Meet Vu Nguyen, a independent filmmaker based in Salem, Oregon, United States and a member of the StudentFilmmakers Filmmakers Network. See Vu’s Network profile to connect.
Filmmakers Networking
Vu Nguyen is an application developer at a phone service company by day and an aspiring filmmaker by night and weekend. When making films, Vu directs and produces his projects. His motto: “Doing it is the only way of learning it.”
Biggest Challenge and Solution: “For me, the biggest challenge on a film project is during the pre-production stage. There are a lot of things that need to be organized and followed. This is also a critical stage of the entire filmmaking process, and when you don’t make films full-time and have a family, it’s a quite challenge.
“To overcome the challenge, I have often told myself to be patient. When hitting a road block or any difficulties, I just put it away for a while, then come back and deal with it. Doing that, I can ensure that I don’t lose interest on the project easily, because most of the time, when one loses complete interest in the projects, it will never go anywhere.”
Current Projects: “In the past, I was wearing multiple hats due to the budget nature of the project – and starting out, I wanted to learn as much as possible on every aspect of filmmaking. My current project Going Home is the first HD project that I will only be wearing a director/producer hat. Collaborating work is a great experience, and to make a great film, it requires a great team. My last short film Insanity was an official selection of the NY Short Films Festival. (2008) Director/Producer on Going Home (2008) DP/Editor on Karma (2006) Director/Producer/DP/Editor on Insanity (2000) Director/Producer/Writer/Editor on Ashamed (2000) DP/Co-Writer/Editor on The Chase Favorite tools: Adobe Premiere for editing; Adobe After FX for effects.
Josh has mostly worked on short DV projects. In 2007, he attended the Seattle Film Institute and worked on several Super 8mm, 16mm, Super 16mm, and digital projects. “The content of the projects have a wide range from narrative stories to documentaries. I’ve tried every possible position in filmmaking. I’ve written scripts, acted, directed; served as camera operator, assistant cameraman, sound mixer, boom operator, editor. I also volunteer to teach video production at McKay High School, where I had begun my studies of filmmaking. If it weren’t for that program and the teacher, Dan Larsen, I wouldn’t be here…”
Biggest Challenge and Solution: “We will always face a new challenge with every project. I’ve had actors not show. Dealing with bad weather for outside filming. Having film jam in a camera. Just so many things to deal with when your making a film. Anything can and will go wrong.
Josh Ghormley
Job: Independent Filmmaker Location: Salem, Oregon, United States http://networking.studentfilmmakers.com/ G_FRESH Vu Nguyen
Director, Producter, Writer, Editor Location: Dallas, Texas, United States http://networking.studentfilmmakers.com/vnguyen972
Keep learning filmmaking
Want more lessons like this? Join StudentFilmmakers free for live webinars with working pros, and stream on-demand filmmaking classes in cinematography, directing, screenwriting, sound and post.




