Joshua Lang.
Filmmaker.
Joshua Lang was born in August of 1981 in Fairfield, California. He began working at a young age at his fathers’ construction company that specialized in concrete installation. Working with his hands he learned the value in a good days work and the importance of laying a solid foundation. In high school he discovered a passion for theater and performing. In his junior year of high school, he would spend weekends with his father building a house in a small mountain town near Lake Almanor. Working a lot kept him out of trouble and prepared him to explore the planet.
Lang joined the US Army as a mechanic for the Longbow Apache attack helicopters for the Sixth Squadron Sixth Cavalry in Germany. As a crew chief he was responsible for the daily maintenance of multiple 35 million dollar mechanical dragons. All of the traveling in the Army led him to photography. Just 18 months after Sept 11th, his unit would deploy in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. That year proved an epic test of his mental and physical capabilities.
After OIF1, Lang returned to Germany he found himself in the small community theater, where he performed in presentations Gypsy and Noises Off before going out on another deployment, this time to Kandahar, Afghanistan (OEF6) His new mission would be to continue his journey of theater and photography, which lead him to study the intricate art of film.
Over the next 6 years, Lang would spend his time in the heart of Downtown Santa Ana, surrounded by art, culture, and music. He worked part time at the local, haunted, 100-year-old Yost theater, managing live music shows, film screenings, and other special events. While on a trip to Mole Richardson in Los Angeles, Joshua met Natalia Wong.
Lang started Mechanical Dragons LLC with his partner Natalia Wong, and in December 2017 they celebrated the release of Apache Warrior. This feature length documentary shares the intimate story of Lang’s first Apache squadron during the opening days of the 2003 Iraq war. This award winning film uses real footage to put you in the front seat of an Apache on a mission that changed US ARMY aviation forever.
Today, Mechanical Dragons is a documentary and feature film production company based in Los Angeles and is currently working on a new slate of aviation documentaries and narrative film projects.
Natalia Wong.
Producer/VFX Artist/Editor.
E: nataliawong@mechanicaldragons.com
Natalia Wong is a freelance Producer, VFX Artist and Editor based in the Los Angeles area.
Natalia Wong was born and raised in Hong Kong. She came to California in late 2007 to pursue her education in filmmaking. She found her love in in post-production work during the internship with Akorn Entertainment, where she had the opportunity to create motion graphics with Adobe After Effects. It instantaneously reminded her of all the fun and satisfaction she had while she created an animated basketball in Adobe Flash during computer class back in primary school. The similarity between the two programs made it easy for her to grasp After Effects, and when there is something she does not know how to do in it, she always figures it out in the end. Puzzle solving is one of her strong points.
Natalia majored in Film Studies at University of California, Berkeley, where she learnt about film theories and met a lot of inspiring filmmakers. In her last semester, she was excused from 3 weeks of class to intern on Jesse V. Johnson’s feature, The Beautiful Ones, as an on-set assistant editor. Soon after she graduated with a B.A., she was hired to become the Visual Effects Producer on the film, enhancing gunshots, muzzle flashes, bullet and blood hits. Their collaboration continues on, with recent releases Savage Dog, The Debt Collector, The Mercenary and Triple Threat.
On the other end of the spectrum, she enjoys working on children's content. She is the Producer on Buddy Bear’s Musical Adventure, and also works with Mattel Creations for TV commercials and short-form content on a regular basis. Her recent client includes Disney, where she worked as the Picture Editor starting from the end of season one of Muppet Babies.
When she is not working, Natalia loves watching movies or playing video games. She also loves travelling. She is looking forward to visiting the Galapagos Islands, hopefully soon.