Kandy Fong created the first fan videos in 1975, a

slideshow A slide show (slideshow) is a presentation of a series of still images ( slides) on a projection screen or electronic display device, typically in a prearranged sequence. The changes may be automatic and at regular intervals or they may be manu ...

of ''Star Trek'' images set to music. She is credited with creating the concept of "mash-ups", editing a TV show or a film by disconnecting the images from the original soundtrack and re-editing them to a song to tell a new story. Fong's media practice includes

zine A zine ( ; short for '' magazine'' or '' fanzine'') is a small-circulation self-published Self-publishing is the publication of media by its author at their own cost, without the involvement of a publisher. The term usually refers to writ ...

editing, short story writing, slideshow creation and

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and is ...

The United Federation of Phoenix

While attending

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

in 1973, Fong was compelled by a newspaper advertisement to join a group of students in forming a ''Star Trek''

fan club A fans club is an organized group of fans, generally of a celebrity. Most fans clubs are run by fans who devote considerable time and resources to support them. There are also "official" fan clubs that are run by someone associated with the per ...

. This club would become the United Federation of Phoenix" (UFP), which stands as the longest-running ''Star Trek'' fan club in the world.

''What do you do with a drunken Vulcan?''

Fong constructed her first slideshow with another member of the UFP, John Fong, who had a collection of

outtakes An outtake is a portion of a work (usually a film or music recording) that is removed in the editing process and not included in the work's final, publicly released version. In the digital era, significant outtakes have been appended to CD and DV ...

from the original ''Star Trek'' series. In collaboration with other club members, Fong assembled frames set to a tape-recorded audio track, that included narration written and read by Fong and, notably, an

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

performance of the folk song "What Do You Do with a Drunken Vulcan?" The first public performance of the same slideshow took place in 1975 at a fan-run ''Star Trek'' convention. As her practice developed, Fong became interested in videotaping her performances and developed a two-projector technique allowing for soft fades between slides.

Correspondence with Gene Roddenberry

At Equicon,

Gene Roddenberry Eugene Wesley Roddenberry Sr. (August 19, 1921 – October 24, 1991) was an American television screenwriter, producer, and creator of ''Star Trek: The Original Series'', its sequel spin-off series ''Star Trek: The Animated Series,'' and ''Sta ...

expressed an interest in the slideshows. Roddenberry had been trying to convince Paramount Studios that there was demand for a ''Star Trek'' film and granted Fong permission to continue making slideshows. The two maintained a correspondence and Roddenberry, who provided her with ''Star Trek'' slide outtakes.

Both Sides Now

''Both Sides Now'' sets images of

Mr. Spock Spock is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. He first appeared in the original ''Star Trek'' series serving aboard the starship USS ''Enterprise'' as science officer and first officer (and Kirk's Second-in-command) and ...

to a recorded performance of the titular song by

Leonard Nimoy Leonard Simon Nimoy (; March 26, 1931 – February 27, 2015) was an American actor, famed for playing Spock in the ''Star Trek'' franchise for almost 50 years. This includes originating Spock in the original ''Star Trek'' series in 1966, then ...

. Fong says that her ''Both Sides Now'' performance was inspired by the music video for

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

' "

Strawberry Fields Forever "Strawberry Fields Forever" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was released on 13 February 1967 as a double A-side single with "Penny Lane". It represented a departur ...

" single. As with Fong's work, this 1967 promotional clip interprets a song with images that do not depict the performance of the song by the artist. In an interview with media studies academic

Francesca Coppa Francesca Coppa (born March 26, 1970) is an American scholar whose research has encompassed British drama, performance studies and fan studies. In English literature, she is known for her work on the British writer Joe Orton; she edited several ...

, Fong described her interpretation of the performance:

Spock is such a dual character: half human, half Vulcan. Half trying to follow Starfleet. half trying to do the whole thing with his parents. The two sides of him. And then there's Chapel, and then there's T'Pring, and then there's Kirk. There is just so many different sides to him that "Both Sides Now"—he's trying to be both sides now. And it seemed to just fit him so very well.

Exhibitions

Fong's video recording for ''Both Sides Now'' was included in the 2013 exhibition ''Cut Up'' at the

Museum of the Moving Image The Museum of the Moving Image is a media museum located in a former building of the historic Astoria Studios (now Kaufman Astoria Studios), in the Astoria neighborhood in Queens, New York City. The museum originally opened in 1988 as the Amer ...

in Queens. It has also been shown in exhibition at

Vancouver Art Gallery The Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG) is an art museum in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The museum occupies a adjacent to Robson Square in downtown Vancouver, making it the largest art museum in Western Canada by building size. Designed by Franc ...

References

External links

The United Federation of Phoenix
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fong, Kandy Fan labor Living people Star Trek fandom Science fiction fans Year of birth missing (living people)