from San Francisco to Boston. We explore the differences between generations and relationships. Amy is in her mid-20’s, while the bike that she’s riding was made in the 1890’s. Originally, women did not ride high-wheels, but Amy, a strong independent woman, decides to go above and beyond and ride one across the country.
On top of the general challenges Amy faces along her journey, I’m hoping that people will see this film as an invitation for political dialog. Our country is arguably the most divided it’s ever been. We keep to our bubbles, attack each other on social media, and refuse to listen. The discourse has torn apart lifelong friends and families. While traveling we spoke with many of the locals and listened to the issues they face. The documentary shows the kindness of these people, and I’m hoping that this will influence others to stay open-minded.
With the shift in politics, I would like to see our nation begin to heal. We need to continue speaking with each other and sharing our stories, both the good and the bad. As Gloria Vanderbilt said, “Be kind to everyone you meet, for everyone is fighting a great battle.”
Ordinaries takes a mixed approach of interviews, archival footage, fly-on-the-wall documentary, animated scenes, and fictionalized recreations. I encouraged Amy and Randy to summarize their rides at the end of each day, not only for exposition, but to peak into their emotional and physical state.
Another important piece of information that I’m withholding is how they mount the high-wheel bicycles. I feel like this is a question that people will be asking throughout the film, so I’d like the first visual of them mounting the bike to be during a scene of a child’s curiosity. For me, this symbolizes our own sense of wonder and curiosity that we may have lost.
My father was in the Navy, so we moved often, permanently engraining travel into my DNA. Originally pursuing hip-hop music, it just wasn’t to be and I decided to go back to school to pursue film. At CSU Fullerton, after joining PASA, the Filipinx Cultural club, I met Theo. While there, I wrote, directed, and composed a musical stage play, “Love How You Do.” Afterwards, I worked various freelance jobs including film crew gigs, photographing plots for a cemetery plot broker, and flipping burgers at a Sonics Drive-In. Growing tired of coming home smelling of french fries, I applied to graduate school and was accepted into NYU TischAsia in Singapore. While there, I made the short film, “For Ofelia,” based on my grandmother. This film would go on to screen at film festivals around the world and win multiple awards.
You can watch the film here: https://vimeo.com/259548935
After film school, I decided to move back to the U.S. to fight for Filipino-American representation in the film industry.
Growing up, there were very few Filipinos on-screen. We’d often find representation where there wasn’t any, relating to the Ewoks in Return of the Jedi because their language had similar sounds to Tagalog. It felt like only we were the only ones that knew Lou Diamond Philips was Filipino while everyone else thought he was hispanic. We watched Hook countless times, imitating Dante Basco’s words and mannerisms. These were our heroes.
In today’s media, the push for diversity has seen the focus of Asian inclusion to be mostly those of East Asian descent. Filipinos are the 3rd largest Asian-American demographic in the U.S., but media exposure does not reflect that. We’re looking to change that.
The bulk of the work has been completed by the Director, but there are some things better left to those with more expertise.
Music: While Chris does have a background in music, it’s mostly hip-hop music. Instead, it would be best to find a musical composer. In addition, we would like to feature music from some of our favorite indie bands, which adds music licensing costs.
Color Grading: Most modern films are now recorded digitally. What is recorded by these “cinema” cameras is what we call a “flat” image that needs to be color graded to look it's best.
Animation: So why animation in a documentary? There is a scene where we interview one of the Wheelmen about the history of the bicycle. And while we do believe he is an interesting person, we feel his history lesson could be elevated with animated visuals. Just like how learning was so much more fun with School House Rock!
Thank you for taking the time to consider contributing to our film. We know that times are tough and though people would like to help, they may not be in a position financially to do so. But there are other ways you can help us out, even without throwing money at us! Please follow our campaign on Seed & Spark, follow updates on our socials, and share our campaign with as many people as you can! The only way for us to meet our goal is if we're able to reach people outside of our immediate networks!
Below are some templates you can copy/paste and share to your socials:
Help Fil-Am filmmaker @chrisdelasalas finish his first documentary feature film about a woman who crosses the U.S. on a high-wheel bicycle! Support AAPI filmmakers and join them @seedandspark seedandspark.com/fund/ordinaries
Looking forward to Fil-Am filmmaker @chrisdelasalas first documentary feature film! Join them and help them reach their goal @seedandspark seedandspark.com/fund/ordinaries
Thanks again, and we look forward to finally sharing our film with you!
With Much Love and Respect,
The ORDINARIES Team
The film will be dedicated to Charlie Harper who recently passed away before the launch of our crowdfunding campaign. Keep riding up there Charlie!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Color Grading
Costs $3,000
Color grading for the final project to make it look as good as it possibly can!
Sound Editing and Mixing
Costs $6,000
Sound is half the movie! So let’s make it sound good!
Festivals
Costs $1,500
Festival submission costs can range from $30-$100+. Add travel and lodging and this adds up fast!
Marketing and Promo Material
Costs $1,000
T-Shirts, Water Bottles, Postcards, Buttons, Posters, and all the things to help promote the film!
Digital Cinema Projection
Costs $1,000
This is the file format needed to watch the film on the big screen!
Share this update!
About This Team
Christopher de las Alas
Producer, Writer, Director, Cinematographer, Editor
Christopher de las Alas is an award-winning Filipino-American Writer and Director. Born to two Filipino immigrants who serendipitously met in Rome, their unlikely meet cute has inspired him to continue their extraordinary story. His father served in the U.S. Navy, and thus, their family moved often, eventually finding their way to a U.S. Naval Base in Japan. Chris became interested in music and movies at a young age, originally pursuing a hip-hop music career. He received an MFA in Film from NYU Tisch Asia in Singapore. His 2nd year film, “For Ofelia,” would go on to receive a DGA Student Award for Best Asian-American Director and Best Writer at the NBCUniversal ShortsFest. He participated as a directing fellow for Film Independent’s diversity program Project Involve. Chris is currently developing his first narrative feature film, “Wrapping Paper” a coming-of-age comedic drama set in the early 90s in a San Diego suburb. He is also in post-production for his documentary feature, “Ordinaries” which follows a woman as she attempts to be the first woman to cross the U.S. on a high-wheel bicycle.
Theodore Zuniga
Producer, Cinematographer, All-Around Life-Saver
Previously an admissions advisor, Theodore Zuniga felt stuck and unfulfilled at his job. So, he took a risk and decided to quit. Around that time, he saw Chris' post on Facebook looking for anyone willing to help shoot a roadtrip documentary. With his new found freedom, and a love for adventure and the outdoors, he volunteered. With little experience working on a film set, he dived in head first, knowing full well they'd be living out of a car for the next 2 months.