Life and Work with Vivian Nguyen

Today we’d like to introduce you to Vivian Nguyen.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Vivian. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I bought my first camera back (Canon 7D) in 2012 and began documenting everything. At this point, I was a 3rd-year student at UGA studying Biology thinking I wanted a career in Dentistry. I switched to Psychology and eventually just said fuck it and ended up getting a degree in Theatre with no intentions of building a career out of it. On the side, I helped establish Sofar Sounds Athens as a videographer/video editor. There was a community of people who wanted to help create this platform for artists to express their musicality. It was a humbling experience to catch artists in their infancy. I transitioned into filmmaking through a similar collaborative process, and editing live performances was when I married my passion for editing. After I graduated college in 2016, I moved back home for about a year before moving to Atlanta in January 2018. A very good friend of mine, Kim Dam, brought me onto a 48-hour film project as a wardrobe assistant. From there, I made a lot of connections that led me to volunteer for the Atlanta Film Festival. I went from floating around counting people on this clicker to being a video editor that got me an internship with the Atlanta Film Society. I’ve been editing for five years and professionally for a little over a year now. Currently, I work part-time at Chrome Yellow Trading Company. I’m also doing graphic design work with UpTV, and I’m an assistant editor at Trove Studio. I was such a terrible student in college! I started college in 2009, and I didn’t finish until 2016. But here I am editing primarily reels and teasers for major theatre companies in Atlanta, and I’m getting ready to debut video projections for a theatre production in May. It’s difficult to articulate the past 7 years of my life, but this is where I’m at. I don’t know what’s to come, but I’m really excited about it.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Haha, it’s never a smooth road until you’re ready to see things in retrospect. To see all that was laid out for you to accept where you are. All the brief encounters, the relationships you’ve built, the opportunities and chances given—big or small, they all carry weight. I like to embrace that mentality, and I try to exercise gratitude as much as I can. I’m very confident about going at my own pace. I’ve learned that freelancing is constant work. We live in a microwave society where people want things instantly. They want their dream job instantly. They want to find the love of their life instantly. I think this sense of entitlement confuses people, which leaves them thinking about it rather than doing something about it.
Honestly, my biggest struggle is myself. To put it simply: Accept that you’re always going to make mistakes. Learn how to forgive yourself quickly and don’t let shame or guilt hold you back from moving forward.

Please tell us about Freelance Editor.
I’m a freelance video and film editor. I’m an assistant editor to Ben Wade at Trove Studio, and we cut reels and teasers for theatre companies like Serenbe Playhouse, Theatrical Outfit, and Actor’s Express to name a few. I’ve done some fun and challenging projects for Michelin and Bridgestone through Trove as well. I don’t really know what I’m known for? I just know that editing makes me happy, and it only makes sense for me to try and master it.

Who have you been inspired by?
The women in my life. My sister and my closest friends.
If you’re reading this and you wonder if I’m mentioning you, I am.

Why? Because they are real examples of strength and courage.

I’m a huge stan of Esther Perel. I enjoy analyzing relationships and often question how I can cultivate more enriching relationships in my life in this evolving world.

Pricing:

• Editor: $240/day
• Videographer: $200/day

Contact Info:

• Website: www.tinyvivsuals.com
• Phone: 229-854-7157
• Email: tinyvivsuals@gmail.com
• Instagram: tinyvivsuals
• Facebook: tinyvivsuals

Image Credit:

Derek Scearce, Batel Mann, Michael Frederick, Wain Tan, Anthony Hilliard