We recently connected with Voon Ann Chong and have shared our conversation below.
Voon Ann, so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.
The art of noticing. It’s like watching a movie, except it’s real life. I keep my observations in a note app on my phone; it has quotes, conversations, lyrics, memories, questions, observations on behaviors, film analysis and honestly, anything that sparks my interest. When I create something, I refer to my notes for ideas. It’s also very fun, it’s like a mini game where I’m collecting “mementos”. Gives me something to look forward to each day.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I was born and raised in Malaysia, and the experience of growing up in a multicultural environment shaped my openness and creativity.
At a young age, I discovered my interest in art by drawing the cartoons I see on TV. That hobby evolved into creating my own comics, inspired by the soap operas my grandparents watched. My dad would bring me reams of paper from his office and it would be finished in a day!
Initially, it didn’t meant anything to me until my friends asked to read my comics. Before I knew it, my comics were making the rounds among my friends and family.
Seeing the excitement from people from my storytelling, made me want to do more!
Fast forward to now, presently, I am a videographer and motion designer, mainly on commercial projects.
On the side, I dabble with a mix of variety – storyboarding, illustrations, photography, to name a few.
Though I dabble with various mediums, I’m expanding my focus in improving my cinematography. It’s such a beautiful art form, I’m enamored and drawn to it. I love the inner workings of the camera and lenses; it’s such an amazing tech to represent our eyes – absolutely fascinating.
I’m all about using it to express someone’s perspective in the most artistic way possible.
In this present season, I wrapped coloring a short film and am designing the end credits for another short film. I’ve been really grateful for people trusting me with their projects and am looking forward to working on more.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Active listening, curiosity and empathy.
To tell a story, I think the first step is the ability to listen to one. Listen with the intent of understanding someone’s goals and where they’re coming from. It can be challenging to be an active listener with all the distractions around us, including our own thoughts. I’ve learned to paraphrase and reflect it back to the speaker to ensure I truly understood what was shared to me. Still learning this daily.
I feel we’re born innately curious but somehow that trait gets lost when we’re older. As a creative, I think having childlike wonder is very important! No questions are foolish; if we embrace being inquisitive, we become actual problem solvers. You could start by being curious with just a simple “Why?” or “How?” towards something.
Empathy is such an important trait to have as a filmmaker, which I’m constantly learning to have. I’m always on the lookout to find things that could visually express an emotion or experience creatively. The question I ask myself when approaching this challenge is “What does that emotion look like as a picture?” and go from there.
Essentially, I feel approaching art with empathy is to share the human experience, that we are the same at the core and someone out there understands you.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
Absolutely! I’m always up for any form of collaboration. I’d love to dip my toes into more documentaries, music videos, video installations and narrative.
Feel free to connect with me through email, Instagram, Linkedin or through my website.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.voonann.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annvfilms
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/voonannchong/
- Other: Designs: https://www.instagram.com/annchong_studio Email: chong.voon.ann@gmail.com
Image Credits
Bridget Johnson Jeffrey Gabriel Silva Eema Siddiqui
