Linh Do’s story is such an inspiring story of how constant effort makes her creative dream come true. In this interview, let’s look back on her journey and explore the production process of her highlighted projects.
Source: Linh Do
Q: What motivated you to choose your current career path?
It’s a long story. I’ve shared this story a few times about how I loved K-pop. Childish as it may sound, I just found that market to be genuinely inspiring. They have done tons of creative things that went viral globally. Nowadays, K-pop is such a big phenomenon in the creative scene, not only because of the music but also because of things like promotional campaigns coming along with it. Even the technology they use there, such as AI and CGI, is quite spectacular.
Growing up listening to K-pop and knowing how many things they can do within just one music video or promotional campaign, from social media and websites to other interactive forms like reality shows and such, I feel so inspired. Thus, I was motivated to immerse myself in the creative industry, which has endless possibilities with those mediums and how people convey messages. That brought me further to learn about what they have done, like their overall communication and marketing strategies, focusing on visual communication because that might be the fastest way to reach the audience. That’s how everything started.
Source: Linh Do
Q: How did you overcome all the difficulties to land a job in the Creative industry in the US?
On the way to finding out the strategy of how I could overcome difficulties, I believe it’s essential to focus on self-reflection and prioritization. To me, 70% is about mentality, and 30% is about determination and execution.
Actually, it was not until recently that I kind of settled on that “mind battle” of like: “Do I want a glamorous life or an easy life per se?” “Should I return to Vietnam, enter the industry or have a stable job?” I feel like, ultimately, for a person like me who has experienced a lot, written many reflections on all that stuff, learned to understand myself and come up with my own prioritization, it’s okay to have a good or easy life if I end up with a STEM-based job, which is quite trendy in the US, or even doing something I like in Vietnam or other Asian markets, but that won’t keep me moving or excited to wake up every day.
There were three things that motivated me to move forward. Firstly, I found the creative world instilled a sense of curiosity. It has been a constant journey of me reaching out to that world, talking about it, internalizing it, and reflecting on it. So, I feel like it’s a place for me.
Source: Linh Do
Secondly, I had a good understanding of myself and a determination to move forward. I know that I have several skills that can contribute to the creative world. I’m good at writing, which can be used to make strategies or concept directions in that world. I know that many people in this field come from an artistic background, who were born with such talents and grew up with art as a hobby, which I might not have, but I can contribute to the creative world with my project management, organizational and stakeholder-coordinating skills.
So, by understanding myself and going back to why I started this journey – not only because of my passion but also because the world might need my talent, I know that I’m on the right track. It might indeed be easier for me to return to Vietnam or any Asian country to work because I’m more familiar with the culture. Still, given that I have some work experience here in the US, two years of studying in India for high school and many other opportunities to travel around the world, I feel like staying in the US is the best option for me. Emerging in a diverse environment would help me learn about organizational structure and work methodology, adding to my creative expertise.
Finally, it’s all about the execution, which usually leads back to what successful people have done, like creating a habit or discipline to manage their lives. I’ve always been a determined person who puts 100% to whatever I do because I don’t want to regret not trying my best. On the one hand, I may feel shameless if I have to reach out to people to ask for help or learn something from them. On the other hand, when I’m desperate enough, I will find all possible ways to do what I want.
Source: Linh Do
Q: Can you share more about the production of some highlighted projects you have participated in? What do you find the most meaningful about those projects, and how do you feel about being a part of those projects?
The best part of all my projects is that I can contribute my creative vision and convey my original messages to the audience through those productions.
I have played many roles in those projects, such as Creative Project Manager, Creative Director, etc. Looking back, I’m still very proud of myself when I was still doing “underpaid” or “free” projects. My first project was a music video production in 2020 for a young Vietnamese artist – Hannah Hoang, who used to study in the UK and has known me since high school. She started her career as a YouTuber and content creator with many song covers, including one with more than 12 million views – a cover of a Korean hit titled “Way Back Home.”
One day, when she wanted to debut as a singer and knew that I had been working in the creative field with some experience, she asked me to help her make a music video. I had dreamed about doing something similar in 5 or 10 years when I would have more experience, but at that time, upon realizing that my dream job literally came from someone just around me, I knew that Hannah’s request was like a “once in a lifetime” chance for me, so I grabbed the opportunity. I did some research and came along to tell Hannah that we would work together and figure out how to do the branding, strategies, sponsorship, etc. She didn’t have money to pay me then, and I didn’t let her do so because I was just as new as her in making music videos. So, as no monetary value was involved, I had the creative freedom to do and say what I wanted in that production. That’s how everything started, but the highlight was really about the demo song I got from Hannah back then.
Hannah Hoang – ĂN (TAKE YOUR TIME) ft. KrisD (Official Music Video)
The song is a story of a person who is recovering from a break-up. With not too much of love experience, I found another meaning of the song: encouraging people to care for themselves during tough times through small things like eating, going home, and chilling. That’s why the English name of the song is “Take Your Time,” but the Vietnamese name is “Ăn,” meaning “Eat,” which is so symbolic. It’s like a reminder for people to keep up with that habit and move on. Listening to the song during COVID-19 time, when I also had a lot of things going on in my life, I immediately knew that it could heal many people. So, I came up with a creative vision of talking about mentality and symbolizing it by a “splitted personality” of one being really sad, seemingly unable to overcome difficulties, and the other being responsible and consistently trying to protect oneself. That’s how we made the storyline with two opposite characters you can see in the music video.
I also participated in the project as an art director and created a lot of symbolic scenes in the music video, such as flowers on the dishes, which symbolize overcoming sadness. Hannah’s name is a flower’s name as well. We did a lot of research to develop those ideas to convey positive and meaningful messages in every scene, so I was very happy.
Source: Facebook Hannah Hoang Official
Recently, there was another production that made me incredibly proud. It’s my Winning Award of ASIANetwork’s Student Video Challenge 2022, hosted for the first time by ASIANetwork, a prestigious organization in the US that focuses on promoting Asian studies and other cultural knowledge. I’m the Director-Producer of this project, in which I own everything from the creative concept and scripting to the production and post-production. This project is such a big step for me, starting from only helping to deliver creative assets at the beginning of my journey to having more experience and being able to own my assets. With this award, I feel more confident that I actually have a talent in this creative world.
In this challenge, we were trying to respond to a prompt: “Drawing on the challenges and successes of your countries’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, prepare a video presentation to the World Health Organization (WHO) with a recommendation for future pandemic preparedness.” I remember it was such a busy time for me because I had to prepare for my internship and grad school applications. Still, my advisor reached out and encouraged me to participate, and eventually, he also became the advisor for my team in this challenge. At that time, I took it “lightly” because I thought the challenge was just an extra thing to do with no pressure, like a hobby, so indeed, when writing a proposal for the challenge, I felt like my creative vision expanded, and things came easy.
The Flashback of Covid-19: A Story from a Vietnamese Mother to Her COVID Baby
I planned to spend about an hour a week gathering my teammates, making a proposal, etc. I worked internationally with my team because people were in different time zones – one in the US and two others from Vietnam whom I used to work with. We did some research independently, and it took us only 30 minutes to brainstorm ideas for the challenge together. From a producer standpoint, if you can create a comfortable environment for people to thrive, the working process will be 100% efficient. That’s what I’ve done for the team so they can raise their voice and contribute effectively to the challenge.
At first, we wanted to interview people because that was the easiest way to make the video. But when we did some research, something came up from all the statistics and materials. We found a documentary from the Vietnamese National Television channel (VTV), which told a story of mothers giving birth to their children during Covid time. I thought maybe we could choose a more particular perspective to tell our story just like that. Then we ended up with a storyline of a mother giving birth during COVID-19 and giving suggestions on how we could brace ourselves for the future by sending wishes to her child. That’s perfect! We have a concept, a storyline, and a great team in which everyone works well together. I couldn’t be more grateful, and we totally deserve the prize. Although the video was created for a competition, which is quite academic, my hope for the future is to create productions that resonate with the mass audience.
Interview with Winners of the 2022 Student Video Challenge: Luther College & Vietnamese Team Members
Q: Do you have any advice for young creatives struggling to follow their dreams? What should they do to be courageous, determined, and resilient enough to “survive” and “thrive” in the Creative industry?
Everyone has their own priority in life. I agree that a person must do manual jobs to make ends meet at some point, but they can still take a small step to follow their dream every day. For example, they can develop the habit of watching music videos (just like me) and sharing their appreciation or criticism on Facebook. That could be a way to nurture creativity.
I used to be in a place where I didn’t know which would be the right direction for me. It seemed like it took me forever to get to my dream destination. However, I started the journey as a digital marketing intern, then switched to a media production intern, and later worked on music videos and eventually earned an award. Currently, I work on web production and brand management. So, you can see that it took all those small steps to get me to where I am now. My mentor told me that if I didn’t come from an artistic background or wasn’t surrounded by a creative environment that could push me to go fast, I could go the “detour” way – going round and round but still making progress. Today, you may learn one thing, but one day, you will realize you have learned so many things along the way.
I usually don’t advise anything because I’m not in someone else’s shoes, but what I would like to share from my experience is to return to the “mind battle” of prioritization. Use your resources to move forward on this track. Ask people around. And at the same time, protect yourself, love yourself, and motivate yourself by celebrating even just a small achievement. And reflect more often.
Follow Linh Do here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blinhblinh/
Writer, and creative.
